Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Israel Update 1/23/08

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this week, let us recall that Dr. King was a stalwart supporter of the Jewish state and wrote that “Israel’s right to exist as a state is incontestable.” See http://rac.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=415 and http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080108/METRO02/801080356/1409/METRO#.
- And take a look at this nifty flier: http://www.bluestarpr.com/docs/mlk1.pdf

QUICK READING LIST
- Leaving home for the homeland, Rory McCarthy, Guardian (UK), 11/24/07: http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,2216069,00.html
- See also: http://www.theforgottenrefugees.com/
- A Time to Kill, And a Time to Heal, Laura Blumenfeld, Washington Post, 11/25/07: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/24/AR2007112401509.html
- What about the record?, Diana West, Washington Times, 12/21/07: http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071221/EDITORIAL04/615858635/1013/editorial
- Bush’s Mideast Muddle, Michael Oren, Wall Street Journal, 1/9/08: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119984146243176521.html

ACTION ALERT: ADS AT ‘MS.’ MAGAZINE
- Ms. Magazine has turned down an advertisement calling attention to women who currently occupy three of the most significant positions of power in all three branches of the Israeli government. Their reason? The ad “will set off a firestorm” and that “there are very strong opinions” on the subject. See more here, and tell the Ms. editors your thoughts:
https://secure2.convio.net/ajc/site/Advocacy?s_oo=iET6e1kNSObQ-ZPggh-qrg..&id=148
- Also, view prominent Jewish feminists speaking out about this controversy (video): http://youtube.com/profile?user=AJCongress

NEWS: NASDAQ-TEL AVIV STOCK EXCHANGES
- Read about the new partnership between NASDAQ and the Tel Aviv stock exchanges: http://www.thestreet.com/newsanalysis/banking/10391583.html
- View also (video): http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&fg=rss&vid=252bd8c2-8c58-4a18-b3e8-97942b163243&from=34

BAD REPORTING: ISRAEL’S ACTIONS IN GAZA
- Many media outlets fail to add significant context to their reporting on Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, meant to eradicate the area of terrorists who have launched daily rocket barrages at Israel: http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/A_Barrage_of_Bad_Reporting.asp
- For more on this situation, click here to view a short video from EuroNews (UK) showing the human side of the toll that daily rockets have taken on residents of the Israeli town Sderot: http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=mediterraneans&article=455347&lng=1#
- Read also: Palestinian rocket lands next to Israeli day care center, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/09/03/africa/ME-GEN-Israel-Babies-Rocketed.php

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: THE TRUE ISRAEL
We all know the Israel of wars, oppression, and precarious security, but what about Israel of the humming economy with 90 Israel-related companies on NASDAQ? What about Israeli films garnishing honors around the world: "Jellyfish" and "The Band's Visit" at Cannes, "Beaufort" in Berlin, "My Father My Lord" in Tribeca, "Sweet Mud" at Sundance, and "Aviva, My Love" in Shanghai? What of Israeli solar power in California that has been saving 2 million barrels of oil annually for nearly 20 years? What of Arava Valley high-tech agriculture, with exports exceeding $100 million? Natafim, the drip irrigation system patented by Kibbutz Hatzerim, is now a multinational conglomerate selling millions of systems throughout the world. What of the Israel that is taking in Darfur refugees, and what of the first Israeli-initiated UN resolution, calling upon countries to share agricultural technology with developing countries, adopted overwhelmingly this month? It's this other Israel that's underreported.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/12/29/the_overlooked_issues_of_2007/

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

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