Saving a Legacy: Secret Bush Hanky Panky with Syria

Does Bush seriously think Israel would trade the Golan for a Bush "Legacy"? Bush seems desperate to show *some* (*any*) foreign policy achievement for his EIGHT YEARS in office.

Report: Bush offered to press Israel to quit Golan if Syria cuts Iran ties

By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent

U.S. President George W. Bush has apparently offered his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad, to press Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights if Damascus promises to cut its relations with Iran, the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Jareida reported on Friday.

According to the report, Bush made the offer in a handwritten letter transferred to Assad by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

A Palestinian source close to Abbas told the newspaper that the U.S. had presented the offer in a meeting with Syrian officials day earlier.

If Assad agrees to the American proposal, he will carry out his end of the deal in the coming weeks, said the report.

Bush is keen on implementing the deal before the upcoming U.S. elections, said the newspaper, in order to significantly advance the peace process before the end of his term.

The Palestinian source said that Abbas and his entourage were unaware of the content of Bush's letter, as it was meant to remain covert and away from diplomatic eyes, according to the report.

Even the American envoy in Damascus was not privy to this information, said the newspaper.

Despite this, the Palestinian source said that Abbas' latest visit to Damascus was intended for the principle purpose of passing on this letter, said the newspaper. While on the visit, he scheduled no meetings with Palestinian officials or other diplomats in the area.

Last update - 12:14 17/10/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1029573.html

Iran: More Bush Blundering

Does Bush value the arms deal with Taiwan more than action on Iran? (Hey, the US needs the money !!!) Bush's position on Georgia alienated the Russians, now he antagonizes the Chinese - - just at a time when he needs friendly relations with both.

Diplomats: China blocking new Iran sanctions talks

American officials say Beijing refusing to commit to high-level talks about imposing new sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program, apparently in retaliation for US arms sales to Taiwan

Associated Press

China is blocking high-level talks about imposing new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, apparently in retaliation for US arms sales to Taiwan, according to US officials and diplomats briefed on the matter.

The Bush administration has been trying for more than a week to arrange a conference call among senior officials from the six nations negotiating with Iran. But they have so far been stymied by China's refusal to commit, they said on Thursday.

The officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing internal deliberations between the United States and its negotiating partners: The other four permanent members of the UN Security Council - Britain, China, France and Russia - along with Germany.

The call has been expected since Iran's top nuclear envoy wrote a letter to the six countries on October 6 complaining about the attitude of the West in the talks.

The group discussion is the next step in a slow-moving pressure campaign designed to persuade Iran to give up objectionable parts of its nuclear program. Iran denies it is seeking a nuclear weapon.

The Chinese have not explained why they are balking at the conference call, but diplomats said they assume it is related to the Bush administration's October 3 announcement that it will sell up to $6.5 billion in advanced weaponry to Taiwan.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

West wants urgent consultations

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province and is vehemently opposed to such sales. The announcement from Washington prompted a furious response from Beijing, which canceled several upcoming military exchanges with the United States. US officials have defended the sales and called China's response "unfortunate."

At the time, US officials said they did not expect the Chinese moves to extend beyond bilateral cooperation with the United States. China told the US that it would continue to play active roles in efforts over both Iran's and North Korea's nuclear programs. China has not stopped cooperating in six-nation talks to get North Korea to abandon nuclear arms.

However, its stalling on the Iran conference call has raised concerns in Washington and European capitals, where officials want urgent consultations on how to move ahead with the Iranians. Iran is defying international demands to halt suspect nuclear activity and refused to accept incentives it has been offered to stop.

Iran is currently under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions and the United States and Europe want to impose a fourth round despite resistance from China and Russia.

Before the Taiwan arms sale was announced, the biggest hurdle to discussions on new Iran sanctions was Russia, which, angered by US and European criticism of its invasion of Georgia, thwarted a foreign ministers' meeting on the subject during the UN General Assembly late last month.

Russia eventually agreed to a new Security Council resolution that reaffirmed previous UN sanctions on Iran but did not add any new penalties.

Published: 10.17.08, 07:01 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3609865,00.html

Israeli Gestapo Holds Family Hostage

Hebron: Palestinian family says trapped by army

IDF troops seize control of Palestinian home in West Bank city as part of deployment during Sukkot holiday, female family member since released from home says relatives being held in enclosed room for three days now. Army denies abuse claims

Ali Waked

The mitzvah of this holiday requires Jewish families to reside in their sukkah for seven days, but for some Palestinians this Sukkot means being forced to live in a small room for days. This was the case for Sultan family from Hebron, who said they were held captive in their home since Tuesday morning and were subjected to shameful treatment. The army, after confirming the troops had already left the house, vehemently denied the accusations.

IDF troops commandeered the family's house as part of the army's preparations for the arrival of numerous Israeli visitors to the city. The family members claim that despite initially being told they would only have to remain confined to the room for 24 hours, the soldiers have yet to leave the house.

Among the household members is Anha'ar Sultan, who is four months pregnant. "A large IDF force came into our house at four in the morning. About 40 soldiers came in and told us that they intended to stay until the next morning, under a military decree. They shut me and my one-year-old daughter in one room, and my husband and two brothers-in-law in one room with a kitchen - and we were forbidden to leave, or even open a window," she told Ynet.

However after Israeli peace activists and the B'Tselem organization intervened, Anha'ar was allowed to leave the house. Her husband and his brothers are still being held in the house.

"A soldier sat in the hallway near the room and wouldn't let us shut the door. He didn't take into account that we need to sleep, or that there are women in the house. We couldn't breathe, my one-year-old daughter collapsed because of the conditions, and when I begged to take her out onto the balcony they said no," continued Sultan.

Sultan said that on Wednesday morning the family was sure the operation had ended, but then a different force arrived and refused to explain why the house was still being used.

"They were not polite and when we asked for help there was none. They wouldn't even let us give the ewe in the yard food or water.

"I don't know if because these were three days of hell I won't have to get an abortion," she said.

The IDF responded to the claims: "The soldiers' presence in the house was an operational necessity, the sole purpose of which is combating terror.

"After the soldiers left the house they cleaned it and restored it to its original state. During the time they resided in the house the soldiers used a side room, and allowed the family members to exit the house and return to buy groceries and feed their sheep. As for the pregnant woman, the request to release her was transferred via the Red Cross to the Coordination and Liaison Administration - and was then granted." The army denied other organizations had been involved in the handling of the woman's request.

Latest Update: 10.17.08, 00:00 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3609777,00.html

Israel Spying on . . . Guess Who . . . YOU

QUOTE: . . .clients that include the top 25 phone companies in the United States that together handle 90 percent of all call traffic among U.S. residents. The companies' operations, sources suggest, have been infiltrated by freelance spies exploiting encrypted trapdoors in Verint/Amdocs technology and gathering data on Americans for transfer to Israeli intelligence and other willing customers (particularly organized crime). . . Robert David Steele, a former CIA case officer and today one of the foremost international proponents for "public intelligence in the public interest," tells me that "Israeli penetration of the entire US telecommunications system means that NSA's warrantless wiretapping actually means Israeli warrantless wiretapping." . . The 2005 FBI report states, for example, "Israel has an active program to gather proprietary information within the United States. These collection activities are primarily directed at obtaining information on military systems and advanced computing applications that can be used in Israel's sizable armaments industry." A key Israeli method, warns the FBI report, is computer intrusion.

An Israeli Trojan Horse - - How Israeli Backdoor Technology Penetrated the U.S. Government's Telecom System and Compromised National Security

By CHRISTOPHER KETCHAM

[ VISIT THE COUNTERPUNCH WEBSITE VIA THE LINK FOR ALL OF THIS VERY LONG AND VERY REVEALING ARTICLE ]

Christopher Ketcham writes for Vanity Fair, GQ, Harper's, Salon and many other magazines and websites. You can reach him at cketcham99@mindspring.com.

September 27 / 28, 2008

http://counterpunch.com/ketcham09272008.html

Jim Crow in Israel: Prime Minister Admits Discrimination

QUOTE: "There is no doubt that for many years there has been discrimination against the Arab population that stemmed from various reasons," Olmert told a group of Israeli Arab leaders.

Olmert: Israeli Arabs have long suffered discrimination

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent

Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday said that Israel's Arab population has long faced discrimination and urged an improvement in relations between all the country's citizens.

"There is no doubt that for many years there has been discrimination against the Arab population that stemmed from various reasons," Olmert told a group of Israeli Arab leaders.

Olmert met on Sunday with Israeli Arab representatives, including Higher Arab Monitoring Committee Chairman Shawki Khatib and MKs from various Arab parties.

They presented Olmert with a petition signed by more than 250,000 citizens demanding that an independent inquiry committee be established to re-examine the attorney general's decision not to indict any officers involved in the events of October 2000, during which 13 Israeli Arabs were shot dead by police.

Olmert told the group that it is not within his power to change or appeal the attorney general's decision regarding the events of October 2000, but that there is room for discussion on ways to improve relations between Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens.

President Shimon Peres also met with the group of Israeli Arab leaders on Sunday.

After both meetings, Khatib said that the participants were aware of the outgoing prime minister and president's limitations with regard to the attorney general decision. However, he added that Olmert and Peres's comments led to the conclusion that both knew justice had not been done in the case.

As for the recent Acre riots, Khatib said that had the findings of the Or Commission, which was established to investigate the 2000 conflict, been implemented, the Acre clashes could have been avoided.

Last update - 20:32 12/10/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1028375.html

Another American Traitor and Spy for Israel

QUOTE: The arrest this week of an elderly American Jew on charges of spying for Israel . . . Ben-Ami Kadish, the 84-year-old from New Jersey

New Charges Dim Pollard's Pardon Bid

By Marc Perelman

Thu. Apr 24, 2008

The arrest this week of an elderly American Jew on charges of spying for Israel appears to have put a serious dent in recent efforts to win a pardon for another American Jew in jail on similar charges.

There has recently been a surge in activity surrounding the case of Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst turned Israeli spy. Pollard has been in an American jail since 1986 on one count of espionage. Hopes that Pollard would be released were rekindled by recent peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The Pollard issue came up in January during meetings in Israel between President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The American president is to visit Jerusalem again this month for the celebrations of Israel's 60th anniversary.

"I think this sets back Pollard again," said Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former CIA officer who was a member of the White House's National Security Council until 2002. "It reopens the issue in the public arena, highlighting that Pollard was not a rogue or exceptional case but rather part of a concentrated and organized Israeli espionage campaign against the American military and intelligence communities."

Pollard's wife did not see the timing of the new charges against Ben-Ami Kadish, the 84-year-old from New Jersey, as coincidental. Esther Pollard told the Forward that the FBI has been sitting for years on the charges against Kadish, who reportedly shared her husband's Israeli handler. Pollard alleged that the FBI went public with the charges against Kadish in order to prevent her husband from being included in the traditional pardon list of departing presidents.

"The timing of this 'breaking news story' (which is obviously neither news, nor new) is an issue that has not been lost on anyone analyzing the news, whether in Israel or the U.S.," she told the Forward in an e-mail.

"There are various opinions as to what specific political agenda is being advanced by this timing. However, what all of the theories also have in common is the conclusion that yet another politically driven attempt has been made to tie the President's hands with regard to releasing Jonathan Pollard," she wrote.

The FBI and the Justice Department did not provide explanations for the timing of the indictment issued April 22 in a New York federal court.

After Pollard was convicted, Israel did not acknowledge that he had been serving as a spy. But that changed in 1998, when he was granted Israeli citizenship. Since then, Israeli officials have raised his case with American officials, and some Jewish organizations have argued Pollard's cause, saying that the former Navy man's life sentence was too harsh given the single count on which he was convicted. Pollard's wife says that these efforts have been relatively weak.

"So far no one, neither Olmert nor the American Jewish leadership, has made a serious request for Jonathan's release in spite of the fact that the 60th anniversary and the end of Bush's term in office is a golden opportunity to finally seek to save Jonathan's life," she said.

http://www.forward.com/articles/13238/

Thirty Years After Peace Treaty, Israel Remains "The Enemy" to Egyptians

Decades After Camp David, Resistance to Normalization Endures in Egypt

By Liam Stack

Wed. Dec 19, 2007

http://www.forward.com/articles/12304/

Cairo, Egypt - The American University in Cairo is a neatly landscaped stronghold of Egypt's ruling elite, the alma mater of the wife and children of the country's autocratic and deeply unpopular president, Hosni Mubarak. As a symbol of the ruling class and its close ties to the United States, the university has long been the focus of rumors and popular unease in this bustling city of 18 million.

In the past few months, the unease reached a crescendo amid a heated debate on campus and in the local media about rumored university plans to launch academic exchanges with Israeli universities. According to campus gossip, the university was looking at a secret plan that would allow Israelis to come to the university to study and teach.

On Facebook, the popular social networking site, students organized a group opposed to any "normalization" of ties between their school and the Jewish state that attracted more than 900 members.

Students on the Facebook group called for "a strict boycott against Israeli academics" and urged the university to "act on its good judgment and refrain from any dealings with Israeli academic institutions."

The quick opposition that formed on campus underscores the fact that, almost 30 years after Egypt and Israel signed the Camp David Peace Accords, cultural normalization with the Jewish state, through academic or artistic exchanges, is still a touchy subject. The university administrators acknowledged this by quickly and assertively denying the rumors.

"Over the past several months, rumors have circulated on campus - and have also been reported in the local media - that have had no basis in fact and may seek to harm the university and its reputation as an independent, apolitical institution," said AUC President David Arnold in an e-mail message sent to the university community November 11.

University provost Tim Sullivan was blunt when asked about possible cooperation with Israel.

"There are no agreements with Israeli universities," Sullivan told the Forward. "We don't have any now, nor are we contemplating any. And David Arnold never said we were."

Even after these denials, though, many students are skeptical.

"I think the rumors are true," says Yasmeen Jawdat El Khoudary, a 17-year-old undergraduate from Gaza. "It's not a lie. As we say in Palestine, there is no smoke without fire. If these things weren't happening, then why would people be talking about them?"

El Khoudary says that her opposition to normalization is based on her childhood in Israeli-occupied Gaza.

The peace between Egypt and Israel is often described as a cold one, but that does not mean the two countries ignore each other. Since the peace treaty between them was signed in 1979, they have exchanged ambassadors and cooperated on a number of security issues in the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli diplomats in Cairo say that their ties with Egypt are strong and that they meet with officials at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs every other day.

There is a significant economic component to the Egyptian-Israeli relationship, as well, and it becomes more significant every year. Cross-border trade has more than tripled since Egypt and Israel signed a limited free-trade deal in 2004.

Despite three decades of negotiation, cooperation and trade, many people here act like the conflict never ended. Ibrahim El Houdaiby, a prominent Muslim Brotherhood member and the tech-savvy editor of the organization's English-language Web site, says that the cultural boycott is all about politics.

"Cultural normalization will never happen as long as Palestinians are slaughtered and killed, and the whole world can see them being deprived of their human rights," said Houdaiby, who is an alumnus of the AUC.

For many Egyptian intellectuals, the battle migrated to the country's cinemas and coffee shops and to the campus of the AUC, which is a stone's throw from the Nile and from crowded Liberation Square. Many Egyptian liberals from the country's ruling class favor cultural normalization and economic ties with Israel. Some point to the financial perks of working with Israel, while others stress the importance of dialogue in a part of the world wracked by conflict.

Those who work with Israelis can face severe criticism and potential ostracism in Egypt. This fall, the actors' union investigated Egyptian actor Amr Waked, best known in America for his role in "Syriana," after he appeared in a BBC film opposite an Israeli co-star.

The union dismissed the case against Waked, but the furor the actor provoked reveals the degree to which most of Egypt's intelligentsia still regards Israel with suspicion. It is a hostility that cuts across the political spectrum, from artists and actors to members of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood.

Mahmoud El Lozy, an AUC theater professor and a well-known critic of normalization, is typical of many elite members of the Egyptian left who reject normalization. A highly educated playwright, he laments life in Egypt under the Mubarak regime with a posh British accent.

Israel is "the enemy," he said, and cooperation and business ties with Israel are just one of the many insults brought to the country by the autocratic Mubarak regime. "People who support normalization are just a bunch of bend-over Egyptians who support globalization and the rape of the country," he said.

University administrators privately blame the controversy on the popularity of conspiracy theories in Egypt, which are influential in forming many people's political opinions.

El Lozy says that the reason the rumors are so powerful in Egypt is that the country's institutions suffer from a lack of accountability.

"Rumors always grow, develop and acquire dynamism in the absence of transparency," he said. "If there were clear principles established, and people believed that policies would be based on those principles, then there would be no more rumors. The problem is that we are dealing with shifting grounds."

Officials at Israel's heavily guarded embassy in Cairo say they are frustrated by Egypt's cultural boycott of their country. They say it is "a source of sorrow" that Egyptians cannot watch Israeli films or study next to Israeli students. Shani Cooper-Zubida, the spokeswoman for the Israeli embassy, said that Egyptian-Israeli relations are strong at the political level. She attributes the cultural boycott to the ignorance of the Egyptian people.

"We have good relations regarding political issues, but when it comes to cultural affairs it is a little tougher," she said. "It has been 30 years since Sadat came to Israel to try to break down the wall of ignorance and hate between our countries, and he was successful in certain respects. But there are still some bricks in the wall that are still standing, and one of them is cultural relations."

Among the students at the AUC, a small coterie is amenable to the Israelis - though that does not equate with sympathy for Israel politically. Passant Rabie, a senior who has long, curly hair and who sports a backpack with peace signs, supports normalization with Israel and would like to travel there someday.

"I support normalization because we're all people," she said. "Normalization does not necessarily mean that you are pro-Israel. You should be civil enough not to have hate for any one big group of people."

"People here need to learn to differentiate more between Israel, Zionism and Jews," she added. "You can't just say that all Israelis automatically have Zionist beliefs, because that is like saying that all Arabs have terrorist tendencies. That's what we always accuse the West of saying about us."

Yom Kippur Riots Against Paramedics in Israel

Magen David paramedics stoned in Acre, Haifa

By Yuval Azoulay and Fadi Eyadat, Haaretz Correspondents

Magen David Adom stations and ambulances were pelted with stones in Acre and Haifa over Yom Kippur to protest their operating vehicles on the holiday.

In Acre, youths hurled stones at the local MDA station, damaging windows. Last night, riots around the station continued, leading MDA director general Eli Been to instruct staff in the city to perform their work in helmets and bulletproof vests.

Been urged rioters to allow paramedics to complete their work unimpeded so they could save lives.

He also pleaded with police to deal with the protesters: "These events are unacceptable, and I call on law enforcement authorities to handle rioters with an iron fist."

On Tuesday night, a 76-year-old Haifa man suffering from a serious illness became the target of stone-throwers while being transported to the city's Rambam Medical Center for treatment.

As Reuven Sadnai approached the hospital, "a barrage of stones was hurled at us. Some 50 yeshiva students standing on the bridge above the road pelted us with stones," he said.

"It was Kristallnacht in Haifa, and I want you to quote me. This was planned, and not just an act of mischief," Sadnai said.

MDA staff handled 1,786 cases of illness, injuries and childbirth over the Yom Kippur holiday. Sources at the organization say it treated dozens of people who fainted during the holiday fast, and dozens of children injured in cycling accidents.

Some 120 pregnant women who went into labor were also transported for medical care, and a Ramat Hasharon woman gave birth at home with the assistance of MDA staff.

Last update - 04:20 10/10/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027741.html

Yom Kippur Riot Over "Noisy" Car

Jewish youth allegedly beat Arab man in Acre, igniting riots

By Jack Khoury, Nadav Shragai and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents

Tensions are simmering in Acre on Thursday after a group of Jewish youths allegedly assaulted an Arab man who drove into the eastern part of the city on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur. The incident touched off large-scale rioting between Jews and Arabs, resulting in extensive damage of dozens of cars and shops.

The unrest erupted around midnight on Wednesday, hours after Jews began observing the high holiday of Yom Kippur. An Arab resident of the old city of Acre drove his car to a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city, claiming that he owned a residence there and was simply on his way home. Jewish youths at the scene claimed the Arab man was deliberately making excessive noise.

While allegedly shouting epithets, the youths proceeded to attack the Arab man. Shortly afterwards, a group of Arab youths arrived at the scene, igniting a riot.

News of the incident spread to the surrounding Arab neighborhoods of the town, including the old city, prompting hundreds to take to the streets. A significant crowd began coalescing along Ben Ami Street, which is considered the key commercial avenue in the city. Dozens of cars and shops along the street were vandalized.

The head of the Acre police station, Chief Superintendent Avi Edri, told Haaretz that the altercation was initially an isolated one that broadened and escalated due to the involvement of Jewish and Arab gangs. Police used force to disperse the crowds and restore order in the city.

So far, a number of suspected rioters have been arrested and police say they plan on detaining more individuals throughout Thursday and Friday. "This is a very serious incident that the city of Acre has not seen the likes of in recent years and we will deal with all the rioters and those who take the law into their own hands with an iron fist," Edri said.

Arab MKs seek beefed-up security for Yom Kippur

Police should be deployed around Jewish towns on Yom Kippur to prevent Jews from stoning cars driven by Arabs, MK Abbas Zkoor (Ra'am-Ta'al) urged Public Security Minister Avi Dichter on Tuesday.

Zkoor charged that for years, young Jews have gathered at city entrances on Yom Kippur and stoned passing Arab cars, endangering the lives of the passengers. "Despite numerous complaints filed in police stations, officers were not sent to disperse the racist gatherings," Zkoor said. He also asked Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar to condemn such behavior, which "surely contravenes the basic principles of the Jewish religion."

Last update - 09:16 09/10/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027633.html

Yom Kippur? Israel Denies Medical Help to Palestinians

Medical delegation denied entry to Gaza

Physicians for Human Rights team forced to turn back after IDF refuses to let them cross into Strip citing security considerations. 'We have no intention of violating Yom Kippur, we only want to care for the sick,' says delegation's leader

Meital Yasur-Beit Or

A Physicians for Human Rights delegation, made up of Israeli Arab doctors who were planning to enter the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, was denied entry due to security considerations.

The delegation, which included surgeons, orthopedists, an oncologist, a psychologist and a social worker, was scheduled to enter Gaza carrying advanced medical equipment, in order to care for Palestinians hospitalized in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis and Gaza's Shifa Hospital.

A PHR statement released following the military's decision, claimed that the IDF revoked its original consent to the trip while the doctors were already on their way to the area.

"We have 350 patients waiting for us in Khan Younis," said Salah Haj Yehia, who headed the delegation. "Some of the patients are in serious condition and some were refused entry to Israel for treatment.

"We were given the necessary authorization on Monday, but this morning I got a call that it was revoked... We have no intention of violating the sanctity of Yom Kippur," he added. "We only wanted to use this time off to care for the sick."

The statement further noted that the IDF prohibits the participation of any Jewish doctors in medical delegations to the Strip, which is a discriminatory action.

The IDF Spokesperson's Office said that it was familiar with the case and that its details were being reviewed.

Published: 10.08.08, 15:33 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3606964,00.html