Rabbi Eric Yoffie this week on The Whole Megillah

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the President of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), will be the guest during the first hour of Rabbi Kaufman's - The Whole Megillah, Thursday, Nov. 19. The interview with Rabbi Yoffie will take place live from 2-3 pm Central on www.macsworldlive.com. You may find the recordings and podcasts of this show and previous shows through Rabbi David Kaufman's blog www.rabbikaufman.blogspot.com. Please join us! If you have any questions please ask them through the chat room.

Rabbi Kaufman's - The Whole Megillah is an internet radio show, reaching a diverse audience around the world, which is dedicated to issues related to Israel, the Middle East, American Foreign Policy, Judaism and Religion in general. It airs every Thursday from 2-4 pm on www.macsworldlive.com, home of the Des Moines Local Live network.

Link to Rabbi Eric Yoffie's bio.

Palestinians refusing to negotiate for a Palestinian state

Robert Satloff, the executive director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says what he calls a truly amazing situation now exists in the Middle East.

Satloff says for a generation Palestinians have asked America to convince Israel to negotiate the terms of a Palestinian state. Now Palestinians are refusing to come back to such talks.  

"When America and Israel want to try to bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table at least to talk about statehood and Palestinians, perhaps for very good reasons of their own, are balking, this is history turned upside down," said Robert Satloff. 

 

 (Voice of America report,   Novermber 11, 2009)

Rahm Emanuel speaks at the Jewish Federation's GA

Ehud Barak: PM and myself leave no stone unturned in peace efforts

Published:

11.10.09

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said at the end of his meetings in Washington before flying back to Israel, "Prime Minister Netanyahu and my visit was very important. We are leaving no stone unturned in the effort to reignite negotiations."

Barak added, "During my meeting at the Pentagon and our meeting at the White House, we again were met by President Obama in an environment attentive to Israel's defense needs." (Yitzhak Benhorin, Washington)

http://ynetnews.com

 

Israeli PM Netanyahu’s Speech at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly Excerpt

My goal is not negotiations for negotiations sake. My goal is to reach a peace treaty, and soon.

But to get a peace agreement, we must start negotiating. Let’s stop talking about negotiations. Let’s start moving.

This past June at Bar-Ilan University, I put forward a vision of peace that has united the vast majority of Israelis.

In this vision of two states for two peoples, a demilitarized Palestinian state would recognize the Jewish state.

Now, what do I mean by a Jewish state? It is a state in which all individuals and all minorities have equal individual rights. Yet our national symbols, language and culture spring from the heritage of the Jewish people. And most important, any Jew from anywhere in the world has a right to immigrate to Israel and become a citizen.

Terrorist weapons ship intercepted

Iran's History of Weapons Smuggling
 04 November 09 by Hillel Fendel

(Israelnationalnews.com) The interception of the terrorist weapons ship near Cyprus - believed to be an Iranian shipment to Hizbullah – is just another one in a long series of similar attempted deliveries over the past several years.

In December 2001, the Karine-A ship was loaded in Iran with weapons and ammunition destined for Gaza. The ship took off for Egypt, where it planned to unload its cargo into fishing boats that would chug over to the Gaza coast. Israel intercepted the shipment on January 3, 2002, finding 83 specially-coated cases for sea-smuggling purposes, configurable to float at various distances below the ocean surface.

Included in the shipment were 107mm and 122mm Katyusha rockets (capable of reaching major Israeli cities), 120mm mortars, Sager and LAW anti-tank missiles, explosives, anti-tank mines, scuba gear, AK-47 assault rifles and other weapons. The vessel was manned by 13 PLO personnel and at least one person identified with the Lebanese Hizbullah terrorist organization.

Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler also reports on the following:
* In December 2003, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard operated an airlift of weapons to Hizbullah via Syria, under cover of humanitarian aid to the earthquake-ravaged Iranian city of Bam.

* In May 2007, Turkey discovered another Iranian airlift of mortar shells, light weapons, ammunition and rocket launchers, headed for Hizbullah.

* In January of this year, an Iranian shipment of arms was intercepted in Cyprus, including anti-tank shells, artillery shells, mortar shells, and more.

* Last month (October 2009), the Indian Hansa ship, flying a German flag, departed from Iran to Egypt. Suspicious German authorities ordered the ship not to dock in Egypt, but rather in Malta, where they found bullets and industrial equipment for the manufacture of weapons that had apparently been bound for Syria.

www.IsraelNationalNews.com

US House condemns UN Goldstone Report

House of Representatives passes H.R. 867 on November 3, 2009.

The vote: 344 to 36, with 20 voting 'Present' and 30 not voting


Bill calls on the President and the Secretary of State to oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the “Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict” in forums like the U.N.

Click here for the final text of House Resolution 867

Click here for the Roll Call on House Resolution 867

Resource: UN Watch