Jimmy Carter blames Israel for ‘vanishing’ peace
(JNS.org) Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter lamented the “vanishing” prospects of Israeli-Palestinian peace during a trip to Jerusalem this week, blaming Israeli construction in the West Bank.
Carter called the current situation “catastrophic” and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing a one-state solution, despite Netanyahu’s previous statements committing to a two-state solution, including his 2009 speech at Bar Ilan University.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that Netanyahu has decided the one-state option is the one he’s going to pursue,” Carter said.
Carter is on a two-day trip with a group of former statesmen called “The Elders,” which met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Associated Press reported.
“We’ve reached a crisis stage,” said Carter. “The two-state solution is the only realistic path to peace and security for Israel and the Palestinians.”
However, Carter also had harsh words for President Barack Obama concerning the peace process, according to the New York Times.
“The U.S. government policy the last two to three years has basically been a rapid withdrawal from any kind of controversy,” Carter said. “Every president has been a very powerful factor here in advocating this two-state solution. That is now not apparent,” he added.
Despite helping to negotiate peace between Israel and Egypt during his presidency, Carter has become a harsh critic of Israel in recent years. His 2006 book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid claimed that Israel’s settlement of Palestinian land was the primary obstacle to Mideast peace.
The book was met with widespread outrage within Israel and the American Jewish community. Carter has also made a number of trips to Gaza, meeting with officials from Hamas—a terrorist organization committed to Israel’s destruction. Carter has repeatedly criticized Israel’s blockade of the territory.
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Hebrew University loses Einstein image rights in GM lawsuit
(JNS.org) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has lost the right for exclusive and commercial use of an Albert Einstein image.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled against the university and in favor of General Motors LLC in the copyright infringement lawsuit. The case involved a GM advertisement for a 2010 Terrain Vehicle which featured Einstein’s face attached to a ripped, shirtless torso with an e=mc2 tattoo on his shoulder. The ad featured the tagline “Ideas are sexy too.”
Hebrew U claimed infringement based on the fact that it has the right of publicity as the beneficiary of Einstein’s estate, as written in 1982 in the terms of Einstein’s will. However, the court ruled that this right expired in 2005, which marked 50 years since Einstein’s death. The maximum duration of 50 years “appropriately reflects the balance between meaningful enforcement… and the public’s interest in free expression,” the court said in a statement, according to Globes.
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Egypt’s Morsi attends Jew-bashing sermon
(JNS.org) The Simon Wiesenthal Center has condemned Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi for attending a sermon in which the preacher called for the “destruction and dispersal of the Jews.”
The Washington Post reported that a video sent to the center showed the event, in which the cleric asked God to “destroy the Jews and their supporters and disperse them, rend them asunder.” Attendees were required to answer with Amen, as did Morsi.
The prayers were aired on Egyptian state TV and the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). “This is a slap in the face to America as Egypt’s President Morsi pockets billions in U.S. aid and says Amen to principles that are repugnant to all Americans,” the Wiesenthal Center said in a statement, asking President Barack Obama to condemn “the growing chorus of anti-Semitism in Egypt, led by the Muslim Brotherhood.”
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Romney says he would ‘tighten’ Iran sanctions
(JNS.org) At the U.S. presidential debate on foreign policy on Monday night, the effectiveness of Iranian sanctions became a central focus for the two candidates, President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.
Obama said he has enacted strong sanctions on Iran. “Their oil production has plunged to the lowest level since they were fighting a war with Iraq 20 years ago,” he said. “So their economy is in shambles.”
Romney responded that he would “tighten” Iran sanctions beyond the level that Obama has by going after Iranian shipping and indicting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for inciting genocide.
Despite the candidates’ focus on sanctions, serious doubts remain over their ultimate effectiveness.
In an interview with CNBC prior to the debate, the Governor of the Bank of Israel Stanley Fischer expressed doubt over whether Iran sanctions would collapse its economy. Fischer said that while the Iranian economy would “continue to go down,” the regime likely would “find a way to continue to keep economic life going.”
Meanwhile, the non-partisan Congressional Research Service recently released a report that also cast doubt on sanctions.
“There is a consensus that U.S. and U.N. sanctions have not, to date, accomplished their core strategic objective of compelling Iran to verifiably limit its nuclear development to purely peaceful purposes,” the report said.
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Israeli officer seriously wounded in Gaza border blast
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) An Israel Defense Forces company commander was seriously wounded on Tuesday when an explosive device detonated along the border fence in central Gaza, near the Kissufim crossing, the IDF said.
According to the report, the officer opened a gate as part of a routine checkup to ensure there were no explosives or terrorists along the border, and precisely then the device was detonated. There were no exchanges of fire following the blast.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a grave warning following the border incident, saying that “we are in the midst of a challenging battle against a global network of organized terror, from Iran through messengers to Gaza. We attack them before they attack us, and after they attack us.”
“Today an IDF soldier was hurt, and we will retaliate with full force,” the prime minister vowed.
The wounded officer was evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, where his condition was initially classified as moderate, but rapidly deteriorated.
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Jewish Dems, GOPers react to final presidential debate
(JNS.org) U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Governor Mitt Romney sparred on Monday over who was Israel’s strongest defender, but both agreed that a military strike over Iran’s nuclear program must be a “last resort.”
Reacting to the third and final presidential debate, which took place in Boca Raton, Fla., Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Executive Director Matt Brooks said Romney demonstrated “his knowledge of foreign policy issues and his understanding of the nature of our allies and foes on the global stage.”
“[Obama’s] policies over the last four years have weakened us,” Brooks said in a statement. “Romney’s plans to grow the economy and get people back to work will strengthen America at home and in the eyes of the world.”
National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) President David A. Harris, however, said Obama’s “statements of unequivocal support for Israel” during the debate were “just the latest demonstration of this President’s rock-solid commitment to the Jewish state and its security.”
“For pro-Israel voters, only one candidate in this race has a proven record when it comes to standing up for Israel’s security, and those voters were reminded of that tonight,” Harris said in a statement. “President Obama showed—in this exchange, and throughout the evening—why and how he has stewarded the U.S.-Israel relationship and the effort to halt Iran so powerfully and with maturity, seriousness and confidence over the past four years.”
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Preceding provided by JNS.org and reprinted with permission