Israel’s News Blog Magazine: Daily Stories Video and Photos

U.S. Senator and Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain didn’t just make a recent Middle East tour to say hello. McCain, being a former military man himself, decided rightly that he needs see for himself the current situation in countries that will be a big part of his country’s foreign policy dealings should he be sitting in the Oval Office next January 21st. After previous remarks that American forces will remain in Iraq “for 100 years, if necessary” in a manner similar to post WWII Germany and Japan, McCain realizes more than anyone that in order for his country’s 3 trillion dollar investment in post Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to bear fruit, American foreign policy must undergo some serious changes.

McCain’s visit to Israel, in which he made some very positive remarks about American Israeli relations, comes at a time when the Israeli/Palestinian issue is at a most volatile level, and is influenced considerably by radical Islamic fundamentalism; with the Islamic Republic of Iran being Israel’s greatest danger since becoming a nation. During an interview conducted with editors from the Jerusalem Post, McCain said the following concerning the Iranian threat:

“When you look at the multitude of challenges and the nature of the enemy, including a nation that is developing nuclear weapons and is dedicated to Israel’s destruction, then from my standpoint, Israel is probably at greater risk than perhaps it has been since 1947″.

McCain is careful not to appear that his country is trying to exert undue influence upon Israel’s dealing with “the Iranian and Palestinian problems”, and appears to fully understand Israel’s need to be able to defend itself against both entities, as well as by groups such as Hezbollah, who are Iranian clients. He appears to appreciate the fact that Israel is one of America’s closet allies and defense partners, and he emphasizes the term “partnership” in reference to current and future relationships between Israel and the U.S.

Dealing with ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks and Israel’s response, often referred to as a “disproportionate use of force” by many European countries, McCain repeated what he has said previously that Americans “especially in my home state of Arizona would not stand for such activity on their southern border”.

While Cain hopes that Israel will be able to reach some kind of peace agreement with Palestinian leaders such as Mahmoud Abbas, McCain is also realistic in the fact that as long as groups like Hamas (who are also tied to Iran) are in power, no final agreement is possible. “My personal feeling is that Israel should not talk to Hamas as they are dedicated to Israel’s extinction”, McCain said.

One thing is for sure; should McCain become America’s next president: he will not formulate policies that will be detrimental to Israel’s security interests, as he sees these interests as inseparable from America’s security interests. He sees the threat that Israel faces from Islamic radicalism, particularly from Iran, as no different than the one America faces, and that the greatest challenge he will have is how to fight this threat. With Israel on his team, he knows he has a strong ally in this part of the world.

After the story about Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s black supremacist, anti-semitic, troofer pastor (“Jesus was a poor black man who lived in a country controlled by rich white people…”) broke this week in the mainstream media, many Americans and non-Americans are scratching their heads, mumbling to themselves, “Really?”

The Wright story comes on the heels of Samantha Power– a “humans right expert” and former top adviser to the Obama campaign– calling Hillary Clinton “a monster,” a term she’d previously reserved for brutal dictators like Milosevic and Saddam Hussein.

A closer look at these Obama advisers showed their more frightening sides: Samantha Power, who vehemently condemns the invasion of Iraq, once said that the US should invade Israel in order to force a peace settlement between us and the Palestinians. Nice.

Obama’s connections with the former leader of the American terror group the Weather Undergorund, Bill Ayers, are well established and go un-denied by the campaign. Likewise with his connection to radical PLO supporter Rashid Khalidi, who now takes cover under the flimsy umbrella of Columbia University.

Obama sat on the board of a Chicago charity called the Wood’s Fund with Bill Ayers. During the boardroom tenure of Obama and the former terrorist, the charity funded an organization called the Arab American Action Network, which happened to be founded and run by none other than Rashid Khalidi’s wife.

Obama and his lever-pullers (including those in the media) have fired back saying the group was a “local” charity that helped “local” people improve their “local” lives. The claim looks silly in the face of photos of Barack and Michelle Obama sitting next to the academic Palestinian crusader Edward Said at AAAN fund raisers.

But here’s the rub: Obama was aligned at the time with an Arab intellectual with ties to the PLO; he fund raised directly and indirectly for an organization called the Arab American Action Network; he was tutored by an anti-Semitic, anti-white preacher who carries on a global oppressor-oppressed narrative as if it’s scientific fact; he hired a “human rights” expert who made statements in support of an American ground invasion (!) of Israel.

Any of these associations on their own could be dismissed as benign and passing. Together they leave us asking only one question: Have we been Obama’d?

We have another visitor these days, McCain is in town. After Merkel’s Hebrew words in the Knesset its time for the US presidential hopeful to say a few words. Anything is better then the mess that Obama is in with his rogue role model I guess…

Some Excerpts:

“If Hamas/Hezbullah succeeds here, they are going to succeed everywhere, not only in the Middle East, but everywhere. Israel isn’t the only enemy..”

“They are dedicated to the extinction of everything that the US, Israel and the West believe and stand for. So America does have an interest in what happens here, far above and beyond our alliance with the State of Israel.”

“Someone is going to have to answer me the question of how you are going to negotiate with an organization that is dedicated to your extinction..”

“I really think that we should understand that the US and Israel are partners. Israel is not a client of the United States,” he said. “If you are partners, then you don’t dictate what you think the terms of the survival of a nation should be.”

“I can tell you that I believe that if rocket attacks came across the border of the United States of America, that the American people would probably demand pretty vigorous actions in response. I think I know my constituency in the state of Arizona, and they would be pretty exercised if rockets came across our southern border.”

“At the end of the day, we can still not afford to have Iran with nuclear weapons,” he said. “We know they have ambitions that are not just aimed at the State of Israel.”

Just what does the guy who looks like he just ate a very bitter persimmon have to do with the former President of the State of Israel? Well, it appears that both of them had to resign over a few “problems” concerning women; that’s what! Elliot Spitzer, who just resigned his position as Governor of the State of New York, was nailed by U.S. Federal officials for being involved with prostitutes. This is despite the fact that he was a former prosecuting attorney and won the governorship over a campaign to fight organized crime, of which the world’s oldest profession is definitely a part of. Spitzer, seen standing at a press conference with the future ex-Mrs. Spitzer, confessed that he had been “consorting” with high priced hookers for several years. Some of them, especially a young nymphet named “Kristine” ( actually Ashley Alexandre Dupree), were charging Spitzer fees amounting to as much as $4,500 for a two hour romp.

All together, the now Ex-New York Governor is alleged to have spent more than $80 Grand on these gals, some of which may have come from the State Treasury. What complicates this matter even further is that Spitzer, A Democrat, is a close friend and confidant of Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton, who just happens to the a U.S. Senator from New York. In fact, Mr. Spitzer was one of a group of super delegates whose votes might be crucial for Clinton to push her past Barack Obama and be elected her party’s candidate for the Presidency.

Now for the other guy. No need to say much about him as Mr. Moshe Katsav, former President of the State of Israel, has been mentioned numerous times on this web blog. Katsav’s crimes are far worse than Spitzer’s who only faces misdemeanor charges for consorting with prostitutes, should he be arraigned at all. Katsav refused to resign his post when first implicated for a number of serious sex offenses which included rape, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse; as well as perjury and extortion. In order to get off the hook, Katsav cut a deal with the State Attorney, Manny Mazuz, in which Katsav would plead guilty to much lesser crimes, pay a modest fine and compensation to some of his alleged victims, and formerly resign his post. He finally did resign about two weeks before his term of office officially came to an end.

Both of these guys are now considered as real jerk-offs and scum bags by people in their respective countries. The question is how low a public official can go while holding the people’s trust. Obviously, they can go a hell of along way!

While U.S. Senator Hillary was reveling in her March 4th Democratic Party primary victories, another American public servant, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was back in the Middle East trying to mend fences between Israel and the Palestinians following the recent escalation of violence that has left 4 Israelis (including 3 soldiers) and at least 90 Palestinians killed in missile attacks and military actions during the past few weeks.

Rice met with both Palestinian Authorities in Ramallah and Israeli leaders in Jerusalem to try to deal with a situation that is beginning to look more like the character in the Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme, rather than an optimistic solution to an ongoing problem in which there just doesn’t seem to be a solution – at least as long as both Israel and the USA refuse to deal with the Hamas organization in Gaza.

The problem concerning Hamas, and it’s leaders Khaled Mashal ( who sits is Damascus) and former P.A. prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, has gone from bad to worse ever since Hamas won out over Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah organization in a bloody civil uprising in early 2006. Hamas has been held responsible for firing most of the Qassam and other rockets at Israeli towns and villages; and now more recently at the 120,000 population city of Ashkelon., only 10 kilometers from Gaza’s northern border with Israel.

During Rice’s meeting with Israeli officials, even Rice had to admit that the prospects for peace do not look very good; and despite her boss’s (President George Bush) good intentions, it appears doubtful that a satisfactory solution will be reached before Bush leaves office in January, 2009. During Rice’s meeting with both Israeli P.M. Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Olmert told Rice that Israeli reprisals against the Palestinians, as well as harsh economic sanctions will cease immediately is the Palestinians cease their rocket and other types of attacks against Israel. It was also said that although agreements were made to resume talks between the factions, no peace agreement can be reached “even in 100 years” unless the Palestinians renounce their aims for “armed struggle” which can only interpreted as the eventual destruction of Israel.

Whatever agreements can be made will not hold water without Hamas’s involvement, and this doesn’t look at all likely – at least in our lifetimes that is. Gaza is in such a sorry state that it is now being said by foreign aid officials who have been working there that the situation of the people is “worse than it was at the time of Israel’s occupation of it in 1967″. More than 80% of the population are not able to survive without aid assistance of food and other basic necessities; and there is a complete breakdown of sewage disposal and fresh water infrastructures.

Condi appears to have left again with nothing more than a hollow promise for continuation of talks between Jerusalem and Ramallah. It looks like this mess is just one of the problems that will be awaiting the new U.S. president when he or she takes office next January 20th.

Hillary Rodham Clinton can definitely be called “the comeback kid” following Tuesday’s American primary contests in four states. Winning handsomely in both Ohio and Rhode Island, and squeaking by in Texas by a 3% margin. Clinton now has considerable breathing space in which to prepare for the next and perhaps most decisive contest, the Pennsylvania primary in late April.

Although her opponent, Barack Obama only won in the Vermont primary and is just slightly ahead in the Texas caucuses he still leads the overall delegate count by at least 100; and is now having to re-plan his overall strategy if he expects to win the Democratic Party nomination in July. When interviewed Wednesday morning in Austin, Hillary Clinton seemed to have regained her confidence and said that what made the difference is her overall experience as compared to Obama’s. When interviewers from CNN asked whether the recent commercial about which candidate would be able to make the right decision after receiving a 3 a.m. phone about a national security emergency, she reiterated about her past experience in such matters, including her being sent to such places as Bosnia (during their civil war) to mediate a peace agreement. She compared herself to Obama who she said “only continues to talk about a speech he made back in 2004 concerning America’s involvement in Iraq”.

I suppose that Hillary can say that she has a bit of experience, as the “red phone” did ring a few times at 3 a.m. when she was in bed with her husband Bill. She also could include her “experience” in dealing with that very uncomfortable period from November 1998 until July, 2000, when she had to deal with another kind of crises that was “a bit too close to home”.

Disregarding those unpleasant episodes, Hillary does probably have a bit more of a track record than Obama has; and whether or not this will help her to wind up making a “V” sign at the speakers podium of the convention will be determined in the coming weeks ahead.

People all over the world have been following the U.S. Presidential campaign; and these primary races have for sure been followed by those living in the Middle East and elsewhere in Islamic World. Barack Hussein Obama is no doubt the favorite of many who make up what is known as Dir Al Islam – the World Community of Islam, and these include many of America’s present enemies, such as Hamas, the Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and most certainly The Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a recent short visit to Iraq, said during a speech there that nearly everyone hates Americans. Well, he does anyway.

Jews around the world, especially in Israel, have from the start been a bit apprehensive about the possibility of Obama winning the Presidency; and what could afterwards be in store concerning America’s future relations with the Jewish State. There is really no way of knowing how Obama will deal with the Israel-Palestinian issue until he is actually sitting in the Oval Office. But in the weeks and months ahead, this matter will most certainly crop up; and it will most likely be used against Obama by both Clinton and John McCain, the Republican nominee.

This year’s contest has so far been anything but boring; and with the U.S. heading towards what may be a moderate to severe recession, the U.S. economy will be a top issue in the months ahead as well. If Hillary does manage to win over the remaining primary contests and become her party’s candidate, she’ll still need all the help she can get to beat McCain in November. And to do this, she’ll have to get real friendly again with a guy named William Jefferson Clinton, who has a bit of “experience” himself.

The rockets and violent exchange with Hamas have brought in Rice today. We haven’t seen her since the Bush visit in January and the promise of Middle East peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians before the end of his term - hmm.. hmm..
Well, now there is a little problem called Hamas.

Condi is still supportive of Israel;

“There has to be an active peace process that can withstand the efforts of rejectionists to keep peace from being made, the people who are firing rockets do not want peace… They sow instability, that is what Hamas is doing… Hamas is doing what might be expected, which is using rocket attacks on Israel to arrest a peace process in which they have nothing to gain”

But, the Hamas control of Gaza is a problem and one that is increasingly making Mahmoud Abbas looking weak. Since Hamas can’t be negotiated with, there is no way to declare a cease fire because a cease fire with a terrorist organization would make Hamas the legit ruler of the PA. In affect cutting off Abbas completely.

Abbas himself is in a bind. He called off talks with Israel on Sunday and then called for a cease fire that he would be the mediator in on Monday. By being the mediator he could claim to be the peace maker and the political leader of the PA. Weather or not Hamas will let that happen remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, “Hot Winter” (the name for the current operation) is rolling along. Hamas is continuing with the rocket attacks on Sderot and in recent days Ashkelon. The military assault by both land and air continue and there is a feeling that they are taking their toll on Hamas. Givaati (the combat unit fighting in the South of Israel) commanders are happy with results. It seems that lessons were learned from the war in Lebanon and that troops have been able to operate well in a very complex environment.

Barak while visiting the North border, sent a message to the residents of Gaza, calling for a cessation of rockets attacks and acts of terror inside Israel. When such activities will cease, the road will open for a different reality of peaceful and neighborly coexistence between the two sides. The activity in Gaza will continue for some time - it will not be a quick solution.

Barak was in the North as part of a “house warming” for 1,700 bomb shelters that were renovated in the last 8 months. The renovation spanned the North of Israel and included Akko, Naharia, Tiberius, Carmiel, Qiryat Shmone, Tzfat, Maalot, Hazor HaGlilit and Shlomi…
Let’s hope we won’t need them….

Hat Tip Picture: Amir Cohen

While the Democratic Party Presidential candidate race still appears to be a close call, the Republican one has formed ranks around U.S. Senator John McCain from Arizona. McCain, who is a former U.S. Navy pilot and prisoner of war, Also contended for the Republican Party’s nomination in 2007, before losing to U.S. President George W. Bush. Now that McCain is the definite GOP choice for the presidency, many Jews, both in America and in Israel, wonder how the 4 term senator’s policies will be towards Israel.

McCain comes from a family of professional naval officers, and both his father and grandfather were naval admirals. His own military record, largely centered around his experiences during the Vietnam War, is exemplary with his receiving virtually every distinguished service award except the Congressional Medal of Honor. His five and half years of captivity in what became known as the “Hanoi Hilton” resulted in his having serious physical limitations, including not being able to comb his hair. This hasn’t limited his ability, nor his desire to lead his country in the capacity of Commander in Chief.

Though his official policies toward Israel are still to be unveiled, his private feelings have been expressed on several occasions, including a speech he made in St. Louis during the time of the 2006 war in Lebanon:

“My dear friends, you have probably seen our European friends say, ‘Well, the Israelis have got to stop.’ But what would we do if somebody came across our borders and killed our soldiers and captured our soldiers? Do you think we would be exercising total restraint?”

If one were to examine John McCain’s military service record, in which he flew more than 27 combat missions against the North Vietnamese, it is easy to see that he has more military experience than any U.S. President since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

McCain, probably more even than President Bush, appreciates the fight against terrorism and aggression by totalitarian Middle Eastern countries that Israel has been involved in since it’s inception in 1948. His five and a half years as a POW in North Vietnam, much of it involving torture that contributed to the his disabilities, also gives him great sympathy towards the families of Israeli solders who have been captured by Israel’s adversaries, including the Palestinians and the Hezbollah.. McCain is considered to be a “hawk” in regards to his feelings towards containing foreign aggression, which is another reason why he is surely an admirer of Israeli military actions against people who are also enemies of the USA.

And judging from his remarks concerning the situation in Iraq, and of course his own personal experiences as a POW, he’s not likely to have much sympathy towards organizations like Hamas or Hezbollah.

Taking these factors into account, John McCain will certainly have Israel’s strategic security problems on his agenda should he be elected president in the upcoming elections in November.

Many following Barack Obama’s campaign to win the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination may still be wondering if the junior senator from Illinois knows much about Israel and the overall problems facing the Jewish State in the Middle East. It now turns out that Obama visited Israel not long after beginning his Senatorial term in 2006. And from what was said afterwards, he not only was very impressed by what he saw here, but he himself left a very good impression on everyone he met during his five day stay.

Obama came here with a delegation from the Chicago Jewish Federation, which included Michael C. Kotzin, Executive Vice President of the federation. In order to give the senator an understanding of the situation on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, he and his delegation were taken to a small Christian Arab village named Fassouta, which is located less than a kilometer from the actual border fence. The village was selected for this visit due to the Chicago Federation’s sponsoring of a project together with the Catholic community of Chicago to equip the schools of this village with computers and other electronic equipment. Obama was introduced to the town’s mayor, Dr. George Ayoub, who had no idea at that time that Obama would one day be running for President. Ayoub said later that he was very impressed by the U.S. Senator, who asked a lot of questions concerning the situation of Ayoub’s village in respect to being a minority Christian Arab village sandwiched between majority Jewish Israeli population and a majority Muslim Lebanese population.

Ayoub’, together with most of the town’s 3,000 population are Roman Catholic, and this seemed to be of great interest to Obama who is Protestant and attended a Catholic school for a time when young. Ayoub also said that Senator Obama said that he is interested a establishing a dialog between peoples of different religions in order help bring about peace. Obama told Ayoub that “in order to remove our problems, we have to sit at the table and talk about peace.” Obama addressed a town meeting in which he talked about “peace with security” for all the peoples of the region.

Obama was also impressed concerning how the villagers of Fassouta got along with a Jewish village named Ma’aleh Yosef, which is located nearby. In fact a number of girls from both villages participated jointly in a dance program put on in Obama’s honor.

Obama also visited several other place in Israel including a school that had a large number of Ethiopian Jewish students attending, and this impressed him very much. Seeing the results of the 2006 war in Lebanon seemed to have an impact on Obama, as he was able to see the situation while the “wounds” were still fresh.

All in all, the general impression was that Barack Obama came away very impressed with Israel and its people, and this resulted in his saying that Israel is very important to America and therefore is deserving of American support. Should he be elected President, his trip here will most likely influence his foreign policy guidelines, which he is still in the process of formatting. Although Barack Obama still has a lot to learn in the realm of foreign affairs, he seems more than willing to learn and appears to be a very good listener.

Okay, so just to be fair this is Obama’s speech in Texas after winning the Wisconsin Primary… Looks like he’s the man to beat and that won’t be easy. A friend asked me what I know about him and honestly not that much. I guess its time for a more in depth piece …. Stay tuned.