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By Joseph Conrad
By Mahmoud Darwish
$13.57
$35
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AP photo / Charles Dharapak
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By Chris Hedges — The Obama brand is about being happy consumers. We are entertained. We feel hopeful. We like our president. We believe he is like us. But like all branded products spun out from the manipulative world of corporate advertising, we are being duped into doing and supporting a lot of things that are not in our interest.
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AP photo / Eyad Baba
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Two Palestinians were killed Saturday during Israeli airstrikes on tunnels between Gaza and Egypt that Israel says are used to bring supplies and weapons into Gaza—the first such air raids in two months, according to Al-Jazeera English.
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Despite the fact that only two cases of swine flu have been confirmed in the region, the top stories around the Middle East have been about the H1N1 threat—even to the point of edging out reports of violence in Iraq in the news lineup.
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forward.com
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President Obama’s Justice Department has moved to drop all espionage charges against two former AIPAC lobbyists after they were accused of disseminating sensitive information to journalists and diplomats gleaned from conversations with senior Bush administration officials.
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Left: Flickr / realjameso16; right: World Economic Forum
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President Obama and newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have their first meeting in a few weeks, a test of the special relationship between two countries that are now led by men with very different ideas about how to pursue peace in the Middle East.
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Clearly, several dozen delegates at the United Nations anti-racism conference in Geneva, Switzerland, disagreed with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s assessment of Israel as a “racist government” on Monday.
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Harald Dettenborn
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Rep. Jane Harman agreed to go to bat for two AIPAC officials accused of espionage, in exchange for which an Israeli spy would try to get her appointed to chair the House Intelligence Committee, according to Congressional Quarterly. The NSA reportedly captured an exchange between Harman and the spy, during which the congresswoman allegedly said, “This conversation doesn’t exist.”
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AP photo / Nam Y. Huh
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By Chris Hedges — Israel and the United States will together boycott the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Geneva. Racism, an endemic feature of Israeli and American society, is not, we have decided, open for international inspection. It’s times like this President Obama would do well to heed the sermons of his former pastor.
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It hasn’t taken Benjamin Netanyahu long to show his true colors by creating new hoops for the Palestinians to jump through in order to resume peace negotiations with Israel. This week’s “Mosaic Intelligence Report” has the story.
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timesonline.typepad.com
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By Robert Fisk — The BBC Trust’s report on Jeremy Bowen’s dispatches from the Middle East is pusillanimous, cowardly, outrageous, factually wrong and ethically dishonest. But I am mincing my words.
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AP photo / Ahn Young-joon
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By Scott Ritter — North Korea has come under strong international criticism and sanctions for its missile launch, but as a signatory to the 1966 Outer Space Treaty, it is legally permitted to pursue space launch activity. Besides, where is the pandemonium when Japan, Pakistan, Israel, India, Russia and the U.S. refine, test and launch their own ballistic missiles?
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AP photo / Tsafrir Abayov
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By Chris Hedges — It was unthinkable, when I was based as a correspondent in Jerusalem two decades ago, that an Israeli politician who openly advocated ethnically cleansing the Palestinians from Israeli-controlled territory, as well as forcing Arabs in Israel to take loyalty oaths or be forcibly relocated to the West Bank, could sit on the Cabinet.
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bbc.co.uk
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An obvious Photoshop job in Israel has hilariously tried to make Israel’s inaugural Cabinet a bit more Orthodox. In one ultra-Orthodox Jewish newspaper, two female Cabinet members were cropped out of an official picture and replaced with two non-Cabinet men.
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telegraph.co.uk
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Israel’s new super-duper-ultranationalist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday dismissed a 2007 agreement with Palestinian officials aimed at discussing the creation of a Palestinian state. Lieberman claims the agreement, made in Annapolis, Md., has “no validity.”
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AP photo / Dan Balilty
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There’s no putting it any better than Haaretz did: “The Knesset approved Benjamin Netanyahu’s return as prime minister last night amid allegations that his new government is bloated, convoluted and unprepared to deal with Israel’s many problems.” The newspaper surveyed the Israeli public and found that 54 percent already disapprove of the new regime.
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IDF
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The Israeli military has exonerated itself after investigating the recent comments of soldiers who alleged abuses in Gaza. The military said in a statement that the accounts, which described the casual shooting of women and children, were “based on hearsay and not supported by facts.” Nine Israeli human rights groups have called for an independent investigation.
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AP photo / Hassan Ammar
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Despite the arrest warrant recently issued for him by the International Criminal Court, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has made a defiant move by showing up in Qatar to attend the 21st Arab League summit meeting, at which United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also slated to appear.
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telegraph.co.uk
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By Robert Fisk — Tom Hurndall was one of a bunch of “human shields” who turned up in Baghdad just before the Anglo-American invasion in 2003, the kind of folk we professional reporters make fun of. Tree huggers, that kind of thing. Now I wish I had met him because Hurndall’s journals show a remarkable man of remarkable principle.
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Flickr / kikasso
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Some Israeli soldiers have accused military rabbis of pushing holy war in Gaza. “This rabbi comes to us and says the fight is between the children of light and the children of darkness,” said a reserve sergeant quoted by the L.A. Times.
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secint50.un.org
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By Robert Fisk — Dr Salim el-Hoss is 80 now but remains a staunch defender of human rights and democracy, an opponent of the death penalty and an outspoken supporter of Palestinians. When I recommended to him a long article on American torture, he read it right through to the end and then put the paper down with a slap on his knee. “Terrible, terrible,” he muttered.
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AP photo / Hatem Omar
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Hot on the heels of a damning U.N. report, Israeli soldiers have offered personal accounts of atrocities committed in Gaza, including the murder of unarmed women, children and the elderly. As one soldier put it, “... the lives of Palestinians, let’s say, are much, much less important than the lives of our soldiers.”
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Flickr / Amir Farshad Ebrahimi
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Richard Falk, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, writes in his annual report that Israeli actions during the recent offensive in Gaza constitute war crimes. Falk, who was denied entry to the region by Israel, says Hamas’ human rights record should also be investigated.
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Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a step closer to the prime minister’s office by signing a deal with ultranationalist Avigdor Lieberman, who will become Israel’s foreign minister if Netanyahu is able to put the finishing touches on a governing coalition. The ascendancy of both men is a major blow to the peace process.
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A U.S. official believes that Iran has obtained enough nuclear material to make a bomb. Israel is believed to have the Middle East’s only nuclear arsenal, though it has never acknowledged this. Why does Iran pursue a nuclear bomb? And will Iran come out of the nuclear closet?
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The International Criminal Court recently issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, a move Sudanese officials denounced as politically motivated. Will it ever be the case that the ICC takes former U.S. President George W. Bush to task?
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churchtimes.co.uk
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Human rights investigators are adding yet another alleged war crime to existing accusations of Israel’s war-time exuberance, as Amnesty International officials believe Israel’s military forces engaged in “wanton destruction” of civilian homes during the bloody assault on Gaza.
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By William Pfaff — Justice Department documents that demonstrate the Bush administration’s view of the president’s constitutional power in a “state of war” tell us things we suspected but didn’t want to know.
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state.gov
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The chances of peace in the Middle East over the next four to eight years have something to do with what Hillary Clinton is able to achieve there. We’re getting a first glimpse this week, as Clinton makes overtures to Syria, Iran and the Palestinians while trying not to threaten Israel’s BFF status.
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White House
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In his first speech to a joint session of Congress, President Obama acknowledged the dire state of the economy, but struck a hopeful tone as he expanded on his vision for recovery. Investments in energy, education and health care will be key, he said, as will an expanded bailout of the financial sector. (Summary, video and full text after the jump)
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AP photo / Hasan Sarbakhshian
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By Chris Hedges — Bibi Netanyahu’s assumption of power in Israel sets the stage for a huge campaign by the Israeli government, and its well-oiled lobby groups in Washington, to push us into a war with Iran, but a stable relationship with Iran would do more to protect Israel and our interests in the Middle East.
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guardian.co.uk
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In a political blast from the past, former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been chosen to form Israel’s next government, ending a nine-day struggle between the candidates and paving the way for a coalition arrangement with a strong right-wing bent.
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By William Pfaff — Except for the brief NATO intervention in Kosovo and Serbia, all of the significant U.S. military expeditions since the Cold War have been fought against Asians, and we have lost nearly all of them.
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Flickr / illuminating9_11
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According to a Palestinian census, the population of Gaza jumped by 40 percent between 1997 and 2007. West Bank officials expect the Gaza population, which they estimate at 1.4 million, to double over the next 21 years.
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AP photo / Sven Kaestner
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By Robert Fisk — The organized persecution of a group is despicable whether the victims are the Jews of World War II or today’s Gazans.
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European Pressphoto Agency / Abed Rahim Khatib
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In probably the least appropriate metaphor for relations between Israel and Palestine, Israel has allowed, for the first time in a year, Gazan flower companies to export 25,000 carnations to Europe in time for Valentine’s Day, though the volume pales in comparison to previous annual exports of 60 million flowers.
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By William Pfaff — Of the possible political combinations that have emerged from the Israeli parliamentary election, none will bring the region closer to peace. Israel will continue to persecute the Palestinians, whose hatred will only grow.
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State Dept. / Michael Gross, cropped
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With his party holding 15 seats in the Knesset, Avigdor Lieberman of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu is poised to pick Israel’s next government. Lieberman would like a choice cabinet post in exchange for anointing the next premier, but he’s under investigation for allegedly laundering millions of overseas dollars.
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guardian.co.uk
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On the heels of Israel’s election and its bloody three-week assault on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority is pressing the International Criminal Court to investigate the possibility of war crimes committed by Israeli commanders.
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Flickr / david55king
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With world opinion soured by the recent events in Gaza, Israelis are headed to the polls to elect a new government that is widely expected to move further to the right. Pre-election polls put the conservative Likud in the lead. Labor was a distant fourth, behind even the ultraconservative Yisrael Beitenu, despite taking a hawkish turn.
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Will Israel become a “country of fear or a country of hope,” as Tzipi Livni, a candidate for Israeli prime minister and the current foreign minister, recently asked? This week’s Mosaic Intelligence Report serves up an analysis of the coming election. (Hint: It doesn’t look good for the whole hope thing.)
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Maan Images / Hatem Omar
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Be it a political gamble or a mix-up of epic proportions, Hamas is being accused of stealing humanitarian aid from U.N. trucks in the Gaza Strip. Due to the thefts, officials say, aid has stopped flowing into the battle-torn territory, where half the population depends on the U.N. shipments for food.
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AP photo / Alessandro Della Bella
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By Sandy Tolan — Dear Mr. Prime Minister: I write with grave concern over your impertinent remarks to the president of Israel at the World Economic Forum last week, which threatened to delay dinner for hundreds of extremely important global thinkers.
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Both Israel and Hamas vowed to stop fighting two weeks ago, but since then attacks have continued. Before his country launched airstrikes on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had warned Hamas of a “disproportionate Israeli response” to Hamas rocket and mortar attacks. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, is headed to Cairo, though his influence is surely weakened by the recent fighting.
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AP photo / Fadi Adwan
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By Robert Fisk — I wonder if we are “normalizing” war. It’s not just that Israel has yet again gotten away with the killing of hundreds of children in Gaza.
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The New York Times / Shawn Baldwin
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A crossing point on the Egypt-Israel border has turned into a parking lot for supplies since Israel virtually halted the transport of aid and equipment for Gaza. Medical items are being allowed to pass, but well-drilling equipment, blankets and food are being blocked.
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Flickr / Amir Farshad Ebrahimi, file photo
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Israel launched an airstrike and ground assault into Gaza after a bomb on the Israeli side of the border killed a soldier. The troops pulled back into Israel soon afterward, according to the BBC. The raid was of a smaller scale than the fighting that ended just 10 days ago, but shows the difficult work ahead for George Mitchell, the new U.S. envoy, who is headed to the region.
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NARA / White House
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Former President Jimmy Carter tells the Associated Press, “If we look toward a one-state solution, which seems to be the trend—I hope not inexorable—it would be a catastrophe for Israel. ...”
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Two of Britain’s biggest networks, Sky and the BBC, have refused to air a two-minute fundraising appeal on behalf of Gaza. The decision not to broadcast the spot, produced by a committee made up of Britain’s biggest aid agencies, has triggered public outcry, condemnation from politicians and a formal investigation by the BBC Trust.
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Benghazi: Dissecting Congressional Follies, Media Coverage and ‘Cover-Up’ Charges
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