Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Points Out the Obvious, While Missing the Point

Writing over at Foreign Policy, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon, points out that the UN Human Rights Council is absurd because so many of the member nations are human rights abusers. Point taken. One of the major problems that has dogged the legitimacy of almost every council and agency within the UN is […]

It’s Official: Entire World Sick of United States Protectionism Towards Israel

A hearty congratulations to the Obama administration is in order- the administration which raised hopes around the world that it would deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a more even-handed manner has managed to not only help cause one of the worst Israeli-Palestinian rifts in decades but they have actually managed to piss off pretty […]

Every Media Outlet Proclaims Israel Accepts Quartet Statement to Return to Negotiations Without Preconditions But Leaves Out Israel’s Demand for Preconditions

This is so frustrating but predictable. I did a search of major news sources- Washington post, MSNBC, NYT, Reuters and even read the State Department press briefing from yesterday and with the exception of the Israeli Daily Haaretz, all are reporting Israel will return to negotiations based on the Quartet statement and is urging the […]

Chutzpah: Bibi Netanyahu to Demand Quartet Change Mideast Peace Plan Statement

After the US and our allies have spent the past however many months running around arm-twisting and cajoling the world to deny the Palestinians any recognition at the United Nations, after the US has intervened on behalf of Israel with regard to deteriorating ties with Turkey, Jordan and Egypt, after the US President gave a […]

How A Strong Sovereign Should Respond to a Slap in the Face From an Ally

While the U.S. rewards Israel for each public and private slap in the face leveled at the President, German Chancellor Angela Merkel demonstrated the appropriate response after being taken for granted by Bibi Netanyahu: German Chancellor Angela Merkel took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly to task Friday over last week’s decision to approve 1,100 housing […]

Washington Post: Support for Palestinians at UN is Anti-Semitism *updated*

The Washington Post is certainly working overtime to get Israel’s message out. Between Jackson Diehl, Richard Cohen, Jennifer Rubin and Fred Hiatt, it’s hard to tell who is a more effective hasbarist. In a guest commentary over at the WaPo, Robert Bernstein makes an argument that ends up minimizing true anti-Semitism as it tries to […]

Palestinian Authority Rejects Quartet Proposal

The so-called Mideast Quartet issued a statement yesterday that was, quite frankly, insulting to the Palestinians. The Palestinians have rejected it. Given the stakes at the UN, you would think the US would allow the Quartet to actually issue something substantive for once but given the administration has tacked far to the right on Israel, […]

Israel LOVES Obama’s Speech at the United Nations

And well they should. After all, the ultimate goal of perpetual occupation, circular negotiations, continued settlement expansion and American protectionism has been achieved. To hear President Obama speak about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one could be forgiven for thinking that Obama has adopted the philosophy of right-wing Likud. Israel’s far, far, far-right racist Foreign Minister, Avigdor […]

US Brags About Denying Palestinians Legal Redress for Israel’s Human Rights Violations

I just got an email from the White House with bullet-points highlighting all the wonderful things the U.S. has done at the United Nations. There was a section on Israel. Here it is: Defending Israel Standing up for Israel at the UN: The Obama Administration has consistently and forcefully opposed unbalanced and biased actions against […]

The Price of Israel

There is a good article over at Foreign Policy about how most countries, including our European allies, are pretty much fed up with the United States’ constant pandering to even the most damaging, de-stabilizing Israeli dictates. The irony of course is that in doing Bibi’s bidding, the Obama administration is, in essence, validating right-wing Likud […]

U.S. Threatens to Cut Off Aid to Palestinians if They Go to UN

This is interesting because the other day the State Dept. press spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, was asked about this issue and she said that Palestinian aid is based on the needs of the people, ie. it’s not a carrot or stick. It seems she wasn’t telling the truth. From Haaretz: The United States will stop all […]

Did You Know the National Guard Has Troops in Egypt Enforcing the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty

I didn’t! I guess I should have known this but I didn’t. Today I ran across an article from April saying that the Maryland National Guard was preparing to head to Egypt (the Sinai Peninsula) for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. So I just did a search […]

Canada: Criticism of Israel is Anti-Semitism

So much for free speech: Nearly two years after the first hearings were held in Ottawa, the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition fto Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) released a detailed report on July 7 that found that anti-Semitism is on the rise in Canada, especially on university campuses. While the CPCCA’s final report does contain some cases of […]

It’s Time to Stop Chasing the Peace Process Unicorn

As someone who believed in the peace process and the two state solution, it’s not been easy to reach this conclusion, but all the evidence points this way. Earlier this month I wrote several posts about how the Mideast Quartet had become little more than a vehicle for the U.S. and Israel to strong-arm their […]

Mideast Quartet Update: The REAL Reason They Didn’t Issue a Statement

Last night I stayed up and hung around waiting for the State Dept. background briefing on the status of the Mideast Quartet meeting to take place. Originally scheduled for 9pm, it didn’t take place till quite a bit later. By the time I almost gave up, I got word it had started and called in- […]

The Mideast Quartet *updated*

Pardon my cynicism, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Mideast Quartet is just another proxy group for the U.S. to stymie any real international effort to get Mideast peace talks restarted. In other words, as usual, the U.S. is the 800lb gorilla in the room throwing its weight around to protect Israel from having […]

What? Israel and the U.S. Disagree on Something?!?

OhsmygodcallAIPACandfixthisrightnow!: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded on Sunday to a recent dispute on Israel’s maritime border with Lebanon, saying at a cabinet meeting that the lines delineated in a Lebanese proposal are significantly further south than those recognized by Israel and determined in previous deals. “The lines declared by Lebanon contradict both the maritime border […]

News Round-Up

On this day in history, July 10, 1509, theologian John Calvin, a key figure of the Protestant Reformation, was born France. Some news bits: ~Elizabeth Warren for Senate? ~The GOP has predictably rebuffed the President’s so-called Grand Bargain, which is really a Grand Capitulation to corporate interests on the backs of the middle class, so […]

If This is Not Ethnic Cleansing, Then What is It?

I’d be curious to know what people think of this story that appeared, much to my surprise, in the Washington Post. Thain brought up an issue in the comments the other day, that the official U.S. and European definition of anti-Semitism includes references to Israeli policies as “racist” or “ethnic cleansing.” That’s why I ask, […]

Obama Administration Not Interested in Peace Negotiations

There’s an election coming up here in the U.S. and you know what that means- no serious push for peace negotiations for fear of appearing anti-Israel. Or something like that. But lets be honest, between trying to prevent the Freedom Flotilla2 from setting sail and preventing the Palestinians from seeking statehood at the U.N. in […]