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1. Vulture in Saudi Custody Suspected as Mossad Agent
by Gil Ronen
Saudi Arabian security forces have captured a vulture that was carrying a global positioning satellite (GPS) transmitter and a ring etched with the words "Tel Aviv University." They suspect the bird of spying for Israel, Maariv-NRG reported Tuesday. The GPS and ring were connected to the bird as part of an long-term project by Israeli scientists that follows vultures' location and altitude for research purposes.
The arrest of the vulture - whose identification code is R65 - comes several weeks after an Egyptian official voiced the suspicion that a shark that attacked tourists off the Sinai shore was also acting on behalf of Mossad. The incidents may reflect a growing irrational hysteria among Arabs surrounding Israel's military prowess and the efficacy of its intelligence services, possibly fueled by the Stuxnet virus' success..
Maariv said that the R65 was caught near the home of a sheikh in the community of Hayel in Saudi Arabia. The words "Tel Aviv University" etched in English on a ring clasped to its leg, and especially the transmitter, caused the finders to suspect espionage and alert the security forces.
Ohad Hatzofe, bird ecologist for the Nature and Parks Authority, said that the vulture story has been making the rounds in Arabic internet sites, including Al-Jazeera forums and Arabic military forums. "The subject is receiving great publicity and it is important that Saudi authorities understand that it is not true. There is also an international treaty of nature protection professionals, that forbids doing things like this," he added.
The researchers said that seven vultures that were marked in Israel in the last few years reached Saudi Arabia. Transmissions from four of them have ceased and they are presumed dead. One vulture - beside R65 - is still alive and flying around Saudi Arabia, after spending the winter in Sudan.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Saudi Arabian security forces have captured a vulture that was carrying a global positioning satellite (GPS) transmitter and a ring etched with the words "Tel Aviv University." They suspect the bird of spying for Israel, Maariv-NRG reported Tuesday. The GPS and ring were connected to the bird as part of an long-term project by Israeli scientists that follows vultures' location and altitude for research purposes.
The arrest of the vulture - whose identification code is R65 - comes several weeks after an Egyptian official voiced the suspicion that a shark that attacked tourists off the Sinai shore was also acting on behalf of Mossad. The incidents may reflect a growing irrational hysteria among Arabs surrounding Israel's military prowess and the efficacy of its intelligence services, possibly fueled by the Stuxnet virus' success..
Maariv said that the R65 was caught near the home of a sheikh in the community of Hayel in Saudi Arabia. The words "Tel Aviv University" etched in English on a ring clasped to its leg, and especially the transmitter, caused the finders to suspect espionage and alert the security forces.
Ohad Hatzofe, bird ecologist for the Nature and Parks Authority, said that the vulture story has been making the rounds in Arabic internet sites, including Al-Jazeera forums and Arabic military forums. "The subject is receiving great publicity and it is important that Saudi authorities understand that it is not true. There is also an international treaty of nature protection professionals, that forbids doing things like this," he added.
The researchers said that seven vultures that were marked in Israel in the last few years reached Saudi Arabia. Transmissions from four of them have ceased and they are presumed dead. One vulture - beside R65 - is still alive and flying around Saudi Arabia, after spending the winter in Sudan.
Comment on this story
2. Two Staff Members at UK Consulate in Jerusalem Arrested
by Elad Benari
Two local staff members at the UK consulate in Jerusalem have been arrested by Israeli authorities on suspicion of selling weapons to Hamas terrorists, officials reported on Monday.
The BBC reported that the two men, who were maintenance workers at the consulate, were arrested over their alleged links to a plan to fire a rocket at Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium. The plan was disclosed by the Israel Security Agency on Sunday. It was also revealed that two Jerusalem Arabs were arrested after they carried out surveillance from a hill overlooking the stadium in order to find the best place to launch rockets at it.
BBC said that the two UK consulate workers who were arrested had allegedly obtained weapons for the other two men who were accused of planning the attack.
“I can confirm that two members of the local staff at the consulate general in Jerusalem have been arrested by Israeli authorities,” a Foreign Office spokesman told AFP on Monday. “We understand from reports that they have been charged with the illegal sale of weapons and we are seeking confirmation of these charges. It is an ongoing legal process.”
The Foreign Office refused to comment on the report that the two were connected to the terror plot, but a spokesman said the arrests of the staff members was not connected to their work at the consulate.
Amir Ofek, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in London, told The Associated Press on Monday that he believes the two British consulate employees are linked to the Hamas plot to launch rockets at the Teddy Stadium.
“We are trying to figure out exactly what was their relation to this group of Hamas activists,” he said.
The spokesman for Britain’s Foreign Office told The Associated Press that the men were arrested last month and added the two were local hires and not British nationals. He also emphasized that Britain has confidence in the vetting process for all its employees at consulates and embassies. He added that this process is under constant review and that “events like these” arrests will be looked at as part of the continual review.
Comment on this story
%InAd1%
by Elad Benari
Two local staff members at the UK consulate in Jerusalem have been arrested by Israeli authorities on suspicion of selling weapons to Hamas terrorists, officials reported on Monday.
The BBC reported that the two men, who were maintenance workers at the consulate, were arrested over their alleged links to a plan to fire a rocket at Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium. The plan was disclosed by the Israel Security Agency on Sunday. It was also revealed that two Jerusalem Arabs were arrested after they carried out surveillance from a hill overlooking the stadium in order to find the best place to launch rockets at it.
BBC said that the two UK consulate workers who were arrested had allegedly obtained weapons for the other two men who were accused of planning the attack.
“I can confirm that two members of the local staff at the consulate general in Jerusalem have been arrested by Israeli authorities,” a Foreign Office spokesman told AFP on Monday. “We understand from reports that they have been charged with the illegal sale of weapons and we are seeking confirmation of these charges. It is an ongoing legal process.”
The Foreign Office refused to comment on the report that the two were connected to the terror plot, but a spokesman said the arrests of the staff members was not connected to their work at the consulate.
Amir Ofek, spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in London, told The Associated Press on Monday that he believes the two British consulate employees are linked to the Hamas plot to launch rockets at the Teddy Stadium.
“We are trying to figure out exactly what was their relation to this group of Hamas activists,” he said.
The spokesman for Britain’s Foreign Office told The Associated Press that the men were arrested last month and added the two were local hires and not British nationals. He also emphasized that Britain has confidence in the vetting process for all its employees at consulates and embassies. He added that this process is under constant review and that “events like these” arrests will be looked at as part of the continual review.
Comment on this story
%InAd1%
3. Great Caesar's Ghost! Superman to Join Muslim Superhero Crew
by David Lev
For comic book fans, it's the irony to end all ironies: Superman, created by two Jewish artists and rife with Jewish themes and imagery, is hooking up with a band of Muslim superheroes to pursue truth, justice, and the Muslim way – which would presumably include putting an end to the existence of Israel, a basic religious tenet of jihadi Islam. But as a member of the Justice League of America and the property of DC Comics, Superman apparently has little say in the matter, and he, along with Batman, Aquaman, and other JLA members, will be featured in the adventures of a group called “The 99.” Already a popular print product in the Gulf states, "The 99" is coming to the U.S., and has even been developed into a TV series for new U.S. kids' cable network, The Hub.
"The 99" is the brainchild of Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, founder and C.E.O. of Kuwait's Teshkeel Media Group. “The 99” consists of 99 teenagers from around the world, each of whom bears an Arabic name from the Koran that reflects one of the 99 attributes of Allah, as recorded in the Koran. The comic itself first appeared in 2006 in Arabic, and an English language version was produced for the U.S. a year later (nearly 30 issues have been released in the U.S. already). A movie has been rumored, and last year a theme park – one of several planned – based on the The 99's characters opened in Kuwait.
In a number of interviews, Al-Mutawa has said that in the group's adventures, he tries to avoid religious content exclusive to Islam, and instead concentrates on universal virtues, such as the fight against evil, cooperation, and friendship, which he sees as Islamic values as well. Al-Mutawa recruited several veterans of the comics industry – longtime artists who worked for DC and Marvel Comics – to work with him on The 99. In a recent interview, he said that he had a hard time convincing some of the artists to work with him, given the attitude of many Americans to Islam in the wake of 9/11. “To assuage fears that this wasn’t an Islamist project, I bought the satire magazine ‘Cracked,’” among the most irreverent humor comics in North America, Al-Mutawa said in the interview. “This was able to convince a lot of people that my motives were not religious, and that I was seriously committed to the project.”
However, the matter is not that simple, says one experienced comic book connoisseur who spoke with Israel National News. Reviewing the first copy of The 99's adventures, entitled “Origins,” Mark Ginsberg found it rife with Islamic religious imagery. “There are clear references to the Great Mosque in Mecca, Islamic symbols, and the birth of an Islamic savior who will redeem the lands Islam lost to the Christians in Europe, if not fight the final battle with evil.”
Most troubling for Superman, he says, are the scenes in the series that take place in Jeddah and Mecca. “With his Jewish roots, Superman wouldn't even be allowed into those cities altogether, as Jews are banned from the holy cities of Islam,” Ginsberg said.
The question of Superman's Jewish roots has been debated for decades – with many observers pointing to the facts and philosophy of the Superman story for proof. According to the story, Superman was saved from the dying world of Krypton when his parents bundled him up in a small craft and set him adrift – a clear reference, many observers say, to the story of Moses.
“It took place in (Krypton's) 25th century,” comic book artist Alan Oirich writes – comparable to the Jewish year of 2448, the year Moses was sent down the Nile in the hope that he would be saved from the destruction he, as a Jewish male infant, would otherwise have faced at the hands of Pharaoh. “Like Moses' mother Yocheved before him, Superman's father, Jor-El, saved his baby son from doom by placing him in a small conveyance (a mini-spaceship) and sending him off to be adopted, to be raised with an assumed identity and become a hero known the world over,” Oirich writes, exploring other themes in the story showing that Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – themselves the children of Jewish immigrants to a new world – had in mind a Jewish superhero.
“Superman is Kal-El, a member of the family that had been known on Krypton as "The House of El," in Hebrew Beit El, which means 'The House of G-d,'” Oirich writes. “The story has been told that 16-year-olds Siegel and Shuster didn't work on their comic strip on Thursday nights. They had nothing to draw on. Mama Shuster needed her challah board.”
In the original episodes that appeared in the 1930s and 1940s, Oirich continues, Superman didn't fly much; “his first encounters with criminals -- and with Nazis -- in the 30s and 40s had him behaving more like Samson than the Superman we know today. Mostly land bound, he lifted cars and tanks and shook out the bad guys. Bullets couldn't hurt him, but exploding mortar shells could.” In fact, he adds, original drawings of Superman by Joe Shuster has Superman wearing not the red boots he is now associated with – but sandals laced up to his calf, Samson-style.
Now, however, Jewish Superman is set to undergo an identity change, or, at the very least, to become close friends with The 99. “It's hard to see Superman, of all characters, being recruited to help Muslims,” says comic book fan Ginberg. “Whatever Superman's views on Israel, he was an ardent enemy of the Nazis – unlike the Muslims, who still, today, keep Mein Kampf at the top of the bestseller list.”
Comment on this story
by David Lev
For comic book fans, it's the irony to end all ironies: Superman, created by two Jewish artists and rife with Jewish themes and imagery, is hooking up with a band of Muslim superheroes to pursue truth, justice, and the Muslim way – which would presumably include putting an end to the existence of Israel, a basic religious tenet of jihadi Islam. But as a member of the Justice League of America and the property of DC Comics, Superman apparently has little say in the matter, and he, along with Batman, Aquaman, and other JLA members, will be featured in the adventures of a group called “The 99.” Already a popular print product in the Gulf states, "The 99" is coming to the U.S., and has even been developed into a TV series for new U.S. kids' cable network, The Hub.
"The 99" is the brainchild of Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, founder and C.E.O. of Kuwait's Teshkeel Media Group. “The 99” consists of 99 teenagers from around the world, each of whom bears an Arabic name from the Koran that reflects one of the 99 attributes of Allah, as recorded in the Koran. The comic itself first appeared in 2006 in Arabic, and an English language version was produced for the U.S. a year later (nearly 30 issues have been released in the U.S. already). A movie has been rumored, and last year a theme park – one of several planned – based on the The 99's characters opened in Kuwait.
In a number of interviews, Al-Mutawa has said that in the group's adventures, he tries to avoid religious content exclusive to Islam, and instead concentrates on universal virtues, such as the fight against evil, cooperation, and friendship, which he sees as Islamic values as well. Al-Mutawa recruited several veterans of the comics industry – longtime artists who worked for DC and Marvel Comics – to work with him on The 99. In a recent interview, he said that he had a hard time convincing some of the artists to work with him, given the attitude of many Americans to Islam in the wake of 9/11. “To assuage fears that this wasn’t an Islamist project, I bought the satire magazine ‘Cracked,’” among the most irreverent humor comics in North America, Al-Mutawa said in the interview. “This was able to convince a lot of people that my motives were not religious, and that I was seriously committed to the project.”
However, the matter is not that simple, says one experienced comic book connoisseur who spoke with Israel National News. Reviewing the first copy of The 99's adventures, entitled “Origins,” Mark Ginsberg found it rife with Islamic religious imagery. “There are clear references to the Great Mosque in Mecca, Islamic symbols, and the birth of an Islamic savior who will redeem the lands Islam lost to the Christians in Europe, if not fight the final battle with evil.”
Most troubling for Superman, he says, are the scenes in the series that take place in Jeddah and Mecca. “With his Jewish roots, Superman wouldn't even be allowed into those cities altogether, as Jews are banned from the holy cities of Islam,” Ginsberg said.
The question of Superman's Jewish roots has been debated for decades – with many observers pointing to the facts and philosophy of the Superman story for proof. According to the story, Superman was saved from the dying world of Krypton when his parents bundled him up in a small craft and set him adrift – a clear reference, many observers say, to the story of Moses.
“It took place in (Krypton's) 25th century,” comic book artist Alan Oirich writes – comparable to the Jewish year of 2448, the year Moses was sent down the Nile in the hope that he would be saved from the destruction he, as a Jewish male infant, would otherwise have faced at the hands of Pharaoh. “Like Moses' mother Yocheved before him, Superman's father, Jor-El, saved his baby son from doom by placing him in a small conveyance (a mini-spaceship) and sending him off to be adopted, to be raised with an assumed identity and become a hero known the world over,” Oirich writes, exploring other themes in the story showing that Superman's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – themselves the children of Jewish immigrants to a new world – had in mind a Jewish superhero.
“Superman is Kal-El, a member of the family that had been known on Krypton as "The House of El," in Hebrew Beit El, which means 'The House of G-d,'” Oirich writes. “The story has been told that 16-year-olds Siegel and Shuster didn't work on their comic strip on Thursday nights. They had nothing to draw on. Mama Shuster needed her challah board.”
In the original episodes that appeared in the 1930s and 1940s, Oirich continues, Superman didn't fly much; “his first encounters with criminals -- and with Nazis -- in the 30s and 40s had him behaving more like Samson than the Superman we know today. Mostly land bound, he lifted cars and tanks and shook out the bad guys. Bullets couldn't hurt him, but exploding mortar shells could.” In fact, he adds, original drawings of Superman by Joe Shuster has Superman wearing not the red boots he is now associated with – but sandals laced up to his calf, Samson-style.
Now, however, Jewish Superman is set to undergo an identity change, or, at the very least, to become close friends with The 99. “It's hard to see Superman, of all characters, being recruited to help Muslims,” says comic book fan Ginberg. “Whatever Superman's views on Israel, he was an ardent enemy of the Nazis – unlike the Muslims, who still, today, keep Mein Kampf at the top of the bestseller list.”
Comment on this story
4. Jewish Leader Hoenlein Meets Assad - Denies PM Sent Him
by Gil Ronen
North American Jewish leader Malcolm Hoenlein visited Damascus last month at the invitation of Syrian President Bashar Assad and met with him. Officials in Jerusalem said that Hoenlein, who is considered close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, did not go to Damascus on Netanyahu’s behalf.
YeshivaWorldNews spoke with Hoenlein, who confirmed he met with Assad. "Hoenlein was unable to discuss the purpose of the visit, but reiterated that he was not there to pass along any messages from any governments," YWN reported. Hoenlein would only agree to say that Assad announced he would rehabilitate Jewish cemeteries and synagogues in Syria.
Hoenlein is the longtime executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (Presidents' Conference).
He told news organization Politico that he went to Damascus on a "humanitarian mission" about 10 days ago. "I am for four decades involved in humanitarian issues and concerns, and we held discussions about humanitarian issues," Hoenlein was quoted as saying.
In 1998, during Netanyahu's first term as Prime Minister, another man considered close to him - billionaire Ron Lauder - reportedly visited President Hafez Assad as part of indirect negotiations over the Golan Heights and a possible peace deal. Nothing came of those talks and there has been controversy as to what was offered to Syria.
Comment on this story
%InAd2%
by Gil Ronen
North American Jewish leader Malcolm Hoenlein visited Damascus last month at the invitation of Syrian President Bashar Assad and met with him. Officials in Jerusalem said that Hoenlein, who is considered close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, did not go to Damascus on Netanyahu’s behalf.
YeshivaWorldNews spoke with Hoenlein, who confirmed he met with Assad. "Hoenlein was unable to discuss the purpose of the visit, but reiterated that he was not there to pass along any messages from any governments," YWN reported. Hoenlein would only agree to say that Assad announced he would rehabilitate Jewish cemeteries and synagogues in Syria.
Hoenlein is the longtime executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (Presidents' Conference).
He told news organization Politico that he went to Damascus on a "humanitarian mission" about 10 days ago. "I am for four decades involved in humanitarian issues and concerns, and we held discussions about humanitarian issues," Hoenlein was quoted as saying.
In 1998, during Netanyahu's first term as Prime Minister, another man considered close to him - billionaire Ron Lauder - reportedly visited President Hafez Assad as part of indirect negotiations over the Golan Heights and a possible peace deal. Nothing came of those talks and there has been controversy as to what was offered to Syria.
Comment on this story
%InAd2%
5. Napolitano Meets with Peres in Jerusalem
by Chana Ya'ar
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano arrived Monday in Israel on a multi-city tour to assess security measures for U.S.-bound flights.
Napolitano, who was originally scheduled to arrive Wednesday, is expected to remain several days, during which she will review security procedures at Ben-Gurion International Airport.
She traveled directly to Jerusalem to meet with President Shimon Peres at the Presidential Residence.
The two discussed strengthening strategic cooperation between Israel and the U.S. in the field of Homeland Security, according to a statement from the president's office. They also discussed various aspects of the peace process between Israel and its neighbors, the statement said.
“Insecurity is not homemade but comes from outside, has a global character, is original and concerns the defense of innocent people,” Peres said at the beginning of the meeting. “For us it is a key issue.”
Napolitano responded with the standard affirmation of the “strong and enduring partnership” between the United States and Israel. She added that she was in the country to see that “all the things we are doing in partnership” from aviation and cyber security to security-focused science and technology research, “is being done in a productive and robust fashion.”
The focus on increased security in American aviation comes a year after an attempt by the international Al-Qaeda terrorist organization to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.
Various media had reported that Napolitano would skip the trip due to fears that terrorists might repeat the 2009 Christmas bombing attempt by a Nigerian national.
Security at BGI is considered to be the most effective in world aviation, although some groups do not like the policy of racial profiling used as part of the security system.
New increased Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security measures for passengers flying to the United States were announced Monday ahead of Napolitano's visit.
Included among the new measures were physical searches of passengers holding passports from Cuba and 13 Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. In addition, passengers will have to pass through metal detectors, and all luggage will be x-rayed.
The latter two practices have been standard operating procedure at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport, as well as at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, for years. In addition, anyone who cannot pass a specialized set of security questions posed to each passenger is removed from the general queue for special processing, which usually includes a physical search.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano arrived Monday in Israel on a multi-city tour to assess security measures for U.S.-bound flights.
Napolitano, who was originally scheduled to arrive Wednesday, is expected to remain several days, during which she will review security procedures at Ben-Gurion International Airport.
She traveled directly to Jerusalem to meet with President Shimon Peres at the Presidential Residence.
The two discussed strengthening strategic cooperation between Israel and the U.S. in the field of Homeland Security, according to a statement from the president's office. They also discussed various aspects of the peace process between Israel and its neighbors, the statement said.
“Insecurity is not homemade but comes from outside, has a global character, is original and concerns the defense of innocent people,” Peres said at the beginning of the meeting. “For us it is a key issue.”
Napolitano responded with the standard affirmation of the “strong and enduring partnership” between the United States and Israel. She added that she was in the country to see that “all the things we are doing in partnership” from aviation and cyber security to security-focused science and technology research, “is being done in a productive and robust fashion.”
The focus on increased security in American aviation comes a year after an attempt by the international Al-Qaeda terrorist organization to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner.
Various media had reported that Napolitano would skip the trip due to fears that terrorists might repeat the 2009 Christmas bombing attempt by a Nigerian national.
Security at BGI is considered to be the most effective in world aviation, although some groups do not like the policy of racial profiling used as part of the security system.
New increased Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security measures for passengers flying to the United States were announced Monday ahead of Napolitano's visit.
Included among the new measures were physical searches of passengers holding passports from Cuba and 13 Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. In addition, passengers will have to pass through metal detectors, and all luggage will be x-rayed.
The latter two practices have been standard operating procedure at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport, as well as at the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, for years. In addition, anyone who cannot pass a specialized set of security questions posed to each passenger is removed from the general queue for special processing, which usually includes a physical search.
Comment on this story
6. Islamists: WikiLeaks are an Israeli Conspiracy
by Gil Ronen
Why did the documents exposed by WikiLeaks contain so much material about Arab regimes asking the United States to contain Iran’s nuclear program? Why there was little material that was embarrassing to Israel? JTA reports that Hizbullah and other jihadi groups see an Israeli conspiracy at work.
The Jewish news agency said that Hizbullah's Al Manar news outlet, and Al Haqiqa, which is affiliated with a Syrian opposition group, have been writing that WikiLeaks director Julian Assange "struck a deal with Israel and the 'Israel lobby' to withhold documents that might embarrass the Jewish state." From the jihadis, the theory is "percolating" to far-left and far-right websites as well.
A December 8 story on leftist Indymedia UK asked: “Why [did] the hundreds of thousands of American classified documents leaked … not contain anything that may embarrass the Israeli government? The answer appears to be a secret deal struck between Wikileaks … [and] Israeli officials, which ensured that all such documents were ‘removed’ before the rest were made public.”
While Israeli officials shrugged off the claims as unworthy of comment, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement last week comparing them to the rumors that Israel was behind the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. ADL National Director Abraham Foxman called the theories “yet another manifestation of the Big Lie against Jews and Israel.”
The “WikiLeaks affair has given new life to the old conspiracy theories of underhanded Jewish and Israeli involvement in an event with significant repercussions for the U.S. and many nations around the world,” Foxman said.
The story has surfaced in the United States, at the Arab Times and the Arab Voice, Arab-American community papers in Texas and New Jersey, JTA found.
Sharif Nashashibi, chairman of Arab Media Watch, a London-based nonprofit that monitors the British media's coverage of the Arab world, said the claim "certainly isn't prevalent in the Arab and Muslim worlds, and that's most likely because it has no solid basis.”
Comment on this story
%InAd3%
by Gil Ronen
Why did the documents exposed by WikiLeaks contain so much material about Arab regimes asking the United States to contain Iran’s nuclear program? Why there was little material that was embarrassing to Israel? JTA reports that Hizbullah and other jihadi groups see an Israeli conspiracy at work.
The Jewish news agency said that Hizbullah's Al Manar news outlet, and Al Haqiqa, which is affiliated with a Syrian opposition group, have been writing that WikiLeaks director Julian Assange "struck a deal with Israel and the 'Israel lobby' to withhold documents that might embarrass the Jewish state." From the jihadis, the theory is "percolating" to far-left and far-right websites as well.
A December 8 story on leftist Indymedia UK asked: “Why [did] the hundreds of thousands of American classified documents leaked … not contain anything that may embarrass the Israeli government? The answer appears to be a secret deal struck between Wikileaks … [and] Israeli officials, which ensured that all such documents were ‘removed’ before the rest were made public.”
While Israeli officials shrugged off the claims as unworthy of comment, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement last week comparing them to the rumors that Israel was behind the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. ADL National Director Abraham Foxman called the theories “yet another manifestation of the Big Lie against Jews and Israel.”
The “WikiLeaks affair has given new life to the old conspiracy theories of underhanded Jewish and Israeli involvement in an event with significant repercussions for the U.S. and many nations around the world,” Foxman said.
The story has surfaced in the United States, at the Arab Times and the Arab Voice, Arab-American community papers in Texas and New Jersey, JTA found.
Sharif Nashashibi, chairman of Arab Media Watch, a London-based nonprofit that monitors the British media's coverage of the Arab world, said the claim "certainly isn't prevalent in the Arab and Muslim worlds, and that's most likely because it has no solid basis.”
Comment on this story
%InAd3%
7. Netanyahu Heading to Egypt Thursday
by Gil Ronen
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will go to Egypt Thursday to meet President Hosni Mubarak. "After we got through the matter of the budget last week, we are continuing to the diplomatic matter," Netanyahu told senior members of Likud Monday.
"This week, Dennis Ross will come here and I will head to Egypt," he said. "The aim is the same: to strengthen security, to advance the peace process." Dennis Ross is special adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia (including Iran) to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
There are reports that the Prime Minister is to meet Mubarak at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The two leaders last met in September, on the sidelines of a three-way meeting between Netanyahu, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmud Abbas at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. They have not met since the freeze on construction for Jews in Judea was lifted.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will go to Egypt Thursday to meet President Hosni Mubarak. "After we got through the matter of the budget last week, we are continuing to the diplomatic matter," Netanyahu told senior members of Likud Monday.
"This week, Dennis Ross will come here and I will head to Egypt," he said. "The aim is the same: to strengthen security, to advance the peace process." Dennis Ross is special adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia (including Iran) to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
There are reports that the Prime Minister is to meet Mubarak at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The two leaders last met in September, on the sidelines of a three-way meeting between Netanyahu, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmud Abbas at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. They have not met since the freeze on construction for Jews in Judea was lifted.
Comment on this story
8. Round One: GOP Majority in the House Pledges Frugality
by Amiel Ungar
The 112th Congress doesn't convene until Wednesday, but the skirmishing has already begun. On the Sunday interview programs the Republicans, who regained control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, pledged to repeal the Obama administration's signature health care bill, unlovingly referred to as Obamacare.
The Republicans know that the direct route of passage through the two houses is an impossibility, as the Democrats still control the Senate. Even if they were able to secure enough Democratic defectors, Obama can head them off at the pass with a presidential veto. Therefore initiating the repeal bill in the house is more for demonstration than actual purposes, but the Republicans hope to emasculate the health care program by legislative guerrilla warfare. This involves cutting off funding, hauling officials before investigative hearings as well as challenging the law's constitutionality before the courts.
The Republicans will make cuts in government spending, their major issue, because the position is popular and it unites rather than fragments the Republican Party. Additionally, the spending issue feeds into another popular conservative concern, the size of government. Incoming House Speaker Rep. John A. Boehner is convinced that downsizing government is the best way to ensure growth in the private sector.
A symbolic issue that will come up shortly is raising the debt ceiling. Right now the US borrowing limit is $14.3 trillion. This ceiling will be hit in a few months and if Congress does not raise the ceiling the US will default on its debts. Everybody realizes that the ceiling is going to be raised as the consequences of a US defaul,t both domestically and internationally, are incalculable.
The Republicans will insist on something in return so that they will not be seen as backsliding on their pledge to get the US fiscal house in order. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested that he would be willing to trade support for a debt ceiling increase for either a plan to rein in debt or a bipartisan reform of the Social Security system. The Social Security System has been considered an issue that one approached with trepidation as those who proposed tinkering with it usually sustained electoral retribution. That is perhaps why Graham favors bipartisanship on this issue. One option advanced by Graham would be to raise the retirement age.
Another area that will be closely watched is the battle between the House of Representatives and the Environmental Protection Agency. Noted conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer has claimed that in its attempt to legislate against greenhouse gas emissions, the Obama Administration, already stymied during the last Congress, has attempted to compensate for its failure by using the federal regulatory agencies to do the same things proposed in the legislation.
The Republicans in general are more highly skeptical of the global warming theory. In any case they definitely do not believe that US businesses that are already in difficulty can handle the extreme costs entailed by mandatory cuts in CO2 emissions. This week they received ammunition from Japan that backed down on some of its environmental pledges as a result of pressure from Japan's manufacturing lobby.
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by Amiel Ungar
The 112th Congress doesn't convene until Wednesday, but the skirmishing has already begun. On the Sunday interview programs the Republicans, who regained control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, pledged to repeal the Obama administration's signature health care bill, unlovingly referred to as Obamacare.
The Republicans know that the direct route of passage through the two houses is an impossibility, as the Democrats still control the Senate. Even if they were able to secure enough Democratic defectors, Obama can head them off at the pass with a presidential veto. Therefore initiating the repeal bill in the house is more for demonstration than actual purposes, but the Republicans hope to emasculate the health care program by legislative guerrilla warfare. This involves cutting off funding, hauling officials before investigative hearings as well as challenging the law's constitutionality before the courts.
The Republicans will make cuts in government spending, their major issue, because the position is popular and it unites rather than fragments the Republican Party. Additionally, the spending issue feeds into another popular conservative concern, the size of government. Incoming House Speaker Rep. John A. Boehner is convinced that downsizing government is the best way to ensure growth in the private sector.
A symbolic issue that will come up shortly is raising the debt ceiling. Right now the US borrowing limit is $14.3 trillion. This ceiling will be hit in a few months and if Congress does not raise the ceiling the US will default on its debts. Everybody realizes that the ceiling is going to be raised as the consequences of a US defaul,t both domestically and internationally, are incalculable.
The Republicans will insist on something in return so that they will not be seen as backsliding on their pledge to get the US fiscal house in order. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested that he would be willing to trade support for a debt ceiling increase for either a plan to rein in debt or a bipartisan reform of the Social Security system. The Social Security System has been considered an issue that one approached with trepidation as those who proposed tinkering with it usually sustained electoral retribution. That is perhaps why Graham favors bipartisanship on this issue. One option advanced by Graham would be to raise the retirement age.
Another area that will be closely watched is the battle between the House of Representatives and the Environmental Protection Agency. Noted conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer has claimed that in its attempt to legislate against greenhouse gas emissions, the Obama Administration, already stymied during the last Congress, has attempted to compensate for its failure by using the federal regulatory agencies to do the same things proposed in the legislation.
The Republicans in general are more highly skeptical of the global warming theory. In any case they definitely do not believe that US businesses that are already in difficulty can handle the extreme costs entailed by mandatory cuts in CO2 emissions. This week they received ammunition from Japan that backed down on some of its environmental pledges as a result of pressure from Japan's manufacturing lobby.
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