Anyway - as always, it has been a crazy week.
1. What color is the sky in Damascus? What's in the air? President Assad has come to the determination that Israel is the biggest obstacle to peace in the Middle East. It couldn't be a country that has overtly promised to wipe Israel from the map, that is in a headlong rush to develop nuclear weapons and sponsors the terrorist groups Hamas and Hizbullah. It couldn't be Syria itself, which is very cozy with Iran and those same terrorist groups. Couldn't be Saudia Arabia, which all its religious intolerance towards non-Muslims. Could be any of a number of other countries that cannot even recognize Israel's existence - no it must be Israel.
2. Speaking of clear, balanced, and objective positions - Amnesty International has determined that Israel was solely to blame for the demise of the cease-fire that lead to the Gaza War at the start of the year. In other news, a new report will be coming out in which Israel will be held responsible for, among other things - the death of dinosaurs, the destruction of Atlantis, the destruction of the Aztec & Mayan civilizations, swine flu, bird flu, measles, mumps, the common cold, the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, and the decline of the Eastern Canadian fish stocks. As far as I am concerned, at least when when it comes to Israel, Amnesty International is the NGO equivalent of the UN - which we all know is very balanced and objective regarding Israel. And speaking of my favorite international organization - the UN - here's an excellent opinion piece by Robert Fulford.
3. So back to ugly reality. Here are 2 stories about that foiled bomb plot in NYC - turns out (a) it was a set-up and (b) Islam is not to blame.
4. And as for stuff going on in NYC - including a bombing outside a Starbuck's in Manhattan - here is a good piece by Phyllis Chesler.
5. As President Obama's diplomatic efforts intensify, it is always good to return to the history that lead to the current state of affairs so that one can better understand matters. Here is a video from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs that discusses what the oft-cited UN Resolution 242 really says.
6. Many of my friends ask me about Israel's weak performance when it comes to public relations - my perception from my recent advocacy work - especially my recent trip to Israel - is that Israel is slowly but surely understanding the need to better explain its position to the "court of public opinion". To that end, here is a good article from the Jerusalem Post.
7. Chag Sameach to all my Jewish readers - Shavuout starts this evening.
8. And to end things on a good & positive note - I am very glad to report that one of life's deepest mysteries has been solved, courtesy of this The New Yorker cartoon.
Next, I am trying to find out whether if a man is alone in the woods and says something - anything - is he wrong?
The piece about Amnesty International bugs me the most because I really grew up thinking they were the ultimate trustworthy bunch. I know lots of Jews who used to give them money -- I sincerely hope that have stopped doing that now.
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