Archive for November, 2009

The municipal government of Jerusalem this week approved the construction of 900 new apartments in the Jewish neighborhood of Gilo. After the 1967 war in which Arab states tried again to eliminate Israel, Israel was left in control of all of Jerusalem, including the area where Gilo now sits. (Note: The Washington Post misleadingly called the apartments "homes," which conjures up... »

The Palestinians' problems at times seem insurmountable. Their justice system is in shambles. Extrajudicial killings are common. A terrorist group, Hamas, rival to the ruling Fatah party, delivers most social services. The Palestinians were promised peace, but their leaders have yet to deliver. Palestinian society remains largely dependent on foreign aid. One would think the Palestinian President would be too... »

I am constantly amazed at the profound state of collective amnesia that the international community has regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The opportunities for the Palestinians to achieve statehood trace back to 1922 when Transjordan was supposed to have been the solution for the resident Arab population in pre-Israel Palestine. The Peel Commission (1937), the Partition Plan (1948), the Rogers Plan... »

A recent video captures the unidentified Director of UN Watch addressing the UN Commission on Human Rights. He chose to use his time to make an impassioned critique of the Commission's disproportionate attention to and repeated denunciation of Israel. The Director said that, in the face of human rights abuses elsewhere in the world, the Commission has been silent, indifferent, and... »

"Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two makes four," writes George Orwell's protagonist Winston Smith in 1984. "If that is granted, all else follows." At around 2:30 pm Eastern Standard Time, Maj. Malik Nidal Hasan (alternately given as Nidal Malik Hasan) entered the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood, and allegedly opened fire with two handguns killing thirteen, and... »

"If I am not for myself, who am I for?" -----Hillel This Tuesday evening, November 3rd, the Francopt, a ship bound for Syria and Lebanon was intercepted by the Israeli military approximately 100 miles off the coast of Israel. On board were hundreds of tons of weapons intended most likely for Hizbullah. What had been seized there was an arms cache approximately... »