Tuesday, June 2, 2009

1. I will assume for the moment that the reporting of this story is accurate. On that basis - look at the way that Mahmoud Abbas is speaking - he is convinced that "...US President Barack Obama is firmly committed to finally ejecting the Jews from Judea and Samaria." Since when was it the President's right to determine such policy in a foreign country? The continuous Jewish presence in Israel - not pre-1967 Israel, but Israel including Judea and Samaria goes back thousands of years. How long has the American presence been in Texas and California - and how did that presence come about? Look after your own issues first!

2. However - even more disturbing - if accurate - is this comment. "Following their meeting last Thursday, Obama said that he also told Abbas to make a bit more of an effort to halt what he described as isolated and sporadic anti-Jewish incitement in Palestinian schools, mosques and media."

Where is the leader of the free world getting his information? The atrocious incitement is far from "...isolated and sporadic..." Has he ever spoken with his own Secretary of State? I mean, after all, she did lend her name to this analysis of Palestinian schoolbooks, etc.



3. I know that this will come as a surprise - but anti-Semitism is alive and well. During the 2009 Salute to Israel parade held in NYC on May 31, there were protesters holding some despicable signs:



Sorry, in my books that is not free speech - that is unbridled hate. There simply cannot be any way to reach such people. But I am sure nothing will come of it, just as I am sure that if someone were to hold up a sign making similar comments about Islam or Muslims, there would be immediate action, claims of Islamaphobia, indignant howls of protest, outraged demands for apologies etc.

4. It tears my heart to see this story about the closure of therapy facilities in Sderot. While through divine intervention or simple luck, the physical casualties resulting from the rocket fire into Sderot has been relatively limited, I am well aware from 2 visits to that town that the psychological cost has been enormous.

If you have never been to Sderot, take the time to go there on your next trip to Israel. It is a beautiful town that has always been within the 1948 boundaries of Israel. Here is a picture of the town (with all the red roofs) as well as a picture taken from a hill on the edge of town that shows the extremely close proximity of Gaza (with the remarkably intact white apartment buildings).



5. Let's not forget Iran - here's a piece by Victor Davis Hanson that covers some old ground as well as a new possibility.

6. Prime Minister Netanyahu has apparently told President Obama that his recent demand re: settlements is unreasonable. Good on him! And, according to this report from Ha'aretz, the suggestion that the US would not support Israel at the UN is apparently unfounded.

7. To end this on a light note - there is nothing like a cartoon from The New Yorker - remember, dogs are very smart......