Christian Zionist Implies God Sent Hitler to Hunt Jews

McCain Rejects Hagee Backing as Nazi Remarks Surface

By Michael Luo

SAN JOSE-Senator John McCain rejected the endorsement on Thursday of the evangelical leader, the Rev. John C. Hagee, three stormy months after it was first announced as part of an effort to shore up Mr. McCain's standing among Christian conservatives.

The rejection of Mr. Hagee's endorsement occurred after another controversial sermon from the televangelist and pastor of Cornerstone, a mega-church in San Antonio, surfaced in which he argued that biblical verses made clear that Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust was part of God's plan to chase the Jews from Europe and drive them to Palestine.

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible," Mr. McCain said in a statement Thursday. "I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well."

Audio of the latest controversial sermon by Mr. Hagee, from the late 1990s, was first posted last week by the Web site, Talk to Action, which scrutinizes the Christian right, and then reported by the Huffington Post.

Mr. Hagee quoted from the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah, Mr. Hagee said in his sermon, according to the Huffington Post, "And they the hunters should hunt them," arguing this referred to "the Jews."

He went on to read from the same passage, "From every mountain and from every hill and from out of the holes of the rocks."

"If that doesn't describe what Hitler did in the Holocaust, you can't see that," Mr. Hagee said.

At roughly the same time Mr. McCain's campaign issued a statement repudiating Mr. Hagee on Thursday, Mr. Hagee himself put out a statement saying he had withdrawn his endorsement of Mr. McCain.

"Ever since I endorsed John McCain for president, people seeking to attack Senator McCain have combed my records for statements they can use for political gain," Mr. Hagee said. "They have had no qualms about grossly misrepresenting my position on issues most near and dear to my heart if it serves their political ambitions. I am tired of these baseless attacks and fear that they have become a distraction in what should be a national debate about important issues. I have therefore decided to withdraw my endorsement of Senator McCain for President effective today, and to remove myself from any active role in the 2008 campaign."

Prior to its repudiation of Mr. Hagee's endorsement on Thursday, the McCain campaign had already endured a series of other disclosures of controversial past statements from Mr. Hagee about his views of Catholics, especially, as well as Jews.

Mr. McCain subsequently distanced himself from Mr. Hagee, saying he did not endorse all the views of his endorsers and condemned any of Mr. Hagee's views that were offensive to Catholics. Mr. Hagee also sought to make amends with Catholics, who represent a crucial swing constituency in the general election.

The latest remarks from Mr. Hagee to surface strike at the heart of Mr. McCain's efforts to reach another critical group, Jews, who have viewed Mr. McCain's likely Democratic opponent, Senator Barack Obama, with suspicion.

Mr. Hagee's controversial views are explained in part by his adherence to what is known in evangelical circles as dispensationalism, a literalistic approach to biblical prophecy that places a special emphasis on the role of the nation of Israel in the end of history.

Dispensationalists, who scholars say likely represent a vocal but small faction of evangelicals, believe that Israelites' return to the promised land are a requirement of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Mr. McCain's advisers have admitted they did not vet Mr. Hagee's background enough, although they began seeking his endorsement more than a year ago.

Mr. McCain has a rocky history with evangelicals, having once called the Rev. Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Pat Robertson "agents of intolerance." Many evangelicals, who were crucial to President Bush's re-election in 2004, remain skeptical of Mr. McCain, with many Republican leaders fretting they will not turn out for him this fall.

Mr. Obama, of course, has had his own troubles with regard to religious leaders, drawing fire for the controversial remarks of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Mr. McCain sought to distinguish his ties to Mr. Hagee from Mr. Obama's with Mr. Wright in his statement, saying: "I have said I do not believe Senator Obama shares Reverend Wright's extreme views. But let me also be clear, Reverend Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual advisor, and I did not attend his church for twenty years. I have denounced statements he made immediately upon learning of them, as I do again today."

May 22, 2008, 5:14 pm

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/mccain-rejects-hagee-backing-as-nazi-remarks-surface/index.html?hp

Democracy Triumphs in Lebanon

Hezbollah has succeeded in negotiating a reversal of features that had been fixed to keep the Christian minority and the Bush puppet "Cedar Revolution" minority in control of the government.

QUOTE: As part of the deal, 11 of the 30 ministers in a national unity government in Beirut will be Hizbullah members, giving the Shiite organization the right to veto any decision. This was one of the main demands made by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah during the recent crisis. . . Another important achievement for Hizbullah was an amendment to the current election law: The sides agreed to return to the 1960 Election Law, which includes a change in the election districts, and particularly in the Beirut district which will be divided in three. The current law allowed the anti-Syrian camp to win the elections.

Hizbullah gets veto power in unity government

Major triumph for Lebanese opposition: All demands made by Nasrallah materialized in breakthrough agreement between feuding factions announced by Arab mediators after five days of talks in Qatar to end Lebanon's 18-month political crisis; Damascus welcomes deal

Roee Nahmias

Hizbullah strikes another achievement at the end of a particularly severe round of violence in Lebanon : Arab mediators have announced a breakthrough deal between feuding Lebanese factions struck after five days of talks in Qatar to end Lebanon's 18-month political crisis.

As part of the deal, 11 of the 30 ministers in a national unity government in Beirut will be Hizbullah members, giving the Shiite organization the right to veto any decision. This was one of the main demands made by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah during the recent crisis.

Sixteen of Lebanon's current ministers will serve in the new government, and another three will serve on behalf of the president. Hizbullah agreed to compromise on its demand to establish an interim government and hold elections, and had refused at first to settle for only one-third of the government members.

The sides also agreed to appoint Lebanon's army commander, General Michel Suleiman, the next Lebanese president.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani said at a ceremony Wednesday in Doha that the agreement is be "carried out immediately" and that the election of a new president of Lebanon will follow within 24 hours.

Another important achievement for Hizbullah was an amendment to the current election law: The sides agreed to return to the 1960 Election Law, which includes a change in the election districts, and particularly in the Beirut district which will be divided in three. The current law allowed the anti-Syrian camp to win the elections.

And what about Hizbullah's weapons? The issue was not seriously discussed, and the sides only agreed "not to use weapons for political purposes." It was also agreed to resume the dialogue "in order to bolster the state's institutions."

Opposition-allied Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also spoke at the ceremony, saying an opposition tent encampment, which has been going on for over a year in downtown Beirut across from the government building, will be dismantled following the deal.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora praised the Arab League and Qatar for their mediation, which "serves Lebanon and the neighboring sister country - Syria." He called on all factions "to renounce violence and promise not to use weapons again in future political disputes. We must accept the other and hold a cultural and democratic dialogue."

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem rushed to welcome the Doha agreement. Saed Hariri, one of Hizbullah's rivals in Lebanon, also supported it. Despite the opposition's clear achievements, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa concluded that "There are no winners and no losers in this document."

Hizbullah, a group backed by Iran and Syria, increased pressure on the ruling alliance this month by routing its followers in a military campaign. The Qatari-led negotiations built on mediation that ended violence which killed 81.

Worst crisis since civil war

It was Lebanon's worst civil conflict since the 1975-1990 war and exacerbated tensions between Shiites loyal to Hizbullah and Druze and Sunni followers of the ruling coalition.

Syria, a close ally of Iran, was forced to withdraw troops from Lebanon in 2005 following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

The United States has held up the withdrawal as a foreign policy success story.

But Hizbullah's military campaign this month was a major blow to US policy in Lebanon and forced Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government to rescind two measures targeting the Iranian-backed group.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report

First Published: 05.21.08, 07:53

Latest Update: 05.21.08, 11:11 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3545897,00.html

Pressure on Israeli Government for US Traitor Pollard's Release

Many of us think that one of George Bush's final outrages before leaving office will be pardoning this American traitor.

PM says willing to cooperate with comptroller on Pollard affair

By Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz Correspondent

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday reneged on his previous statements and said he was willing to cooperate with State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss on the Jonathan Pollard affair.

Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, was convicted of selling military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon. He was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty at his trial. He is serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison.

The prime minister on Monday told MK Zevulun Orlev, head of the Knesset's State Control Committee which oversees the workings of the state comptroller, that Cabinet Secretary Ovad Yehezkel and his political advisor, Shalom Turjeman, have already given the comptroller all the information that was at the government's disposal regarding the case.

However, the prime minister added, he would cooperate in addressing any remaining questions in writing and would disclose further material if needed.

A few months ago, Lindenstrauss started compiling a report on whether Israel has been doing everything within its capacity to ensure the release of the jailed spy.

Lindenstrauss then criticized Olmert in what could be construed as accusing him of creating the impression that the inquiry into the government's conduct in the affair puts Pollard's potential release at risk.

Lindenstrauss said then: "If I'm wrong I'll be the first to admit it, and I wish I am, but someone here is behaving in a shady manner."

Last update - 23:55 19/05/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/985041.html

Another Witness on Bush-Cheney Iran War Plan

COMMENT: this jibes with Lebanon Daily Star story that US pressed Israel to bomb Hezbollah in Beirut in May, 2008.

White House denies Iran attack report

By JPOST.COM STAFF

The White House on Tuesday flatly denied an Army Radio report that claimed US President George W. Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term. It said that while the military option had not been taken off the table, the Administration preferred to resolve concerns about Iran's push for a nuclear weapon "through peaceful diplomatic means."

Army Radio had quoted a top official in Jerusalem claiming that a senior member in the entourage of President Bush, who concluded a trip to Israel last week, had said in a closed meeting here that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were of the opinion that military action against Iran was called for.

The official reportedly went on to say that "the hesitancy of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" was preventing the administration from deciding to launch such an attack on the Islamic Republic for the time being.

The Army Radio report, which was quoted by The Jerusalem Post and resonated widely, stated that according to assessments in Israel, the recent turmoil in Lebanon, where Hizbullah has de facto established control of the country, was advancing an American attack.

Bush, the official reportedly said, considered Hizbullah's show of strength to constitute evidence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's growing influence. In Bush's view, the official said, "the disease must be treated - not its symptoms."

However, the White House on Tuesday afternoon dismissed the story. In a statement, it said that "[the US] remain[s] opposed to Iran's ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon. To that end, we are working to bring tough diplomatic and economic pressure on the Iranians to get them to change their behavior and to halt their uranium enrichment program.

It went on: "As the President has said, no president of the United States should ever take options off the table, but our preference and our actions for dealing with this matter remain through peaceful diplomatic means. Nothing has changed in that regard."

In an address to the Knesset during his visit here last week, Bush said that "the president of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages."

"America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions," Bush said. "Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

May 20, 2008 11:00 | Updated May 20, 2008 19:26

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668683139&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Nazis in Israel: Burning the Christian Bible

We saw what happened in Iraq when a soldier shot his gun at a Koran. The Israelis are lucky Christians are a more reasonable people. Sorry, but this is so reminiscent of German students building bonfires of books after Hitler took power.

Orthodox Jewish youths burn New Testaments in Or Yehuda

By The Associated Press

Orthodox Jews set fire to hundreds of copies of the New Testament in the latest act of violence against Christian missionaries in the Holy Land.

Or Yehuda Deputy Mayor Uzi Aharon said missionaries recently entered a neighborhood in the predominantly religious town of 34,000 in central Israel, distributing hundreds of New Testaments and missionary material.

After receiving complaints, Aharon said, he got into a loudspeaker car last Thursday and drove through the neighborhood, urging people to turn over the material to Jewish religious students who went door to door to collect it.

"The books were dumped into a pile and set afire in a lot near a synagogue," he said.

The newspaper Maariv reported Tuesday that hundreds of yeshiva students took part in the book-burning. But Aharon told The Associated Press that only a few students were present, and that he was not there when the books were torched.

"Not all of the New Testaments that were collected were burned, but hundreds were," he said.

He said he regretted the burning of the books, but called it a commandment to burn materials that urge Jews to convert.

"I certainly don't denounce the burning of the booklets, he said. I denounce those who distributed the booklets."

Jews worship from the Old Testament, including the Five Books of Moses and the writings of the ancient prophets. Christians revere the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, which contains the ministry of Jesus.

Calev Myers, an attorney who represents Messianic Jews, or Jews who accept Jesus as their savior, demanded in an interview with Army Radio that all those involved be put on trial. He estimated there were 10,000 Messianic Jews, who are also known as Jews for Jesus, in Israel.

Police had no immediate comment.

Israeli authorities and Orthodox Jews frown on missionary activity aimed at Jews, though in most cases it is not illegal. Still, the concept of a Jew burning books is abhorrent to many in Israel because of the association with Nazis torching piles of Jewish books during the Holocaust of World War II.

Earlier this year, the teenage son of a prominent Christian missionary was seriously wounded when a package bomb delivered to the family's West Bank home went off in his hands.

Last year, arsonists burst into a Jerusalem church used by Messianic Jews and set the building on fire, raising suspicions that Jewish extremists were behind the attack. No one claimed responsibility, but the same church was burned down 25 years ago by ultra-Orthodox Jewish extremists.

Last update - 18:04 20/05/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/985362.html

Report: US Wanted Israel to Bomb Beirut in May 2008

QUOTE: BEIRUT: Israeli security website Debka Files reported on Sunday that the US had given the Israeli government a green light on May 10 to attack Hizbullah, arguing that the Jewish state's military was ready to attack Hizbullah in western Beirut and the South, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Affairs minister Tzipi Livni were "reluctant to do so, which angered the US."

[COMMENT: this story covers two topics, the Beirut Bombing story is the second one.]

Graziano plays down chances of conflict in South

Peacekeeping force has moved into northern ghajar, commander adds

Daily Star staff

Graziano plays down chances of conflict in South

BEIRUT: Major General Claudio Graziano, commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said on Monday the international force started conducting patrols on the Lebanese side of the border region of Ghajar earlier this month, reassuring the Lebanese that no war would erupt again in the South.

In an interview with As-Safir newspaper, Graziano said his forces had not faced any problems south and north of the Litani River during recent clashes between government and opposition supporters.

"The Lebanese Armed Forces [LAF] has taken security measures in the whole region and has cooperated, as usual, with the international force without facing any obstacles," he said. "All Lebanese parties have agreed to fully support UNIFIL and the latest incidents have not posed any danger on our mission."

"In fact, political and security stability in Lebanon are necessary for us to accomplish our mission successfully," he added.

Highlighting the importance of the "excellent" relationship between UNIFIL and the LAF, Graziano avoided tackling the issue of the presidential election.

"We are looking forward to boosting cooperation with the Lebanese Army and on the personal level, I have an excellent relationship with its commander [consensus presidential candidate General Michel Suleiman]," he said.

The Italian commander rejected claims that UNIFIL had become an "Israeli eye."

"We discuss with the Israelis the issue of violations when they occur but we do not give any information about South Lebanon to anyone," Graziano said, adding that the continuous Israeli violations of Lebanon's airspace are "unjustifiable."

Asked about the issue of the border region of Ghajar, Graziano vowed to deliver "good news" in the next couple of months.

"UNIFIL has started carrying out patrols in Ghajar's Lebanese part as of May 5 and now we have some information about an Israeli withdrawal from the remaining area to give way to our force to fulfill the humanitarian needs of the residents of the northern side," he said.

The default Israeli-Lebanon border, the Blue Line, places one-third of Ghajar in Lebanese territory and the other two-thirds on the Israeli side, contributing to a tenuous situation in and around the village.

According to Graziano, one cannot ignore terrorist threats because "they might happen," in reference to threats launched by Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri earlier last month.

"We have some modern protection techniques to deal with such threats," he said, stressing the need to maintain cooperation with LAF.

Zawahiri had called on Sunni extremists in Lebanon to take up arms against United Nations peacekeepers.

About a new war, Graziano said: "There is no benefit to any party from both sides of the Blue Line to launch a new conflict south the Litani."

"But we are ready to face any threat launched by any party," he added. "I can reassure the Lebanese that there will be no war here and that we are capable of preventing any attacks."

Tackling the issue of cluster bombs littering in the South dropped by Israel during its 2006 war on Lebanon, Graziano expressed satisfaction over the efforts deployed by the UN Mine-Action Center (UNMAC), while voicing discontent with the Israeli cooperation in this regard.

"According to UNMAC, cluster-bomb-clearance operations will be concluded by the start of next spring as 60 percent of land has been cleared," he said. "The maps offered by Israel are not enough; we need the coordinates they have used to launch those munitions."

"They vowed to do so and we hope they will," he added. - The Daily Star

US urged Israel to 'surprise' Hizbullah during internal clashes - report

BEIRUT: Israeli security website Debka Files reported on Sunday that the US had given the Israeli government a green light on May 10 to attack Hizbullah, arguing that the Jewish state's military was ready to attack Hizbullah in western Beirut and the South, but Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Affairs minister Tzipi Livni were "reluctant to do so, which angered the US."

The site, which specializes in intelligence and security news, quoted a high-ranking source who accompanied US President George W. Bush during his recent visit to Israel as saying "Israel missed a golden chance to destroy one of its four main rivals who threaten its security in the region, which are Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas."

The site reported that an Israeli intelligence source said that if Israel were to attack Lebanon, Hizbullah would bombard the north of Israel with 600 rockets daily.

According to Debka, the White House pressured the Israeli prime minister to go through with the attack on Hizbullah, saying that the internal struggles in Lebanon, with Hizbullah using its weapons against rival parties, presented Israel with a rare opportunity.

The site quoted US intelligence sources as claiming that Hizbullah moved 5,000 of its gunmen toward Beirut after they realized that the Israeli Army was not willing to launch any operations on the border, and it was at this moment that the US asked Israel to "surprise" Hizbullah.

The site said that the plan was for the Israeli Air Force to launch continuous strikes on Hizbullah positions in western Beirut and the South, which would allow its rivals to open a simultaneous front from the inside.

"The Israeli tank divisions would enter the Lebanese border at the same time and head for Beirut on two fronts, the first being the coastal road, and the second being the road of Nabatiyeh, Jezzine and Zhalta Aley," it added. - The Daily Star

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=92202

Israel Negotiating with Hamas "Terrorists"

What will George Bush do? He's always exhorting people not to deal with Hamas "terrorists." Will he punish Israel?

'Gov't negotiating with Hamas contrary to its own decision'

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Vice Premier Haim Ramon acknowledged on Monday that Israel is conducting negotiations with Hamas - contrary to the government's own policy on the matter, even if those talks are held via Egyptian mediator Omar Suleiman.

"Negotiations are being conducted with Hamas in contrast to the government's decision, which has determined that it will only be possible to deal with Hamas after it accepts the conditions of the Quartet," Ramon stated during a Gaza policy discussion which was held as part of a Kadima faction meeting.

"We aren't fighting against a terror organization, rather a state of terrorism," Ramon continued, "a terror organization has an area under its control and Israel cannot, in my opinion, make peace with a Hamas state on the southern border."

"We decided that we would speak with Hamas only if it accepts the Quarter's conditions. I really hope that we will take the strategic position to reconcile ourselves to accepting a Hamas state on our borders," the vice premier stated.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the government would not let Independence Day celebrations and elaborate State visits detract attention from the situation in the South of the country. He reminded Kadima MKs about his comments from Sunday, in which he warned of possible action to stop the unrelenting Kassam rocket fire.

"I said the decision is getting closer and closer," Olmert said. He added that the "perpetual threat has reached a climax," and vowed not to let the current reality for residents of the South continue for much longer.

"The hour of decision is near," he assured, repeating comments he made during Sunday's cabinet meeting.

May 19, 2008 13:10 | Updated May 19, 2008 19:18

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668676341&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Cause of Antisemitism Discovered by ADL Chief

QUOTE: Foxman attributed anti-Semitism to jealousy that so many Jews excel at what they do. "What is the antidote? Not to tell our children to succeed, not to win wars, not to defend our people?"

Foxman: Good PR can't stop anti-Semitism

By GREER FAY CASHMAN

The problem of anti-semitism cannot be solved by a clever publicist, several panelists at the Facing Tomorrow conference said Thursday in Jerusalem.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, through which he has been battling anti-Semitism for the past 43 years, said it matters little what and how Jews do - the truth has little impact on how Jews or Israel are perceived.

The paradox, he said, is that despite all evidence to the contrary, Jews believe that "it will matter what we do, what we say and how we act."

Foxman attributed anti-Semitism to jealousy that so many Jews excel at what they do.

"What is the antidote? Not to tell our children to succeed, not to win wars, not to defend our people?"

This was obviously not the solution to a persistent problem, he said.

"The perception of a Jew is irrational and it's a disease."

Adding that anti-Semitism comes out of religion or economics, Foxman said the truth matters little to the minds of those who are diseased.

Yet for all that, he said, Jews don't have a choice.

"We have to go out there and try and correct the faults of defamation."

While the Internet is widely regarded as the golden age of information, he said, "it is also the golden age of disinformation and mis-information. We are living on a super highway of canards."

According to Foxman, the Internet had changed the nature of the challenge with which Jews are confronted when combatting anti-Semitism.

American pollster and opinion analyst Stanley Greenberg, a former pollster for President Clinton, who in recent years has been commissioned by numerous Jewish organizations to take surveys on matters relating to Jews and Israel, said that, while no amount of information will change anti-Semitic attitudes, "the stakes are too high to make the assumption that we can't impact these attitudes.."

In Greenberg's opinion, Israel does not need a good publicist, it needs a good strategy.

Citing surveys that he had taken over various periods of time, he pointed out that since 9/11, Americans are more inclined to see Israel as an ally of the United States than they were before.

Maurice Levy, chairman and CEO of the Publicis group, which is the largest advertising group in Europe, was upset that in this day and age there has to be a session at Israel's 60th anniversary celebration that deals with anti-Semitism.

"[Anti-semitism] should not exist - it's almost insane. No other religion has been targeted so widely or so generally as the Jewish religion - and not just for ten years but for 2,000 years."

Focusing on attitudes in Europe, Levy said that after World War Two it was taboo to express anti-Semitism by word or deed, so people hid their anti-Semitic inclinations in public.

There was also sympathy for Holocaust survivors and the fledgling state of Israel.

But that didn't mean that anti-Semitism was not lurking beneath the surface.

After the Six Day War in 1967, he recalled, he was lunching with a colleague who said to him: "Now that you've won, you can go back to your country."

In 1977, sympathies in France shifted gears, Levy said, moving from the Jews or the Israelis to the Palestinians. People who had once supported Jews and Israel began to criticize. Their anti-Zionist criticism of Israel quickly moved to anti-Semitism, especially among young politicians and intellectuals, and for the past 15 years. extremists have been making anti-Semitic utterances on television, and using Jewish-related expressions which are unacceptable.

Linda Lingele, the first female Governor of the State of Hawaii, said that when she first came to Israel in 2004, she saw that the reality was much different from the perception.

Difficult though the task may be, Lingele was convinced that the Jewish people, acting on a one-to-one basis, can change perceptions and convince the world that Israel has the right to exist.

"As Jews we have to insist that Israel has a responsibility to exist," she said. "We have to each commit ourselves to be personal publicists for the State of Israel."

May 15, 2008 22:13 | Updated May 16, 2008 13:22

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668649583&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

George Bush May Have Killed His Legacy Himself

QUOTE: . . .prior to his departure from Sharm el-Sheikh, Abbas was informed that the United States intended to backtrack on efforts to achieve progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. . . a European source, who claimed that the Americans were not interested in exerting pressure or confronting Israel,. . .

[COMMENT Bush and Rice have been pushing the *idea* that they can achieve an Israel-Palestine peace agreement at some level before they leave office next January -- it was to be about the only success he would have for his "legacy." It appears that no matter what they say in public, they have adopted policies that make peace impossible. This is really not surprising: there have been reports that Christian Zionist leaders have threatened Bush more than once that if he pressured Israel they'd abandon him. Given the poor prospects for Republicans in November, Bush will have to sacrifice his "peacemaker" legacy to assure Christian Zionists will not abandon Republican candidates at the election.]

'Abbas to declare negotiations failed'

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Less than a week after a speech by US President George W. Bush spurred condemnation from Palestinian Authority officials - who accused the American leader of being one-sided in peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis - PA President Mahmoud Abbas has come to the conclusion that peace talks have failed, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported on Monday.

Citing PA sources, the article said that prior to his departure from Sharm el-Sheikh, Abbas was informed that the United States intended to backtrack on efforts to achieve progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. According to the paper, the report was given to Abbas from a European source, who claimed that the Americans were not interested in exerting pressure or confronting Israel, and that the US was "allowing Israel full freedom to take a stance which would serve its policies, its security, and its interests alone."

Another diplomatic source told the paper that the PA president received reports that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Shas chairman Eli Yishai had come to an understanding in which the former has promised the latter that plans to build thousands of apartment units around Jerusalem and in the West Bank would be approved - this in an attempt to reinforce the premier's foundering coalition.

Given these reports, the source told the paper that Abbas planned to give a speech in Ramallah, during which he would announce that negotiations had failed and blame Israel for the failure. The source added that the PA president would also blame the US for its lack of commitment to the peace process.

Abbas had planned to make a similar announcement following his disappointing visit to Washington in April, because he had heard that "the American government did not plan to pressure Israel into making concessions to the Palestinians," the source told the paper.

May 19, 2008 10:20 | Updated May 19, 2008 14:49

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668671801&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Protest against extradition of Israeli who trained Escobar militia

Friends, former soldiers of IDF reserve officer sentenced to prison by Colombian court, after being convicted of training Pablo Escobar's militia men, rally to demand Israel prevent his extradition from Moscow

Roi Mandel

'Yair Klein risked his life saving us - now we must now save him' was the battle cry sounded by dozens of reservist paratroopers as they rallied outside the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem on Sunday morning to protest the extradition of Lt. Col. (res) Yair Klein, who is currently being detained in Moscow, to Colombia.

Klein was convicted of training the private army of infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar. In particular, Klein was accused of teaching the militia troops how to carry out high-profile killings such as the 1989 assassination of anti-cartel presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán.

He was convicted and sentenced in-absentia to a 10-year prison term in 2001 by a Colombian court. Since that time, the Colombian police have launched a manhunt for the fugitive 61-year-old, who in 2007 made Interpol's list of wanted criminal.

Last August, Klein was finally spotted and arrested at a Moscow airport by Russian authorities.

The Russian Supreme Court will assemble on Wednesday to discuss the appeal filed by Attorney Mordechai Tzivin regarding Colombia's request for Klein's extradition.

With the court date looming, Klein's colleagues from his military service decided to launch their campaign to convince the Foreign Ministry to rescind the extradition. In a letter sent to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Klein's friends protest the "abandonment" of a fellow soldier in the battlefield.

"We all know that turning him over to Colombia means a death sentence for Yair Klein," Yoel Sharon, a disabled IDF veteran and Klein's subordinate in the Yom Kippur War told Ynet. "We mustn't abandon a warrior who saved the lives of dozens of Israeli soldiers... the power to save him from the noose is in our hands."

Amnon Schwartz, a paratrooper whose life Klein saved in the Suez Canal, believes his ex-commander is an innocent man who is being falsely accused: "Yair is being charged with immoral crimes, yet I there is no one in the world who shares the moral values Yair has, at least no one I know.

"Israel must take care of him because he is one of the country's best men. Yair has never abandoned a fellow soldier in the battlefield. Time after time, he would enter Suez under heavy fire to rescue about 60 soldiers. Now it's his turn under the fire and the country is ready to abandon him?"

Published: 05.18.08, 16:37 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3544752,00.html