: Activists on one ship were prepared to lynch the soldiers trying to board

Subject: Activists on one ship were prepared to lynch the soldiers trying to board

Navy Prepared to  Face Anarchists, Met Terrorists Instead
Army Radio  reporter Gal Lev-Rom, on board one of the Israeli Navy ships
that stopped the  anti-Israel flotilla, reported on the "peace activists"
preparations to lynch  Israeli soldiers and on the large weapon stocks they
brought.

Lev-Rom  said that at one point around midnight, "our ships started calling
upon them to  stop, or else the full responsibility would be upon them." It
was similarly  publicized in news sources around that time that Israel said
it would give the  boats time to adhere to the instructions before its
forces would begin to board  them.

"There was no answer other than curses in English and Arabic,"  Lev-Rom
said. Around  4 AM, the commandos started boarding the boats,  rappelling onto
them by ropes and armed only with pistols. At that point,  Lev-Rom said, "
the demonstrators on board attacked the Israelis with light  weaponry,
including knives and clubs, in true lynch-like fashion. The commandos  are
certainly well-trained, but it's quite hard to fight back when it's 6-10  people
against one. They started beating our soldiers with bats and sharp  objects
and the like, and even some pistols were taken and fired at our  soldiers 

Muslim chant on Gaza flotilla points to genocidal precedent

Goldflam: "When watching the coverage of the
intl. media I noticed that some Muslim boat people are chanting in Arabic:
Haibar Haiber ya Yahud – Jaish Muhammad Sa’ufa Ya’ud
...When Muslims chant “remember Haibar” –
it is not a figure of speech it’s a genocidal political program. And
the misguided “human rights activists” are chanting right along thinking
they are singing Kumbaya or “we shall overcome”.

source: http://cifwatch.com/2010/05/30/the-free-gaza-flotilla-sailing-away-from-human-rights/

Jewish legends at White House reception marking Jewish Heritage Month

Obama honors Jewish Americans at unique reception to mark Jewish Heritage Month
Yitzhak Benhorin  ynetnews.com   5/28/10

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama honored Jewish heritage in an unusual event at the White House on Thursday. The guest list was kept under wraps till the last moment, and in the afternoon hours many living legends of US Jewish culture began arriving to what was described as a unique event.

 

This was one of the busiest days in Obama's busy schedule, with the ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico looming over the proceedings. But an hour was found for a reception, the first of its kind, to mark Jewish Heritage Month in the US. In the main hall on the eastern wing, the US president honored Jews who had contributed to arts, music, sport and science.

 

Many guests were well-known personalities who are almost unknown in Israel. Ask any American and he'll tell you who Sandy Koufax is. This 75-year-old former baseball player entered the pantheon of famous Jews for something he didn't do. Koufax, who played for the Dodgers, was supposed to have been the pitcher in the World Series in 1965, but decided not to play because the game was set for Yom Kippur.

 

Such a decision was unheard of in the days when successful Jews would hide their Jewish background.

 

US President Obama addresses the guests (Photo: AP)

 

The US president joked that they had something in common, saying that Koufax couldn't pitch on Yom Kippur while Obama couldn't pitch at all – a reference to his less than sparkling performance on the mound when he had been asked to throw a ceremonial first pitch.

 

A big surprise was Dara Torres, five-time Olympic swimmer famous since the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, when she was just 17. Her last Olympic feat was in the latest Olympics in Beijing, when she won three silver medals at the age of 41. Today, at 43, she is still a striking figure, and the president and vice president enthusiastically had their photos taken with her.

 

Other sports personalities were present. Obama, known for his love of basketball, quickly recognized Nancy Lieberman, one of the most famous basketball players, and exchanged a few words with her.

 

First time in White House for Regina Spektor (Photo: AP)

 

Among the guests was Laurie Strongin. In the 1990s, Strongin had given birth to a son with a rare bone disease that sometimes affects Ashkenazi Jews. No bone marrow donor could be found, so she and her husband decided to bring another child into the world so that he could donate bone marrow to his elder brother. This was a controversial act, and unfortunately the second child was unsuitable as a bone marrow donor and his elder brother passed away at the age of seven. Strongin later wrote a book about her experiences.

 

Mark Schneier, who concentrates on developing ties with the Muslim world, and with African Americans in the US, noted the uniqueness of the occasion, saying it was much more exotic than most White House events. William Daroff, Director of the Washington Office of United Jewish Communities, noted that anything new in Washington is a big deal.

 

Also present were Justice of the Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsburg, author Judy Blume, New York Times columnists Thomas Friedman and David Brooks, historian Professor Lauren Strauss, Nobel laureate Robert Pinsky, and Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug, who led the US team to a gold medal.

 

 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3895422,00.html

 

From JCRC: Des Moines JCRC/Federation opposes Knesset Conversion Bill

Statement from the Jewish Community Relations Commission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines

 

May 26, 2010            Contact: Mark Finkelstein, JCRC Director   jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

Des Moines JCRC/ Federation joins opposition to  Knesset  Conversion Bill

 

Through its Jewish Community Relations Commission, the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines added its voice, today, in  opposition to a bill introduced in the Knesset which would dangerously alter Israel's Law of Return. 

 

 JCRC's vote to oppose the bill was unanimous and comes after the parent group of Jewish Federations, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) along with the heads of the Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements issued a letter against the proposed legislation.

 

As explained by JFNA, the Law of Return, governing immigration to Israel by Jews, is perhaps the one Israeli law where world Jewry can be considered constitutents.  The proposed changes would not recognize conversion via the streams that represent 85% of Diaspora Jewry.  In effect the law, if passed, would impact on the unity of the Jewish people.

 

The letter presented by JFNA's coalition to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the Prime Minister to advocate for the withdrawal of the bill.  "As strongly as we support Israel, " JFNA wrote, "we oppose this law."

 

For more information on this topic see: http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=217776

and    http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=175211 

 

-end - 

Surprising: Aid to Gaza from Israel

From StandwithUs International http://www.facebook.com/pages/StandWithUs-International/33172352584:

What you need to know about aid to Gaza from Israel:

• Since the cease fire last January, 133 million liters of fuel entered Gaza from Israel - That's more than enough fuel to fill the gas tank of every car and truck in Israel!

• Since the ceasefire, well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel - That's almost a ton of aid for every man woman and child in Gaza.... See More

• Israel transfers food, medicines, clothing and school-books for all Gazans, but Hamas demands concrete for its reinforced bunkers.

• Israel transfers 15,000 tons of real aid to Gaza each and every week – so a flotilla claiming to carry 10,000 tons of concrete is clearly about a different agenda.

• International aid groups send their aid to Gaza through the Israeli humanitarian pipeline, while publicity seekers merely exploit the humanitarian agenda to promote their own media stunts.

• Humanitarian aid flows into Gaza daily, except when the crossings are rocketed by the Hamas regime.

Jorish: Banks indirectly deal with Iran

While the international sanctions regime prohibits contact with banks in Iran, 18 US banks have indirect financial connections with the Islamic Republic. In this manner, Tehran succeeds in getting its hands on the money needed to finance its nuclear program and to provide aid to terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah  and Hamas.
...

Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Terrorism in the Treasury Department Stuart Levey has been traveling the world for five years asking banks to cut off ties with Iran. He gave an example in which Levey met with the managers of Deutsche Bank and showed them how they transfer currency to Iran. However, they continue to supply euros and other currencies.


Deutsche Bank is not alone. According to Jorisch, the banks that allow Iran to put its hands on the money needed for its nuclear program and terrorism support are numerous, and include some of the largest financial institutions in the world: J. P. Morgan, Bank of America, CitiBank, Societe Generale, Bank Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, and VTB.


[ynetnews.com  5/23/10]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3892849,00.html

 

Lozowick: Polling for Peace (Or Against It)

Lozowick:  Poll of April 2009 says: 78% of Israelis willing to live alongside Palestine, with 93% of Palestinians saying it would be better to have no Israel.

Thursday, May 20, 2010    

Polling for Peace (Or Against It)   http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/2010/05/polling-for-peace-or-against-it.html

 

About a year ago Dr. Colin Irwin, an Irish pollster, published the result of a large polling project he had done with two Mideast outfits, one Israeli and one Palestinian, about the positions in each society towards making peace. Since the poll still gets quoted and linked to till this day, I finally went to visit it; here's the link to it.

I'm a fan of public opinion polls only up to a degree. They can easily be manipulated. Their questions are sometimes downright misleading, or ambiguous, or unhelpful, or all of the above. There are better ways to gauge public opinion, especially in the long run: elections for example aren't bad, or long term behaviors. Still, once you've reminded yourself to keep that pinch of salt handy, polls can have their uses.

Especially one such as this, which tells us what we mostly knew anyway, this time with confidence-inspiring numbers.

72% of Palestinians think that all of Palestine should belong to the Muslim Waqf, for example. (59% think it's essential, 12% think it's desirable). 12% say that's unacceptable - yet some of them must be saying so merely because they don't like the Muslim part of the question.  

 

 When it's formulated as a secular, political matter, only 7% of Palestinians think that having a Palestinians state in the entire land is an unacceptable idea, while 82% think it's a great idea. 71% go so far as to say it's essential - a figure that rather puts a damper on one's hope for peace anytime soon, I would think. 

 

  Of course this doesn't quite fit the part where 38% of the Palestinians think a two-state solution is essential (another 15% think it's desirable), but life isn't always consistent. And the latter figure isn't so rosy anyway, is it.

Now compare the Palestinian insistence the Israel not be here, with Israelis' positions on having a Palestinian state next door.  

 

 Only 32% think - as I do - that this is essential (even though it's not going to happen - see if you can fit that into a neat peg-hole), yet another  

 

 13% think it would be desirable, another 16% think it's acceptable, making 61% of Israelis who are comfortable with the idea of asovereign Palestine next door, to which another 17% say they can live with it even if they're not going to be happy.  

 

 That's 78% of Israelis willing to live alongside Palestine, with 93% of Palestinians saying it would be better to have no Israel.

There's lots more where that came from. 54% of Palestinians won't accept settlers remaining in Beitar and Modi'in Illit; 66% wouldn't accept settlers remaining even as Palestinian citizens - not that there would be more of a handful who'd want to anyway. Divide Jerusalem according to neighborhoods (Clinton Parameters): 61% of Palestinians are against the idea. Jews remain in control of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City (founded in the year 1267): 76% of the Palestinians are against -though in this case, I'm glad to see that the Israelis are also hardly in favour of dividing Jerusalem - never fewer than 50% of them in favour of division.

Actually, it might be fun for the Israelis among us to answer all the questions ourselves and come back and report: according to this, are we to the left, right or center of the Israeli median. Didi and Alex need not bother: we know their answer.

Predictably, some pundits spun the poll as proof that the Israelis and Palestinians are equally against peace through partition. Josh Marshall, for example. Others were more clear-eyed, or perhaps they read the numbers before running to tell about them - Jonathan Chait, for example.