Amb. Oren: Jewish apartment complexes aren't preventing peace - Palestinians' refusal to negotiate is

Back in 2005, Israel uprooted all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza, evicting their 9,000 residents, in order to advance peace. But in the seven years since, Israel has been targeted by nearly 9,000 terrorist rockets from Gaza. Clearly, settlements are not the reason. Rather, it is our enemy’s determination to deny the Jewish people the right to independence in our ancestral homeland. – Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Oren

Stop scapegoating Israeli settlements 

Jewish apartment complexes aren't preventing peace — Palestinians' refusal to negotiate is

By Michael Oren / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 4:15 AM

RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS

Apartments are seen in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim near Jerusalem.

Back in 2005, Israel uprooted all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza, evicting their 9,000 residents, in order to advance peace. But in the seven years since, Israel has been targeted by nearly 9,000 terrorist rockets from Gaza. Clearly, settlements are not the reason. Rather, it is our enemy’s determination to deny the Jewish people the right to independence in our ancestral homeland.

That is why Palestinian Arabs fought for decades to prevent the establishment of Israel in 1948 and why, over the next 20 years, Arab armies tried to destroy us — before there was a single settlement. That, and not the settlement issue, was why the Palestinians turned down Israeli offers of statehood in the West Bank and Gaza in 2000 and 2008.

And that is why last month, Hamas in Gaza launched yet more rockets at Israel, and why the West Bank’s Palestinian Authority refused to negotiate with us for the past four years. Instead, it unilaterally declared sovereignty in a UN General Assembly resolution that denied any security for Israel or recognition of it as a Jewish state.

Israel, for its part, recognizes the Palestinians as a people who could have a state if their leaders agreed to sit with ours and work out the complex issues between us. One of those issues is borders, and it includes the settlements, which have created — to use President Obama’s words — “new demographic realities on the ground.”

Those realities include Jerusalem neighborhoods built after 1967, home to more than half of the city’s Jewish residents and only a few minutes’ drive from downtown. Successive Israeli governments have insisted that Jerusalem remain Israel’s united capital. “I know that this is a difficult issue for Palestinians,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a joint meeting of Congress in 2011. “But I believe with creativity and goodwill, a solution can be found.”

Then there are the West Bank settlements. These communities provide strategic depth to our borders which, before 1967, were as narrow as 8 miles across. But the West Bank — Judea and Samaria — is also the birthplace of our people, our tribal lands. The West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Hebron and Jericho appear in the Bible, but Haifa in modern Israel does not.

The settlements reflect the right of a people to live in its homeland. We are willing to qualify that right — painfully — if the Palestinians agree to live with us in peace.

Still, all of the settlements account for a very small percentage of the West Bank. Most of them are concentrated in blocs that have become suburbs of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Everyone — Americans, Israelis and Palestinians — understands that these blocs will always remain part of Israel, even if a Palestinian state is negotiated.

All of the building recently approved by the Israeli government was in Jerusalem and these blocs. So, too, were the preliminary plans for construction in the area known as E1, which were approved last week.

E1 is a stretch of desert, less than 2 miles long, connecting Jerusalem to its suburb of Maaleh Adumim, home to 40,000 Israelis. Every Israeli prime minister in the past 40 years, including Ehud Olmert and Yitzhak Rabin, has planned to build in E1 in order to prevent Maaleh Adumim’s isolation.

That construction will not, as the Palestinians claim, divide the West Bank. Just look at a map: E1 in no way obstructs Palestinian Ramallah’s access to Jericho and Bethlehem. In a negotiated two-state solution, short tunnels under E1 can also connect Ramallah with the Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem.

In his congressional address, Netanyahu acknowledged that “some settlements will end up beyond Israel’s borders” after a genuine peace agreement. Israel is committed to achieving that goal, and settlements will not be an obstacle. Together with Obama, whose support for Israel’s right to defend itself and demand for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks has been unswerving, we stand ready to do the difficult work of peacemaking.

Even today, after all the terrorist rockets and denial of our rights, we remain at the negotiating table, waiting for the Palestinians to join us.

Oren is Israel’s ambassador to the United States.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/stop-scapegoating-israeli-settlements-article-1.1217232#ixzz2Em8XZyvz

 

 

 

U.S. SENATE CALLS FOR CUBA’S IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF ALAN GROSS

 

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 6, 2012

Contact: Garrette Silverman (Moran) – 202-224-6521

Sue Walitsky (Cardin) – 202-224-4524

 

U.S. SENATE CALLS FOR CUBA'S IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF ALAN GROSS

Resolution passes just after 3rd Anniversary of Alan Gross' arrest in Cuba

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday evening, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution (S. Res. 609) introduced by U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and co-sponsored by 30 of their Senate colleagues, calling on Cuba to immediately and unconditionally release Marylander Alan Gross. This is the first time Congress has taken the step of passing a resolution condemning Mr. Gross' arrest and calling for his release. The resolution, introduced on the 3rd Anniversary of Mr. Gross' arrest in Havana, Cuba, also urges the Cuban government to address Mr. Gross' medical issues.

 

"The U.S. Senate stands united in the position that Alan Gross should be immediately and unconditionally released so he can return home for medical treatment and to support his family. Enough is enough. The Cuban Government continues to demonstrate why bilateral relations between our two countries remain frozen. Alan and his family should no longer be forced to suffer the consequences of political gamesmanship," said Sen. Cardin.

 

"The Senate's passage of this resolution sends a loud and clear message to Cuba: it is past time for Alan Gross to come home," Sen. Moran said. "For more than a decade, I have worked to open Cuban markets to American agriculture. This year, however, I stepped back from these efforts because the Cuban government has a responsibility to cooperate with the United States on the unjust detention of Alan Gross. The path to improved America-Cuba relations has always been difficult, but it is that much more difficult and unlikely until Cuba lets Alan come home."

 

"I am so grateful for this extraordinary outpouring of support from the U.S. Senate," said Judy Gross, wife of Alan Gross. "I know that with its strong support, I am one step closer to bringing Alan home."

 

Alan Gross was arrested on December 3, 2009, and after a two-day trial, was given a 15-year prison sentence by Cuban authorities for facilitating communications between Cuba's Jewish community and the rest of the world. Mr. Gross was in Cuba working as a sub-contractor for the United States Agency for International Development, helping a small, peaceful, non-dissident community. He was doing the type of work he had done his whole career in international development – helping others in need.

 

A 63-year-old husband and father, Mr. Gross has lost more than 100 pounds since his arrest and suffers from severe degenerative arthritis that affects his mobility, as well as other health problems. The Cuban Government has denied requests by Mr. Gross for an independent medical examination by a doctor of his choosing. Members of his family have also faced serious illnesses during this time.

 

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JCRC Statement to Legislators working on budget cuts: Keep the needy in mind. 12/2/2012

Statement from the JCRC/ Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

 

The JCRC knowing that hard decisions need to be made and in keeping with the prophetic directive of the Jewish tradition to care for the poor and to feed the hungry, urges decision makers in this year of budgetary difficulty to do their utmost to remember and support those who are hungry and in need in our communities, especially children, as they consider ways to reduce local, state, and federal budget deficits.   (December 2, 2012)

 

Including representatives from Jewish communities throughout Iowa, the Jewish Community Relations Commission (JCRC) is the non-partisan, community affairs committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines.   Contact: jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

JCPA: UNGA Vote on Palestinian Non-Member Observer State

For Immediate Release:  November 29, 2012

Contact: Benjamin Suarato, Communications Associate                                                
bsuarato@thejcpa.org; 202-212-6031; 518-810-7225(c)

Symbolic UN Vote is the Wrong Way to Palestinian Statehood

Today’s vote in the UN General Assembly giving the Palestinians status as a non-member observer state was a regrettable distraction from efforts to bring about negotiations with Israel, the only path to legitimate statehood and peace, said the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

“We would like to be congratulating and warmly welcoming UN recognition of a Palestinian state; not just as a non-member observer state, but as a full member of the world body. But as Israel, the United States, and the Quartet have asserted time and again, a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only come about through direct negotiations between the parties, not unilateral and symbolic steps at the UN,” said JCPA President Rabbi Steve Gutow. “We hope that President Abbas - who disregarded pleas from President Obama and others to avoid this counterproductive path - will not seek to take advantage of this new status to continue or expand the diplomatic offensive against Israel. Of particular concern is possible use by the Palestinians of the International Criminal Court or the International Court of Justice as weapons against Israel. Instead Mr. Abbas should accept Israel's longstanding invitation to negotiate without any preconditions.”  

“Palestinian statehood must be achieved in a way that ensures the security of Israel if there is to be lasting peace and shared prosperity,” said JCPA Chair Larry Gold. “This will be reached at a negotiating table, not in the halls of the UN in New York. In the meantime, as a stable Palestinian partner remains a prerequisite for progress toward peace, we hope Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's promising efforts to create a security apparatus and  successful economy in the West Bank, which can sustain a future state negotiated with Israel, will continue to receive support.”  

JCPA, the public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community, serves as the national coordinating and advisory body for the 14 national and 125 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish community relations.  The JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines is a member of JCPA.

 

Distributed by the JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines      jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

 

Dec. 4 Holocaust survivor and author to speak at Temple B'nai Jeshurun 6:30 pm

 Come hear Marion Blumenthal Lazan,  Holocaust survivor and author of  Four Perfect Pebbles,

 

Tuesday,  December 4    6:30 pm – 7:30 pm at Temple B’nai Jeshurun,  51^st Street and Grand Avenue in Des Moines.

 

Marion’s Holocaust story is one of perseverance, determination, faith and hope!

          

 

 

Sponsored by Bankers Trust, the JCRC of the Jewish Federation, and Temple B’nai Jeshurun.

JCRC/Federation condemn terrorist bombing today in Tel Aviv

JCRC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines unequivocally condemn today’s horrific public bus bombing in Tel Aviv.   We stand in solidarity with Israel and her people and reiterate Israel’s right and moral obligation to defend its citizens even as she pursues peace with her Palestinian neighbors.   

Picture: Emergency workers assist victims of today’s bus bombing in Tel Aviv.  <The Israel Project>

 

JCRC Statement: In support of Israel's self defense

Statement from the Jewish Community Relations Commission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines    11/14/2012

 

In support of Israel’s self defense

 

After repeated warnings to Hamas and its allied terrorist organizations in Gaza that additional rocket attacks on Israeli citizens would no longer be met by half measures, Israel today began a military operation to stop the rocket attacks and to destroy the stock of Iranian-supplied weapons within Gaza.  This defensive action comes after 200 rockets were launched over the past few days endangering the one million residents of southern Israel.  Since the beginning of 2012, 800 rockets have been fired at Israel.  The situation had been intolerable.  No government would nor should permit its citizens to be terrorized by such attacks.

 

The U.S. State Department today expressed its condemnation of Hamas’s ‘cowardly” rocket attacks on the people of Israel and supported Israel’s right to defend itself.

 

“We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence. There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately. We support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties.

 

Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that is counterproductive to the Palestinian cause. Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza or to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination.” 

 

Source:  http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/11/200551.htm

 

JCRC appreciates the support offered by the U.S. State Department and urges all Iowans to stand with us as we support Israel in its self defense.

 

 

Mark S. Finkelstein

Director of Community Relations

Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

 

Contact: jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

Follow JCRC on Facebook at http://facebook.com/JewishCurrentEvents

 

 

Abu Toameh: Abbas's Pandora box

“The public [Palestinian] outcry over [Abbas’s] remarks is further proof that no Palestinian leader has a mandate from his people to make any concessions to Israel. – Khaled Abu Toameh

Analysis: Abbas's Pandora box

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH    11/04/2012   http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=290464

 

Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Even Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas did not seem to be aware he was opening a Pandora’s box when he said last Thursday that he does not want to return to his home town of Safed and that a Palestinian state would be established only in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

Abbas’s remarks, made during an interview with Channel 2, have since sparked an unprecedented wave of criticism from many Palestinians and Arabs.

He is being accused of “giving up the right of return” for millions of Palestinian refugees and some of his political rivals have gone as far as calling for his execution for “high treason.”

What surprised Abbas was the fact that the strong condemnations were not only from Hamas and radical Palestinian groups, but also from ordinary Palestinians, including some of his political allies in the PLO.

If anything, the widespread denunciations show that the Palestinians remain strongly opposed to any form of concessions to Israel, especially with regards to the “right of return” for refugees to their former homes inside Israel.

But Abbas himself is partially responsible for the fact that Palestinians have been radicalized to a point where they see any talk of compromise with Israel as an act of “high treason.”

Over the years, Abbas has repeatedly declared that the “right of return” is a sacred issue and a “red line” that no Palestinian should ever dare to cross.

On several occasions, he and senior PA officials have reassured the refugees that the Palestinian leadership would never relinquish their “sacred” right.

Despite the reassurances, Abbas’s opponents continued to cast doubt about his true position regarding the “right of return." The PA president has already been criticized for opposing a third intifada and turning his organization into a “subcontractor” for the Israeli security establishment in the West Bank.

His remarks concerning the refugees have now provided his Palestinian and Arab enemies with additional ammunition that will be used against him.

A defiant Abbas has since moved into damage-control mode in face of the growing protests against him and his policies.

In a series of statements over the past three days, Abbas has vehemently denied allegations that he has given up the refugees’ “right of return.”

Judging from his response, one is left with the impression that Abbas regrets having ever given an interview to an Israeli media outlet.

His spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, tried to explain that the interview with Channel 2 was mainly intended to “affect Israeli public opinion.”

In other words, the spokesman is telling Palestinians and Arabs that Abbas is telling Israelis what they like to hear – namely that Palestinian refugees would not return to their former homes inside Israel.

Abbas is now accusing Hamas of inciting against him over the refugee issue.

He sees himself as a victim of a “conspiracy” concocted jointly by Hamas and the Israeli government to thwart his effort to upgrade the status of a Palestinian state at the UN later this month.

Yet Abbas’s explanations and attempts to clarify his position regarding the refugees so far seem to have fallen on deaf ears.

Israeli leaders and politicians who rushed to welcome Abbas’s remarks are probably unaware that they have caused him even more damage among Palestinians and Arabs.

Many Palestinians are now openly saying that Abbas does not have a mandate from his people to make concessions to Israel, particularly on the explosive refugee case.

As one Palestinian editor explained, “Abbas does not speak on behalf of 6,000,000 refugees” when he says he does not want to return to Safed.

The controversy over Abbas’s remarks means that many Palestinians are opposed to Abbas’s statehood bid at the UN at the end of this month. He is seeking UN recognition of a Palestinian state “only” within the pre-1967 lines – an idea that many Palestinians and Arabs are opposed to because they want to “liberate all of Palestine.”

Abbas’s statehood bid could therefore come back as a boomerang and deepen divisions among the Palestinians.

The public outcry over his remarks is further proof that no Palestinian leader has a mandate from his people to make any concessions to Israel.

 

Conservative rabbis dismayed by Protestants’ call for investigation of aid to Israel

For immediate release: October 7, 2012
Contact: Samantha Friedman, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications
Office: 202-265-3000 or cell: 202-215-9260 or samantha@rabinowitz-dorf.com

Conservative rabbis dismayed by Protestants' call for Congressional investigation of aid to Israel

NEW YORK – In response to a letter released Friday by a group of representatives of mainline Protestant groups, calling for Congressional investigations into all foreign aid to Israel on the basis that Israel has allegedly used it in violation of U.S. conditions, the Rabbinical Assembly, the international umbrella organization of Conservative rabbis, issued the following statement:

The Rabbinical Assembly unequivocally rejects the call of Protestant Christian leaders for reevaluation of foreign aid to Israel, and recommends that Members of Congress do so as well.

The letter calling for hearings and reassessment was issued without outreach to longtime partners in public advocacy within the Jewish community.  It was released on the eve of Shabbat, just before a long weekend of Jewish and American holidays.  And it was distributed at a time when Congress is out of session, in the midst of the general election campaign. 

We find these tactics to be disrespectful of channels of communication that have been constructed over decades, and an essential declaration of separation from the endeavor of interfaith consultation on matters of deep concern to the Jewish community.  Indeed, we find this breach of trust to be so egregious that we wonder if it may not warrant an examination on the part of the Jewish community at large of these partnerships and relationships that we understood ourselves to be working diligently to preserve and protect.

The substance of the letter demands a point-by-point response.  Our community is currently preparing such a document but will be delayed by the holy season that concludes this week.  Rabbi Jack Moline, Director of Public Policy of the Rabbinical Assembly stated: "At the moment, it is sufficient to say that Israel remains the only outpost of democracy and guaranteed human rights in the entire region, and America's only dependable ally in promoting the rights of free expression, freedom of religious conscience and practice, equal rights for people of either gender and all sexual orientations, and a political system that enables an unfettered exchange of ideas and peaceful transition of government based on the will of the people.  We fail to understand how, under the cloak of concern for human rights, the churches involved have elected to communicate such an unbalanced portrayal of the complex situation which Israel encounters daily, including a constant need to defend itself from attacks on its own people.  It would seem to belie an antagonism that stands in sharp contrast with the theological professions of their outreach to the Jewish community."

Rabbi Stuart Weinblatt, the Rabbinical Assembly's Director of Israel Advocacy, added, "Israel's readiness to pursue peace is not matched by the Palestinians, yet the document seeks to assign blame only to the Jewish state for the inability to progress in the quest for peace.  Moreover, to selectively invoke the representations of a Jewish organization for their own purposes is reprehensible."

The Rabbinical Assembly expresses its deep disappointment and dismay with the churches involved, who have seen fit to unilaterally release this document in disregard for our longstanding tradition of collaborative discussion on sensitive and complex matters.  We urge our members to express their concern to friends and colleagues who are associated with these denominations in their local communities.
 

The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. Since its founding in 1901, the Assembly has been the creative force shaping the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement, and is committed to building and strengthening the totality of Jewish life. Rabbis of the Assembly serve congregations throughout the world, and also work as educators, officers of communal service organizations, and college, hospital, and military chaplains.  More information is available at www.rabbinicalassembly.org.

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Thurs. Oct. 4 " High Stakes with Iran" 7 pm at Bulldog Auditorium/ Olmsted Ctr, Drake University

In Des Moines. *Please* Come Sunday/ Monday: Help Stop Genocide in Sudan!

[ A full listing of public programs for Sunday Aug. 26 and Monday 27  is included below.]

 

Friends,  please forward this information to all your friends.

Come learn this Sunday and/or  Monday about something most Americans know very little about: the genocide facing the people of Sudan and how the U.S. Administration can do much, much more to help – but is not.*   

“ Nothing moved me more than watching a 6-year-old girl, Israh Jibrael, tenderly feed her starving 2-year-old sister, Nada, leaves from a branch. Israh looked hungrily at the leaves herself, and occasionally she took a few. But, mostly, she put them into her weak sister’s mouth. Both children were barefoot, clad in rags, and had hair that was turning brown from malnutrition.   Their mother, Amal Kua, told me that the family hasn’t had regular food since the Sudanese Army attacked their town five months ago. Since then, she said, the family has lived in caves and subsisted on leaves.”  --*NY Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof   (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/opinion/sunday/kristof-from-peace-prize-to-paralysis.html?_r=1&smid=fb-share)

We have a unique opportunity in Des Moines to help save the Sudanese people of the Nuba Mountains, along with others in the region, from certain death.  Please join our local Help Nuba Coalition, along with Sudanese leaders from around the country, and notable activists in programs open and free to the public on Sunday, August 26 and Monday, August 27. 

 

                  

If nothing else, please come on Sunday,  1 pm – 3pm to the State Historical Society Building, 600 E. Locust for a major program including Hawa Salih, 2012 International Women of Courage Award Winner – then please participate in a March to End Genocide at  3:30 pm.  The March is organized by the Iowa United Nations Association.

 

   Hawa Salih

 

 

 

 Here is a complete schedule for programs open to the public this Sunday ( August 26, 2012)  as well as for Monday, August 27.   For additional information, please contact Kristen.danielle.anderson@gmail.com   http://helpnuba.net

 

 

 

 

 

"Help Nuba" August 26. A 'Walk to End Genocide' and programs with guest speakers. Location: State Historical Society

      Help Nuba! Talk “the Walk” and Walk the Talk!      Sunday, August 26th

                         The Help Nuba Coalition* invites you to join us for the Help Nuba events                                                                            

         Walk To End Genocide,  An Introduction: The Humanitarian Crisis, and a Major Speakers Program 

                                                        this coming Sunday,  August 26  at

                   The State Historical Society of Iowa (Auditorium)        600 East Locust, Des Moines, IA

                                    The Programs Listed Below are all Open to the Public Free of Charge

1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. Educational Program with guest speakers: The Humanitarian Crisis

Highlighting the educational program’s list of speakers will be Hawa Salih, Darfuri Human Rights Activist and 2012 International Women of Courage Award Winner and Ngor Mayol, one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan. The afternoon program aims to provide an understanding of the current situation in Sudan and South Sudan while stressing urgent needs.

3:30 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Walk to End Genocide (approximately 1 mile)      Departs from in front of the State Historical Society Bld

Join us as we walk together in solidarity in order to raise awareness of the crimes against humanity taking place across Sudan, from the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan State to Blue Nile in the East and Darfur in the West. We are unifying our voices to sound the alarm on these atrocities. We call for an immediate aid corridor to be opened for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the hundreds of thousands starving at the hands of a genocidal regime. Help Nubasupports a peaceful transition to a more inclusive Sudan that celebrates and honors its diversity.

7:00 P.M. – 10:00 P.M. Evening Major Speakers Program: A Call for Peace in the Two Sudans

Amidst an ever-changing relationship between Sudan and South Sudan, we are certain of one thing, millions of Sudanese are facing a government induced famine by a genocidal regime. As a result, the crisis has spilled across the borders into South Sudan, burdening an already struggling fledgling country. We will look beyond oil pipelines and politics to square ourselves with humanity. Giving us a platform from which we can strengthen and unify our advocacy work in order to protect innocent civilians.

Evening speakers will include Sudanese and South Sudanese community leaders from across the United States and activist leaders speaking about what needs to be done and addressing the ultimate question: “What can I do?”

 For additional information contact  rachelm@UNAiowa.org   

 

Help Nuba is online at http://helpNuba.net           Executive Council Members are listed at http://helpnuba.net/about/help-nuba-executive-council/

 

(ver. 8/19/12)

 

Amb. Oren: Time Is Short For Iran Diplomacy

OPINION       August 6, 2012

 A version of this article appeared August 7, 2012, on page A13 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Time Is Short For Iran Diplomacy.

Time Is Short For Iran Diplomacy

Iran is the world's leading terror sponsor without nuclear weapons. With them, it can commit incalculable atrocities.

By MICHAEL OREN   Mr. Oren is Israel's ambassador to the United States.

Nearly two decades ago, Israel started alerting the world about Iran's nuclear program. But the world ignored our warnings, wasting 10 years until the secret nuclear enrichment plant at Natanz was exposed in 2002. Then eight more invaluable years were lost before much of the international community imposed serious sanctions on Iran.

Throughout that time, the ayatollahs systematically lied about their nuclear operations, installing more than 10,000 centrifuges, a significant number of them in a once-secret underground facility at Qom. Iran has blocked International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from visiting its nuclear sites, refused to answer questions about the military aspects of its program, and rejected all confidence-building measures. Iran has tested long-range missiles capable of reaching any city in the Middle East and, in the future, beyond.

Iran is also the world's leading state sponsor of terror. It has supplied more than 70,000 rockets to terrorist organizations deployed on Israel's borders and has tried to murder civilians across five continents and 25 countries, including in the United States. In July, Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists killed five Israeli tourists, among them a pregnant woman, in Bulgaria. Iran's forces have attacked American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its agents are operating in Yemen, Africa and South America. By providing fighters and funds, Iran is enabling Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to massacre his own people.

Iran has done all this without nuclear weapons. With them, it can commit incalculable atrocities anywhere in the world, beginning with Israel. As the chief of staff of the Iranian military recently stated, "the Iranian nation stands for the full annihilation of Israel." Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said "the annihilation of the Zionist regime is the key for solving the world problems."

Accordingly, Israel believes that Iran is far from forfeiting its nuclear ambitions. Our conviction is based on Iran's record of subterfuge and terror together with its genocidal rhetoric. It also reflects the inability of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany (the "P5+1") to negotiate a compromise with Iran.

In their first round of talks with Iranian officials, late in 2009, the P5+1 demanded the suspension of all enrichment activities in Iran and the transfer of its stockpiles, then enriched to 3.5%, abroad. Iran rejected those conditions and escalated its enrichment process to 20%, which can be enhanced to weapons-grade in a matter of weeks.

Iran now has amassed roughly 225 pounds of 20% uranium and 11,000 pounds of 3.5%, sufficient for almost five nuclear bombs. Rather than stand by its initial demands, however, the P5+1 is now seeking merely the cessation of Iran's 20% enrichment, the removal of its 20% stockpile, and the closure of the facility at Qom. Arguably, this would be the first stage in the phasing out of Iran's nuclear program. But Iran has rejected even this preliminary gesture.

Iran will continue to drag out the negotiations while installing more centrifuges. These, according to the IAEA, are spinning even faster. The sanctions, which have dealt a blow to Iran's economy, have not affected the nuclear program. Meanwhile, more of Iran's expanding stockpile will be hidden in fortified bunkers beyond Israel's reach.

No country has a greater stake than Israel in using negotiations and economic pressure to dissuade Iran from developing nuclear weapons. We appreciate the determination of President Obama and the U.S. Congress to advance the sanctions and their pledge to keep all options on the table.

At the same time, the president has affirmed Israel's right "to defend itself, by itself, against any threat," and "to make its own decision about what is required to meet its security needs." Historically, Israel has exercised that right only after exhausting all reasonable diplomatic means. But as the repeated attempts to negotiate with Iran have demonstrated, neither diplomacy nor sanctions has removed the threat.

A combination of truly crippling sanctions and a credible military threat—a threat that the ayatollahs still do not believe today—may yet convince Iran to relinquish its nuclear dreams. But time is dwindling and, with each passing day, the lives of eight million Israelis grow increasingly imperiled. The window that opened 20 years ago is now almost shut.

--

Aug. 28: Maccabee's Deli Blood Drive to meet a need!

 

The Des Moines Blood Bank is low on Blood, so Maccabee's Deli is having a Blood Drive (on short notice).
If you can give blood or know anyone who can give blood,
the first 40 people who sign up will not only get a free sandwich but will be getting the Mitzvah of giving life too.

 

World Food Prize laureate

At #WorldFoodPrize, @SecClinton congratulates winner Israeli scientist Dr. Hillel for saving "every last drop" of water http://pic.twitter.com/4rz5z67B


Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Dire reports, impending genocide in Nuba, Sudan.

JCRC Action Alert.    Please help save people in Sudan from genocide. The time to speak out is now!  The situation is getting worse.

 

  In sum:  Refugees from Sudan have come to us pleading for help in saving the residents of Nuba Mountains from almost certain genocide at the hands of the Sudanese government.  Just this morning, we received a report from Ryan Boyette, one of the only witnesses on the ground in the Nuba Mountains. 

 

The report is clear and succinct.

 

Ryan reporting for NubaReport.org: June 6, 2012 at 8:20am

17 bombs were dropped in villages in Buram County in Southern Kordofan Sudan. The government of Sudan is trying to stop the already starving people of Nuba from planting.

This is planting season in Nuba and the people have about 1.5 months to plant. If the people don't plant in that time then it will be too late. The government of Sudan knows this and has increased their bombing campaign in Buram County over the past week.

 

We also call your attention to Nicholas Kristof’s June 6^th column in the NY Times about what he observed in the Nuba Mountains.   Please read the excerpt below:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/opinion/kristof-if-only-our-leaders-had-mariams-guts.html?_r=2

 

“World leaders …. have said little and done almost nothing as President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has — for a year now — undertaken daily bombings in the Nuba Mountains and the neighboring Blue Nile region, blocked food from entering, expelled aid groups and tried to bar witnesses. I entered illegally on a dirt track from South Sudan, and, as noted in my last column, I found that hundreds of thousands of people in the Nuba Mountains have run out of food and are surviving on leaves, wild roots and insects.”

 

“I’d like to explain to [the people of  Nuba]  why the world lets this happen without even speaking out strongly, and I just don’t know what to say.”

 

 

JCRC calls upon you to contact your Congressman and Senators.   (They need evidence that people are concerned.)

 

 Ask them to act immediately in any way possible to save the people of Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile from genocide. 

 

 

 

 

Contact numbers:  or access   http://www.alllaw.com/state_resources/iowa/congress/default.asp

 

 

Senator Grassley (515) 288-1145

Senator Harkin  (515) 284-4574

 

Cong. Boswell  (515) 282-1909

Cong. Latham  (515) 232-2885

Cong. Loebsack  (319) 364-2288

Cong. Braley  (319) 287-3233

Cong. King  (712) 277-2114

 

Thank you.   For JCRC,   Mark Finkelstein    jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

For updated information, it is recommended that you consult  http://helpnuba.net