J-NewsLine

Jan. 23: Holocaust survivor, scholar Irving Roth at Drake. Presented by Christians United for Israel

2012-01-18T11:53:00.001-06:00

Christians United For Israel presents

Irving Roth,

a survivor of the Holocaust and

Director of the Holocaust Resource Center at Temple Judea of Manhasset, New York

Monday, January 23, 2012

7:30 p.m.

Bulldog Theater (Located in the Olmsted Center) at Drake University

Feel free to visit and RSVP on the Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/313083518734348/?ref=ts

About Irving Roth:

Irving Roth is the Director of the Holocaust Resource Center at Temple Judea of Manhasset, New York. A holocaust survivor, Mr. Roth endeavors to convey the lessons that can be learned from his experience in the death camps of Poland, working to ensure that an atrocity like the Holocaust never happens again. Mr. Roth has been the recipient of numerous awards for his work promoting a more accepting and diverse world. His life’s mission, to make the world a better place, has earned Mr. Roth the Spirit of Anne Frank Award. A dynamic and engaging speaker, Mr. Roth is a sought-after Holocaust educator throughout Europe, Israel and America.

This event is sponsored by Christians United for Israel.

The purpose of Christians United For Israel (CUFI) is to provide a national association through which every pro-Israel church, parachurch organization, ministry or individual in America can speak and act with one voice in support of Israel in matters related to Biblical issues. Visit http://cufi.org for more information.

Contact: Emily Lofgren

President, Christians United for Israel

Drake University

563-260-4601 eelofgren@gmail.com

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

Study: Young Jews are highly supportive of Israel

2012-01-11T13:02:00.001-06:00

Jewish Students Strongly for Israel

December 20, 2011 From: the Israel Project

“Closeness” to Israel similar to national community, affected by Jewish engagement
Nearly half have traveled to Israel, high number compared to national
Many information sources, key to address media, community, and campus organizations

Click here for PDF of Word Clouds from Survey
Click here for Interview Schedule from Survey

Washington, Dec. 20 - Young Jews on university campuses across the country are highly supportive of Israel, a new study shows. The data, representing 400 Jewish undergraduate students, clearly shows a high level of connection with Israel, belying the supposed generational erosion of support in the American Jewish community. The survey was sponsored jointly by The Israel Project and the American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies.

Mitchell Bard, Executive Director of the nonprofit American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and co-funder of the research, further explains, “Contrary to the claims of some outspoken critics, young Jews do not feel alienated from Israel. Our survey found that Jews have very positive feelings toward Israel, see it as the spiritual center of the Jewish people; believe that caring about Israel is an important part of being Jewish, think American and Israeli Jews share a common destiny and agree American Jews should support the policies of the government and express any criticism privately.”

The question of closeness to Israel in this student survey intentionally mirrored the AJC’s annual survey of the national Jewish community, and found that the numbers for the two groups were almost identical. Among Jewish students, 66 percent say they feel close to Israel, compared to 68 percent of national Jews.

In examining the elements that impact Jewish students’ connection to Israel, it is clear that Jewish lifestyle engagement has a huge affect on these measurements. Students are much more prone to feel close to Israel if they have attended day school (77 percent ‘close’), attended summer camp (78 percent), had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah (73 percent), or been involved with youth groups (78 percent).

Another factor in closeness to Israel is campus involvement. Among those involved in a Jewish campus organization (a little over half of Jewish students), 78 percent feel close to Israel. But, among those not involved, the number drops to only 52 percent. In looking at the various organizations on campus, it is clear that Hillel has a dominant position in connecting with these young Jews; 48 percent of Jewish students say that they are involved with Hillel. The next organization on the list is in the single digits.

Jewish students use overwhelmingly positive language when asked for one word to describe Israel. Click here to see a word cloud of all the open-ended answers given on the survey.

Among the Jewish students, fully 47 percent of have been to Israel; 16 percent of have attended Birthright, and 13 percent have been on a teen tour. Having this many young Jews visit Israel before finishing college is a significant amount, as the AJC found that only 44 percent of the national Jewish community has been to Israel. Of those Jewish students who have not been to Israel, three-fourths (73 percent) express a desire to visit. Having been to Israel is also a factor that shows a strong correlation to support for Israel, and an ability and willingness to speak to others on the issue.

Critically, the survey shows that 70 percent of Jewish students consider themselves well-enough informed on Israel to speak to non-Jews about the issue. But, only 44 percent say that they actually talk about Israel with non-Jews either a lot (7 percent) or some (37 percent). Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project which co-funded the research, “It is critical to get young Jews comfortable enough speaking about Israel that they can do so with their non-Jewish peers.”

Looking at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the political context of whom the United States SHOULD support, Jewish students again reaffirm their position with 84 percent saying Israel. And, on a 0-to-100 scale, 89 percent of the Jewish students give Israel a ‘warm’ rating.

The top reasons Jewish students say the U.S. should support Israel are shared values (43 percent) and being the most important ally in the Middle East (37 percent). Also notable are the partnership in the fight against terrorism (27 percent) and efforts for peace (23 percent). Less important reasons include religious justifications, and technological or economic achievements.

Among the Jewish students, mainstream media continues to play a significant role in shaping views of the Middle East. But unlike non-Jewish populations we have surveyed, “family and friends” and “your own religious beliefs” are also significant shapers of opinion. This finding highlights the significance of the community in developing the next generations connection to, and information regarding, Israel.

Said Mizrahi, “It is clear that we must continue to act as an educational resource for the mainstream media to ensure accurate and fair coverage of Israel. However, there is also a clear role that the community as a whole must play in educating our youth, and TIP is looking forward to working with organizations active in this field to strengthen communications targeted at our future community leaders.”

The survey (Interview Schedule; Word Clouds) was conducted online by Public Opinion Strategies from October 28-November 20, 2011. Interviews of 400 self-identified Jewish were collected. The margin of error is +4.9%.

Source:

http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ewJXKcOUJlIaG&b=7712197&ct=11556455&notoc=1#.Tw3Ze4GwUZV

Tunisia's Islamist Party Slams Anti-Semitic Chants

2012-01-09T13:51:00.001-06:00

“At a rally in a sports complex for Haniyeh on Sunday, supporters of the banned ultraconservative Hizb al-Tahrir party called for death to Israel, but did not repeat their anti-Jewish slogans.” One step at a time, I guess. – Mark Finkelstein, jcrc@dmjfed.org

By BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA and PAUL SCHEMM Associated Press

TUNIS, Tunisia January 9, 2012 (AP)

The head of Tunisia's moderate Islamic party condemned anti-Semitic slogans chanted Monday by a handful of ultraconservative Muslims during the arrival of a top Hamas official that have alarmed the local Jewish community.

It was the latest action by a small group of ultraconservative Muslims over the past few months to have embarrassed the government in what was once one of the more secular countries in the Arab world.

Rachid Ghannouchi reiterated the policy of his Ennahda party, which heads the country's new government, that Tunisia's Jews are "full citizens with equal rights and duties."

"Ennahda condemns these slogans which do not represent Islam's spirit or teachings, and considers those who raised them as a marginal group," Ghannouchi said in a statement.

Videos circulated online showed crowd members greeting Ismail Haniyeh, the prime minister of the Gaza government, at the airport in Tunis on Thursday chanting "Kill the Jews" and "Crush the Jews." The chants came from Salafists, ultraconservative Muslims who have been making their presence felt in Tunisia recently.

"It is worse then [sic] bad, it is catastrophic for Tunisia — particularly in regard to the repercussions that these attitudes provoke abroad," Roger Bismuth, president of Tunisia's Jewish community, told The Associated Press.

He said he was received late Monday by Ghannouchi and Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, who promised to resolve the situation — possibly with an address to the nation.

Perez Trabelsi, the head of the Jewish community on the island of Djerba where most live, described the slogans as "unreasonable" and said the government "could not let it pass."

After decades of being oppressed by Tunisia's secular dictators, Ennahda won elections and has been at pains to demonstrate its moderate credentials and belief in universal rights and freedoms for all Tunisians.

They have been repeatedly embarrassed by ultraconservative Islamic groups that have emerged since hard-line President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted from power last year in an uprising in Tunisia that led to revolts around the Arab world.

The groups have attacked university campuses and staged sit-ins over female students not being allowed to attend classes in the conservative face veils and have demonstrated over a variety of moral issues in cities.

Ennahda was at first slow to condemn their actions, earning the criticism of leftist and liberal groups which already regard the Islamist party with suspicion.

"I think if Ennahda doesn't come up with some way of being unequivocal in its rejection of some of these ideas and tactics it really does risk damaging its credibility with some of its coalition partners, progressive voters and international donors," said Chris Alexander, an expert on Tunisia from North Carolina's Davidson College, noting the danger of the party's slow response up until now.

"I think a lot of people will see that hesitancy as a mark of their true intentions."

At a rally in a sports complex for Haniyeh on Sunday, supporters of the banned ultraconservative Hizb al-Tahrir party called for death to Israel, but did not repeat their anti-Jewish slogans.

source

http://eStory/tunisias-islamist-party-slams-anti-semitic-chants-15321494#.TwtBZ3oWe1c

Example of Islamist genocidal intent

2012-01-08T18:03:00.000-06:00

Ismail Haniya, Hamas "prime minister" from Gaza, visits Tunisia [to meet with ] the "moderate" Islamist Nahda party, and a crowd at the airport greets him (in Arabic) thus: Cheerleader: "Kick the Jews!" ;Crowd: "It's [our] duty!"; Cheerleader: "Drive out the Jews!";Crowd: "Duty!"; Cheerleader: "Kill the Jews!"; Crowd: "Duty!"

source: http://youtu.be/x321iDqPySM

If this evidence means something to you, please forward it to others.

//Mark Finkelstein jcrc@dmjfed.org

WH: New Year's American Jewish Community Update

2012-01-04T10:13:00.001-06:00

From: The White House [mailto:info@messages.whitehouse.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 4:54 PM

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2011

Friends

Happy New Year! Below please find information on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as well as some end of year highlights.

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

Saturday, President Obama signed into law H.R. 1540, the “National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012." This bill includes provisions related to Iran, specifically sanctions on foreign financial institutions that do business with the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), including for oil transactions.

The United States has already had sanctions on CBI and Iran’s oil industry for decades -- so to make this legislation effective, the Obama Administration worked closely with Congress to shape the Iran provisions so that this new tool would increase the likelihood that other countries would stop doing business with CBI and Iran’s oil sector. This is important because the most effective approach is one that involves multilateral participation and is timed and phased to avoid negative repercussions to international oil markets and instead focus pressure on Iran.

For three years, President Obama has led an unprecedented effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Through a two-track policy -- one track increasing the pressure on Iran to induce it live up to its responsibilities in the international community and the other track offering a very credible option for engagement, provided Iran accepts its responsibilities to the international community -- the United States has built a strong international coalition against Iran’s nuclear weapons aspirations. As a result, Iran now faces the toughest sanctions regime in the world and is more isolated diplomatically, both regionally and globally.

The measure signed into law Saturday can be a significant escalation in the pressure on Iran, and President Obama has made clear that the United States is committed to increasing the pressure on Iran until it changes course.

Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Photos from 2011

The White House Photo Office compiled some of their favorite images from 2011, with commentary from Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza. You can view them on our Flickr feed, or on WhiteHouse.gov.

Go behind the scenes to get a glimpse of some incredible moments from the year.

"This is a composite of several images of the President and his national security team during a series of meetings in the Situation Room of the White House discussing the mission against Osama bin Laden on Sunday, May 1. We put this together so in addition to the previous, now iconic image of this day, people might have a better sense of what it's like in presidential meetings of historic significance." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

JCRC: Where and when to caucus on January 3

2011-12-31T19:49:00.001-06:00

Find out where your preferred party will hold its caucus for folks in your precinct.

On Tuesday, January 3, registration begins at 6:30 pm. The caucus begins at 7 pm.

To identify the location of your caucus, one place to go, on the web, is to: http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com

The information will be found under the tab named “About the Caucuses.” Follow the link for the party of your choice.

( You may have to identify your precinct number, ( in order to find your local caucus location for the party of your choice.) If so, a link will direct you to the website of the Iowa Secretary of State: http://sos.iowa.gov Look for a link called “Finding Polling Places.”

-- From JCRC of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines jcrc@dmjfed.org

JFNA condemns wave of religious extremism and violence in Israel

2011-12-27T16:27:00.000-06:00


	Leadership Briefing

Jewish Federations Condemn Wave of Religious Extremism and Violence in Israel
December 27, 2011

The Jewish Federations of North America today expressed strong condemnation of a recent wave of religious extremism and violence in Israel.
The situation has been highlighted in the media in recent days, which has focused on the verbal abuse of an eight-year-old girl in the city of Bet Shemesh, by a group of ultra-Orthodox men. Other issues have included the forced segregation of genders on some public bus routes – despite the fact that the Israeli Supreme Court has outlawed this practice – and the unofficial ban on any female image in advertising in some areas.
“Our movement includes Jewish people from all streams and persuasions. Yet, despite our differing backgrounds, we unite today to strongly condemn, with one clear and loud voice, all acts of violence, intimidation, coercion and extremism, especially those that are undertaken, incredibly, in the name of Judaism,” said Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of JFNA. “We know that ‘deracheha darchei noam’ – the Torah’s paths are ways of peace. We stand firmly and resolutely behind the voices of reason and moderation in Bet Shemesh and throughout Israel.”
As a result of significant media attention in recent days, many members of the Israeli Government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have spoken out publicly to condemn the extremist behavior. Similarly, the police have stepped up efforts and made a number of arrests.
“We applaud Prime Minister Netanyahu and other members of the government for their strong words condemning recent acts of extremism, and urge the government and the Israeli police to work hard to stamp out this stain on Israeli society,” said Rebecca Caspi, JFNA’s senior vice president for Israel and Overseas.
Earlier today, thousands took to the streets in Bet Shemesh to protest the acts of extremism, drawing increased media attention and scrutiny to the city.
Michael Gelman, JFNA’s chair of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, said, ”We reach out to the Ultra Orthodox community, and in particular, their spiritual leaders. We plead for them to break their silence and speak out firmly and decisively. An act of this nature can help heal Israeli society and restore their image as moral, upstanding, Torah-abiding citizens.”
Stuart Kurlander, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, which has a relationship with the Bet Shemesh/Mate Yehuda Region through the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Partnership Together program, also condemned the recent violence, intimidation and other extremist acts. “We have been working in partnership with the city of Bet Shemesh for 10 years and have come to know the community and its people very well. We stand with the law-abiding population of Beit Shemesh, and especially those groups working at conciliation and moderation in the city,” said Kurlander. “At the same time, we urge Bet Shemesh’s mayor, Moshe Abutbol, to put a stop to this religious extremism and violence, and help to rebuild a harmonious and thriving community.”

For more information, please contact: Dani Wassner atdani.wassner@jewishfederations.org

NYTimes: Bias in Ron Paul's newsletters draws new attention

2011-12-25T12:11:00.000-06:00

New Focus on Incendiary Words in Paul’s Newsletters

By JIM RUTENBERG and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Published: December 19, 2011, New York Times

Emerging as a real Republican contender in Iowa, RepresentativeRon Paul of Texas is receiving new focus for decades-old unbylined columns in his political newsletters that included racist, anti-gay and anti-Israel passages that he has since disavowed.

Source:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/us/politics/bias-in-ron-pauls-newsletters-draws-new-attention.html?_r=1

Medoff: Iowa and the Jews, Then and Now

2011-12-22T16:17:00.001-06:00

Iowa and the Jews, Then and Now

by Rafael Medoff http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=250439 12/21/2011

(Dr. Rafael Medoff is director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, and coauthor, with Prof. Sonja Schoepf Wentling, of the forthcoming book 'Herbert Hoover and the Jews: The Origins of the "Jewish Vote" and Bipartisan Support for Israel.')

Since there are barely 6,000 Jews in the entire state of Iowa --less than two-tenths of one percent of the population-- one would not have expected Jewish concerns to attract much attention in the campaign preceding next month's Republican caucuses. Yet suddenly the Jewish State, and its American Jewish supporters, find themselves front and center as the competition in Iowa enters the home stretch.

Two prominent journalists who are not particularly sympathetic to the Republicans, Hemi Shalev of the Israeli daily Ha'aretz and Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, warned last week of dire consequences if the candidates for the Republican nomination continue to make strongly pro-Israel statements.

According to Shalev, Iowan Republican voters are Bible-thumpin' fanatics so itching for "the war between Gog and Magog" that they do not mind if pro-Israel Republican candidates "inflame" the Arab world. A second problem, Shalev claims, is that Iowan voters and other "ordinary Americans" may start to "wonder about the sway this distant country [Israel] holds over American politics and about the motives of the Jews that support it." In other words, they may become anti-Semitic.

Some years ago, as a Herbert Hoover Presidential Fellow, I spent a little time in and around West Branch, Iowa, Hoover's birth place, where his presidential library is located and where I did research on Hoover's interest in Zionism and his response to the Holocaust.

None of the Iowans I met seemed terribly anxious about an impending Apocalypse. I doubt Gog and Magog are any more on the minds of the average Iowan voter than they are on the mind of Hemi Shalev and, in fact, perhaps less so, since those biblical characters actually originate in the Hebrew Bible, which is part of the Israeli school curriculum.

As for Shalev's notion that "ordinary Americans" in Iowa and elsewhere may turn anti-Semitic, I wonder what he thinks of his colleague Thomas Friedman's December 14 column in the Times. Friedman asserted that the standing ovations Israel's prime minister received during his recent address to the United States Congress were "bought and paid for by the Israel lobby." Doesn't that sort of rhetoric feed the canard about Jewish power to which Shalev alluded?

What was remarkable about the applause for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was its breadth. Liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans clapped with apparently equal enthusiasm. Congressmen from Iowa and Montana and Utah, who do not depend on Jewish votes or campaign contributions, expressed their support for Israel as strongly as those who represent districts where there are many Jewish voters. It was a striking display of bipartisanship.

Interestingly, Iowa's own political history offers two of the most notable examples of America's legacy of bipartisan support for Israel.

One was Guy Gillette, born and raised in the northwest Iowan town of Cherokee, who served three terms in the U.S. Senate. After news of the Holocaust was confirmed in the United States in late 1942, Gillette became the most vocal Senate supporter of the Emergency Committee to Save the Jewish People of Europe (better known as the Bergson Group), a maverick activist group that pressured the Roosevelt administration to rescue Jews from the Nazis. Gillette was a Democrat, and challenging the policies of his own party's president, in the middle of a world war, was not the most popular thing to do.

"It is not a Jewish problem alone," Gillette wrote in the preamble to his 1943 resolution urging FDR to create a refugee rescue agency. "It is a Christian problem and a problem for enlightened civilization." I recently called author and editor Miriam Chaikin, who worked in Gillette's Senate office in the 1940s, to ask about Gillette's motives. "He was a Bible-believing Christian," she told me. "He felt it was his religious duty to help the Jews."

Iowa's most famous Republican likewise championed the cause of Jewish refugees. Herbert Hoover, too, was a devout Christian with a heartfelt concern about the Jews, even if he was not known to wear his Quaker faith on his sleeve. In 1939, ex-president Hoover jettisoned his anti-immigration past and endorsed legislation to admit 20,000 German Jewish refugee children. During the Holocaust, Hoover supported the Bergson Group's rescue campaign and, in 1944, he brought about the GOP's first-ever adoption of a party plank calling for rescue of Jewish refugees and creation of a Jewish State. That forced the Democrats to adopt a nearly-identical plank. Bipartisan support for Israel has been a part of American political culture ever since.

Both Democrats and Republicans in America's bible belt have found in their religious faith strong reasons to feel positively about Israel and the Jewish people. That may not always sit well with the pundits, but it has been a healthy part of mainstream American politics for more than six decades and deserves more thoughtful consideration than it has received.

NYT: Finding Fault in the Palestinian Messages That Aren’t So Public

2011-12-21T10:53:00.001-06:00

Finding Fault in the Palestinian Messages That Aren't So Public

Many analysts say that what Palestinian leaders tell their own people in their own language — as opposed to statements tailored for the rest of the world — is the truest reflection of their actual beliefs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/20/world/middleeast/palestinian-messages-dont-match-israeli-group-says.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all%3Fsrc%3Dtp&smid=fb-share

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Comments to jcrc@dmjfed.org

Fatah prevents Palestinians from meeting with Israeli Leftists

2011-12-20T19:21:00.000-06:00

Hatem Abdel Kader, a senior Fatah operative, announced that his faction has declared “war” on meetings aimed at promoting “normalization” with Israel.

Protests again thwart Israeli-Palestinian meeting

www.jpost.com

Palestinian political activists protest meetings designed to normalize relations for second time in a week.

Upcoming Events! An update from the Jewish Federation

2011-12-19T13:01:00.000-06:00

Up-coming Events !

The first candle of Hanukkah is lit Tuesday evening, December 20. Happy Hanukkah from Jewish Federation!

1. From Rabbi Yossi Jacobson jrcspark@msn.com Lubavitch of Iowa will hold its ceremony of lighting the Grand Menorah in front of Maccabees Kosher Deli throughout Chanukkah. First night lighting, Tuesday, is at 5 pm with Gov. Branstad. The full schedule is appended.

2. Wednesday, December 21 6 – 8 pm, Judaic Resource Center-Lubavitch of Iowa presents “ Hanukkah on Ice,” at the Brenton Skating Plaza. $4. RSVP to jrcspark@msn.com

3. Wed., December 21. Java Jews Klezmer Band performs a Hanukkah program 8 – 11 pm El Bait Shop Restaurant/Bar, 200 SW 2^nd St., DSM

4. Thursday, December 29, 6:30pm

New Years Party at the Iowa Jewish Life Center!

Friday, December 30, at the Temple. Speaker: Shmuel Rosner, along with joint Tifereth-Temple service.

Shmuel Rosner, Political commentator on the Middle East, known for his Jerusalem Post blog. Sponsored by the congregations, JFed Forum, JCRC, and Jewish Federation.

6. Tuesday, January 3, 7 pm. The Iowa Presidential Caucuses. Consult the Des Moines Register for caucus locations.

Wednesday, January 4, noon at the Temple. JCRC Lunch Discussion.

Rabbi Kaufman will speak about “Israel as discussed at the Union for Reform Judaism General Assembly.” Bring your own lunch or order from Maccabees Deli through jcrc@dmjfed.org

Link : http://www.humanrights.gov/2011/12/19/remarks-by-the-president-at-the-71st-general-assembly-of-the-union-for-reform-judaism/

Join the Jewish Federation’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/JewishDesMoines

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The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines is online at http://jewishdesmoines.org

2011-12-19T11:20:00.000-06:00

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Rep. Rothman: Tom Friedman owes an apology

2011-12-14T16:25:00.001-06:00

Congressman Rothman: Friedman Owes Us an Apology for "Israel Lobby" Charge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 14, 2011

CONTACT: Aaron Keyak
office: (202) 225-5061
cell: (202) 905-6361
email: aaron.keyak@mail.house.gov

Washington, DC -- Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ) released the following statement on Thomas Friedman's column where he wrote that the "standing ovation [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] got in Congress this year was not for his politics. That ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby" in The New York Times this morning:

Thomas Friedman's defamation against the vast majority of Americans who support the Jewish State of Israel, in his New York Times opinion piece today, is scurrilous, destructive and harmful to Israel and her advocates in the US. Mr. Friedman is not only wrong, but he's aiding and abetting a dangerous narrative about the US-Israel relationship and its American supporters.

I gave Prime Minister Netanyahu a standing ovation, not because of any nefarious lobby, but because it is in America's vital national security interests to support the Jewish State of Israel and it is right for Congress to give a warm welcome to the leader of such a dear and essential ally. Mr. Friedman owes us all an apology.

###

Holy Land Foundation ties to Hamas affirmed

2011-12-08T10:14:00.001-06:00

http://bit.ly/suwcJC

Muslim charity leaders lose appeal in Hamas case

By REUTERS
08/12/2011

US federal appeals court upholds convictions of Holy Land Foundation leaders for funneling money and supplies to Hamas.

A US federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of five leaders of an Islamic charity on charges of funneling money and supplies to Hamas, which the United States designates as a terrorist group.

The organizers of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation argued they were denied a fair trial in 2008 when the government used secret Israeli witnesses to testify against them. The organizers also raised a host of constitutional challenges to the evidence presented against them at trial.

The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those challenges, concluding that "while no trial is perfect," Holy Land and its leaders were fairly convicted. The court pointed to "voluminous evidence" that the foundation, which was started in the late 1980s, had long-running financial ties to Hamas.

Once the largest Muslim charity in the United States, Holy Land was closed by the administration of former President George W. Bush soon after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Holy Land argued that the millions of dollars it raised went to charities in the West Bank and Gaza known as zakat committees. Although those committees performed legitimate charitable functions, they were also Hamas social institutions, the court found.

Federal law makes it a crime to provide material aid and support to a designated terrorist organization like Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and does not recognize Israel's existence.

"By supporting such entities, the defendants facilitated Hamas' activity by furthering its popularity among Palestinians and by providing a funding resource. This, in turn, allowed Hamas to concentrate its efforts on violent activity," Judge Carolyn King wrote on behalf of the unanimous three-judge panel.

Federal prosecutors indicted the foundation and its leaders in 2004 for providing material support to a designated terrorist group.

While the first trial in 2007 ended in a mistrial, a federal jury convicted the five individuals in 2008 on charges that included money laundering, tax fraud and conspiracy. The charity organizers received prison sentences ranging from 15 to 65 years.

On appeal, the leaders argued the trial judge should not have allowed two Israeli witnesses to testify without revealing their real names. Pseudonyms prevented their lawyers from examining the witnesses' credentials and backgrounds, they contended.

"The Confrontation Clause of the US Constitution basically didn't apply to these experts," said Gregory Westfall, a lawyer for defendant Abdulrahman Odeh. He said his client would likely appeal and predicted the case would eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

White House Jewish Americans Update, 12/7/2011

2011-12-07T12:55:00.001-06:00

From: The White House [mailto:info@messages.whitehouse.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2011 12:33 PM
Subject: White House Jewish Americans Update

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011

White House Jewish Americans Update

Friends,

Please find attached this week’s update from the White House Office of Public Engagement. This week FCC Chairman Julis Genekowski presided of over the investiture of new members of the Council of the Us Memorial Holocaust Museum. On December 4, five new members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council were sworn in by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

The Council, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's governing body, consists of 55 presidential appointees, in addition to ten Congressional representatives and three ex-officio members from the Departments of Education, Interior, and State.

New Council members sworn in were, Nancy B. Gilbert (Boca Raton, FL), Roman R. Kent a Holocaust survivor (NY, NY), Marc R. Stanley (Dallas, TX), Howard D. Unger, son of a Holocaust survivor , (Briarcliff Manor, NY), and Rwandan genocide survivor Clemantine Wamariya (Kenilworth, IL). Museum Chairman Tom A. Bernstein, Museum Vice Chairman Joshua B. Bolten, Museum Director Sara J. Bloomfield and Holocaust survivor and Museum volunteer Alfred Munzer also participated in the swearing-in ceremony.

White House Office of Public Engagement Weekly Update

President Obama began last week by hosting an EU Summit at the White House on Monday that focused on the global economy and touched on the political transformation in the Middle East, Iran's nuclear program, and steps necessary to ensure success in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, President Obama met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who reaffirmed his own government's commitment to keeping the euro intact.

On Wednesday, President Obama spoke at Scranton High School about the American Jobs Act and why passing the payroll tax cut for the middle class is so important. On Thursday, the Senate rejected an extension of the payroll tax cut that is set to expire at the end of the month. If Congress doesn’t act, taxes will go up on approximately 160 million Americans at the beginning of next year. Use the tax calculator on the White House webpage to figure out how much more you would have to pay.

President Obama continued to take executive actions this week because We Can’t Wait for Congress: On Monday the President issued a Presidential Memorandum to modernize government records management; and on Wednesday Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, announced a plan to accelerate the adoption of health information technology. Friday, President Obama announced nearly $4 billion of investment in energy upgrades to public and private buildings through the Better Buildings Challenge. These investments will accelerate progress toward the President's goal of making America's buildings 20 percent more efficient by 2020 and will also create tens of thousands of construction jobs.

On Thursday, President Obama marked World AIDS Day by speaking at an event called "The Beginning of the End of AIDS.” The President announced that he is directing $50 million in increased funding for domestic HIV/AIDS treatment and care -- an additional $15 million for the Ryan White program for HIV medical clinics across the country, and $35 million for state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs.

On Friday, the President spoke to Native American tribal leaders from across the country at the Tribal Nations Conference which took place last week. Leaders from 565 federally recognized tribes the opportunity to interact directly with the President and representatives from the highest levels of his Administration. This was the third White House Tribal Nations Conference for the Obama Administration, and continues to build upon the President’s commitment to strengthen the nation to nation relationship with Indian Country. In conjunction with the Conference, the Office of Public Engagement hosted a special Champions of Change this week, honoring Native American youth leaders.

Blog Highlights

Vice President Biden: "In America, and in Iraq, the Tide of War Is Receding"
December 2, 2011
Speaking at an event in Baghdad to honor the shared sacrifice and commitment of American and Iraqi service members, Vice President Biden heralded a new chapter in the relationship between the United States and Iraq – one rooted in civilian cooperation as the remaining American troops prepare to return home by the end of this year. More than 200 U.S. and Iraqi service members attended the event at Al Faw Palace - a former palace of Saddam Hussein.

The Employment Situation in November
December 2, 2011
Friday’s employment report provides further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, but the pace of improvement is still not fast enough given the large job losses from the recession that began in December 2007.

West Wing Week: 12/2/11 or "Bo Meets Bo."
December 2, 2011
This week, as the President urged Republicans to join a Democratic effort to prevent a thousand dollar tax increase on the typical American family, the White House got spruced up for the holidays. The President also hosted the EU Summit, the Dutch Prime Minister, and announced a new commitment to fighting AIDS in America and around the world. He also lit the National Christmas Tree. That's November 25th to December 1st, or "Bo Meets Bo."

Small Business Owner Says Payroll Tax Cuts Are "Game Changers"
November 30, 2011
President Obama was in Scranton, Pennsylvania on Wednesday to talk about the importance of extending the payroll tax cut for all working Americans and their families, and for the strength of the overall economy. These tax cuts will also have a tremendous impact on America's small businesses, 91.5 percent of which have fewer than 5 employees. The White House Business Council spoke to the owner of one such business in Knoxville, Tennessee who says the President's plan will help her business grow by freeing up her own capital, and that of her potential and existing clients as well. Learn more about her story here.

By the Numbers: $1,500
November 30, 2011
President Obama’s proposed payroll tax cut would put an extra $1,500 in the pockets of the typical American family that makes $50,000 a year. But if Congress doesn’t act soon, the same family could see their taxes go up by $1,000.

By the Numbers: 141,000

By the Numbers: 475 Million

By the Numbers: $335

From the Archives: Holidays at the White House
November 29, 2011
The holidays are a special time at the White House. The President and First Lady have made it their mission to open the “People’s House” to as many Americans as possible, and this is never more true than around the holidays. Wednesday, we began to look at the latest tidings and trimmings that make holidays at the White House so special, but to get in the mood now, check out these videos from last year’s festivities.

Raising Healthy, Active Kids

White House Champions of Change Program

The Champions of Change series is designed for people to look into their communities and nominate everyday heroes who are demonstrating commitment to improving their own communities, their country, or their fellow citizens. That is why we are looking for you to nominate someone who is doing extraordinary things to make a difference in your community as a “Champion of Change.”

Last week, in honor of the National Native American Heritage Month, the White House honored eleven Native American Youth leaders as Champions of Change. These young people are Champions in their tribes and communities as they work to improve the lives of those around them through innovative programs that help others, raise awareness of important issues like suicide and bullying prevention, energy efficiency and healthy eating. Watch the video from the Champions of Change discussion with White House and Administration officials which focused on the great work that these young people do every day.

Stay Connected

The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

Morning minyan times at our local congregations

2011-11-29T16:21:00.000-06:00

Morning Minyan Times At Our Local Congregations
Congregations also offer Friday evening services and will, in addition, respond to requests for minyanim at dates/ times other than advertised.

Your participation in minyanim is appreciated.

Tifereth Israel Synagogue (Conservative) convenes morning services Saturdays at 9 am and schedules minyanim also on Sundays at 9 am, and Tuesdays at 7 am. For details, contact 515.255.1137.

Beth El Jacob Synagogue (Orthodox) offers morning mechitza minyanim seven days a week. Shabbos services, Saturdays at 9:30 am; Sundays, 9 am; Mondays and Thursdays, 6:45 am; Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 am. Rosh Chodesh: 6:45 am; Chagim: 9 am; Rotation of venue of Friday evening services ( 20 minutes after candle lighting) between Beth El Jacob Synagogue and the Judaic Resource Center of Iowa. For details, contact 515.274-1551.

Judaic Resource Center of Iowa (Chabad) holds Shabbos services on Saturdays at 10 am. Will organize other mechitza minyanim upon request. Rotation of venue of Friday evening services ( 20 minutes after candle lighting) between the Judaic Resource Center and Beth El Jacob Synagogue. For details, contact 515 277-1770.

Temple B'nai Jeshurun (Reform) hold morning services on Saturdays at 10 am. Services Friday evening at 6 pm. For details, contact 515-274-4679.

Ames Jewish Congregation (Reform) holds Friday evening Shabbat services and once monthly, Friday and Saturday morning services are conducted by the rabbi. For details, contact 515-233-137 or e-mail ajciowa@gmail.com.

Iran Protesters Storm British Embassy in Tehran, Smash Windows and Hurl Bombs | UANI

2011-11-29T10:35:00.000-06:00

Jewish Current Events
‎#Iran Protesters Storm British Embassy in #Tehran, Smash Windows and Hurl Bombs, replace British flag with an Iranian one.

Iran Protesters Storm British Embassy in Tehran, Smash Windows and Hurl Bombs | UANI
www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com
Top Stories Reuters: "Iranian protesters have stormed the British Embassy compound in Tehran, smashing windows, hurling petrol bombs and burning the British flag during a rally to protest against sanctions imposed by Britain.

Son of Hamas founding member: "Israel is not the problem."

2011-11-14T14:55:00.000-06:00

Mosab Hassan Yousef: "The Palestinians spent more than 60 years trying to destroy the State of Israel, not trying to build a Palestinian state."

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLnHzLNuT-M&feature=share Mosab Hassan Yousef speaks in English on the video.

Tues., Nov. 15, 7 pm Screening of 'Judeophobia'

2011-11-13T08:51:00.000-06:00

The first-run film Unleashed: Judeophobia which is about the rise and focus of modern anti-Semitism will be screened 7:00 pm , Tuesday, November 15 at Temple B'nai Jeshurun, 51 St and Grand Ave in Des Moines. Q&A after the showing. Sponsored by JFed Forum, JCRC of the Jewish Federation, and Temple B'nai Jeshurun.

Trailer:

Source: http://youtu.be/yGkuftsbDiU

The term Judeophobia was coined in 1882 by a medical doctor, Leo Pinsker, who likened Judeophobia to a hereditary disease.

Iran in the news

2011-11-07T19:26:00.000-06:00

UN agency report concludes Iran is working on advanced nuclear warhead - Guardian

http://bit.ly/vT1WEU

IAI Upcoming Events: Des Moines forum at TI; Crossroads luncheon

2011-11-03T11:51:00.001-05:00

From: Interfaith Alliance of Iowa [mailto:info@interfaithallianceiowa.org]
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2011 11:43 AM

Please forward to your network. Thank you!

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SAVE THE DATE

Interfaith Alliance president to visit Des Moines

Speaking at public events in Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance, will be in Iowa on November 30 and December 1 to discuss the dangers our country faces as politics and religion become increasingly intertwined.

DES MOINES

Rev. Gaddy will speak at a public forum at Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 924 Polk Blvd in Des Moines on Thursday, December 1 at 7 PM. The event is free and open to the public.

REV. DR. C. WELTON GADDY

Author of over 20 books, including First Freedom First: A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State, the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy leads the national non-partisan grassroots and educational organization, Interfaith Alliance.

Dr. Gaddy hosts the weekly State of Belief radio program, where he explores the role of religion in the life of the nation by illustrating the vast diversity of beliefs in America, while exposing and critiquing both the political manipulation of religion for partisan purposes and the religious manipulation of government for sectarian purposes.

Dr. Gaddy provides regular commentary to the national media on issues relating to religion and politics. Some of his appearances include MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann and The Rachel Maddow Show, NBC’s Evening News and Dateline, PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly and The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, ABC’s World News Tonight, and CNN’s The World Today with Wolf Blitzer.

Personally, I appreciate Welton Gaddy’s courageous leadership of the Interfaith Alliance. He continues to… give people of faith a strong voice of reason in public discussions … and the proper role of religion in the life of the nation.

– Walter Cronkite

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Crossroads: A Project about Civility

A monthly gathering of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. An opportunity to learn and to participate in civil dialogue.

Presenter: Ambassador Mary Kramer

Subject: How did we get so rude?

Mary E. Kramer is deeply committed to bringing civility back as the norm in our society. Ambassador Kramer is part of the Advisory Committee of the Better Together—Creating Community through Civility project in Des Moines.

She served in the Iowa Senate beginning in 1991 and was elected President of the Senate in 1997. From 2003 – 2007 she served as U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Ambassador Kramer has served on the Board of the Directors many professional and community organizations. In 2009, Kramer was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame.

Her first book, “More Than a Walk on the Beach; Confessions of an Unlikely Diplomat” was published in the fall of 2010.

Date: Friday, November 18

o Time: 11:45 – 1:00 p.m.

o Location: Plymouth Congregational Church, Waveland Hall, 4126 Ingersoll Ave, Des Moines

Reservations are necessary to attend Crossroads and are due Tuesday, November 15. The cost is $10.

Please call 515-279-8715 or email info@interfaithallianceiowa.org

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Interfaith Alliance of Iowa

PO Box 41086

Des Moines, IA 50311

(515) 279-8715

info@interfaithallianceiowa.org

www.interfaithallianceiowa.org

Founded in 1996, the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa is a non-partisan organization working to protect both faith and freedom in Iowa. We believe it is imperative that, in a healthy democracy, respect is shown for the religious freedom and beliefs of every person and that this is best promoted by maintaining a healthy separation between church and state.

Our beliefs intersect with many issues of civic life and public policy including support of separation of church and state, strong public education, marriage equality, economic justice, and judicial independence. We promote civility as the best means to make a difference and because it matters.

Caspe Terrace Fall Line-Up!

2011-10-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

Abbas Refers to Mass Murderers as 'Freedom Fighters'

2011-10-18T13:06:00.000-05:00

Abbas Refers to Mass Murderers as ‘Freedom Fighters’
October 18, 2011 The Israel Project.

Jerusalem, Oct. 18 - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, welcoming returning Palestinian prisoners from Israel, stood alongside Hamas leaders and hailed the Palestinian terrorists as “freedom-fighters.”

Abbas also said Palestinians were still waiting for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a leading member of his Fatah party, serving life sentences for high-level planning and funding of terrorist attacks; Ahmad Saadat, secretary-general of the secular Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine convicted for planning the assassination of an Israeli government minister in 2001; Ibrahim Hamed, a Hamas military commander in the West Bank responsible for killing dozens of Israelis and five Americans; and Abbas Sayed, responsible for the suicide terror massacre in the Park Hotel in Netanya in which 30 people were killed and another 140 injured, during a Passover holiday Seder.

At the same ceremony, Hamas’ West Bank leader Hassan Youssef called for Palestinian unity against the Israel, the Zionist enemy. Hamas, an Islamic fundamentalist group, is armed and financed by Iran. Listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Community, Hamas has vowed to destroy Israel. Its Charter calls on adherents to kill Israelis and Jews wherever possible.

An Israeli government official told The Israel Project: “People who call murderers freedom-fighters – that is unacceptable.”

http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ewJXKcOUJlIaG&b=7712197&ct=11299245&notoc=1#.Tp2_cXKAqAU

Abrams on Palestinian Moderation

2011-10-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Sari Nusseibeh and Palestinian Moderation

Posted on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

by Elliott Abrams

Israel’s difficulties in making peace with the Palestinians are nicely revealed in an opinion piece by Sari Nusseibeh published by Al Jazeera English last week .
Nusseibeh is often viewed as the most moderate of all Palestinian moderates. Typically, in the New York Times Leon Wieselier called him “a deeply admirable man” and wrote of his “liberal nationalism” and his “humane understanding.” He is president of Al Quds University, holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, and has long been viewed as a leading peace activist.
So Nusseibeh’s new article “Why Israel can’t be a ‘Jewish State’” is worth a look. Here are some of the key points:

In 1946, the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry concluded that the demand for a “Jewish State” was not part of the obligations of the Balfour Declaration or the British Mandate. Even in the First Zionist Congress in Basel in 1897, when Zionists sought to “establish a home for the Jewish people”, there was no reference of a “Jewish State”.

Here Nusseibeh simply omits UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1948, which called for the partition of Palestine into “Jewish and Arab states.” It is not a small matter to overlook. Looking back to 1897 and 1946 and ignoring Resolution 181 is, at the very least, a bit odd.

Let us suggest also that having a modern nation-state being defined by one ethnicity or one religion is problematic in itself – if not inherently self-contradictory – because the modern nation-state as such is a temporal and civic institution, and because no state in the world is – or can be in practice – ethnically or religiously homogenous.

This is a classic ‘straw man’ argument, because Israel as a Jewish State would of course not be homogeneous any more than Egypt is homogeneous (it is in fact about 15 percent Christian) while its constitution today states that “Islam is the religion of the state….The principles of Islamic law are the chief source of legislation.” As I have written here previously, there are plenty of states that say flatly “Islam is the religion of the state” and that civil law is based on sharia. Denmark, Norway, and England also have state religions and of course have complete freedom of religion. Nusseibeh argues that this is all fine: it is OK to say “Islam is the religion of the state” but not for Israel to be a “Jewish state” because the latter term suggests “ethnic cleansing.” Given that Israeli Arabs have always been free to speak, vote, and hold office while most of their Arab brethren have been living in dictatorships, this argument is more than a bit of a stretch. Israeli law is mostly British in origin, and Nusseibeh simply ignores the fact that so many Islamic countries state that they base their own laws on sharia. So what he is doing here is simple: applying a double-standard.

Recognition of Israel as a “Jewish state” implies that Israel is, or should be, either a theocracy (if we take the word “Jewish” to apply to the religion of Judaism) or an apartheid state (if we take the word “Jewish” to apply to the ethnicity of Jews), or both…

This is not analysis but polemic, for the reasons just stated. Nowhere does Nusseibeh state or imply that for a Muslim majority country to say “Islam is the religion of the state” and “Sharia is the basis of our laws” might lead to theocracy or apartheid. There are four states whose very name contains a religious reference: the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. Do all of them uniformly practice apartheid and theocracy, in Nusseibeh’s view?

Recognizing a ‘Jewish State’….means, before final status negotiations have even started, that Palestinians would have then given up the rights of about 7 million Palestinians in the diaspora to repatriation or compensation; 7 million Palestinians descended from the Palestinians who in 1900 lived in historical Palestine (i.e. what is now Israel, the West Bank including Jerusalem, and Gaza)…

It’s worth noting that Nusseibeh wants compensation not only for Palestinians he believes were forced out of Israel in 1948, nor even for those people and their descendants. Now the figure of those entitled to “return” rises to 7 million and includes anyone whose ancestors lived in what is now Israel in 1900. This is preposterous; what possible right could someone have, for example, whose ancestors moved to Damascus or Cairo in 1940, before Israel came into existence?
Nusseibeh then proceeds to an argument so extraordinary that one blushes to see this “deeply admirable” and “humane” man write it down. If Israel is recognized as a Jewish State, he says, it follows that Israelis will kill all the Arabs who live there. He cites a number of Biblical passages and then delivers this key passage:

it remains true that, in the Old Testament, God commands the Jewish state in the land of Israel to come into being through warfare and violent dispossession of the original inhabitants. Moreover, this command has its roots in the very Covenant of God with Abraham (or rather “Abram” at that time) in the Bible and it thus forms one of the core tenets of Judaism as such, at least as we understand it. No one then can blame Palestinians and descendants of the ancient Canaanites, Jebusites and others who inhabited the land before the Ancient Israelites (as seen in the Bible itself) for a little trepidation as regards what recognising Israel as a “Jewish State” means for them, particularly to certain Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox Jews. No one then can blame Palestinians for asking if recognising Israel as a “Jewish State” means recognising the legitimacy of offensive warfare or violence against them by Israel to take what remains of Palestine from them.

That phrase “what remains of Palestine” is part of another argument: “every day the Israeli settler movement is grabbing more land in the West Bank and Jerusalem.” Nowhere does Nusseibeh support that claim, which would require him to prove that the land area of settlements grows literally every day—or if we allow him poetic license every month or even every year. No doubt he thinks the claim so obvious as to beyond the need for proof, but it is not.
Nusseibeh, the man of “humane understanding,” a philosopher by training, ends by saying that calling Israel a “Jewish State” would necessarily “arouse fears among Palestinians and Arabs about being ethnically cleansed in Palestine.” One may assume that in that phrase he refers to Israeli Arabs as well as those of the West Bank and Gaza, so he is not only warning of “ethnic cleansing” but engaging in some linguistic ethnic cleaning of his own here: he is referring to Israel as part of “Palestine.”
Now, one can argue as Nusseibeh does that Israel should not seek to be a “Jewish State” and should call itself a democratic state with a Jewish majority. What is shocking about Nusseibeh’s view is not that conclusion but the arguments he makes to support it, which proceed from polemics and straw men through double standards and finally reach the accusation that a Jewish State would be a murderous state, ethnically cleansing and eliminating its non-Jewish citizens. This is perilously close to the accusation, made by the kind of Palestinian that Nusseibeh is supposed to loathe, that Israel is a Nazi state.
Thus the state of the “peace process” in October 2011. A leader of the Palestinian “moderates” writes articles that make him sound like Khaled Meshal, Hassan Nasrallah, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in his description of Israel.

http://blogs.cfr.org/abrams/2011/10/05/sari-nusseibeh-and-palestinian-moderation/

Oct. 16 at the Caspe: MJConley reflects on his Cambodian volunteer experience

2011-10-05T10:05:00.000-05:00

Sunday, Oct. 16 — Tikkun Olam: Cambodia

9:00 - 10:00 am at the Caspe Terrace. Presented by Mark John Conley, personal reflections and photo documentation of his moving three-month assignment in Cambodia as a volunteer with the American Jewish World Service. A sampling of Cambodian cuisine will be served. Cost: $8 each at door, $6 each in advance, $5 each for groups of 5 or more Reserve your spot. Call Tammy at 987-0899 or e-mail: tammy@dmjfed.org

Netanyahu: Mosque Attack is Against Israel's Values

2011-10-03T13:18:00.000-05:00

Netanyahu Condemns Mosque Attack

October 3, 2011 From: The Israel Project http://bit.ly/quG8Ye

Israel’s religious leaders to visit village in show of solidarity
DM Barak says justice will be served for the “criminal act”
Police arrested suspects; track down extremists behind such incidents

Jerusalem, Oct. 3 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and high-ranking ministers quickly condemned an attack on a mosque overnight Monday (Oct. 3) in Tuba Zangariya, a Bedouin village in Israel’s Galilee region, allegedly by far-right settlers.
Netanyahu was “outraged by the images” of the burning of the mosque and the graffiti slogans sprayed on its walls.
“This crime contravenes the values of the State of Israel, in which freedom of religion and freedom of worship are supreme values. The images are shocking and have no place in the State of Israel,” he said, according to a media statement put out by his office early Monday.
Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the attack “criminal” and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
Israel’s Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharanovitch responded by calling the incident a “criminal and despicable attack on a holy place,” The Jerusalem Post reported.
Rabbis around Israel condemned the act, saying it is un-conciliatory with the ethos of Judaism and peace.
“This is a horrendous act that is totally incompatible with Jewish religious teaching and values,” Rabbi David Rosen, who chairs an interreligious coalition at the American Jewish Committee, told The Israel Project.
Leaders from Israel’s main religious council are visiting the village today in a show of support and solidarity. The group includes the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, the leader of the Druze faith, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch, heads of the Ahmadiyya community and the Baha’i faith, bishops, qadis and other leaders.
Netanyahu instructed Israel Security Agency Director Yoram Cohen to “quickly find those responsible for arson at the mosque,” his media statement continued.
Roni Atiya, an Israeli police commander, confirmed that officers arrested several suspects in connection with the arson. “We are working hard to trace the culprits,” Atiya said, Israel’s YNet News reported. He also said police were doing everything in their power to prevent clashes between local residents and security forces.
In a reaction to the attack on the mosque, some 300 people marched from the village towards the nearby town, Rosh Pina, and threw stones at police and burned tires.
“We're talking to leaders of the community in order to calm the situation," said Israeli Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
Last month, Israeli police officers announced the formation of a special task force to track down and arrest far-right extremists who were behind such incidents in the West Bank.

Sen. Grassley asks the President to strongly oppose the Palestinian UDI

2011-09-21T15:15:00.002-05:00

Pres. Obama at the UN: Only way to Palestinian statehood is through talks with Israel

2011-09-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

US President Barack Obama told the United Nations on Wednesday that the Palestinians deserved a state of their own, but that this would only be achieved through talks with Israel.

"These facts cannot be denied. The Jewish people have forged a successful state in their historic homeland. Israel deserves recognition. It deserves normal relations with its neighbors. And friends of the Palestinians do them no favors by ignoring this truth, just as friends of Israel must recognize the need to pursue a two state solution with a secure Israel next to an independent Palestine."

Two funerals scheduled for Monday, September 19: Jewish community

2011-09-18T10:24:00.000-05:00

Sorry to report, for Monday, September 19 : 1 pm at the Temple, Celebration of the life of Sheryle Cohen. 3:30pm at Dunn's, funeral of Jack Silverstein, with burial at Jewish Glendale. Meal of consolation to follow at the Temple.

[Due to technical problems, this message cannot be transmitted today via e-mail to the entire Jewish community list. The information, however, is posted on the Jewish Federation's Facebook page, located at http://facebook.com/jewishdesmoines ]

Statement from Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines, 9/13/2001

2011-09-13T10:27:00.001-05:00

Statement from the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

September 13, 2011

Sunday, September 11, 2011 was a unique day in American history. The date commemorated the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Everywhere in the country there were commemorative services with the most important symbol of our county, an American flag. The diverse programs included memorials to the victim in all forms, including the themes of tolerance and the inclusion of invocations and the reading of religious texts from many traditions.

As a national event, Sunday was a day of unity, as we contemplated the horrific events of 9/11/2001; it was a day to mourn those whose lives were taken and a day to mourn those who lost their lives heroically assisting others. Any event that touched upon this seminal event in our history, required the display of the symbol of American unity, the possession of every American, the American flag,on this very American day.

In representing the secular Jewish community in Des Moines, the Des Moines Jewish Federation had endorsed an interfaith commemoration of the tenth anniversary of September 11th, organized and directed by the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, in coalition with other organizations. The commemoration, entitled "Common Ground," was held Sunday afternoon at Drake University's Sheslow Auditorium. Our Federation's Director of Community Relations, Mark Finkelstein, attended this event to represent the Jewish Federation. Upon entering the auditorium prior to the program's beginning, he noted to the program's coordinator, the absence of an American flag on stage and offered to provide a small flag for display The offer was rejected by the program's coordinator. Considering it inappropriate that the Jewish Federation would endorse a September 11th program without the flag's symbolic presence, the Federation's representative, out of conscience, departed the auditorium.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines proudly stands with all Americans in reflecting on September 11, 2011 . We assert that our American flag is the only appropriate national symbol of our grief and our hope for a better, more tolerant world.

Barbara Hirsch-Giller, President

Elaine Steinger, Executive Director

Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

33158 Ute Avenue

Waukee, IA 50263

This statement is being distributed by the Jewish Community Relations Commission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines. For information, contact JCRC at (515) 987-0899 x 212, jcrc@dmjfed.org

Jacoby lauds Steven Emerson

2011-09-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

Jeff Jacoby: Today we should also honor those, like Steven Emerson, who saw the coming jihad & tried so hard to raise an alarm. http://bit.ly/p911Xb

The Legacy of 9-11?

2011-09-07T16:42:00.001-05:00

As it effects the Jewish community?

"Jews and Jewish institutions remain a principal target for Muslim extremists."

Jewish Federation: Stand with Israel against contractors of terrorism

2011-08-18T10:42:00.001-05:00

Statement from The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines August 18, 2011

The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines condemns the multiple cross border attacks by Arab terrorists today on southern Israel from the Sinai. We join with the people of Israel in mourning those whose lives were taken by the terrorists, including the two children ages 4 and 6.

We stand with Israel as it seeks to protect its citizens from further attacks.

Israel is committed to negotiating peace with the Palestinians. It is prepared to make hard concessions to provide for a two state resolution, recognizing Palestine as the state of the Palestinian people.

But to do so, the Palestinian leadership must speak with one voice for peace, for acceptance of Israel as the Jewish homeland and for a permanent end to the conflict.

Make no mistake about it: Such attacks as the ones today are intended to encourage others to weaken and eliminate Israel -- in this case, by establishing a southern front, once secured by the peace treaty with Egypt. There is already a northern front, threatened by Hizballah. There is the western front, threatened by Hamas. And there is an overall threat by both alQaeda and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary regime. None of the above named bodies -- under any conditions, no matter what conciliatory policy Israel adopts in the West Bank-- accepts the concept of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The attacks on Israel, including attacks on its civilians from Gaza or Sinai are designed to displace Israel, not change its policies.

It is important, therefore, that Americans stand with Israel against the contractors of terrorism and that Americans demand that the Palestinian leadership speak with one voice for peace.

Mark S. Finkelstein

Director of Community Relations

Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

33158 Ute Avenue

Waukee, IA 50263

Send comments to jcrc@dmjfed.org

cc: Barbara Hirsch-Giller, President

Elaine Steinger, Executive Director

Steven Schoenebaum, JCRC Chair

Understanding UN bias against Israel

2011-08-12T09:46:00.000-05:00

A way disproportionate obsession in the UN about the Israeli-Arab conflict -- to the virtual exclusion of most of the world's deadliest conflicts and worst human rights abuses is a tip off that bias against Israel is at work.

For continuing coverage of Jewish current events, please join http://facebook.com/JewishCurrentEvents

Israel HaYom: Netanyahu reports reaching written agreement with Obama administration

2011-08-03T13:04:00.001-05:00

US recognizes settlement blocs, Netanyahu says

Netanyahu: Obama administration has ratified George Bush's 2004 letter to Ariel Sharon guaranteeing settlement blocs will remain part of Israel in any future peace deal • Document was drafted prior to the Quartet meeting in early July.

Shlomo Cesana and Israel Hayom Staff http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=562 8/2/2011

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday that he had reached a written agreement with the Obama administration according to which Israel would not be required to return to the 1967 borders in any future peace deal with the Palestinians. In addition, any future peace talks would take into account established "realities on the ground" - a term generally used in reference to Israel's large settlement blocs of Ariel, Maale Adumim and Gush Etzion.

Netanyahu's statements would mean an effective American ratification of a letter sent in 2004 by former U.S. President George W. Bush to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon which guaranteed that the settlement blocs would remain a part of Israel in any future peace agreement with the Palestinians. The current administration, under President Barack Obama, has not publicly endorsed Bush's letter to Sharon. In 2009, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there was no acknowledgment of any such agreement in the official negotiating record between Israel and the Bush administration. "There is no memorialization of any informal and oral agreements. If they did occur, which of course people say they did, they did not become part of the official position of the U.S. government," Clinton said.

The current U.S. administration has recently made it clear to Israel that Obama's position is in line with the second speech he delivered at the AIPAC conference in May 2011 -- in which he clarified that the U.S. believes negotiations should be based on 1967 borders with mutually agreed land swaps and not the borders that existed on June 4, 1967 -- and not his first speech, to which Netanyahu reacted angrily.

The Prime Minister's Office now views the agreement with the Obama Administration as an achievement.

The document was prepared prior to the Quartet meeting in early July, during which the Americans and Europeans tried to relaunch negotiations ahead of a unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood at the United Nations in September. The Quartet had been hoping to issue a statement saying that negotiations would be based on the 1967 borders framework articulated in Obama's speech, together with recognition of Israel as a Jewish state -- implying that the Palestinians would forego the right of return for refugees. However, the Palestinians rejected the draft and no statement was issued.

Prime Minister's Office spokesman Gidi Shmerling clarified on Monday night that the understanding with the U.S. does not include an Israeli agreement to return to the 1967 borders. Rather, the U.S. has acknowledged that any future talks would take into consideration the changes on the ground as well as Israel's security concerns.

Meanwhile, a report Monday night on Israel's Channel 2 TV news said that Netanyahu had in fact agreed to renew negotiations with the Palestinians based on the framework of 1967 borders with land swaps. The report has been picked up by international media outlets.

“In order to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and facilitate the restarting of direct talks, Israel has been willing to accept a package that includes a formula on borders,” an Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was quoting as saying.

These borders could be “difficult for Israel to accept,” the official added.

France: Recognition of Israel as the Jewish state required

2011-07-31T12:39:00.000-05:00

France's peace bombshell

Last Updated:3:35 AM, July 30, 2011

Posted:11:18 PM, July 29, 2011 NY Post editorial

It didn't get a lot of notice, but the gov ernment of French President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a statement last week that could have a profound effect on the prospects for Middle East negotiations.

Sarkozy's foreign minister, Alain Juppe, publicly stated: "There will be no solution to the conflict in the Middle East without recognition of two nation-states for two people," including "the nation-state of Israel for the Jewish people."

That's been a significant Israeli condition for years -- that the Palestinians must recognize Israel's existence as aJewishstate, thereby ending their claims on the entirety of Israel.

Just as significantly, that's something the Palestinians adamantly refuse to do.

Juppe's statement makes France the first European nation to state publicly that any agreement must recognize Israel's Jewish character.

That position has been opposed by Britain, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, among others -- as well as by the EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

And there is discord within the so-called Quartet -- the US, the EU, the UN and Russia -- over this condition.

Yet as Evelyn Gordon writes on Commentary's blog, Sarkozy has "finally grasped that no agreement is possible without satisfying Israel's minimum requirements" -- which means demanding a concession from the Palestinians.

Clearly, the continued failure to recognize Israel's Jewish character -- the basis of its creation -- is an open invitation to the dismantlement of Israel and its incorporation into an Arab state of Palestine.

It's long past time that someone in Europe injected reality into genuine Middle East peacemaking. Kudos to Sarkozy and Juppe for doing so.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/france_peace_bombshell_z58XnQjHWbaA1EMr5AaJNM#ixzz1ThnWHs00

Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict over the West Bank

2011-07-18T14:35:00.000-05:00

In the video, Israel's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon explains the historical facts relating to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

The video explains where the terms "West Bank", "occupied territories" and "67 Borders" originated and how they are incorrectly used and applied.

Source: http://youtu.be/XGYxLWUKwWo

Guess who presides over the U.N. Conference on Disarmament.

2011-06-29T22:56:00.001-05:00

DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA ASSUMES PRESIDENCY OF THE U.N. CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

June 28, 2011

The United Nations in the Heart of Europe | News & Media | www.unog.ch

This is the official Web Site of the United Nations Office at Geneva. Here you will find daily UN News, UN Documents and Publications, UN Overview information, UN Conference information, Photos, and other UN information resources, such as information on Conference on Disarmament, the League of Natio

Source: http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpNewsByYear_en)/8059A08A25E9F0F1C12578BD003A08A8?OpenDocument

hat tip: Jeff Jacoby

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Gaza Flotilla organizers work hand-in-hand with Hamas while ignoring its antisemitic, homophobic, misogynist ideology.

2011-06-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

AP Photo (Aug 25, 2008): "Hamas Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, center, sits with members of the U.S.-based Free Gaza group, which left Cyprus by boat on Friday, during a meeting at his house in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008. Two boats carrying dozens of international activists sailed into the Gaza Strip in defiance of an Israeli blockade on Saturday." (original caption)

Gaza Flotilla organizers work hand-in-hand with Hamas while ignoring its antisemitic, homophobic, misogynist ideology.

FROM THE HAMAS CHARTER: ""The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jews will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him." (Article 7)

HAMAS ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY: "Are these the laws for which the Palestinian street is waiting? For us to give rights to homosexuals and to lesbians, a minority of perverts and the mentally and morally sick?"
Dr. Mahmud al-Zahar, Hamas leader in Gaza, condemning homosexual marriage, The Times (UK), October 7, 2005

ON THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL: "Before Israel dies, it must be humiliated and degraded. Allah willing, before they die, they will experience humiliation and degradation every day."
Khalid al-Mish'al, leader of Hamas, in a speech held at a rally in Damascus, Palestinian Information Center - official Hamas website - December 10, 2005

Pipes: Not Stealing Palestine, but Purchasing Israel

2011-06-24T09:04:00.001-05:00

An essential fact: The land on which Jews lived and farmed in pre-state Israel was purchased and not stolen. To claim that the Jews stole the land is wrong and is being used to deny the right of Israel to exist. --Mark Finkelstein jcrc@dmjfed.org

Not Stealing Palestine, but Purchasing Israel
The real history of Israel’s founding, and why it matters

By Daniel Pipes June 21, 2011

Zionists stole Palestinian land: That’s the mantra both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas teach their children and propagate in their media. This claim has vast importance, as Palestinian Media Watch explains: “Presenting the creation of the [Israeli] state as an act of theft and its continued existence as a historical injustice serves as the basis for the PA’s non-recognition of Israel’s right to exist.” The accusation of theft also undermines Israel’s position internationally.

But is this accusation true?

No, it is not. Ironically, the building of Israel represents almost the most peaceable in-migration and state creation in history. Understanding why requires seeing Zionism in context. Simply put, conquest is the historical norm. Governments everywhere have been established through invasion and nearly all states came into being at someone else’s expense. No one is permanently in charge; everyone’s roots trace back to somewhere else.

Germanic tribes, Central Asian hordes, Russian tsars, and Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors remade the map. Modern Greeks have only a tenuous connection to the Greeks of antiquity. Who can count the number of times Belgium was overrun? The United States came into existence after the defeat of Native Americans. Kings marauded in Africa, Aryans invaded India. In Japan, Yamato-speakers eliminated all but tiny groups such as the Ainu.

The Middle East, due to its centrality and geography, has experienced more than its share of invasions, including the Greek, Roman, Arabian, Crusader, Seljuk, Timurid, Mongolian, and modern European. Within the region, dynastic froth caused the same territory — Egypt for example — to be conquered and re-conquered.

The land that now makes up Israel was no exception. In Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel, Eric H. Cline writes of Jerusalem: “No other city has been more bitterly fought over throughout its history.” He backs up that claim, counting “at least 118 separate conflicts in and for Jerusalem during the past four millennia.” He calculates Jerusalem to have been destroyed completely at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. The PA fantasizes that today’s Palestinians are descended from a tribe of ancient Canaan, theJebusites; in fact, they are overwhelmingly the offspring of invaders and immigrants seeking economic opportunities.

Against this tableau of unceasing conquest, violence, and overthrow, Zionist efforts to build a presence in the Holy Land until 1948 stand out as astonishingly mild, mercantile rather than military. Two great empires, the Ottomans and the British, ruled Eretz Yisrael. In contrast, Zionists lacked military power. They could not possibly achieve statehood through conquest.

Instead, they purchased land. Acquiring property dunam by dunam, farm by farm, house by house, lay at the heart of the Zionist enterprise until 1948. The Jewish National Fund, founded in 1901 to buy land in Palestine “to assist in the foundation of a new community of free Jews engaged in active and peaceable industry,” was the key institution — and not the Haganah, the clandestine defense organization founded in 1920.

Zionists also focused on the rehabilitation of what was barren and considered unusable. They not only made the desert bloom, but drained swamps, cleared water channels, reclaimed wasteland, forested bare hills, cleared rocks, and removed salt from the soil. Jewish reclamation and sanitation work precipitously reduced the number of disease-related deaths.

Only when the British Mandate of Palestine gave up power in 1948, followed immediately by an all-out attempt by Arab states to crush and expel the Zionists, did the latter take up the sword in self-defense and go on to win land through military conquest. Even then, as the historian Efraim Karsh demonstrates in Palestine Betrayed, most Arabs fled their lands; exceedingly few were forced off.

This history contradicts the Palestinian account that “Zionist gangs stole Palestine and expelled its people” which led to a catastrophe “unprecedented in history” (according to a PA twelfth-grade textbook) or that Zionists “plundered the Palestinian land and national interests, and established their state upon the ruins of the Palestinian Arab people” (writes a columnist in the PA’s daily). International organizations, newspaper editorials, and faculty petitions reiterate this falsehood worldwide.

Israelis should hold their heads high and point out that the building of their country was based on the least violent and most civilized movement of any people in history. Gangs did not steal Palestine. Merchants purchased Israel.

Source: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/270064/not-stealing-palestine-purchasing-israel-daniel-pipes#

International Red Cross demands Hamas prove Shalit is alive

2011-06-23T09:12:00.003-05:00

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Inter

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/red-cross-demands-hamas-prove-shalit-is-alive-1.369233

GENEVA, June 23 (Reuters) - The International Red Cross on Thursday urged Hamas
to provide proof abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit is still alive.

The independent aid agency, in an unusual public appeal, said that Shalit's family had
a right under international humanitarian law to be in contact with their 24-year-old son,
who has been held incommunicado since captured by Palestinian militants in a
cross-border raid on June 25, 2006. [Friday is the 5th anniversary of Shalit's kidnapping.]

"Because there has been no sign of life from Mr. Shalit for almost two years,
the ICRC is now demanding that Hamas prove that he is alive," the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

Obama tells Jewish donors he strongly backs Israel

2011-06-21T07:05:00.001-05:00

Obama tells Jewish donors he strongly backs Israel

US and Israel will always be stalwart allies and friends, Obama tells group Americans in Support of a Strong US-Israel Relationship.

Source:

http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?ID=225895 Reuters, 6/21/11

Prager: The Middle East Problem in a Nutshell

2011-06-20T09:32:00.000-05:00

Why is the Middle East Problem so intractable? Dennis Prager, nationally syndicated talk show host and best-selling author, answers that question in this thought-provoking video course.

Source: youtube.com/watch?v=63hTOaRu7h4 October, 2010

Current Issues

2011-06-12T10:01:00.001-05:00

" Is the [Obama] administration now asking Israel to sit down with Abbas absent a commitment by Hamas or a break-up of the unity government? By gosh, that should be an easy answer ("No!") , yet the administration won't say." -- Jennifer Rubin

‎"Sources involved with [Yale's Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism -- which has been closed ] allege a senior university official privately complained that "YIISA's activities harm the Yale Corporation." The clear insinuation was that due to YIISA's activities, Yale has had difficulty raising money from Arab sources." -- Caroline Glick

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The jcommunitynews.blogspot.com site will be discontinued.

Why History Matters: The 1967 Six-Day War

2011-06-09T11:01:00.001-05:00

By David Harris, Exec. Director, American Jewish Committee Posted: 06/ 8/11 04:56 PM ET

Mention the word "history" and it can trigger a roll of the eyes.

Add "Middle East" to the equation and folks might start running for the hills, unwilling to get caught up in the seemingly bottomless pit of details and disputes.

But without an understanding of what happened, it's impossible to grasp where we are -- and where we are has profound relevance for the region and the world.

Forty-four years ago this week, the Six-Day War broke out.

While some wars fade into obscurity, this one remains as relevant today as in 1967. Many of its core issues remain unresolved and in the news.

Politicians, diplomats, and journalists continue to grapple with the consequences of that war, but rarely provide context. Yet without context, some critically important things may not make sense.

First, in June 1967, there was no state of Palestine. It didn't exist and never had. Its creation, proposed by the UN in 1947, was rejected by the Arab world because it also meant the establishment of a Jewish state alongside.

Second, the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem were in Jordanian hands. Violating solemn agreements, Jordan denied Jews access to their holiest places in eastern Jerusalem. To make matters still worse, they destroyed many of those sites.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control, with harsh military rule imposed on local residents.

And the Golan Heights, which were regularly used to shell Israeli communities far below, belonged to Syria.

Third, the Arab world could have created a Palestinian state in the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip any day of the week. They didn't. There wasn't even discussion about it. And Arab leaders, who today profess such attachment to eastern Jerusalem, rarely, if ever, visited. It was viewed as an Arab backwater.

Fourth, the 1967 boundary at the time of the war, so much in the news these days, was nothing more than an armistice line dating back to 1949 -- familiarly known as the Green Line. That's after five Arab armies attacked Israel in 1948 with the aim of destroying the embryonic Jewish state. They failed. Armistice lines were drawn, but they weren't formal borders. They couldn't be. The Arab world, even in defeat, refused to recognize Israel's very right to exist.

Fifth, the PLO, which supported the war effort, was established in 1964, three years before the conflict erupted. That's important because it was created with the goal of obliterating Israel. Remember that in 1964 the only "settlements" were Israel itself.

Sixth, in the weeks leading up to the Six-Day War, Egyptian and Syrian leaders repeatedly declared that war was coming and their objective was to wipe Israel off the map. There was no ambiguity. Twenty-two years after the Holocaust, another enemy spoke about the extermination of Jews. The record is well-documented.

The record is equally well-documented that Israel, in the days leading up to the war, passed word to Jordan, via the UN and United States, urging Amman to stay out of any pending conflict. Jordan's King Hussein ignored the Israeli plea and tied his fate to Egypt and Syria. His forces were defeated by Israel, and he lost control of the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.

Seventh, Egypt's President Gamal Abdel Nasser demanded that UN peacekeeping forces in the area, in place for the previous decade to prevent conflict, be removed. Shamefully, the UN complied. That left no buffer between Arab armies being mobilized and deployed and Israeli forces in a country one-fiftieth the size of Egypt -- and just nine miles wide at its narrowest point.

Eighth, Egypt blocked Israeli shipping lanes in the Red Sea, Israel's only maritime access to trading routes with Asia and Africa. This step was regarded as an act of war by Jerusalem. The United States spoke about joining with other countries to break the blockade, but did not act.

Ninth, France, which had been Israel's principal arms supplier, announced a ban on the sale of weapons on the eve of the June war. That left Israel in potentially grave danger if a war were to drag on and require the resupply of arms. It was not until the next year that the U.S. stepped into the breach and sold vital weapons systems to Israel.

And finally, after winning the war of self-defense, Israel hoped that its newly-acquired territories, seized from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, would be the basis of a land-for-peace accord. Feelers were sent out. The formal response came on September 1, 1967, when the Arab Summit Conference famously declared in Khartoum "No peace, no recognition, no negotiations" with Israel.

Today, there are those who wish to rewrite history.

They want the world to believe there was once a Palestinian state. There was not.

They want the world to believe there were fixed borders between that state and Israel. There was only an armistice line between Israel and the Jordanian-controlled West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.

They want the world to believe the 1967 war was a bellicose act by Israel. It was an act of self-defense in the face of blood-curdling threats to vanquish the Jewish state, not to mention the maritime blockade of the Straits of Tiran, the abrupt withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces, and the redeployment of Egyptian and Syrian troops. All wars have consequences; this one was no exception. But the Arab aggressors have failed to take responsibility for the actions they instigated.

They want the world to believe post-1967 Israeli settlement-building is the key to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Six-Day War is proof positive that the core issue is, and always has been, whether the Arab world accepts the Jewish people's right to a state of their own. If so, all other contentious issues, however difficult, have possible solutions.

And they want the world to believe the Arab world had nothing against Jews per se, only Israel, yet trampled with abandon on sites of sacred meaning to the Jewish people.

In other words, when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict, dismissing the past as if it were a minor irritant at best, irrelevant at worst, won't work.

Can history move forward? Absolutely. Israel's peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994 prove the point. At the same time, though, the lessons of the Six-Day War illustrate just how tough and tortuous the path can be.

For more information, visit ajc.org.

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