Middle East

Danny Yatom, a former Mossad chief, to address Friends of IDF in San Diego Oct. 30

SAN DIEGO (Press Release) – A former head of Israel’s Mossad security service, Maj. Gen. Danny Yatom, will be the featured speaker at a Friends of the Israel Defense Forces kosher dinner on Saturday, Oct. 30, at La Jolla Hilton Torrey Pines, 10950 North Torrey Pines Road.   A reception will begin at 7:15 p.m. with dinner […]

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Middle East

Settling refugee issue is paramount in Mideast

By Isaac Yetiv, PhD LA JOLLA, California–Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  The century-old Arab-Israeli conflict provides a vivid and tragic illustration of this observation. In the last 60 years, a dozen U.S. presidents,Democrats and Republicans,  and more than a dozen of Israeli Prime

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Middle East

U.S. denies a ‘letter’ was sent Israel on settlement freeze guarantees

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The story in Washington is that President Obama, eager to have Israel extend the “settlement freeze” for another two months, i.e., until after the November election, sent Prime Minister Netanyahu a letter offering Israel a heavy list of inducements, including U.S. agreement to: Support the presence of the IDF

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Middle East

AJE offers course on Middle East conflict

ENCINITAS, California (Press Release)– The Agency for Jewish Education announces a new 10-week class on the history of the Mid-East conflict beginning on October 13th. Led by J.J. Surbeck, this course will provide students with new tools for understanding and critiquing texts and events as the conflict continues to unfold. “Beyond Borders: Understanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict”

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Middle East

Maybe not 'anti-Semitic,' perhaps Time is 'anti-semantic'

By Bruce S. Ticker  PHILADELPHIA — Editors at Time Magazine may be unfairly accused of anti-Semitism, but they are reckless with their semantics. As experienced journalists, they should understand that misleading language can be dangerous. The magazine’s Sept. 13 cover headline – “Why Israel Doesn’t Care About Peace” – brought its editors condemnation from supporters

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Middle East

Ending settlement freeze teaches Palestinians they can't get something for nothing

By Morton A. Klein NEW YORK –Under relentless pressure by the Obama administration, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed, last November, to a one-sided one-time, 10-month Jewish construction freeze on the six percent of the West Bank where Jews live.  Since the Oslo accords were signed in 1993, Israel hasn’t built a single new settlement and

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Middle East

Palestinians should realize Israel willing to withdraw for peace, settlements or none

By Rabbi Ben Kamin SAN DIEGO — It’s not hard to agree that the settlement movement in Israel—a hybrid of indigenous religious zealots and immigrant fundamentalists from places like Chicago, Toronto, and Johannesburg—is something of a complication for the peace process.  This is true even though the overwhelming majority of Israelis—people making car payments, trying

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Middle East

However well meaning, Obama has blundered in Middle East

By Ira Sharkansky JERUSALEM — It was they who put on the table the demand for a total freeze in Jewish construction throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The result was to increase the political demands of the Palestinians, as well as the Israeli settlers and their supporters.  Increasing demands of both sides before the start of

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Middle East

Obama to U.N.: Israel's existence not a matter for debate

NEW YORK (Press Release)–Following is a transcript of remarks made by President Barack Obama to the General Assembly of the United Nations on Thursday, Sept. 23: THE PRESIDENT:  Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, my fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen.  It is a great honor to address this Assembly for the second time, nearly two years after my

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Middle East

Massive U.S. arms sales to Middle East

By Shoshana Bryen WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration has announced a $60 billion sale to Saudi Arabia, including include 84 F-15 fighter planes, 70 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, 72 UH-60 Blackhawk utility helicopters, and 36 MH-6 Little Bird surveillance helicopters. The package also includes HARM anti-radar missiles, more precision-guided JDAM bombs, Hellfire air-to-ground missiles

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Middle East

Israel boycott rejected by co-op in Port Townsend, Washington

By Judy Lash Balint JERUSALEM–Last month when I was visiting Seattle, I had the opportunity to take part in a “hearing” of the Olympia Food Co-op whose board had voted to boycott Israeli products. The 15,000 Co-op membership had not been consulted and some of them were upset–not that they were pro-Israel, they were ticked

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Middle East, USA

Abbas indicates flexibility on Jewish construction on West Bank

NEW YORK (WJC)–Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has signaled that a renewal of settlement construction in the West Bank might not necessarily mean the end of the current peace talks with Israel. Abbas met on the sidelines of the UN summit in New York with American Jewish leaders for dinner. According to a transcript of

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Middle East

Historian: British sabotaged Jewish refugee ships after World War II

LONDON (WJC)–The British intelligence service MI6 used bombs and covert tactics to try to thwart the settlement of Palestine by Jewish refugees in the aftermath of World War II, according to a new book by Keith Jeffery on the history of  MI6 during the first part of the 20th century. Jeffery, a historian from Northern

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Middle East

Peres calls for Syria talks; Iran and Lebanon boycott his U.N. speech

NEW YORK (WJC)–President Shimon Peres has told the UN Millennium Development Goals summit in New York that Israel was ready to enter peace talks with Syria “straight away”. He offered to share Israeli technological advances with other nations, including countries without diplomatic ties to Israel. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman left

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Middle East