Bending The Truth
Human rights group B’Tselem’s statistics are far from being trustworthy.

On Jan. 17, 2002 Abdul Salaam Sadek Hassouneh of Nablus burst into a bat mitzvah celebration at a Hadera
reception hall, shooting dead six and injuring 35 before Israeli security forces ended the bloodbath by killing him.

But Hassouneh has another, lesser known claim to notoriety. He was the first of several Palestinian terrorists
killed while attacking Israelis to appear that year in B'Tselem's list of "Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli security
forces." He was followed by numerous other so-called Palestinian "civilians" in 2002, including Omar Mahmoud
Abu Rub and Yusef Muhammad Abu Rub, killed by border police gunfire after they murdered six Israeli civilians
in Beit She'an. Both attacks were claimed by Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
-October 19 2008

Iranian President Sounds Off On Israel
-September 23 2008
included is a full transcript of an interview between NPR and ahmadinejad

Will Israel Soon Disappear?
Leaders of a pro-Jewish movement within Israel's Likud Party believe that, thanks to a lack of leadership,
Israel no longer has the aura of invincibility it once had.

And things have gotten so bad in Israel that a majority of Israelis now believe the Jewish state will not even
exist in the next two-to-three decades. Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced that he
wants to release 200 more Islamic terrorists, including "those with blood on their hands" in order to
appease Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
-September 4 2008

The U.N. And Israel
-August 14 2008
this gives more of a historical background

UCU Wavers On Israel Boycott
The University and College Union (UCU) are wavering on whether to implement a motion calling for the boycott of Israeli
academia knowing the motion is "illegal" and "discriminatory," according to anti-boycott campaigners.
-June 17 2008
BBC's Mark Urban Feeds Anti-Israel Prejudice
In a March 12, 2008 report, BBC correspondent Mark Urban highlighted Palestinian grievances against Israel while
imposing his own interpretation of Israeli motives–namely, that Israeli authorities are withholding gas and other supplies
from Gaza as a deliberate means of exercising control over the Palestinians – and for fiscal gain!

The ongoing Palestinian terror attacks that have forced the Israeli Government to implement measures to protect its citizens
merit only a brief mention in his report.
-June 17 2008
the BBC openly admits they are bias over HERE.

Have The Anti-Zionists Overdone It?
In stark contrast, Muhammad Asghar, the member who invited Prosor and the first Muslim in the Welsh Assembly, was quoted by the Western Mail paper: "For all my life I've been listening to one side of the facts all of the time. And I thought, in my position in the assembly, it's about time to know the other side of the fence, also. I think there won't be a better person than the Israeli ambassador to tell me the views of Israelis in this whole conflict."
-June 16 2008

Is Britain Anti-Israeli?
"Israel faces an intensified campaign of delegitimisation, demonisation and double standards," he said. "Britain has become a hotbed for radical anti-Israeli views and a haven for disingenuous calls for a 'One state solution', a euphemistic name for a movement advocating Israel's destruction."
-June 9 2008

Lecturers To Debate Boycot Of Israeli University.... AGAIN
Academics are preparing to reignite an international row as they urge fellow lecturers to consider whether they should sever links with Israeli universities.

Members of the University and College Union (UCU) will highlight the "humanitarian catastrophe imposed on Gaza by Israel" at their annual congress in Manchester.
-May 29 2008
last year the UCU came to the conclusion that a boycott against Israel under the current circumstances is illegal. why are they wasting their time AGAIN?

Libya Slams UN Walkout Over Holocaust Remark
Libya stands by its UN envoy's comparison of the plight of Palestinians in Gaza to the Holocaust and deplores a walkout by Western diplomats in protest at the comments, official Libyan media reported on Wednesday.
-April 30 2008
maybe libya should think for a little bit, just try to think of one time during ww2 that a jew killed a german civilian, then he will see what the difference is bettween a holocaust and the current blockade against gaza

What Do Libya, Iran, Cuba, Russia, And Pakistan Have In Common?
Why of course! At the United Nations, they’ve all been picked to lead the preparations for the UN’s “Durban Review” mega-conference against “racism,” scheduled for sometime in 2009. They all have seats on the 20-member preparatory committee which has just begun a two-week meeting in Geneva to plan for this Durban II pow-wow —which now looms as a reprise of the anti-democratic, anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, anti-American 2001 conference that was Durban I. This round, Libya is chairing the preparations. Cuba gets to send not one, but two officials to the planning party; one to plan and the other to act as rapporteur.
-April 29 2008

Libya Riles West At UN Meet
Israel hailed Western diplomats today for walking out of a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting after Libya’s ambassador compared conditions in the Gaza Strip to Nazi concentration camps.

"We are very concerned about what happened yesterday at the UN Security Council, which was taken hostage by irresponsible countries that have in the past been linked to terrorism."
-April 29 2008

UN Security Members Walk Out of Meeting On Gaza
Some members of the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday walked out of informal consultations on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip after Libya’s UN ambassador Ibrahim al-Dabbashi compared Gaza to Nazi concentration camps, Zaheer Laher, the spokesperson to South Africa’s UN ambassador, told me following consultations.
-April 24 2008

Iranian, Lebanese Officials Skip Doha Conference Over Livni's Participation
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni arrived on Sunday for a first visit in Qatar, where she is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on international dialogue and peace before the Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade.

Foreign Ministry sources said that senior officials from Iran and Lebanon have decided to boycott participation in the forum due to Livni's participation.

Those officials include Lebanon's parliament speaker, Nabi Berri, former Lebanese foreign minister Fauzi Saluh and former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami.

While in Qatar, Livni hopes to convince Arab states to bolster their support for the Palestinian Authority to enable effective negotiations for a peace settlement.

Livni also hopes to use the three-day visit to build a consensus among Arab nations against Iran's nuclear ambitions and to promote a "gradual" normalization of ties between Israel and Gulf states in order to facilitate the peace process.
-April 13 2008
which shows Iran and Lebanon's interest in peace in the region.

UN Expert Stands By Nazi Remarks
The next UN investigator into Israeli conduct in the occupied territories has stood by comments comparing Israeli actions in Gaza to those of the Nazis.

Speaking to the BBC, Professor Richard Falk said he believed that up to now Israel had been successful in avoiding the criticism that it was due.
-April 9 2008
what do you expect? its the UN

Hezbollah Turns To Iran For New Weapons To Wage War On Israel
The Shia "martyrs" of this hill village are normally killed in the dangerous, stony landscape of southern Lebanon, in Israeli air raids or invasions or attacks from the sea. The Hizbollah duly honours them. But the body of the latest Shia fighter to be buried here – from the local Hashem family – was flown back to Lebanon last month from Iran.
-April 9 2008
it seems more than obvious that if hostilities erupt between israel and hezbollah, hezbollah will have been the one to initiated the conflict, with help from iran.

Far-Left Website (Daily Kos) To Visit Israel
Prominent writers, members of progressive American organizations known for their heavy criticism of Israel will tour the country, meet with top officials. 'We want to provide them with an eye-opening experience that will help them better understand the complexity of the Arab-Israeli conflict,’ says trip organizer Ira Forman.
-April 8 2008
a little later, a writer in this article actually claims Daily Kos isn't anti-Israel. we should stop listening to him right there.

Protesters to Peres: Eliminate Israel
While the French state welcomed President Shimon Peres in official ceremonies of unprecedented pomp, some Frenchmen were less enthusiastic: Dozens of people in Lyon protested against Peres's tour of the city on Wednesday, holding signs with the slogans "Eliminate Israel" and "Israel is unlawful."
-March 14 2008
i am not trying to be a racist neoconservative, but i can't help but ask: what percentage of these "frenchman" were arab/muslim?

Britain Bans Likud's Mosche Feigling From Entering Country
Moshe Feiglin, leader of the Likud's Jewish Leadership faction, was recently notified in a letter from British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith that he has been banned from entering the U.K.

The letter, written by an unnamed Border and Immigration Agency official on Smith's behalf, said the agency "considered that you are seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the U.K. ... This has brought you within the scope of the list of unacceptable behaviors," it was reported in the London Jewish Chronicle last week.

"In light of these factors, the Home Secretary is satisfied you should be excluded from the U.K. on the grounds that your exclusion is conducive to the public good. There is no right of appeal," the letter continued.
-March 12 2008

Libya Blocks UNSC From Condemning Yeshiva Shooting
The UN Security Council, that Bastion of Peace was blocked from condemning the horrible tragedy at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva by Libya. While the students inside prayed, the gunman killed two people at the entrance to the Mercaz Harav yeshiva and then entered the first-floor library, spraying the religious students with gunfire from a Kalashnikov rifle, according to the Israeli police.Eight students were butchered.Libya does not believe that this act and acts like it constitute terrorism.
-March 8 2008

Yeshiva Head: Shooting Was Continuation Of 1929 Massacre
In his eulogy to the eight students gunned down Thursday in a shooting attack at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem, the religious school's head rabbi Ya'akov Shapira declared the attack "a continuation of the 1929 massacre" of the Jewish community in Hebron. He said the gunman had targeted "everyone living in the holy city of Jerusalem."
-March 7 2008

Palestinian Terrorists Fire Bullets At Israeli School
Eight people were reported to be killed and approximately 35 wounded in a terror attack at a seminary located near the entrance to Jerusalem on Thursday evening.
-March 6 2008
Attacking a school? What a pathetic act of terror. Anybody who calls themselves a Palestinian should be ashamed of themselves today.

International Condemnation Is Good For Israel
My blood boiled when I read the headlines. I'm sure yours did too. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the UN, as well as an official European Union statement, and various other world officials and bodies, have condemned Israel's use of force in Gaza as "excessive and disproportionate."

Well, what do you expect us to do, I shouted at my computer screen. We left Gaza, we haven't been occupying it for almost three years now, and still they're shooting rockets at us! You try living in Sderot or Ashkelon and then see if you think it's excessive and disproportionate!

Oh, how we love to hate the international outcries and uproars against us. It is somehow reassuring to know that anti-Semitism, that most potent of Jewish continuity agents, is still alive and kicking out there. But the truth is, international outrage is just about the only thing that can salvage this messy situation.

Let's look at the options available to Israel - all of them are bad. A massive ground operation would result in massive Israeli casualties. Not doing anything will result in more rockets on Sderot and Ashkelon. A strongly worded letter by Ehud Olmert to Ismail Haniyeh might be worth trying, I guess, but I don't think the Israeli post office delivers to Gaza any more.

The only long term way we can change the situation is by moving ahead more swiftly with our negotiations with the Fatah administration to create a Palestinian state in the West Bank, so that the Gaza Palestinians see a genuine alternative. If and when that happens, there is a chance that in the next elections in Gaza, the Palestinians will realize their mistake and vote Hamas out. Until that time, in the short term, our only option is to react forcefully when we are attacked, without getting dragged into Vietnam-like quagmires.
-March 5 2008
this may sound crazy at first but if you listen to what this guy is saying, it doesn't sound too unreasonable.

Kassam Kills Nagev Student
Roni Yechiah, a 47-year-old father of four who was killed in the strike was apparently in a car, parked next to Sapir College on the outskirts of Sderot, which was hit by a Qassam. He suffered lethal shrapnel wounds to the chest.
-February 27 2008
yes, the kassams DO kill people. not to mention they spread fear and make it impossiblle for the israelis living in border towns to live a normal life. As long as the Palestinians continue to allow militants to launch rockets into israel, i have no sympathy for those who are burdened by the blockade.

Nasrallah Vows Israel Destruction
Hizbullah's Secretary General said that Moghniyeh's killing was a clear sign that Israel was preparing a new war against Lebanon but said his troops stood ready for a new "victory". "We will kill you in the fields, we will kill you in the cities, we will fight you like you have never seen before," said Nasrallah, "Israel will be left without an army, and without an army Israel cannot exist."
-February 23 2008
and nasrallah is only one of the many voices that have called for israel's destruction just in the few weeks alone. the fact is there is a real and tangible threat to israel's existence, and one must not forget this when israel attempts to defend themselves.

Israel Bracing For Hezbollah Strikes
Israel is bracing for threatened retaliation by Hezbollah over charges that it assassinated one of the Lebanese militia's top commanders, with fears running high of a high-profile attack abroad.
-February 21 2008
i cannot imagine the extent of fear and anxiety being felt by israelis at a time like this. this should not ever be discounted. just because "less israelis are dying" doesn't mean the other side is the victim.

Analysts Expect Hezbollah To Deal a Major Blow To Israel
Wednesday's assassination of Hizbullah senior commander Imad Mughniyeh will spark a new round of violence in the region, as Hizbullah is certain to retaliate in spectacular fashion, thereby provoking further security fallout in Lebanon, a number of analysts told The Daily Star on Friday.

The aftershocks of Mughniyeh's killing could even increase the chances for civil strife here, said Ahmad Moussalli, a professor of political science and Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut.

However, the revenge strike is at least a month away, because Mughniyeh's killing demonstrates a serious intelligence rupture, whether in the Syrian apparatus or in Hizbullah, Hanna said. A personnel house-cleaning must follow, with new commanders and new plans for attacks - Hizbullah has to assume that Mughniyeh's killer knows of Hizbullah's projects, he added.
-February 15 2008
even though we still dont know for sure if it is israel

Hezbollah Chief Threatens Israel
Israel ordered its embassies on high alert and the FBI put U.S. terror squads on guard to protect Jewish institutions after Hezbollah's leader vowed Thursday to retaliate anywhere in the world for the assassination of one of its top commanders.

"Zionists, if you want this kind of open war, let the whole world listen: Let this war be open," Hassan Nasrallah told a throng of fist-waving mourners who attended the funeral of Imad Mugniyeh, the mastermind of terror spectaculars that claimed hundreds of American lives.
-February 15 2008
we dont even know if israel was behind this yet.

2 Sderot Houses Hit By Kassam Rockets Fired From Gaza
Two houses in Sderot were directly hit by Kassam rockets late Friday, causing several people to suffer from shock. One man suffered from chest pains and was evacuated to hospital.

Two other Sderot residents suffered from light injuries after falling down while looking for shelter from the rockets.

Palestinian gunmen claimed responsibility for eight out of over 30 rockets which have hit Israel since early morning.
-February 8 2008
is this how the palestinians expect to end the Israeli blockade on Gaza?

Suicide Bomber Strikes At Israel
Israel has been struck by its first suicide bombing in more than a year, confirming fears that terrorists would exploit the chaos on the Gaza-Egypt border.

The attacker, from the Gaza Strip, blew himself up in Dimona, killing one Israeli and injuring 11, after slipping into Israel via Egypt.

An accomplice was shot dead before he could detonate his explosives. Israel has been on high alert for a suicide bombing since the border between Egypt and Gaza was breached on Jan 23 by Hamas militants, allowing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to cross unchecked.
-February 4 2008
the palestinians dont seeem to be getting the message: the more they  terrorize israel, the more sanctions are going to be placed on them!

Al Qaida Claims Responsibility For Attack On Israeli Embassy In Mauritania
Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Israeli embassy in Mauritania and demanded Arab countries have no ties with Tel Aviv, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera Television said on Sunday. Gunmen opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Mauritania early on Friday, injuring three people but hurting no embassy staff. The injured included two locals and a French national, a Mauritanian minister has told news agencies.
-February 3 2008

Israeli Embassy In Mauritania Attacked
Gunmen opened fire on the Israeli embassy in Mauritania in the early hours of Friday morning. The attackers opened fire on guards outside the embassy in the capital Nouakchott and also fired on a nearby bar before making their getaway. At least three passers-by were injured in the attack. The authorities immediately placed a military cordon around the embassy.
-February 3 2008

The Qassam Rocket As Collective Punishment
Imagine a situation in which thousands and thousands of people, many of them children and the elderly, are plunged into a situation in which they must fear for their lives day in and day out, their livelihoods crippled, their schools and even pre-schools under siege. Entire communities are trapped, paralyzed. Whole childhoods are spent in a state of post-traumatic stress. Occasions which should be high points in a lifetime are routinely curtailed or cancelled.

The people of this place are forced to bear the burden of the whole of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They are the unarmed proxy warriors of their side, victimized by the tactical cruelty of the other.

They are the victims of collective punishment. And they live in Israel.
-January 30 2008

In New Tirade, Ahmadinejad Tells West To Accept Israel's Destruction
Iran's hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad renewed his verbal attack on Israel on Wednesday, saying its days are numbered and predicting that the "filthy Zionist entity" will fall sooner or later.

"I advise you to abandon the filthy Zionist entity which has reached the end of the line," Ahmadinejad told world powers in a speech in the southern city of Bushehr carried live on the state television.

"It has lost its reason to be and will sooner or later fall," he said. "The ones who still support the criminal Zionists should know that the occupiers' days are numbered."
-January 30 2008

Israerli-Turkish Relations Tense As Erdogan Says Kassams Dont Kill
Relations between Israel and Turkey have become very tense in the last two days, after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that no Israelis have been killed by Qassam missiles, while every Israel Defense Forces attack in the Gaza Strip kills dozens of Palestinians.

"Israel is very disappointed by Erdagan's statements in light of the friendly relations between the two countries. ... Israel expects a different response from a state that itself is fighting terror," a senior Foreign Ministry official told Tam, in conveying the official protest. In addition, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to speak to her Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan, and a phone conversation between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Erdogan is being contemplated.
-January 25 2008
so we can safely assume that edrogan would not have a problem with the PKK launching rocket atackes on turkish civilians, scaring them, making them feel unsafe and unsure where or when the next rocket is going to come. this psychological terrr is JUST as bad as a suicide bombing.

Dutch Paper: Foreign Minister Must Condemn Israeli Sanctions Against Gaza
SP Member of Parliament and spokesman on foreign affairs Harry van Bommel is urging Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen to make clear to the Israeli ambassador the Dutch government's displeasure at the cutting off of fuel supplies to Gaza. The embargo has led to the shutting down of the power station supplying a major part of the population with electricity. Daily life has ground to a halt, while hospitals face major problems and the UN is warning of a humanitarian crisis.
-January 23 2008
"but the FM must say absolutely nothing about the non-stop rocket fire by Palestinians against Israeli civilians" i just love double standards, dont you?

Why Israel's PR Efforts Have Failed Again
Lost in these haunting, heart-wrenching images is the little known fact that Israel continued to supply electricity to Gaza even after the disengagement, and also in wake of repeated violence and Qassam rocket attacks. Al-Jazeera’s broadcast of these images also seemed to be more than conveniently timed.

“Just like we failed to handle the shooting of 12-year-old Palestinian boy Mohammed al-Dura, we are failing in our management of this blackout as well .We can’t very well tell the world at this point that Hamas itself is to blame for this situation,” said Gissin.

“We must show the world how Hamas suffocates Gaza’s residents and does not allow them to earn a living. The world must conversely see how Israel treats Palestinian patients at its hospitals, even though allowing them to cross into Israel can potentially endanger Israeli live,” he said.
-January 23 2008
i want everyone who is rallyng against israel right now to sit down and ask themselves one simple question: if the palestinians were not launching rockets into Israeli territory, (civilian territory), would there currently be a blockade against Gaza? would israel do something like this for no reason?

UN Condemns Israel's Tightening Of Sanctions On Gaza
The only power plant in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has begun shutting down after Israel reduced fuel supplies. As Robert Berger reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the tightening siege on Gaza has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished Palestinian territory.
-January 23 2008
but launching 160 rockets into civilian territory is ok to the UN?

U.N. Human Rights Council To Hold Special Session On Gaza
The U.N. Human Rights Council is to hold an emergency session next Wednesday to examine alleged violations in Gaza after Israel closed border crossings and carried out attacks on the strip, a U.N. source said on Friday.

The special one-day session, requested by Arab and Muslim countries, is the third on the Palestine issue since the 47-member state forum was set up in June 2006.
-January 19 2008
just a reminder: THIS is what the human rights council is made off.

Literary Loathing
Radical left-wing parties in Italy are calling for a boycott of the Turin International Book Fair, whose organizers have selected Israel  as a special guest of honor at the fair in honor of its 60th year of independence.

The Turin book fair will be held in May of this year, just in time for Israel’s 60th Independence Day. Dozens of Israeli prominent authors and cultural figures were invited to this celebration, but radical left-wing Italian parties have stated that “Israel should not be rewarded in any fashion as long as the occupation of the Palestinians continues."

These repeated calls to boycott the fair have caused a great deal of controversy in Italy, and have stirred considerable debate between moderate and far left-wing parties in the country.
-January 16 2008

Israeli Water Firm Faces Boycott Call
AN Israeli water firm could lose its £117,000 contract with the city council after claims it is "pillaging" Syrian natural resources to create profit.
Various groups are calling for a boycott of Eden Springs. It operates in the Golan Heights, a border plateau captured by Israel from Syria in the Six-Day War in 1967.
-December 21 2007
the city council rejected the boycott

Former UN Chief to Israel: No Wonder Everyone Hates You
"After 30 years, I don't see even a centimeter of progress," Ghali gloomily recounts in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth. "It's completely possible to say that people hate you—not only in Egypt, but throughout the entire Arab world."

The former UN Secretary General says he cannot think of any reason to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem - far from it. Ghali's blame for the failure to promote Arab-Israeli peace falls squarely on one recipient: Israel. He attacks Israel for peace negotiation failures, defends the Iranian nuclear program and protests that the whole world complains about suicide bombings but is silent on IDF targeted killings.

The former peace negotiator paints a bleak picture for the future: "The Arab world is busy in its struggle against fundamentalists and cannot allow itself to recognize Israel because it will strengthen (the fundamentalists). I reiterate: The Arab world refuses to accept Israel's existence and therefore curbs all of Israel's attempts to normalize relations."
-November 10 2007
this accurately represents the neutrality of the UN

Ahmadiejad Lashes Out At Israel On "Al Quds Day"
"If the Western leaders are not members of the Zionist party, they should allow an international fact finding group decode the black box," he added.
"Nations should be allowed to conduct research on crimes of the Zionist regime and decode the black box for its atrocities," Ahmadinejad continued.
"They violate sanctity of prophets and insult human dignity and democracy and say they have nothing to do with these acts.
"You have turned what you call Holocaust into a holy issue and do not let anybody raise any question about it."
Ahmadinejad stated, "Events took place in the World War II.
Later, they committed a historical genocide in Palestine. They ratified unlimited and holy rights for themselves and introduced all nations as criminals.
"They allowed themselves to commit whatever crimes under the pretext of the Holocaust. They even built secret prisons in Europe and attacked and imposed economic sanctions against a nation who did not officially recognize the Zionist regime."
"Today, Qods is not an issue only related to Palestine and the Middle East but a case of world of humanity," Ahmadinejad said.
-October 5 2007

Walt And Mearsheimer Tone Down Critique In New Book
The two professors who came under fire last year for arguing that a pro-Israel lobby distorts U.S. foreign policy have returned with a book, this time toning down parts of their argument and offering rebuttals to critics of their controversial claims.
-September 30 2007

UN Human Rights Council Admits Anti-Israel Bias
The UN Human Rights Council has failed to handle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a balanced fashion, the council's chair Doru Costea said in an interview published Saturday.

Costea suggested in the interview with the daily Le Temps that the council was concentrating too much on human rights abuses by Israel, adding that he was dissatisfied.

"The council must remain simple, and concentrate on the human rights dimension, but it must look at the stance of all sides, not only one country."

Costea said that the majority of the 47 seats held by Asian and African countries on the council "gives a certain power, but that does not mean that this power is always used wisely."
-September 29 2007
wow, what a powerful admission from the UN! what Costea shold also mention is that at least 11 members of the human rights commission have WORSE human rights records than Israel.

UCU Deems Israel Boycott Illegal
The union that represents academics in the UK has announced today it will not proceed with plans to debate a boycott of Israeli universities following legal advice.

Sally Hunt, the union's general secretary, has called a halt to a proposed regional tour to discuss the issue with members. Branches are to be told that making a call to boycott Israeli institutions would "run a serious risk" of infringing discrimination legislation.

The boycott call was also deemed to be outside the aims and objectives of the union.

The union said it would now consider ways to press ahead with the non-boycott elements of the motion, such as ending joint projects between UK and Israeli academics.
-September 28 2007
i was wondering how long it would take for them to get that

Mearsheimer's Blunder
Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, authors of the controversial paper and now book entitled The Israel Lobby and U. S. Foreign Policy, have consistently leveled a key charge: That the “Israel Lobby” played a critical role in pushing the Bush administration into the Iraq War, a war which they claim was in fact fought to assure Israel’s security rather than America’s.

But in an interview on NPR’s On Point program, hosted by Tom Ashbrook, Mearsheimer lets the truth slip out – early on the administration itself was determined to go to war against Saddam, and once the Israelis understood the die was cast, they decided not to contradict their most important ally.

After admitting this, Mearsheimer suddenly remembers that for more than a year he has been making exactly the opposite case, and so he immediately tries to backtrack, but there is no doubt about what he said. Here is the segment (click here to listen):

So according to what Mearsheimer just said, rather than pushing or manipulating the U.S. into war with Iraq, the Israelis “came to understand that Iraq would be the first operation,” which makes it very clear that this was a U.S. decision which Israel was merely going along with (or “embracing” as Mearsheimer would have it). After all, if the Israelis in early 2002 merely “caught wind” of our plans to topple Saddam, they could hardly have authored those plans, or even coauthored them, Mearsheimer’s backtracking notwithstanding.
-September 7 2007

Bad News From Israel
What happens if you collect all the bad news about the Netherlands for a week, without placing matters in their context, and without mentioning also the positive news? Manfred Gerstenfeld from the Israeli think tank JCPA did this experiment, and it turned out that employees and students reading his articles or being present at his presentations, afterward held a more negative view of the Netherlands, even though they had been told beforehand that positive news had been omitted to 'expose media techniques against Israel'.

The Netherlands, and most countries, get negative news coverage from time to time. They then complain that they are not understood properly and facts have been twisted, and then go on doing their business, while the international press turns its attention to a new scandal elsewhere. Israel, however, is always in the picture, and all decisions taken by the government or discussions in the Knesset or statements of a politician in an Israeli newspaper, all bizarre regulations or customs, all scandals, are spotted and may make headlines in the New York Times, the Guardian or Le Monde the next day. To make it worse, Israelis are not terribly diplomatic or sensitive, and sometimes speak before they think.

Add to this the fact that Israel is a young state with very diverse inhabitants with different traditions, customs and habits, and different views on what the state should look like. A state with people who came from all over the world and fled pogroms or were Holocaust survivors or were otherwise persecuted. It is a country where people came to build a new future in an unstable region that did not welcome them. It is no wonder that under those circumstances sometimes something goes wrong, even apart from the conflict with the Arabs and the Palestinians. Maybe it is a miracle that not a lot more goes wrong. Yet it is not difficult to fill a newspaper a day with all kinds of negative news regarding Israel, and to present it as hell on earth. Most news coverage of Israel is not *that* bad, and I even think that many European journalists are not out to blacken Israel, but there is a constant focus on Israel, and because journalists are especially interested in problems the focus is automatically on what goes wrong there.
-September 2 2007

The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy Book Out On Sept. 4
“The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy” is not even in bookstores, but already anxieties have surfaced about the backlash it is stirring, with several institutions backing away from holding events with the authors.

Opponents are prepared. Also being released on Sept. 4 is “The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control” (Palgrave Macmillan) by Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League. The notion that pro-Israel groups “have anything like a uniform agenda, and that U.S. policy on Israel and the Middle East is the result of their influence, is simply wrong,” George P. Shultz, a former secretary of state, says in the foreword. “This is a conspiracy theory pure and simple, and scholars at great universities should be ashamed to promulgate it.”
-August 27 2007
i actually wouldn't have too much a of a problem with what walt and mearsheimer were doing if they weren't trying to scapegoat israel for the iraq war. the undue influence of AIPAC on the US needs to be exposed.

The Return of Walt and Mearsheimer
On September 4 the book version of Professors Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer's pseudoscholarly "Israel Lobby" essay will be published. Last week the New York Times previewed their return. According to the article, "anxieties have surfaced about the backlash it is stirring." Whose anxieties have surfaced? The articles doesn't say, but it seems to be those of Walt and Mearsheimer. Those "anxieties," however, are part of Walt and Mearsheimer's marketing campaign. The "backlash" is of course the reaction of those perfidious Jews exposed in the book, who decline to host Walt and Mearsheimer promoting the book.
-August 27 2007

Ukrainian Party Calls For Boycott of Israeli Goods
A nationalistic party in Ukraine issued a press release calling for the boycott of Israeli and kosher goods since "buying them helps the Jews and Israelis conquer and destroy Ukraine's economy". The party's official website reads, "When you buy kosher products made in Israel you are helping destroy your people.

"Naïve Ukrainians don’t pay attention and buy products under the Z'hids' 'kosher' slogan, which are spreading through the Ukrainian market more and more. Ukrainians buy them without knowing that they are actually helping Israel conquer the Ukranian market and destroy Ukraine's national economy."

The party's website also stated that 13% of the profits from sales of kosher products went to religious Jewish communities in Ukraine and were used against the Ukrainian people.
-August 26 2007
and the proof of this is... where?

UK Blocks Israel Arms Deal
The British government has blocked almost one third of British military exports to Israel this year, citing possible threats to regional stability and fears the equipment might facilitate human rights violations.

While the new prime minister, Gordon Brown, has voiced public support for Israel and has appointed several pro-Israel MPs to cabinet positions, he has also promoted a leading critic of US and Israeli policy, former UN deputy secretary-general Mark Malloch Brown, to a key Foreign Office post.
-August 22 2007

Another UK Body Boycotts Israel
The British Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), one of Britain's largest trade associations, has decided to boycott all the products made in Israel in protest at the practices of the Israeli army in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"We send a message to the Israel state by our support for a boycott of Israeli products and goods," Barry Camfield, the union's assistant general secretary, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) Sunday night, July 8.

Nearly three-quarters of the 350-odd delegates who attended the union's annual conference last week voted in favor of the boycott motion.

They decision was not given much media coverage whether inside or outside Israel.
The TGWU is one of Britain's largest trade unions, representing some 800,000 members across the country.
-July 13 2007

Why Single Out Israel?
The United Nations Human Rights Council concluded its year-long session last week by singling out one member state — Israel — for permanent indictment on the council agenda.

This discriminatory treatment is not only prejudicial to Israel; it is a breach of the UN charter's foundational principle of the equality "of nations, large and small." It concluded a week — and year — of unprecedented discriminatory conduct.

– There have been nine resolutions condemning one member state only (Israel) but none of any of the other 191 members of the international community, including, for example, no condemnation of the genocide in Darfur, or of the public and direct incitement to genocide and massive human-rights violations in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Iran.
-July 1 2007

UCC Reverses Anti-Israel Resolution
The United Church of Christ General Synod has adopted a balanced resolution regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reversing the anti-Israel and anti-peace divestment resolution of a previous Synod. This move is similar to the change adopted earlier by Presbyterian Church USA, reversing their own anti-Israel resolution. The most important parts of this resolution are commitment to a two state peaceful solution, rather than liquidation of Israel, commitment to a balanced approach to the causes and history of the conflict, and a call for an end to incitement and violence.

However, we can surmise that as in the case of PC-USA, the UCC resolution will be challenged again and again by anti-Israel forces within the church.
-June 23 2007

UNISOM Passes Motion to Boycott Israel
They passed a motion stating the belief that “ending the occupation demands concerted and sustained pressure upon Israel, including an economic, cultural, academic and sporting boycott.”
Conference also instructed the NEC to:

    * continue to work with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and others, as appropriate;
    * continue to develop capacity building projects with the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU);
    * call upon the UK government to end the arms trade with Israel;
    * produce UNISON material on Palestine to build knowledge among members;
    * consider inviting a PGFTU delegation to the regions.
-June 20 2007

UN Human Rights Council Singles Out Israel, Excuses Cuba and Belarus
The new United Nations human rights watchdog has earned mixed reviews after its treatment of Cuba and Israel caused friction among major powers.

The European Union, Canada and the United States attacked the singling-out of Israel's role in the occupied Palestinian territories for continued special investigation.

Cuba and Belarus are both accused of abuse, particularly of political rights. But they did not appear on the list of nine special mandates, which included North Korea, Cambodia and Sudan, carried forward from the Human Rights Commission, the council's discredited predecessor.

"Canada regrets that the (council) ... singles out one situation (Palestine) for politicized, subjective and partial treatment," said Canada's representative Perry Cormier. Votes to censure Cuba on the old commission were always close.
-June 20 2007

U.K.'s Anti-Israel Boycotters Prefer A Single-State Solution
Britain's University and College Union's decision to promote a boycott against Israel two weeks ago did not just materialize out of thin air. In recent years, the U.K. has seen a multitude of organizations devoted to protesting Israel's presence in the territories, and the mass anti-Israeli rally last weekend in the center of London attracted thousands of participants.

The activists at these groups may differ on issues such as religion and gender equality, but they are united in their perception of Israel as an apartheid state. They all advocate boycotting Israel and believe in diverting funds from it.

The organizations subscribe to the belief that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be resolved in the form of a single-state solution, and granting the Palestinian refugees the right of return. In the past year, this group of organizations has boasted several important accomplishments, first and foremost the UCU resolution.
-June 16 2007
the truth is, even if Israel ends the occupation and makes peace with the Palestinians, these academics will still be pushing for boycotts and divestments from Israel. what these people want is the complete destruction of israel, and it is absolutely naiive to think anything else.

London Anti-Israel Protest Fails to Draw Big Crowd
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh addressed around 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square in central London via satellite on Saturday, who were using the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War to demonstrate against Israel and call for the end of the occupation.

The protest, which had been in the planning stages since the beginning of the year, had hoped to attract some 10,000, however.
-June 12 2007

Homeless Paid to Protest Against Israel
Z., a journalist from South Africa, was covering an anti-Israel demonstration Tuesday night outside the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg. He says he was chased away after he discovered that some of the demonstrators were in fact homeless people from the surrounding townships serving as protesters for hire.

"There were several dozen protesters there, most of them Muslim. But there were also people who didn't seem to belong. They told me they were not pro-Palestinian activists, but homeless people bused in from the surrounding townships,"
-June 9 2007
does it again any more pathetic than this? can't they find any anti-Israel protesters who genuinely believe in the cause? i wonder how many others are paid around the world to protest against israel

Amnesty International Blasts Israel For Palestinian Rights Abuses
A prominent human rights group condemned Monday the Israeli government for what it said was deliberate policies of demolition and dispossession in Palestinian territories.

Amnesty International (AI) blasted Tel Aviv's expansionist settlement policies in the West Bank, and the construction of the barrier separating the PNA from Israel, which AI said has been condemned by the International Criminal Court.

AI also lambasted Israel for the deployment of a network of checkpoints in the occupied territories, which AI said infringed on the Palestinians' right to free movement.
-June 5 2007
why doesn't amnesty condemn, or at least mention, the palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians? or the constant threat posed o Israel by Palestinian militants? Israel's wall and checkpoints are just the result of the Palestinians' continued attacks against Israeli civilians.

Hot to Stop the UCU Boycott
Though some academics are outraged by the UCU boycott resolution, we must admit that the anti-Israel boycotters did a clever thing. Like a virus (or aliens from extra-galactic space) they have taken over the leadership of the UCU, and their resolution states essentially that they can use union funding and facilities to push the cause of Israel hate and McCarthyism. It is a brilliant implementation of a classic Bolshevik strategy.

Opponents of academic boycotts must make themselves heard at all such union meetings, and must ensure that meetings are not engineered to only allow a one-sided message. They should bring a proactive program to those meetings, of the type that was used to successfully blunt a similar one-sided divestment resolution of the Presbyterian Church (see Presbyterian Church USA reverses divestment - proactive for peace ) and should probably consult the organizers of that campaign. The basic question that UCU members should be asking themselves is whether they are for dialogue and reconciliation in the Middle East, and whether or not boycotts and anti-normalization campaigns will supoort these goals.
-June 5 2007

New Union Urges Israeli Academic Bocott Rejection
"We in this room - including me - do not have the monopoly on wisdom.

"We know that a lot of the best ideas come from our branches and we must take advantage of that. Everybody has a stake in building our new union."
-June 1 2007

South African Labor Union Calls For Boycott of Israel
CONGRESS of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) president Willy Madisha yesterday called for the government to cease all diplomatic relations with Israel after its attacks on the Palestinian leadership.

Madisha said the best way to have Israel comply with United Nations resolutions on Palestine was to step up pressure by a global diplomatic boycott such as the one imposed on apartheid SA.
-May 31 2007
seriously folks, Israel is under attack right now. I urge everyone who supports secularism and democracy and opposes terrorism to do everything in your power to educate people on the Israeli/palestinian conflict. education is the best way to end these waves of attack against Israel

UK Union Backs Boycott of Israeli Academics
Britain's University and College Union (UCU) voted on Wednesday to promote a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, protesting Israel's policy on the Palestinians. Jewish and Israeli officials in the U.K. and Israel reacted with outrage to the motion which, for the most part, is a rhetorical move.

The motion was approved by a 158 to 99 vote, and called for freezing European funding for Israeli academic institutions, while condemning "Israeli academia's cooperation with the occupation."

In addition, the union congress pledged to advertise the Palestinians' request for a boycott against Israel in all the union's offices, and to arrange for academics from the Palestinian Authority to attend delegations to the U.K. The union's representatives also decided to establish direct contact with Palestinian workers' organizations.

The union will also act toward halting academic cooperation with Israel, which is currently conducted through the European Union. The motion called for freezing all EU funding for Israeli academic institutions until Israel will "comply with the United Nation's resolutions."
-May 31 2007
i've lost count on how many boycott attempts have been made by the British the past few years. i wil be making a section for this topic soon. for now please see: Anti-Israel Boycotts: A British Disease.

Academic Union Set To Vote On Boycotting Israel
A newly created super-union of UK academics will vote this week on whether its 116,000 members should boycott universities in Israel in protest at the country's treatment of Palestinians.

The debate by delegates to the University and College Union, which was formed by the merger last year in Bournemouth of the two biggest academic unions is likely to spark international condemnation.
-May 31 2007

British Architects Join Anti-Israel Fray
Leading British architects have accused their counterparts in Israel of complicity in schemes that contribute to the "social, political and economic oppression of Palestinians".

"APJP asserts that the actions of our fellow professionals working with these enterprises are clearly unethical, immoral and contravene universally recognised professional codes of conduct," a spokesman said. "We ask the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA) to meet their professional obligations to declare their opposition to this inhuman occupation."

Mr Alsop told Building Design magazine that they felt compelled to act. "This is not against Israel, it's for Palestine," he said. "I think the Palestinians are living in a prison. I'd like fellow colleagues in Israel to feel some responsibility about this shabby treatment. Architects are a fairly humanitarian lot and perhaps they could help."
-May 28 2007
Britain's obsession of anti-Israel boycotts has rightly earned itself the label of a "disease". notice how there have been more boycotts initiated in the UK than anywhere else in the world.... including the Arab world

If Your Going to Boycott Israel - Do It Properly!
OK. So I understand that you are ticked off at Israel, and in love with the Palestinians.
That's fine with me, as long as you have truly weighed up all the facts.
So, you want to boycott Israel?
I'll be sorry to miss you, but if you are doing it - do it properly.
-May 25 2007
great article!

Anti-Israel Boycotts: A British Disease
The vote on yet another anti-Israel boycott resolution by a British trade-union — this time by the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) — is scheduled to take place at the end of May. Beyond the obvious violations of the academic process inherent in a political and ideological boycott, this effort is part of a carefully prepared strategy aimed at isolating the Jewish state.

While genocide is taking place in Darfur, bitter conflicts rage in Sri Lanka and elsewhere, Russia has destroyed Chechnya and basic human rights are denied in the dictatorships from Libya through Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, democratic Israel alone is singled out for this dubious attention.
-May 20 2007
Britain has tragically taken a major shift to the left. In recent years there have been more attempts to boycott Israel from Britian then in any other country in the world... including arab countries.

UN Women's Rights Commission Bashes Israel
In its latest report concerning the worldwide state of women’s rights, the United Nations reached only one conclusion against a nation: the “occupation of Palestine” by Israel is wrong. The resolution, which condemned Israel for the injustices “the occupation of Palestine imposes on Palestinian women,” passed almost unanimously—by a vote of 40 to 2.

For a specifically commissioned group to target Israel while overlooking reports of harsh governmental crackdowns against women in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan is preposterous. In Israel, women are not beaten or legally discriminated against for being raped, as they are in surrounding nations. The UN’s Commission on the Status of Women bilked its responsibility to promote women’s rights in exchange for an opportunity to bash Israel.

The deprived women of the world could lodge a complaint, if they were allowed freedom of speech.
-May 4 2007
the human rights council isn't any better

Majority of Oxford Union Students Say Pro-Israel Lobby Stifling Debate
Dr Martin Indyk, former US Ambassador to Israel, and Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy, argued strongly against the motion, saying that last night’s event in Oxford was proof of a lively debate on the subject.

“But if debate is stifled it isn’t coming from the pro-Israeli lobby as some Danish cartoonists found out to their cost,” he said.
-May 2 2007
somebody please explain to me how joining a debate becomes an effort to supress it.

BBC Journalists Lead Bid Against NUJ Israel Boycott
Over 270 BBC journalists have signed a petition opposing the decision earlier this month by the UK's largest trade union of journalists to boycott Israeli goods, saying they are "dismayed" at the passing of the motion.

The text of the petition reads: "As BBC journalists and NUJ members we are dismayed at the passing of a motion at the ADM calling for a boycott of Israeli goods. As members of a corporation which prides itself on providing impartial news coverage, we cannot associate ourselves with a move which involves taking sides in any conflict.

"We call on the union to hold a ballot of all members to see whether they support the view taken at ADM on an issue which could have a profound effect on the way all British journalists are viewed at home and abroad."
-April 30 2007

The Challenge to the NUJ in Britain
The resolution also called for “the end of Israeli aggression in Gaza.” Where have these journalists been since Israel withdrew from Gaza in August 2005 and will they truly carry out their own boycott? And shockingly, why wasn’t their colleague’s kidnapping on their agenda? If they are true to their boycott, they must consider giving up the Israeli-developed technology they use daily to transmit their journalistic lies toward Israel. I am issuing a challenge to these British journalists to abandon the high tech tools they employ for their anti-Israel bias and return to the 1940’s when typewriters, teletype, and print media reigned supreme.

Here’s a partial list I propose to the NUJ that they must place on their boycott list: These Israeli inventions are listed at www.Israelc21.org and directly enhance journalistic work worldwide: Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology. The cell phone developed in Israel by Motorola. Most of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft-Israel. The Pentium MMX Chip technology designed in Israel at Intel. Voice mail technology. The technology for AOL Instant Messenger developed by four young Israelis. The first PC anti-virus software. Israeli technology behind the successful testing of in-flight cell phone use.

NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear stated, “Once again our Palestinian colleagues have taken up the call for Alan’s release. We are grateful for all their magnificent efforts and echo their demands that our member Alan be freed and that all journalists be allowed to work free from threats, harassment and kidnappings.” Jeremy Dear must not realize that freedom from threats and harrassment would be diminished if the British journalists and others in the world media laid the blame for anarchy at the feet of Palestinian terrorists rather than freedom loving Israel. Anti-Israel journalists have been complicit in the anarchy that now reigns in the POTOG which fosters kidpappings and media reprisals because they ignore the terrorism, promote the terrorist propaganda, ignore the reprisal-laden excercise of free speech in the POTOG, and continue to lay the blame at Israel’s feet for all the POTOG’s woes.
-April 29 2007

UK Reporters in Israel Ignore NUJ Boycott
Most British correspondents working in Israel and the Palestinian Authority are not members of the NUJ. One who is, Donald Macintyre of The Independent, said he did not know anything about the union's actions until he read it in the Israeli media.

"The job of the NUJ is to protect journalists and not adopt political postures, Right or Left," Macintyre told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "It certainly won't affect my job or my professional outlook."

"We are here to report on Israel as well as the Palestinians. If they [the NUJ] want to get involved in Middle East issues, they should join the brave campaign for [kidnapped BBC Gaza correspondent] Alan Johnston by the brave Palestinian journalists supporting him," he said.

British TV's Sky News Jerusalem bureau chief, Yael Lavie, told the Post: "I can speak for everyone working for Sky News [here] and none of us will be boycotting any time in the near future."

The motion was stoutly defended by the NUJ's public relations director, Tim Gopsill. He told the Post: "Who can condemn the NUJ's boycott when the EU and USA are boycotting the Palestinians and leading to worse economic situations for those in the [PA] territories? Members' sympathies lie with the people in Palestinian areas."

Gopsill blamed the Palestinian economic situation for Johnston's kidnapping. "Taking Alan Johnston [captive]," he said, "demonstrates the Palestinians' desperate way of drawing attention to their problems."
-April 17 2007
Let me also metion that the NUJ sent a "telegraph of condolense" to Mohammer Ghaddafi when we bombed Libya in 1986.

UK Journalist Group Votes to Boycott Israel
The National Union of Journalists has voted at its annual meeting for a boycott of Israeli goods as part of a protest against last year's war in Lebanon.

The vote came during a series of motions on international affairs and reads: "This ADM [annual delegate meeting] calls for a boycott of Israeli goods similar to those boycotts in the struggles against apartheid South Africa led by trade unions and the TUC [Trades Union Congress] to demand sanctions be imposed on Israel by the British government and the United Nations."

The motion was originally brought by the union's South Yorkshire branch and opposed by the Cumberland branch, which said it was too political and was not tied closely enough to journalistic matters.
-April 15 2007

Houston Freeway Protest Against Israel
The signs read:
STOP U.S./ISRAEL WARS
STOP ISRAELI CRUELTY
PALESTINE SUFFERS
FREE PALESTINE
ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE
U.S. STOP FUNDING ISRAEL
THANK YOU FOR SAYING NO TO WAR
NO WAR WITH IRAN
READ CARTER'S BOOK ON PALESTINE
HANDS OFF THE PEOPLE OF IRAN
-April 10 2007
somebody needs to get a life

Presbyterian Leaders Still Offering Distorted Narrative on Mideast
People who think that the Presbyterian Church (USA) embraced a more balanced and historically accurate narrative about the Arab-Israeli conflict at its 2006 General Assembly need to think again. To be sure, commissioners at the church's 217th General Assembly reversed a 2004 vote singling Israel out as a target for divestment. The denomination's staffers and leaders are still using their position and authority to broadcast an inaccurate and distorted narrative about the Arab-Israeli conflict to its members. The narrative is this: Once Israel comes to its senses, and arrives at the magical formula of concessions, withdrawals and admissions of guilt, the violence to which it has been subject since its creation in 1948 will come to an end and peace will rein in the Middle East. Not only was this narrative repudiated by the 2006 General Assembly, it was exposed as a sham last summer when Israel was attacked from both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon – territories from which it withdrew in order to achieve peace with its neighbors.
-March 29 2007
maybe i was too quick in exoneration the Presbyterians

Walt and Mearsheimer to Come Out With Book
Two leading political scientists are writing a book extending their controversial argument that the domestic pro-Israel lobby bends U.S. foreign policy disproportionately in favor of Israel, one of the authors, Stephen M. Walt of the Kennedy School of Government, confirmed yesterday.

The forthcoming book will be published by New York-based Farrar, Straus and Giroux and is due out in September, according to Walt, who declined to answer other questions about the book. Mearsheimer did not respond to phone calls to his office in Chicago.
-March 22 2007
and TheMiddleEastNow will be coming out with an analysis of the book shortly after :)
Israel Viewed as Most Negative in Global Poll
The two countries with mostly positive attitudes about Israel do so in modest numbers. Forty-five percent of Nigerians and 41 percent of Americans have positive views of Israel’s influence in the world, while nearly one-third in each country has negative views. Kenya and India have populations with divided views of Israel.
-March 6 2007
Kuwaiti MPs Seek Ban on Dealing With Israel
Five Kuwaiti lawmakers on Saturday submitted draft legislation that calls for a total ban on dealing with Israel and proposing hefty penalties for violators.

The bill seeks to ban all forms of "dealing, establishing ties or contacts with the Zionist entity and opening Israeli offices of any type at any level, whether directly or indirectly." It also seeks to prohibit government agencies, individuals and companies from striking agreements and protocols with Israel and from holding meetings with Israelis.

US-ally Kuwait has so far resisted pressure from Washington on Gulf states to end their boycott of Israel, and has repeatedly said it will be the last Arab state to establish ties with the Jewish state after a comprehensive peace deal.
-March 4 2007
did the poor kuwaitis already forget about THIS?
Critics of Israel Deserve Debate, Not Demonization
Not content simply to dispute his comparison of Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories with the South African white minority governments' discrimination against the black majority, some American Jewish leaders and activists have launched a vicious campaign to impugn the former president's character and question his motives for arguing that the US needs to adopt a more even-handed policy towards the two sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman calls Carter's book an outrage and warns that because of the history of anti-Semitism, comparing Israel with the apartheid regime "is very dangerous stuff". Harvard law professor and pro-Israel activist Alan Dershowitz labels Carter a hypocrite and a bully and insinuates that the former president is in the pay of anti-Semitic Arab sheiks. Some Jewish members of the Carter Centre's board of councillors resigned in protest over the book and Carter has even been accused of plagiarism by one former Jewish staffer.

Carter's critics would do well to heed this admonition. Certainly, the former president's book ought to be debated vigorously. But there is no reason why he and other critics of Israeli and US foreign policy deserve the vilification they've been subjected to.
-February 7 2007
this is 100% true! there is no better way to shut Carter, Walt, and Mearsheimer up than to prove them wrong. The Jews have been wasting their time with personal attacks against these individuals when all they have to do is show them the proof that they are wrong. An easy way for the Jews to do this, is to forward them www.themiddleeastnow.com.

Book: Israel, Lobby Pushing Iran War
A former United Nations weapons inspector and leading Iraq War opponent has written a new book alleging that Jerusalem is pushing the Bush administration into war with Iran, and accusing the pro-Israel lobby of dual loyalty and �outright espionage.�

In the new book, called �Target Iran,� Scott Ritter, who served as a senior U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq from 1991 to 1998 and later became one of the war�s staunchest critics, argues that the United States is readying for military action against Iran, using its nuclear program as a pretext for pursuing regime change in Tehran.

�The Bush administration, with the able help of the Israeli government and the pro-Israel Lobby, has succeeded,� Ritter writes, �in exploiting the ignorance of the American people about nuclear technology and nuclear weapons so as to engender enough fear that the American public has more or less been pre-programmed to accept the notion of the need to militarily confront a nuclear armed Iran.�

Later in the book, Ritter adds: �Let there be no doubt: If there is an American war with Iran, it is a war that was made in Israel and nowhere else.�
-January 17 2007
its not like the saudis, the kurds, the surrounding Arab Sunni states, and the Iranian people themselves don't want to see a change in the Iranian government
Former President Jimmy Carter Says Walt and Mearsheimer Were Right
-December 16 2006
Ahmadinejad: Israel Will be Wiped Out Like Soviet Union
-December 14 2006
UN Human Rights Council Criticizes Israel Again
-December 8 2006
UN General Assembly Passes 6 anti-Israel Resolutions
-December 2 2006
UN Human Rights Council Fails to Hold Sudan Accountable
The UN Human Rights Council, meeting yesterday and today in its resumed second regular session, rejected an attempt to hold the Sudanese government responsible for halting atrocities in Darfur. By a 22-20 vote, the council turned down a resolution from the European Union and Canada telling the Sudanese government to prosecute those responsible for killing, raping and injuring civilians in the western region of the country.

Instead the Council adopted a text on Darfur sponsored by the UN's African group. The resolution, opposed by the EU and Canada for being too weak, merely "notes with concern" the serious situation in Darfur—which it attributes to "all parties"—and it even "welcomes" the Sudanese government's "cooperation" and urges the international community to give it financial support.  All of this is a far cry from accusing Sudan of violations.
-November 30 2006
while the U.N. Human Rights Council is ignoring what could possibly be the worst genocide in modern day history, they have passed 5 different resolutions condemning Israel for defending its citizens. but then what could we expect when the HRW is run by these people.
U.N. Human Rights Council Condemns Israeli Annexation of Golan Heights
The 47-nation council, which has censured only Israel since it began operating six months ago, this time took the Jewish state to task for its occupation of Syria's Golan Heights and for building settlements in occupied Arab territories.

The council voted 32-1 with 14 abstentions to declare illegal Israel's 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights and demand that Israel rescind its decision to impose its laws and jurisdiction on the area, which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Canada, which said the resolution was unbalanced, was the only no vote, and European Union members abstained.

Then it voted 45-1 to demand Israel reverse its policy of building and expanding settlements as a first step toward dismantling them. Again, Canada was the only country to vote against the resolution.

"Under Syrian possession, the Golan Heights were used to launch constant attacks against Israeli civilians," Itzhak Levanon said. "Today, the Golan Heights is more peaceful than ever, stable and thriving. The economy is booming, fields are blossoming, and everyone is enjoying the benefits of democracy."
-November 27 2006
you mean THIS human rights council? at this point the U.N. Human Rights Council should be considered irrelevant. As long as the council has members with some of the worst human rights records in the world, they have no buisness telling other countries what to do. The fact is the human rights situation of the Golan's citizens has never been better since Israel annexed it in 1981. It is for the golan's benefit if it stays under Israeli control.
The U.N. Human Rights Council
-November 22 2006
last week the U.N. Human Rights Council held its third special session on Israel. Israel is the only country this organization has targeted. This page explains why this organization is so "obsessed" with Israel

U.N. "Human Rights Council" Condemns Israel Again
For the third time in its five-month existence, the United Nations' newly formed Human Rights Council on Wednesday held a special session that ended with a condemnation of Israel. By a 32-8 vote, the HRC meeting in Geneva passed a resolution expressing grave concern "at the continued violation by the occupying power, Israel, of the human rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory."

According to the U.N. report on the session, Levanon also questioned the council's impartiality, saying that those members who pushed for the special session were conspicuously ignoring tragedies elsewhere in the world.

Wednesday's meeting was the third special session called by the HRC since it was established to replace the 60-year-old U.N. Commission on Human Rights, an organization which critics said had been discredited by the presence and voting conduct of rights-violating nations and by a disproportionate focus on Israel.

The council held its first special session last July, when it condemned Israeli military operations in Gaza. A second special session, the following month, dealt with Israel's war against Hizballah in Lebanon.

The HRC's full membership is: Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Britain, Cameroon, Canada, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Ecuador, Finland, France, Gabon, Ghana, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, South Korea, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay and Zambia.
-November 17 2006
can someone tell me why countries like algeria, bahrain, bangladesh, china, cuba, indonesia, morocco, nigeria, pakistan, and saudi arabia, are doing on a U.N. body thats supposed to support human rights??? these countries have some of the worst human rights records in the world. can they really be trusted in the human rights council? see the U.N. Human Rights Council

Arab States Step Up anti-Israel Boycotts
Despite the public perception that the Arab trade embargo of Israel is on the wane, the number of boycott-related requests made to US companies this year by Arab states has registered a sharp increase, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

According to material compiled by the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, Arab states made a total of 201 boycott-related requests in all of 2005, or fewer than 17 per month.

By contrast, US firms have reported receiving 120 boycott-related requests in just the first six months of this year, for an average of 20 per month, marking an increase of nearly 20 percent over the rate recorded last year.

US law prohibits American companies from complying with the Arab boycott of Israel or from furnishing certain types of information in response to boycott-related requests from Arab states. US firms are also required to report any such requests made by Arab states to the US government.

Based on the material compiled by the Commerce Department, it appears that at least seven Arab countries, including ostensible US allies such as Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait and Iraq, are enforcing the terms of the Arab boycott more energetically this year than in 2005.

At the top of the list is the UAE, which made 40 boycott-related requests during the period of January to June, followed by Syria, with 20.
-November 6 2006
from the very begining when these boycotts were put in place it was the arabs losing out more than Israel. and they should realize that if Israel is hurt economically, the Palestinians (whose economy is strongly tied to Israe's) will also suffer.

The Israel Lobby is Trying to Sell Another War
It is widely believed that one of the major reasons we chose to put a priority on toppling Saddam Hussein was due to the lobbying efforts for Israel in Washington. In a Zogby International poll commissioned by the CNI Foundation, 39 percent of American likely voters believe that “the work of the Israel Lobby on Congress and the Bush administration has been a key factor for going to war in Iraq and now confronting Iran.”

By its refusal to deal with Hezbollah as an insurgency that has converted to governance in Lebanon, the United States gave a blank check to Israel, allowing her to attack Lebanon for 34 days and \ destroy much of the rebuilding that had occurred in the last ten years. The absence of dialogue with emerging Islamic nationalist movements continues to erode our credibility in the region. Congress, under the encouragement of the Lobby, supports the muzzling of sensible diplomacy in favor of confrontation in Lebanon, in Palestine, and with regard to Iran.
-November 5 2006
ok this is wrong for so many different reasons. this link is an ad created by cnionline that will be published in the New York Times. I dont have enough space to point out all the innacuracies, but i will say this: the ad claims the Israel lobby "sold" us the Iraq war. the fact is AIPAC NEVER AT ANY POINT IN TIME SUPPORTED THE IRAQ WAR! another hypocrisy: If Israel gets america to fight all  its wars, why weren't we in lebanon this summer? if Israel wants an arab country attacked, they will do it themselves.

Venezuela Stops Issuing Visas to Israelis
Venezuela has ceased issuing tourist visas to Israelis, its embassy in Israel said Monday, accenting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's harsh criticism of Israel.

However, a Venezuelan official said the halt was technical in nature.

He said the visa freeze was related to "technical" issues relating to his absence from Israel, saying it would be addressed if and when he was sent back to Israel.
-October 23 2006

When Cameramen Attack
A Reuters cameraman takes part in rock-throwing attacks against Israeli security forces.
The cameraman, Imad Muhammad Intisar Boghnat, was arrested and charged as a result of violent riots in the Arab village of Bil'in, in the Modi'in region, on October 6, 2006. A videotape that the prosecution presented to the judge shows Boghnat encouraging and directing rioters in Bil'in to throw large chunks of rock at Israeli vehicles in such a way as to cause maximum damage. The accused is heard shouting, "Throw, throw!" and later, "Throw towards the little window!"
-October 23 2006
i dont think we can count on this cameraman for objective reporting on the IsraeliPalestinian Conflict

Demonizing Israel
The two principal "human rights" organizations are in a race to the bottom to see which group can demonize Israel with the most absurd legal arguments and most blatant factual mis-statements. Until last week, Human Rights Watch enjoyed a prodigious lead, having "found" -- contrary to what every newspaper in the world had reported and what everyone saw with their own eyes on television -- "no cases in which Hizbullah deliberately used civilians as shields to protect them from retaliatory IDF attack."

Amnesty's evidence that Israel's attacks on infrastructure constitute war crimes comes from its own idiosyncratic interpretation of the already-vague word "disproportionate." Unfortunately for Amnesty, no other country in any sort of armed conflict has ever adopted such a narrow definition of the term. Indeed, among the very first military objectives of most modern wars is precisely what Israel did: to disable portions of the opponent's electrical grid and communication network, to destroy bridges and roads, and to do whatever else is necessary to interfere with those parts of the civilian infrastructure that supports the military capability of the enemy.
-October 3 2006

Irish Embassy Denounces Call by Academics to Boycott Israel
The Irish embassy in Israel has denounced a recent call by Irish academics for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, describing it as "counterproductive."

"The Irish government does not support any move to isolate Israel or Israeli institutions," a spokesperson for the Irish embassy in Tel Aviv told Haaretz.

"Our aim is always to come to a maximum possible inclusive dialogue. We want to find a true solution to the situation and closing off dialogue would be counterproductive."

Prominent members of the Irish community in Israel have also condemned the call as discriminatory.
-September 30 2006

Irish Academics Urge Boycott of Israel
About 61 Irish academics from all over the world have called for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions "until Israel  abides by UN resolutions and ends the occupation of Palestinian territories.” The move marks the third attempt by European academics to shun their Israeli counterparts.

"There is widespread international condemnation of Israel's policy of violent repression against the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and its aggression against the people of Lebanon,” the letter read.

"We feel it is time to heed the Palestinian call to take practical action to pressure Israel to comply with international law and basic human rights norms. Many national and European cultural and research institutions, including those funded by the EU regard Israel as a European state for the purposes of awarding grants and contracts," it continued.
-September 24 2006
the truth is the Palestinians can end their "oppression" anytime they want. all they have to do is fully and unconditionally recognize Israel and forcibily dismantle all militant groups responsible for violence. once this is done the rest of the world (including the U.S.) will get Israel to end its occupation and  illegal settlement actvity (by force if necessary) and within a short time an Arab Palestinian state will be created. its that simple. but i dont think thats going to happen anytime soon.

Salt Lake City to Issue Permit for the 'Death to Israel' Rally
Salt Lake City will allow local defense attorney Robert Breeze to hold a "Death to Israel" demonstration Wednesday despite concerns from the Jewish community.

Breeze, 52, said his goal is to protest "the torture and murder inflicted on Muslims by Israel and the penetration of the U.S. media by Israeli intelligence."

When asked if he wants to see the elimination of Israel, Breeze said: "The President of Iran has an excellent idea. . . . I would like to see them move Israel to Virginia and put all the current Virginians in a concentration camp. Then we'll see how popular Israel is [in the United States]."
-August 31 2006

Walt and Mearsheimer Bark Again
Earlier this year the two university professors created a controversy when they wrote that the pro-Israel lobby exerted too much influence over US foreign policy. On Monday they repeated their claim