Is Obama good for Israel?

Here are reasons that Obama might not be the best candidate for Israel.

First and foremost among the considerations that should trouble friends of Israel is the foreign policy team Obama has selected to advise him. The composition of a candidate's advisory panel is usually a very good indicator of where the candidate will come out on the issues if elected.
Headed up by Jimmy Carter's ("Israel is an apartheid state") national security advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Obama's team includes such problematic figures as Anthony Lake, Robert O. Malley and Susan Rice.

Another problematic indicator is candidate's close association with Jeremiah Wright, Jr., pastor of the Trinity United Community Church (a member of the United Church for Christ, which itself has been rebuked for anti-Israel bias), who is well known for his virulent anti-Israel remarks, including a call for a divestment campaign against Israel for the "injustice and the racism under which the Palestinians have lived because of Zionism."

Obama is only a first-term senator and has therefore only participated in a handful of votes that bear upon Israel and the Middle East. He also has a penchant for missing controversial votes where he would have to put his personal policies in the public record. However, his public statements on a variety of issues present a number of troubling issues for Jews and friends of Israel. Here are a few samples:
1)Obama openly advocates outreach toward and diplomatic engagement of Iran even though Iran has recently referred to Israel as a "filthy bacteria" and has repeatedly called for the annihilation of the Jewish State, including recent hints that this will be accomplished by a nuclear attack
2) "Nobody has suffered more than the Palestinian people."
3)"[T]he creation of a wall [referring to Israel's security fence] dividing the two nations is yet another example of the neglect of this [the Bush] Administration in brokering peace… ."
4)"I am opposed to the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in the administration to shove their ideological agenda down our throat." [note that only Jews are singled out despite the fact that the policies in question were promoted by the entire Administration]
5)"Reverend [Al] Sharpton is a voice for the voiceless, and a voice for the dispossessed. What [Reverend Sharpton's] National Action Network has done is so important to change America, and it must be changed from the bottom up." [National Action lead a protest against the Jewish owner of Freddy's Fashion Mart in New York in which picketers, sometimes joined by Sharpton himself, repeatedly screamed epithets about "bloodsucking Jews" and "Jew bastards."]

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Hezbollah Declares "Open War" against Israel

Open War against Israel? Is Nasrallah on crack? Hezbollah has been conducting an
"Open War" against Israel since it was created in 1982. The confrontation between the two peaked once again in the Summer of 2006.
The war has been ongoing since 1982 and is nowhere near the end.

The assassination of Mugniyeh triggered a lot of anger within Hezbollah, which is expected. However, this time, Syria and Iran have been much more vocal in their criticisms of the event. They know his role in historic terms. He was their Saint.
Why not use this act to escalate the confrontation? That is how most large conflicts erupted throughout our history.

Is this when both nations take a much more visibly active role in the "Holy Jihad" against Israel? Is this the event that will ultimately trigger the escalation towards WWIII?

These questions have got us thinking... and quite negatively to be honest. In realistic terms, the revival of the confrontation between Israel and Hezbullah was largely expected. The question was when...from last Summer, to Winter, and now to Spring.

Nobody is sure who killed Mugniyeh, but it appears to be the Mossad.

It will be interesting to see how Hezbullah revives the war, and even more interesting is what roles Syria and Iran will play.

Israel is on high alert. Is this new? No.

Protest in Tel-Aviv - Sderot at mercy

It has become a daily norm. Rockets landing in Sderot. There is no doubt that the Israeli government and the inaction as a policy helped create this reality.

Sderot is being sacrificed. --> To the point whereby everybody accepts this reality. This is a scary thought. There is rationale behind it, though.

Cost and benefits (in all facets) in this case is working in favor of the Israeli gov. (and nation).
In addition, military incursions have proved to be unsuccessful - from small to large scale operations.
Lastly, any military defense measures are looked upon in negative light by the world.

You figure that despite mass populations turning a blind eye to the reality in Sderot, the people of Sderot will eventually rise up reach out and impact public opinion. The end result would be increased attention to the Sderot situation - including a change of military policy. From being conservative and selective, to becoming pro-active and larger in scale.

Residents of the rocket-battered Negev town of Sderot on Monday blocked Tel Aviv's central Ayalon freeway and then marched to the Defense Ministry's compound, in a second day of protest aimed at stirring more intensive government action to combat Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza.

Some 150 residents marched down the highway, the city's major traffic artery, which cuts through the heart of the city. They headed for the Defense Ministry compound in Tel Aviv, while police tried to convince them to stop blocking traffic.

After a few hours, the protestors reached the defense establishment compound and began protesting in front of its gates. Demonstrators chanted "Olmert, go home," and "Red Color" [the code for a Qassam alert]. They also urged Defense Minister Ehud Barak to resign.

Hamas said it fired 135 rockets between Tuesday and Saturday.

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Israel cuts about 1% of energy to Gaza

The last time Israel moved forward with such measures, she was slammed by Human Rights groups. Today, it's the same thing. The measure is intended to put pressure on Hamas to stop the rocket attacks. The pressure is in a form different from military operations or incursions. When those take place, Israel gets slammed by Human Rights groups as well.

So it's a lose-lose situation for Israel. No matter what she does to defend herself, she will be harshly criticized. Instead of condemning the daily rocket attacks on the civilians of Israel, the Human Rights groups continue their anti-Israel agenda and focus.

Israel has to stop reacting to the criticisms as they have to be deemed flawed, biased, and an act towards the de-legitimization of Israel, and her right to defend her citizens.

Palestinian militants launched at least a dozen rockets at Israel on Friday morning, a day after Israel began cutting electricity to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to halt the barrages.

Late Thursday, Israel cut back around one percent of the power it supplies to Gaza, Defense Minister spokesman Shlomo Dror said. Israel will continue gradually scaling back electricity until the territory's Hamas rulers end the rocket fire, he said Friday.

"It's their choice. They need to choose if they want to keep investing in rockets and in attacking Israel or if they want electricity from Israel," Dror said.

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Winograd Report - Will Olmert Quit?

This past Wednesday, it snowed in Jerusalem and heavy rains pounded all of Israel.

These rain storms coincided with the release of the Winograd report to the public - an event that many people expected would trigger a political storm. The demands for Olmert's resignation have been heard already in past and ignored as well.

Did people really think that Wednesday would be that much different of a reaction than in previous instances? Or is this another lame attempt of the Media to blow the Winograd report out of proportion? We should not undermine the importance of Winograd - but at the same time, we should not expect an immediate revolution within the Government (i.e. Olmert resigning this week). Or, should we?

Status quo is in effect and will remain unless the people speak up. But then again, do the people want Olmert to resign now? He made mistakes, including major ones.

It is impossible to be the PM and not make mistakes. See the past PM's and their track record. Furthermore, think about the last time a PM completed a 4 year term.

Two points: 1) Being the Prime Minister of Israel is arguably the most difficult job on this planet. 2) The coalition based system in Israel has become consistently unstable.

It is not nearly as stable as the 2 party system in the USA.

George Bush has made horrible mistakes during his tenure as President. From Katrina, to 9/11 + Afghanistan, the Iraqi war, and his plain stupidity, one could build the case to impeach Bush and immediately replace him. But is that how it's supposed to work?
The Americans have learned to respect the rules of the system, harshly criticizing the President, but not going as far as demanding impeachment.

It's a difference of maturity and mentality.
The US is mature and experienced.
It has a working system that considers the future and the long run.
Israel is young and paranoid.
She has an evolving system - and a mentality that dictates no consideration of the long run/future. Rather, emphasis is placed on NOW.

To this point, I would not be surprised if Olmert is eventually replaced. This would be a much better option than calling for new elections. New elections would only cause disruption to the ‘relative stability’ and progress achieved. As for replacement, I endorse Tzipi Livni!





Olmert allies: PM won't quit despite damning war report

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told allies on Thursday that he would not step down as prime minister as the inquiry findings had granted him a reprieve and a boost for U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians.

An official in Olmert's office said Thursday the prime minister would implement recommendations laid out by the government-appointed panel and would "continue to work."

Political allies said Olmert would not quit, and would soon try to build a broader coalition better placed to pursue divisive talks to forge a deal on Palestinian statehood before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in a year.