President Obama: Do not forsake Israel
The disgusting behavior by the vast majority of members of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in relation to the Goldstone Report was no surprise. An international body with an automatic majority of Arab and rogue states was not expected to display even a modicum of balance in relation to Israel. It is obscene that an organization dominated by representatives of tyrannies is entitled to employ a title including the term "human rights," which represents the absolute antithesis of the behavior of its constituents. In this case, the Israel bashers did not even bother to go through the motions of mentioning Hamas, concentrating their bile exclusively on Israel. What is far more shocking is that, despite their penchant for sanctimonious statements, most of the West Europeans lacked the courage to oppose the resolution. The British and French, who claim to be friends of Israel, behaved appallingly by failing to lodge any vote. But the real issue is how will the United States respond? In line with his re-engagement policy, President Obama reversed the Bush administration boycott of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He predicted that US involvement would positively influence the behavior of the Commission. Clearly that has failed, and even proven to be counterproductive. Israel has to stop apologizing and take the offensive
The non-Jewish seer Balaam is quoted in the Torah describing Jews as the "the people that dwells apart and is not reckoned amongst the nations." Recent events, climaxing with the UN Goldstone report, have certainly borne this out. The maliciously biased report alleged that the Israelis deliberately targeted civilians and accused them of crimes against humanity. We should not have been surprised. It was a logical extension from the anti-Israeli Besides, what could one expect from a committee created by the ineptly titled UN Human Rights Council, which is dominated by rogue regimes like Iran, Syria, Somalia, Libya, Cuba and Liberia? Some of the leaders of the member-states would qualify as candidates for prosecution as war criminals. The council's In fact, since its inception in 2006, 26 of the 32 resolutions condemning human rights violations passed by the council were directed against Israel. It should also be noted that this UN "human rights" body declined to investigate the monstrous brutalities inflicted on civilian populations in Chechnya, Sri Lanka and Sudan. Indeed it went so far as to bizarrely thank the Sudanese government, the perpetrators of the Darfur massacres, for its "cooperation." Likewise, the far more numerous civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan never appeared on the council's agenda. When the commission was being created, even Mary Robinson, the former head of the UN Durban hate fest, declined an invitation to head the inquiry because it was too "one-sided." The UN Human Rights Council machers then recruited Richard Goldstone, a vain South African Jewish judge, who despite being aware from the outset of the biased composition of the panel, permitted himself to be used as a fig leaf to provide credibility to the Israel-bashers. He did not even have second The depths to which Goldstone, who purports to be a long-standing "Zionist," totally identified himself with this crude anti-Israeli exercise, was exemplified in his recent New York Times op-ed, in which he had the gall to compare Israel's defense against Hamas to the atrocities committed in Darfur, where millions were displaced and over 200,000 civilians were raped and butchered. The report could have been drafted by Hamas operatives. It represents a lengthy compendium of lies primarily appropriated from Hamas-orchestrated Arab testimony and anti-Israeli NGOs. On the basis of "evidence" from these rabidly hostile sources, the tribunal defamed as war criminals the nation which undoubtedly displays greater concern over civilian casualties than any other country in the world. US-Israel relations: A looming crisis?
The vibes from Washington, reconfirmed by President Obama's speech in Cairo, clearly suggest that the Obama administration may be heading toward a major confrontation with the Israeli government. The policy adjustments are being orchestrated in a highly sophisticated manner. President Barack Obama conveys warm signals to the Jewish community, expressing appreciation for the Jewish contribution to American society, hosting the first Seder ever held in the White House and visiting Buchenwald rather than Jerusalem after Cairo. He reassures Americans that the United States will remain "a stalwart ally of Israel and it is in our interests to assure that Israel is safe and secure." Yet when President Obama reiterates the need to be "honest" with Israel there is no doubt that he is signalling his intention of adjusting long standing US policies. Livni should set aside her ego for the national interest
Our politicians are once again outrageously defying the will of the people. The electorate decisively rejected the former government's policies of extending unilateral concessions to our adversaries and the inability to adequately defend citizens under continuous missile attack. By a majority of 65 to 44 (excluding the 11 Arab mandates) the people voted in favor of the so-called national camp. Regrettably, the hideously convoluted electoral system enabled Kadima to obtain one more mandate than Likud. Not because Kadima won the endorsement of the people but because traditional left wing supporters defected in droves from Labor and Meretz and diverted their votes to Kadima. Why I support Likud
We stand at a crossroad. The government we are about to elect will be confronted with awesome military, political, economic and social challenges and will assume responsibility for laying the foundations for the long term future of the nation. I have never been a member of or canvassed for a political party. Yet today I am convinced that Likud represents the best available choice to effectively lead the nation during the difficult period facing us. I therefore unashamedly hope that Likud will obtain sufficient seats to enable Binyamin Netanyahu to preside over a strong, united and disciplined government. The incumbent government parties, Kadima and Labor, are committed to extending the same failed approach that led us into the mire in which we now find ourselves. Both Barak and Livni are assiduously avoiding any discussion about specific policies and concentrating on demonizing their opponents. Neither is willing to clarify their position on ceding territory to the Palestinians or dividing Jerusalem. All we hear are endless meaningless mantras endorsing two independent states living peacefully side by side with one another. Don't transform the IDF victory into a defeat
The Gaza war is far from over and we still face great danger in the days and weeks ahead. But we can be grateful that in this war, the IDF with new leaders at its helm demonstrated that it had learned from the failures and disarray of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006. Aside from the tragic loss of lives in the "friendly fire" disaster, the IDF performance has been exemplary and suggests that the recommendations of the Winograd Committee have been implemented. The initial air force attacks which in 4 minutes effectively destabilized the Hamas command structure and destroyed strategic targets in over 40 locations, demonstrated outstanding operational skill and the optimum exploitation of intelligence. The ground offensive maximized Israel's high grade weapons in order to minimize Israeli military and Palestinian non-combatant casualties. Mobilization, training of reserves and clear battle plans contrasted with the chaos which prevailed during the Lebanon war. The IDF unquestionably redeemed its image as the guardian of the nation, confirming that today it is still one of the most effective armies in the world. Jewish Doves urge Obama to pressure Israel
"Dovish" American Jewish groups are frenziedly urging the incoming Obama Administration to prioritize pressuring Israel to make further unilateral concessions. Although it is idle speculation to try to predict the policy that President-elect Barack Obama is likely to adopt in relation to Israel, one would be tempted to assume that the Middle East would, in these times, be low in his order of priorities and he would primarily be concentrating his energies on the devastating domestic economic meltdown. Although undertakings made during elections are frequently repudiated, we can take comfort in the fact that over the course of the election campaign, Obama's stance towards Israel became increasingly supportive. My impression of Obama is that he seems to be more of a pragmatist than a hard core ideologue |
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