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Erekat Thanks UN For Its Stance Against Home Demolitions, Settlements
IMEMC 5 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 05, 2009 - 22:48, Palestinian Chief Negotiator, Dr. Saeb Erekat, thanked the United Nations for its stance rejecting Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes of Jerusalem, and the ongoing illegal settlement activities.

Hamas: “Abbas’ Decision; Political Bankruptcy”
IMEMC 5 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 05, 2009 - 20:44, Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, stated that the speech on Abbas and his decision not to run for president is considered political bankruptcy.

Abbas will not be running for President
IMEMC 5 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 05, 2009 - 20:20, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Thursday that he will not be a presidential candidate in the upcoming January 2010 elections.

Israeli court charges Palestinian official of assaulting a police officer in Jerusalem
IMEMC 5 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 05, 2009 - 16:05, An Israeli court found on Wednesday Sheikh Ra'ed Salah guilty of assaulting a police officer.

Gazans Not Allowed To Rebuild Their Lives
IMEMC 5 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 05, 2009 - 15:49, Azzam Salim used to be one of the leading construction contractors in the central Gaza Strip. Today, however, he spends most of his days idly chatting with other unemployed friends near a bank that he helped build several years ago.

The Israeli military kidnaps 18 Palestinians from several parts of the West Bank
IMEMC 5 Nov 2009 - Thursday November 05, 2009 - 15:46, The Israeli military kidnapped on Thursday 18 Palestinians during attacks targeting a number of West Bank communities.

Ma'an News

Israeli forces detain 16 Palestinians overnight
11/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli soldiers detained 16 Palestinians during overnight raids in the West Bank, Israeli media reported on Thursday. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, five of the detainees were from the city of Nablus, where they report that a gun was found in the houses that Israeli soldiers raided. Palestinian security sources reported that six locals were detained from Al-Ein refugee camp west of Nablus. Those detained from Al-Ein refugee camp include Taha Oday, Muhammad Shawkat, Mustapha Kasem Mabrook, Muhammad Khaled Al-Buhi, Muhammad Omar Abu Khamis, Abdel Sattar Abu Saris. Security sources added that Israeli forces raided theBeita village south Nablus and detained Muharej Abdullah Ahmad Hamayel, 25, noting that these seven detainees are being held at unknown locations. Israeli troops also reportedly seized a hunting weapon from a Palestinian car at the "Container"� checkpoint north of Bethlehem on Wednesday night. 

Israeli army closes entrance to Nablus-area village
11/5/2009 - Nablus - Ma'an - Israeli forces closed the main southern road to the village of Qaryout south of Nablus overnight on Thursday, an official said. Israeli bulldozers arrived to the place accompanied by military jeeps and closed the road, head of the village council Abdel Nasser Al-Qaryouti said. Over the phone he explained that troops used piles of dirt to shut the road. The targeted entrance is the area of the village closest the the Shilo settlement entrance. Al-Qaryouti said troops refused to give reasons why the road was being closed, only noting they were carrying out military orders. Last week rioting settlers clashed with residents of the village who were harvesting olives on land abutting the same settlement. Local officials said the harvest had been coordinated with the Israeli military. 

Rafah border closed
11/5/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip closed on Thursday, according to de facto Ministry of Interior spokesman said, after having been opened for four days. The spokesman, Ihab Al-Ghussein, added that 4,000 Palestinians from Gaza passed through the Rafah crossing over the course of four days, including civilians, patients and students. The ministry added in a news release that 3,117 locals left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border while 852 entered Gaza from Egypt. The ministry said that 368 persons were banned by the Egyptian authorities from leaving Gaza. Egypt had allowed the Rafah crossing to operate since Sunday. [end] 

Abbas: I will not seek second term
11/6/2009 - Ramallah - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas announced in Ramallah on Thursday he would not seek a second term in office. Confirming day-long rumors of his impending retirement, Abbas said the decision came amid Israel's intransigence on settlements and the international community's indifference to it. "I have informed the PLO Executive Committee and Fatah's Central Committee that I do not intend to seek a second term in the upcoming [24 January 2010] election," he said in a televised address. "This decision is not up for debate or negotiation. "The president said he decided to step down when it became clear the US would not alter its position in favor of Israel and the settlement enterprise. His announcement came days after Palestinians were left stunned when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised as unprecedented Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer to limit. . . 

Fatah leader: Abbas to deliver speech on candidacy
11/5/2009 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Backtracking on his earlier claim, Fatah leader Sultan Abul Enein confirmed an Israeli media report that Abbas will deliver a political speech Thursday, in which he may announce his intent not to run for reelection in January. Abul Enein earlier called the news "fake" and noted Abbas would be engaged in regular meetings all day and would not deliver a speech Thursday. The comments came following the publication of a report by Israeli journalist Roni Shaked, whose article in the Hebrew language version of Ynet, said he expects President Mahmoud Abbas to announce that he will not run for reelection in the upcoming elections. The report, published Thursday, said the speech would come later in the day. Shaked cited unidentified Palestinian sources as confirming that Abbas "seeks fairness and democracy" and will not run in the next elections. 

Deported BU student to test Israeli movement restrictions
11/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - An early-evening court appearance on Tuesday saw Israeli prosecutors deliver a statement declaring 21-year-old student Berlanty Azzam to have been illegally residing in the West Bank. Berlanty, a fourth-year Business Administration student at Bethlehem University three credits shy of graduation, was seized from a minibus on her way back to Bethlehem from a job interview in Ramallah on 29 October. She was kept at an Israeli military checkpoint inside the West Bank for five hours, then blindfolded and transported to the Gaza Strip, where her family lives. Lawyers from the Israeli human rights group Gisha were denied permission to visit Berlanty before she was forcibly removed from the West Bank and transferred into Gaza. According to a spokesperson at Bethlehem University, the Israeli court set a hearing date of 12 November, which she. . . 

Israel closes two of three Gaza crossings
11/5/2009 - Gaza - Ma'an - Israeli authorities opened the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Thursday, while the Nahal Oz fuel terminal and the Karni crossing remained closed, according to Palestinian border crossing official. Raed Fattouh, the border crossing official, stated that Israel would allow between 94 and 104 truckloads of aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing while the others will be closed. The undersecretary of the Ministry of National Economy in Gaza Nasser As-Sarraj said that Israel had informed them that canned meat and fish would be allowed through next Monday. [end] 

Police: US citizen missing in West Bank
11/5/2009 - Ramallah - Ma'an - An American citizen went missing after travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho, according to the information office of the Palestinian police. Palestinian police stated that Tares Temple, 55, has short hair and was wearing blue trousers and a silver jacket when she was last seen. The police have appealed to the public to urgently contact them if they have any information about Temple and her current whereabouts by reporting to the nearest police station. A photo of Temple will be released upon receipt, police said. [end] 

Israeli police detain Jerusalem youth over Al-Aqsa protest
11/5/2009 - Jerusalem - Ma'an - Israeli police detained a Palestinian teen from his home in the Old City of Jerusalem on Wednesday night, after police targeted his family home and that of his aunt, searching both buildings. Nasser Qaus, 15, was accused of participating in the demonstrations held at the Al-Aqsa Mosque two weeks ago, the latest in a series of confrontations as Israeli settlers and soldiers threaten Haram Ash-Sharif, the compound that houses the mosque, with increased military presence in the area, and announced break-ins by settler groups. Following his late-night seizure, it was reported that Nasser's detention has been extended for 24 hours. The youth is one of dozens who have been detained for their involvement in what Palestinians call protective action for the third holiest site in Islam. 

For first time in two years, Gazans perform Hajj
11/5/2009 - Al-A'rish - Ma'an - The first group of Hajj pilgrims will leave Gaza on Friday morning via the Rafah crossing, Palestinian communication officer for the border Jaser Al-Mashukhi announced Thursday afternoon. Al-Mashukhi said the 300 expected pilgrims will leave Gaza for Al-A'rish and from there to the local airport on the same day. He noted a second group would pass through from Gaza at 9am, and that the rest of the six groups, of approximately 300 each, would leave once a day over the next six days. There were over 3,300 Palestinian passports sent to the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Cairo, Al-Mashukhi said, but only 4,500 were granted visas for travel to Mecca. Egypt was responsible for sorting out travel from the crossing to Al-A'rish airport for the thousands of travelers. Other arrangements were made jointly by the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Waqf, and the de facto government's offices in Gaza. 

Egypt to Clinton: Israel hindering peace process
11/6/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel is putting conditions on its reply to the US request for a settlement construction halt that will enable the country to "continue the settlement activities even. . . if these settlement activities are limited," Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Ali Abu Al-Gheit"Ž told reporters. Abu Al-Gheit spoke during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following a day and a half of meetings in the Egyptian capital. "United States and Secretary Clinton feel that there has been a progress. . about the issue of freezing the settlements, even if it's not fully complete," the foreign minister continued, echoing the American stance that the most recent Israeli offer on the matter is a step forward. Clinton explained again the stance Israel put forward, "What we have received from the Israelis to halt all new settlement activity - and I'll repeat. . . " 

US envoy snubs UN Goldstone debate
11/6/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - The US envoy to the United Nations did not attend a General Assembly debate on Wednesday on a resolution calling for further investigation into allegations of war crimes in Gaza. US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice failed to attend the discussion, sending her deputy, Alejandro Wolff, as an observer instead. The debate concerns the 575-page report of an international, independent fact-finding mission led by renowned South African judge Richard Goldstone, which addresses Israel's three-week assault on Gaza last winter, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead. The General Assembly is considering a nonbinding resolution that would ask UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send the report to the Security Council, and also demand that Israel and Palestinian authorities conduct their own credible investigations into the war crimes charges. 

UN General Assembly overwhelmingly endorses Goldstone report
11/6/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - The UN General Assembly in New York overwhelmingly endorsed South African jurist Richard Goldstone's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict on Friday. A resolution supporting the report passed the UN's largest body with 114 votes in favor versus only 18 opposed. Some 44 states abstained. The report accuses both Israel and Palestinian combatants of committing war crimes during the Israeli army's three-week assault on Gaza. The resolution "requests the Secretary-General to transmit the report. . . to the Security Council, while granting Israel and the Palestinians three months in order to launch an internal inquiry into its charges. "The unaltered resolution passed with wide support from Muslim states and the Nonaligned Group. There had been concerns the Arab Group, backed by the PLO's envoy, would tone down the report's content in an effort to make it more amenable to European Union support. 

Peres asks Abbas to renew peace talks
11/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli President Shimon Peres called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asking him to reopen the peace process, Israeli media reported on Thursday. According to the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz, Peres asked Abbas to resume negotiations with Israel and to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu. In a security cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Netanyahu stated that Israel intends to resume talks soon but cited the Palestinian elections in January as a possible obstacle to the recommencing discussions. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday to compel Abbas to restart peace talks with Israel. 

Barakat Al-Farra appointed PA ambassador to Egypt
11/5/2009 - Nablus - Ma'an - Barakat Al-Farra was appointed as the Palestinian Authority ambassador to Egypt and permanent delegate to the Arab League on Thursday, the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said. The news released by the embassy added that "after Al-Farra was sworn in by PA President Mahmoud Abbas he became the Palestinian ambassador to Egypt officially and the PA's delegate in the Arab League. " � Al-Farra had worked as the alternate representative of the ambassador for more than a year and a half. The embassy also said Al-Farra "proved his professionalism mainly after former ambassador Nabil Amr quit in October. " � Additionally, the source anticipated that Al-Farra's new appointment would positively affect Palestinian diplomatic obligations in Egypt and Arab functionaries, highlighting Al-Farra's extensive experience in the field of diplomacy spanning more than 20 years. 

Hizbullah denies link to arms seized by Israel
11/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Hizbullah on Thursday denied Israeli accusations that a captured arms shipment was destined for the Lebanese organization. "Hizbullah staunchly denies any link to the weapons that the Zionist enemy has seized from the Francop ship," the group said in a brief statement quoted by AFP. "At the same time Hizbullah denounces Israel's piracy in international waters," it added. Israel said its Navy intercepted the massive shipment of arms on board a freighter flying the flag of Antigua on Wednesday morning, about 100 miles from the Israeli coast. Israeli officials said the ship's contents - hundreds of tons of Katyusha rockets and other material - originated from Iran and was on its way to Syria. Hizbullah's allies Iran and Syria both rejected accusations that the ship was carrying weapons. 

US consul general tours Bethlehem
11/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - US Consul General to Jerusalem Daniel Rubinstein made a tour of Bethlehem organizations and institutions on Thursday, visiting Ma'an Network's headquarters and Bethlehem University, among others. At the university, Rubinstein expressed concern over Israel's recent seizure and deportation of 21-year-old student Berlanty Azzam, for whom a court case is pending. In the newsroom, the consul general said he appreciated Ma'an's coverage, adding that he frequently consulted the website. He also noted Palestine's need for similarly professional media outlets. "Frankly, we were afraid America would try to control Ma'an through its financial support," editor-in-chief Nasser Lahham told the consul. "But now I can say with confidence that you did not try to intervene in Ma'an's objectivity and I say that Ma'an News will always be professional and keep the same strategy. 

Fatah, PLO urge Abbas to reconsider candidacy
11/6/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - President Mahmoud Abbas' announcement on Thursday evening that he would not be seeking a second term has left the PLO and Fatah without their top nominee, several officials said beforehand. According to Yasser Abed Rabbo, the secretary-general of the PLO's Executive Committee, Abbas remains the preferred candidate for next January's elections. He told reporters at a news conference in Ramallah that the PLO would reject Abbas' retirement from politics. It is the committee's assumption, the secretary-general added, that Abbas will run for president not only on Fatah's ticket, but representing every PLO member faction, as well. Several hours before Abbas' announcement, Abed Rabbo said Abbas has the PLO's full support, and urged the president to reconsider. For its part, Abbas' Fatah party scheduled a protest march in Ramallah in protest of the president and party. . . 

Hebron police arrest alleged burglar
11/5/2009 - Hebron - Ma'an - The Investigation Department of the Hebron police arrested a man accused of burglary on Thursday, the information office of the Palestinian police said. The information office stated that the police received a claim from a resident after his house was broken into by an unamed assailant on 5 September 2009 reporting that more than 100 grams of gold had been stolen during the incident. A suspect was identified following an immediate investigation and examination of the crime scene. The perpetrator of the robbery was arrested and turned over to the general prosecution for sentencing, the information office said. [end] 

PA pays civil servant salaries with donations from Spain, Sweden
11/5/2009 - through an earlier EU contribution [MaanImages] Bethlehem - Ma'an - Spain and Sweden contributed a total of 29. 85 million euros to the Palestinian Authority in November, which along with a second payment will cover wages and pensions for civil servants until the end of the year, the European Commission stated on Wednesday. Approximately14. 84 million euros(21. 99 million US dollars) reached the bank accounts of 79,916 civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank this week, covering their October payments. In a statement released by the European Commission's press office, Ambassador Ramón Ansoaà n, the Spanish general consul in Jerusalem said, "The total Spanish contribution of 25 million Euro reflects the support of the Government of Spain to institutional and social stability, in the framework of the preparation necessary for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. 

Hajj pilgrims to receive H1N1 vaccine
11/6/2009 - Nablus - Ma'an - The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that it will offer Palestinians performing Hajj the vaccine against swine flu, and starting Friday morning. In a statement, the ministry said Hajj pilgrims would receive the injection against the H1N1 virus from health departments in their respective municipalities on Friday and Saturday between 3:00pm and 5:00pm. The Ministry of Health signed a contract with the global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, based in the UK, providing it with 20,000 doses of the vaccine for swine flu for this year's Hajj pilgrims. In addition, the company will supply a million doses of the vaccine over December and January, specifically for those most at risk, such as patients with chronic diseases, young children and pregnant women. Dr Omar Al-Naser, the head of public relations at the ministry, said Health Minister Fathi Abu Mughli. . . 

PSE drops: Al-Quds Index down 0.49%
11/5/2009 - Bethlehem - Ma'an - Stocks declined overall on the Palestine Securities Exchange in Nablus on Thursday, as the Al-Quds Index decreased 2. 47 points (0. 49%) to close at 497. 63. Trading volume was 672,589 shares traded, for a total value of 1,071,873. 51 US dollars, in 325 trades. The shares of 22 companies were traded. The share prices of three companies rose, and the shares prices of 10 others declined. The top five gainers were AHC by 5. 00%, AZIZA by 4. 84%, and AMB by 1. 33%. The top five losers were PIIC by 2. 90%, ISBK by 2. 67%, PRICO by 2. 53%, QUDS by 2. 44%, and ARE by 1. 75%. [end] 

Ha'aretz Defense page

Uruknet

[uruknet.info] Interview: Living under constant fear of arrest
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - Mohammed Ahmed Issa Yassen, 20, lives in the occupied West Bank village of Bilin, where he works in his family's car garage business as a mechanic. He is also a student at the al-Quds Open University, but since he has joined the Israeli intelligence's "wanted" list from the village, studying has been difficult. The Electronic Intifada...

[uruknet.info] Criminal convictions of 22 CIA agents in Italy The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - The criminal conviction of 22 CIA agents (and 2 Italian intelligence officers) by an Italian court yesterday -- for the 2003 kidnapping of an Islamic cleric, Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, off the street in Italy and his "rendition" to Egypt to be tortured -- highlights several vital points: First, illustrating how these matters are typically distorted...

[uruknet.info] Abbas: I will not seek second term
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - Mahmoud Abbas announced in Ramallah on Thursday he would not seek a second term in office. Confirming rumors of his impending retirement, Abbas said the decision came amid Israel's intransigence on settlements and the international community's indifference to it. "I have informed the PLO Executive Committee and Fatah's Central Committee that I do not intend to...

[uruknet.info] Bipartisan Attack on International Humanitarian Law
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - In a stunning blow against international law and human rights, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Tuesday attacking the report of the United Nations Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict. The report was authored by the well-respected South African jurist Richard Goldstone and three other noted authorities on international...

[uruknet.info] UN body endorses Goldstone report
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a UN-sponsored report which says Israel committed war crimes during last winter's military assault on the Gaza Strip. The Goldstone report, which accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes, has already been endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council, which sponsored the fact-finding commission. The General Assembly on...

[uruknet.info] A Nation of Golems
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - The U.S. House of Representatives voted 344-36 in support of H. Res. 867, a vote to reject the Goldstone Report Findings and Recommendations, thus protecting Israel against indictment for crimes against humanity and illegal acts of war as determined by the United Nations Human Rights Council's special investigation of the Christmas invasion of Gaza this past...

[uruknet.info] Army: 12 dead, 31 wounded in mass shooting at Fort Hood
Uruknet November 5, 2009 -- The U.S. Army says 12 people have been killed and 31 wounded in a shooting rampage on the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. The Army says one shooter has been killed and two others apprehended on Thursday in the shooting and all are U.S. soldiers. The victims include a civilian police officer. "This appears to...

[uruknet.info] The Daily Harassments at Qalandiya
Uruknet November 4, 2009 - 15:30: We drove past Atarot CP on our way to Qalandiya. Twenty-five vehicles were wending their way slowly past the CP. 15:40 - Qalandiya: Already on our arrival a Palestinian ran to ask us to go into the checking area where an elderly couple from Gaza had had their permit to return home confiscated. We found...

[uruknet.info] Why Does AIPAC Spy on Americans?
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - According to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Steven J. Rosen will be allowed to move ahead with his civil defamation lawsuit against the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Rosen and fellow AIPAC employee Keith Weissman were indicted under the 1917 Espionage Act in 2005 along with Department of Defense Employee Col. Lawrence Franklin for passing classified...

[uruknet.info] The Gaza Chronicles: Part 3 - Shattered Minds And The Children of Gaza
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - Over 40 years of Israeli military occupation have had a devastating effect on Gaza; airstrikes, artillery shelling, ground invasions, jet flybys and their sonic booms have all led to an epidemic of suffering among Gaza's most vulnerable inhabitants. Soon after the recent winter Israeli assault, a group of scholars at the University of Washington discussed different...

[uruknet.info] Gaza: peak hour
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - Children swarming the streets coming from school, men and women going to market, people employed as traffic police, police -many who worked for the former government and continued with the current government -people on bikes, in taxis, afoot... These were the scenes when Israel began dropping bombs all over Gaza on December 27 and kept it...

[uruknet.info] Palestinian Women Suffer as Israel Violates CEDAW
Uruknet November 5, 2009 - Palestinian women continue to suffer abuse and denial of basic human rights at the hands of Israeli settlers and soldiers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This is in flagrant violation of Israel's obligations as a signatory to the UN Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW is the first international...

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In Gaza
peak hour
4 Nov 2009 - Children swarming the streets coming from school, men and women going to market, people employed as traffic police, police –many who worked for the former government and continued with the current government –people on bikes, in taxis, afoot… These were the scenese when Israel began dropping bombs all over Gaza on December 27 and kept it up for the next 22 days, indiscriminately targeting civilians at a peak hour, in their homes, schools, cars, mosques, kindergartens… Think of these children, and justice for Palestinians.  And ask, what more than supporting the Goldstone report (important, but certainly not marking Israel’s first violations of international human rights) can we do? … BDS :...

Palestine Chronicle
Hamas Wants Britain to Make Amends
5 Nov 2009 - By Stuart Littlewood - London Hamas marked the 92nd anniversary of the infamous Balfour Declaration by recalling the misery of the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe) and insisting that European states in general and Britain in particular make amends for the crimes committed against Palestine. It is worth reminding ourselves from time to time what started the trouble all those years ago. Arabs know the details only too well, but you would be surprised how the British people are kept in ignorance. The history of the Arab-Israeli struggle is seldom taught in schools and our politicians are afraid to talk freely about it. To all intents and purposes the fuse to the present powder-keg was lit by the British foreign secretary, Lord Balfour, on 2 November 1917 in a letter to the most senior Jew in England, Lord Rothschild, pledging assistance for the Zionist cause. It was a moment of madness that showed utter disregard for the likely impact on Islamic sensibilities and the day-to-day lives of those (Muslim and Christian) already living in the Holy Land, and for peace in the region. This lethal scrap of paper, which called itself a declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations, actually said… "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing and...

A Nation of Golems
5 Nov 2009 - By William A. Cook 'Even the most perfect of Golem, risen to life to protect us, can easily change into a destructive force. Therefore let us treat carefully that which is strong, just as we bow kindly and patiently to that which is weak. Everything has its time and place.' (Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, 1512-1609) The U.S. House of Representatives voted 344-36 in support of H. Res. 867, a vote to reject the Goldstone Report Findings and Recommendations, thus protecting Israel against indictment for crimes against humanity and illegal acts of war as determined by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s special investigation of the Christmas invasion of Gaza this past year. The House of Representatives, acting as a body, embodies the most heinous machinations of the ancient legend of a mythical beast called the Golem. The most famous of the Golem stories comes out of Medieval Prague where Rabbi Loew contended with the paradox of human existence as driven by human desire to control life on the one hand and God’s absolute power over life, “from dust to dust,” on the other. The good Rabbi, it is alleged, turned to the forbidden scriptures to give life to a human form created out of the mud of the Vltava River that flows through Prague; this figure constructed of clay, inanimate matter, a shapeless mass, imperfect, unformed, a body without a soul, responds in perfect obedience to his master. He symbolizes the ultimate protector of the victimized as he assumed...

Hillary Clinton's Diplomacy Inaction
5 Nov 2009 - By James Gundun - Washington DC Like a room filled with methane, the combustible element of failure waited silently for a spark. Neither special envoy George Mitchell nor President Obama could budge the Palestinians from their demand for an Israeli settlement freeze. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, with an established pro-Israeli bias, is known to bite. Coming off a three day jaunt in Pakistan that left America with even less friends, she detonated another bombshell in another conflict, her diplomacy more stagecraft than statecraft. ‘What the prime minister has offered, a restraint on the policy of settlements, which he has just described, no new starts, for example, is unprecedented in the context of prior to negotiations,’ an upbeat Clinton said in Jerusalem, next to the solemn Benjamin Netanyahu. An Israeli cheer session so late in the hour poses obvious obstacles to a two-state solution, indicated by the Palestinians’ swift and harsh response. Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for PA president Mahmoud Abbas, warned, ‘The negotiations are in a state of paralysis, and the result of Israel's intransigence and America's back-pedaling is that there is no hope of negotiations on the horizon.’� Senior negotiator Saeb Erekat added, ‘Pressuring Palestinians to make further concessions to accommodate Israeli intransigence is not the answer.’� But Clinton wasn’t so wrong to state her true position as to retreat from a hail of missiles under a two-face shield. ‘This offer falls far short of what our preference would be’, she said a day later in Marrakech, ‘but...

No Emergency Summits for Arab Human Development Crisis
3 Nov 2009 - By Ramzy Baroud When the first Arab Human Development Report (AHDR) was published in 2002, a star glistened in a vast, gloomy sky. The fact that a UN-sponsored report, authored by independent Arab scholars would receive so much attention in Arab media, was in itself a promising start. The fact that such terminology as human security, personal security, economic security, etc – as highlighted in the report – would even compete with the largely ceremonial news bulletins’ headlines in many Arab countries was in itself an achievement. But then, the star quickly faded, the terms became clichés, and the report, published seven times since then, became a haunting reminder of how bad things really are in the Arab World. Those who wish to discredit Arab countries, individually or as a collective, now find in these reports plenty of reasons to fuel their constant diatribes; those who genuinely care and wish for things to improve are either silent or muted. The last report, sponsored, like the rest, by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was published in July 2009. It was the grimmest. Its statistics are intriguing, although depressing. 2.9 million square kilometers of land in the Arab World are threatened by desertification. Natural resources are depleting at an alarming level. Birth rates are the highest in the world. Unemployment is skyrocketing. 50 million new jobs must be created by 2020. Arab oil-based economies leave some Arab countries entirely vulnerable to market price fluctuations or the depletion of oil altogether. While...