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1. Protest Snowball Knocks Over Jordanian Government
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Jordan’s King Abdullah abruptly dismissed his government Tuesday as the street protest revolution spreads with demands for reforms and lower prices.
As the Mubarak regime gritted its teeth for a million-man rally in
Cairo, thousands of Jordanians took to the streets, and King Abdullah
quickly met their demands and fired his prime minister, Samir Rafi. The
cabinet resigned, and the king named Marouf al-Bakhit, a former army
general, as his prime minister-designate after protesters demanded a
speed-up in political reforms and lower fuel and food prices.
"Bakhit's mission is to take practical, quick and tangible steps to
launch true political reforms, enhance Jordan's democratic drive and
ensure safe and decent living for all Jordanians,” The Royal Palace
stated.
The Jordanian protests were led by trade unionists, leftists and the
Muslim Brotherhood, Jordan’s largest opposition group, but unlike the
demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, there were no calls to overthrow
the monarchy.
King Abdullah, who recently has visited poor areas of the kingdom, told
legislators last week that "openness, frankness and dialogue on all
issues is the way to strengthen trust between citizens and their
national institutions,” the Palace added.
The king’s dismissal of his prime minister may forestall a tide of
anger against the king, whose monarchy is widely respected even among
opponents
Muslim Brotherhood leader Zaki Bani Irsheid, who heads the radical
group’s political arm, warned before the dismissal of the government
that King Abdullah’s actions have been "just a public relations campaign
that doesn't solve the crisis," in an interview with the Washington
Post.
2. Peres: Democracy Can Lead to Dictatorship
by Gil Ronen
The world needs to keep in mind the results of the democratic elections
in Gaza that led to the takeover by Hamas, President Shimon Peres told
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a meeting between the two Monday in
Jerusalem.
"Democracy must not begin and end with the elections alone," Peres told
his guest. "True democracy actually begins on the day following
elections, with the granting of human rights and a concern for citizens'
welfare," he explained.
"If an extremist and dangerous religious dictatorial regime comes to
power on the day after elections are held, what good are the democratic
elections?" he asked rhetorically.
"There is a clear attempt to place the Middle East under the extremist
and dangerous religious leadership, and Iran is operating behind the
scenes to fortify its influence on the region," Peres added. "The
problem of Iran and international terror is not an Israeli 'monopoly'
but a global problem. Only recently, we were witness to a terror attack
in the heart of Moscow, and today, no world capital is immune from a
terror attack."
Peres said that Europe has a key role in the development of a
missile-defense envelope that will be deployed in the Middle East, in
order to block Iranian expansionism.
3. Muslim Brotherhood’s Message Same as Hamas: Kill Jews
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Many Western analysts agree that the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas are
one and the same. One leading Brotherhood cleric has said: "Kill Jews –
to the very last one.” A Brotherhood takeover of Egypt would strengthen
Hamas in Gaza.
Another Brotherhood leader told an Arab language newspaper Monday that Egyptians “should prepare for war against Israel."
The Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas are rooted in the same ideology. "If
the Muslim Brotherhood groups gain a prominent place in the government,
this would definitely help consolidate Hamas's hold on Gaza,'' Atiyeh
Jawwabra, a political science professor at Jerusalem's Al Quds
University, told The Wall Street Journal’s Joshua Mitnick.
The journalist added, “Hamas, whose founder was a member of the Muslim
Brotherhood in Egypt, has rejected negotiations with Israel and refuses
to foreswear military and terrorist attacks."
“Under a different name (Hamas), the Muslim Brotherhood runs the Gaza
Strip. Hamas's charter states unequivocally that it wants to eradicate
Israel,” wrote Richard Cohen in the Washington Post this week.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s ideology was made clear in the sermons of one
of its leading preachers based in Qatar, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Two
years ago, the Anti-Defamation League posted several of his teachings,
one of them a call that Israel and Jews be dealt with by the Almighty
who should "kill them, down to the very last one."
In a sermon aired in January 2009 on Al Jazeera television, Qaradawi
said, “I will shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews, and they will throw a
bomb at me, and thus I will seal my life with martyrdom.” Two days
later, Qaradawi gave another speech that also aired on Al-Jazeera, where
he claimed that Adolf Hitler was sent by Allah to punish the Jews.
The same month, he led a delegation of Muslim scholars who met with
Arab terrorist groups, including Hamas, in Damascus "to discuss the ways
to cope with a war of genocide against the people in…Gaza."
On another occasion, he declared, "I support Hamas, the Islamic Jihad,
and Hizbullah. I oppose the peace that Israel and America wish to
dictate. This peace is an illusion. I support martyrdom operations."
Several analysts view the Muslim Brotherhood as being a minority in
Egypt, and the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, traditionally against
Israeli nationalism, recently opined that “There is ultimately no
alternative to freedom and self-government,” even if it means that a
radical Muslim group will control Egypt.
During the George W. Bush administration, U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice was shell-shocked when aides woke her up in the middle
of the night to tell that Hamas won the Palestinian Authority's first
and only legislative election that the United States sponsored - and
even monitored - in the Palestinian Authority.
CNN somewhat played down the prospect of an Egyptian government led by
the Muslim Brotherhood, quoting Egyptian analyst Mustafa Abulhimal as
saying, "The Muslim Brotherhood are a small minority among those who are
out on the street," he said, and added that there is no comparison
between Egypt today and Iran in 1979, when the Islamic Revolution
overthrew the American-backed Shah.
"The Muslim Brotherhood has nothing to do with the Iranian model, has
nothing to do with extremism as we have seen it in Afghanistan and other
places. The Muslim Brotherhood is a religiously conservative group.
They are a minority in Egypt," he said.
4. Gold-Seeking Mobs Destroy Egypt's Historic Treasures
by David Lev
By now, rioting, looting and general unrest have spread to nearly every
corner of Egypt, and areas that were until now relatively calm have,
since the weekend, erupted. With the Egyptian government trying to
maintain its hold on power, however, the military has been doing its
best to keep the media from reporting too much about events in the
country. And while that strategy is impractical for a metropolis like
Cairo, which has hundreds of thousands of Western tourists and
residents, it has been more effective in other parts of the country.
Thus, Western media on Friday learned of the terrible destruction by a
mob of looters of Cairo's National Egyptian Museum, which contains
artifacts going back thousands of years, including ancient mummies from
the era of the pharaohs. Less reported, however, have been the mob
ravages at museums, pyramids, and archaeological sites around the rest
of the country – with witnesses reporting the utter destruction of many
irreplaceable historic items and entire sites, as hungry mobs pick over
loot, seeking something they can use or sell. Meanwhile, UNESCO, the
UN's watchdog organization that is supposed to protect world heritage
sites and artifacts, has been nowhere to be found.
Arabic news websites in the past few days have related tales of large
groups of impoverished Egyptians who have stripped museums bare –
carrying off what they could, and destroying the rest. Lost in the
rubble have been many works of art and historical artifacts, and in
several cases mobs have burned down museums and archaeological sites.
One report said that the museum at Qantara, which held statues and works
of art from the Roman and Byzantine periods, had been totally laid
waste, after the government had spent millions to upgrade it in recent
years.
Other reports said that a principal museum near the pyramids had been
looted. A worker at the museum said that the mob had demanded that he
show them where the gold was stored; finding gold fabled to have been
hidden away in sarcophagi and ancient vessels seems to have been their
main motivation, he said. After much effort, and risk to his life, he
finally was able to convince them that there was no gold – upon which
the mob took out its anger and frustration on the thousands of years old
artifacts and mummies. In some cases, security guards were able to keep
the mob out of museums and antiquity sites – so, instead, looters
stripped bare the souvenir stores attached to them.
In an interview, Muhammad Abed al-Maksoud, curator of the Egyptian
Museum, told the tale of the looting of the museum, and the destruction
of mummies – possibly the grandparents of King Tutankhamun, according to
experts. “There is a feeling of total chaos. The thieves were sure they
could find artifacts they could sell, but each item is numbered and
cataloged, and if they try to sell them they will get caught – so we
have hope of catching the culprits and bring them to justice,” he said.
Speaking in an interview on CBS news this week, Tarek Saadawi, the
former Egyptian Minister of Telecommunications, demanded that the UN
intervene and calm the situation in the country – and that UNESCO do
something to stop the looting. “These treasures must be returned back
and the law must be enforced here," said Saadawi, "the U.N. and UNESCO
should dedicate resources to identify and return these lost treasures.”
There was no comment from UNESCO officials.
5. New Jewish Neighborhood in Eastern Jerusalem
by Hillel Fendel
The cornerstone laying ceremony for a new Jewish neighborhood on the
northern slopes of Mt. of Olives was held this afternoon, in the
presence of past and possibly future U.S. Presidential candidate Mike
Huckabee, Knesset Members, rabbis, and Jerusalem city council members.
The new neighborhood will not be large – only 24 units – but will mark
the expansion of the Jewish residential presence to new parts of
liberated Jerusalem. The site, currently home to Yeshivat Beit Orot, a hesder yeshiva, is located just off Mt. Scopus.
How Not to Divide Jerusalem
The new neighborhood is a bane for those who wish to see clearly
delineated borders between Jewish and non-Jewish areas in Jerusalem,
which they feel will make it easier to negotiate a settlement for the
division of Jerusalem. Those who oppose such a division, therefore,
welcome a Jewish return to all areas of the Holy City, as this will
render more difficult its negotiated division.
Speaking at today’s ceremony, Huckabee said, “As an American, it is
inconceivable that there is even a question about whether a Jew may or
may not live in various parts of Jerusalem.”
Science Minister Rabbi Prof. Daniel Herskovitz, head of the Jewish Home
party, said, “Jewish construction in Jerusalem does not block peace; on
the contrary, it brings peace closer. The more construction there is,
the more peace there will be. And therefore this neighborhood is just a
cornerstone – a model for the renewal of building in Jerusalem.” He had
earlier told Arutz-7 that the ceremony was being held publicly and
openly, not on the sly: “The documents published by Al-Jazeera show that
even the PA have accepted that we are here in Jerusalem to stay. The
world knows that there is no way to stop Jewish construction in our
capital.”
Deputy Mayor David Harari (National Religious Party) said, “The housing
units to be built here are just the beginning. We have already been
having discussions about turning it into a large neighborhood.”
Construction on the neighborhood commenced six weeks ago. It is
contiguous with other Jerusalem neighborhoods, including French Hill,
the Hebrew University at Mount Scopus and the Beit Orot campus.
Yeshivat Beit Orot was founded by Rabbis Benny Elon and Chanan Porat;
Porat had taken part in the Six Day War battle that won the area of Beit
Orot – a battle in which his beloved and much-admired commander Giora
Ashkenazi gave his life. Porat later said:
“I had always had in the back of my mind that some type of very
significant monument should be erected in this area for Giora, who was
not religious but was as straight as G-d can make a man… And then one
day someone told me that a wealthy Arab was willing to sell his house
there, and that we could purchase it and build a Yeshiva there… At the
ground-breaking, Giora’s widow Era spoke and expressed her hope that the
students who study there would increase knowledge and internalize her
husband’s values… She said that her daughter and son-in-law live a
religious lifestyle and that perhaps one day, their son – Giora’s
grandson – would study there, or say Kaddish for him there, in the very
place that Giora gave his life for his people. And, probably in the
merit of Jerusalem, this is exactly what happened, some years later…”
6. Jews and Arabs Cooperate in Gush Etzion
by Elad Benari
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development, Silvan Shalom, toured Gush Etzion on Sunday.
During the tour, Shalom visited the local branch of the successful supermarket chain belonging to Israeli entrepreneur Rami Levy
(who recently made headlines after his successful bid to take over
development of the Nof Zion project). After meeting with Levy, Shalom
observed the area of Bat Ayin and met with the Mukhtar (Arabic for the
head of a village or neighborhood) of the nearby village of Khirbet
Zakaria.
During the meeting Shalom learned of the excellent relations and
cooperation between local Jews and Arabs, a relationship headed by Gush
Etzion Mayor Shaul Goldstein and the Mukhtar. Following the tour,
Goldstein said that Gush Etzion is the perfect place for one to actually
be able to find long-standing stability and regional cooperation
between Jews and Arabs.
“Gush Etzion is glad to be a bridge between Jews and Arabs,” said
Goldstein. “This comes from our deep connection to our land, which was
received after much bloodshed for thousands of years of history. It is
precisely the connection to our land and not a disengagement from it
which allows for such regional stability.”
During the tour, Shalom said: “For years the instability in the Middle
East was blamed on the State of Israel, due to the ongoing conflict with
the Arabs. The processes we see today in various countries such as
Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia, show that these statements have no basis.
The instability in the areas around us proves once again that the State
of Israel must ensure its security and have strong and stable security
arrangements, in order that at any time and in any situation we can
ensure the security of Israeli citizens.”
Shalom concluded his tour with a visit to the Makor Chaim yeshiva in
Kfar Etzion, where he participated in a ceremony marking one student’s
finishing the study of the Talmud.
7. Israel: Will Germany Uphold the Spirit of Sanctions on Iran?
by Amiel Ungar
Angela Merkel arrived in Israel for the third joint cabinet session
with the Israeli government. Despite differences on Israeli communities
built beyond the 1949 Armistice border, Merkel claimed that Germany and
Israel have an understanding facilitated by common values.
While Merkel is regarded in Israel as a friend, the issue of Iran has sometimes soured Israeli German relations.
Benajamin Weinthal of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, in an article that he co-authored with Giulio Meotti in
the Wall Street Journal (Jan. 17) referred to the paradox of Germany,
that while considered relatively pro-Israel within the European Union
context has been doing a land office business with Iran. It was
therefore important, they wrote, that Merkel threaten Iran with
increased sanctions if it continues with the stonewalling policy that is
displayed in P5+1 talks in Istanbul, where it claimed that its nuclear program is non-negotiable.
P5 means the five permanent members of the Security Council and the
extra 1 is Germany. Germany's role began in 2003, when together with
France and the United Kingdom, it formed the European 3 to negotiate
with Iran. Some analysts argued then that the motivation was not only
to establish a European position separate from the American one that
enshrined a negotiated solution, but that it was also an outcome favored
by Iran.
Iran, positioned between Russia-the Soviet Union and Western power, has
sought good relations with Germany as a counterweight. In the Second
World War, the Soviet Union and the Western Allies exercised military
control over Iran for fear that it would side with the Axis and forced
Reza Shah to abdicate. The Iranians, even under the Islamic Republic,
still refer to the common Aryan background shared by the two peoples,
but this is downplayed by the Germans.
Weinthal accuses Germany of playing a double game, because while it
adheres presumably to the sanctions regime and may be prepared to up the
ante, Germany is an enthusiastic trading partner in grey areas and
areas not covered by the sanctions. The German Economic Ministry, headed
by the Free Democrats in the coalition, is still conducting seminars to
promote German Iranian trade.
According Weinthal, Germany has not shut down the European-Iranian
trade bank which the US Treasury Department, that is quarterbacking the
sanctions effort, calls a conduit for Iran's missile and nuclear
programs. According to Weinthal and Meotti German imports from Iran grew
by 28% in 2010 as opposed to 2009, while German exports rose by 5%.
Strictly military exports are banned, but the major loophole is the
dual-use equipment such as "replacement parts for rescue helicopters"
David Wroe writing in the Global Post claims that Germany is
appreciated in Iran, although it occasionally raises human rights
issues, because it is seen as pragmatic and has “never questioned the
outcome of the [1979 Islamic] revolution or the nature of the regime.”
For that reason, Germany is also useful for bringing China and Russia on
board, because the latter two countries look askance at regime changes.
Because of her special position, Germany served as the mediator in
Israel's deal with the Hezbollah and is now the go-between in
negotiations with Hamas in an attempt to the the release of Gilad
Shalit. This has not silenced critics, who claim that Germany has not
been acting altruistically, but has profited as a middleman and has
effectively broken ranks.
This is not a new charge. During the Clinton administration, the
Americans fumed that the Germans had tipped off the Iranians about
American bugging devices in their Bonn Embassy (Bonn was Germany's
former capital before the decision was made to return to Berlin).
In 1995, Bill Clinton protested to Germany's Chancellor Helmut Kohl
about the German decision to restructure Iran's $5 billion debt to
Germany; he also questioned the sale of high-tech equipment to Iran that
would be used for military purposes. Richard Perle, Undersecretary of
Defense for the Reagan administration, summed up Germany's policy "the
basic German policy has been to protect German industry."
Even as far back as the Reagan years, the United States and Germany
clashed over the sale of dual-use technology, except that then it was
sales to Saddam's Iraq and Khadaffi's Libya.
8. Where is Robin Hood? Sherwood Forest to be a Building Complex?
by Amiel Ungar
Anyone looking at Great Britain's electoral map would see immediately
that rural Britain is an almost unbroken swath of blue, the color of
Britain's Conservative Party. This alliance was further cemented during
the Labour government of Tony Blair, when the Labour majority passed a
bill outlawing foxhunting.
Now, for a change, rural Britain is steaming at the Conservatives and
even the shade of Robin Hood may soon make a resentful appearance. The
background to this furor is the cash crunch faced by the
Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.
While David Cameron has already warned households that this will be a
difficult year, the government is still trying to scrape up some cash,
via taxation, budget cuts and also by privatization. As an example of
the latter, one of the government assets to be put on the block is 15%
of the Forestry Commission's 500,000 acres. Included in the commission's
assets are the picturesque forests of the Lake District, the Forest of
Dean and the renowned Sherwood Forest.
Those who have chosen the rural life welcome the proximity to forests
and open spaces. If the sale goes through, they can expect to see crass
developers destroying the forested areas for the purpose of building
weekend chalets for the well-to-do.
Labour is already gloating, claiming that this proposal could garner as
much hostility as Margaret Thatcher's hated poll tax that accelerated
her political demise. A quarter of a million people have already signed
an online petition against the proposal; protest marches are being held
through the forests and even city slicker Ed Miliband Labour's new
leader has become involved in the effort. Labor has arranged for a
debate on the proposal tomorrow in the expectation, justified by their
public statements, that coalition Members of Parliament representing the
forested areas will revolt against the government.
The government has tried to spin the proposal as being consonant with
David Cameron's policy of getting society involved to take some of the
load off an overburdened government. Accordingly, it will not be
developers motivated purely by selfish and pecuniary interests who will
be sold parts of the forests, but civil society bodies and charitable
groups will be given the chance "to manage or own forests which are
deemed to be heritage on community sites."
Rural Britain remains unconvinced.
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