Il 31enne
Richard Handl aveva tentato di costruire una piccola centrale atomica
nella sua cucina, raccontando in un blog tutte le fasi del suo
esperimento
Dure polemiche
fra la LAV e il ministro Stefania Prestigiacomo sulle nuove regole
anti-bracconaggio. Pene meno severe per chi uccide orsi e lupi?
Legambiente Turismo ha appena diffuso l'elenco delle strutture vacanziere con spiccata propensione ecologica: 23 nella top list
Vacanze
all'insegna del rispetto dell'ambiente, piccole accortezze e regole per
trascorrere le giornate in serenità e armonia con l'habitat che ci
circonda
Le due associazioni chiedono al Governo di adottare una serie di modifiche al sistema di incentivi per l'energia eolica
L'associazione
ambientalista ha pubblicato un dossier con le analisi delle Arpa su
frutta, verdura e derivati: molti campioni contengono tracce di sostanze
chimiche
Benessere
Infiammazioni e irritazioni causate dal troppo sole e dal caldo sono le nemiche dell'estate al mare. Ecco come curare...
Benessere
La Paleodieta è una dieta ispirata al periodo paleolitico precedente l'agricoltura, quando l'uomo mangiava solo carne e...
Coppia
Gestire gli amori estivi passeggeri
Viene diagnosticato l'amore estivo a tutti i villeggianti che prendono una cotta per un vicino di ombrellone. Come gestire...
Mamma e Famiglia
Vacanze con i bambini, cosa mettere in valigia
Quando si viaggia con bambini piccoli occorre preparare i bagagli con molta attenzione: ecco alcuni consigli per non...
Cucina
Come fare la spesa per single risparmiando
Ecco semplici e pratici consigli per fare la spesa quando si è single e non si vuole buttare nella spazzatura troppo cibo.
| Wirtschaft heute | 05.08.2011 | 17:15 UTC |
| Wirtschaft |
| Wirtschaft |
| Tage des Grauens |
 |
Der
Eindruck, dass die Schuldenkrisen in Europa und den USA nicht gelöst
werden, garniert mit der Angst vor einer US-Rezession hat die Börsen
weltweit einbrechen lassen. Mehr bei unserem Partner boerse.ARD.de.  |
| Börse |
| Ursachenforschung nach dem Börsenbeben |
 |
Eine
Horrorwoche liegt hinter den Weltbörsen. Die Talfahrt war rasant, die
Verluste riesig. Schuldenberge und Rezessionsängste sind die Ursachen.
Sehen wir die Vorboten einer neuen Wirtschaftskrise? |
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| Sport |
| China-Premiere auf Bundesliga-Trikot |
 |
Premiere
in der Fußball-Bundesliga: Mit Suntech wirbt erstmals ein Unternehmen
aus China auf den Trikots eines deutschen Erstliga-Vereins. Für die
deutsche Solarbranche ist das eine Niederlage. |
|
|||
| Schuldenkrise |
| Talfahrt an den Börsen hält an |
 |
Von
der Wall Street über Frankfurt bis Tokio – weltweit sind die
Aktienkurse eingebrochen. Frankreich, Deutschland und Spanien wollen ihr
Handeln abstimmen. Wie geht es nun an den Finanzmärkten in Europa
weiter? |
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| Finanzmärkte |
| Dramatischer Abwärtssog an den Börsen |
 |
Ängste
vor einer Ausweitung der Schuldenkrise in den USA und Europa führen an
den Aktienmärkten zu hektischem Aktionismus. Die Wall Street erlebte
einen schwarzen Tag, auch Europas Börsen verbuchten herbe Verluste. |
|
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| Wirtschaft |
| Konjunkturängste und Beruhigungspillen |
 |
Die
Schuldenkrisen in den USA und in der Eurozone sorgen für Turbulenzen an
den Finanzmärkten +++ Chinesischer Solaranlagen-Produzent Suntech
steigt beim Bundesligisten Hoffenheim ein |
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------ DOUBTS OVER EURO STABILITY ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Precipitous Market Declines Shake European Leaders In recent days, the euro crisis appeared to be under control again, but market declines this week have shaken European leaders. Speculators are mercilessly testing the weaknesses of the euro rescue package, and European Commission President Barroso is calling for the bailout fund to be increased. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,778667,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FINANCIAL MARKET TREMORS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opposition Demands Merkel Suspend Vacation German Chancellor Angela Merkel will speak with French President Nicolas Sarkozy Friday afternoon by phone to discuss the shaky global markets. But opposition parties demanded that she cut her vacation short and return to Berlin to deal with the issue instead. Meanwhile, positive news from the US labor market helped the DAX edge higher following a morning nose-dive. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,778635,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE WORLD FROM BERLIN ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'The IMF Needs Calm at the Top' One month into her job leading the IMF, Christine Lagarde is under investigation by French authorities. The news came on a day when stock markets fell worldwide on fears about the euro-zone debt crisis and the ailing US economy. The development rattles German editorialists' nerves on Friday. http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,778576,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTERNET EVOLUTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The War on Web Anonymity The Internet has always been a refuge of anonymity. Anyone could hide behind the cloak of namelessness and express the most offensive views. Now politicians and companies -- including Google and Facebook -- want to change that. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,778138,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BIRTH OF THE 'FIFTH ESTATE' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ William Dutton on 20 Years of the World Wide Web In a SPIEGEL interview, William Dutton of the Oxford Internet Institute discusses how fundamentally the World Wide Web has changed our lives since its creation 20 years ago, offering his views on how it helps communities organize and its emergence as a 'Fifth Estate,' helping hold both governments and media around the globe accountable. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,778193,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOVINE BAIT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Activists Try to Save Yvonne, the Runaway Cow For weeks now, a runaway cow named Yvonne has been wandering the woods along a Bavarian highway, eluding capture and stalling traffic. Authorities have the authorization to shoot her, but animal rights activists hope to reel her in by appealing to her maternal instincts. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778580,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO CULTURES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Risk of Suicide Greater for Turkish-German Women The number of attempted suicides is five times as high among young Turkish-German women than their ethnic German counterparts. In a state of limbo between two cultures, they often succumb to despair. Sema, a 27-year-old woman who tried to commit suicide twice, is a case in point. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778237,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WATCHING THE WALL GO UP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 'West Berliners Felt Abandoned and Powerless' An article from SPIEGEL's archive highlights the West Berliners' anger that the Allies didn't stop the construction of the Berlin Wall. But political scientist and historian Klaus Schroeder says there was nothing the Western forces could do. Berlin wasn't worth a war. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778167,00.html#ref=nlint -------------------- From the Archive: Berliners Blame Allies for Wall Construction http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778019,00.html#ref=nlint Wiping the Wall Away: Before and After Photos of Germany's East-West Border http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778463,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE ARCHIVE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Berliners Blame Allies for Wall Construction East Germany began building the Berlin Wall on Aug. 13, 1961. A scathing article published by SPIEGEL 10 days later captures the outrage of West Berliners' over the Allies' failure to intervene. As the 50th anniversary of the barrier's construction approaches, we revisit our archive. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778019,00.html#ref=nlint -------------------- Watching the Wall Go Up: 'West Berliners Felt Abandoned and Powerless' http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778167,00.html#ref=nlint Wiping the Wall Away: Before and After Photos of Germany's East-West Border http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,778463,00.html#ref=nlint ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PICTURE THIS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Flight of Fantasy http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,778658,00.html#ref=nlint
| Nachrichten | 05.08.2011 | 18:15 UTC |
| Wirtschaft |
| Börse |
| Ursachenforschung nach dem Börsenbeben |
 |
| Eine
Horrorwoche liegt hinter den Weltbörsen. Die Talfahrt war rasant, die
Verluste riesig. Schuldenberge und Rezessionsängste sind die Ursachen.
Sehen wir die Vorboten einer neuen Wirtschaftskrise? |
|
|||||||||||||||
| Nachrichten |
| DAX weiter auf Talfahrt |
| Die Panikverkäufe an den weltweiten Finanzmärkten sind nicht zu stoppen. Nur vorübergehend konnten überraschend gute Arbeitsmarktzahlen aus den USA den Fall an den Börsen aufhalten. Der Deutsche Aktienindex DAX schloss knapp drei Prozent schlechter und ging mit 6236 Punkten aus dem Handel. Auf Wochensicht brach das deutsche Börsenbarometer um knapp 13 Prozent ein. Auch die Märkte in London, Paris und Zürich gaben wegen der Furcht vor einer neuen Rezession in den USA und der anhaltenden Krise im Euro-Raum weiter nach. Analysten sprachen von einer Woche des Grauens. Viele verwiesen allerdings darauf, dass die Reaktionen an den Märkten überzogen und keinesfalls gerechtfertigt seien. Außerdem trage die Politik durch ihre teilweise unüberlegten Aussagen eine maßgebliche Mitschuld an den Kursverlusten. |
| EU-Währungskommissar will Märkte beruhigen |
| Angesichts der Furcht der Anleger vor einer Ausweitung der Schuldenkrise in der Euro-Zone hat sich EU-Währungskommissar Olli Rehn um eine Beruhigung der Finanzmärkte bemüht. Die Umsetzung der Beschlüsse des Euro-Krisengipfels sei eine Frage von Wochen, nicht von Monaten, sagte Rehn in Brüssel. Alle betroffenen Institutionen arbeiteten Tag und Nacht an dem Hilfsplan für die gefährdeten Euro-Länder. Dabei stellte sich der oberste Währungshüter der EU auch hinter die Forderung von Kommissionschef José Manuel Barroso nach einer Aufstockung des Euro-Rettungsfonds, ESFS. Um effektiv und glaubwürdig zu bleiben, müsse dieser regelmäßig überprüft und bei Bedarf angepasst werden. Spanien und Italien benötigten aber keine Hilfe des Fonds, so Rehn weiter. Deren Wirtschaftslage rechtfertige die Befürchtungen der Finanzmärkte nicht. Vor diesem Hintergrund wollen sich Deutschland, Frankreich und Spanien enger abstimmen. Dazu wird Frankreichs Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy noch an diesem Freitag mit Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel und dem spanischen Regierungschef José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero telefonieren. |
| Lage am US-Arbeitsmarkt etwas aufgehellt |
| In den USA hat sich die Lage am Arbeitsmarkt etwas aufgehellt. Im Juli wurden außerhalb der Landwirtschaft insgesamt 117.000 neue Jobs geschaffen, wie das Arbeitsministerium in Washington mitteilte. Zulegen konnten der Gesundheitssektor, Einzelhandel, Bergbau und die industrielle Fertigung. Die Erwerbslosenquote sank von 9,2 auf 9,1 Punkte. Im Vormonat war der Stellenzuwachs noch deutlich geringer ausgefallen. Die Zahlen waren nach dem Absturz der Weltbörsen mit besonderer Spannung erwartet worden. Unmittelbar nach ihrer Veröffentlichung drehten die US-Märkte vorbörslich klar ins Plus. - Der schwache Arbeitsmarkt ist derzeit die größte Bremse für ein stärkeres Wachstum der größten Volkswirtschaft der Welt. Die Angst vor dem Jobverlust hemmt den privaten Konsum. Im zweiten Quartal erhöhten die Amerikaner ihre Ausgaben fast nicht mehr. |
| Tripolis dementiert Rebellen-Berichte über Tötung von Gaddafi-Sohn |
| Bei einem NATO-Luftangriff auf eine Kommandozentrale in der westlibyschen Küstenstadt Slitan sind nach Angaben der Rebellen rund 30 Soldaten getötet worden. Ein Sprecher in Bengasi teilte zudem mit, dass bei der Attacke auch ein Sohn von Machthaber Muammar al-Gaddafi gestorben sei. Er berief sich dabei auf Angaben von Spionen im Umfeld Gaddafis und abgefangene Funksprüche. Dagegen erklärte ein Regierungssprecher in Tripolis, Chamis Gaddafi sei nicht getötet worden. Der jüngste Sohn des Staatschefs wurde seit Beginn des Konflikts in Libyen bereits mehrfach totgesagt. Der an einer russischen Militärakademie ausgebildete Offizier gilt als Hardliner. Er führt die nach ihm benannte Chamis-Brigade, die als die schlagkräftigste Kampftruppe des Landes gilt. |
| Feldzug gegen Hama geht mit unverminderter Härte weiter |
| Der Feldzug der syrischen Sicherheitskräfte gegen die Protesthochburg Hama geht mit unverminderter Härte weiter. Allein an diesem Freitag sind nach Angaben von Menschenrechtlern schon rund 45 Zivilisten getötet worden. Eine Abschätzung der Opferzahlen nach dem mehrtägigen Beschuss durch Panzer und Infanterietruppen wird zunehmend schwieriger, weil die Telefon- und Internetleitungen nach Hama gekappt wurden. Unterdessen berichteten Einwohner von Deir al-Zor im Osten Syriens, dass auch ihre Stadt von hunderten Panzern umschlossen worden sei. Nach den Freitagsgebeten gingen in Damaskus und anderen Städten wieder zehntausende Menschen auf die Straße, um gegen das Regime von Präsident Baschar al-Assad zu protestieren. Dabei wurden mindestens zehn Demonstranten von syrischen Soldaten erschossen, wie Aktivisten berichteten. |
| Mindestens zehn Tote bei Hilfsgüterverteilung in Mogadischu |
| Bei der Hilfsgüterverteilung an hungernde Flüchtlinge in Somalias Hauptstadt Mogadischu ist es zu einem schweren Zwischenfall gekommen. Regierungssoldaten töteten mindestens zehn Menschen, als Lastwagen der Vereinten Nationen mit Nahrungsmitteln geplündert wurden. Die Soldaten sollen nach Auskunft von Augenzeugen das Chaos selbst ausgelöst haben, weil sie als erste Lebensmittel gestohlen hätten. Als sich dann auch Flüchtlinge über die Vorräte hergemacht hätten, sei von den Soldaten geschossen worden. Bislang sind rund 100.000 Menschen größtenteils aus dem Süden Somalias vor der schlimmsten Dürre seit 60 Jahren nach Mogadischu geflüchtet. Insgesamt droht 3,7 Millionen Menschen in dem Bürgerkriegsland der Hungertod. - In Äthiopien öffneten die Behörden ein viertes Lager für somalische Flüchtlinge. Das Camp soll bis zu 15.000 Menschen aufnehmen, die derzeit im überfüllten Übergangslager Dollo Ado in Ostäthiopien Unterschlupf gefunden haben. |
| Ukraines Ex-Regierungschefin Timoschenko muss in U-Haft |
| Die ehemalige ukrainische Regierungschefin Julia Timoschenko muss in Untersuchungshaft. Dies ordnete das Gericht in Kiew im derzeit gegen Timoschenko laufenden Prozess wegen mutmaßlichen Amtsmissbrauchs an. Die Richter kamen damit einem Antrag der Staatsanwaltschaft nach, die die Haft wegen mehrfacher Verstöße der Politikerin gegen die Gerichtsordnung gefordert hatte. Das Verfahren gegen Timoschenko begann Ende Juni. Dabei geht es um Gasabkommen, die während ihrer Regierungszeit zwischen der Ukraine und Russland geschlossen wurden und laut Anklage für Kiew äußerst ungünstig waren. Ihr drohen bis zu zehn Jahre Haft. Timoschenko weist die Vorwürfe als politisch motiviert zurück. Sie war eine der Führungsfiguren der sogenannten Orangefarbenen Revolution im Jahr 2004. - Timoschenko war zuerst im Jahr 2005 und später von Dezember 2007 bis März 2010 Regierungschefin der Ukraine. |
| Kosovo-Regierung: Einigung mit NATO im Konflikt mit Serbien |
| Der Regierungschef des Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, hat sich mit der NATO über die Kontrolle zweier umstrittener Grenzposten im serbisch dominierten Norden geeinigt. Die beiden Übergänge Jarinje und Brnjak sollten personell mit Soldaten der NATO-geführten Schutztruppe KFOR besetzt werden, sagte Thaci bei einer Kabinettssitzung in Pristina. Das Kosovo werde aber sein Importverbot für serbische Waren aufrechterhalten. Hintergrund der Maßnahmen ist der seit anderthalb Wochen schwelende Grenzkonflikt zwischen dem Kosovo und Serbien. Belgrad verweigert die Anerkennung von Kosovo-Zollstempeln, was praktisch einem Importstopp für alle Waren aus diesem Land gleichkommt. Die Führung in Pristina antwortete darauf mit dem Einfuhrverbot für Güter aus Serbien. Vereinbart wurde deshalb auch, dass beide Länder ihren Streit am Verhandlungstisch in Brüssel unter Vermittlung der EU lösen sollen. |
| Innenminister Friedrich gegen neues NPD-Verbotsverfahren |
| Bundesinnenminister Hans-Peter Friedrich (CSU) lehnt ein neues Verbotsverfahren gegen die rechtsextreme NPD ab. Er bleibe dabei, dass ein solches Verfahren mit einem zu hohen Risiko des Scheiterns behaftet sei, erklärte ein Sprecher Friedrichs in Berlin. Dennoch werde das Innenministerium an einer entsprechenden - von Sachsen-Anhalt einberufenen - Arbeitsgruppe teilnehmen. Diese Zusage hatte Spekulationen über einen möglichen Sinneswandel Friedrichs hervorgerufen. Ein erster Anlauf zum Verbot der NPD war 2003 misslungen. Das Verfahren vor dem Bundesverfassungsgericht war gescheitert, weil bekannt wurde, dass die NPD mit Verbindungsleuten des Verfassungsschutzes durchsetzt war. |
| Keine Annäherung im Fluglotsenstreit |
| Im Tarifkonflikt der Fluglotsen gibt es weiter keine Annäherung. Die Gewerkschaft der Flugsicherung GdF lehnte einen Terminvorschlag der bundeseigenen Deutschen Flugsicherung DFS für die Wiederaufnahme der Verhandlungen ab, weil er nicht mit einem neuen Angebot verbunden war. Dies hatte die GdF zur Vorbedingung für die Rückkehr an den Verhandlungstisch gemacht. Die Gewerkschaft halte an ihrem Plan fest, in der kommenden Woche an einem bereits feststehenden Tag zu streiken, sagte ihr Verhandlungsführer. Der Ausstand werde mindestens 24 Stunden vorher angekündigt. Die DFS erklärte, sie werde in diesem Fall wieder die Gerichte anrufen. - Einen für Donnerstag angekündigten Streik hatte die GdF kurzfristig abgesagt, nachdem das Arbeitsgericht Frankfurt eine ihrer Forderungen als rechtswidrig eingestuft hatte. |
| FC Bayern in Champions-League-Play-offs gegen Zürich |
| ZUM SPORT: In den Playoff-Spielen zur Fußball-Champions League trifft Bayern München auf den Schweizer Vizemeister FC Zürich. Das ergab die Auslosung im schweizerischen Nyon. Das Hinspiel in München findet am 16. oder 17. August statt, das Rückspiel in Zürich eine Woche später. Die Gruppenphase der Champions League beginnt Mitte September. Meister Borussia Dortmund und Vizemeister Bayer Leverkusen sind dafür direkt qualifiziert. - An diesem Freitag beginnt in Deutschland wieder die Fußball-Bundesliga. Das Auftaktspiel der neuen Saison bestreiten Dortmund und der Hamburger SV. |
| Das Wetter: Meist wolkig und regnerisch |
| DAS WETTER IN DEUTSCHLAND: Besonders im Osten und in den Mittelgebirgen bewölkt und
zeitweise Regen. Im Nordwesten mehr Sonne und vielerorts trocken. Höchstwerte 20 bis 26 Grad.
DIE WEITEREN AUSSICHTEN: Am Samstag viele Wolken und teils heftige Schauer oder Gewitter,
im Osten gebietsweise auch längere Aufheiterungen. Die Höchsttemperaturen erreichen 19 bis 28 Grad. |
| Alle aktuellen Nachrichten auf DW-WORLD.DE |
Phew!
News Corp.’s alleged activities likely constitute violations of the law, writes Ken Sofer.More: Why News Corp. Could Be Prosecuted Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
From the Cartoonist Group.
RFE/RL Caucasus Report
8/5/2011 6:55:09 PM
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region.
For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page . |
Trial Of Six Azerbaijani Opposition Activists Continues
The trial of six opposition activists detained during an antigovernment protest four months ago resumed in Baku today. More 
Armenian Government, Opposition To Intensify Talks
Representatives of Armenia's governing coalition and the main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) have agreed to intensify their meetings. More 
Did Russia's President Really Call U.S. Senators 'Senile'?
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called U.S. senators "senile" over their indignation at Russia's occupation of Georgian territory. Or did he? The answer highlights the contrasting styles of Russia's ruling tandem. More 
Is South Ossetia's 'Independence' Under Threat?
Three years after the Russia-Georgia war that served as the catalyst for Moscow's recognizing the independence of Georgian's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Moscow has suggested that South Ossetia could become part of the Russian Federation if "the Ossetian people" give their approval. More 
Shale Gas Sought In Armenia
A Western company has pledged to explore Armenia's untapped deposits of shale gas and to possibly attract foreign investment for commercial exploitation. More 
Islamic Party Activists' Trial Starts In Azerbaijan
Islamic Party of Azerbaijan leader Movsum Samedov and six party activists went on trial today in Baku's Court for Serious Crimes. More 
Armenian Opposition Ups The Ante
Meeting on July 26 with representatives of Armenia's ruling coalition, the opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) proposed that President Serzh Sarkisian schedule an early presidential election for mid-October. More 
Good Harvests Ease Armenian Inflation
Consumer inflation in Armenia continued to fall last month amid a seasonal drop in the prices of domestic agricultural products. More 
Azerbaijani Rights Activists Launch Eurovision Campaign
Several Azerbaijani rights organizations have launched a public campaign about rights violations in the country ahead of Baku's hosting of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. More 
Russian Analyst Says New Karabakh War Possible
Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer says he believes the parties involved in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh are readying for war. More 
Ingushetia Head Tries To Annul Election Of Local Council Chairman
A standoff is looming in Ingushetia between republic head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and the municipal council of the village of Pliyevo, northeast of Nazran. More
Armenia PM Talks Up Karabakh's Future
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian sounded optimistic about the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh's economic prospects at the start of a two-day visit to the disputed territory. More 
Armenian Opposition Party Sees No Chance Of Karabakh Accord
A senior opposition party official says Armenia and Azerbaijan will fail to reach a framework agreement on the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the coming months despite peace efforts. More 
Sacked Judge Slams Armenian Judiciary
Samvel Mnatsakanian told RFE/RL that the local judiciary cannot be considered a separate branch of government because many judges are more concerned with not upsetting senior government officials than with enforcing laws. More 
Sarkisian Hits Back At Aliyev's 'Anti-Armenian Slur'
President Serzh Sarkisian continued the war of words with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev after he said "something is missing" in the brains of Armenian leaders. More |
| New This Week | |||||||||||||||
 |
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| Taste the Gulf in New Orleans
Nearly a year after the BP disaster ended, restaurants new and old have re-embraced the region’s seafood with delicious results. |
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| MORE FOODIE GETAWAYS... | |||||||||||||||
- Get Back to the Farm in Columbia County
- Chow Down in Puebla
- Eat Your Way Through Multicultural East L.A.
- Go Beyond Snout-to-Tail Dining in London
RFE/RL Headlines
8/5/2011 7:02:04 PM
A daily digest of the English-language news and analysis written by the staff of Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyRFE/RL is looking for guest bloggers, preferably writing from and about our broadcast region. If you're interested, drop us a line at webteam@rferl.org. |
|
Features
Interview: Turkish Ambassador Says Syria Of 'Great Concern'
Turkey's ambassador to the Czech Republic, Cihad Erginay, visited RFE/RL headquarters in Prague. Correspondent Robert Tait spoke to the ambassador about regional issues, domestic affairs, and relations between Turkey and the EU. More 
Russian Interior Minister Alarms Bloggers, Calls For Greater Internet Controls
Russian bloggers are alarmed after comments by Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev suggesting that there needs to be tighter controls on the Internet, one of the last bastions of free media in the country. More 
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Tymoshenko Arrested
A court in Kyiv has placed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko under arrest amid her high-profile trial on charges of abuse of office as prime minister. The move has sparked objections from supporters of the one-time Orange Revolution heroine. More 
Obama Reassures On U.S. Economy
World stock markets continued their fall amid fears that the U.S. economy is in danger of another recession and despite the assurances of President Barack Obama. Mounting fears that Europe's debt crisis is spinning out of control has also sent the markets tumbling. More 
Karabakh Airport Construction 'Nearing Completion'
A senior Armenian official says the delayed reconstruction of the sole airport in the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh is proceeding rapidly and will be completed by the end of September. More
Trial Of Six Azerbaijani Opposition Activists Continues
The trial of six opposition activists detained during an antigovernment protest four months ago resumed in Baku today. More
Armenian Government, Opposition To Intensify Talks
Representatives of Armenia's governing coalition and the main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) have agreed to intensify their meetings. More 
Kyrgyz Law Forces Registration Of Religious Weddings
Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva has signed legislation that requires all marriages conducted in Islamic, Christian, and other religious traditions to be officially registered in order to be valid. More 
Kazakh Ex-Minister Imprisoned
Former Kazakh Health Minister Zhaqsylyq Dosqaliev has been sentenced to seven years in jail for corruption, relating to his acquisition of nine apartments as a bribe from a construction company while he was the rector of the Astana Medical Institute from 2004-08. More 
Slain Kyrgyz Wife's Family Sparks Debate
The mother of a woman who was stabbed to death by her husband said it was very difficult to ensure justice prevailed in the trial because local authorities and the court tried to drag out and delay the proceedings. More 
Jail Ordered For Kyrgyz Ex-Prez's Brother
Akmat Bakiev, a brother of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev, has been ordered jailed for seven years for crimes committed following his brother's overthrow last year. More 
China's Uyghurs 'Will Be Free Or Die'
Twenty Uyghurs have been killed in separate incidents, and Uyghur activists say their anger is boiling over in response to Chinese repression, which they claim is aimed at turning them into a minority in their own homeland. More 
Belarus Rights Activist's Arrest Condemned
Financial police searched Ales Byalyatski's apartment and dacha and his Vyasna group's offices on August 4 before remanding him in custody for 72 hours and formally charging him with large-scale tax evasion. Vyasna campaigns on behalf of political prisoners and detainees. More
Did Russia's President Really Call U.S. Senators 'Senile'?
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called U.S. senators "senile" over their indignation at Russia's occupation of Georgian territory. Or did he? The answer highlights the contrasting styles of Russia's ruling tandem. More Women In Black The latest bit of Russian electoral erotica just hit the web courtesy of Eduard Limonov and the Other Russia opposition group. More
Is South Ossetia's 'Independence' Under Threat?
Three years after the Russia-Georgia war that served as the catalyst for Moscow's recognizing the independence of Georgian's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Moscow has suggested that South Ossetia could become part of the Russian Federation if "the Ossetian people" give their approval. More 
Podcast: Amy Winehouse And The '27 Club,' Plus A Bosnian Soccer Phenom, And Belarusian 'Inaction'
In Episode 30 of "The Blender," we talk with the authors of the critically acclaimed book "The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock and Roll," in the wake of the death of soul singer Amy Winehouse, who performed her last-ever concert in Belgrade on June 18. We also visit an 11-year-old Bosnian soccer phenom, shake our heads at a proposed new law in Belarus, and chill out to some Moldovan and Georgian jazz. More 
Pashtun Women Increasingly Working Away From Home
In the conservative Pashtun society of northwest Pakistan, it's very rare to see a girl repairing shoes in the male-dominated bazaars. At least it used to be rare. Sumera, 12, is one of an increasing number of Pakistani women who have become breadwinners for their families. More |
| Obama: "La situación va a mejorar" |
| El presidente norteamericano consideró alentador el descenso del 0,1% en el desempleo; los datos eran mejores que los previstos por los analistas; expectativa en Wall Street |
 Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| El índice principal de la bolsa local vuelve a caer, a tono con las principales plazas del mundo; una leve mejoría en el empleo de EE.UU. causó un optimismo temporal |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Pese a la veda, Cristina Kirchner volvió a hablar de las "virtudes del modelo" |
| En un acto dijo que el "proyecto" que lidera "permitió el crecimiento más importante de los últimos 200 años" |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Ocaña reveló que Cristina le pidió por Zanola |
| Contó que en 2009 la Presidenta le hizo una advertencia por su investigación contra el jefe del gremio bancario; "Fijate bien, porque Zanola me ayudó mucho a mí y a Néstor", le dijo |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Dura réplica de Aníbal a Ocaña por sus denuncias contra Cristina |
| "Basta de basura, un poquito de vergüenza", lanzó el jefe de Gabinete vía Twitter; fue tras la revelación de la ex ministra de un supuesto pedido de Cristina por Zanola |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Caso Noble: piden acelerar la última etapa de los análisis de ADN |
| Lo solicitaron los abogados de los jóvenes a la jueza; las dos primeras etapas del estudio dieron negativo |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Crimen de las francesas: enviaron pruebas a la UBA para ser analizadas |
| Fuentes judiciales informaron que los resultados se conocerán en 15 días; el gobernador Urtubey contó que Sarkozy llamó a Cristina para interiorizarse sobre el caso y que la primera mandataria lo llama todos los días para saber como sigue la investigación |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Otro colectivo atropelló y mató |
| Una mujer de unos 60 años falleció luego de ser embestida por un interno de la línea 168; fue en Lacroze y Forest, en Chacarita |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| ¿Qué es de la vida de los "33 de Atacama"? |
| Desde un viaje a Disney, el reconocimiento mundial y luego el olvido, muchos de los mineros atrapados hace un año están sin trabajo y con atención médica |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Wikipedia cada vez tiene menos colaboradores |
| El cofundador de la enciclopedia libre on line, Jimmy Wales, confirmó la tendencia que refleja la plataforma en los últimos años; "No es una crisis, pero es un dato a tener en cuenta", dijo en el encuentro anual Wikimanía |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
| Viatri, el "nuevo" 9 de Boca: "Hace rato que esperaba este momento" |
| El delantero sueña con demostrar sus condiciones, luego de vivir tres años a la sombra de Palermo; en diálogo con canchallena.com, a dos días del debut ante Olimpo, Lucas confiesa: "Trato de mantenerme como siempre, con un perfil bajo, sin pensar a quién reemplazo" |
| Enviá tu comentario de la nota |
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| Promi-Trend Motto-Shirt - Die T-Shirt-Botschaften der Stars | |
George Clooney - „Ich brauche immer mehr Schminke“ | |
Beauty-Trend - Diese Fische knabbern Füße schön | ||||
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| Beauty-Akte Deutschland - Jeder 10. Mann liebt behaarte Frauenbeine | |
Fit mit Google Maps - Mit dem Heimtrainer auf die Tour de France! | |
Falten, Adern, Flecken - Promi-Hände verraten das wirkliche Alter | ||||
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| Grosses Special - STILBERATUNG für den perfekten Look | |
Knackige Sixpacks - Wie kriege ich einen Waschbrettbauch? | |
Fachliche Beratung - Die richtige Ernährung für einen schlanken Bauch | ||||
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| 50 000 km in 15 Tagen - Jetzt brutzeln sich BILD-Leser um die ganze Welt! | |
Klassiker der Küche - Rezept für Nektarinen-Himbeer-Crumble | |
Klassiker der Küche - Rezept für Hasenrücken | ||||
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs View this page at www.dailyalert.org
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August 5, 2011
In-Depth Issues:
Libyan Rebels Say Gaddafi Son Killed in NATO Strike (VOA News)
Libyan rebels say a NATO airstrike has killed Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi's son Khamis and more than 30 other people in the western town of Zlitan, a rebel spokesman said Friday. There was no independent confirmation.
Khamis Gaddafi has served as one of the main commanders of his father's military forces.
[The New York Times reported on March 29:
Gaddafi evidently trusted only two militias - with a total of about 10,000 men - to deploy against the rebels, said Henry Boyd, an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
They are the 32nd Brigade, loyal to his son Khamis, and the Ninth Regiment, under the direction of another son, Muatassim.]
Hizbullah in America - Alex Joffe (Jewish Ideas Daily)
Evidence for Hizbullah's criminal and terrorist activities in the Western hemisphere continues to build.
In July, four men were arrested in a U.S.-orchestrated sting operation. Their purpose: purchasing surface-to-air missiles and other munitions for Hizbullah and the Taliban in exchange for hundreds of kilos of heroin.
Three Yemeni men in Rochester were convicted of illegally transferring money to Hizbullah in 2009.
An Ohio couple pled guilty in 2011 to charges of conspiracy to support Hizbullah, including through insurance fraud.
In July, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Faouzi Ayoub, formerly of Dearborn, Michigan, for using a forged U.S. passport in 2000 to travel to Israel at the direction of Hizbullah to attempt a terrorist attack.
Hizbullah has long been implicated in the Iranian bombings of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the Jewish community center there in 1994.
The writer is a research scholar with the Institute for Jewish and Community Research.
Honduras' Palestine Gamble - Marco Caceres (Honduras Weekly)
President Porfirio Lobo's decision last week to vote in favor of recognizing Palestine as a member of the UN in September represents a major foreign policy reversal for Honduras that has clearly blindsided Israel and its principal ally, the U.S.
What many do not seem to appreciate is that, in many ways, Honduras has a more natural kinship to the Arab world than to Israel. Of Honduras' population of 8.2 million, an estimated 200,000 to 250,000 are people of Arab descent - the great majority, Palestinian.
The country's powerful business class is dominated by Arab-Hondurans. Former President Carlos Flores Facusse (1998-2002) comes from Palestinian lineage. Honduras' current foreign minister, Mario Canahuati, is part Palestinian.
The country's wealthiest individual, Miguel Facusse Barjum - Palestinian. Top coffee exporter Oscar Kafati - Palestinian.
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Declaring a Palestinian State, Yet Again - Daniel Pipes (DanielPipes.org)
By my count, this is the fourth Palestinian push to declare a state.
On Oct. 1, 1948, Amin al-Husayni, the mufti of Jerusalem, stood before the Palestine National Council in Gaza and declared the existence of the All-Palestine Government.
On Nov. 15, 1988, again before a meeting of the Palestine National Council, Yassir Arafat, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), declared the existence of a State of Palestine.
Arafat later insisted he would declare a Palestinian state on May 4, 1999.
Palestinian Researcher to Palestinian Women: Rear Your Children for Jihad (MEMRI)
On July 10, 2011, an article by Dr. Khaled Al-Khaldi, head of the Center for Palestinian Historiography and Documentation, appeared on the website of the Gaza-based newspaper Falastin praising the sahabiyat (women who lived in the time of the Prophet Muhammad) for raising their sons to wage jihad.
He described the ways in which these women brought up their children to be mujahideen (holy warriors); preparing themselves to give birth to mujahideen; and teaching their children about Muhammad's life and war exploits so they could follow his example of jihad.
Offshore Gas Storage Tank Approved - Lior Gutman (Calcalist-Ynet News)
The National Council for Planning and Construction has approved a plan for an offshore gas storage tank 10 km. off the coast of Hadera that will serve as a national emergency reserve in the event of a sudden shortage such as in the case of the suspended supply of gas from Egypt.
It will also enable tankers carrying liquid gas to hook up to the tank and discharge their cargo.
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
- U.S., Europe Consider Boycott of Syrian Oil - Mary Beth Sheridan and Alice Fordham
The U.S. and European governments have begun to discuss whether to escalate sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad by targeting Syria's oil industry, as officials on both continents are looking at stepped-up measures to pressure Assad. While the U.S. has little economic leverage on Syria, having cut off most trade years ago, the Europeans buy about half of Syria's oil. France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are the biggest customers. Syria's petroleum exports of 150,000 barrels per day account for one-third of government revenue.
"If these [sanctions] are implemented, does it immediately mean the regime stops killing? No," said Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "But does it mean several months from now the regime runs out of money? Yes."
The U.S. ambassador in Damascus, Robert Ford, said this week that previous sanctions were starting to bite. "More and more business people, especially Sunni business people - an important pillar of the regime's support - we do see them slowly but surely shifting sides." (Washington Post) - Russian President: Syria's Leader Will Face a "Sad Fate" If He Fails to Introduce Reforms
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday he has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that he will face a "sad fate" if he fails to introduce reforms and open a peaceful dialogue with the opposition. "Both on a personal level and in the letters I sent to him (Assad) I have emphasized that it's necessary to urgently conduct reforms, negotiate with the opposition, restore civil peace, and create a modern state," Medvedev said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. (AP-Washington Post) - Civilian Toll Is Mounting in Assault on Syrian City - Nada Bakri
Syrian human rights activists said Thursday that Syrian government forces had killed more than 100 people in Hama since seizing control of its central square with armored columns and snipers on Wednesday, doubling the count of civilian dead there to more than 200 since the military's tanks began shelling the city over the weekend. Cars trying to carry food into the city have been attacked, and doctors trying to treat the wounded were being detained. One resident in Hama said that most women and children had fled the city. (New York Times) - Under Iranian Pressure, Iraq Reportedly Providing Financial Support to Syria
A source in the National Alliance of various Shi'a groups in Iraq that support Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has told the London daily al-Sharq al-Awsat that "Iran has pressured its allies in Baghdad to support the Syrian authorities with $10 billion." He said that al-Maliki had "succumbed to the pressure and provided financial support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad."
According to the same source, Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Dana'i Fer carried a verbal message from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Brigade commander Gen. Qassim Suleimani (who is rumored to be one of the most influential figures in Baghdad) to the leaders of the National Alliance to provide $10 billion in financial support to the Syrian leader. (MEMRI)
- Gaza Rocket Fire Is from Global Jihad Groups, Not Hamas - Yaakov Katz and Yaakov Lappin
Defense sources said Thursday that those responsible for the recent rocket fire from Gaza are terrorist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and global jihad elements, and not Hamas or Islamic Jihad. 25 rockets have been fired at Israel since the beginning of July, compared to 4 in June. (Jerusalem Post)
See also Israel Air Force Responds to Gaza Rocket Fire
The Israeli Air Force struck four terror tunnels and one terror activity base in Gaza on Friday following increased rocket fire from Gaza in recent days, the IDF Spokesperson confirmed. (Jerusalem Post)
See also IAF Targets Launch Site of Grad Rocket Fired at Israel
Since the beginning of 2011, over 340 rockets and mortars fired from Gaza have hit the Israeli home front. The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and will respond with determination to any attempt to use terror against the State of Israel. The IDF holds the Hamas terrorist organization solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from Gaza. (Israel Defense Forces) - PA Leaders Invited to Washington in Bid to Avoid UN Plan - Khaled Abu Toameh
In the context of its efforts to persuade the Palestinian Authority to drop its plan to ask the UN in September to recognize a Palestinian state, the U.S. has invited PA officials to Washington for a second round of talks on ways of avoiding the statehood bid. (Jerusalem Post)
- September Surprises - Reuven Berko
In his campaign for a unilateral declaration of statehood in September, which is fast approaching, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has painted himself into a corner. The declaration will not change the reality on the ground. Palestinians know that if Abbas takes unilateral measures against Israel, Israel will respond with tough measures of its own, including economic ones. Palestinians realize that a unilateral declaration of statehood would release Israel from the Oslo Agreements and would also release Israel from cooperating with the Palestinians on numerous issues.
Will the Palestinian Authority try to set the region alight? Palestinian officials are well aware of the Islamic devil waiting in the wings for its opportunity to take over the West Bank, just as it did Gaza. They are not anxious to commit collective suicide through a third intifada that could quickly spiral out of control. Those Palestinians who oppose the declaration do so because they believe the timing couldn't be worse. This pessimism derives from the current political turmoil in the Arab world, which prevents it from investing time and effort in the Palestinian cause. (Israel Hayom) - Palestine's UN Bid: Between History and Hot Air - Tom Perry
The Palestinians will likely emerge from September's General Assembly meeting with a UN status upgrade that will give them access to dozens of UN agencies. But talk in Israel of a looming "diplomatic tsunami" has subsided. Some argue that unless it is part of a deep rethink of Palestinian strategy, the upgrade will have little more than symbolic value and bring Palestinians no closer to independence. "It's a first step, but without further steps it is politically meaningless," said George Giacaman, a political scientist at Birzeit University in the West Bank.
When discussing September, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's aides say he says: "Unpleasant, but not terrible." Israel seems more wary about the potential for September to trigger Palestinian protests, since the Palestinian leadership has called for mass protests in support of the bid. (Reuters)
Egypt
- Egypt after Mubarak - Editorial
The demeaning spectacle of a sick 83-year-old in a hospital bed being wheeled into a cage in a court of law had overtones of a Soviet-era show trial. Many warned at the time of Mubarak's downfall that the Arab Spring could produce results inimical to Western interests. This was a man who not only presided over a moderate, secular state, but had also proved a reliable ally of the West in a politically volatile region. Regardless of the outcome of the November elections, we must start getting used to the idea that the Arab world's most populous country might not in the future be any of these things. (Telegraph-UK) - 7,000 Years of Oppression - Michael Totten
Hosni Mubarak may have been overthrown, but the military regime founded by Gamal Abdel Nasser and his cadre of Arab nationalist officers in 1952 is still firmly in place. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, or SCAF, rules Egypt as a military junta, though you'd hardly know it as a casual visitor. The men with guns who were everywhere on the streets of Cairo when I visited a couple of years ago were somewhere else throughout most of July. Egypt is bereft of any portraits of a strong man in charge.
Anti-Americanism and its anti-Zionist twin were not a strong theme, but those sentiments were bubbling just under the surface. A random man in an orange hat saw my camera, figured that I was a journalist, and decided that was the time to yell about Israel. "We will go to Israel next!" he said. "Israel is next!"
There have been strikes all over the country, but at the same time most Egyptians are tiring of all this revolutionary activity. They yearn for normalcy more than anything else at the moment, and an end to the upheaval that has brought the economy to its knees. (Pajamas Media) - Mubarak Moral to Arab Rulers: Fight Hard - Hamza Hendawi
Facing tenacious uprisings, the leaders of Syria, Libya and Yemen must have thought of their own possible fates when they saw their one-time peer Hosni Mubarak in a defendant's cage, on trial for charges that could carry a death sentence. Syria's Bashar Assad, Libya's Moammar Gaddafi and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh are likely to step up violence, judging that they must wipe out the uprisings against them to ensure their own protection. "That's the lesson Arab leaders have learned: Mubarak gave up too easily (and) without a fight," said Shadi Hamid, director of research at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. (AP)
Other Issues
- The March toward a Nuclear Iran - Ray Takeyh
For years it was assumed that economic sanctions and diplomacy would produce a pliable negotiating partner in Iran. But Iran's truculence has effectively undermined the once-popular notion. Iran's scientific infrastructure has grown in sophistication and capability in the past two decades. That Iran has crossed successive technical thresholds, has managed to sustain an elaborate and growing enrichment network, and is about to unveil a new generation of centrifuges are all indications of its scientific acumen.
In today's Iran, a dedicated corps of scientific nationalists is committed to providing the mullahs with the means of building the bomb, and in the next few years Iran will be in position to detonate a nuclear device.
An aggressive theocracy armed with the bomb will cast a dangerous shadow over the region's political transition, but the consequences will not be limited to the Middle East. An Iranian bomb is likely to unleash the most divisive partisan discord in the U.S. since the 1949 debate about who lost China. In the end, neither the turbulent order of the Middle East nor the partisan politics of Washington can afford an Islamic Republic armed with nuclear weapons. The writer is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. (Washington Post) - The Moral Imperative in Syria - Editorial
For many world leaders, a moral tipping point may have finally been reached this week in the violent crackdown on Syria's democratic uprising. On Sunday, the regime occupied Syria's third-largest city, Hama, using tanks and snipers to kill innocent people in what is coming close to being genocide. It is being helped by Iran, a Shiite-run theocracy that gunned down its own pro-democracy protests in 2009. Moral condemnation and more sanctions are certainly needed, but the UN and the West must find other ways to tighten the pressure on the Assad regime before it kills more people. (Christian Science Monitor) - Lebanon War Distortions - Abraham Bell and Gerald M. Steinberg
This summer marks the five-year anniversary of the Lebanon war between Israel and the Lebanese-Iranian terrorist organization Hizbullah, which saw a flood of false accusations against Israel of "war crimes," "indiscriminate and disproportionate" force, and "violations of international law." Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International - ostensibly neutral watchdogs - issued over 40 press releases, statements and pseudo fact-finding reports largely ignoring the war crimes committed by Hizbullah and instead focusing overwhelmingly and negatively on alleged Israeli crimes.
A multi-year study of all the HRW and Amnesty allegations regarding the 2006 Lebanon war reveals major contradictions as well as numerous unsupported charges, double standards and false or invented "evidence." Errors were overwhelmingly in one direction; almost without fail, errors consisted of exaggerated Lebanese casualties or unfounded accusations against Israel. Justice will only truly be served when the NGOs are held accountable for their distortions. Abraham Bell is professor of law and Gerald Steinberg is professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University. (Ynet News) - Middle Eastern Christians and Anti-Semitism - Aymenn Jawad
The Syriac Orthodox Church's bishop in Lebanon, George Saliba, told Al-Dunya TV on July 24 that "the source...behind all these [protest] movements, all these civil wars" in the Arab world is nothing other than Zionism, "deeply rooted in Judaism." The Jews, he says, are responsible for financing and inciting the turmoil in accordance with The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
These remarks are not an isolated case among Middle Eastern Christians. Two months after the assault last October on the Syriac Catholic Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, leaving 58 dead, the Melkite Greek Patriarch Gregory III Laham characterized the terrorist attacks on Iraq's Christians as part of "a Zionist conspiracy against Islam."
It is telling that other non-Muslim minorities that have suffered discrimination and violence at the hands of Islamists - including the Yezidis, Mandeans and Baha'ís - have never blamed Jews or Zionism for their persecution; their religions have not featured anti-Semitic doctrines. (Jerusalem Post)
Weekend Features
- Israel Helps Stem Global Food Crisis - Laura Kam
As crops fail in Russia, as dust bowls replace fertile land in Asia and Central Africa, the issue of food security has leapt to the top of the world agenda. Israel, a desert nation, has developed a range of agriculture and water technologies that are already helping to feed the world. For decades, Israeli agriculture experts have been sharing their expertise with some of the poorest regions on earth, creating sustainable self-sufficiency in food and water supplies. In recent years, Israeli expertise has been heavily in demand in India, Africa and China.
Israel is also a world leader in desalination - converting salt water to fresh water for human consumption or irrigation. The writer is the executive director for global affairs at The Israel Project. (Ynet News) - Israeli Ingenuity Powers GM's Cars of Tomorrow - David Halevi
General Motors, one of the world's largest automakers, not only has an R&D facility in Israel, but an entire corporate structure in Herzliya. The mission of GM Israel is to develop the technologies that will make the car of tomorrow the best vehicle ever built. GM opened its Israel site in 2005 and expects about 200 people - mostly engineers - to be on board by the end of 2013.
GM Israel is developing technology in five areas: advanced sensing and vision systems; human interface systems that adapt voice and touch technology for autos; wireless enabling, allowing a vehicle's systems to use networks to ensure constant communication; infotainment; and vehicle control and robotics for driverless navigation. One of GM's venture capital funds, located in Israel, invested in Israeli startup Powermat, which makes wireless charging mats for cell phones and other electronic devices. GM plans to include the mats in vehicles as soon as 2012, allowing drivers to easily recharge their handheld devices while on the road. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Palestinians
- In putting the Palestinian demand for statehood to a vote, Abbas will end up subverting the international organization's longstanding solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict - UN Security Council Resolution 242 - with unpredictable results. Passed in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War, Resolution 242 established the principle of "land for peace" as the cornerstone of future peace agreements between Israel and the Arabs, to be reached in negotiations between the two sides. Israel was asked to withdraw "from territories occupied in the recent conflict."
- The absence of the definite article "the" before "territories" was no accident: Issued a mere six months after Israel's astounding triumph over the concerted Arab attempt to obliterate the Jewish state, the resolution reflected acceptance by the Security Council of the existential threat posed by the 1949 armistice line. The Security Council expected negotiations between Israel and the Arabs to produce a more defensible frontier for Israel, one consistent with the right of every state in the region "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries."
- In the 44 years that have followed, Israel has persistently striven to make peace with its Arab neighbors. It withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula, constituting more than 90% of the territories occupied in 1967.
- The
Palestinians have consistently misrepresented the resolution as calling
for Israel's complete withdrawal to the pre-June 1967 lines. They also
sought to undermine the resolution's insistence on the need for a
negotiated settlement, seeking time and again to engineer an
internationally imposed dictate despite their commitment to a negotiated
settlement through the Oslo process. Since the inauguration of the
Obama administration, Mr. Abbas has dropped all remaining pretenses of
seeking a negotiated settlement, striving instead to engineer
international enforcement of a complete Israeli withdrawal without a
peace agreement, or, indeed, any quid pro quo.
Mr. Karsh is director of the Middle East Forum (Philadelphia) and professor of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies at King's College London. Mr. Romirowsky is adjunct scholar at the Middle East Forum and a doctoral student at King's College London.
- 1.
- Libya: NATO Conducts Deadly Bombing In Zlitan From: Rick Rozoff
- 2.
- Ukraine: U.S. Furthers NATO Integration Of Former Soviet, Yugoslav R From: Rick Rozoff
- 3.
- U.S. Air Force Completes Joint Aerial Combat Training In Romania From: Rick Rozoff
- 4.
- Kosovo: Crisis Spot Again From: Rick Rozoff
- 5.
- Russian Ambassador: NATO Assists Warmongering Kosovo Separatists From: Rick Rozoff
- 6.
- Kosovo: NATO Blockade Of Medicines Threatens Lives Of Roma, Serbs From: Rick Rozoff
- 8.
- U.S. Son Of Star Wars Costs As Much As Apollo Program From: Rick Rozoff
- 9.
- Libyan Mother, Children Buried After NATO Raids From: Rick Rozoff
- 10.
- Washington: U.S. To Hand Libyan Embassy Over To Rebels From: Rick Rozoff
- 11.
- Precedent-Setting: Canada Deploys First Arctic Drones For Exercise From: Rick Rozoff
- 12.
- U.S., Danish Military Vessels Join Canadian Arctic Exercise From: Rick Rozoff
- 13.
- Russian Church Condemns Attacks On Orthodox Churches In Kosovo From: Rick Rozoff
- 14.
- NATO Plans Campaign In Syria, Tightens Noose Around Iran: Rogozin From: Rick Rozoff
- 15.
- NATO Bombardment Of Libyan Capital Causes Ten Powerful Explosions From: Rick Rozoff
- 16.
- 140-Day Libyan War: 17,808 NATO Sorties, 6,745 Strike Sorties From: Rick Rozoff
- 17.
- Report Of Gaddafi's Son's Death Cover-Up For NATO's Civilian Killing From: Rick Rozoff
- 18.
- Saakashvili Intended To Exterminate Ossetians: Deputy Prime Minister From: Rick Rozoff
- 19a.
- NATO Soldier Killed In Southern Afghanistan From: Rick Rozoff
- 20.
- Video And Text: Egypt's New Regime Rules With Iron Fist From: Rick Rozoff
- 21.
- Drones And The CIA From: Rick Rozoff
- 22a.
- Re: Bankrupt U.S. Buys $23 Billion Worth Of Global Hawk Drones From: pml060912
- 23.
- NATO-Serbia Negotiations Over Kosovo Break Down From: Rick Rozoff
- 24.
- Media Coalition: NATO, Israel Breached Geneva Convention, Security C From: Rick Rozoff
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| Le troisième destroyer britannique du type 45 en service Le HMS Diamond, troisième des six destroyers lance-missiles du type 45, est entré en service en juillet au sein de la Royal Navy, où ses deux aînés, les HMS Daring et HMS Dauntless, sont déjà opérationnels. Spécialisés d... |
| Une troisième corvette pour Oman lancée à Portsmouth La dernière des trois corvettes lance-missiles du type Khareef, commandées en 2007 par le sultanat d'Oman, a été officiellement lancée le 27 juin au chantier britannique BAE Systems de Portsmouth. Nommé Al Rasikh, ce bât... |
| L'Algérie ferait construire un bâtiment de projection en Italie Fincantieri a annoncé, le 27 juin, que le ministère algérien de la Défense avait choisi la société Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, dont il est actionnaire, pour réaliser un bâtiment de projection. Cette unité, présentée par l'... |
| Le 9ème Littoral Combat Ship américain sera baptisé USS Little Rock La marine américaine a retenu le nom de Little Rock pour son 9ème Littoral Combat Ship. Adoptant le modèle monocoque développé par Lockheed Martin et Fincantieri (FMG), ce bâtiment sera du même type que l'USS Freedom (LC... |
| Baptême de catapultage pour le F-35 C La version embarquée sur porte-avions du nouvel avion de combat américain a réalisé, le 27 juillet, son premier catapultage. Depuis la base aéronavale de Lakehurst, un avion d'essai F-35 C a décollé au moyen d'une cata... |
| Dassault en négociation pour le remplacement des drones Harfang Le ministère français de la Défense a annoncé, le 21 juillet, être entré en négociation avec Dassault Aviation en vue de fournir, à partir de 2014, des systèmes de drones aériens permettant de remplacer les actuels Har... |
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1. Hamas Claims Shalit ‘Fasting’ During Ramadan
by Elad Benari
Hamas is continuing to use psychological tactics to apply pressure on Israel to strike a deal to release Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier who was kidnapped by terrorists in 2006.
On Wednesday, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency quoted a Hamas-affiliated website which said Shalit has decided to fast during Ramadan.
“A popular proverb goes that if one lives in a community for more 40 days, he becomes one of them,” the Ar-Risala website said. “This seems to have come true in the Gaza Strip.”
The report went on to claim that after years in Gaza, Shalit has become “embarrassed to ask for food during Ramadan despite the fact that his captors do not deny him that right.”
Hamas also claims Shalit thinks the Israeli government has “lost interest,” in him. The terror group also presented itself as being humanitarian towards Shalit, saying he “abandoned Jewish traditions to mimic Muslims after the good treatment he received from his captors, even while they are fasting.”
Another claim is that Shalit is being allowed to watch Israel’s Channel 1 television but that he could not see any news about him since the Israeli government is too busy with the demonstrations and protests in Tel Aviv.
The report says Shalit noticed that the protests against housing problems became too big, and it caused him “depression and disappointment. He lost hope of any prisoner swap deal that can secure his freedom.”
According to Ma’an, the report seemed to be intended to increase pressure on the Israeli government. In June it was reported that Israel had accepted a proposal by the German mediator to free Shalit.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel accepted the proposal despite it being “harsh” and “not simple for the State of Israel,” because “it was balanced between our desire to secure Gilad’s release and to prevent possible harm to the lives and security of the Israeli people.”
In response, Hamas accused Israel of “lying” and said there is “nothing new” in a deal to free Shalit. It also said Netanyahu is “fully responsible” for the stalemate in negotiations for Shalit’s freedom.
The Hamas report from Wednesday might also be an attempt by the organization to respond to recent demands by the International Red Cross to prove Shalit is still alive, by presenting it as though Shalit is receiving food and being allowed to watch television.
It is also not the first time Hamas has used psychological warfare to pressure Israel.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
Hamas is continuing to use psychological tactics to apply pressure on Israel to strike a deal to release Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier who was kidnapped by terrorists in 2006.
On Wednesday, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency quoted a Hamas-affiliated website which said Shalit has decided to fast during Ramadan.
“A popular proverb goes that if one lives in a community for more 40 days, he becomes one of them,” the Ar-Risala website said. “This seems to have come true in the Gaza Strip.”
The report went on to claim that after years in Gaza, Shalit has become “embarrassed to ask for food during Ramadan despite the fact that his captors do not deny him that right.”
Hamas also claims Shalit thinks the Israeli government has “lost interest,” in him. The terror group also presented itself as being humanitarian towards Shalit, saying he “abandoned Jewish traditions to mimic Muslims after the good treatment he received from his captors, even while they are fasting.”
Another claim is that Shalit is being allowed to watch Israel’s Channel 1 television but that he could not see any news about him since the Israeli government is too busy with the demonstrations and protests in Tel Aviv.
The report says Shalit noticed that the protests against housing problems became too big, and it caused him “depression and disappointment. He lost hope of any prisoner swap deal that can secure his freedom.”
According to Ma’an, the report seemed to be intended to increase pressure on the Israeli government. In June it was reported that Israel had accepted a proposal by the German mediator to free Shalit.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel accepted the proposal despite it being “harsh” and “not simple for the State of Israel,” because “it was balanced between our desire to secure Gilad’s release and to prevent possible harm to the lives and security of the Israeli people.”
In response, Hamas accused Israel of “lying” and said there is “nothing new” in a deal to free Shalit. It also said Netanyahu is “fully responsible” for the stalemate in negotiations for Shalit’s freedom.
The Hamas report from Wednesday might also be an attempt by the organization to respond to recent demands by the International Red Cross to prove Shalit is still alive, by presenting it as though Shalit is receiving food and being allowed to watch television.
It is also not the first time Hamas has used psychological warfare to pressure Israel.
Comment on this story
2. Iron Dome to Return to Ashkelon
by Gavriel Queenann
Following the sharp uptick in rocket attacks on communities in Israel's Gaza belt region the IDF has decided to redeploy the Iron Dome missile defense system near Ashkelon.
The decision came after Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin petitioned Defense Minister Ehud Barak to return the system, which was removed following the lull in attacks after the now stalled Fatah-Hamas unity agreement.
"Due to the escalation of rocket fire on Ashkelon in recent days, and due to reports of violent escalations expected in September, I demand the return of the Iron Dome of Ashkelon to restore security to the region's residents," Vaknin wrote to Barak.
"This system has proven itself and will intercept missiles before they strike the city," Vaknin also wrote.
Yesterday, terrorists fired a pair of rockets at the community of Kiryat Gat, which resulted in several people being treated for shock. The "Color Red" alert system was activated shortly before the rockets struck.
Early this morning the IAF launched a counter-strike on several Gaza terror targets. Analysts say the IAF's airstrike-for-rocket-attack approach has done little to deter attacks on Israel's southern communities.
Public Security Minister Yizhak Aharonovitch called this week for a large-scale Gaza operation to deal with the rocket threat.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Following the sharp uptick in rocket attacks on communities in Israel's Gaza belt region the IDF has decided to redeploy the Iron Dome missile defense system near Ashkelon.
The decision came after Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin petitioned Defense Minister Ehud Barak to return the system, which was removed following the lull in attacks after the now stalled Fatah-Hamas unity agreement.
"Due to the escalation of rocket fire on Ashkelon in recent days, and due to reports of violent escalations expected in September, I demand the return of the Iron Dome of Ashkelon to restore security to the region's residents," Vaknin wrote to Barak.
"This system has proven itself and will intercept missiles before they strike the city," Vaknin also wrote.
Yesterday, terrorists fired a pair of rockets at the community of Kiryat Gat, which resulted in several people being treated for shock. The "Color Red" alert system was activated shortly before the rockets struck.
Early this morning the IAF launched a counter-strike on several Gaza terror targets. Analysts say the IAF's airstrike-for-rocket-attack approach has done little to deter attacks on Israel's southern communities.
Public Security Minister Yizhak Aharonovitch called this week for a large-scale Gaza operation to deal with the rocket threat.
Comment on this story
3. PA Spurns Netanyahu Concession
by Gavriel Queenann
Palestinian Authority officials said Thursday they will pursue their statehood bid at the United Nations despite Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's offer to use the pre-1967 lines as a basis for negotiations.
Senior PA official Saeb Erekat characterized Netanyahu's concession as a publicity stunt intended to disuade the PA from its unilateral statehood bid outside the framework Oslo Accords that allow it to exist.
"The Palestinian train is now heading towards New York," Erekat said during an Arab League committee meeting in Doha, Qatar late Wednesday.
"Members of the committee reached a final agreement to request the full support for a Palestinians state within the 1967 borders with its capital Jerusalem," he said after the meeting.
The statehood request "will be ready to present before the next UN General Assembly session" in September, said Erekat.
Bilateral talks between Israel and the PLO have been on hold for almost two years with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas periodically insisting on preconditions for talks known from the outset to be unacceptable to Israel.
But despite the PLO's visceral drive towards September they are faced with a promise of a Security Council veto by the United States, who insists PA officials return to the negotiating table.
Erekat has repeatedly urged the US government to "reconsider its position" to no avail.
Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton has said a US veto would render the PA bid essentially meaningless.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Palestinian Authority officials said Thursday they will pursue their statehood bid at the United Nations despite Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's offer to use the pre-1967 lines as a basis for negotiations.
Senior PA official Saeb Erekat characterized Netanyahu's concession as a publicity stunt intended to disuade the PA from its unilateral statehood bid outside the framework Oslo Accords that allow it to exist.
"The Palestinian train is now heading towards New York," Erekat said during an Arab League committee meeting in Doha, Qatar late Wednesday.
"Members of the committee reached a final agreement to request the full support for a Palestinians state within the 1967 borders with its capital Jerusalem," he said after the meeting.
The statehood request "will be ready to present before the next UN General Assembly session" in September, said Erekat.
Bilateral talks between Israel and the PLO have been on hold for almost two years with PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas periodically insisting on preconditions for talks known from the outset to be unacceptable to Israel.
But despite the PLO's visceral drive towards September they are faced with a promise of a Security Council veto by the United States, who insists PA officials return to the negotiating table.
Erekat has repeatedly urged the US government to "reconsider its position" to no avail.
Former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton has said a US veto would render the PA bid essentially meaningless.
Comment on this story
4. IAF Strikes Terror Targets in Gaza
by Elad Benari
In what has become routine over the past several days, the IDF struck terror targets in Gaza early Friday morning.
The IDF Spokesman said that IAF aircraft attacked three terror tunnels in northern Gaza, a center of terror activity in central Gaza, and an additional terrorist target in southern Gaza.
All the targets were hit and all planes safely returned to their base, the Spokesman said.
The attacks came after terrorists upped the offensive on Thursday and neared Israel’s industrial heartland with two missile attacks on Kiryat Gat, home to a huge Intel factory. No one was injured.
Unlike previous incidents, this time the IAF immediately targeted the launch site where the terror squad which had fired the rocket was located. Military sources reported, however, that the squad members were seen fleeing the scene.
Kiryat Gat is located halfway between Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev, and Rehovot, the southern edge of metropolitan Tel Aviv. Hamas has not struck Kiryat Gat since Israel’s counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead campaign two and a half years ago.
Three other rockets exploded on Thursday south of the port city of Ashkelon, where oil and natural gas facilities are located. One other rocket exploded between Ashkelon and Kiryat Gat Wednesday night.
Hamas has slowly escalated the number of its rocket attacks in the past month, attacking Israel with four times the number of missiles than it did in June.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
In what has become routine over the past several days, the IDF struck terror targets in Gaza early Friday morning.
The IDF Spokesman said that IAF aircraft attacked three terror tunnels in northern Gaza, a center of terror activity in central Gaza, and an additional terrorist target in southern Gaza.
All the targets were hit and all planes safely returned to their base, the Spokesman said.
The attacks came after terrorists upped the offensive on Thursday and neared Israel’s industrial heartland with two missile attacks on Kiryat Gat, home to a huge Intel factory. No one was injured.
Unlike previous incidents, this time the IAF immediately targeted the launch site where the terror squad which had fired the rocket was located. Military sources reported, however, that the squad members were seen fleeing the scene.
Kiryat Gat is located halfway between Be’er Sheva, the capital of the Negev, and Rehovot, the southern edge of metropolitan Tel Aviv. Hamas has not struck Kiryat Gat since Israel’s counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead campaign two and a half years ago.
Three other rockets exploded on Thursday south of the port city of Ashkelon, where oil and natural gas facilities are located. One other rocket exploded between Ashkelon and Kiryat Gat Wednesday night.
Hamas has slowly escalated the number of its rocket attacks in the past month, attacking Israel with four times the number of missiles than it did in June.
Comment on this story
5. Successive Market Losses Trigger Stampede to Safe Havens
by Amiel Ungar
The rout on the financial markets is continuing as European stock exchanges are in retreat following the bloodbath on Wall Street and the Asian exchanges. One can grasp the seriousness of the crisis from intervention by the European Central Bank to buy Italian and Spanish debt to prevent debt service from ballooning to unsustainable proportions.
The ECB has been out of the bond market for five months and would have preferred to remain on the sidelines, but the growing crisis has left it with no option. Another sign is the announcement that Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will confer today by telephone.
People are frantically looking for a haven in order to park their cash. Switzerland whose Franc is considered such a haven has lowered interest paid on such deposits and there are global banks that are actually charging negative interest for the privilege of serving as a cash parking lot for unusually large deposits.
Some of us can still remember the day that they gave out free color TV sets to attract depositors. In effect people are going back to the idea of keeping money under the floor boards or, as they say in Israel, under the floor tiles.
One no longer uses the phrase like money in a bank as in Greece investors are quietly withdrawing their life savings because they no longer trust debt riddled banks with it.
One proposed solution to the European crisis calls for tighter coordination between members of the euro zone. Now this idea has been taken one step further Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano called for the United States and Europe to coordinate policies amid the market chaos that swept from Wall Street to Asian bourses on Friday. This was the only way, he said, to prevent economies from being "trapped in pessimism".
In better times the idea made sense. When one zone went into recession another zone would replace it as the economic locomotive. Currently, all three zones are performing anemically as cabooses or even detached rolling stock and there is no locomotive in sight. Even China and Germany are slowing down.
At this stage it is not certain that even an FDR could assure people that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. People are afraid because they don't believe that any of the financial whiz kids has a quick fix to avoid global recession.
Comment on this story
by Amiel Ungar
The rout on the financial markets is continuing as European stock exchanges are in retreat following the bloodbath on Wall Street and the Asian exchanges. One can grasp the seriousness of the crisis from intervention by the European Central Bank to buy Italian and Spanish debt to prevent debt service from ballooning to unsustainable proportions.
The ECB has been out of the bond market for five months and would have preferred to remain on the sidelines, but the growing crisis has left it with no option. Another sign is the announcement that Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will confer today by telephone.
People are frantically looking for a haven in order to park their cash. Switzerland whose Franc is considered such a haven has lowered interest paid on such deposits and there are global banks that are actually charging negative interest for the privilege of serving as a cash parking lot for unusually large deposits.
Some of us can still remember the day that they gave out free color TV sets to attract depositors. In effect people are going back to the idea of keeping money under the floor boards or, as they say in Israel, under the floor tiles.
One no longer uses the phrase like money in a bank as in Greece investors are quietly withdrawing their life savings because they no longer trust debt riddled banks with it.
One proposed solution to the European crisis calls for tighter coordination between members of the euro zone. Now this idea has been taken one step further Japan's Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano called for the United States and Europe to coordinate policies amid the market chaos that swept from Wall Street to Asian bourses on Friday. This was the only way, he said, to prevent economies from being "trapped in pessimism".
In better times the idea made sense. When one zone went into recession another zone would replace it as the economic locomotive. Currently, all three zones are performing anemically as cabooses or even detached rolling stock and there is no locomotive in sight. Even China and Germany are slowing down.
At this stage it is not certain that even an FDR could assure people that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. People are afraid because they don't believe that any of the financial whiz kids has a quick fix to avoid global recession.
Comment on this story
6. Social Justice in the Religious-Zionist World
by Maayana Miskin
Leading religious-Zionist rabbis gathered Thursday in Jerusalem to inaugurate a new program aimed at helping the poor and creating social justice. The program is to be called “Kupat Anyei Ircha.”
It will both serve as an umbrella group for existing religious-Zionist social welfare programs, and will raise and distribute funds on its own.
Rabbis present included Rabbi Aharon Bina of Netiv Aryeh yeshiva, Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, head of the Beit El yeshiva and town rabbi, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, head of Har Etzion yeshiva, Rabbi Nachum Neryah of Torah B'Tzion yeshiva, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, head of the Merkaz Harav yeshiva, and more.
The rabbis debated various halachic (Jewish legal) questions pertaining to the establishment of the new organization, its priorities, and its goals in both the short and long term.
Also present were representatives of existing religious-Zionist social welfare groups, among them Paamonim, which assists families in getting out of debt, Katef el Katef, and Taasukatif, which helps Israelis expelled from Gush Katif and northern Samaria to find employment.
Data revealed at the event showed that the religious-Zionist community in Israel numbers approximately 205,000 households, for a total of approximately one million people. By comparison, the hareidi-religious community is believed to number 105,000 households, and 850,000 individuals.
Those present heard that many religious-Zionist families facing a financial crisis are not receiving help from existing organizations. The new Anyei Ircha organization hopes to help those families, as well as others.
The group's long-term goal is to have 400 centers across the country in which volunteers will be active in assisting the poor of each city.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
Leading religious-Zionist rabbis gathered Thursday in Jerusalem to inaugurate a new program aimed at helping the poor and creating social justice. The program is to be called “Kupat Anyei Ircha.”
It will both serve as an umbrella group for existing religious-Zionist social welfare programs, and will raise and distribute funds on its own.
Rabbis present included Rabbi Aharon Bina of Netiv Aryeh yeshiva, Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed, head of the Beit El yeshiva and town rabbi, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, head of Har Etzion yeshiva, Rabbi Nachum Neryah of Torah B'Tzion yeshiva, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, chief rabbi of Tzfat, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, head of the Merkaz Harav yeshiva, and more.
The rabbis debated various halachic (Jewish legal) questions pertaining to the establishment of the new organization, its priorities, and its goals in both the short and long term.
Also present were representatives of existing religious-Zionist social welfare groups, among them Paamonim, which assists families in getting out of debt, Katef el Katef, and Taasukatif, which helps Israelis expelled from Gush Katif and northern Samaria to find employment.
Data revealed at the event showed that the religious-Zionist community in Israel numbers approximately 205,000 households, for a total of approximately one million people. By comparison, the hareidi-religious community is believed to number 105,000 households, and 850,000 individuals.
Those present heard that many religious-Zionist families facing a financial crisis are not receiving help from existing organizations. The new Anyei Ircha organization hopes to help those families, as well as others.
The group's long-term goal is to have 400 centers across the country in which volunteers will be active in assisting the poor of each city.
Comment on this story
7. 'Katif Expellees in Danger'
by Maayana Miskin
The thousands of Jews expelled from Gush Katif are in more danger from Gaza terrorism than they were living in Gaza itself, local politicians have warned. Hof Ashkelon regional council head Yair Farjoun spoke to Arutz Sheva about the issue.
If a rocket were to hit a caravan site, the flimsy temporary homes would offer little protection, Farjoun explained. “The families are terrified, some of the towns have protection, but not all of them,” he said.
“Even when it hits an open area there are people [around], there are shepherds,” he noted.
Some rockets hit the sites formerly home to the Jewish towns of Nisanit and Alei Sinai, often setting off the rocket alert sirens in nearby Israeli towns. “It's ironic that six years after the expulsion from Gush Katif, many of the mortar shells and rockets hit the ruins of the towns,” said Farjoun.
Farjoun criticized the past and current governments for failing to resettle the expellees. “Families have been living in [the caravan city] Nitzan for six years, and only 100 people have begun building new homes,” he said. “This could go on for years, and I'm warning, they are likely to be hit by rocket fire.”
The government should act to protect the expellees with the same vigor it had when expelling them from their homes, he continued. “You took them out under emergency orders, build for them under emergency orders,” he said.
Comment on this story
by Maayana Miskin
The thousands of Jews expelled from Gush Katif are in more danger from Gaza terrorism than they were living in Gaza itself, local politicians have warned. Hof Ashkelon regional council head Yair Farjoun spoke to Arutz Sheva about the issue.
If a rocket were to hit a caravan site, the flimsy temporary homes would offer little protection, Farjoun explained. “The families are terrified, some of the towns have protection, but not all of them,” he said.
“Even when it hits an open area there are people [around], there are shepherds,” he noted.
Some rockets hit the sites formerly home to the Jewish towns of Nisanit and Alei Sinai, often setting off the rocket alert sirens in nearby Israeli towns. “It's ironic that six years after the expulsion from Gush Katif, many of the mortar shells and rockets hit the ruins of the towns,” said Farjoun.
Farjoun criticized the past and current governments for failing to resettle the expellees. “Families have been living in [the caravan city] Nitzan for six years, and only 100 people have begun building new homes,” he said. “This could go on for years, and I'm warning, they are likely to be hit by rocket fire.”
The government should act to protect the expellees with the same vigor it had when expelling them from their homes, he continued. “You took them out under emergency orders, build for them under emergency orders,” he said.
Comment on this story
8. UNRWA-Bedein Controversy Rages On - Part III: No Retractions
by Arutz Sheva Staff
A heated argument is going on via Arutz Sheva between Christopher Gunness, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency created especially for the Arab "refugees") spokesman in Israel, and David Bedein, head of the Israel Resource News Agency, Center for Near East Policy Research in Jerusalem, about whether UNRWA bears responsibility for programs that promote destroying Israel at UNRWA-aided schools.
The story:
David Bedein wrote an op-ed for Arutz Sheva claiming UNRWA sponsored programs were based on implementing the "Law of Return", even through violence.
UNRWA's spokesman vehemently denied it.
Arutz Sheva posted the debate at the end of the op-ed and got the two to talk, even about meeting for lunch to hammer things out.
Then Bedein sent Arutz Sheva pictures which were posted as an article Thursday night.
UNRWA then sent a scathing response (see below) on Friday and actually posted on their website that there was a retraction when what Arutz Sheva had said was that it was presenting the issue fairly, was waiting for corroboration from Bedein and then, if called for, would discuss management's position.
Bedein came through (see below).
Response to photographs from UNRWA Spokesman, Christopher Gunness, Friday August 5th 2011:
At last the lie has been exposed! We had all been led to believe that Bedein would produce evidence to show that UNRWA was using the Palestine Remembered website to teach Palestinian children in its summer schools. These “new” photos which Bedein/Arutz Sheva have posted on the front page and which have appeared in previous discredited Bedein prodctions show nothing of the sort.
The keys depicted are in areas over which UNRWA has no responsibility (ie outside UNRWA facilities) and the mural is from a PA school in the the West Bank village, not an UNRWA school and not an area over which UNRWA has any control.
This is an old Bedein trick which he performed in his old film “For the Sake of the Nakba”; showing something in a PA school and claiming it to be an UNRWA school. These photos do not show any connection between Palestine Remembered and UNRA because there is no connection whatsoever. If there were any evidence at all of any connection, Bedein would have produced it. He has not.
Arutz Sheva did amend Bedein's connecting plans for a the Fourth Reich with UNRWA, which was literary but not literal, to "Arab plans for a Fourth Reich".
But Bedein’s story still suggests that UNRWA’s “raison d’etre is involved with genocide against the Jews”. This staggeringly ignorant and politically motivated claim is still completely unsubstantiated. It would be interesting to look at definitions of genocide and genocidal practice in international law, laws based on the evil and suffering perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews, and compare that with what is being alleged, though unproven, against UNRWA.
To say this belittles that suffering is an understatement. Bedein can run, but he cannot hide.
David Bedein is neither running nor hiding. Here is his response, August 5, 2011:
UNRWA Summer Camps and the “Right of Return”
There will be no retraction or apology , not from this reporter. Arutz Sheva certainly doesn't have to, even though UNRWA has already announced to the world that a retraction has already been issued.
http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1070
The UNRWA summer camp program to indoctrinate UNRWA campers to act out the “right of return” to “their villages” takes place this summer and every summer on the grounds of UNRWA schools.
We have it all on film.
The UNRWA summer camp “right of return” experience is the subject of the next movie that our agency will produce and present next month, in Jerusalem, Washington and Ottawa.
*UNRWA campers play games and enter sports competitions. Each team is named for villages they left 60 years ago.
*UNRWA campers draw murals entitled “194”. Each UNRWA camper identifies their village from 1948. [“194” connotes the Palestinian understanding of the UN resolution #194 “right of return”]
*UNRWA campers listen intently as their camp counselors instruct them to devote themselves to a a life long struggle to reclaim lands stolen from their grandparents in 1948.
*UNRWA campers line up for an UNRWA Right of Return festival where UNRWA campers participate in a Right of Return Festival at Bethlehem University.
UNRWA's attempt to distance itself from the international Right of Return campaign, which produced www.PalestineRemembered.com, remains rather pathetic, considering how the founder and head of the ROR campaign, Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, credits UNRWA as the ultimate instrument of the right of return.
In a speech delivered by Abu Sitta for the Palestine Return Center in London on December 16, 2009, and then reprinted by the Palestinian Land Society, entitled “UNRWA: The Unsung Hero,” Abu Sitta proclaims that:
"The perseverance of the Palestinians in their quest to return home is enhanced by the increasing world support and also by the work of UNRWA and its records. These records are the building block of the Return Plan…This simple card [illustrated in a slide] is the genome of the refugeehood (sic). It defines the refugee’s name, his family, the new families of his off-spring, his home in his village of origin and his camp of exile. The whole home-exile odyssey is imprinted in history.
"We, all of us, must work actively for the return of the refugees. Only when they return, when they are rehabilitated in their own homes…can we say the job of UNRWA is done…
UNRWA of course will be the main instrument for repatriation. It has a rich history and dedicated staff, ideal for the job".[i] (Emphasis added)
Teachers’ Union Control
In terms of who teaches in the UNRWA schools, The UNRWA teachers’ union in the Gaza Strip – by far the largest union sector – has close to 7,000 members.
For over 15 years, Hamas (via its affiliate Islamic Bloc) has dominated the UNRWA’ union. In 2006, the Hamas victory was decisive: for the first time: its candidates won all 11 seats, meaning that Hamas representatives then controlled the executive council of this union sector.
In 2009, once again, Hamas-affiliated candidates won all 11 seats in the teachers’ union in Gaza, guaranteeing Hamas control of UNRWA schools in Gaza.
In March 2011, Hamas leader Suhail al-Hindi was reelected as head of the teachers’ union of UNRWA in Gaza.
So much for innocuous UNRWA education. (end of Bedein's retort).
And a reply to this from UNRWA:
UNRWA notes that no evidence has been produced to support the accusations made by Bedein. There is no evidence to support the accusation that UNRWA is an organization whose “raison d’ךtre is involved with the genocide of the Jews”. Neither has any evidence been produced showing that UNRWA has any formal association with the Palestine Remembered website. We furthermore note that no actual evidence has been produced to show that “right of return” activities have taken place in any UNRWA facilities, for which the Agency is responsible or that UNRWA is a part of “the international Right of Return campaign”. If actual evidence is produced UNRWA will examine the evidence and react as appropriate. UNRWA has publicly rejected any accusations made by Bedein in the past and a statement to this effect is posted on the Agency’s website at http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=784 Arutz Sheva adds: We will keep you posted on the UNRWA-Bedein controversy.
Comment on this story
by Arutz Sheva Staff
A heated argument is going on via Arutz Sheva between Christopher Gunness, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency created especially for the Arab "refugees") spokesman in Israel, and David Bedein, head of the Israel Resource News Agency, Center for Near East Policy Research in Jerusalem, about whether UNRWA bears responsibility for programs that promote destroying Israel at UNRWA-aided schools.
The story:
David Bedein wrote an op-ed for Arutz Sheva claiming UNRWA sponsored programs were based on implementing the "Law of Return", even through violence.
UNRWA's spokesman vehemently denied it.
Arutz Sheva posted the debate at the end of the op-ed and got the two to talk, even about meeting for lunch to hammer things out.
Then Bedein sent Arutz Sheva pictures which were posted as an article Thursday night.
UNRWA then sent a scathing response (see below) on Friday and actually posted on their website that there was a retraction when what Arutz Sheva had said was that it was presenting the issue fairly, was waiting for corroboration from Bedein and then, if called for, would discuss management's position.
Bedein came through (see below).
Response to photographs from UNRWA Spokesman, Christopher Gunness, Friday August 5th 2011:
At last the lie has been exposed! We had all been led to believe that Bedein would produce evidence to show that UNRWA was using the Palestine Remembered website to teach Palestinian children in its summer schools. These “new” photos which Bedein/Arutz Sheva have posted on the front page and which have appeared in previous discredited Bedein prodctions show nothing of the sort.
The keys depicted are in areas over which UNRWA has no responsibility (ie outside UNRWA facilities) and the mural is from a PA school in the the West Bank village, not an UNRWA school and not an area over which UNRWA has any control.
This is an old Bedein trick which he performed in his old film “For the Sake of the Nakba”; showing something in a PA school and claiming it to be an UNRWA school. These photos do not show any connection between Palestine Remembered and UNRA because there is no connection whatsoever. If there were any evidence at all of any connection, Bedein would have produced it. He has not.
Arutz Sheva did amend Bedein's connecting plans for a the Fourth Reich with UNRWA, which was literary but not literal, to "Arab plans for a Fourth Reich".
But Bedein’s story still suggests that UNRWA’s “raison d’etre is involved with genocide against the Jews”. This staggeringly ignorant and politically motivated claim is still completely unsubstantiated. It would be interesting to look at definitions of genocide and genocidal practice in international law, laws based on the evil and suffering perpetrated by the Nazis against the Jews, and compare that with what is being alleged, though unproven, against UNRWA.
To say this belittles that suffering is an understatement. Bedein can run, but he cannot hide.
David Bedein is neither running nor hiding. Here is his response, August 5, 2011:
UNRWA Summer Camps and the “Right of Return”
There will be no retraction or apology , not from this reporter. Arutz Sheva certainly doesn't have to, even though UNRWA has already announced to the world that a retraction has already been issued.
http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1070
The UNRWA summer camp program to indoctrinate UNRWA campers to act out the “right of return” to “their villages” takes place this summer and every summer on the grounds of UNRWA schools.
We have it all on film.
The UNRWA summer camp “right of return” experience is the subject of the next movie that our agency will produce and present next month, in Jerusalem, Washington and Ottawa.
*UNRWA campers play games and enter sports competitions. Each team is named for villages they left 60 years ago.
*UNRWA campers draw murals entitled “194”. Each UNRWA camper identifies their village from 1948. [“194” connotes the Palestinian understanding of the UN resolution #194 “right of return”]
*UNRWA campers listen intently as their camp counselors instruct them to devote themselves to a a life long struggle to reclaim lands stolen from their grandparents in 1948.
*UNRWA campers line up for an UNRWA Right of Return festival where UNRWA campers participate in a Right of Return Festival at Bethlehem University.
UNRWA's attempt to distance itself from the international Right of Return campaign, which produced www.PalestineRemembered.com, remains rather pathetic, considering how the founder and head of the ROR campaign, Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, credits UNRWA as the ultimate instrument of the right of return.
In a speech delivered by Abu Sitta for the Palestine Return Center in London on December 16, 2009, and then reprinted by the Palestinian Land Society, entitled “UNRWA: The Unsung Hero,” Abu Sitta proclaims that:
"The perseverance of the Palestinians in their quest to return home is enhanced by the increasing world support and also by the work of UNRWA and its records. These records are the building block of the Return Plan…This simple card [illustrated in a slide] is the genome of the refugeehood (sic). It defines the refugee’s name, his family, the new families of his off-spring, his home in his village of origin and his camp of exile. The whole home-exile odyssey is imprinted in history.
"We, all of us, must work actively for the return of the refugees. Only when they return, when they are rehabilitated in their own homes…can we say the job of UNRWA is done…
UNRWA of course will be the main instrument for repatriation. It has a rich history and dedicated staff, ideal for the job".[i] (Emphasis added)
Teachers’ Union Control
In terms of who teaches in the UNRWA schools, The UNRWA teachers’ union in the Gaza Strip – by far the largest union sector – has close to 7,000 members.
For over 15 years, Hamas (via its affiliate Islamic Bloc) has dominated the UNRWA’ union. In 2006, the Hamas victory was decisive: for the first time: its candidates won all 11 seats, meaning that Hamas representatives then controlled the executive council of this union sector.
In 2009, once again, Hamas-affiliated candidates won all 11 seats in the teachers’ union in Gaza, guaranteeing Hamas control of UNRWA schools in Gaza.
In March 2011, Hamas leader Suhail al-Hindi was reelected as head of the teachers’ union of UNRWA in Gaza.
So much for innocuous UNRWA education. (end of Bedein's retort).
And a reply to this from UNRWA:
UNRWA notes that no evidence has been produced to support the accusations made by Bedein. There is no evidence to support the accusation that UNRWA is an organization whose “raison d’ךtre is involved with the genocide of the Jews”. Neither has any evidence been produced showing that UNRWA has any formal association with the Palestine Remembered website. We furthermore note that no actual evidence has been produced to show that “right of return” activities have taken place in any UNRWA facilities, for which the Agency is responsible or that UNRWA is a part of “the international Right of Return campaign”. If actual evidence is produced UNRWA will examine the evidence and react as appropriate. UNRWA has publicly rejected any accusations made by Bedein in the past and a statement to this effect is posted on the Agency’s website at http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=784 Arutz Sheva adds: We will keep you posted on the UNRWA-Bedein controversy.
Comment on this story
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