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WASHINGTON – A major pro-Israel US lobby group warned that recent US administration remarks about bilateral ties with Israel were “of serious concern,” and urged the White House to ease tensions.
Remarks by President Barack Obama’s administration “regarding the US relationship with Israel are a matter of serious concern,” said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in a statement issued Sunday.
CALLS FOR UNILATERAL STEPS
“AIPAC calls on the administration to take immediate steps to defuse the tension with the Jewish State,” it added.
The statement came amid diplomatic upheaval between Washington and Tel Aviv after Israel announced new illegal settlement construction as US Vice President Joe Biden visited the region to boost indirect peace talks.
Administration officials including Biden, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior Obama advisor David Axelrod have slammed the new construction and the timing of the announcement as insulting and destructive.
AIPAC, considered the most influential pro-Israel pressure group in the United States, has support across the political spectrum in Congress and routinely attracts senior US and Israeli political figures to its annual conference.
This year, both Clinton and hardline Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are due to address the AIPAC conference, scheduled for March 21-23.
In their statement Sunday, AIPAC warned that “the escalated rhetoric of recent days” was distracting from “the urgent issue” of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
- “The Administration should make a conscious effort to move away from public demands and unilateral deadlines directed at Israel, with whom the United States shares basic, fundamental, and strategic interests.
The escalated rhetoric of recent days only serves as a distraction from the substantive work that needs to be done with regard to the urgent issue of Iran’s rapid pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and all her Arab neighbors.
We strongly urge the Administration to work closely and privately with our partner Israel, in a manner befitting strategic allies, to address any issues between the two governments.”
Mondoweiss: AIPAC panicked by Obama people’s `escalated rhetoric’ about you-know-who
DEBKAfiles Our military sources report that the Barak arms list is tailored to a potential four-front offensive against Israel launched by Iran and its allies. It includes systems needed by the Israeli Air Force, certain types of missiles and advanced electronic equipment. During his last visit, the defense minster complained the list had been pending in Washington for more than three months and the sands for a possible conflict were running out fast. He stressed that it was essential for these items to reach Israel before a flare-up occurred. The urgency was such that he suggested that if they could not be supplied to Israel at short notice, they should at least be held ready meanwhile in the emergency stores of the US bases in Israel’s Negev.
… Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened his inner cabinet Saturday night, March 12, to discuss the spiraling crisis with Washington and his first response.
American-Jewish criticism was led Saturday night by the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman, who issued this statement: “We are shocked and stunned at the Administration’s tone and public dressing down of Israel on the issue of future building in Jerusalem,” he said. “One can only wonder how far the US is prepared to go in distancing itself from Israel in order to placate the Palestinians.”
(Ynetnews.com) – According to sources, both Peres and Barak believe that the incident with Biden was uncalled for, tasteless, and cause seriously damaged ties between the two countries. Last Saturday the defense minister held a number of conversations with Washington and his colleagues in Jerusalem in an attempt to lower the flames, but his efforts so far have proven to be fruitless.
≈ Parts cross-posted from my diary on March 9 — Blahblah Biden Visits Netanyahu, Israel ≈
There goes Australia.
From Antony Loewenstein’s blog:
Australian mainstream newspaper dares to say a few things about East Jerusalem
Is it time that we stopped calling AIPAC the Israel Lobby, and call it by its real name, the right wing Likud Lobby? And that would probably apply to organizations in the broader Israel Lobby, ZOA, AJC, and now the new entry, the ADL, the anti-Defamation League, with big mouthy Abe Foxman, who is an embarrassment to the goals of this otherwise legitimate anti-bigotry organization. No one as vocal as him has been more bigoted about Palestinians, Arabs, and Islam. He’s also a voice for Israeli propaganda.
Netanyahu gives Obama the finger.
This morning in Ynet: PM: Construction in J’lem to continue just like in past 42 years
The games continue.
yes, indeed, they must distract with this sort of bullshit in order to diminish awareness by American audiences as to our own military finally voicing issues with the situation.
(links to two dkos recommended-list diaries on the subject)
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(Haaretz) – A new PR campaign recently launched by Israel’s Information and Diaspora Ministry, which seeks to motivate Israelis traveling abroad to speak up on behalf of Israel. Dubbed Masbirim Israel, or Explaining Israel, the campaign advises citizens on how to discourse politely and provided a list of Israel’s achievements to be highlighted in conversations.
“People are laughing at you,” Gabay, 48, fumed as he was looking at some articles in British newspapers making fun of Masbirim. “Who is advising you on your brand? This is not good, this is pretty bad.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Iraqi officials laid out red carpets and military bands played for the hardline president — the first Iranian leader to visit Iraq. In front of live TV crews, Ahmadinejad held hands and exchanged kisses on the cheek with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who fondly told him to call him “Uncle Jalal.”
Iran leader's Iraq visit eclipses US, Arab ties [2008]Ahmadinejad repeatedly referred to Iraq as a “brotherly” neighbor and predicted that his visit would open a new chapter between Baghdad and Tehran.
The visit was mostly symbolic but Ahmadinejad’s message to the U.S., Iraq and its Arab neighbors was bold: Iran has cemented its role as the new power player here.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
WASHINGTON DC – Haaretz has learned that Clinton’s list includes at least four steps the United States expects Netanyahu to carry out to restore confidence in bilateral relations and permit the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.
Two advisers of the prime minister, Yitzhak Molcho and Ron Dermer, held marathon talks Sunday with senior White House officials in Washington and U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell and his staff to try to calm the situation. Mitchell will return to Israel Tuesday and expects to hear if Netanyahu intends to take the proposed steps.
At the beginning of Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu tried to convey a message that there was no crisis in relations with the United States. But he sent precisely the opposite message to Oren in Washington.
In Oren’s Saturday conference call with the Israeli consuls general, he said that the current crisis was the most serious with the Americans since a confrontation between Henry Kissinger and Yitzhak Rabin in 1975 over an American demand for a partial withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula.
US Wants Israel To Cancel Jerusalem Building Plan
(WRMEA) – An even more provocative action by the Netanyahu government is its ongoing effort to cordon off East Jerusalem from the West Bank and to replace the Arab population with Jews. In addition to encircling East Jerusalem with massive Jewish settlements, Israel prohibits almost all West Bank Palestinians from entering the city and has confiscated the identity cards of more than a thousand Jerusalemites. In mid-December the government abruptly barred Palestinians from conducting a long-scheduled census in East Jerusalem intended to supply data needed to set economic and social priorities. One day before the count was to begin the Knesset, in a rarely used procedure, passed all three required readings of a bill prohibiting all political activity by Palestinians in Jerusalem “or any similar activity that does not conform with respecting Israeli sovereignty.”
A statement issued from Netanyahu’s office in support of the measure effectively scrapped a provision of the Oslo agreement calling for the future of Jerusalem to be determined in the final stage of negotiations. “Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” the statement said, and the prime minister “will not allow any foreign activity in the city.” Netanyahu’s reference to a Palestinian census in East Jerusalem as “foreign activity” recalls the time when his former boss and predecessor, Yitzhak Shamir, called West Bank Palestinians “aliens in the land of Israel.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Approximately 80% of American Jews voted for President Obama, and in Israel his approval rating is 3%, at times 4% or 6%, do you feel that this is an indication of a divide between American and Israeli Jewry? And is it possible that American Jewish influence is actually harming Israel’s interests and physical safety?
It is extremely disappointing to see that American Jewry voted for Obama, even though a lot of them realized that he is very bad for Israel. Some of them think it’s good for Israel to be pressed against the wall and surrender to the Palestinian’s demands; the left wing is always there. What is even more worrying is the silent majority, the greater body of American Jews who really care for the State of Israel, but put the American interests first. They thought Obama is good for America. That’s why they voted for him, even though they knew how dangerous he is for Israel. That’s extremely disappointing it is a bad sign in the relations between the American Jewry and Israel.
I was asked by various senators and leaders in both the White House and the State Department about the feeling of Israelis towards Obama. I guess they knew the polls and it shouldn’t be a surprise to them, but I told them that he is regarded in Israel as one of the most anti-Israeli presidents that they have known, maybe the worst since Carter.
Interview with Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
WEST BANK (AP) – Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio that demands to halt Israeli construction there “are unreasonable” and predicted the row with the U.S. would blow over, saying neither side had an interest in escalation.
But Washington notified Israel early today that envoy George Mitchell had put off his trip indefinitely. Mitchell had planned on coming to wrap up preparations for relaunching Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. But now it’s not clear when the indirect talks, to be mediated by Mitchell, will begin.
In East-Jerusalem, security forces, some on horseback, charged a group of more than 100 youths, who had set garbage bins afire and lobbed rocks at police. Palestinian merchants shuttered their stores, and Palestinian schools in the city were closed.
Violent clashes erupt in East Jerusalem as synagogue reopens.The violence also threatened to spread to the West Bank. At the main checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem, dozens of Palestinian teens threw rocks and a few firebombs at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The Palestinian rescue service said six people were lightly injured. Israeli police said 39 people were arrested, including eight minors.
Palestinian officials called on the public to defend Muslim religious interests in Jerusalem following the re-dedication Monday of a historic synagogue in the Jewish quarter of the Old City.
The re-dedication has stoked recurring but unsubstantiated rumors that Jewish extremists are planning to take over the hilltop shrine at the crux of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The site, known to Jews as Temple Mount, was home to the biblical Jewish temples and is Judaism’s holiest site. Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary and it hosts the Al-Aqsa mosque complex, Islam’s third-holiest shrine.
Interior Minister Yishai and the Shas party in Netanyahu’s coalition … a choice made
PS Even news outlets have adapted the spelling of the unified city of Jerusalem according to the Jewish state of Israel, by writing in their article: east Jerusalem. Very similar as it must have been 3,000 years ago, a centennial or so before the birth of prophet Muhammad.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence.".
Should read millennium of course.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."In the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, we heard that the unrest was being fomented by “Hamas.” Surprising that this “liberal” newspaper would buy that line and publish it without any confirmation. I think the government may have overused the Hamas red herring, crying wolf one too many times.
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BooMan’s statement – Terrorism Sucks. Most of the time … sometimes it creates statehood.
(Haaretz) – “First and foremost, this is the story of the failure of Military Intelligence, starting with the choice of targets for the network’s sabotage operations, the operational planning and the superficial and sloppy training, and ending with the method of execution, which totally failed to carry out the pointless mission, which had no chance of reaching the strategic goal its operators had set: the cancellation of the planned British evacuation of the Suez Canal,” stated the MI analysis.
The Lavon affair – also known locally as esek habish, “the rotten business” – was a plan to discredit Egypt’s government, then headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, by bombing theaters, post offices and U.S. and British institutions, and making it seem as though Egypt was behind the bombings. The thinking in Israel at the time was that if the British were to give up control of the Suez Canal, it would be left in Egypt’s hands, putting Cairo in a better position to exert pressure on Israel.
Code-named Operation Susannah, the incident led to the dismissal of Binyamin Gibli, the MI chief at the time, and the resignations of then-defense minister Pinhas Lavon and ultimately, the prime minister, David Ben-Gurion.
King David Hotel Bombed in Jerusalem – 22 July 1946
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."Interesting stuff.
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According to Ehud Ya’ari, finally:
The Israeli army attack on Gaza on February 28, 1955 was…a decisive turning point in the relations between Israel and Egypt. Nasser as well as many Western diplomats and analysts have spoken of it as a turning point in Cairo’s policies. Nasser himself explained on innumerable occasions that the attack was the moment of truth in which he understood there was no chance for the [conciliatory] line adopted by Egypt until then. He finally perceived the dimensions of the Israeli problem, and therefore appealed for Soviet armaments….
The Gaza action occurred at a moment of relative tranquility following the enforcement of repressive measures decided on by the Egyptian administration in the Strip. Hence, the explanation for Ben Gurion’s decision to order the attack…is to be sought elsewhere.
The Israeli attack on Gaza unleashed huge demonstrations in the Strip and clashes between the local population and the Egyptian army. Due to further Israeli provocations the protests continued, and in May the Egyptian government was forced to consent to the activities of fedayeen units for sabotage actions in Israel. These units were, however, placed under the strict control of the Egyptian army so that their activity could again be limited several months later. “In any case,” is Ya’ari’s conclusion, “there is no doubt that the appearance of fedayeen under direct Egyptian guidance was a phenomenon which emerged following the Israeli attack on Gaza.”
On the other hand, Sharett’s Diary confirms beyond any doubt that lsrael’s security establishment strongly opposed all border security arrangements proposed by Egypt, Jordan or the UN.
UN COOPERATION WILL TIE OUR HANDS
A UN-Egyptian proposal that mixed Egyptian-Israeli-UN patrols operate along the borders to prevent infiltration and mining came to Dayan’s knowledge, Sharett noted. The chief of staff exploded with rage. “But I don’t want the UN to prevent mining!” Obviously, he considered the deterrent effect of the mixed patrols proposal on Israeli incursions into the Strip as more damaging to Israel’s security than the occasional infiltrations from the Strip into Israel. In fact, Ben Gurion rejected the proposal on the grounds that it “will tie our hands.”
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."“…the incident led to the dismissal of Binyamin Gibli, the MI chief at the time, and the resignations of then-defense minister Pinhas Lavon and ultimately, the prime minister, David Ben-Gurion.“
It also led to the expulsion of Egypt’s well-integrated and successful Jewish community – one of the few cases in which Jews actually were expelled from an Arab country.
AIPAC is a facist regime within a regime for the advancement of death, mayhem and attrocity in foreign countries for the benfit of a tiny minority of extreme lunatics and fellow facists. Its a shame that it isnt presented in a true light.