Prime Minister Netanyahu Comes to Washington

Digesting the media reports on speeches given yesterday by US Secy of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobby, I had to read Al Jazeera to learn about the CODEPINK demonstration. Activists were removed from the meeting.

Using utterly subversive tactics, CODEPINK sent out a hoax PR release, one picked up by US news organisations, including National Public Radio and ABC. The statement attributed to AIPAC called on Israel to freeze building in Jerusalem.

CODEPINK’s other protests this week have included daily morning protests, staging of a checkpoint for attendees, and an afternoon press conference announcing the launch of a city-wide boycott of products made in the settlements. via Al Jazeera

It seems that CODEPINK is not alone.

Those attending the conference got a reminder of that when they walked into the gathering. Across the street were demonstrators carrying vile messages on signs: “God Hates Jews.” “You Will Eat Your Babies.” Others carried an Israeli flag defaced with a swastika. The liberal Code Pink group marched around the building hollering about “apartheid” and carrying a banner saying “Stop Israel War Crimes.” via Washington Post

Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post that Clinton deserved far better than she got from the AIPAC audience.

Prime Minister Netanyahu Meeting President Obama

Prime Minister Netanyahu will meet today with President Obama and he comes with a rod in his spine.

Speaking before AIPAC last night, Netanyahu reiterated the longtime Israeli position that East Jerusalem is part of Israel and no one can tell the Israelis whether or not to build there.

The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 years ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today. Jerusalem is not a settlement. It’s our capital,” Netanyahu said. via NewsDaily

When the nation of Israel was created, Jerusalem was designated an international city under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the western part of Jerusalem was captured by Israel, while East Jerusalem — which includes major holy sites of the world’s great religions — was captured by Jordan.

In the Six-Day War of 1967 Israel captured the West Bank including East Jerusalem, and eventually incorporated 6.4 km² (2 sq mi) of Eastern Jerusalem and 64 km² (25 sq mi) of the nearby West Bank into the municipality of Jerusalem, including several neighboring villages and towns.^[7] This move excluded many of East Jerusalem’s suburbs and divided several villages. (via Wikipedia)

The Jerusalm Post writes that Prime Minister Netanyahu must ‘get his act together’ and become a better communicator with Obama.

Totally backing Netanyahu, the Jerusalem Post compares the current global anti-Jewish sentiment to pre-World War II Czechoslovakia. The difference is that unlike the Europeans in the 1930s, the American people require their leaders to pursue a foreign policy based on morality and decency.

The JP opinion piece, written by Isi Leibler, does acknowledge that without the US veto power at the UN, Israel’s international position would be very different.

The op ed reaffirms the polarizing vision of the world which insists that reality is Israel | America against the world, with the suggestion that everyone else from Arabs to Europeans will sell out Israel and destroy the country.

I am one American who agrees with our Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that this vision of the 21st century cannot dictate America’s future. We are collapsing under the weight of Israel’s demands, and I regret that our partner can’t understand that America is reaching the breaking point.

The religious insanity on all sides must stop. I’m not a member of CODEPINK, but just as New York Magazine wrote yesterday that there’s too much testosterone in Wall Street, I say there’s too much testosterone in Jerusalem.

That excessive male hormone belongs to Palestinians, Jews, and Christians. The superabundance of testosterone will destroy us all, unless Jerusalem gets a shot of estrogen-rich wisdom. The men of the Middle East have convinced me that there will never be peace in Jerusalem. Anne

More reading Israel is a primary issue Politico

Obama recharged US-Mideast policy by Walter Russell Mead Politico