The Syrian armed forces' brutal attempt to crush the popular uprising against President Beshar Assad's regime has been evoking widespread, but silent sympathy in neighboring Israel for its estimated 3,000 victims.
However, there has been no public discussion of emergency medical aid or any other form of humanitarian assistance and rightly so. Any step that might imply support for either side in the year-long conflict could be misconstrued as evidence of active involvement.
If Israel were to help the Free Syrian Army or its civilian supporters in the hope that they might opt for peace if they were to overthrow the Damascus regime Syrian Arab propagandists could charge that the Israelis were behind the uprising.
How a loss of faith in politicians and democracy could make 2012 the most frightening year in living memory.
By Dominic Sandbrook
December 31, 2011
The dawn of a new year is usually a time of hope and ambition, of dreams for the future and thoughts of a better life. But it is a long time since many of us looked forward to the new year with such anxiety, even dread.
Here in Britain, many economists believe that by the end of 2012 we could well have slipped into a second devastating recession. The Coalition remains delicately poised; it would take only one or two resignations to provoke a wider schism and a general election.
But the real dangers lie overseas. In the Middle East, the excitement of the Arab Spring has long since curdled into sectarian tension and fears of Islamic fundamentalism. And with so many of the world’s oil supplies concentrated in the Persian Gulf, British families will be keeping an anxious eye on events in the Arab world.
The Battle of Cable Street: Mosley's fascists tried to march through the Jewish East End, a scene that could be repeated Wall Street Crash 1929: Scenes outside the New York Stock Exchange on the day the stock market crashed may once again become a reality.
The “Arab Spring” is the name given to the tumultuous political events of 2011. In three countries — Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia — the regimes that had been in power for between 40 and 60 years were overthrown. In Syria and Yemen the governments were seriously challenged and internal conflicts continue with the outcome not yet clear. And in Bahrain, a major challenge to the monarchy was put down by force.
What is the meaning of these events for the future of these countries and also to their relationship to Israel and that country’s security? This article addresses the shorter- and longer-term strategic and geopolitical implications of the “Arab Spring.”
In the three countries where power has changed hands — Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia — Islamists have emerged as powerful political forces. In Egypt, where elections are not yet completed, the Muslim Brotherhood received just under 40 percent of the vote and even more radical Salafists obtained about 20 percent. This means that Islamists will be the leading political parties in forming the parliament and in writing the country’s constitution.
Back in junior high I had a classmate called Patty Christie, better known to her peers as Cookie. She was big, plumpish and her ruddy baby face was often conspicuously plastered with makeup, to the strident displeasure of our homeroom teacher.
One day Cookie announced assertively that “all Jews have banana noses.” Uninitiated in the irrationalism of stereotyping, I rose to the defense of our tribe: “Oh yeah? How come my nose isn’t like that?” Cookie shot back without hesitation: “Coz you’re not Jewish.”
“Yes I am,” I replied defiantly.
“No, you’re not,” she insisted. “You got freckles.”
JERUSALEM -- The Israelis now have a local counterpart of Rosa Parks, the Black American civil rights activist who refused give her seat to a white passenger and move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Al. 56 years ago.
Tanya Rosenblitt, a religious Jewish woman, also rejected a demand that she sit in the rear. It came from an extreme orthodox man who belongs to the so-called "Haredi" sect whose extremist "Sikuretim" has been campaigning for sexual segregation and thereby creating havoc all over the country.
She stood up to him defiantly for nearly half an hour without any intervention by the bus driver whose schedule was thrown off and whose other passengers began to complain about the delay.
The driver called the police who promptly told Tanya to give in, but she would not.
Irrespective of the uninspiring slate of Republican presidential candidates, President Obama is facing a steep uphill reelection battle.
The predicament of Obama's presidency was highlighted during its best possible week – following the May 2, 2011 elimination of Bin Laden – which produced a meager, soft a short-term bonus of 6%, bouncing Obama to 52% approval rating, before sliding down towards 40%.
From a 69% approval rating "coattail President" on inauguration day, January 20, 2009, Obama collapsed to a 43% "anchor-chained President" on November 13, 2011, according to Gallup. From 44%, Obama's strong nucleus of support has shrunk to a meager 25%, while his strong nucleus of opposition has expanded from 14% to 40%, according to the "Rasmussen Report."
Raymond Stock, former visiting assistant professor of Arabic and Middle East Studies at Drew University (2010-11), lived in Cairo for 20 years before being deported by the regime of Hosni Mubarak in December 2010, apparently due to his 2009 article criticizing then-Culture minister Farouk Hosni’s bid to head UNESCO in Foreign Policy Magazine. He has published widely on the Middle East and translated stories by many Arab writers, including seven books by Egyptian Nobel laureate in literature Naguib Mahfouz, whose biography he is writing for Farrar, Straus & Giroux in New York
German poet Heinrich Heine famously warned, "Where they have burned books, they will end by burning people." But the December 17 burning of Cairo's Institut d'Egypte on the first anniversary of the self-immolation of the Tunisian vegetable vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, which sparked the Arab Spring, stands the oft-used dictum on its head. In Egypt, especially, what was billed as a triumph of liberal democracy over dictatorship has rapidly morphed into an Islamist Spring feeding on the tumult of permanent revolution. After roughly a thousand deaths in protests since January (with many thousands more lost in surging crime), the dissolution of most of the nation's police, the dismantling of the formerly ruling National Democratic Party, the elimination of the State Security agency (replaced by a smaller, less-efficient National Security entity), and the virtual closing of the Israeli embassy, the January 25th Revolution has now, alarmingly, claimed its first intellectual institution as a casualty.
Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Expedition of 1798-1801, and set on parliament's grounds (not its original location) next to the American University in Cairo's former campus on Tahrir Square, the 200,000 volumes in the Institut d'Egypte represented one of the oldest and finest collections in the country, though it suffered from neglect. Foreign scholars who perused its high shelves on a tall, rickety ladder had an affectionate Anglo-Arabic nickname for the place, "Dar al-Dust" (“The House of Dust)." As then-fellow graduate student Bruce W. Dunne wrote for a survey of Egypt's libraries that I put together in 1996 for the American Research Center in Egypt:
Hamas's decision to join the PLO is seen by some Western analysts and governments as a sign that the Islamist movement is headed toward "moderation" and "pragmatism."
But in 2012, if the agreement with Abbas is implemented, Hamas will take control over the PLO.
Hamas is joining the PLO not because it has changed, but out of a desire to make the Fatah-dominated organization stick to its true mission: the liberation of Palestine from Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea -- in other words, all the land that is currently Israel -- and to achieve the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees to their original villages and homes inside Israel.
"I Wouldn’t Risk American Lives’ to End the Holocaust"
By Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
BigGovernment.com
December 26, 2011
On the evening of Sept. 16, 2009, I was invited to a function for Rand Paul’s U.S. Senate campaign at the headquarters of Americans for Tax Reform.
I had been invited by a friend of mine via Facebook [2] who was a passionate supporter of Ron Paul [3]. Within minutes of arriving, I saw Rep. Paul enter the room, followed by an entourage of several college students.
I immediately walked up to Paul and introduced myself, and Paul smiled at me and shook my hand. I told him that I had always wanted to ask him a question, and that it was a hypothetical question, but I would appreciate his answer nonetheless. Paul smiled, and welcomed the question. At this point there were about 15 people surrounding us, listening.
By Barry Rubin
The Jerusalem Post
December 25, 2011
I don’t think one could come up with a more teachable moment regarding international affairs – and including Middle East politics – than a little incident that just happened between US President Barack Obama and Venezuela.
First, the facts: Obama gave an interview to a Venezuelan newspaper in which he articulated some of his administration’s most basic themes. “Venezuela is a proud, sovereign nation,” said the president, adding that “the United States has no intention of intervening in Venezuela’s foreign relations; however, I think the government’s ties with Iran and Cuba have not benefited the interests of Venezuela and its people.
“Sooner or later, Venezuela’s people will have to decide what possible advantage there is in having relations with a country that violates fundamental human rights and is isolated from most of the world. The Iranian government has consistently supported international terrorism.”
Israelis policemen disperse ultra Orthodox Jewish protesters in the central town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem. Clashes erupted on Monday between police and several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews from a town near Jerusalem who are campaigning for men and women to be segregated, an AFP journalist said. (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)
Israelis policemen disperse ultra Orthodox Jewish protesters in the central town …
Ultra-Orthodox Jews stand next to a placard bearing a line separating the Hebrew words "Men, Women" during a protest in the central town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem. Clashes erupted on Monday between police and several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews from a town near Jerusalem who are campaigning for men and women to be segregated, an AFP journalist said.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews stand next to a placard bearing a line separating the Hebrew …
Secular Israelis argue with ultra Orthodox Jewish protesters in the central town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem. Clashes erupted on Monday between police and several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews from a town near Jerusalem who are campaigning for men and women to be segregated, an AFP journalist said.
Secular Israelis argue with ultra Orthodox Jewish protesters in the central town …
A Different Perspective: Israel’s int'l image has been severely marred because of the settlers’ presence and the behavior of extremists.
Two major mistakes were made by Israeli policy- makers: The Oslo Accords of 1993 and the unilateral and unconditional withdrawal of troops and civilians from the Gaza Strip in 2005.
These ill-considered initiatives have caused seemingly insoluble problems.
They were radical departures from the Jewish state’s original adherence to traditional diplomacy based on international norms, and deviated from the initially consistent effort to gain recognition as a bona fide member of the international community.
By Mohammed Najib
JDW Correspondent, Ramallah
December 22, 2011
Field Marshall Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, chairman of the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces since February 2011, is legislating to put the Egyptian armed forces in the loop for any future decision to go to war, senior Egyptian security sources told Jane's in mid-December.
The new law aims to change the current policy that gives the country's political leaders full authority over the armed forces.
The real motive behind the move, according to the security sources, is to prevent any Egyptian Islamic group elected to power from launching a war against Israel. The Muslim Brotherhood, which has a history of anti-Zionism, has already won the first phase of Egypt's parliamentary elections and looks set to achieve office in the future.
By Michael Freund
The Jerusalem Post
December 22, 2011
As Jews around the world gather to celebrate Hanukka, the festival of lights, it is only natural that we look back with pride at what our ancestors were able to accomplish.
Over two millennia ago a small band of freedom fighters rose up against the Seleucid tyrant Antiochus and his despotism, determined to reinstate our national sovereignty and salvage our religious identity. Thanks to Divine providence, Matityahu the high priest and his intrepid sons prevailed, defeating the enemy, cleansing the Temple and reestablishing Jewish rule.
As a result, the Maccabees rightfully earned their place in the annals of Jewish heroism, setting an inspiring example of spiritual resolve and military fortitude for generations of Jews to come.
By Raymond Ibrahim
FrontPage Magazine
December 21, 2011
A recent Fox News report tells of how “a rash of attacks on Christian-owned businesses in northern Iraq has raised troubling questions about the future safety of the country’s shrinking Christian community, particularly as U.S. forces withdraw completely from the nation they’ve refereed since 2003.”
In fact, “questions about the future safety of the country’s shrinking Christian community” have been raised ever since the U.S. toppled secular strongman Saddam Hussein, thereby unloosing the forces of jihad previously corked. The report continues:
The attacks, which have received little international attention, raged through northern cities following a sermon last Friday by a local mullah. Video purportedly from the riots posted online shows mobs burning and wrecking businesses, which included liquor stores, hotels and hair salons.
For decades New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman balanced his substantively anti-Israel positions with repeated protestations of love for Israel.
His balancing act ended last week when he employed traditional anti-Semitic slurs to dismiss the authenticity of substantive American support for Israel.
Channeling the longstanding anti-Semitic charge that Jewish money buys support for power-hungry Jews best expressed in the forged 19th century Protocols of the Elders of Zion and in John Mearshimer's and Stephen Walt's 2007 book The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, Friedman denied the significance of the US Congress's overwhelming support for Israel.
Officially, our war in Iraq is now over. The Saddam loyalists, the Sunni insurgents, al Qaeda in Iraq, and the Shiite militants of Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army were all defeated by the U.S.-led international coalition. Today, the relative calm is maintained by Iraq's own security forces, trained primarily by Americans.
In many ways, however, Iraq remains a country of thirds (Shiite, Kurdish, and Sunni), and its federation is exceedingly fragile. For years now, Iran has been seeking to undermine U.S. gains and destroy the precarious unity cobbled together by Iraqi politicians. Absent decisive action by Washington to preserve and even expand the U.S. relationship with Iraq, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's weak government will be hard pressed to resist disintegration brought on by persistent internal enmity and Iran's malign influence.
America's hopes for Middle East stability were diminished by the so-called Arab Spring, especially regarding Egypt. Long considered to be the beating heart of the Arab world, close relations with Cairo was vital to achieving U.S. regional policy goals, including the adoption of democratic values and preserving the peace with Israel. Naïve hopes for a societal revolution ushering in a new age of liberal governance for Egypt have been swept away by the Muslim Brotherhood's and the Salafist Nour Party's significant parliamentary election successes.
MGI News is the sole U.S. incorporated news and programming
organization specializing in the Middle East directed by Jay Bushinsky, founding
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Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hamas, Hizbollah and more...
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But the real dangers lie overseas. In the Middle East, the excitement of the Arab Spring has long since curdled into sectarian tension and fears of Islamic fundamentalism. And with so many of the world’s oil supplies concentrated in the Persian Gulf, British families will be keeping an anxious eye on events in the Arab world.
Back in junior high I had a classmate called Patty Christie, better known to her peers as Cookie. She was big, plumpish and her ruddy baby face was often conspicuously plastered with makeup, to the strident displeasure of our homeroom teacher.
I don’t think one could come up with a more teachable moment regarding international affairs – and including Middle East politics – than a little incident that just happened between US President Barack Obama and Venezuela.
Israelis policemen disperse ultra Orthodox Jewish protesters in the central town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem. Clashes erupted on Monday between police and several hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews from a town near Jerusalem who are campaigning for men and women to be segregated, an AFP journalist said. (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana)
A recent Fox News report tells of how “a rash of attacks on Christian-owned businesses in northern Iraq has raised troubling questions about the future safety of the country’s shrinking Christian community, particularly as U.S. forces withdraw completely from the nation they’ve refereed since 2003.”
For decades New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman balanced his substantively anti-Israel positions with repeated protestations of love for Israel.