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"Nakba" means catastrophe. It is an Arab propaganda term. There is no way the Secretary General of the UN should be calling the creation of a member state of the UN a "catastrophe. The catastrophe was brought on by Arab defiance of a UN resolution and their attempt to destroy a member state of the UN. They hardly deserve sympathy for that. World body's spokeswoman says Ki-moon phoned Abbas to stress his support for Palestinians on day marking 'catastrophe' of Israel's inception; Israel demands retraction Yitzhak Benhorin
Published: 05.16.08, 09:41 / Israel News WASHINGTON - Israel is demanding that the UN strike the word 'Nakba' from its lexicon, this after the world body's spokeswoman uttered it, apparently by mistake, in a press briefing she held Thursday night.
'Nakba', or 'catastrophe', refers to the refugee flight of Palestinian Arabs that followed Israel's inception in 1948.
The spokeswoman told reporters that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "phoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to stress his support for the Palestinian people on Nakba Day".
An Israeli reporter present at the briefing asked the spokeswoman whether Ki-moon also congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the Jewish State's 60th anniversary. She said the UN chief spoke with Olmert a week ago.
Ki-moon himself was also surprised by the controversy created by his gesture, as he was not aware that the use of the term was unacceptable to Israel and is a part of the Palestinian propaganda against it.
Ki-moon supportive of Israel
Israel is demanding that the UN issue a statement to rectify the blunder and remove the word 'Nakba' from its lexicon.
The UN said the word had not been used by any of the world body's institutions or officials before, and it is estimated that it was purposely 'planted' by someone into the spokeswoman's text.
Ki-Moon has been supportive of Israel since taking office in 2006, but has recently been pressed by the Arab world to adopt a more balanced approach.
Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni said Thursday afternoon in her speech at the president's conference in Jerusalem that "with the establishment of a Palestinian state, we wish to see the end of the conflict. The Palestinians will be able to celebrate their independence if on that same day they also strike the word 'Nakba' from their lexicon."
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The persecution of Christians in Gaza seems to have attracted virtually no attention. Recently, the Pope asked Israel to guard the safety of Christians in our area. The only way to guard Christians in Gaza seems to be to get the Christians out of Gaza, or to get the Hamas out of Gaza. Anyhow, we have enough problems guarding the safety of Jews. Unknown assailants on Friday detonated a bomb outside a Christian school in Gaza City, causing no injuries. Damage from the pre-dawn explosion is visible at the entrance to the Zahwa Rosary School. The school is run by nuns but caters mainly to Muslim students. Friday's bombing appears to be the latest in a string of attacks on Christian institutions in the overwhelmingly Muslim territory.
In the most serious attack, a local Christian activist was murdered in October. His killers have not been found. About 3,200 Christians live in Gaza among 1.4 million Muslims. While relations between Christians and Muslims have traditionally been good, Christians have grown uneasy since the Islamic group Hamas routed forces of the secular Fatah movement and seized control of Gaza in June.
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2:55 P.M. (Local) THE PRESIDENT: President Peres and Mr. Prime Minister, Madam Speaker, thank very much for hosting this special session. President Beinish, Leader of the Opposition Netanyahu, Ministers, members of the Knesset, distinguished guests: Shalom. Laura and I are thrilled to be back in Israel. We have been deeply moved by the celebrations of the past two days. And this afternoon, I am honored to stand before one of the world's great democratic assemblies and convey the wishes of the American people with these words: Yom Ha'atzmaut Sameach. (Applause.) It is a rare privilege for the American President to speak to the Knesset. (Laughter.) Although the Prime Minister told me there is something even rarer -- to have just one person in this chamber speaking at a time. (Laughter.) My only regret is that one of Israel's greatest leaders is not here to share this moment. He is a warrior for the ages, a man of peace, a friend. The prayers of the American people are with Ariel Sharon. (Applause.) We gather to mark a momentous occasion. Sixty years ago in Tel Aviv, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel's independence, founded on the "natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate." What followed was more than the establishment of a new country. It was the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David -- a homeland for the chosen people Eretz Yisrael. Eleven minutes later, on the orders of President Harry Truman, the United States was proud to be the first nation to recognize Israel's independence. And on this landmark anniversary, America is proud to be Israel's closest ally and best friend in the world. The alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty. It is grounded in the shared spirit of our people, the bonds of the Book, the ties of the soul. When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of Jeremiah: "Come let us declare in Zion the word of God." The founders of my country saw a new promised land and bestowed upon their towns names like Bethlehem and New Canaan. And in time, many Americans became passionate advocates for a Jewish state. Centuries of suffering and sacrifice would pass before the dream was fulfilled. The Jewish people endured the agony of the pogroms, the tragedy of the Great War, and the horror of the Holocaust -- what Elie Wiesel called "the kingdom of the night." Soulless men took away lives and broke apart families. Yet they could not take away the spirit of the Jewish people, and they could not break the promise of God. (Applause.) When news of Israel's freedom finally arrived, Golda Meir, a fearless woman raised in Wisconsin, could summon only tears. She later said: "For two thousand years we have waited for our deliverance. Now that it is here it is so great and wonderful that it surpasses human words." The joy of independence was tempered by the outbreak of battle, a struggle that has continued for six decades. Yet in spite of the violence, in defiance of the threats, Israel has built a thriving democracy in the heart of the Holy Land. You have welcomed immigrants from the four corners of the Earth. You have forged a free and modern society based on the love of liberty, a passion for justice, and a respect for human dignity. You have worked tirelessly for peace. You have fought valiantly for freedom. My country's admiration for Israel does not end there. When Americans look at Israel, we see a pioneer spirit that worked an agricultural miracle and now leads a high-tech revolution. We see world-class universities and a global leader in business and innovation and the arts. We see a resource more valuable than oil or gold: the talent and determination of a free people who refuse to let any obstacle stand in the way of their destiny. I have been fortunate to see the character of Israel up close. I have touched the Western Wall, seen the sun reflected in the Sea of Galilee, I have prayed at Yad Vashem. And earlier today, I visited Masada, an inspiring monument to courage and sacrifice. At this historic site, Israeli soldiers swear an oath: "Masada shall never fall again." Citizens of Israel: Masada shall never fall again, and America will be at your side. This anniversary is a time to reflect on the past. It's also an opportunity to look to the future. As we go forward, our alliance will be guided by clear principles -- shared convictions rooted in moral clarity and unswayed by popularity polls or the shifting opinions of international elites. We believe in the matchless value of every man, woman, and child. So we insist that the people of Israel have the right to a decent, normal, and peaceful life, just like the citizens of every other nation. (Applause.) We believe that democracy is the only way to ensure human rights. So we consider it a source of shame that the United Nations routinely passes more human rights resolutions against the freest democracy in the Middle East than any other nation in the world. (Applause.) We believe that religious liberty is fundamental to a civilized society. So we condemn anti-Semitism in all forms -- whether by those who openly question Israel's right to exist, or by others who quietly excuse them. We believe that free people should strive and sacrifice for peace. So we applaud the courageous choices Israeli's leaders have made. We also believe that nations have a right to defend themselves and that no nation should ever be forced to negotiate with killers pledged to its destruction. (Applause.) We believe that targeting innocent lives to achieve political objectives is always and everywhere wrong. So we stand together against terror and extremism, and we will never let down our guard or lose our resolve. (Applause.) The fight against terror and extremism is the defining challenge of our time. It is more than a clash of arms. It is a clash of visions, a great ideological struggle. On the one side are those who defend the ideals of justice and dignity with the power of reason and truth. On the other side are those who pursue a narrow vision of cruelty and control by committing murder, inciting fear, and spreading lies. This struggle is waged with the technology of the 21st century, but at its core it is an ancient battle between good and evil. The killers claim the mantle of Islam, but they are not religious men. No one who prays to the God of Abraham could strap a suicide vest to an innocent child, or blow up guiltless guests at a Passover Seder, or fly planes into office buildings filled with unsuspecting workers. In truth, the men who carry out these savage acts serve no higher goal than their own desire for power. They accept no God before themselves. And they reserve a special hatred for the most ardent defenders of liberty, including Americans and Israelis. And that is why the founding charter of Hamas calls for the "elimination" of Israel. And that is why the followers of Hezbollah chant "Death to Israel, Death to America!" That is why Osama bin Laden teaches that "the killing of Jews and Americans is one of the biggest duties." And that is why the President of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages and calls for Israel to be wiped off the map. There are good and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain away their words. It's natural, but it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we carry a solemn responsibility to take these words seriously. Jews and Americans have seen the consequences of disregarding the words of leaders who espouse hatred. And that is a mistake the world must not repeat in the 21st century. Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: "Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided." We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history. (Applause.) Some people suggest if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of the enemies of peace, and America utterly rejects it. Israel's population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because the United States of America stands with you. (Applause.) America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapons would be an unforgivable betrayal for future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. (Applause.) Ultimately, to prevail in this struggle, we must offer an alternative to the ideology of the extremists by extending our vision of justice and tolerance and freedom and hope. These values are the self-evident right of all people, of all religions, in all the world because they are a gift from the Almighty God. Securing these rights is also the surest way to secure peace. Leaders who are accountable to their people will not pursue endless confrontation and bloodshed. Young people with a place in their society and a voice in their future are less likely to search for meaning in radicalism. Societies where citizens can express their conscience and worship their God will not export violence, they will be partners in peace. The fundamental insight, that freedom yields peace, is the great lesson of the 20th century. Now our task is to apply it to the 21st. Nowhere is this work more urgent than here in the Middle East. We must stand with the reformers working to break the old patterns of tyranny and despair. We must give voice to millions of ordinary people who dream of a better life in a free society. We must confront the moral relativism that views all forms of government as equally acceptable and thereby consigns whole societies to slavery. Above all, we must have faith in our values and ourselves and confidently pursue the expansion of liberty as the path to a peaceful future. That future will be a dramatic departure from the Middle East of today. So as we mark 60 years from Israel's founding, let us try to envision the region 60 years from now. This vision is not going to arrive easily or overnight; it will encounter violent resistance. But if we and future Presidents and future Knessets maintain our resolve and have faith in our ideals, here is the Middle East that we can see: Israel will be celebrating the 120th anniversary as one of the world's great democracies, a secure and flourishing homeland for the Jewish people. The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved -- a democratic state that is governed by law, and respects human rights, and rejects terror. From Cairo to Riyadh to Baghdad and Beirut, people will live in free and independent societies, where a desire for peace is reinforced by ties of diplomacy and tourism and trade. Iran and Syria will be peaceful nations, with today's oppression a distant memory and where people are free to speak their minds and develop their God-given talents. Al Qaeda and Hezbollah and Hamas will be defeated, as Muslims across the region recognize the emptiness of the terrorists' vision and the injustice of their cause. Overall, the Middle East will be characterized by a new period of tolerance and integration. And this doesn't mean that Israel and its neighbors will be best of friends. But when leaders across the region answer to their people, they will focus their energies on schools and jobs, not on rocket attacks and suicide bombings. With this change, Israel will open a new hopeful chapter in which its people can live a normal life, and the dream of Herzl and the founders of 1948 can be fully and finally realized. This is a bold vision, and some will say it can never be achieved. But think about what we have witnessed in our own time. When Europe was destroying itself through total war and genocide, it was difficult to envision a continent that six decades later would be free and at peace. When Japanese pilots were flying suicide missions into American battleships, it seemed impossible that six decades later Japan would be a democracy, a lynchpin of security in Asia, and one of America's closest friends. And when waves of refugees arrived here in the desert with nothing, surrounded by hostile armies, it was almost unimaginable that Israel would grow into one of the freest and most successful nations on the earth. Yet each one of these transformations took place. And a future of transformation is possible in the Middle East, so long as a new generation of leaders has the courage to defeat the enemies of freedom, to make the hard choices necessary for peace, and stand firm on the solid rock of universal values. Sixty years ago, on the eve of Israel's independence, the last British soldiers departing Jerusalem stopped at a building in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. An officer knocked on the door and met a senior rabbi. The officer presented him with a short iron bar -- the key to the Zion Gate -- and said it was the first time in 18 centuries that a key to the gates of Jerusalem had belonged to a Jew. His hands trembling, the rabbi offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God, "Who had granted us life and permitted us to reach this day." Then he turned to the officer, and uttered the words Jews had awaited for so long: "I accept this key in the name of my people." Over the past six decades, the Jewish people have established a state that would make that humble rabbi proud. You have raised a modern society in the Promised Land, a light unto the nations that preserves the legacy of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And you have built a mighty democracy that will endure forever and can always count on the United States of America to be at your side. God bless. (Applause.)
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May 15, 2008 Fair Witness Questions Statement Issued By UCC National Leadership Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East questions a statement issued by Revs. John Thomas and Cally Rogers-Witte (General Minister and Executive Minister, Wider Church Ministries, of the United Church of Christ, respectively) on Israel's 60th anniversary. The statement echos a trend of over-connecting the Holocaust to the reality of the modern Jewish state. Jews, like any other people, have the right to nationhood and began that process decades before the Nazis came to power. Moreover, sympathetic references to the Holocaust ring hollow when they are followed by an attempt to blame Israel for the current bleak plight of the Palestinians.
"The events of 1948 indeed turned into a tragedy for the Palestinians," according to Rev. Steve Monhollen, Donald & Lillian Nunnelly Professor of Pastoral Leadership & Director of Field Education at the Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky. "I would hope that a statement of support for a peace process would acknowledge the multiple forces that caused this tragedy. The refusal of Arab nations to accept the U.N. partition plan and the war they waged upon the nascent Jewish state are key and often overlooked sources for the Palestinian refugee crisis. In addition, Jordan's and Egypt's failure to create a Palestinian state on territory they held between 1948 and 1967 compounded the tragedy. Other Middle East countries, such as Iran through Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas, are strongly influencing the current stalemate between Israel and Palestinians. Presenting a fair balance of this history is key to helping mainline Christians understand this relationship." Revs. Thomas' and Rogers-Witte's statement recites a litany of UCC General Synod statements on the Israel/Palestine conflict. But the most recent resolution, which the 2007 General Synod sent to the Executive Council for implementation, acknowledged that the UCC had "yet to fully address other forces contributing to the ongoing violence, oppression and suffering in the region," admits they "may have overlooked many aspects of an extraordinarily complicated situation . . ." and directed the Executive Council to "establish a Task Force to engage in ongoing and balanced study of the causes, history and context of the conflict. . ." "The 2007 UCC General Synod spoke to the need for balance with regard to the denomination's witness on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Revs. Thomas' and Witte's statement does not seem to honor the spirit of the resolution," says Sr. Ruth Lautt, O.P., Fair Witness National Director.
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Sr. Ruth Lautt, OP, Esq.
National Director
Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East
475 Riverside Drive, Ste 1960
New York, NY 10115
(212) 870-2320
www.christianfairwitness.com
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Google co-founder Sergey Brin on Thursday lauded Israeli innovations in technology and environmental efforts, saying Israel "takes our climate challenges very seriously." Brin, visiting as a delegate to President Shimon Peres' Presidential Conference, told Haaretz that these challenges have "great geopolitcal ramifications on this country, in addition to environmental ones." He noted that Israel's leading efforts in the field of sustainable energy, saying: "Obviously in Israel they need to innovate with water and things like that. I was really intrigued to see drip irrigation. I just realized that came out of Israel."
Brin gave particular attention to Israel's work in environmentally friendly transportation. A prototype of the world's first fully electric car was demonstrated for the first time on Sunday in Tel Aviv, by Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi. Developers hope the car will revolutionize transportation in the country and serve as a pilot for the rest of the world. If all goes as planned, Israel will be the first country to have electric cars on its highways in large numbers in the next few years. Brin also spoke about new projects ongoing at Google, including the "huge range of efforts" being made on mobile technology and the patience needed in the field. "I think it takes a while to devlop the technology, to devlop,
to educate advertisers about it," he said. "We have to bootstrap everything. our search based targeted ads took a number of yearsand people are expecting overnight that you work a miracle. It is a combination of technology, advertising networks, abd user expectations. All those things have to come together and that takes time," he said. During his visit, Brin toured Jewish sites, including the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.
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Last Wednesday, Remembrance Day, I had the honor of speaking on behalf of the UJC at a memorial ceremony in Jerusalem for Israel's 22,437 fallen. I would like to share those words with you: It is a sad reality in our region that the wars do not stop for one moment. Sometimes they are at a higher intensity, sometimes at a lower one, but soldiers fall all the time, and the pain and grief are deep. Since last Remembrance Day another 132 families have joined the "bereaved family" of the State of Israel. Among the soldiers who fell over the past year were three non-Jewish soldiers: First Sgt. Sayef Bisan from the Druse village of Jatt, Sgt. Menhash Albaniat, from the Beduin settlement of Kuseife, and a third soldier, whose name we do not know and whose picture we have never seen. All that appeared in the newspaper was a silhouette. The Beduin tracker fell in a terrorist ambush next to the fence dividing Gaza and Israel, alongside his Jewish comrades; he had volunteered for service in the IDF. We do not differentiate between the blood of fallen soldiers, whether Jews or non-Jews, but it struck me that although it is known who this soldier is and where he came from, for the Israeli public, he is an Unknown Soldier. His family requested that neither his name, nor his picture, nor even where he lived be published. All we know is that he left behind two wives and seven children, and that on the day he fell he was supposed to become engaged for the third time. No doubt, his family feared that they may be harmed in some way. BEDUIN TRACKERS go ahead of patrols. They are the first out there, and they are the first to be injured or killed. They are aware of the danger; but nonetheless, they serve - voluntarily. No one can replace them. No one can identify the tracks and signs over the hundreds of kilometers of dirt roads along Israel's borders the way they do. It takes trained and experienced eyes, and this is what the Beduin trackers have been doing better than anyone else, generation after generation. We frequently speak of the "covenant" between us, the Jews, and them, the Druse and Beduin. It is a pledge between those who are destined to live together in this country and give up their lives for it. But these people hear very little from us about the covenant of life, the covenant between people who are supposed to build their lives alongside one another. The Beduin tracker who fell on the Israel-Gaza border lived in an unrecognized village. Tomorrow, bulldozers could come to demolish his house, leaving his two wives and seven children homeless. On this day, we must think of him, of his friends and also of ourselves, and we must promise to cultivate solidarity and mutual commitment - ours and theirs - not just in order to die for our country, but to live for it, together. Thank you my brother, Beduin tracker. The writer is senior vice president and director-general of UJC Israel and a former IDF spokesman.
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The gathering storm, and beyond
Irwin Cotler, THE JERUSALEM POST May. 14, The incendiary hate language emanating from Ahmadinejad's Iran - in which Israel is referred to as "filthy bacteria" and a "cancerous tumor" and Jews are characterized as "a bunch of bloodthirsty barbarians" - is only the head wind of the gathering storm confronting Israel on its 60th anniversary. Indeed, we are witnessing, and have been for some time, a series of mega-events, political earthquakes that have been impacting not only upon Israel and world Jewry but upon the human condition as a whole. These include: state-sanctioned incitement to genocide in Ahmadinejad's Iran (and I use that term to distinguish it from the many publics and peoples in Iran who are themselves the object of massive state repression) dramatized by the parading of a Shihab-3 missile in the streets of Teheran draped with the emblem "Wipe Israel off the map"; symmetrical terrorist militias confronting Israel, in particular Hamas in the south and Hizbullah in the north. These are not simply - though that would be threatening enough - terrorist in their instrumentality, but genocidal in their purpose as they openly and avowedly seek the destruction of Israel and anti-Jewish in their ideology. Both, by their own acknowledgement, demonize Judaism and Jews, not just Israel and the Israeli, as "the sons of monkeys and pigs" and "defilers of Islam"; the globalization of a totalitarian, radical Islam that threatens not only Jews and Israel but international peace and security, while warning Muslims who seek peace with Israel that they will "burn in the Umma of Islam"; the fragility, even erosion, of the Lebanon-Hizbullah divides, aided and abetted by the Iranian-Syrian pincer movements and further exacerbated in the present Lebanese-Hizbullah warfare; the phenomenon of radicalized home-grown extremism, fuelled by Internet incitement, threatening the security of Jewish communities in the Diaspora; exploding energy prices, with oil at $120 a barrel - six times what it was just six years ago - with the windfall billions of petrodollars encouraging and financing rogue states like Iran. Every $1 increase in the price of a barrel of oil represents millions more in the coffers of Iran; the ugly canard of double loyalty, where the Jewish and Israeli lobbies are accused of acting in a matter inimical to the American and European national interest, as if it is somehow "un-American" or "un-European" to petition government for redress of grievances, an Orwellian politics of intimidation that chills free speech and public advocacy; the trahison des clercs - betrayal of the elites - of which the UK is a case study, exemplified in the calls for academic, trade union, journalist, medical and intellectual boycotts of Israeli and Jewish nationals; the singling out of Israel for differential and discriminatory treatment in the international arena, as when the UN Human Rights Council,, the repository for human rights standards-setting, adopted 10 resolutions of condemnation against one member state of the international community, Israel, in its first year of operation alone; while the major human rights violators - Iran, Sudan, China - enjoyed exculpatory immunity; and the emergence of a new, escalating, global, virulent and even lethal anti-Semitism. WITH ISRAEL'S 60th anniversary, these mega-events have not only intensified but congealed into what might be called a "gathering storm," finding expression in the two theses that underpin this article. First, that this gathering storm appears to be without parallel or precedent since 1938, suggesting thereby that 2008 is reflective and reminiscent of 1938. The second thesis, which reflects my own position and is not inconsistent with the previous notion, is that whatever 2008 may be, it is not 1938. Simply put, there is a Jewish state today that is an antidote to the vulnerabilities of 1938. There is a Jewish people with untold moral, intellectual, economic and political resources. There are non-Jews prepared to join the Jewish people in common cause, seeing the cause of Israel not simply as a Jewish cause, but - with all its imperfections - as a just cause. Nor is Israel is isolated or alone. It has important friends and allies: for example, the United States, Canada, Germany and France, to name a few; and it has diplomatic relations with the two emerging superpowers, China and India. There are peace treaties, however imperfect, with Egypt and Jordan. In a word, if one looks at Israel at 60 in this global configuration, 2008 is, even with an admittedly gathering storm not unlike 1938, nonetheless very different from the Thirties. It is important, therefore, that Israel not be viewed as an Andy Warhol of the international media, or what passes as virtual reality on the Internet of the day. Israel is not simply a snapshot at age 60, nor a fragment frozen in time; nor is it anchored only in 60 years of Israeli statehood, or 120 years of Zionism. For Israel, rooted in the Jewish people, as an Abrahamic people, is a prototypical First Nation or aboriginal people, just as the Jewish religion is a prototypical aboriginal religion, the first of the Abrahamic religions. IN A WORD, the Jewish people is the only people that still inhabits the same land, embraces the same religion, studies the same Torah, hearkens to the same prophets, speaks the same aboriginal language - Hebrew - and bears the same aboriginal name, Israel, as it did 3,500 years ago. Israel, then, is the aboriginal homeland of the Jewish people across space and time. It is not just a homeland for the Jewish people, a place of refuge, asylum and protection. It is the homeland of the Jewish people, wherever and whenever it may be; and its birth certificate originates in its inception as a First Nation, and not simply, however important, in its United Nations international birth certificate. The State of Israel, then, as a political and juridical entity, overlaps with the "aboriginal Jewish homeland"; it is, in international legal terms, a successor state to the biblical, or aboriginal, Jewish kingdoms. But that aboriginal homeland is also claimed by another people, the Palestinian/Arab people, who see it as their place and patrimony. THE EXISTENCE of a parallel claim does not vitiate that of the Jewish people or cause it to resonate any less as memory and memoir of homeland - where homeland represents history, roots, religion, language, culture, literature, law, custom, family, myth and values. Rather, the equities of the claim mandate the logic of Israeli-Palestinian partition - a logic which in moral and juridical terms requires that a just solution be organized around the "principle of least injustice," and that includes mutual recognition of the legitimacy of two states for two peoples. Nor should the internal divides besetting Israel mask the existential raison d'etre, and moral imperative, of Israel itself. Nazism, and the gathering storm of the Thirties, almost succeeded not only because of its pathology of hate and industry of death, but because of the powerlessness of the stateless Jew and the vulnerability of the powerless without a state. Israel, then, is an antidote to Jewish vulnerability, the raison d'etre in the most profound existential sense for Jewish self-determination. It is not the case, as it sometimes said, that if there had been no Holocaust, there would not have been a State of Israel, as if a state could somehow even compensate for the murder of six million Jews. It is the other way around: If there had been an Israel, there would not have been a Holocaust, or others horrors of Jewish history. In the end, we come back to the beginning: that whatever the gathering storm from without may be, whatever the internal grievances, the Kulturkampf of the Jews' despair in 2008 would not only be a betrayal of the Jewish aboriginal past, but a denial of the next 60 years and beyond. The writer is the member of parliament for Mount Royal and the former minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. He is a professor of law (on leave) at McGill University and has written extensively on human rights and Middle-East issues.
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By DANIEL SCHWAMMENTHAL
May 14, 2008; Page A19
As Israel celebrates its 60th anniversary there is no denying that the Jewish state has an image problem in Europe. Opinion polls in the U.S. consistently show that a majority of Americans are sympathetic to Israel. But the situation is the reverse on the other side of the Atlantic. It's particularly bad in Germany. In a British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) survey last month, for example, Germans were among the Europeans with the least favorable views of Israel, second only to Spain. Even the respondents in the United Arab Emirates had a more positive perception of the Jewish state than Germans did. ![[A 'Special' Relationship]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-BK979_oj_sot_20080512181318.jpg) Associated Press Photo/Baz Ratner Angela Merkel visits the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, January 2006. This may be surprising, given that Berlin is considered one of Israel's more reliable allies in Europe. Successive German governments have justified the "special" relationship with Israel by pointing to the countries' "special" history. In light of the Holocaust, Germany seems to have no choice but to support the Jewish state. Former Green Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer advocated this policy of "historical responsibility" as effortlessly as Christian-Democratic Chancellor Angela Merkel does. But guilt is an unhealthy basis for a relationship; it easily turns into resentment. This may help explain why so many Germans 30% according to last year's survey by Bertelsmann Foundation are eager to compare Israel to fascist Germany. If it were true that Israelis are modern-day Nazis, there would be less reason to feel guilty about the real Nazis. Historical obligations also tend to have a statute of limitations. Postwar Germans may reasonably reject any special obligations to Israel as a result of crimes committed before they were born. This brings us to the fundamental problem with Berlin's Israel policy. It implies that had there been no Holocaust, Israel would have no right to exist or, at least would have no reason to expect Germany's support. Israel's detractors take this argument one step further, claiming it was immoral to establish a Jewish state in the Middle East to atone for European crimes. In 1922, long before the Holocaust, Winston Churchill debunked the idea that Israel could be justified only as reparation for past atrocities when he said, "The Jews are in Palestine by right and not by sufferance." Europe and Germany should thus be able to support Israel not just because of past wrongs committed against Jews, but because of Jews' inalienable right to a state in their ancestral homeland. Israel's right to exist doesn't mean Germans must automatically back it. There has to be a special bond between nations to prompt support. Such alliances are usually forged around common interests and values. As the Mideast's most vibrant democracy, Israel should qualify for a truly "special relationship." But unlike Americans, Germans rarely argue that Israel deserves solidarity as a Western ally. Americans generally see Israel as a fellow democracy under attack. But in Germany and much of Europe, Israel is often seen as a human-rights violator. What explains this difference in perceptions? The U.S. media are not that much better in presenting a balanced view of the Middle East than their European counterparts. More likely, Americans are simply less disposed to believe the worst of Israel. A key factor is Americans' appreciation of their Judeo-Christian heritage. While this is a common term in the U.S., it is a novel concept in Europe. Only recently has it found its way into the vocabulary of a few conservative Germans. Ms. Merkel and colleagues from Poland and Italy wanted to add a reference to the Continent's Judeo-Christian heritage to Europe's proposed constitution. The idea was rejected as too divisive. But the term does not just cover the moral standards shared by Judaism and Christianity. Its meaning goes beyond matters of faith. It describes the fact that next to the Greco-Roman heritage, the Judeo-Christian tradition is the other main pillar of Western civilization. Acknowledging this fact helps Americans view Jews as part of that civilization and the Jewish state as part of the broader Western alliance. In post-Christian Europe and Germany, this realization is largely missing. Moses's law, the foundation for Western legal codes and moral values, is hardly acknowledged on the Continent. Jews are more often seen as having contributed to Western civilization, rather than being an integral part of it, thanks to the role they played as a nation. Jews often viewed as some kind of guest contributors thus remain strangers in Europe, as does the Jewish state. And one can be inclined to believe bad things about strangers. Given the similar threats Europe and Israel face from Islamic terror and a nuclear Iran, an alliance between them would seem natural. But as long as Europe's public considers Israel more as part of the problem than as part of the solution, any alliance will suffer. It's time for German and European officials to make the real case for Israel that of solidarity with an embattled ally. Mr. Schwammenthal is an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal Europe. Write to Daniel Schwammenthal at daniel.schwammenthal@dowjones.com
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US, EU money promotes Palestinian ideology of world without Israel
By Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook Palestinian Authority (PA) infrastructures controlled by Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah continue to promote the ideology that "Palestine" will replace a destroyed Israel. US and EU money facilitates this.
1- The Palestinian Security Services Academy, a military branch of Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah government, prominently depicts as the center of its symbol the map of a "Palestine" state that erases all of Israel. This map is common in the Palestinian Authority and symbolizes the hope for the destruction of Israel. Voice of America reports that the academy is funded by "... Arab states and the European Union. The U.S. also has offered some indirect support." See here
2- The second example is of a "Sport and Cultural Club" built by USAID that prominently displays both the words "USAID" and the map of a "Palestine" state that erases all of Israel, encircled by the Palestinian flag.
As long as the US and the EU fund the PA while choosing to ignore or at times actually funding these PA-Fatah hate messages and symbols, the US and the EU are among the impediments to peace.
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Here's the whole interview of Shmuel Rosner with President Bush before his trip to Israel, warts and all for the sake of completeness. Some more important ideas: See, the interesting thing that's happened during my presidency is twofold: One, there's been clarity for people to see the world the way it really is -- a failed leadership of Hamas in Gaza, for example, or the true aims of these extremist killers -- plus the emergence of thought in Israel that the only way to exist in the long term is for there to be a Palestinian state. And it's a powerful idea. And therefore, I believe in powerful ideas, and I believe with U.S. help that the negotiators can come up with the definition of a state. The state won't exist until certain obligations are met, but it's the definition itself which becomes a powerful engine for the marginalization of people who murder innocent to achieve their objectives. And that's really what the struggle is about. And it's the same struggle in Iraq and it's the same struggle in Lebanon. And an effective Bush foreign policy is to put the focus of the United States squarely in the middle of the Middle East. ... You know, on all these issues, just so you know, there needs -- I'm going to say the word several times -- maybe this is like the word of the day -- clarity. In my time as President, it's easy to excuse people until there's just kind of moments where it's so obvious that the skeptics can't see reality. It's one of the reasons I supported the elections in Gaza, because there had to be a moment for everybody to be able to express themselves, and the expression, by the way, was we're sick and tired of corrupt government. We were tired of Arafat's false promises; we want to live in peace. But instead, what they got was a government of war. It's not what they campaigned on, but that's what they got. And all of a sudden people now see the truth. And the truth is Hamas is not a passive, political party trying to embetter people's lives; they are trying to destroy Israel. That's the truth. Well, the other truth is, is that Iran is involved in funding Hamas and Hezbollah, and it's that Iranian influence which I'm deeply concerned about, but there needs to be more than just the United States concerned about it. And some great Bushisms: I could wax poetically forever. Or you could wax unpoetically, but the floor better shine. Bush talks good, like a President had oughtta. That's like our top priority. Like yeah man, far out. Ami isseroff Shmuel Rosner It starts with the president talking about his daughter's wedding: THE PRESIDENT: It was a big deal. I didn't realize how big a deal it was until the moment came, and then I realized how blessed a man I am that my little girl found such a good guy. But it was -- she looked beautiful and stunning, the ranch looked great, the sun set just at the right time. Q. Then you came back, right, to the rain -- THE PRESIDENT: Came the rain. Yes, then I'm heading over, going to your country. I'm looking forward to my trip to Israel and Saudi and Egypt. You know, I've been given an honor of speaking in the Knesset and I'm looking forward to it. It's -- working on my speech right now. There's no better place to talk about democracy and the history of democracies and the challenge of democracies in dealing with existential threats of terrorists and state-sponsored terrorists than in the Knesset. And I'm not sure how long I'm going to go on for, but I'd like your advice -- long or short? Either way, I'm looking forward, it's going to be a good deal. And every time -- I'm not going to anticipate -- okay, I am anticipating your questions, but every time I've come to the Middle East it's always the same questions: Can you succeed? And I'll wait for your questions, but my only point is, this is a very complex part of the world. Anyway, we'll go around the corner here. Fire away. I could wax poetically forever. Q Mr. President, Prime Minister Olmert is under a corruption probe and is basically almost on the verge of being forced out from office. And his counterpart, Abu Abbas, is also very weak. So really the question is, do you still think that you can achieve peace until the end of 2008? THE PRESIDENT: I do, yes. Look, I -- first of all, let me say something about Prime Minister Olmert. It's a legal matter inside the system, the system will deal with it. Israel is -- believes in rule of law, and I understand that; believes in fair hearings and giving a person a chance. And having said that, my relations with the Prime Minister have been nothing but excellent. I found him to be an honest guy. He loves his family, he's easy to talk to, he's a strategic thinker. And so we'll see what happens. But the vision of a state is such a powerful notion and such an important notion for Israel's very existence, that I do believe that we have a chance to get something defined. There is a -- this is not an Olmert plan; this is a plan of a government. Tzipi Livni is handling the negotiations -- I'm not telling you anything you don't know -- Barak is involved. And on the Palestinian side, there's more than one person involved.
See, the interesting thing that's happened during my presidency is twofold: One, there's been clarity for people to see the world the way it really is -- a failed leadership of Hamas in Gaza, for example, or the true aims of these extremist killers -- plus the emergence of thought in Israel that the only way to exist in the long term is for there to be a Palestinian state. And it's a powerful idea. And therefore, I believe in powerful ideas, and I believe with U.S. help that the negotiators can come up with the definition of a state.
The state won't exist until certain obligations are met, but it's the definition itself which becomes a powerful engine for the marginalization of people who murder innocent to achieve their objectives. And that's really what the struggle is about. And it's the same struggle in Iraq and it's the same struggle in Lebanon. And an effective Bush foreign policy is to put the focus of the United States squarely in the middle of the Middle East. That's like our top priority. And it should be. And it should be the top priority -- it is the top priority of this government. I'm talking about subsequent governments. I'm not checking out of here yet, but I'm beginning to -- Q How troubled are you by Iran's expansion of influence in Gaza and Lebanon? And most importantly, are you confident that you can stop Iran's drive to a nuclear capability? THE PRESIDENT: Iran is an incredibly negative influence. They are sending weapons into Iraq. And we're pushing back hard, and will continue to do so. As you mentioned, they are -- Hezbollah now has -- no longer the great force against Israel, all of a sudden, they've turned against they're own people. You know, on all these issues, just so you know, there needs -- I'm going to say the word several times -- maybe this is like the word of the day -- clarity. In my time as President, it's easy to excuse people until there's just kind of moments where it's so obvious that the skeptics can't see reality. It's one of the reasons I supported the elections in Gaza, because there had to be a moment for everybody to be able to express themselves, and the expression, by the way, was we're sick and tired of corrupt government. We were tired of Arafat's false promises; we want to live in peace. But instead, what they got was a government of war. It's not what they campaigned on, but that's what they got. And all of a sudden people now see the truth. And the truth is Hamas is not a passive, political party trying to embetter people's lives; they are trying to destroy Israel. That's the truth. Well, the other truth is, is that Iran is involved in funding Hamas and Hezbollah, and it's that Iranian influence which I'm deeply concerned about, but there needs to be more than just the United States concerned about it. One of the interesting strategic shifts that has taken place in the Middle East is that no longer is Israel being blamed for the problems of the Middle East in a lot of quarters. All of a sudden it's a shift of strategic thought because of the Iranian influence, so it's a positive development. Q Anything that can yet be done before you leave office [about the nuclearization of Iran]? THE PRESIDENT: I think what definitely will be done is a structure on how to deal with this -- to try to resolve this diplomatically; in other words, sanctions, pressures, financial sanctions; a history of pressure that will serve as a framework to make sure other countries are involved. As I told you, all options are on the table. Q I would like to ask about recent events in Lebanon, Mr. President, and about the fact that we do have in place U.N. resolutions, Security Council resolutions, that were meant to deal with the problem of Hezbollah. Nevertheless, it has not seemed to help. So what kind of framework would you advise for dealing with the problem of Hezbollah in the future? THE PRESIDENT: I'd advise the world backing Siniora. He's a good guy; he's tough and he's in a really tough situation. I admire him. And we're doing that by support of the Lebanese armed forces. We believe that he needs to have a modern force behind him that's capable of responding. Remember, when he went in the northern part of Lebanon, he went after some camps when they had radicals inside his country that were destabilizing. That was a positive signal. It was a hopeful moment. And it inspired me to then send one of our top military people to Siniora to ask, what do you need? If this is your attitude, if this is your will, then we want to help you. See, I have found you can't make people have courage. That's -- it's a wellspring inside their soul. But you can support courageous people. And so that's our attitude. And then to remind countries like France and others that, one, the Lebanese democracy is vital for a peaceful Middle East, it's a part of the vision -- and that there are U.N. Security Council resolutions that need to be upheld. Look, you're looking at a guy who made the case early in my presidency that if you're going to pass a resolution, you better mean it. I don't know how many resolutions that were on Iraq, 16 or 17, you know? And you can't have a world where people are held to account unless there are consequences. Q Back to the Palestinian question. In your meeting this week in Israel, are you going to demand from Israel certain things, such as settlements removal, or getting to a more concrete agreement in writing about borders? THE PRESIDENT: I will come not as somebody who demands, but somebody who encourages. I've said from the beginning of my presidency the United States cannot impose peace. It's tempting to say to the United States, go make it happen. That's what happens all the time, you know -- you go in there. And lasting peace happens when people understand that in this case, the definition of a state is the first step toward peace. And it's hard work. And as I told you, I'm not running for the Nobel Peace Prize; I'm just trying to be a guy to use the influence of the United States to move the process along. People say to me, aren't you a little slow on the draw? Where have you been, man? Well, they just forget that when I showed up there was an intifada, and there was an Iraq -- then I made the decision on Iraq. We had an event like Lebanon. I mean, there's a certain course of history that sometimes makes it easier, sometimes makes it more difficult to use -- and we've got a lot of influence, I readily concede that -- but to use it in a proper way so that the peace is lasting, so we don't create false hopes, so that there's -- and I think one of the very hopeful things that's happened on this issue is that Palestinians -- some Palestinians -- are beginning to get a sense for there is a better future. I don't see how -- I just don't see how the Middle East evolves without a Palestinian state that's free and democratic. I don't see how the Middle East can evolve without a democratic Lebanon, or the Middle East -- evolve into a peaceful, kind of normal place without an Iraq that succeeds. And by the way, Iraq is succeeding. And that ought to make a lot of people in Israel comfortable -- more comfortable than what the status quo could have been. Q Are you convinced that Abbas is a viable partner, specifically -- THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Q Mr. President, there's been a lot of talk recently about the possibility of new negotiations between Israel and Syria, and about the assumed reluctance of the United States administration about such talks. THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Well, first of all, I have made some very clear conditions for the United States talking with them. We said, look, you're housing Hamas. You're enabling transit of materials to Hezbollah in Lebanon -- at this moment they were also trying to control and run Lebanon. They've made life miserable for the young democracy in Iraq, and that -- it's easy to get our attention, and that has actually become a constructive force, a positive force, a force for peace, not a force that continually uses these extremist groups to destabilize the neighborhood. That's the position of the United States, separated from Syria by an ocean. Israeli politicians, responsible to the people and responsive to the people, got to come up with their own vision of security. And I have never told Olmert one thing or another about what to do with his security. That's not what friends do. I expect an explanation, but I'm -- he made a decision that he made -- or no decisions have been made except the idea of trying to get some dialogue moving, which is -- and I know him well, and know that he is as concerned about Israeli security as any other person that's ever been the Prime Minister of Israel. And so I presume the decision is made. My hope, of course, is that a decision is made with Israel's interests at heart. And my -- one of the things I try to do is think strategically, and the biggest long-term threat to peace in the Middle East is Iran. The Iranian connection with Syria is very troubling for not only the United States, but Israel, as well as other Arab nations. And anything done should be -- keep that strategic vision in mind. And of all the people who understand the existential threat that the Iranians pose, it's the Israelis. Q I have more of a general question. Looking back at your seven last years here, do you think there was a point of time that you have -- should have maybe made different decisions from the one you took, pertaining to the Israeli original conflict and other -- THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that's an interesting question. They always ask me, would you have done things different? I probably would have toned my rhetoric down at times. And I think it's important to speak clearly and then do what you say you're going to do. But in terms of the -- in terms of Israel, I would hope that history would say, from everybody's perspective, including the Israeli perspective, that this is a guy who clearly saw the world the way it is. And the temptation in this world is to be an isolationist and a protectionist. It's just too hard, you know? It's -- we'd much rather be judged by the latest Gallup poll than making the necessary decisions to keep the peace, to do the hard things now to confront the realities of the world in order to make sure our children grow up in peace. And I can assure you that al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah don't think about the comforts of life. They are driven. And the fundamental challenge facing this world is, will countries like the United States be prepared to continue to stand and lead? And so you asked about legacy and all that business -- which I don't worry about, by the way. I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office. But one of them has got to be, he clearly saw the threat and he did something about it.
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At Ahmad's grass... There is always a silver lining, right? For the cannabis-growing residents of eastern Lebanon, recent internecine fighting in the country has been a blessing, albeit one covered in hash resin and dollar signs. To these villagers, gunshots and warfare are good for business, and the last three years have been far too quiet for their taste, leaving the authorities more than enough time and resources to come for their crops. Peace and quiet frees the Lebanese Army to help local law enforcement combat the drug trade, especially in the summer, when soldiers and police are deployed to cannabis fields to rip and cut the flowering stalks of marijuana set for processing and export to Israel, Europe and beyond.
The army has signaled that it could step up its involvement to bring an end to fighting that broke out last week - the country's worst internal clashes since the end of the civil war in 1990, which has left at least 54 people dead and scores more wounded. The last time the cannabis farmers of Lebanon had such a bumper crop was during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when the security situation in the country brought anti-drug law enforcement to a halt. With fighting flaring up again in Lebanon, the farmers can expect another marijuana windfall, especially if the army is deployed in force throughout the country's cities to quell the recent bloodshed. Newspaper reports have stated that even in peacetime security forces are often wary of entering the cannabis growing areas, as many of the farmers and their security guards are heavily armed. An investigation by the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat has found that over 25,000 acres of cannabis were planted in Lebanon this year, an amount that should yield an impressive amount of hashish for the area's farmers. A report compiled by the United States Government in 2003 praised Lebanon's efforts to combat cannabis cultivation, as well as the Syrian government's cooperation in fighting the drug trade. Nonetheless, in spite of the profitability of the drug trade, little improvement has been seen recently in the quality of life of the estimated 180,000 residents of eastern Lebanon.
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Just in case you weren't sure about this, Mr. Obama and the J-Street Lobby, here's a timely reminder from this story in Ha'aretz: ... senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar told a conference commemorating the Nakba that his radical Islamic movement would "never" recognize Israel, which he said will one day "disappear." "On this occasion, the occasion of the Nakba, we reiterate that we will never recognize the raping enemy. We will never recognize Israel. We will never recognize Israel," al-Zahar told a cheering audience. "Our lands are not for sale or for trade, and the right of resistance is holy," he said. "Israel is going to disappear one day and the Palestinian people will remain to fully liberate all their occupied lands," he told the conference, entitled "Sixty years since the Nakba - the return is imminent." "The day of liberation and return is coming very soon," al-Zahar said. "We are good readers of reality and the powers of war and destruction are not terrifying us." Bush arrived in Israel to much fanfare on Wednesday for a 48-hour visit in honor of Israel's 60th anniversary. The visit is his second in four months. Regarding Bush's visit, Zahar said, "There is no welcome for Bush in the Holy Land. There is no welcome for hypocrite presidents who are defiling our land."
"We will never recognize Israel" - what part of that did you NOT understand? Ami Isseroff
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Bush said: "What happened here is possible everywhere" As he was speaking, a Hamas rocket landed in Ashkelon, wounding several people. What happens here, can indeed happen everywhere.
Shortly after he arrived on Wednesday to participate in celebrations of Israel's 60th anniversary, U.S. President George W. Bush vowed to continue his country's support for Israel.
"The objective of the United States must be to support our strongest ally and friend in the Middle East ... and, at the same time, talk about a hopeful future," Bush said in Jerusalem. He also signalled his aim to make a new push for Israeli-Palestinian peace during his three-day trip.
Bush, speaking at a meeting with President Shimon Peres, said that 60 years of democracy in Israel is cause for optimism for democratic change throughout the Middle East. "What happened here is possible everywhere," Bush said. "I suspect if you looked back 60 years ago and tried to guess where Israel would be at that time, it would be hard to be able to project such a prosperous, hopeful land," Bush added. "No question, people would have said, 'We'd be surrounded by hostile forces.'" But Bush said he doubted that people would have been able to envision a modern Israel. The U.S. president has expressed some optimism that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement could be struck before his term ends in January 2009, while holding out little hope for a major breakthrough during this trip. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday that reaching such a deal within the next eight months might be improbable but it's not impossible. Peres, a Nobel peace laureate, backed Bush's optimism for a Mideast accord, saying Israelis want to work with Palestinians. "We are not their enemies," he said. "We would like to see the Palestinians living together," he said. "They have suffered a great deal of their life. The separation is a tragedy for them and for the rest of us." Peres chastised Hezbollah for aiming to destroy Lebanon and accused Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, of working to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state. Bush and Peres spoke after briefly strolling through the gardens behind the Israeli president's residence. They sat with their aides under an ivy-covered sandstone trellis amid a grove of trees and flowers. Stepping somewhat on the message of the anniversary festivities, Bush joked that, "Israel really isn't so long in the tooth. As a person who's 61 years old, it doesn't seem that old," he said. Olmert: Strategic alliance with U.S. one of Israel's pillars of security Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier on Wednesday welcomed Bush upon his arrival in Israel, praising his visit as an extraordinary gesture of friendship. In opening remarks, the prime minister declared: "Our strategic alliance with the U.S is one of Israel`s pillars of security." Bush, for his part, addressed the assembled Israeli dignitaries at Ben Gurion international airport, stating: "Our two nations both faced great challenges when they were founded. And our two nations have both relied on the same principles to help us succeed." "We built strong democracies to protect the freedoms given to us by an almighty God," he said at the red-carpet ceremony. The U.S. president concluded: "We consider the Holy Land a very special place and we consider the Israeli people our close friends. Shalom." As an army band played the American and Israeli national anthems, the U.S. president was greeted by Israel's political leadership, including Olmert, Peres and opposition leader MK Benjamin Netanyahu. Peres, who also spoke at the ceremony, told Bush that, "We are grateful to you for gracing this occasion." He then lauded the U.S. president for his "steady dedication to the promotion of peace and security." U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, part of Bush's entourage, accompanied the U.S. leader as he walked across the airport runway, as did Bush's wife Laura. Bush is to participate in the "Facing Tomorrow" presidential conference held in Jerusalem during his three-day visit, at which he will deliver a speech on Wednesday evening. He will also speak before the Knesset on Thursday, and will visit Saudi Arabia and Egypt later on in this trip. Despite the festive nature of the visit, Bush was to find his host, Ehud Olmert, in deep trouble as a widening investigation into the prime minister's conduct has raised serious doubt over his political future. Most probably in reference to the investigation, Olmert gave assurances to a senior U.S. official as Bush arrived in Israel. "Holding on, holding on, don't worry," Olmert told Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, at the airport. The remarks were picked up by broadcasters' microphones. On the first day of the presidential conference, Olmert said on Tuesday that he and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have reached "understandings and points of agreement" on key issues in U.S-backed peace talks but he gave no details. During Bush's visit, Olmert is expected to ask him to upgrade substantially the security relationship between Israel and the U.S., according to sources close to the prime minister. Olmert's people are leaning, said the sources, toward presenting the visiting president with a list of weapon systems that Israel wants to purchase or otherwise gain access to. On Monday, Bush said that the peace process is not dependent on a single individual, indirectly responding to fears that investigation into Olmert could derail Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Al-Zahar: No welcome for Bush in the Holy Land In the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a leader of the Islamist group opposed to the U.S. peace efforts, said: "There is no welcome for Bush in the Holy Land. There is no welcome for hypocrite presidents who are defiling our land." Bush, who flew on to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv by helicopter, will not visit the Palestinian territories but planned to meet Abbas in Egypt on Saturday. In Jerusalem, Mrs. Bush toured a government clinic that offers low-cost immunizations and other health care services to families with young children. Ahead of the visit, three human rights groups sent a letter to Bush urging him to pressure Israel to lift the Gaza blockade. Israel imposed the blockade in an attempt to halt ongoing rocket attacks from Gaza at western Negev towns, but the groups said the move is collective punishment that is harming Palestinian civilians. The president's final stop will be at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he will meet over two days with a handful of leaders: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Iraqi leaders. Bush also is scheduled to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, but that is in doubt now after clashes between the U.S.-backed government in Beirut and Hezbollah-led opposition. While the president is in the Middle East this week, Bush administration officials plan to work during UN Security Council meetings to rally other countries to support Lebanon's government and to condemn Iran and Syria, which the White House believes are behind the recent clashes. "Obviously, we are also going to talk to various countries about additional pressure that can be put on Syria and Iran," Hadley said.
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According to Israel TV Channel 1, eleven people were wounded. Some were briefly trapped in wreckage. There is no doubt that the self-imposed (or US imposed) Israeli restraint during the visit of president Bush is an invitation for more and better rocket attacks. Ami Isseroff A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, apparently a Katyusha-type rocket, exploded in a shopping center in the southern city of Ashkelon on Wednesday, police said. A rescue service spokesman Eli Bean said at least three people, including two babies were among the wounded. Witnesses told various radio stations that the rocket caused considerable damage. Bean said at least two people were trapped under the rubble. The rocket attack came as U.S. President George W. Bush wrapped up talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The Israeli leader said at the end of the talks that Israel would not tolerate attacks from Gaza militants.
Casualties have mounted recently from the daily rocket attacks by Palestinian militants on Israeli communities outside Gaza. Two people were killed during the last week. The homemade rockets militants usually fire at Israel do not have enough range to reach Ashkelon. Instead, militants use Grad-type rockets to hit the city of 100,000, about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Gaza-Israel border
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