Arab MK to join third Gaza-bound flotilla, warns Israel not to intercept it - Ariel Ben Solomon, Lahav Harkov, Yonah Jeremy Bob

by Ariel Ben Solomon, Lahav Harkov, Yonah Jeremy Bob

MK Sharon Gal (Yisrael Beytenu) said that Ghattas is joining the "terrorist flotilla" because he is "extremist and hates Israel."

Basel Ghattas‏. (photo credit:KNESSET CHANNEL)

Balad MK Basel Ghattas wrote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Sunday that he would be joining the Gaza-bound flotilla and that there is “no reason” to prevent it from reaching its destination.

Ghattas plans on joining the flotilla of Palestinian activists in Athens.

“I will be on deck together with many participants including dozens of members of parliament and public figures from around the world,” said Ghattas in the letter.

The “flotilla of peace” seeks to break the siege on Gaza and turn the world’s attention to the 1.8 million Palestinians that are living in “prison conditions,” he continued.

Israel is collectively punishing the Palestinians, which is “a flagrant violation of humanitarian law,” he added.

“There is no reason to prevent us from reaching Gaza and deliver the aid we will be carrying,” argued Ghattas, adding that the prime minister should order the Israeli security forces to “stay away” and allow the flotilla to reach Gaza.

Ghattas also warned that any action to take over the boat would “complicate Israel with another international crisis.”

While Israel was not officially relating to the flotilla, one government official said that Israel will not allow the flotilla to reach the Gaza Strip. Jerusalem has made clear in the past that there are numerous channels to bring humanitarian material into Gaza, and these types of flotillas are meant solely as provocations.

The Zionist Union party released a statement reading: "Just as the flotilla to Gaza is not humanitarian, rather it is a political act to legitimize the Hamas regime and bring terrorism to Israel, so to MK Ghattas' participation is unfortunate and not humanitarian, but political and will bring conflict and quarrels within Israel."

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said "Ghattas' planned participation in the flotilla is further proof that the Joint List is one big terrorist ship, that is only meant to harm the State of Israel and use Israeli democracy to try to destroy it."

Liberman called on Israeli society to stop "the hypocritical game and denounce and vomit this group of terror supporters from within us."

MK Sharon Gal (Yisrael Beytenu) said that Ghattas is joining the "terrorist flotilla" because he is "extremist and hates Israel."

"The time has come to learn that our policy of containment is understood by our enemies as weakness, whether they have an Israeli ID card and live here or if they are part of terrorist organizations and live in the Palestinian Authority's territory," Gal stated.

"We need to wake up and take care of these phenomena with an iron fist."

Gal called the Joint List a fifth column, pointing out that Ghattas has also called for boycotts against Israel.

Meanwhile, NGO Shurat HaDin on Sunday sent a warning letter demanding that the Swedish bank Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) “cease providing financial services” to the groups Free Gaza and Ships to Gaza, which are “helping to arrange a flotilla to breach Israel's lawful naval blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.”

In particular, the NGO wrote that “SEB holds a maritime lien on the Marianne of Gothenburg, the lead ship in the planned Gaza flotilla.”

Next, the letter said that the bank issued a mortgage to the owner of the boat, Charles Bertel Andreasson, who it called “a veteran anti-Israel provocateur who has engaged in illegal efforts against the Jewish State in the past.”

In the letter to SEB's president and group chief executive, Annika Falkengren, Shurat HaDin's president, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, stated that the flotilla ship “might be destroyed or confiscated” by the IDF and that the Stockholm-based bank “is at serious risk of losing its collateral: the boat.”

The IDF is conducting naval intelligence to monitor the progress of the Gaza-bound flotilla that set off from Sweden at the end of May and docked at Palmero, Italy earlier this month.

The Marianne av Göteborg trawler is carrying a crew of pro-Palestinian activists, who have brought with them a solar panel and medical equipment.

Israel has told past flotillas to Gaza that they are welcome to dock at Ashdod Port, where their equipment can undergo a comprehensive security check, and that any humanitarian equipment can be sent on to Gaza afterward via a land crossing.

In 2010, fellow Balad MK Haneen Zoabi jointed the Mavi Marmara flotilla that sought to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Israel Navy commandos boarded the ship, were attacked, and killed nine of the attackers. A tenth Turk died four years later from his injuries.

Earlier this month, a Madrid court shelved a five-year-old investigation into the 2010 flotilla, though the probe could potentially be re-opened if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ever visits Spain.

Herb Keinon, Yaakov Lappin and Reuters contributed to this report.


Ariel Ben Solomon, Lahav Harkov, Yonah Jeremy Bob

Source: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Arab-MK-to-join-third-Gaza-bound-flotilla-warns-Israel-not-to-intercept-it-406687

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Israel must not get involved in Syria - Guy Bechor

by Guy Bechor

Israel must not get involved in Syria Op-ed: An Israeli intervention in favor of Syria's Druze will only push the enemy to attack us; therefore, it cannot take place under any circumstances. 

The IDF must prepare for a possibility that the Sunni organizations – the Islamic State and similar groups – will attack our border from the no man's land which was once called Syria. It's the IDF's duty to prepare for any scenario, but definitely not to provide an incentive for an attack on us.

In recent days, we have been witnessing a sort of political-media campaign requiring Israel to intervene in favor of some 700,000 Druze living in southern Syria, not far from the Jordanian border. Such an intervention, if it takes place, will not be a preparation for the crucial day, when the enemy attacks us, but will push the enemy to attack us – and therefore it must not take place under any circumstances.

Syria's Druze have never had anything to do with us. On the contrary, they were among the central pillars of Bashar Assad's evil regime, and they are today Hezbollah's allies. The notorious Samir Kuntar was recently sent by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to get them organized under the protection of the Shiite organization.

It's unthinkable that Israel of all countries would provide weapons or intervene in favor of Hezbollah's allies. At that very moment we will be turning ourselves, and rightfully so, into the enemies of Syria's Sunnis for generations to come.

A similar campaign took place immediately after the Six-Day War, when a pro-Druze lobby which gathered around Haifa Mayor Abba Hushi, with defense official Giora Zeid and Israeli Druze, pressed Defense Minister Moshe Dayan to bring back the Druze of the Golan Heights, who had fled to Syria. And indeed, he let them return to their villages. These are the Druze of the Golan, whose leadership was – and still is – hostile towards the State of Israel which saved them.

In Syria-Iraq-Lebanon of today, entire sects are annihilated, and more will be annihilated, and so they will hold on to anything, until they abandon it and move on to the next temporary alliance – all for the sake of survival. So only a fool would enter such a treacherous system. We have already learned our lesson, in Lebanon: You hold on to Israel only if there is no other choice, but you abandon it as soon as a new opportunity comes along, and we are left to lick our wounds.

Former Prime Minister Menachem Begin saw Lebanon's Christians as a massacred minority, and began to help them – first by secretly supplying weapons all the way to a complete invasion by Israel, also in order to remove the Palestinian terrorists. It ended in a lost generation with 18 years of war, and 1,000 dead IDF soldiers. And all that for what? For the Christians who quickly betrayed us and moved on to their next ally? We learned our lesson – this is the communal swamp of the Arab world, we are definitely not part of it, and won't be either.

Several Druze villages in northern Syria have fallen into the hands of ISIS recently, and the residents rushed to convert to Islam in order to save themselves. These are internal Middle Eastern scores, which will settle themselves amongst themselves, otherwise we will find ourselves in the Sabra and Shatila situation – with Arabs killing Arabs, while Israel is being blamed by the world. If Israel intervenes, a huge global spotlight will immediately be directed at us, and against us, and the Syrian acts of massacre will immediately stick to us.


Guy Bechor

Source: http://imra.org.il/story.php3?id=67613

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Remember lessons learned - Prof. Eyal Zisser

by Prof. Eyal Zisser

The lesson learned from the Lebanese experience must resonate with Israel's captains whenever they consider the Syrian dilemma. Any involvement, partial as it may be, will drag Israel into a prolonged military presence in an area where the residents welcoming ways may change in an instant

Israel's cross-border involvement with its neighbors usually begins with the human desire to assist those in need. That is how Israel became involved in Lebanon: A civil war had ravaged the country in the mid-1970s and the Maronite Christian community, suffering at the hands of the Palestine Liberation Organization, had turned to Israel for humanitarian aid.

Israel agreed immediately and soon the aid included military assistance as well. The next, inevitable stage saw the leaders of the Maronite community ask Israel to increase its military involvement in Lebanon, to rescue them from the "massacre" awaiting them at the hands of their Muslim and Syrian neighbors. In return, the Maronites pledged to form an alliance with Israel.

Israel, however, soon discovered the Maronites' pledge was empty. Their leaders would later explain that the Maronite community considers itself part of the Arab sphere in which it lives and therefore it needs to continue coexisting with a large Muslim community.

When Israeli soldiers first entered Lebanon in 1982, the Shiites welcomed them, much like Maronites had before. Soon enough, however, their animosity resurfaced.

The rest of the story is well known: Israel remained in southern Lebanon for years, maintaining a security zone from which it withdrew in 2000 after realizing that staying within enemy territory, surrounded by a hostile Shiite population, was not an option. Israel also learned that the Maronites have found a new ally -- Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah. 

The lesson learned from the Lebanese experience must resonate with Israel's captains whenever they consider the Syrian dilemma. Any involvement, partial as it may be, will drag Israel into a prolonged military presence in an area where the residents welcoming ways may change in an instant, as regardless of whether we are dealing with Syrian Druze or moderate Sunnis rebels, they see themselves as part of the Arab and Syrian spheres. 

One could justify Israel's willingness to provide humanitarian aid to its neighbors by saying that given the chaotic security situation on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, Israel would be wise to maintain open lines of communication with the armed groups operating beyond the border. However, any assistance must be lent with eyes wide open and be devoid of expectations or illusions.

Israel is in the local Druze community's debt, which is why aiding their brethren in Syria should be seriously considered, including providing shelter for Druze refugees in a designated area on the Israeli side of the border. One should note, however, that the Syrian Druze have made it clear that they do not want Israel's help, stating they see themselves part of the Syrian state. 

This is why any Israeli involvement in Syria must be wary and realistic. Israel must avoid any military presence in the war-torn country, even if, heaven forbid, the Islamic State group arrives at the border, or the Nusra Front trains its sights on Israel. 

This fight has to be waged based on sophisticated intelligence, and Israel must resist being dragged into the refugee-ridden Syrian sphere where the population might turn against it in the blink of an eye.

Prof. Eyal Zisser

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=12937

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

'We won't hesitate to strike terrorists despite human shields' - Lilach Shoval, David Baron and Israel Hayom Staff

by Lilach Shoval, David Baron and Israel Hayom Staff

Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel tells German magazine Die Zeit military's counterterrorism efforts will not be curtailed by "enemies' immorality" • Eshel expresses concerns Iran "will use its nuclear program to realize its regional aspirations."

IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel | Photo credit: Sivan Faraj

Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel said over the weekend that Israel's counterterrorism efforts will not be curtailed over "its enemies' immorality." 

In an interview with German magazine Die Zeit, addressing the issue of terrorists' use of civilians as cover, Eshel said, "If we have to strike Hezbollah or Hamas headquarters at the heart of neighborhoods in Lebanon or Gaza, we won't hesitate to do so."

Commenting on the tensions on the northern border and the military's assessment of Hezbollah's preparations for its next conflict with Israel, Eshel said Israel will mount "a broad and forceful response" to any rocket fire on its cities. 

According to Channel 2 News, Eshel said Hamas and Hezbollah's "strategy is to drag Israel into war to undermine its legitimacy. This is why years ago they began moving their military infrastructures to residential areas, essentially turning the civilian population into human shields.

"Many villages in Lebanon are being rebuilt as military bases, with underground weapons and missile caches, and [military] command centers. This is the situation in many districts in Beirut. What are we supposed to do, sit idly by?" 

The Die Zeit interviewer asked Eshel whether the strikes on the Gaza Strip during 2014's Operation Protective Edge, which left some 2,000 people dead, were a disproportionate response, to which the IAF chief said, "What are we supposed to do? We alert the civilian population [ahead of a strike] through text messages and small blasts, and give them the opportunity to get to safety, in an effort to minimize civilian casualties. Nevertheless, we will not be made helpless over the enemy's unethical warfare. If I have the chance to take down a Hamas headquarters set up in a residential building in Gaza, I won't hesitate to do so."

Addressing Iran's role in the Middle East Eshel said the Islamic republic "is embroiled in the conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Bahrain. Hezbollah has become stronger because Iran has made it its [regional] proxy, supplying it with many weapons."

As for Iran's nuclear negotiations with the West, the IAF chief expressed concerns that "Tehran was making only tactical concessions that at best would slow its nuclear work down. ... Iran will use its nuclear program to realize its regional aspirations. They have learned from [Libyan President Moammar] Gadhafi's demise that a nuclear program is an instrument of power and survival." 

Meanwhile, the latest IAF Flight School class, which includes three women, is scheduled to graduate this week.

President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot and Eshel will attend the ceremony. 

According to IAF data, during their training's academic studies year, 39% of the cadets pursued a systems management degree, 20% opted for politics and government studies, 19% preferred computer science and mathematics studies, and 22% pursued a business administration and economics degree. 

Some 11% of the cadets were not born in Israel, but rather in the U.S., the U.K. and Russia; 49% have a family member serve in the Air Force; 66% are related to IAF pilots, and 22% served with other IDF units prior to joining the IAF. The oldest cadet to graduate the current class is 25 years old.

Lilach Shoval, David Baron and Israel Hayom Staff

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=26341

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Who's the fool in the latest J Street poll? - Adan Eliran

by Adan Eliran

At this point, why not just build the nuclear warhead for them and call it a day?  Why not save the taxpayer-funded negotiations from the charade?

It appears that another extension is being made available to Iran as regards ongoing nuclear “discussions” quite soon after the West – including the lead of the negotiating team – said there would not be another extension.

At this point, why not just build the nuclear warhead for them and call it a day?  Why not save the taxpayer-funded negotiations from the charade?

Because the negotiators enjoy their taxpayer funded first class hotels and world class meals.  Because the world loves charades.  And court jesters.  And fools.

When mentioning fools, one must surely not omit the dubious organization making dubious claims, based on dubious polls, with even more dubious disclaimers.  J Street continues to make claims that American Jews overwhelmingly support Obama and the White House in their stance and negotiations with the Iranians as regards their nuclear program.

Regardless, the greatest danger is faced not by the United States, but by Israel – openly threatened by the ayatollahs and within shooting distance of ballistic missiles Iran is producing and procuring additional expertise for at this very moment.

Additionally, the glaring issue with polls such as J Street’s recent one – where they posit these conclusions – are flawed data and disclaimers.  Take for example (emphases added):

• GBA Strategies contracted the research company Mountain West Research Center to administer the survey by email invitation to its web-based panel, which is regularly updated and consists of nearly 900,000 Americans.
• Respondents were screened at the beginning of the survey when they were first asked for their religion and then, if they did not identify themselves as Jewish by religion, they were asked again if they considered themselves Jewish.

So, basically, I could be a Mormon preacher, a member of the Mujahideen, or a 10-year-old agnostic and take this poll via an e-mail link and “claim” to be Jewish.  No oversight or ability to confirm identity, location, nationality, religion, age, sex, or political allegiance is confirmed or even possible here.  No actual Jewish affiliation of lineage required.

And let’s say the poll is accurate by some miracle of biblical proportions.  Even in that case, Jews also can be fools.

If the United States and EU governments and the secretary-general of the U.N., including many U.N. agencies, claim that Israel is foolish and irresponsible in her actions as regards security and safety and in firefights with a group of terrorists named Hamas – are Jews in America immune to such foolishness?

Clearly not.  J Street’s delusional solution to the “Middle East conflict”?  Claiming widespread support among American Jews for a two states for two peoples.

The “fog of war” clearly clouds the minds of those reaping immense financial fortune.  The “Middle East conflict” – rather, crisis – is raging from Syria to Iraq, Lebanon to Libya, Yemen to Egypt, Turkey to Iran.

Tracing the policies of Western nations, tracing the polls of organizations pretending to speak for large swaths of people, and tracing the sound bites of fools will reveal fool’s gold in the form of Iranian-funded campaigns to procure media influence, bias, and support for their nuclear warhead and threat to all.

Surely the court jester must continue their charade, and act the fool, to the delight of the ayatollahs.

While the world watches on in delight and applause, acting the ignorant fools themselves.

But an Iranian nuclear warhead will not help create a two-state solution.  It will stifle any such solution.

An Iranian nuclear warhead will not “change the balance” of power in the Middle East; it will escalate the pursuit of such armament.

An Iranian nuclear warhead will not deter Israel from action; it will be Israel’s catalyst for action.

An Iranian nuclear warhead will not be detonated; it will be pre-empted before it can be realized.

The question remains: will Israel attack Iran, if required?

And the jesters, the fools, the pollsters continue to laugh and dance and carry on.  While stealing money from our pockets.

Have we become the fools?

Adan Eliran

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/06/whos_the_fool_in_the_latest_j_street_poll.html

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Turkey's Continuing Press Crackdown - Burak Bekdil

by Burak Bekdil

Turkey's ruling Islamists have geared up their crackdown on press freedoms. Their target, once again, is Hurriyet. But this time the, Islamists are opting for methods less subtle their previous tax fines. Now they are threatening to put newspaper editors in jail.

^{Originally published under the title, "Turkey Cracks Down on the Free Press."}

Mehmet Baransu, a reporter for Turkey's Taraf daily newspaper, faces up to 52 years in prison on charges of publishing classified documents.

It was once a Soviet joke, but now it applies to Turkey: A man envies civil liberties in the West: "One can even insult and curse the president of the United States," he says. His friend disagrees: "We have the same liberties here: one can freely insult and curse the president of the United States!"

In 2008, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, expressed his dislike of an assortment of international headlines (from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Washington Post, New York Times and Le Monde) on the front page of the Turkish daily Hurriyet, this author suggested that the paper should have quoted more serious publications such as The Ulama Times, The Wahhabi Daily News or The Observant. I later wrote, hoping it would remain a joke: "This columnist's humble advice to Hurriyet's publishers: Be wise, just do as I do and escape the corporate consequences."

It turned out to be more serious than a simple joke. In 2009, tax authorities levied a fine of $2.5 billion on Dogan Yayin, Hurriyet's publisher, for alleged failure to pay taxes properly for share transfers between Dogan companies. That was the largest tax fine ever for a Turkish company: the equivalent to the combined value of Dogan Yayin and its parent, Dogan Holding.

Turkey's ruling Islamists have geared up their crackdown on press freedoms, now threatening to put editors in jail.

Since then, Turkey's ruling Islamists have geared up their crackdown on press freedoms. Their target, once again, is Hurriyet. But this time the, Islamists are opting for methods less subtle their previous tax fines. Now they are threatening to put newspaper editors in jail. Their direct targeting of the country's largest media group is comparable to similar practices in the world's most authoritarian regimes.

On May 16, shortly after news broke that a court in Egypt had sentenced to death the former president, Muhammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi's Turkish protector, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, rushed to a public rally and emphasized that this was a punishment given to a president with 52% of the vote. Just before Erdogan's speech, Hurriyet had run a headline that was identical: "Death sentence to president who was elected with 52% of the vote."

Figures close to Erdogan have called for the arrest of Hurriyet editor-in-chief Sedat Ergin.

In a saner country, Hurriyet could perhaps be accused of running a headline that made it look as if it were the president's mouthpiece. In Turkey, Hurriyet was accused of conspiring in a coup d'état against the president. Erdogan and his prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, claimed that Hurriyet's headline intended to imply that Erdogan's fate would be the same as Morsi's simply because Erdogan, too, had won presidential elections last August with 52% of the vote.

"When used by Erdogan, this was a normal statement of fact; when used by Hurriyet it was a big offense," wrote columnist Mustafa Akyol. "This is just one example of how independent Turkish media is threatened by the state and the other part of the media that worships that state."

"Twenty-one journalists are sitting in jail" at present, according to Ugur Guc, president of Turkey's journalists union.

Rahmi Kurt, a lawyer known for repeatedly making legal complaints against Erdogan's critics, filed a petition with prosecutors asking for a criminal investigation against the editors of Hurriyet. It might sound like black humor, but Hurriyet's editors may actually have to stand trial and face jail terms for running a headline identical to a remark made by Erdogan. In an editorial, Hurriyet asked the president: "What do you want from us? Why do you attack us with obvious injustices, obvious distortions, and obvious attempts to guess our intentions by reading selectively? Why do you target us?"
On May 22, the New York Times published an editorial urging a discontinuation of the harsh policies toward democracy and press freedom in Turkey. The editorial, entitled, "Dark Clouds Over Turkey," said:

Mr. Erdogan has a long history of intimidating and co-opting the Turkish media, but new alarms were set off this week when criminal complaints were filed against editors of Hurriyet and its website over a headline Mr. Erdogan had objected to ... While the country has faced tough political campaigns before, this one [June 7 parliamentary elections] is especially vicious and the mood seems unusually dark and fearful. Mr. Erdogan appears increasingly hostile to truth-telling. The United States and Turkey's other NATO allies should be urging him to turn away from this destructive path.

Erdogan seems determined to fight a political war in which there is no place for independent thinking or publishing. In his political worldview, ideally, the media should consist of hundreds of different Pravdas that come in different names and colors.


Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a columnist for the Turkish daily Hürriyet and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Source: http://www.meforum.org/5337/turkey-press-crackdown

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Palestinian Factions: West Bank attack a 'natural response' to occupation - MaanNews

by MaanNews

Several Palestinian factions and military groups on Saturday applauded the shooting attack near Ramallah Friday which left an Israeli man dead and another injured.

 

 

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) – Several Palestinian factions and military groups on Saturday applauded the shooting attack near Ramallah Friday which left an Israeli man dead and another injured. The military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said in in a statement that the shooting was “natural response to the Israeli occupation’s crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.” “The Palestinian people have a legitimate right to practice resistance of every type using any means,” the statement added.Similarly, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) released a statement describing Friday's shooting as a message to challenge  the current Israeli government. 

 

The group said the Israeli government would be surprised at the shooting, as the rightwing cabinet “counted on its crimes and escalation against Palestinians to cultivate a spirit of frustration and desperation among them.” 

 

Friday's shooting was also supported by the Islamic Jihad group.

MaanNews

Source: http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=766057

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Obama's "Model Partner" Thinks Israel, U.S., Biggest Threats - Burak Bekdil

by Burak Bekdil

• While the Turks' most real threats are their Muslim neighbors -- and the Islamists they have overtly or covertly supported in their country's "neighborhood" -- they tend to look for enemies in unlikely territories.

This is how the Turkish foreign ministry's official website describes Turkey's relations with the United States:

"From a historical point of view, relations between Turkey and the United States are multidimensional and based on mutual respect and interest. As NATO allies, Turkey and the U.S., carry out their bilateral relations on the basis of universal values, including democracy, freedoms, respect for human rights, rule of law and free-market economy."

It then further beautifies the "model partnership" which U.S. President Barack Obama once portrayed:

"During the visit [in 2009], President Obama defined Turkish – U.S. relations as a 'model partnership' and the leadership of both governments reached a high level consensus to bring the bilateral economic, commercial, investment and technologic dimension of the relationship to a level proportionate with political, military, and security cooperation. The concept of 'Model Partnership' reflects the advanced level that Turkey and the U.S. have reached in the relationship."

Really? Does Obama still think he found a "model partner" in a country that once was a staunch ally of both his country and of NATO?

Model partnership? President Barack Obama hosts a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Wales, September 5, 2014.

A recent study on the Turks' foreign policy perceptions reveal that Obama's model partner nation has a totally confused mind -- not just over Turkish-American ties but over its own country's identity and security concerns.

The research, unveiled on May 27 by a team of academics from Istanbul's Kadir Has University, shows that the Turks view the US as the second biggest security threat to their country (35.3%, just after Israel with 42.6%). Reflecting a similarly negative mindset, 32.3% of Turks think that the U.S. has colonial ambitions.

According to the same study, however, 74.3% of Turks think that Turkey is cooperating with the U.S., and 44.3% think the cooperation is of a military nature. Further, 53.3% of Turks think Turkey "has no problems with the US."

Interesting mindset: More than half of Turks think their country has no problems, and nearly half of them think their country has a working military cooperation with the U.S., but that still the U.S. is the second most dangerous country to the security of their country.

Even more strangely, the U.S. ranks second in the list of countries with which Turks believe their country should most cooperate in overseeing foreign policy. 14.2% of Turks cite the U.S. as necessary for foreign policy cooperation, compared to 12.4% who say Turkey should cooperate most with Islamic countries.

42.6% of Turks think the biggest security threat to Turkey is Israel (only 0.4% view Israel as a friendly country). By contrast, they view the European Union (12.8%), Armenia (7.2%), and Cyprus (3.9%) as the biggest security threats after the U.S.

It might sound paradoxical that 12.8% of Turks view the EU rich club as the biggest security threat while 47.5% of them approve of Turkish accession into the EU.

If not paradoxical, it might at least sound paranoid, given that the combined population of the three countries they cite as top their security threat -- Israel, Cyprus and Armenia -- have a combined population of barely 12 million, compared to Turkey's population of 78 million.

But this paranoia should be normal in a country where the popular saying "A Turk has no friend other than a Turk" is a national dictum.

The study also found that 38.7% of Turks think that their country has "absolutely no friends."

That is the "Turkish delight" -- a bit bitter, but very Turkish. Nearly two-thirds of Turks think that their national identity is either "Islam" or "Middle Eastern" while nearly half of them wish to join the Europe's "Christian" club (only a quarter of Turks view themselves as "European").

Ironically, Turkey is located in one of the world's most violent, unstable and turbulent regions. While the Turks' most real threats are their Muslim neighbors -- and the Islamists they have overtly or covertly supported in their country's "neighborhood" -- they tend to look for enemies in unlikely territories.

This is not the first time that research has found that the Turks seem confused. Once again, the Turks seem to feel lost. They seem not to know which countries pose a real security threat, where their country or they themselves belong, or where they should belong.

 

Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6003/turkey-foreign-policy

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Hilarious: NY Times chronicles Hillary's problems hiding her wealth and elitism - Thomas Lifson

by Thomas Lifson

… the Clintons’ go-to vacation spot for the last several summers now seems problematic, as Mrs. Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, delivers a populist economic message that the deck is stacked in favor of the wealthiest Americans and that she plans to “reshuffle the cards.”

I have got to hand it to Amy Chozick of the New York Times for her deadpan article on Hillary Clinton’s “quandary” over what to do about the Hamptons this summer.  You see, she and Bill have for years vacationed there, among the show business and Wall Street elites who rent or own fabulous mansions along the shore of eastern Long Island, mingling with one another.  It takes a lot of money:

In 2011 and 2012, there was the eight-bedroom, 12,000-square-foot East Hampton rental with a heated pool that the couple took for part of August, the kind of house that typically goes for $200,000 per month, according to local real estate listings.
Then, in 2013, they opted for an equally pricey six-bedroom mansion in Sagaponack with a private pathway to the beach. (Mrs. Clinton worked on her memoir, “Hard Choices,” from a sunny office with an ocean view.)

It takes more than a village.  But of course, this kind of dough is no big deal for the Clintons, who can deliver a 20-minute off-the-cuff address and cover a month’s rent.  But the reason it is a quandary is:

… the Clintons’ go-to vacation spot for the last several summers now seems problematic, as Mrs. Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, delivers a populist economic message that the deck is stacked in favor of the wealthiest Americans and that she plans to “reshuffle the cards.”
Thus, it may not be ideal for Mr. and Mrs. Clinton to be photographed mingling at summer cocktail parties with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Alec Baldwin, Steven Spielberg and other wealthy Hamptons regulars.

And the reasons for hanging out with “our kind of people” (the rich and famous) extend beyond mere social stratification.  There’s tons of money to be raised from the hedge-funders and big name stars.

… the couple are expected to spend much of their vacation on the shores of Long Island, where their circle of New York friends and donors own luxe houses.

But the Clintons will not limit themselves to the Hamptons.  No, they won’t be gong to Jones Beach, among the commoners:

 The Clintons will also spend at least one weekend in their old vacation haunt of Martha’s Vineyard, likely alongside President and Michelle Obama, to celebrate the 80th birthday of their friend Vernon E. Jordan Jr. (Mr. Jordan and other friends lured Mr. Clinton to the island in the early years of his presidency, and it quickly trumped his previous leisure spot in Arkansas. A White House spokesman said it was too early to confirm Mr. Obama’s August plans.)

All in all, it’s quite a quandary posing as a populist champion of the little guy while being comfortable among and raising a boatload of money from the very elites her rhetoric demonizes.  Too bad Dick Morris is no longer available to run a poll on where to vacation.

Thomas Lifson

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/06/hilarious_ny_times_chronicles_hillarys_problems_hiding_her_wealth_and_elitism.html

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Spain's Law on Citizenship for Sephardic Jews "Does Not Right a Wrong" - Soeren Kern

by Soeren Kern

• The final version of the law introduces so many hurdles to obtaining Spanish citizenship that most prospective hopefuls are likely to be deterred from even initiating the application process. Indeed, the law in its current form ensures that very few of the estimated 3.5 million Sephardic Jews in the world today will ever become Spanish citizens.
• Spanish authorities -- presumably fearful that the list of Sephardic surnames could provoke an avalanche of citizenship applications -- issued an urgent notice that the government has no intention of ever publishing an official list of Sephardic names.
• "All these facts lead us to conclude that the government has the clear intention that the fewer the number of applicants, the better. And the economic filter ensures that only people with high purchasing power can apply. ... Considering all of these factors, we believe that this law does not right a wrong. This law is more of a symbol, a first step, but not a law that will serve to satisfy the majority of Sephardim who would like obtain Spanish nationality." — Jon Iñarritu García, a congressman from the Basque Country.
  

The Spanish Parliament has approved a much-anticipated law that will allow descendants of Jews expelled from the country in 1492 to seek Spanish citizenship.

Spanish leaders have long promised that the law — which enters into force on October 1, 2015 — will "right a historic wrong" and demonstrate that more than 500 years after the Inquisition began, Jews are once again welcome in Spain.

The final version of the law, however, is so complicated and introduces so many hurdles to obtaining Spanish citizenship that most prospective hopefuls are likely to be deterred from even initiating the application process. Indeed, the law in its current form ensures that very few of the estimated 3.5 million Sephardic Jews in the world today will ever become Spanish citizens.

The June 11 vote — 292 in favor, 0 against, 16 abstentions, 42 no-shows — in the Congress of Deputies (the lower house of Parliament) marked the final legal hurdle for a much-hyped initiative that was originally proposed in November 2012, and approved by the Spanish Cabinet in February 2014.

Also known as the "Right of Return" for Sephardic Jews (Sepharad means Spain in Hebrew), the new law purports to grant Spanish citizenship to anyone who can meet two seemingly straightforward requirements: prove Sephardic heritage, and demonstrate a "special connection" to Spain.

Although prospective applicants are not required to be practicing Jews, they must prove their Sephardic background through a combination of several factors, including ancestry, surnames and spoken language (either Ladino, a Jewish language that evolved from medieval Spanish, or Haketia, a mixture of Hebrew, Spanish and Judeo-Moroccan Arabic).

An applicant's "Sephardic condition" must be validated by means of a certificate from the Madrid-based Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain (FCJE). Applicants living outside of Spain may obtain certifications from Jewish associations or rabbinical authorities in their home countries, but those local certifications must still be validated by the FCJE.

To do so, the FCJE must determine the legitimacy of foreign religious entities. Applicants are therefore required to furnish the FCJE with three documents: 1) a copy of the articles of incorporation of the religious entity; 2) a certificate that includes the names of the entity's legal representatives; and 3) a document that shows that the religious entity is legally recognized in the country of origin.

After an applicant has obtained validation from the FCJE of his or her Sephardic identity, he or she will need to complete the vetting process by proving a "special connection" to Spain. This involves passing two exams: A test to demonstrate basic Spanish language proficiency, and another test to show an understanding of the Spanish Constitution, and of Spanish culture and society.

The tests will be developed and administered by the Instituto Cervantes, a government agency responsible for promoting and teaching Spanish language and culture. The institute has offices around the world, but applicants will need to travel to those offices at their own expense.

Applicants who successfully complete those requirements are then required to submit all of the documentation in digital format to the Spanish Ministry of Justice, which is developing a dedicated website for the application process. All documents, including birth and marriage certificates, as well as current police reports proving that the applicant has no criminal record, must be accompanied by official translations and certified by a notary.

The Ministry of Justice has one year to approve or deny an application. Whoever does not hear back from Spanish authorities within one year should assume that their application has been denied.

Successful applicants must complete on additional step: they must swear an oath of loyalty to the Spanish king and pledge allegiance to the Spanish Constitution. This can be done either in Spain or at Spanish embassies or consulates abroad. Successful candidates are not, however, required to relinquish their citizenships in other countries.

The new law, far from encouraging prospective candidates to pursue Spanish citizenship, actually discourages them in a variety of important ways.

In terms of the younger generation, many, if not most, applicants from this demographic are effectively disqualified right from the beginning of the process because of the requirement that they speak Ladino or Haketia — essentially dying languages that are spoken mostly by the elderly in some parts of Latin America, Morocco and Turkey. It is also highly unlikely that these languages would be spoken by prospective applicants who have Sephardic ancestors but who are not practicing Jews. This renders moot the highly vaunted offer that non-Jews can apply for Spanish citizenship under the new law.

In terms of the older generation, applicants from this age group who actually speak Ladino or Haketia may be intimidated by the complicated procedures, the need to travel to take the special exams and the pledges of loyalty to the Spanish state. They may also feel overwhelmed by having to deal with Spain's notoriously byzantine bureaucracy.

In terms of cost, many prospective applicants will discouraged by the sheer expense of the process, which could exceed €5,000 ($5,600) per individual. There are also considerable costs in terms of the time and effort involved in gathering documents, having them translated and certified, making travel arrangements to take the exams, and submitting the paperwork to the proper authorities.

In terms of surnames, the Spanish government has expressly distanced itself from a list of 5,200 Sephardic family names that has been circulating on the Internet. The list has been compiled from academic and genealogical sources, and many, if not all, of the names on the list appear to be legitimate Sephardic surnames.

But Spanish authorities — presumably fearful that the list could provoke an avalanche of citizenship applications — issued an urgent notice casting doubt on the accuracy of the document and stating that the government has no intention of ever publishing an official list of Sephardic names. It remains unclear how the Spanish government will determine which surnames are Sephardic and which ones are not.

In terms of supplemental paperwork, for example, the law states that applicants must provide birth certificates, ketubahs (Jewish marriage contracts) and marriage certificates that "conform to the traditions of Castile." But the terms "traditions" and "Castile" remain undefined and even some Spanish congressmen have acknowledged that this phraseology is "archaic" and makes no sense.

Adding to the confusion, the applications of prospective candidates may be stalled by a lack of clarity in many parts of the law. For example, the law states that any applicant who can show that he or she has provided financial support for Sephardic cultural events in Spain would have provided sufficient proof that they have a "connection to Spain." This implies that wealthy applicants will have priority over those of more modest means.

In terms of validating Sephardic ancestry, the FCJE says that it is not "currently qualified" to accept applications or issue certifications. It is currently preparing an online guide to the application process that will be available "soon," but it remains unclear whether this will be available in languages other than Spanish. It remains unclear how the FCJE will validate certifications issued by religious authorities outside of Spain.

In terms of frustration, the law leaves so many questions unanswered that the application process is likely to be a vexing experience. Already, prospective applicants have complained about their inability to obtain accurate information or professional assistance from Spanish embassies and consulates overseas.

In terms of time, the new law is valid for only three years (the government can extended the law for one additional year if deemed necessary), which means that prospective applicants have only 36 months (i.e., October 1, 2018) to complete the entire process.

Addressing the Parliament on June 11, Spanish Justice Minister Rafael Catalá proclaimed:

"Today we have approved a law that reopens the door for all of the descendants of those who were unjustly expelled. This law says much about who we were in the past, who we are today and what we want to be in the future: A Spain that is open, diverse and tolerant."

Catalá's assertion that "all of the descendants" of the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in the fifteenth century are now eligible for citizenship is simply untrue.

Jon Iñarritu García, a congressman representing the Basque Country, challenged the government's self-congratulatory rhetoric. Addressing the Spanish Parliament, he said:

"We want to express our disappointment because this law, which was supposed to restore justice, has become increasingly complicated. If we observe the procedures, the prerequisites, the number of documents to be submitted, the certified translations, the fees, the language and culture exams and the need to travel to Spain, we cannot but wonder about the reason for all of these hurdles.
"If this law was meant to make up for the injustice of the expulsions and the exploitation that occurred, the most logical thing would be to avoid such an onerous procedure for the applicants. If you would calculate the cost for each of the applicants throughout the procedure, it would oscillate between €4,000 ($4,500) and €6,000 ($6,700) for each individual.
"Why is it not possible for applicants to perform the required procedures at Spanish consulates abroad? And why do the documents need to be notarized? Why is the law limited to just three years, extendable to four? Why is the law not indefinite if it is to correct an injustice? Do not put deadlines!
"Why the exams to test knowledge of the state and language? Why does the law fail to recognize a greater role for the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, which represents the Jewish communities with the relevant authorities in the government?
"All these facts lead us to conclude that the government has the clear intention that the fewer the number of applicants, the better. And the economic filter ensures that only people with high purchasing power can apply.
"Similarly, given the complication of both traveling and taking the exams, only young people can do this. As the Jewish proverb says: 'For an old man every hill is a mountain.'
"You know that elderly people can hardly overcome such complications and obstacles. Last year, after I told a member of the Sephardic Jewish community in the Northern Basque Country about the proposed law, he said he did not believe it would come about, but even if it did, applicants could hardly have access to Spanish nationality. This person told me that it was easier to win the Nobel Prize than to obtain Spanish nationality.
"Considering all of these factors, we believe that this law does not right a wrong. This law is more of a symbol, a first step, but not a law that will serve to satisfy the majority of Sephardim who would like obtain Spanish nationality."

Jordi Jané i Guasch, a congressman representing Catalonia, also expressed frustration over the law:

"The law has very serious deficiencies because it is an obstacle course. We are making the procedures very difficult for applicants to provide accreditation, plus the costs that this entails, and then they may not even obtain citizenship. Let's be honest... we have not done everything well... there are too many tests, too many requisites, too many exams."

The Spanish government has not said how many people it expects to apply for citizenship under the new law, but some believe it will be no more than 100,000. Even if all of those were to obtain Spanish citizenship, they would comprise less than 3% of the more than three million Sephardic Jews estimated to be alive today.

Spain has one of the smallest Jewish communities in the European Union today. Fewer than 50,000 Jews currently live in Spain (out of a total Spanish population of 47 million), a tiny fraction of the number of Jews who lived in the country before 1492, when Jews were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism or leave the country.

(By comparison, there are just under two million Muslims living in Spain today, comprising about 4% of the total population.)

The Edict of Expulsion was issued on March 31, 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon). Also known as the Alhambra Decree, the edict ordered Jews to leave the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, and their territories and possessions, by July 31 of that same year.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews lived in Spain prior to the Edict of Expulsion in 1492. At right, a sculpture of the medieval Spanish Jewish rabbi, physician and philosopher Moshe ben Maimon (Moses Maimonides), located in his birthplace of Cordoba, Spain.

Up to 400,000 Jews are believed to have left Spain as a result of the decree, although the real number, due to the lack of accurate data, is in dispute. The Jesuit historian Juan de Mariana (1536-1624), in his magnum opus Historiae de rebus Hispaniae (1592), a history of Spain from its earliest times, put the figure at 170,000 families or 800,000 Jews, while many modern scholars believe the true figure was more likely around 350,000.

Scholars also estimate that the number of Jews who chose to avoid expulsion by converting to Roman Catholicism ranged anywhere from 50,000 to more than 300,000. Many Jews who refused to convert were executed.
 

 

Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6010/spain-citizenship-jews

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.