Israel Update 1/9/08

QUICK READING LIST
- Persona non grata in Gaza, Conal Urquhart, Guardian (UK), 10/22/07: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2196828,00.html
- Engaging the enemy, David Feith and Andrew Steinberg, National Review, 10/24/07: http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=MjMyZjUwYTE1ZjQxMzdmNmU4NWZjZDk1MDM5ODlkMzI=
- Group Spotlights Jews Who Left Arab Lands, Warren Hoge, NY Times, 11/2/07: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/world/middleeast/05nations.html
- See also: http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/
- France 2 Cooks the Raw Footage, Nidra Poller, Pajamas Media, 11/15/07: http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/11/al_dura_affair_the_raw_footage.php
- See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWQcRd_Mg60
- Is Israel a Jewish state?, Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe, 11/14/07: http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/11/14/is_israel_a_jewish_state/
- Drinking water for India's 'wet desert' with Israeli help, Syed Zarir Hussain, Earthtimes.org, 12/4/07: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/152706.html

FIRST QUOTE: ARABS IN ISRAEL
Simon Deng, a former jihad slave from Sudan and now a human rights activist, has written a protest to Bishop Desmond Tutu over the bishop’s rabid prejudice against Israel, which he accuses of ‘apartheid’:
“The State of Israel is not an apartheid state. I know because I write this from Jerusalem where I have seen Arab mothers peacefully strolling with their families – even though I also drove on Israeli roads protected by walls and fences from Arab bullets and stones. I know Arabs go to Israeli schools, and get the best medical care in the world. I know they vote and have elected representatives to the Israeli Parliament. I see street signs in Arabic, an official language here. None of this was true for blacks under Apartheid in Tutu’s South Africa.”
- http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/371696/the-question-of-a-freed-slave.thtml

RESOURCE: PREZ CANDIDATES’ VIEWS ON ISRAEL
Now that the presidential primaries have begun, I figured this would be a helpful resource! Each week Ha'aretz presents a ranking of where presidential candidates stand on their support for Israel. Click here to view this week's edition of The Israel Factor and to read more about the potential candidates and their positions on Israel (thanks to the OU-IPA for this!): http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerPage.jhtml

NEWS: ANNAPOLIS CONFERENCE
Read about the November peace conference hosted in Annapolis:
- Jeff Robbins: http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010889
- Salim Mansur: http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Mansur_Salim/2007/11/24/pf-4681351.html
- Mort Zuckerman: http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/mzuckerman/2007/11/30/zuckerman-editorial.html
- Michael Oren: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/opinion/02oren.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

VIDEO: ISRAEL’S ACHIEVEMENTS
Watch this great new video about Israel’s fantastic achievements! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeVvMJdvEX8

SUICIDE BOMBS: CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Simon Wiesenthal Center’s full page newspaper ad, prompted by the tragic and horrific assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, calling on the UN to designate suicide bombings as ‘crimes against humanity’: http://www.wiesenthal.com/atf/cf/{DFD2AAC1-2ADE-428A-9263-35234229D8D8}/NYTIMESADCOLORFINAL.PDF

SECOND QUOTE: ‘THE WESTERN WALL IS OUR’S’
Adnan Husseini, aide to the Palestinian Authority president, said that Palestinian demands for Israel to cede eastern Jerusalem under any peace accord also includes the Western Wall [Judaism’s holiest site]. "This is part of Islamic heritage that cannot be given up, and it must be under Muslim control," Husseini told Israel's NRG Web site, adding that all of Jerusalem's Old City should be part of a future Palestinian state.
- http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/104603.html