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White House statement expresses 'regret' over Israeli settlements
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—Here is a statement issued by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs following Israel's announcements that more construction was planned in the disputed territories:
"We regret the reports of Israel's plans to approve additional settlement construction. Continued settlement activity is inconsistent with Israel's commitment under the Roadmap.
"As the President has said before, the United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement expansion and we urge that it stop. We are working to create a climate in which negotiations can take place, and such actions make it harder to create such a climate.
"We do appreciate Israel's stated intent to place limits on settlement activity and will continue to discuss this with the Israelis as these limitations are defined.
"The U.S. commitment to Israel’s security is and will remain unshakeable. We believe it can best be achieved through comprehensive peace in the region, including a two-state solution with a Palestinian state living side by side in peace with Israel.
"That is the ultimate goal to which the President is deeply and personally committed.
"Our objective remains to resume meaningful negotiations as soon as possible in pursuit of this goal. We are working with all parties – Israelis, Palestinians, and Arab states -- on the steps they must take to achieve that objective.
State Department restrained in comments about settlements
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) —F ollowing are excerpts from a press conference on Friday by Ian Kelly, U.S. State Department spokesman:
MR. KELLY: Yeah, why don’t we begin? And the first question goes to Elise Labott of CNN.
QUESTION: On the settlements, I mean, were you caught kind of blindsided by this? Did – have the Israelis been discussing the fact that as you’re negotiating a settlement freeze, they’re going to announce the approval of new settlements?
MR. KELLY: Well, you know that we don’t want to get too much into detail of our confidential diplomatic conversations. What I’ll say in response to that is that we have had a very open dialogue with our Israeli partners. And Senator Mitchell on multiple occasions has had a thorough discussion of all of these issues. We’ve made our position quite clear. Our position is that all sides have to abide by their obligations under the Roadmap. And of course, for the Israelis, that means a stop to settlement activity; for Palestinians, it means increasing confidence in their ability to handle their own security; and for the Arab states, it means taking steps towards normalization of their relationship with Israel. And you saw the statement out of the White House that we regret that they are planning to do this.
QUESTION: Well, did you know about it before?
MR. KELLY: Again, I’m – I don’t want to confirm --
QUESTION: Well, I mean, they’re doing --
MR. KELLY: -- or deny what we discussed in these confidential diplomatic conversations. But we’ve been very open, they’ve been very open.
QUESTION: When you say you’ve been very open, are you speaking about your desire to have them stop all settlement activity --
MR. KELLY: Yes.
QUESTION: -- or are you speaking about this issue in general that you had an open discussion about their plan to approve housing?
MR. KELLY: Well, yeah. Again, Libby, I’m not going to confirm what was discussed in the meetings.
QUESTION: In hindsight, Ian, was it the right thing to do to put out a statement on Wednesday night, saying that the meeting between Mitchell and the two Israelis was a good meeting?
MR. KELLY: Oh, I – that’s the way it was characterized, and it was a good meeting. We are making progress to the next stage in our --
QUESTION: But realizing that you don’t want to --
MR. KELLY: -- in this whole process.
QUESTION: Did Mitchell not tell the Israelis at this meeting that if they went ahead and made – and did this, that they were going to get slapped?
MR. KELLY: Again, Matt, I’m not going to get into the substance of what was discussed in the meetings.
QUESTION: The bottom line is that, you know, he knew this was coming.
MR. KELLY: I’m not going to get into the substance of what was discussed in the meeting.
QUESTION: Well, I mean, isn’t it – isn’t it –
MR. KELLY: But we do – I mean, we have a very open dialogue with our friends in Israel.
QUESTION: Well, aren’t they – come on, aren’t they like spitting on you, the fact that you’re --
MR. KELLY: Spitting on us?
QUESTION: You’re negotiating an agreement for a settlement freeze, and here they talk about announcing new settlements. I mean, doesn’t that just fly in the face of what you say that you want and what the Israelis say that they’re working on with you? I mean, that’s ridiculous.
MR. KELLY: No, we’re partners. We have a good dialogue, an excellent relationship --
QUESTION: It doesn’t sound like it.
MR. KELLY: -- with Israel. They’re open about their interests. We’re open about our interests. And we’re all being clear here.
QUESTION: Has the Secretary made any calls on this?
QUESTION: Or not clear. (Laughter.) Sorry.
QUESTION: I mean, has the Secretary made any calls on this? I mean, the Gibbs statement makes clear your displeasure, but I wonder if Secretary Clinton has actually – or Senator Mitchell actually --
MR. KELLY: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- called Prime Minister Netanyahu to --
MR. KELLY: Right.
QUESTION: -- express your displeasure.
MR. KELLY: Well, I think the next step in this process is Senator Mitchell going back out to the region.
QUESTION: Do you have any --
MR. KELLY: That’s at the end of next week. I’m not aware of the Secretary having had any conversation with any Israeli officials.
QUESTION: And how about Mitchell?
MR. KELLY: I’m also not aware of any – it’s quite possible that he has, but I’m not in a position to confirm it.
QUESTION: And have you yet fielded any calls from sort of unhappy Palestinian or other Arab officials about this?
MR. KELLY: Again, I’m just not in a position to confirm anything like that. The statement just went out less than two hours ago.
QUESTION: Is there any – is there any more detail on Mitchell’s trip, where he was going to be going?
MR. KELLY: No, we don’t have anything to announce at this time, but as soon as --
QUESTION: But you just announced that he’s going at the end of the next week. I was wondering if you had more.
MR. KELLY: Well, he – well, we did – I mean, yeah, we don’t have the details of what – I didn’t announce that. That was in the --
QUESTION: I know it was in the statement.
MR. KELLY: -- statement a couple days ago.
QUESTION: The Israeli prime minister --
QUESTION: Did you see the latest news?
QUESTION: Sorry. The Israeli prime minister’s office said that they had informed the U.S. Government about this decision, so I wonder if he did express regret in person or --
MR. KELLY: Again, we don’t discuss the substance of --
QUESTION: They did.
MR. KELLY: Well, that’s up to them to characterize the meetings, but we’re just not going to --
QUESTION: All right.
MR. KELLY: -- get into the substance of --
QUESTION: All right. Let’s --
QUESTION: Can we move on?
QUESTION: Yes.
MR. KELLY: Yes, please.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) continue with this – continue with --
MR. KELLY: Well, we are --
QUESTION: They can’t. (Laughter.)
MR. KELLY: We are – we’re looking forward to continuing this process, and the next step – the next substantial step is the trip of Senator Mitchell to the region, the end of next week.
QUESTION: Does that take – have you taken a step back, though? I mean, there was all this --
MR. KELLY: No.
QUESTION: -- hope that you were going to have a launch of negotiations at UNGA. Is this a step back?
MR. KELLY: I wouldn’t say that at all.
QUESTION: So that means you’re saying that it’s okay?
QUESTION: So this is a positive development?
MR. KELLY: Oh, I wouldn’t call it a positive development. I didn’t say that.
QUESTION: But if it’s not a step back and it’s – and you regret it, well, how does it – I mean --
MR. KELLY: Look, I mean, this – what’s going on now is we were having very intense discussions with all the parties involved. Right now, we’re focusing on our discussion with the Israeli officials. We talk very frankly and they talk very frankly, and – but this is, I think, part of the whole process of our discussions. We’re being clear, they’re being clear.
QUESTION: It sounds like they are completely ignoring you. That’s what it sounds like. You want a settlement freeze and they’re building more settlements. I mean --
QUESTION: I mean, did Senator Mitchell postpone his travel? Because yesterday, according to Crowley said that he’s going there within two days.
MR. KELLY: No, no. It’s later next week. We don’t have anything to announce, though.
QUESTION: What’s the point of him going if they’re just going to defy you?
MR. KELLY: I just said the process continues. We’re – I mean, nothing has stopped because of announcements.
QUESTION: Oh, there is no process if --
MR. KELLY: Oh, no, there is a process, most definitely.
QUESTION: And are you encouraging the talks – the Israeli-Palestinian talks? Are you encouraging the Palestinians to go in to talk with Israel even if there is no full settlement freeze, including natural growth?
MR. KELLY: I think we would encourage more dialogue between Israel and Palestine on many different levels.
QUESTION: All right, looks good.
Jewish religious movements unite to stop Iran's nuclearization
NEW YORK (Press Release)—In a demonstration of unity and common commitment, the nine major rabbinic and congregational organizations released a declaration "calling upon American Jews to make Iran a matter of the highest urgency." Coming shortly before the High Holidays, this
call to action takes on even greater significance.
The organizations declare that they support President Obama's diplomatic initiatives, but also are convinced that the Government must take the lead in increasing economic and diplomatic pressure on the Iranian regime at this time, because "we are convinced that the Government of Iran is an increasing threat to us all." The organizations identify
eight actions for American Jews to undertake, including: mobilizing their communities; contacting their elected officials about the importance of divestment from Iran and tightening sanctions against banks and industries that do business with Iran; writing letters to the editor and op-ed pieces supporting diplomatic and financial pressure on
Iran; and displaying signage on institutional and synagogue property urging that we prevent a nuclear Iran.
Coordinated by Rabbi Joel Meyers, Executive Vice President Emeritus of the Rabbinical Assembly, on behalf of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Iran, the statement is signed by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, the National Council of
Young Israel, the Rabbinical Assembly, the Rabbinical Council of America, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Expressing the importance of the collaborative nature of this statement, Rabbi Meyers said, "The religious leadership of our Jewish community,with one voice, is urging our people to continue all efforts to confront the danger posed by a nuclear Iran."
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Chairman Alan Solow and Executive Vice Chairman Malcolm Hoenlein praised the statement and Rabbi Meyers' efforts noting the strong sense of common
purpose demonstrated by this action and the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Iran. This statement underscores that the threat of an Iran with nuclear weapons is a top priority concern.
"This statement reflects a broad consensus within the Jewish community in addressing the danger of a nuclear Iran. This concern was heightened by the blatant violation of human rights that was perpetuated in the aftermath of the Iranian elections. We hope the call issued by these organizations and their leaders will be echoed in synagogues across the
United States during the upcoming High Holidays and that Jewishorganizations on the national and local level will work to implement this action program. This important declaration reinforces the efforts to mobilize the Jewish communities to participate in the National Jewish Leadership Advocacy Day on Iran in Washington, DC, on September 10th, as
well as nationwide Stand for Freedom in Iran rallies on September 24th.
The shared commitment demonstrated by the leaders of these rabbinic andcongregational organizations should inspire and motivate us all. Thisissue is the primary challenge of our time. We must do all we can tomobilize support in this country and around the world to stop Iran'srapid advance toward a nuclear weapons capacity," said Solow and
Hoenlein.
"We thank Rabbi Joel Meyers, Executive Vice President Emeritus of theRabbinical Assembly, for taking the lead in this effort, bringing together these organizations from across the religious spectrum, in order to develop and secure this declaration," they added.
Lautenberg seeks Senate investigation into Scotland's release of Lockerbie bomber
NEWARK, New Jersey (Press Release)— Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (Democrat, New Jersey) on Tuesday called for Senate hearings and an investigation into the release of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence agent convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, to determine if his release was influenced by oil contracts between the U.K.-based oil company BP Plc. and the government of Libya. The Scottish government released al-Megrahi from prison after serving only eight years of a life year sentence on August 20.
“The bombing of Pan Am 103 was a brutal act of terrorism that resulted in the deaths of 270 people, including 189 Americans,” Lautenberg wrote in a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (Democrat, Massachusetts) and Vice Chairman Richard Lugar (Republican, Indiana). “Scottish authorities have insisted that Mr. Megrahi’s release was on ‘compassionate’ grounds due to his failing health. I urge the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold a hearing and investigation to uncover whether justice took a back seat to commercial interests.”
Sen. Lautenberg believes more investigation is required on four specific points:
1) Whether oil and commercial interests led to the U.K’s. authorization to include al-Megrahi in the Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) when it had previously sought to exclude him;
2) If the negotiated PTA and/or the August 20 release of al-Megrahi violated the international agreement between the U.S. and the U.K.;
3) Whether oil contracts played a role in the U.K. government’s actions leading up to the release of al-Megrahi, including the U.K.’s failure to object to al-Megrahi’s release; and
4) Whether commercial interests played a role in the decision to release al-Megrahi.
Lautenberg has repeatedly condemned the release of al-Megrahi and successfully worked with the State Department to restrict Muammar Qadhafi from entering New Jersey this September.
Americans United head denounces minister seeking Obama's death
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)--Americans United for Separation of Church and State on denounced the violent rhetoric of an Arizona preacher who is praying for the death of President Barack Obama and called on Religious Right leaders to repudiate such extremism.
The Rev. Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church told his Tempe, Ariz., congregation he prays that Obama “dies and goes to hell.” In an Aug. 16 sermon that recently came to public attention, Anderson said, “If you want to know how I’d like to see Obama die, I’d like him to die of natural causes. I don’t want him to be a martyr, we don't need another holiday. I'd like to see him die, like Ted Kennedy, of brain cancer.”
Anderson’s sermon took place just before an Obama visit to Arizona, and a member of the congregation showed up outside the Obama event in Phoenix carrying an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle.
“This has gone much too far,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director. “When preachers call for the death of the president or others that they disagree with, it provides a justification for acts of intimidation and violence. It’s grossly irresponsible, and the American people ought to rise up and say ‘enough is enough.’”
Lynn said Religious Right leaders have a special responsibility to repudiate such rhetoric.
“National Religious Right leaders have been feeding their flock a steady diet of shrill and provocative language,” said Lynn. “It should come as no surprise when Anderson and those like him escalate the animosity.”
Lynn noted that “imprecatory prayers” (prayers that ask God to kill or otherwise harm others) have become all too common in recent years.
* The Rev. Wiley Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., announced in June of this year that he is praying for Obama’s death. Drake, former second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has also called for imprecatory prayers against AU’s Lynn and other staff members of Lynn’s organization.
* The Rev. Gordon Klingenschmitt, head of Pray In Jesus’ Name Ministries and a former Navy chaplain, has also sought prayers for the death of Lynn and others who challenged Klingenschmitt’s Religious Right activities.
* Randall Terry, Operation Rescue founder and head of the Society for Truth and Justice, held a June 1 news conference at the National Press Club to say he is glad that Nebraska physician Dr. George Tiller is dead. Terry said the doctor, whose clinic provided abortions for women with problem pregnancies, was a “mass murderer” who “reaped what he sowed.” Tiller was murdered while serving as an usher at his church.
* TV preacher and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson as recently as 2003 urged his followers to pray that God would remove three Supreme Court justices so that President George W. Bush could replace them with nominees that support Religious Right positions against reproductive choice, gay rights and church-state separation. In 2001 Robertson joined the late Jerry Falwell in blaming the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Supreme Court, gays, feminists and civil liberties groups.
Said AU’s Lynn, “Religious Right leaders have every right to make the case for their views on public issues, but when they inflame opinion with outrageous statements, they are going too far.
“This must stop,” said Lynn, “before more tragedies occur.”
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
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ICE arrests man alleged to be supplying jet parts to Iran
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)- Jacques Monsieur, a Belgian national and resident of France suspected of international arms dealing for decades, was arraigned Wednesday in a federal court in Mobile, Alabama. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday arrested Monsieur on charges alleging that he conspired to illegally export F-5 fighter jet engines and parts from the United States to Iran.
The arrest and charges were announced by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden; Eugene A. Seidel, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama; John Morton, Department of Homeland Security, Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and Sharon Woods, Director of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).
A six-count indictment returned on August 27, 2009, in the Southern District of Alabama charging Monsieur, 56, and co-defendant Dara Fotouhi, a.k.a. Dara Fatouhi, 54, an Iranian national currently living in France, with conspiracy, money laundering, smuggling, as well as violations of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Monsieur was arrested by federal agents last Friday upon his arrival in New York. Fotouhi remains at large. The charge of conspiracy carries a potential sentence of five years in prison, while smuggling carries a potential 10-year prison term, AECA carries a potential 10-year prison term, money laundering carries a potential 20-year prison term and IEEPA carries a potential 20-year prison term.
According to the indictment and an affidavit filed in the case, defendants Monsieur and Fotouhi are experienced arms dealers who have been actively working with the Iranian government to procure military items for the Iranian government.
The indictment alleges that, in February 2009, Monsieur contacted an undercover agent seeking engines for the F-5 (EIF) fighter jet or the C-130 military transport aircraft for export to Iran. Thereafter, Monsieur began having regular e-mail contact with the undercover agent regarding requested F-5 engines and parts.
These engines, known as J85-21 models, are replacement engines for the F-5 fighter jet that was sold to Iran by the United States before the 1979 Iranian revolution. The engines and parts are designated as defense articles on the U.S. Munitions List and may not be exported from the United States without a license from the U.S. State Department. Additionally, these items may not be exported to Iran without a license from the U.S. Treasury Department due to the U.S. trade embargo on Iran.
According to the indictment, in March 2009, Monsieur met with the undercover agent in Paris, where Monsieur again requested engines and parts for the F-5 fighter jet. In May 2009, an undercover agent met with Monsieur in London, where Monsieur introduced Dara Fotouhi as a business associate, and again discussed the illegal export of F-5 fighter jet engines from the United States to Iran. During this negotiation, the defendants allegedly asked the undercover agent if he could obtain or use U.S. shipping or export authorization documents that falsely indicated that the end user of the items would be located in Colombia.
In June 2009, according to the indictment, Monsieur sent an e-mail to the undercover agent and provided a purchase order for F-5 fighter jet parts from a front company for an organization known as Trast Aero Space, located in Kyrgyzstan. The order requested that the parts be located by the undercover agent and illegally exported to the United Arab Emirates for transshipment to Iran.
The following month, Monsieur allegedly contacted the undercover agent indicating that approximately $110,000 had been wired from Dubai to a bank account in Alabama as payment for the parts. He also indicated that a deposit of $300,000 would be forthcoming as a down payment for two F-5 fighter jet engines. In August 2009, Monsieur requested information from the undercover agent about his contact in Colombia for forwarding the aircraft parts from Colombia to the United Arab Emirates, the indictment alleges.
"The facts alleged in this indictment underscore the global reach of Iranian procurement networks and the international arms traffickers who help supply them. This case also highlights the importance of keeping restricted U.S. weapons technology out of their grasp," said Deputy Attorney General Ogden. "I applaud the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to bring about this important arrest."
Acting U.S. Attorney Eugene A. Seidel said, "The investigation and prosecution of cases such as this one will have a significant deterrent impact on illegal arms trafficking and will enhance our national security. Foreign governments and illegal arms dealers should know that there are no 'safe harbors' for this type of commerce. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the dedicated investigators, agency analysts, and prosecutors who helped bring about the arrest and indictment of the defendant."
"Those who seek to illegally send dangerous weapons to Iran will never quite know whether the 'merchant' they're dealing with is actually the long arm of the law," said John Morton, the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE. "ICE is committed to combating the flow of arms and sensitive technologies abroad and will utilize all of its resources to do so."
"Safeguarding our military equipment and technology is vital to our nation's defense and the protection of our war fighters," said Director Sharon Woods, Director of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. "We know that foreign governments are actively seeking our equipment for their own military development. Thwarting these efforts is a top priority of the DCIS. I applaud the agents and prosecutors who worked tirelessly to bring about this result."
This investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Defense's Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS).
The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory A. Bordenkircher of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Alabama, with assistance from the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division.
An indictment is a formal accusation and is not proof of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are found guilty.
Israel Campus Beat provides college students with emailed Mideast facts and opinion
NEW YORK (Press Release) - Thousands of university students across North America are once again receiving Israel-related news and opinionthrough the Israel Campus Beat, a bi-weekly e-mail resource from the Israel on Campus Coalition and the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations.
The ICB features concise summaries of top news stories, analysis andopinion pieces from various points of view compiled from American, Israeli and international media, campus publications and think tanks with hyperlinks to the original sources. Student-authored articles and reports on current Israel-related issues and activities on campus are
included along with links to informative Israel-related internet sites.
The ICB is distributed every other Sunday; the current edition and ICB archives can be found on line.
The ICB is geared especially to college students and campus
professionals, as well as alumni, faculty and interested communitymembers. A joint initiative of the Conference of Presidents and the ICC,the Israel Campus Beat is prepared by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. The ICB helps educate students by offering reliableinformation, context and perspective on vital issues of the day.Campuses have seen sharp increase in anti-Israel sentiment and activity and the return of the ICB is an important component of a broader
coordinated program to help strengthen Israel advocates on campus.
Between its first launch in 2003 and 2007, the ICB's subscriber base grew to 50,000 students on nearly 1000 campuses across United States; its readership resided in 34 countries around world. The e-newsletter's readers also included staffers in US governmental agencies, non-profit
organizations, corporations, Congressional offices and diplomatic embassies.
Boxer urges fuels reduction in
California's national forests
WASHINGTON, D.C (Press Release)--Following is the text of a letter sent Thursday by U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (Democrat, California) to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack concerning California's fire problems:
As you know, California is in the midst of another fire season. Firefighters are hard at work from one end of our state to the other, tirelessly and selflessly protecting lives and property. Tragically, two firefighters lost their lives this week in the fight against the Station Fire in Los Angeles County.
There are many lessons learned whenever we face the threat of wildfire. One of the most important is the need for the federal government to focus its limited resources on fuels treatment in areas nearest communities before a firestorm occurs. Throughout our state, millions of people live in close proximity of public lands. Too often, dead or dying trees and chaparral, in many cases where fire has not occurred for decades, becomes the fuel for fires that cannot be controlled without a serious threat to people and the communities they live in. The Station Fire, as an example, has largely burned on land within the Angeles National Forest, threatening properties within the Forest, as well as the heavily populated communities adjacent to it.
I recognize that the U.S. Forest Service’s resources for hazardous fuels reduction are overextended, and I am a strong supporter of increasing federal resources available for these activities. However, I believe that it is very important for the U.S. Forest Service to focus its existing fuels reduction programs in areas where the threat to communities is greatest. As the Forest Service allocates its remaining funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and as the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares its budget request for fiscal year 2011, I hope that there will be careful attention to prioritizing these activities in the areas of greatest need, so that when fire occurs, we can be confident that we have reduced the threats to the fullest extent possible.
In advance, thank you for your attention to this matter. I also want to thank all those Forest Service employees who work so hard to protect our public lands and communities surrounding them every day.
Jewish activist returns award in protest of Germany's honoring Felicia Langer with Cross of Merit
NUREMBERG, Germany (WJC)—
Arno Hamburger, 86, chairman of the Jewish community in Nuremberg, Germany, has returned his awards given to him by the German state, including the Federal Cross of Merit, in protest over a decision by German President Horst Köhler to give the same award to the controversial Israeli activist Felicia Langer. Hamburger expressed sadness about Köhler's decision to ignore his July protest letter, criticizing the Federal Republic's praise of Langer, a fervent anti-Zionist who relocated to Tübingen from Israel in 1990 and has compared Israel with Nazi Germany.
Hamburger said he had chosen 1 September as the date for his letter to Köhler because World War II had broken out on that day in 1939 and Hamburger himself was on a ship on the way to Palestine at that time. Hamburger, whose daughter lives in Israel, outlined what he considered semantic similarities between Langer's references to Israel and Nazi Germany's characterization of the Jews.
A spokesman for the German president, who is in overall charge of the Order of Merit, said Köhler would soon answer Hamburger’s letter, but added that the President’s Office had a policy of not commenting on the decision-making process.
JINSA urges U.S. support for Honduras democracy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)-- The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs on Friday urged the State Department to support democracy in Honduras by not
designating former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya's removal from office a military coup, noting that such a step would deprive the democratic country of Honduras of hundreds of millions of dollars in desperately needed aid.
In an urgent appeal to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, JINSA executive director Tom Neumann said:
"JINSA most strongly urges you not to make such a determination, and encourages the U.S. to work cooperatively with the interim Honduran government as it prepares for the election of a new president.
"The removal of then-President Zelaya was, in fact, a necessary step in the preservation of democracy not the undermining of it.
"We urge you to restore the $18 million in aid that was suspended following the events of June 28 and to use your leadership to ensure that Honduras' participation in the Central American Free Trade Agreement continues uninterrupted and that the estimated $135 million
remaining to be disbursed under the Millennium Challenge Corporation not be held up.
"Madame Secretary, Honduran officials are determined to preserve their democratic system. Strong-arming them to accede to Zelaya's return will achieve nothing more than serving as a painful reminder to all the states of Central and South America that Uncle Sam can still be a bully.
We appeal to you to do right by Honduras by supporting the strengthening of democracy, not the empowerment of would-be authoritarian leaders."
The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian educational organization established in 1976 to educate the public on national and international security issues, including the importance of an effective U.S. defense capability and the key role of strategic allies, including Israel, to promote democratic values in the Middle East.
Chavez on Middle East swing,
woos Israel's hardline enemies
CARACAS (WJC)—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is to meet in Damascus with Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Traveling with Chávez on the two-day trip will be a delegation including the Venezuelan ministers of foreign affairs, industry, mining, energy, petroleum and trade. Chávez also attended celebrations in Tripoli marking Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi's 40 years in power and was in Algeria for talks. The visits take place against a backdrop of Chavez's recent efforts to forge close relationships between Venezuela and Arab nations.
Chávez and his delegation are also expected in Iran, Belarus and Russia for talks.
Spanish newspaper gives
Shoah denier Irving a forum
MADRID (WJC)—The convicted British Holocaust denier and revisionist David Irving figures on a list of experts by the leading Spanish newspaper ‘El Mundo’. An interview with Irving is to be published on Saturday as part of a series of features on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II. The Irving interview would be published a day after one with Yad Vashem director Avner Shalev. Yad Vashem spokeswoman Estee Yaari, said that it was "shocking" that a paper like ‘El Mundo’ would include an interview with Irving as an "expert." Shalev, she said, "would never have agreed to be interviewed had he known."
Israel’s ambassador to Spain, Raphael Schutz, protested in a letter to the newspaper, saying it was obscene to include Irving in the list of experts and give him a platform. Such exposure, Schutz wrote, lent Irving credibility. Schutz's letter was published in the paper’s Wednesday edition. ‘El Mundo’ is considered a center-right newspaper and the main rival of the left-leaning ‘El País’.
Levin introduces legislation to preserve U.S. lighthouses
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)—Michigan’s coastlines define our state. Every time we hold up our right hands in that familiar mitten shape to show an out-of-stater where we’re from, we reaffirm the importance of our Great Lakes shores to our identity. And for decades, that boundary between land and water has been marked by lighthouses, silent sentinels that helped mariners navigate those often-dangerous shores.
Now, the lighthouses that protected Great Lakes shipping for so many years are in need of our protection. That’s why I have authored the National Lighthouse Stewardship Act, a bill that would aid the preservation and rehabilitation of historic lighthouses in Michigan and other coastal states, and introduced it along with Michigan’s Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
The recent history of lighthouse preservation is encouraging and at the same time worrisome. As satellites and electronics took over the navigation tasks lighthouses once fulfilled, the U.S. Coast Guard, which operated the lighthouses, looked to dispose of them. In 2000, I joined with Sen. Frank Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, to pass the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. This law allowed the expedited transfer of lighthouses to state and local governments or nonprofit agencies, which could then take over preservation efforts.
More than 50 lighthouses have now been transferred under the law, including 13 in Michigan, a great victory for historic preservation. These transfers have saved historically significant landmarks, helped boost local tourism and honored the maritime legacy of Michigan and other states. The tourism aspect is especially important; these structures draw thousands of visitors to our state. It is no coincidence that lighthouse images have become important symbols on everything from tourism brochures to our license plates.
But in many cases, the preservation task these nonprofits face has been daunting. Dr. Kirk L. Lindquist, a member of the Michigan Lighthouse Project, told a Senate subcommittee in July that renovation costs can reach $1.5 million per lighthouse, and that merely maintaining existing structures can cost $80,000 a year. “It is easy to predict the fate of properties that cannot be maintained by volunteer or private landlords,” he said during that hearing. “They will be abandoned.”
That hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks discussed the lighthouse stewardship act that we have introduced. The bill would establish a pilot program to provide grants to nonprofit lighthouse owners for preservation and rehabilitation. The program, which would offer up to $20 million a year in grants for three years, would provide a much-needed boost to preservation efforts. As I told the subcommittee during its hearing, this funding would help ensure that our lighthouses remain cultural beacons for years to come.
These lighthouses are an important reminder of another time, a time when mariners couldn’t depend on GPS and radio to find their way to safety. The importance these beams of safety played in our state’s economic development and its maritime culture, and their importance now in preserving that history, cannot be over-stated. These lighthouses saved lives and helped build our state; now it’s time for us to recognize their contributions past and future. I am hopeful that Congress will act soon to approve legislation to do just that.
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