Israel has, for years, cautioned against Iran’s intentions and the dangers of its nuclear ambitions, but on Wednesday former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar gave the world yet another reason to heed those warnings. Aznar, speaking to a crowd in Jerusalem, recalled a meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in which he expressed his intention to destroy Israel.
“In a private discussion we held in Tehran in October of 2000, Ali Khamenei told me that Israel must be burned to the ground and made to disappear from the face of the Earth,” Aznar told the audience. The former Spanish prime minister went on to say that Iran’s spiritual leader also said that “Iran’s war against the United States and Israel is inevitable.”
Aznar was in Israel as a guest of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, currently headed by former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Dore Gold.
Gold asked him, “When Khamenei was talking about wiping Israel off the map, was he referring to a gradual historical process involving the collapse of the Zionist state, or rather its physical-military termination?”
Aznar answered, “He meant physical termination through military force.” The former Spanish leader also told the crowd that Khamenei described Israel as “an historical cancer, an anomaly,” and said that he was “working toward Iran defeating the United States and Israel in an inevitable war against them.”
This is only surprising to Juan Cole’s acolytes, who won’t believe it anyway.
Drake pays homage to his Jewish faith and background in his upcoming music video.
I dont mean to be ignorant or anything, I'm writing a paper on the claim that the Yom Kippur War was Israel's fault. I couldn't find much other than it was caused because of the 6 Day War. I'm not sure what else would have caused the Yom Kippur War by somepeopleplacesandthings
Remember, the Yom Kippur War wasn’t started by Israel - it was a complete surprise attack.
Causes of the Yom Kippur War 1973 (and its devastation)
1. Egypt and Syria needed to restore their honour after their previous humiliating defeats
2. Israel was overconfident from its previous military victories and because the United States was supplying arms to Israel. (It was the Cold War and the Soviet Union was providing arms to the Arab countries)
3. Sadaat, (Egypt) wanted Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai before/without negotiations
4. Syria and Egypt prepared for a surprise attack with the support of the Soviet Union
5. Israeli intelligence ignored reports as they thought an Arab attack was unlikely during Ramadan (and they wouldn’t dare attack Israel because of Israel’s military prowess).
These causes are a little more two sided than the paper you’re writing, but I’m sure it can still be useful.
“The latest round of American sanctions are aimed at shutting down Iran’s central bank, a senior US official said Thursday, spelling out that intention directly for the first time. The sanctions, broadly aimed at forcing Tehran to shift course on its nuclear program, targeted Iran’s crucial oil sector and required foreign firms to make a choice between doing business with Iran or the United States.”
Mother and Son on board the death train from Bergen-Belsen liberated at Madgeburg
I find this picture very moving: mothers love to show off their youngsters, no matter what the situation. The little fellow was pleased at having his picture taken.Note the thin legs and brave smile.
We must stop beating ourselves up and blaming ourselves,The reason there is no peace is that the Palestinians refuse to recognize the State of Israel as the Jewish people’s nation state.
This is not a conflict about 1967, this is a conflict about 1948, about the State of Israel’s very existence. You must have noticed that yesterday’s events did not take place on June 5, the day the Six Day War erupted, they took place on May 15, the day the State of Israel was established.
Group considered close to Obama administration concedes bias against Israel in e-mail.
A senior employee of the US think tank Center for American Progress (CAP) appears to have admitted in an e-mail sent from his CAP account that a blogger for the policy organization used anti-Semitic language to attack supporters of the Jewish state.
CAP advises the Democratic Party on Middle East policy and is an important source of ideas for the Obama administration. The Jerusalem Post last week obtained the first CAP acknowledgment of Jew-hatred stemming from a group of Mideast bloggers affiliated with CAP’s ThinkProgress website.
In the e-mail that the Post obtained exclusively from the CAP account of Faiz Shakir, who serves as editor-in-chief of the ThinkProgress.org website and is a vice president at CAP, he wrote, “Yes, I agree ‘Israel Firster’ is terrible, anti-Semitic language. And that’s why that language no longer exists on Zaid’s personal twitter feed, because he also knows and understands the implications.”
Zaid Jilani wrote on his Twitter account, where he identifies himself as a “Reporter-Blogger for ThinkProgress,” that “… Obama is still beloved by Israel-firsters and getting lots of their $$.”
The e-mail recognizing the anti-Semitism of a CAP blogger was sent from FShakir@americanprogress.org in December. US-Jewish and Israeli NGOs accused a faction of ThinkProgress bloggers that month of stoking modern anti-Semitism. The anti-Israel scandal saw two CAP writers, Jilani and Ali Gharib, issue apologies for asserting that American Jews and a non-Jewish Republican senator serve the interests of the Israeli government over the security of the United States.
ϟ Why anti-Semitism is moving toward the mainstream
Brian Leiter and Ron Paul are guilty of helping to legitimate the oldest of bigotries. Shame on them!
For the first time since the end of World War II, classic anti-Semitic tropes – “the Jews” control the world and are to blame for everything that goes wrong, including the financial crisis; “The Jews killed Christian children in order to use the blood to bake matza; the Holocaust never happened – are becoming acceptable and legitimate subjects for academic and political discussion.
To understand why these absurd and reprehensible views, once reserved for the racist fringes of academia and politics, are moving closer to the mainstream, consider the attitudes of two men, one an academic, the other a politician, toward those who express or endorse such bigotry. The academic is Prof. Brian Leiter. The politician is Ron Paul.
You’ve probably never heard of Leiter. He’s a relatively obscure professor of jurisprudence, who is trying to elevate his profile by publishing a gossipy blog about law school professors. He is a colleague of John Mearsheimer, a prominent and world famous professor at the University of Chicago.
Several months ago Mearsheimer enthusiastically endorsed a book, really a pamphlet, that included all the classic anti-Semitic tropes.
No one ever takes notice, except for neo-Nazis around the world who welcome any additions to the literature of hate. What is remarkable about the publication of this hateful piece of anti-Semitic trash, is that it was enthusiastically endorsed by two prominent American professors, John Mearsheimer and Richard Falk, who urged readers, including students, to read, “reflect upon” and “discuss widely” the themes of Atzmon’s book.
Never before has any such book received the imprimatur of such established academics. I was not shocked by these endorsements, because I knew that both of these academics had previously crossed red lines, separating legitimate criticism of Israel from subtle anti-Semitism.
The same can be said of Ron Paul, whom everyone has heard of.
Paul has, according to The New York Times, refused to “disavow” the “support” of “white supremacists, survivalists and anti-Zionists who have rallied behind his candidacy.”
(These “anti-Zionists” believe that “Zionists” – Jews – control the world, were responsible for the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, and caused the economic downturn, because “most of the leaders involved in the federal and international banking system are Jews.”) He allowed his “Ron Paul survival report” to espouse David Duke-type racism and anti-Semitism for years during the 1990s, claiming he was unaware that they were being promoted under his name.
Edward H. Crane, the founder of the libertarian CATO Institute, has said, “I wish Ron would condemn those fringe things that float around” his campaign, but he refuses to reject the support of these anti-Semites who form a significant part of his base. The New York Times has criticized Paul for his failure to “convincingly repudiate racist remarks that were published under his name for years – or the enthusiastic support he is getting from racist groups,” including those that espouse “anti-Semitism and far-Right paranoia.”
Even now, Paul continues to accept contributions from Holocaust-deniers, from those who blame the Jews for everything and from other bigots, thus lending some degree of legitimacy to their hateful views.
When Nazi anti-Semitism began to achieve mainstream legitimacy in Germany and Austria in the 1930s, it was not because Hitler, Goebbels and Goering were espousing it. Their repulsive views had been known for years. It was because non-Nazis – especially prominent academics, politicians and artists – were refusing to condemn anti-Semitism and those who espoused it.
It has been said that “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Leiter and Paul may or may not be good men, but they are guilty of more than merely doing nothing. They are, by their actions, helping to legitimate the oldest of bigotries. Shame on them!
ϟ U.S. and Israel Preparing for ‘Biggest Defense Drill Ever’
IDF and U.S. forces will team up soon for a major missile defense exercise, “the biggest one ever” according to military sources.
The Israeli military is gearing up together with U.S. forces for a major missile defense exercise, the IDF announced Thursday.
The Associated Press reported that the “Austere Challenge 12” drill is designed to improve defense systems and cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli forces.
While the drill follows a ten-day Iranian naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz, the IDF told AP the drill with the U.S. was planned long ago and is not tied to recent events.
Israeli and U.S. officials told AP the exercise would be the largest-ever joint drill by the two countries.
