Jewish Judge paints Hamas terrorists as hapless victims

Goldstone Disconnect -Yossi Alpher

Justice Richard Goldstone [pictured], commissioned by the United Nations Human Rights Council, want[s] Israel to investigate all the war crimes they attribute to its military operation in Gaza last winter. Otherwise, Goldstone threatens, a global court that tries such cases should judge Israel for war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Goldstone acknowledges that the Israeli military has been looking at a number of allegations of war crimes by its personnel in Gaza. But he belittles these proceedings as grossly inadequate because the Israeli armed forces are not incriminating themselves in accordance with his standards.

The problem is that Goldstone is judging Israel on the basis of totally different rules than those Israel applies to its warfare against terrorist enemies like Hezbollah and Hamas. Customary international humanitarian law was written for wars between the armies of sovereign states. These days, in both Gaza and Lebanon, Israel is confronting terrorist mini-states, each of whose territory is a sovereign black hole left behind by a failed governing authority. The Goldstone commission applies laws of war that ignore the necessities of fighting a terrorist enemy that attacks civilians from bases in non-sovereign territory, hides behind its own civilian population, then displays its own civilian casualties in order to appeal for international support.

Goldstone’s rules of war forbid attacking mosques, schools and hospitals; Israel encountered mosques used as arms depots, schools as forward command posts and the main Gaza hospital as Hamas’s central command post.

The fact that the Israeli military posted a lawyer in the command headquarters of every combat unit in Gaza to ensure that civilian casualties were kept to an absolute minimum would have made no impression on Goldstone whatsoever. Israeli military lawyers and commanders were enforcing a different set of rules — the ones used by the American military at Fallujah in Iraq, by NATO in Kosovo and by the Sri Lankans in Jaffna; in Israel’s case, the ones imposed on us by Hamas.

The Lebanon front has been more or less silent since the summer 2006 war against Hezbollah, just as the Gaza front was relatively muted by Israel’s use of the military tactics Goldstone condemns. [A] quiet front means fewer casualties on both sides.

[The Forward]

UPDATES:

Goldstone Report Ignored Israeli Evidence -Dr. Elihu Richter

I personally submitted a nine-page, annotated and referenced brief to the Goldstone Commission last July showing that the high male-female ratio of fatalities among Palestinians in Gaza argues for the combatant status of many whom human rights organizations classified as non-combatants.

However, the Commission was not driven by the evidence, but by its preset agenda.
(Jerusalem Post)

A Farcical Attempt to Paint Israel Black -Ron Prosor

The Goldstone report's lack of credibility has not gone unnoticed in all quarters. Canada, Japan and the EU all refused to support Justice Richard Goldstone's mission from the start. Even Switzerland, which has often lavished red-carpet treatment on tyrants, acknowledged that the anti-Israel bigotry of Goldstone's team made it unsupportable. Mary Robinson, the former Irish President and a fierce critic of Israel, described Goldstone's mandate as "guided not by human rights but by politics."

It is no surprise, therefore, that the report wilfully ignores the context of Israel's Gaza operation. Israeli civilians were battered for eight years by thousands of missiles from Gaza. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, hoping the missiles would stop. Instead, the attacks increased, escalating further when Hamas seized power in a brutal coup in 2007. With a million Israelis under fire, and Hamas' range increasing, Israel did what any democratic state would do. It defended its citizens.
(Times-UK)
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PhotoBite: Iranian Freedom Rally

Demonstrators gathered outside the United Nations September 24 for the Stand for Freedom in Iran Rally

Obama, Sarkozy & Brown talk tough on Iran

President Obama, flanked by France's Sarkozy & Britain's Brown, sternly warns Iran

Obama blasts Iran for secret nuclear facility

President Obama accused Iran of running a secret uranium enrichment plant for years in a "direct challenge" to the international community. "It is time for Iran to act immediately by fulfilling its international obligations" to shut down the weapons programs, Obama said.

Obama was flanked by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Brown said "it's time to draw a line in the sand," against Iran's nuclear programs...

Sarkozy hinted at a military option. "Everything, everything must now be on the table," he said.

The dramatic disclosure by Obama transformed "engagement" talks with Iran scheduled to begin in Geneva next Thursday, from a feeling-out session into a showdown.
[New York Daily News]
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VideoBite: Dramatic Netanyahu speech at UN attacks Ahmadinejad

The VideoBite above is just a taste of Netanyahu's dramatic UN speech. For the full text click HERE. To watch video of the speech [in three 10 minute segments] click HERE.

VideoBite: Ahmadinejad protests

Protests greeting Iranian President, bring
Jewish-Muslim solidarity

Walk out: Ahmadinejad speaks to half-empty chamber

Ahmandinejad talks to UN General Assembly. At least 50% of delegates walked out on his talk, including the United States.

Walkout proves Israel's success

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman [said] the walkout by Western delegates, showed that Israel's diplomatic efforts were working. "Most countries of the free world got up and left, and that proves that our determination pays off," he told Army Radio.

In his speech, Iran's president assailed Israel for what he said was a "barbaric" attack on the Gaza Strip last winter, and claimed that the "brutalities in Gaza have not all been published."

In an apparent anti-Semitic reference, Ahmadinejad complained that a "small minority" controls politics, economics and culture across much of the world.

Western delegates, including those of Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, France, the UK, Italy and Germany left the chamber when Ahmadinejad accused Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza.

Representatives of the US, Israel and Canada were already outside the hall, having boycotted the speech in protest of Ahmadinejad's persistent denial of the Holocaust.

[Jerusalem Post]
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Anti-Ahmadinejad commercial airs

This 30 second spot "Shame" will run nationally on CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC

Obama delivers a dud

Obama gets a cold photo op at UN meeting

but, after months of maneuvering, delivers nothing of substance

President Obama Is Learning Peacemaking Isn't Easy -Editorial

President Obama and his aides assumed that an aggressive effort by the new U.S. president would [be] welcome[d]. [T]hat hasn't proved true.

The administration concluded, wrongly, that obtaining an unconditional Israeli settlement freeze was an essential first step. In fact settlements are no longer a strategic obstacle to peace; most of the construction is in areas that will not be part of a Palestinian state.

The administration's inflexible stance led to an unwinnable confrontation with Netanyahu, turned Israeli public opinion against Obama, and prompted Palestinians to harden their own position.
(Washington Post)
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Will Iran's clerics rebel?

Dissident Ayatollah Montazeri Unleashes His Wrath -Michael Theodoulou

Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, 87 [pictured above], was once the heir apparent to lead Iran. Today he wields considerable moral authority as the country's highest-ranking and most fearless dissident cleric.

Last week Montazeri said Iran had become a "military regime" and that his fellow clerics had the responsibility to come out publicly against the regime and the "crimes" it had committed.

"The grand ayatollahs...know quite well the regime needs their approval for its legitimacy. They also know the regime is exploiting their silence." Hours later, three of Montazeri's grandchildren were arrested for taking part in political rallies. Four sons of three other reformist clerics were also arrested.
(The National-Abu Dhabi)
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Iran street protests reappear

Opposition leader Moussavi [black suit, with glasses], attacked during Friday's protests in Iran

Iranian Opposition Turns Anti-Israel Rally into Anti-Regime Rally

Tens of thousands of opposition protesters swarmed the streets of Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan Friday, turning an annual rally in support of the Palestinians into the first major demonstration against the government of President Ahmadinejad in six weeks.

"I'll sacrifice my life for Iran," chanted protesters in the capital.

State-controlled Iranian television showed thousands of Quds Day attendees holding posters of Lebanese Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah and chanting "Death to Israel," but the opposition stole the day.
(Chicago Tribune)


Activists Unite Ahead of UN Parley -Hilary Leila Krieger

When Iranian President Ahmadinejad is in New York this week, he will face an unprecedented coalition of Jewish, Iranian, labor, African-American and other activists demonstrating against his regime.

His government's brutal crackdown on dissidents has led many progressive Jews to take a more aggressive stance on Iran and helped ally non-Jewish groups with campaigns against the Iranian regime.
(Jerusalem Post)
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Obama "headed for an iceberg"

Stuck in the Middle East -Steven J. Rosen

Eight months into his presidency, Barack Obama is fast approaching his first real moment of truth on the Middle East. At the opening of the U.N. General Assembly session, the U.S. president will host a ceremonial summit between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Then, a week later on Oct. 1, Undersecretary of State William Burns will join representatives of Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China for the first talks with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator to see whether an agreement can be reached to curtail President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nuclear weapons program.

This is the diplomatic offensive that Obama promised the U.S. public last year -- the investment in "soft power" that the president's supporters deemed lacking during the George W. Bush administration. But the White House is facing tough prospects on both fronts. All that fantastical thinking about the transformative power of diplomacy is now headed straight for the iceberg that is the Middle East.

One immovable object is Abbas, who has participated in hundreds of peace negotiations over 15 years with six previous Israeli governments...Obama will be lucky if he can just keep negotiations alive for more than a few weeks.

There is yet one more wild card in all of this: Obama's door is open to advisors who want to break with Israel. Many on the left of the Democratic Party believe that Israel is the obstacle to peace and that a breakthrough could be achieved if Obama just twisted Israel's arm. Their goal is to lobby the U.S. president to "save Israel from herself" by imposing terms on Israel that the great majority of Israelis would reject.

[A]ll that is clear is that Obama's big Mideast moment is coming. Now the world waits to see what kind of U.S. president he wants to be.
[Foreign Policy]
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Alexander the Great unearthed in Israel

Gemstone with Alexander The Great Discovered

An archaeological team at Tel Dor has discovered a gemstone engraved with the portrait of Alexander the Great [pictured above].

"The engraver was able to depict the bust of Alexander on the gem without omitting any of the ruler's characteristics....The emperor is portrayed as young and forceful, with a strong chin, straight nose and long curly hair," notes Dr. Ayelet Gilboa, Chair of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa.

The researchers have noted that it is surprising that a work of art such as this would be found in Israel, on the periphery of the Hellenistic world.

Alexander was probably the first Greek to commission artists to depict his image – as part of a personality cult that was transformed into a propaganda tool. Rulers and dictators have implemented this form of propaganda ever since.
(Red Orbit)
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New York City Rally for Iranian Freedom; UPDATE: protests in other cities

Click on flyer above for information
on the Thursday, September 24th "Stand for Freedom in Iran Rally"
12 noon, Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 47th Street & 2nd Avenue

Click HERE for protests in other cities

Natalie Portman & Jerry Seinfeld come to Israel's defense

Toronto Film Festival Counter Protest

Jerry Seinfeld, Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Alexander and Lenny Kravitz are among a prominent list of

celebrities opposing a group that has criticized the Toronto International Film Festival's spotlight on Tel Aviv.

Titled "We Don't Need Another Blacklist," their statement applauds the festival's decision to spotlight Tel Aviv.
(JTA)

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Al-Qaeda tries to hit New York City again

New York Terror Raids: Cell Plotting Attack on 9/11 Scale
-James Gordon Meek & Simone Weichselbaum

A suspected al-Qaeda cell - the first uncovered in the U.S. since 9/11 - drew round-the-clock FBI surveillance as authorities said they thwarted its plans for a major terror attack.

One of the suspects visited New York last week toting bomb-making plans after a trip to Pakistan - home to most of al-Qaeda's leadership, sources said.

"The FBI is seriously spooked about these guys," a former senior counterterrorism official said. "This is the real thing."

FBI agents swarmed into three apartments in New York this week, bashing down doors and carrying search warrants seeking bomb-making materials.
(New York Daily News)
[File photo]
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Will Obama let Iran deadline pass?

What Happened to the U.S. Deadline on Iran? -Dore Gold

Iran's new proposal to the West did not provide any opening for serious negotiations on the nuclear issue. Back in July, most international observers understood that there was a hard September deadline that Iran had to meet to begin serious nuclear negotiations.

Unfortunately, at this stage, there is little evidence that the Obama administration is about to adopt effective action in a timely manner.

[T]he time for diplomatic experimentation is extremely limited.
The writer was Israel's ambassador to the UN in 1997-1999. He is the author of the newly-released book The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West (Regnery, 2009).
(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)
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Dramatic Rescue: US Citizen freed from West Bank

U.S. Woman Rescued from Palestinian Captivity

Ten former IDF combat soldiers rescued a U.S. citizen and her two-and-a-half-year-old son from a [West Bank] Palestinian village in the Tulkarm area where they had been held captive for three years, Israel Radio revealed.

The woman, who had married a Palestinian man she met in the U.S., was prevented from leaving the house. The man's first wife and four children also live in the house.

After efforts to bring about the woman's release through the Palestinian Authority failed, the woman's parents contacted a Jewish American man who had served in a combat unit in the IDF. He contacted friends in Israel who planned the rescue operation, gathered intelligence, and carried it out successfully.

The woman and her son were transferred to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem and left for Ohio.
(Jerusalem Post)
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Osama bin Laden endorses Jimmy Carter

Bin Laden's Suggested Reading: Jimmy Carter

From a translation of bin Laden's latest address:

"Things will become clearer if you read what your former president, Carter, wrote about the racism of the Israelis against our kinfolk in Palestine. Upon reading, you will discover the truth."
(Ansar al-Mujahideen/Al-Qaeda)


Osama Gets Desperate -Ralph Peters

Osama bin Laden is changing his tune in a frantic attempt to get the Muslim world to pay attention again. In his new tape, Osama conveniently forgot his past claims that his movement was spawned by the presence of Christian "Crusaders" in "holy" Saudi Arabia. Now it's all about the Palestinian problem - an issue that's never topped al-Qaeda's agenda.

When you can't get applause any other way, blame the Jews.
(New York Post)
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Obama picks one off

U.S. Kills Top Qaeda Leader -Jeffrey Bettleman & Eric Schmitt

American commandos killed one of the most wanted Islamic militants in Africa in a daylight raid in Somalia, an indication of the Obama administration’s willingness to use combat troops strategically against Al Qaeda's growing influence in the region.

Western intelligence agents have described the militant, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan [pictured above], as the ringleader of a Qaeda cell in Kenya responsible for the bombing of an Israeli hotel on the Kenyan coast in 2002. Mr. Nabhan may have also played a role in the attacks on two American embassies in East Africa in 1998.

American military forces have been hunting him for years, and on Monday, around 1 p.m., villagers near the town of Baraawe said four military helicopters suddenly materialized over the horizon and shot at two trucks rumbling through the desert.

American officials confirmed that Special Operations forces, operating from a nearby American warship, participated in the helicopter raid.
[New York Times]
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Iran - US talks likely

U.S. to Accept Iran's Proposal to Hold Face-to-Face Talks
-Mark Landler & David E. Sanger

The Obama administration said that the U.S. would accept Iran's offer to meet, fulfilling President Obama's pledge to hold unconditional talks despite the Iranian government's insistence that it would not negotiate over the future of its nuclear program.

At the same time, administration officials said their expectations were extremely low.
(New York Times)


Rethinking Our Iran Strategy -Robin Wright & Robert Litwak

Under the current circumstances, the regime is more likely to engage in a process - largely to get the world off its back - that would not produce enduring substance or real resolution.
(Los Angeles Times)


No Dialogue with the Deaf Neighbor -Abdullah Al Shayji

The Iranians have employed these tactics for years. [A]ny dialogue with Iran will be a waste of time and nothing more than a dialogue with the deaf.
The writer is a professor of International Relations and the head of the American Studies Unit at Kuwait University.
(Gulf News-UAE)


UPDATE:

Don't Dismiss Regime Change in Iran -John P. Hannah

It is ironic that just as the Obama administration seemed prepared to write off regime change forever, the Iranian people have made it a distinct possibility.

It would be tragic indeed if the U.S. took steps to bolster the staying power of Iran's dictatorship at precisely the moment when so many Iranians appear prepared to risk everything to be rid of it.

It would also seem strategically shortsighted to risk throwing this regime a lifeline, because nothing seems more likely to enhance the prospects for peacefully resolving the nuclear issue than the Islamic Republic's replacement by a more democratic government.
(Foreign Policy)
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