Israel Suffers Psychologically From Imposed Restraint

Posted on: November 28th, 2012

The imposed cease-fire — and it was imposed, by Barack Obama and his ally Mohammed Morsi — is not a victory.

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Who Killed Jihad Masharawi’s Son, Omar?

Posted on: November 27th, 2012

Although it was widely claimed in the press that this child died in an Israeli strike, none appears to have taken place at the time of his death.

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Ceasefire a Poor Outcome for Israel

Posted on: November 22nd, 2012

Today, the IDF announced that it had “accomplished its pre-determined objectives for Operation Pillar of Defense, and has inflicted severe damage to Hamas and its military capabilities.” It is embarrassing to read this statement.

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US Doesn’t Want to See Hamas Crushed

Posted on: November 21st, 2012

Israel’s leaders know that there isn’t a diplomatic solution. But what can they do? Over the years, Israel has become so dependent on the U.S. — for advanced weapons, spare parts, etc. — that it is almost impossible to say no to US demands.

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Gaza Op Likely to Continue for Weeks, not Days

Posted on: November 18th, 2012

I can’t see any way to complete the operation against Hamas without a ground invasion.

Don’t Kick the Can of Violence Down the Road

Posted on: November 15th, 2012

The only thing that can prevent Israel from winning this mini-war and neutering Hamas is outside intervention.

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Life with Rockets

Posted on: November 12th, 2012

When something outrageous goes on for a long time, people stop being outraged. It is boring to hear or read about things like genocidal wars in Africa, Europe’s collapse into poverty, or the complaints of Israelis about being the targets of thousands of rockets, day in and day out. I’m in Israel now, so a few words about the rockets. Everyone I talk to says the same thing: how can this be allowed to continue?

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A Particularly Dangerous Form of Weather

Posted on: November 11th, 2012

On Tuesday, three IDF soldiers were wounded by a bomb planted near the border fence between Israel and the Gaza strip. On Thursday when soldiers were trying to repair the fence, a huge explosion occurred when a tunnel packed with explosives was detonated. Luckily only one soldier was lightly injured, but it could have been catastrophic. Then last night an IDF jeep in the area was struck by an antitank missile. Four soldiers were wounded, at least two seriously (reports vary), and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

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The Ant-Churchill Tries to Rise Again

Posted on: November 9th, 2012

Could there be an Israeli politician more cynical than Ehud Olmert? Yesterday he accused PM Netanyahu of alienating President Obama — as if Obama could dislike him more — by ‘intervening’ in the US election.

Jewish Support for Obama Not Mystifying

Posted on: November 8th, 2012

Somewhere between 68 and 70% of American Jewish voters went for Obama, depending on whose exit poll you believe. Israelis that I talk to are mystified. “Are they crazy? What were they thinking?” they ask. It’s not really mystifying. Here are some general facts about non-Orthodox and secular (the large majority) American Jews.

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So Now What?

Posted on: November 7th, 2012

There it is: four more years of Barack Obama. What does it mean for Israel? The bilateral talks with Iran run by Valerie Jarrett will continue. One can hope for the best, but it is very unlikely that an agreement will be reached that will include the effective dismantling of Iran’s bomb-building capability. It’s not at all comforting to think that Israel’s security will be in the hands of Jarrett, Obama’s Chicago fixer. One can speculate what Romney might have done differently, but that is not an option now.

Barak and Barack

Posted on: November 4th, 2012

An interview with Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak — thinly disguised as “the decision-maker” created a sensation in early August, when he suggested that an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities was imminent. Barak explained that Israel could not depend on an American commitment to destroy the program in the future, even if it were made today. Suddenly, last week, Barak began to sing a different tune.

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Why Some US Jews Don’t Get Israel

Posted on: October 31st, 2012

Part of my job — not my paying job, the one I do for the sake of shamayim — is to talk to my Jewish friends and try to explain why the existence of a Jewish state is essential for all Jews, wherever they live, why a good relationship with the US is essential for Israel, and why the support of American Jews is in turn essential for such a relationship. I meet a lot of resistance, which is unsurprising when you consider that if you leave aside Arabs and other Muslims, the worldwide movement to end the Jewish state is disproportionately led by people of Jewish descent.

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The European Problem with Zionism

Posted on: October 29th, 2012

Yes, Israel affords civil rights and freedom of worship to its many minorities; but it makes no attempt to deny that there is one specific people, one particular narrative, one religion to which is it most centrally committed. The State of Israel is, to paraphrase Lincoln, “by the Jews, of the Jews and for the Jews.” How could those who labored to create the European Union not consider the very idea of a Jewish state anathema?

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Bank of China May Have Helped Hamas Kill Jews

Posted on: October 28th, 2012

Hamas is nourished by a worldwide network of governments, Islamic charities and individuals that support its goal of killing or dispersing the Jews. But the existence of the sources of nourishment isn’t enough. Since Hamas is a recognized as a terrorist organization and sanctioned by the US and other nations, there are impediments to transferring funds to it which can be translated into weapons, ammunition and jihadist expenses. Sometimes this is facilitated by ‘respectable’ enterprises that are officially opposed to terrorism and murder, but in fact do whatever makes them a buck. Like the Bank of China, according to the Israel Law Center — Shurat HaDin, which has filed a $1 billion lawsuit in a New York court accusing the bank of materially supporting Hamas terrorism.

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Morsi is No Secret Zionist!

Posted on: October 23rd, 2012

News item: Muslim Brotherhood leader Ahmed al-Hamrawy resigned from the group and its Freedom and Justice Party to protest a letter introducing the new Egyptian ambassador to Israel. The letter was addressed from President Mohamed Morsy to Israeli President Shimon Peres. Hamrawy, former secretary general of the Lawyers Syndicate in Alexandria, described the letter as […]

The October Non-Surprise: Secret Talks

Posted on: October 22nd, 2012

In my last blog, I called attention to a report that the US and Iran had made a secret agreement to end sanctions in return for a halt or pause in uranium enrichment. I suggested that this could be an “October Surprise:” the Obama campaign could claim that the President’s policy of partial sanctions and “tough diplomacy” had forced the Iranians to back down from their march toward nuclear weapons.

Will Obama Soon Announce ‘Peace in Our Time’?

Posted on: October 21st, 2012

Can we expect an October Surprise this year? We may already have one brewing. A former CIA operative calling himself “Reza Khalili” and claiming to have been an agent inside the Iranian Revolutionary Guards organization, who has previously made skeptically-received claims that Iran had already produced 90% enriched uranium, is now saying that the Obama Administration has struck a deal with the Iranian regime that will shortly be announced:

Massacring the Truth

Posted on: October 17th, 2012

The so-called “Jenin Massacre” of 2002 — a massacre that never happened — is emblematic of the way the truth is violated, over and over in this conflict. The most shocking aspect of the affair, for me, was the cynical way in which many were comfortable with inverting reality for ideological reasons.

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Jewish History and Sovereignty Slipping Away

Posted on: October 14th, 2012

This is one of those issues that ought to be shocking, but about which nothing is done. For years — I’ve written about this before — the Muslim waqf that controls the Temple Mount has been systematically destroying archaeological artifacts of Jewish provenance at the site.

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