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1. U.S. Says 'No' to Peres on Pollard
by Gil Ronen
"Our position hasn't changed" regarding Jonathan Pollard, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in an email to Yahoo News reported Tuesday.
Asked whether the White House had received President Shimon Peres's written plea to President Barack Obama to grant Pollard clemency, Vietor said he was not sure "but the position is the same."
Peres sent an urgent personal request Monday to Obama asking for Pollard to be pardoned on humanitarian grounds.
Peres also met with Esther Pollard on Sunday. According to his office, Peres listened carefully as she outlined her husband's deteriorating condition and implored the President to use all his influence as quickly as possible to ensure that Pollard – who was rushed to a hospital last Friday – is not sent back to prison.
She said returning Pollard to prison would "be a death sentence."
Peres's office told Arutz Sheva that the president working hand in hand with the leaders of the Freedom for Pollard Committee to maximize efforts to secure his release.
The President's Office noted that Peres will next meet with Obama in June to formally request Pollard's release on behalf of the citizens of Israel. Peres also received a letter to that effect bearing the signatures of 80 Israeli lawmakers.
Peres also requested Pollard's release during his last meeting with Obama, following the AIPAC conference in early March.
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by Gil Ronen
"Our position hasn't changed" regarding Jonathan Pollard, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said in an email to Yahoo News reported Tuesday.
Asked whether the White House had received President Shimon Peres's written plea to President Barack Obama to grant Pollard clemency, Vietor said he was not sure "but the position is the same."
Peres sent an urgent personal request Monday to Obama asking for Pollard to be pardoned on humanitarian grounds.
Peres also met with Esther Pollard on Sunday. According to his office, Peres listened carefully as she outlined her husband's deteriorating condition and implored the President to use all his influence as quickly as possible to ensure that Pollard – who was rushed to a hospital last Friday – is not sent back to prison.
She said returning Pollard to prison would "be a death sentence."
Peres's office told Arutz Sheva that the president working hand in hand with the leaders of the Freedom for Pollard Committee to maximize efforts to secure his release.
The President's Office noted that Peres will next meet with Obama in June to formally request Pollard's release on behalf of the citizens of Israel. Peres also received a letter to that effect bearing the signatures of 80 Israeli lawmakers.
Peres also requested Pollard's release during his last meeting with Obama, following the AIPAC conference in early March.
Tags: Pollard lobby ,Jonathan Pollard
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2. Obama Chooses ‘Anti-Pollard’ Biden to Appease Jews
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Vice President Joe Biden, who has said that Jonathan Pollard should die in prison, will address U.S. rabbis next month as part of Obama’s effort for Jewish contributions to his campaign chest.
The vice president will be the keynote speaker at the Conservative Jewish movement’s Rabbinical Assembly Convention in Atlanta in the first week of May.
A public relations message to the media announcing Biden’s speech to the rabbis stated that he has been a stalwart supporter of Israel for four decades since his days as a U.S. Senator.
President Barack Obama last fall chose Biden to appease American Jews, whose support has been shaky because of his opposition to a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and all of Jerusalem and because of his snub of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his visit to the White House last year.
However, Biden quickly angered the entire Jewish community by stating that Jonathan Pollard should “stay in jail for life.” He said he told President Obama, to whom Israeli leaders and several former American officials have said should be freed, “Over my dead body are we going to let him out before his time.”
His comment immediately brought an angry reaction from leaders of all streams of Judaism.
It was reported that President Obama turned down on Monday an urgent request from President Shimon Peres that Pollard be released from jail. Pollard was hospitalized last week, and his health is deteriorating.
Pollard was sentenced to life for passing on classified information on Israel’s behalf, an offense that usually carries a prison sentence of several years.
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by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Vice President Joe Biden, who has said that Jonathan Pollard should die in prison, will address U.S. rabbis next month as part of Obama’s effort for Jewish contributions to his campaign chest.
The vice president will be the keynote speaker at the Conservative Jewish movement’s Rabbinical Assembly Convention in Atlanta in the first week of May.
A public relations message to the media announcing Biden’s speech to the rabbis stated that he has been a stalwart supporter of Israel for four decades since his days as a U.S. Senator.
President Barack Obama last fall chose Biden to appease American Jews, whose support has been shaky because of his opposition to a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and all of Jerusalem and because of his snub of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his visit to the White House last year.
However, Biden quickly angered the entire Jewish community by stating that Jonathan Pollard should “stay in jail for life.” He said he told President Obama, to whom Israeli leaders and several former American officials have said should be freed, “Over my dead body are we going to let him out before his time.”
His comment immediately brought an angry reaction from leaders of all streams of Judaism.
It was reported that President Obama turned down on Monday an urgent request from President Shimon Peres that Pollard be released from jail. Pollard was hospitalized last week, and his health is deteriorating.
Pollard was sentenced to life for passing on classified information on Israel’s behalf, an offense that usually carries a prison sentence of several years.
Tags: Jonathan Pollard ,Joe Biden ,Obama-Israel
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3. Report: Israel Told US 'No Attack until Early Fall'
by Gil Ronen
Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Tuesday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refused to commit before U.S. President Barack Obama that Israel would not attack Iran before the U.S. presidential elections.
Netanyahu agreed to wait with an Israeli military move only until the [early] fall season, says the paper on its website, citing American sources. This appears to indicate an attack would take place in October.
The sources also said that Netanyahu agreed, in his meeting with Obama early last month, to give more time to "a dialogue" with Iran, accompanied by harsher sanctions against the Persian state. However, he refused to give his assurance that the Israeli strike would occur after the U.S. November elections.
"Netanyahu thinks that after the fall season, the nuclear installations in Iran will enter 'the zone of immunity' from Israeli attacks, and Israel will no longer have the independent option of defending itself militarily on its own," the report said.
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by Gil Ronen
Israeli newspaper Maariv reported Tuesday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refused to commit before U.S. President Barack Obama that Israel would not attack Iran before the U.S. presidential elections.
Netanyahu agreed to wait with an Israeli military move only until the [early] fall season, says the paper on its website, citing American sources. This appears to indicate an attack would take place in October.
The sources also said that Netanyahu agreed, in his meeting with Obama early last month, to give more time to "a dialogue" with Iran, accompanied by harsher sanctions against the Persian state. However, he refused to give his assurance that the Israeli strike would occur after the U.S. November elections.
"Netanyahu thinks that after the fall season, the nuclear installations in Iran will enter 'the zone of immunity' from Israeli attacks, and Israel will no longer have the independent option of defending itself militarily on its own," the report said.
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4. PA Says It Retains Option to Charge Israel in Hague
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Palestinian Authority says it still has an option to charge Israel with “war crimes” in the International Criminal Court (ICC), which rejected its petition last week because it is not a member of the United Nations.
"The doors are still open for us if we decide to sign the Rome Statute, or go to the UN General Assembly asking to become a non-member state. This is left for the Palestinian leadership to determine," said Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) observer to the UN, Riyad Mansour, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency. The Rome Statute established the International Criminal Court
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on April 3 rejected the PA’s demand for a tribunal on accusations against Israel for its counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead maneuvers in Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009.
"As soon as the General Assembly establishes that Palestine is an observer state, then we can proceed," said Moreno-Ocampo.
The option may change PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s tactics of trying to win full membership, a move that requires two-thirds approvals of the United Nations Security Council. Last fall, Abbas dropped his bid after realizing he was one vote short in the Security Council, whose approval is needed before the motion can be voted on in the General Assembly. The United States threatened to cast a veto if the motion won a two-thirds majority.
Abbas can easily win non-membership status by going to directly to the general Assembly, where he has a guaranteed majority.
Moreno-Ocampo also said that is up to “relevant bodies at the United Nations” or the 120 countries that make up the ICC to decide if the PA can sign the Rome Statute.
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by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Palestinian Authority says it still has an option to charge Israel with “war crimes” in the International Criminal Court (ICC), which rejected its petition last week because it is not a member of the United Nations.
"The doors are still open for us if we decide to sign the Rome Statute, or go to the UN General Assembly asking to become a non-member state. This is left for the Palestinian leadership to determine," said Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) observer to the UN, Riyad Mansour, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency. The Rome Statute established the International Criminal Court
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on April 3 rejected the PA’s demand for a tribunal on accusations against Israel for its counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead maneuvers in Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009.
"As soon as the General Assembly establishes that Palestine is an observer state, then we can proceed," said Moreno-Ocampo.
The option may change PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s tactics of trying to win full membership, a move that requires two-thirds approvals of the United Nations Security Council. Last fall, Abbas dropped his bid after realizing he was one vote short in the Security Council, whose approval is needed before the motion can be voted on in the General Assembly. The United States threatened to cast a veto if the motion won a two-thirds majority.
Abbas can easily win non-membership status by going to directly to the general Assembly, where he has a guaranteed majority.
Moreno-Ocampo also said that is up to “relevant bodies at the United Nations” or the 120 countries that make up the ICC to decide if the PA can sign the Rome Statute.
Tags: ICC ,Palestiniian Authority ,PLO
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5. CBS's Ben Stein Warns of Second Holocaust
by Rachel Hirshfeld
In light of the Passover holiday, CBS’s Ben Stein warned that the Jewish people must heed the lessons of history in order to prevent another Holocaust from befalling it.
Every Passover, the Jewish people attest to the daunting and recurring theme that, as it says in the Haggadah, “In every generation we are faced with enemies that seek our complete annihilation and destruction." Stein gives voice to his understanding that Jews must not rely on the nations of the world to determine their destiny, but must do so themselves.
Stein asserts, "It's Passover. This is a major Jewish holiday that marks what the Bible cites as miraculous salvation of the Jewish people from enemies bent on exterminating them.
"At many services in people's homes and at synagogues, prayers will be recited which proclaim that in every generation, enemies of the Jews arise to kill the Jews, but G-d always saves the Jews in the end.
"Sadly, this section is now obsolete [in Stein's opinion, ed.].
"About 75 years ago, enemies of the Jewish people rose up in the form of the Nazis in Europe and their many eager helpers, from France to Russia. Their hands were not stayed. In the cruelest imaginable ways, they basically wiped out the Jews of Europe - a staggering six million men, women and children. That was roughly half of the Jews on Earth.
"Basically, the world did nothing to save them.
"So, the Jews of this world know, as only a few other groups know, that the absolute worst that can be imagined CAN happen.
"They also know that the mere word of the world means very little in terms of actual action, except for the United States of America, the only nation that has ever stood up for Jews in a meaningful way since World War II, or maybe ever.
"Now, Israel is threatened with another Holocaust as Iran races towards building a nuclear bomb and missiles to deliver it to Israel. The mullahs and other men who rule Iran have explicitly promised to wipe Israel off the map. Israel is a tiny country, and one nuclear bomb detonated over Tel Aviv would indeed make another Holocaust.
"If you wonder why Israel may be planning to strike Iran preemptively, you have only to go back two generations - the wink of an eye.
"It is all fine to urge patience on Israel, to assure Israel that sanctions maybe will work.
"'Maybe' is not good enough.
"The Israeli Jews - the children and grandchildren of the wretched survivors of the Holocaust - cannot accept 'maybe'. They have learned the hard way that here on Earth, there have not been many Passovers for a long time.
"If they are to be saved, they have to save themselves."
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by Rachel Hirshfeld
In light of the Passover holiday, CBS’s Ben Stein warned that the Jewish people must heed the lessons of history in order to prevent another Holocaust from befalling it.
Every Passover, the Jewish people attest to the daunting and recurring theme that, as it says in the Haggadah, “In every generation we are faced with enemies that seek our complete annihilation and destruction." Stein gives voice to his understanding that Jews must not rely on the nations of the world to determine their destiny, but must do so themselves.
Stein asserts, "It's Passover. This is a major Jewish holiday that marks what the Bible cites as miraculous salvation of the Jewish people from enemies bent on exterminating them.
"At many services in people's homes and at synagogues, prayers will be recited which proclaim that in every generation, enemies of the Jews arise to kill the Jews, but G-d always saves the Jews in the end.
"Sadly, this section is now obsolete [in Stein's opinion, ed.].
"About 75 years ago, enemies of the Jewish people rose up in the form of the Nazis in Europe and their many eager helpers, from France to Russia. Their hands were not stayed. In the cruelest imaginable ways, they basically wiped out the Jews of Europe - a staggering six million men, women and children. That was roughly half of the Jews on Earth.
"Basically, the world did nothing to save them.
"So, the Jews of this world know, as only a few other groups know, that the absolute worst that can be imagined CAN happen.
"They also know that the mere word of the world means very little in terms of actual action, except for the United States of America, the only nation that has ever stood up for Jews in a meaningful way since World War II, or maybe ever.
"Now, Israel is threatened with another Holocaust as Iran races towards building a nuclear bomb and missiles to deliver it to Israel. The mullahs and other men who rule Iran have explicitly promised to wipe Israel off the map. Israel is a tiny country, and one nuclear bomb detonated over Tel Aviv would indeed make another Holocaust.
"If you wonder why Israel may be planning to strike Iran preemptively, you have only to go back two generations - the wink of an eye.
"It is all fine to urge patience on Israel, to assure Israel that sanctions maybe will work.
"'Maybe' is not good enough.
"The Israeli Jews - the children and grandchildren of the wretched survivors of the Holocaust - cannot accept 'maybe'. They have learned the hard way that here on Earth, there have not been many Passovers for a long time.
"If they are to be saved, they have to save themselves."
Tags: CBS ,Holocaust ,Jewish people ,Passover
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6. Jewish Student Falsely Accused: Satire or Libel?
by Rachel Hirshfeld
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on Rutgers University last week to investigate the perpetrator of a satirical anti-Semitic column that was falsely attributed to a Jewish student.
The column entitled "What about the good things Hitler did?" appeared in the satirical student publication, The Medium, on April 4, alongside the name and photo of Aaron Marcus, a student known for his pro-Israel advocacy.
The Medium sought to parody an article that Marcus wrote for the student newspaper, The Daily Targum, which criticized the Palestinian Authority for refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
The 'spoof' states that “history has given the Third Reich a bad rap” and that while Hitler was responsible for genocide, he also experimented with rocket science and helped start the auto company Volkswagen, The Washington Post reported.
“To say anything praiseworthy of someone like Hitler, and to have people actually believe it was coming from me, even in a satirical manner, is just really painful,” Marcus told WWOR-TV.
In a letter to Rutgers President Richard McCormick, Etzion Neuer, Acting Director of ADL's New Jersey Office, stated, “We understand that The Daily Medium describes itself as ‘satirical’ newspaper and opinion writers are free to express their views despite how offensive they may be. However, this article specially targets Mr. Marcus and includes anti-Semitic remarks attributed to him. The content and misappropriation of his identity creates a situation where he may be the subject of harassment and bullying. It also contributes to an atmosphere where anti-Semitism can easily become an accepted part of campus life…We do not believe any student should be targeted in this manner and urge you to immediately investigate the matter and take appropriate action.”
The article “is extremely offensive and repugnant,” McCormick said. “No individual student should be subject to such a vicious and provocative and hurtful piece, regardless of whether the First Amendment protections apply to such expression.”
This is not The Medium's first case of publishing anti-Semitic material or making inappropriate references to Jews. In 2004 the newspaper printed a front-page cartoon that belittled victims of the Holocaust, noted the ADL.
Comment on this story
by Rachel Hirshfeld
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) called on Rutgers University last week to investigate the perpetrator of a satirical anti-Semitic column that was falsely attributed to a Jewish student.
The column entitled "What about the good things Hitler did?" appeared in the satirical student publication, The Medium, on April 4, alongside the name and photo of Aaron Marcus, a student known for his pro-Israel advocacy.
The Medium sought to parody an article that Marcus wrote for the student newspaper, The Daily Targum, which criticized the Palestinian Authority for refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
The 'spoof' states that “history has given the Third Reich a bad rap” and that while Hitler was responsible for genocide, he also experimented with rocket science and helped start the auto company Volkswagen, The Washington Post reported.
“To say anything praiseworthy of someone like Hitler, and to have people actually believe it was coming from me, even in a satirical manner, is just really painful,” Marcus told WWOR-TV.
In a letter to Rutgers President Richard McCormick, Etzion Neuer, Acting Director of ADL's New Jersey Office, stated, “We understand that The Daily Medium describes itself as ‘satirical’ newspaper and opinion writers are free to express their views despite how offensive they may be. However, this article specially targets Mr. Marcus and includes anti-Semitic remarks attributed to him. The content and misappropriation of his identity creates a situation where he may be the subject of harassment and bullying. It also contributes to an atmosphere where anti-Semitism can easily become an accepted part of campus life…We do not believe any student should be targeted in this manner and urge you to immediately investigate the matter and take appropriate action.”
The article “is extremely offensive and repugnant,” McCormick said. “No individual student should be subject to such a vicious and provocative and hurtful piece, regardless of whether the First Amendment protections apply to such expression.”
This is not The Medium's first case of publishing anti-Semitic material or making inappropriate references to Jews. In 2004 the newspaper printed a front-page cartoon that belittled victims of the Holocaust, noted the ADL.
More on this topic
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Over 200 Jewish Students Receive Mock 'Eviction Notices' -
Elan Steinberg, Leader of World Jewish Congress, Dies at 59
-
Israeli Letter-poem to Grass: If We Go, Everyone Goes
-
German Poet Grass Claims He is Targeted by Critics
-
PMO Dismisses Anti-Israel Couplets from Waffen SS Poet
-
Hungarian Lawmaker's Anti-Semitism Opens Old Wounds
Comment on this story
7. Over 200 Jewish Students Receive Mock 'Eviction Notices'
by Rachel Hirshfeld
Over two hundred Jewish students at Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Boca Raton campus received fake “eviction notices” from the anti-Israel group, ‘Students for Justice in Palestine,’ last Friday, the Sun Sentinel reported.
“Some students who didn’t read the document believed they were really being evicted,” said Rayna Exelbierd, a 20-year-old Jewish sophomore, who returned to her dorm room to find the “eviction” letter attached to her door.
The ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ (SJP) sought to use this ploy to draw attention to their claim that Israel’s “occupation of Palestine” results in the demolition of “Palestinian” homes.
“We’re taking it very seriously,” said Exelbierd. “We’re considering it a hate crime. The flier promotes hate; it doesn’t promote peace. People were scared by it. People felt threatened by it.”
A group of Jewish students met at the offices of Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach on the Boca Raton campus, on Wednesday, to discuss the incident, noted the Sun Sentinel.
Scott Brockman, Hillel executive director, said in a statement, “While protecting and ensuring free speech on campus, the tactic used by Students for Justice in Palestine is unacceptable” and “[d]oes not promote civil discourse on campus but provokes, incites and intimidates.”
Andrew Rosenkranz, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Florida region, said, “The University is taking the matter very seriously and will open an investigation. Nobody wants to come back to the dorm and see a fake eviction notice nailed to their door. The university needs to create and maintain an atmosphere where people feel they are in a safe learning environment.”
The ADL continuously monitors acts of anti-Semitism and hate against Jews worldwide, including those against Jewish students on university campuses, and noted that while there have been a number of anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic, incidents at FAU, most notably during the infamous ‘Israel Apartheid Week,’ they were poorly attended.
The Zionist Organization of America has also demanded that the university condemn the recent acts, and noted that the flyers were university-approved, despite the fact that FAU was previously notified of SJP's public calls for violence against Israel.
Noor Fawzy, identified as the leader of SJP, as well as Charles G. Brown, FAU senior vice president for student affairs, could not be reached for comments, noted the Sentinel.
The university issued a statement, late Wednesday afternoon, asserting that, “The University, as an institution of higher education, prides itself on being a venue for free expression, regardless of viewpoint. However, the distribution of printed material on University property is subject to FAU policy and regulation… The recent mock eviction postings did not comply with the policies of University Housing and Residential Life or the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership concerning the distribution of printed material, and therefore the postings were removed.”
Ironically, this occurred as Jews were evicted from the Machpela House they had purchased in Hevron, ostensibly for fear of "disturbing the peace".
Comment on this story
by Rachel Hirshfeld
Over two hundred Jewish students at Florida Atlantic University’s (FAU) Boca Raton campus received fake “eviction notices” from the anti-Israel group, ‘Students for Justice in Palestine,’ last Friday, the Sun Sentinel reported.
“Some students who didn’t read the document believed they were really being evicted,” said Rayna Exelbierd, a 20-year-old Jewish sophomore, who returned to her dorm room to find the “eviction” letter attached to her door.
The ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ (SJP) sought to use this ploy to draw attention to their claim that Israel’s “occupation of Palestine” results in the demolition of “Palestinian” homes.
“We’re taking it very seriously,” said Exelbierd. “We’re considering it a hate crime. The flier promotes hate; it doesn’t promote peace. People were scared by it. People felt threatened by it.”
A group of Jewish students met at the offices of Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach on the Boca Raton campus, on Wednesday, to discuss the incident, noted the Sun Sentinel.
Scott Brockman, Hillel executive director, said in a statement, “While protecting and ensuring free speech on campus, the tactic used by Students for Justice in Palestine is unacceptable” and “[d]oes not promote civil discourse on campus but provokes, incites and intimidates.”
Andrew Rosenkranz, director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Florida region, said, “The University is taking the matter very seriously and will open an investigation. Nobody wants to come back to the dorm and see a fake eviction notice nailed to their door. The university needs to create and maintain an atmosphere where people feel they are in a safe learning environment.”
The ADL continuously monitors acts of anti-Semitism and hate against Jews worldwide, including those against Jewish students on university campuses, and noted that while there have been a number of anti-Israel, and anti-Semitic, incidents at FAU, most notably during the infamous ‘Israel Apartheid Week,’ they were poorly attended.
The Zionist Organization of America has also demanded that the university condemn the recent acts, and noted that the flyers were university-approved, despite the fact that FAU was previously notified of SJP's public calls for violence against Israel.
Noor Fawzy, identified as the leader of SJP, as well as Charles G. Brown, FAU senior vice president for student affairs, could not be reached for comments, noted the Sentinel.
The university issued a statement, late Wednesday afternoon, asserting that, “The University, as an institution of higher education, prides itself on being a venue for free expression, regardless of viewpoint. However, the distribution of printed material on University property is subject to FAU policy and regulation… The recent mock eviction postings did not comply with the policies of University Housing and Residential Life or the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership concerning the distribution of printed material, and therefore the postings were removed.”
Ironically, this occurred as Jews were evicted from the Machpela House they had purchased in Hevron, ostensibly for fear of "disturbing the peace".
More on this topic
-
Jewish Student Falsely Accused: Satire or Libel?
-
Elan Steinberg, Leader of World Jewish Congress, Dies at 59
-
Israeli Letter-poem to Grass: If We Go, Everyone Goes
-
German Poet Grass Claims He is Targeted by Critics
-
PMO Dismisses Anti-Israel Couplets from Waffen SS Poet
-
Hungarian Lawmaker's Anti-Semitism Opens Old Wounds
Comment on this story
8. Why Did The Times Publicize Romney And Netanyahu's Friendship?
by Amiel Ungar
A famous story about the 19th century Austrian statesman Count Metternich - a balance of power virtuoso who inspired Henry Kissinger -relates that he was once informed of the demise of a leading European diplomat. "I wonder why he did it," mused Metternich in response.
That possibly apocryphal story illustrated the diplomatic grandmaster's penchant for analyzing every move on the European chessboard to the point of absurdity.
When one reads the story in the New York Times by Michael Barbaro about the warm relations between Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin that he says go back a long time, we may be forgiven a Metternich moment in asking "I wonder why they published it?"
In more innocent times, publishing a definitely newsworthy article should have evoked no more analysis than a diplomat's natural demise. These are, however, not innocent times; and many of us do not consider the New York Times to be an innocent.
The Times can hardly be considered friendly to Israel and particularly to the Likud government - so much so, that Prime Minister Netanyahu recently rejected the opportunity to submit an op-ed to the paper.
The editor of the New York Jewish Week, Gary Rosenblatt, who is definitely not a political conservative was struck by the flood of leaks designed to deter Israel from a unilateral strike against the Iranian nuclear program, writing "I do know that the mainstream press (and especially The New York Times) has had a steady drumbeat of reports these last few weeks characterizing Israel unfairly in the delicate diplomatic dance of Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran."
It was the Times that furnished Peter Beinart with a pulpit for his article calling for a boycott of the Israeli settlements.
No sooner had Kadima elected Shaul Mofaz as its new leader, Mofaz received a welcome aboard puff piece in the New York Times where he proclaimed his willingness to surrender 100% of the territories liberated during the Six-Day War. Mofaz also used the article to portray himself as a person with a social conscience. (We will return to this point later).
Given this record, what is the New York Times doing publishing an article that would seem to help Mitt Romney amongt Jewish voters?
Jewish voters are most comfortable when a cordial relationship exists between an American president and an Israeli prime minister. On the basis of this article, they would have justification for believing that with Mitt Romney in the White House. relations would show a marked improvement over the chilly relationship between Barack Obama and Netanyahu.
Writing in The American Thinker. Leo Rennert, a former White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief of McClatchy Newspapers believes that this is a takedown of both Romney and Netanyahu.
He notes that at the close of the article, Barbaro quotes former US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, a true believer in Oslo who never concealed his disdain for Netanyahu, to the effect that Romney's excessive deference to Netanyahu "implies that Romney would subcontract Middle East policy to Israel (and) that of course, would be inappropriate."
Rennert believes that this is a subtle conspiracy theory designed to show Israel's excessive influence on the Romney campaign.
While it is refreshing to see that someone else is thinking like Metternich, I believe that the major thrust is directed against Netanyahu, rather than Romney.
Liberals are feeling very confident at the moment about Barack Obama's prospects against Mitt Romney and this optimism is currently backed by public opinion polls. The polls show Obama leading in the swing states and doing well among independents and women voters.
Obama, the "post-partisan president", is about to launch a very partisan attack against Romney, using the code words "Social Darwinism". Romney with his Bain Capital mentality cannot empathize with the plight of Middle America and the common man.
The Israeli prime minister is being set up as the alter ego of Mitt Romney. When Mitt Romney is repudiated in November, this repudiation will rub off on Binyamin Netanyahu - and that may be why the author mentions the incidental fact that Netanyahu's second wife once worked at Bain capital.
This also ties in neatly with the accurate portrayal of Shaul Mofaz, who clawed his way up from poverty and claims that his children cannot make ends meet.
If they are not making ends meet, perhaps they should approach papa, who in addition to his Knesset salary is drawing a most sizable IDF Chief of Staff pension and lives in the very upscale town of Kochav Yair.
This, however, would conflict with the narrative of the plutocrats, Romney and Netanyahu, versus the up from poverty politicians, Obama and Mofaz.
Comment on this story
by Amiel Ungar
A famous story about the 19th century Austrian statesman Count Metternich - a balance of power virtuoso who inspired Henry Kissinger -relates that he was once informed of the demise of a leading European diplomat. "I wonder why he did it," mused Metternich in response.
That possibly apocryphal story illustrated the diplomatic grandmaster's penchant for analyzing every move on the European chessboard to the point of absurdity.
When one reads the story in the New York Times by Michael Barbaro about the warm relations between Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin that he says go back a long time, we may be forgiven a Metternich moment in asking "I wonder why they published it?"
In more innocent times, publishing a definitely newsworthy article should have evoked no more analysis than a diplomat's natural demise. These are, however, not innocent times; and many of us do not consider the New York Times to be an innocent.
The Times can hardly be considered friendly to Israel and particularly to the Likud government - so much so, that Prime Minister Netanyahu recently rejected the opportunity to submit an op-ed to the paper.
The editor of the New York Jewish Week, Gary Rosenblatt, who is definitely not a political conservative was struck by the flood of leaks designed to deter Israel from a unilateral strike against the Iranian nuclear program, writing "I do know that the mainstream press (and especially The New York Times) has had a steady drumbeat of reports these last few weeks characterizing Israel unfairly in the delicate diplomatic dance of Jerusalem, Washington and Tehran."
It was the Times that furnished Peter Beinart with a pulpit for his article calling for a boycott of the Israeli settlements.
No sooner had Kadima elected Shaul Mofaz as its new leader, Mofaz received a welcome aboard puff piece in the New York Times where he proclaimed his willingness to surrender 100% of the territories liberated during the Six-Day War. Mofaz also used the article to portray himself as a person with a social conscience. (We will return to this point later).
Given this record, what is the New York Times doing publishing an article that would seem to help Mitt Romney amongt Jewish voters?
Jewish voters are most comfortable when a cordial relationship exists between an American president and an Israeli prime minister. On the basis of this article, they would have justification for believing that with Mitt Romney in the White House. relations would show a marked improvement over the chilly relationship between Barack Obama and Netanyahu.
Writing in The American Thinker. Leo Rennert, a former White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief of McClatchy Newspapers believes that this is a takedown of both Romney and Netanyahu.
He notes that at the close of the article, Barbaro quotes former US ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, a true believer in Oslo who never concealed his disdain for Netanyahu, to the effect that Romney's excessive deference to Netanyahu "implies that Romney would subcontract Middle East policy to Israel (and) that of course, would be inappropriate."
Rennert believes that this is a subtle conspiracy theory designed to show Israel's excessive influence on the Romney campaign.
While it is refreshing to see that someone else is thinking like Metternich, I believe that the major thrust is directed against Netanyahu, rather than Romney.
Liberals are feeling very confident at the moment about Barack Obama's prospects against Mitt Romney and this optimism is currently backed by public opinion polls. The polls show Obama leading in the swing states and doing well among independents and women voters.
Obama, the "post-partisan president", is about to launch a very partisan attack against Romney, using the code words "Social Darwinism". Romney with his Bain Capital mentality cannot empathize with the plight of Middle America and the common man.
The Israeli prime minister is being set up as the alter ego of Mitt Romney. When Mitt Romney is repudiated in November, this repudiation will rub off on Binyamin Netanyahu - and that may be why the author mentions the incidental fact that Netanyahu's second wife once worked at Bain capital.
This also ties in neatly with the accurate portrayal of Shaul Mofaz, who clawed his way up from poverty and claims that his children cannot make ends meet.
If they are not making ends meet, perhaps they should approach papa, who in addition to his Knesset salary is drawing a most sizable IDF Chief of Staff pension and lives in the very upscale town of Kochav Yair.
This, however, would conflict with the narrative of the plutocrats, Romney and Netanyahu, versus the up from poverty politicians, Obama and Mofaz.
Tags: Mitt Romney ,New York Times
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