January 11, 2012

India, Israel Pledge Cooperation on Counterterrorism, Trade

Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna said Tuesday that the two countries will have to work out a strategy on how to address the “scourge of international terrorism which has become the curse for the entire humanity.”

Officials from the two countries were working on a proposed free trade agreement.

Prime Minister Netanyahu praised bilateral relations Tuesday, saying India and Israel are “two ancient peoples seizing the future in technology, in innovation, [and] in enterprise.” He said the two countries can seize the future “even better” by increasing cooperation.

India and Israel have worked together in the areas of science, technology and agriculture since establishing diplomatic ties 20 years ago.

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/10/india-israel-pledge-cooperation-on-counterterrorism-trade/

Both great countries have been tragically affected by terrorism. Hopefully this mutual cooperation will help lessen the scourge of terror in both countries and abroad.

January 10, 2012

The Narrative of Perpetual Palestinian Victimhood

The Arab-Israeli conflict, is not really a conflict, it is a war – a war of the Arabs against the Jews. In many ways, this conflict has been a conflict between narratives. We who strongly support Israel have done a poor job in formulating a narrative which will combat the story spun by the other side. We can do better.

The Durban conferences, the request for UN recognition of a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood, and the general animus in the Middle East and elsewhere toward Israel and toward the Jews, what are they really about? Is the Durban conference and the claim that Israel is a racist nation really about reforming the people of Israel and curing them of their racism?

Listen to their language; it is the language of colonial oppression. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas claims that Palestinians have been occupied for 63 years. The word oppressed is constant, exploited. In this, there is a poetic truth; like poetic license, in a poetic truth a writer will bend the rules in order to be more effective.

Poetic truths like that are marvelous because no facts and no reason can ever penetrate. Supporters of Israel are up against a poetic truth. We keep hitting it with all the facts. We keep hitting it with obvious logic and reason. And we are so obvious and conspicuously right that we assume it is going to have an impact and it never does.

http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2586/palestinian-victimhood-narrative

Great piece

January 6, 2012

Hamas Says Gaza Not “Occupied”

The UN’s continued labeling of the Gaza Strip as “occupied” was directly contradicted today by a top leader of Hamas, the vehemently anti-Israel Palestinian terror group that controls the territory.

Noting the Hamas statement reflects the reality since Israel's full withdrawal in 2005, the Geneva-based monitoring group UN Watch called on the UN to encourage Palestinians to take responsibility for areas they control, and to cease referring to Gaza, in reports and through officials and spokespeople, as “occupied territory.”

“The UN's traditional practice of absolving Palestinians of responsibility hasn't helped them one iota," said Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director. "On the contrary, Palestinian citizens are the main losers when those that directly govern and police them are never seriously held accountable for their actions."

"Now that the Palestinians running Gaza publicly regognize that it's not occupied -- which has been the reality since Israel's disengagement removed every solider, civilian and setttlement in 2005 -- the UN's refusal to do the same will only hinder Palestinians from developing a healthy culture of self-rule," said Neuer.

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar confirmed there was no Israeli occupation of the territory in comments reported today by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency.



http://www.unwatch.org/cms.asp?id=2832097&campaign_id=63111

December 13, 2011

Harvard's Middle East Outreach Center Headed By BDS Supporter

According to The Tab, a Boston-area newspaper, Newton resident Tony Pagliuso was shocked when he examined a reading selection on the treatment of women in the Middle East his daughter brought home from her history class at Newton South High School. The article, from a controversial textbook called The Arab World Studies Notebook, falsely accused Israeli soldiers of murdering Arab women. Pagliuso was incensed to discover such defamatory material disseminated in his daugher's school and raised the issue with school officials.


The incident prompts two critical questions that school systems need to address as they introduce the study of the modern Middle East to students: How do they identify reputable sources on such a contentious topic and what procedures do school systems need to put in place to evaluate curricular material supplied to them. Regrettably, some of the most prominent academic institutions educators turn to for training and curricula offer dubious scholarship tainted by partisan ideological agendas.


The Center pushed the controversial text book, The Arab World Studies Notebook, which state officials described as "propaganda" and "practically proselytizing." The Notebook included such bizarre assertions as the claim Muslims discovered America before Columbus and Iroquois Indian chiefs had Muslim names. Later editions of The Notebook removed some of the absurd claims, but its fundamental flaws remain.


For instance, Director Beran promotes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. At a Teach-In and Organizing Conference on Dec. 11, 2005 at Harvard, Beran discussed the success of BDS within the Presbyterian Church - PC (USA) - and offered his vision of the BDS movement. Beran advocated "constructing long-term networks of broad based support for action." He boasted of successfully forming a coalition with the radical anti-Israel group, Jewish Voice for Peace. In this way, Beran stated, "it helped the PC (USA) to deal more forcefully with the criticism it has and continues to receive from Zionist groups and their ilk."


http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=118&x_article=2161

Great, a Boycott Derangement Syndrome (BDS) sufferer who rewrites history and engages in unscholarly activity is in charge?
This does not bode well for both Harvard, and the school-age victims of this educational malfeasance.

December 13, 2011

Palestinians protest peace meeting

Angry Palestinians prevented Israeli and Palestinian peace activists from holding a convention at east Jerusalem’s Ambassador Hotel on Monday.

The convention was organized by the Israeli Palestinian Confederation (IPC) and was supposed to bring together Al-Quds University President Sari Nusseibeh and political science Prof. Munther Dajani from the Palestinian side and Shlomo Ben-Ami, Uri Avneri and Ruth Dayan as representatives of Israel.

The protesters accused the Palestinian participants of “encouraging the culture of peace” between Israelis and Palestinians. They said they were opposed to the conference because it was a form of “normalization” with Israel.

The protesters also raided the conference hall and confiscated booklets and signs belonging to the IPC

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=249213


Sneaky bastards....trying to encourage peace. We must put a stop to this mutual cooperation at once.