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1. Clinton in Qatar: Stop Corruption or Extremists Will Take Over
by Amiel Ungar
The featured speaker at the Forum for the Future conference in Doha,
Qatar was American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but the audience
could be excused if it thought that it was hearing a representative of
the Bush Administration.
It was the Bush administration that had embraced the approach that the
best way to combat Islamic radicalism was to introduce democracy to the
Middle East. When the Obama Administration took office it scrapped the
Bush approach for a combination of what it portrayed as realism with an
extra helping of American humble pie.
The new policy was that it would be arrogance for the United States to
attempt to preach to other nations how they should conduct themselves.
Simultaneously, the world would be safer and the burden on the United
States reduced if the United States could forge agreements even with
authoritarian regimes that served mutual interests.
Critics of the Obama Administration have claimed that it is so enamored
of engagement that it fails to defend democratic forces throughout the
world, with a notable example being the too little-too late response to
the student demonstrations in Iran.
In its report today, Freedom House reported that Twenty-five countries
showed significant declines in democracy in 2010 while the democratic
world displayed apathy. David J. Kramer, executive director of Freedom
House, lamented "Our adversaries are not just engaging in widespread
repression, they are doing so with unprecedented aggressiveness and
self-confidence…And the democratic community is not rising to the
challenge." This, too, could be seen as implicit criticism of the Obama
Administration.
Yet here was Clinton warning the Arab elites that "the region's
foundations are sinking into the sand,"due to the pervasive culture of
corruption that discouraged participation and hard work. Since the
ordinary citizens were now more politically aware, they realized that
the tiny elite was the beneficiary of the petrodollars and this
engendered attitudes ranging from apathy to anger. If the Arab regimes
would not provide vehicles for participation, they would be outflanked
by 'Extremist elements, terrorist groups and others who would prey on
desperation and poverty are already out there appealing for allegiance
and competing for influence'".
The Forum of the Future was launched in 2004 by the G-8 to encourage
civil groups who were not mere puppets of the government. The Arab
leaders at the forum replied with a stock answer that the pace of reform
had to be measured because too rapid a change could play into the hands
of extremists (with the obvious example of the Shah of Iran whose
ambitions to rapidly remake his country led to his downfall). Secretary
of State Clinton was reverting to the Bush administration in rejecting
that argument.
Responding to a question about America's failure to induce Israel to
stop settlement building, Clinton testily replied that the United States
has failed to get a lot of countries to do what it wanted and in
general America carried a disproportionate burden of the world's
problems on her shoulders. For example, America was the largest donor to
the Palestinian Authority, meaning that it was time for the Arab states
to walk the monetary walk in addition to the pro-Palestinian talk.
2. Farewell to Vehicular Traffic on Jerusalem's Jaffa Road
by Chana Ya'ar
This weekend, the main street in Israel's capital city will bid
farewell to vehicular traffic and take on the official status of a
pedestrian walkway.
Jaffa Road was constructed 150 years ago during the reign of the
Ottoman Turks and so named because it then led travellers out of the
city to where the road to Jaffa port began and vice versa. It, runs from
the Old City''s Jaffa Gate through the center of Jerusalem to the
Central Bus Station and the main intercity highway to Tel
Aviv-Jaffa. There is not an inch of space along its length without a
commercial establishment, many of which serve the millions of tourists
who pass through the capital each year.
In the 2003 photo below, pedestrians cross at one of the largest
four-way intersections in downtown Jerusalem, Jaffa Road, bisecting King
George Street to the left and Strauss Street opposite. (Israel news
photo: Flash 90)
For the next four months, until the Jerusalem Light Rail
project is completed, “Bus 11” – Israeli slang for a person's two legs –
will be the only means of transportation on the road. The sole light rail line,
which will run from Pisgat Ze'ev, through the city center via Jaffa
Road to Mount Herzl, is not expected to make its debut until April.
Mayor Nir Barkat is hoping that four months of free rides for residents
– the light rail will begin charging fares in August -- will ease the
rage that is swelling among vendors, consumers and anyone else who is
used to working and traveling on Jaffa Road.
It's not at all certain that his plan will be a success, however, because that's not all.
Due to the changes along Jaffa Road, traffic patterns on the two
parallel streets – Rehov Agrippas, behind the Mahane Yehuda open-air
market and which runs along the newly gentrified Nachlaot neighborhood,
and Rehov Neviim, which runs along the super hareidi religious Geula
neighborhood on the other side – are also going to be changed.
Effective January 15, buses will be the only vehicles allowed to run on
Agrippas Street, a one-way street, which will pick up the overflow from
the hundreds of buses no longer allowed to run on Jaffa Street.
Rehov Neviim, a two-lane road, will remain open to two-way
traffic, private vehicles as well as buses and taxis. In fact,
effective this weekend it is the only two-way thoroughfare in the
downtown area running parallel to Jaffa Road.
The road is also close to three insular, crowded hareidi religious
neighborhoods that feature countless alleys and tiny little side streets
that to the uninitiated driver seem to lead nowhere – and in fact
sometimes do.
“Neviim is wide enough for two horses and wagons, approximately,”
observed a Jerusalemite who asked not to be identified. “Agrippas will
only have buses. No trains for another four months at least? Shopkeepers
are aghast.”
Rachel S. told Israel National News that she believes the new pattern will just make a bad situation worse.
“Traffic is a nightmare even on a good day as it is,” she said. “This
will increase it exponentially – all the taxi drivers who cannot use
Jaffa Road and all the private cars who get confused or need to get
somewhere and can't will all end up on Neviim instead. Wait until
Purim.”
Residents in Nachlaot, meanwhile, noted that up to a thousand buses a
day will run along the two-lane Agrippas Street, which is embraced by
the market on one side and lovely old stone buildings on the other.
Narrow sidewalks on either side of the street offer barely enough room for two people to walk side by side.
“I'm predicting a disaster since they plan on putting almost every bus
line on Agrippas,” said Jerusalemite David Yehoshua Barrocas.
“This morning coming home from work I already saw the police and some
Egged people directing one of the buses because the driver went the
wrong direction on Agrippas,” he told Israel National News.
“Yafo I can handle,” commented public relations maven Stuart Schnee. “But Agrippas??”
%InAd1%
3. Warning Issued Against New Buddhist Center in Israel
by Elad Benari
The anti-missionary organization Yad L'Achim has issued a warning
against a new Buddhist center which is set to open in Israel’s Arava
region.
According to the warning, an agreement was recently signed by the
Central Arava Regional Council and a non-profit organization by the name
‘Wisdom and Intelligence’ which allocates hundreds of acres in the
Arava for the establishment of a ‘spiritual university’ based on and
operating in accordance with the international principles of Buddhism.
Yad L’Achim says it has been approached by concerned local residents
who asked the organization to take action to prevent the center from
opening. The organization subsequently looked into ‘Wisdom and
Intelligence’ and found that its members are Buddhists.
According to Yad L’Achim, the project is headed by Lama Dvora Tzvieli,
an Israeli living in the United States where she was first exposed to
Buddhism (Lama is the title given to a teacher or spiritual guide in
Buddhism). A subsequent investigation by the organization found that
during the contacts between ‘Wisdom and Intelligence’ and the Interior
Ministry in order to obtain the necessary permits, not a word was spoken
about Buddhism and all the paperwork on the project simply mentioned
the words ‘spiritual university’ with no further details. This is
despite the fact that all the material distributed by the organization,
including information on its Hebrew website, suggests that the center
will be devoted to the study of Tibetan Buddhism.
An important part of Buddhism is devotion to the Buddha, and this
includes bowing to images of the Buddha as well as to religious
superiors, something which is literally idol worship, clearly prhibited
in the Ten Commandments.
In an attempt to stop the Buddhist center, Yad L'Achim Chairman Rabbi
Shalom Dov Lifshitz has contacted in a letter Interior Minister Eli
Yishai and Ezra Rabins, head of the Central Arava Regional Council.
In his letter Rabbi Lifshitz wrote: “Buddhism is idolatry in every
sense of the word and there is no doubt that every step possible must be
taken to stop the construction of this idolatry center.”
4. Turkish PM: Hamas is a 'Political Group,' Not Terrorists
by Chana Ya'ar
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday night
that his nation “stands by Hamas,” which he called “a political group.”
According to a report published on the Al Qassam website, Erdogan told
the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite television network that Hamas is not a
terrorist movement.
“We stand by Hamas when they are right, because the Hamas movement is a
resistance movement,” Erdogan was quoted as saying. “I do not see Hamas
as 'terrorist.' They are people who defend the land, and it is a
political group that entered the elections and won the elections.”
Erdogan warned Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair it will be
impossible to negotiate any settlement between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority without including Hamas.
“Peace will not come out of a Hamas-excluded table,” he said.
“Currently, Fatah and Hamas are two important elements in Palestine. If
you see them as an element and do not see the other element, Palestinian
peace will not materialize.”
As in the past, Erdogan repeated his demand for Israel to compensate
the families of the nine IHH terror activists who died in May 2010 after
attacking IDF commandos on a flotilla ship that attempted to break the
blockade on Gaza. Eight of the nine armed terror activists on the
Turkish-sponsored Mavi Marmara vessel were Turkish nationals.
The IDF commandos, who seized the ship to guide it into Ashdod port, killed the attackers in self-defense after they were set upon as they boarded the vessel. The clash was recorded on video tape. The ship has since been returned to Turkey.
“We want Israel, after returning the Marmara ship to us, to apologize,
to pay compensations, and thirdly, to lift the siege [of Gaza],” Erdogan
continued. “Gaza is an open prison. It is not your right to sentence
all those people to jail.”
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel has no intention of apologizing
for the incident. However, political leaders in both Israel and Turkey
have been working to find ways to cool the diplomatic flames being
fanned by Erdogan over the past year.
The Turkish prime minister slammed the current Israeli government,
under Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, as one that is “at its worst”
with Turkey. He also had harsh words for Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman, claiming, “Lieberman has done every despicable act.”
Erdogan ended his diatribe with a warning: “If these demands are not met, our relations will not return to what they were.”
%InAd2%
5. Belgian Anti-Semitism Leads to More Aliyah
by Elad Benari
According to figures released by the Jewish Agency and published this
past week on the FightHatred.com website, in 2010 there was an increase
of 63 percent in the number of Belgian Jews who made aliyah to Israel.
Two hundred and fifty Belgian Jews chose to make Israel their home in
2010, compared to 152 in 2009.
The report cites increasingly open anti-Semitism in recent years and
the rise of violent attacks against members of the community, especially
its highly-visible hareidi religious members, as causes for the sharp
rise in the numbers of individuals making aliyah.
There are 40,000 Jews in Belgium today, about half of whom are members
of the Jewish community of Antwerp, which is famous for its involvement
in making the city a leading global center of the diamond trade, but at
the same time has increasingly been under threat in recent years.
FightHatred.com brought figures published by Belgian organization, The
Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism, which issued in
2009 a report indicating a surge in anti-Semitism in the country.
Between 2004 and 2008, the Centre recorded some 60 anti-Semitic
incidents each year. The same number of incidents was recorded in the
first four months of 2009 alone.
Anti-Semitic incidents have been on the rise not just in Belgium, but
throughout Europe. In fact, just six months ago, European Jewish
Congress President Moshe Kantor said that European Jewry is in its worst condition since the end of World War II.
“Jews are afraid to walk the streets in Europe with Jewish symbols,”
Kantor said. “Synagogues, Jewish schools and kindergartens require
barbed-wire fences and security, and Jewish men, women and children are
beaten up in broad daylight.”
A main target of anti-Semitic attacks has been the synagogue in the Swedish city of Malmo. Last year, it was struck twice within two weeks, both attacks being in the form of a bomb striking the synagogue. Luckily, there were no injuries either time.
Anti-Semitic remarks in Belgium are not restricted just to the masses.
The leadership has also been known to make such remarks, one example
being that of Karel de Gucht, the country’s former Foreign Minister and
currently the European Commissioner for Trade. De Gucht was number six
on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s 2010 list for the top anti-Semitic slurs,
due to the following remarks he made in September: “...Don’t
underestimate the power of the Jewish Lobby on Capitol Hill. ... You
shouldn’t underestimate the grip it has on American politics, no matter
whether it’s Republicans or Democrats.”
6. Golani Soldiers Swear In at the Kotel
by Elad Benari
On Wednesday, the inaugural ceremony of the Golani Brigade took place
at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. While IDF swearing in
ceremonies often take place at the Kotel, the Golani ceremony was
especially meaningful as this was the first time that it had taken place
in the Kotel. For the past 22 years, these ceremonies have been held at
the division’s training base.
The IDF’s website reported that the Golani Brigade’s trademark brown
berets could be seen filling the Western Wall Plaza as the soldiers
stood in excitement, waiting to swear their loyalty to the IDF and to
the State of Israel.
The special atmosphere could especially be felt when brigade commander Colonel Ofek Buchris spoke to the soldiers:
“Today we swear allegiance to defend our homeland and we operate out of
this commitment,” he said. “After more than 20 years, there is no place
more appropriate to swear allegiance than the Kotel, a place that
combines the old with the new and expresses the depth of our connection
to our homeland.”
The excitement was even felt among the veteran commanders who have
experienced many swearing in ceremonies, none of which has been as
exciting as the one in the Kotel.
“As a company commander I have experienced quite a few swearing-in
ceremonies, yet I was still very excited during this one,” said a
commander in Golani’s 12th Battalion. “Standing in front of the Kotel
with the soldiers and the flags around gave me chills.”
%InAd3%
7. A-G Pressures Barkat on Beit Yehonatan
by Gil Ronen
Attorney General Yehudah Weinstein has fired off a letter to Jerusalem
Mayor Nir Barkat pointedly demanding that he take steps to immediately
seal Beit Yehonatan - a building in Jerusalem's Shiloach (Silwan)
neighborhood in which Jewish families reside.
The Attorney General hinted that he would like to see another home in
the same vicinity sealed or razed along with Beit Yehonatan. Mayor
Barkat - and the proponents of Beit Yehonatan - have said that it would
mock justice to seal only the home owned by Jews, and not take similar
steps against hundreds of illegal Arab-owned homes in the same
neighborhood.
Weinstein told Barkat that he had no right to put off the execution of
the court order in the matter. "Carrying out the order to evict the
residents and seal Beit Yehonatan is an obligation that the court has
determined and redetermined in a substantial number of decisions," he
wrote. "Carrying out the order is not up to your judgment as Mayor of
Jerusalem, and once it was found that the case does not conform to
criteria for postponement of execution, is not longer up to my judgment
as head of the enforcement system in Israel."
"I agree that enforcement of the law does not begin and end with
eviction of the residents and the sealing of Beit Yehonatan, but also
relates to other orders," he added. "That is why I have asked the
enforcement arms to make an effort to have the execution of the said
order carried out together with the execution of another order."
"A near date needs to be determined for the execution of the order," Weinstein stressed.
Vague statement
The Jerusalem municipality issued a slightly vague statement Thursday
evening in response, saying that the city and Mayor Barkat "honor the
decisions of the court and the guidance of the attorney general" as they
relate to the sealing of Beit Yehonatan. The statement continued,
"Barkat has instructed the municipality professionals dealing with the
case to continue to act according to the law, city guidelines and the
instructions of the attorney general."
In late December, Jewish organization Ateret Cohanim threatened
that if city officials sealed Beit Yehonatan, Ateret Cohanim would seek
to enforce an order to expel Arab squatters from a Yemenite synagogue
in the same neighborhood. Barkat and Ateret Cohanim then reached a
compromise according to which neither structure would have its residents
evicted. It appears Weinstein is displeased with this compromise.
Beit Yehonatan is named for Jonathan Pollard, who was jailed in the
U.S. 25 years ago after being convicted of spying for Israel.
8. Barak Asks for More Time on Heroes' Condemned Homes
by Gil Ronen
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has asked the High Court for a one-month
extension to provide an updated answer to a "Peace Now" motion against
Jewish homes in a Samaria neighborhood. The homes that were slated for
demolition based on the motion include those of two fallen war heroes,
Maj. Roi Klein and Maj. Eliraz Peretz, in the Yovel neighborhood of Eli,
in Samaria.
The Defense Ministry's request says that Barak, as well as the IDF and
the police, are checking possible alternatives to the demolition of the
homes and that the matter will be brought before Attorney General
Yehudah Weinstein.
Barak told the court that the Defense Ministry and the IDF have been
conducting a detailed survey of the land upon which the homes stand, to
determine what part of it, if any, was not legally appropriated.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the matter Thursday morning
in a Industrialists' Federation convention in Tel Aviv. He said he
would not let the homes of widows Shlomit Peretz and Sarah Klein be torn
down. "This is a matter of common sense, and I will not allow the
demolition of the homes of these heroes who sacrificed their lives for
the security of Israel."
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