Staying Real in Israel
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Let’s look at the facts here…

The Municipal government of Jerusalem has made a decision regarding building permits…and the United States of America feels it has a right to interfere!!! How ridiculous is this? Doesn’t Obama and Co. have anything better to do than supervise Jerusalem’s building Commission? (Like clean up a bunch of oil that is destroying the East Coast of America) Apparently the government of the United States feels that it is FAR more important to become involved in the day-to-day decisions of Jerusalem, like what building were built WITH permits and which were built WITHOUT permits…I think that Jerusalem’s building inspectors can probably do a much better job of it…

But here’s the thing…

Jerusalem is going to build a National Archeological Park on this biblical historic site. A park that will also include hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions. There happens to be about 88 Arab homes built on the site…homes BUILT WITHOUT BUILDING PERMITS, therefore, ILLEGAL!..So what is the Municipality of Jerusalem doing? They say that 22 of these illegal buildings must be destroyed…the Park cannot be built with them standing there, BUT…They have retroactively APPROVED the other 66 ILLEGAL ARAB HOMES!!!

Why isn’t Abbas THANKING Israel instead of whining to Big-Daddy America?

Abbas appeals to US over Silwan construction plan

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says Palestinian president contacted Washington to urge US to take action to cancel King’s Garden construction plan in east Jerusalem. ‘US must take swift action against this provocation,’ Abbas’ spokesman says

Reprinted from YNetNews.com

While Washington has already stated that the construction plan that entails the demolition of 22 Arab homes in Silwan damages trust between Israel and the Palestinians, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is not making do with statements, and is looking for action.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP on Tuesday that Abbas asked the United States to take action to cancel the King’s Garden project in east Jerusalem, part of which includes the demolition of Arab homes.

“I sent a notice this morning from the Palestinian president to the US in which he asked the American administration to intervene directly so that the Israeli project is canceled,” said Erekat.

Erekat also said, “We vehemently denounce the decision, which will result in the demolition of 22 houses in Silwan.”

According to him, “Israel continues its settlements policy in east Jerusalem and threatens to harm US efforts to promote proximity talks.” Erekat added that this will be the main topic of discussion in the meeting between Jordanian King Abdullah and Abbas that is slated to be held later Tuesday.

Abbas’ spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that the decision to destroy the homes in east Jerusalem “is a return to the Israeli policy that tries to place obstacles that will damage American efforts to promote negotiations. The US must take swift action against this provocation.”

On the other hand, the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday night clarified that the demolition and development plan in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan was in a “very initial stage” and that its final approval would require many discussions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his hope that all sides would reach “an acceptable solution guaranteeing that the law will be honored.”

The plan’s approval by the Jerusalem District Planning and Construction Committee on Sunday sparked a row, just two weeks before Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama.

This is a very initial procedure,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “The plan will face discussions and objections both at the municipality’s local committee and at the Interior Ministry’s district committee, where the residents’ stand will be presented.”

Everyone is all excited that the Israelis and palestinians are returning to the negotiating table, albeit, for “indirect” peace talks…

But as I listen to all the reports today, I see that the palestinians are not really returning to talks at all, nor are they planning on negotiating anything.

It turns out that the palestinians have agree to return to indirect talks to decide whether or not they will return to indirect talks!…They have not yet officially agreed even to this…And THAT is only on the condition that the Americans give them guarantees in advance that the rigid, unrealistic position of the Arab League vs. Israel will be adopted before any talking even starts…And that is only if the Israels agree in advance to stop building homes for their citizens anywhere that the palestinians decide that they should not build, including all of Jerusalem, the Capital City of Israel…

And it seems that, indeed, the Americans ARE giving those guarantees in advance! Apparently, this is what serves US President Obama’s agenda, and the heck with Israel…

How stupid…how dangerous…what a waste of Israel’s time and energy…

Abbas Calls Israel ‘Extremist;’ Netanyahu to Meet Mitchell

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that the Israeli government is “extremist” and must halt all building for Jews on land claimed by the PA before it agrees to American-mediated talks. Asked if he would sit down to talk if Israel continues to build Jewish homes on land claimed by the PA, Abbas said, “Certainly not. This is our land.”

Reprinted from Israelnationalnews.com Tzvi Ben Gedlyahu

The harsh words, stated in an interview with CNN a day after consultations with Saudi Arabia, came hours before Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is to meet with U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell in what so far are one-sided talks.

If the PA officially agrees to turn the discussions into a two-sided affair, the okay will not come before Saturday, when senior PA officials meet. Nevertheless, Mitchell is scheduled to meet with Abbas on Friday, after sitting down with Netanyahu Wednesday afternoon. At the same time, Abbas is in Egypt for consultations following a conference with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah in preparation for presenting to Mitchell conditions for a PA state.

The “negotiations” that the Obama administration propose are theoretical because the PA has said the only subject on the table is for Israel to accept the Arab world’s position. The PA probably will not refuse to approve the talks unless it is sure it can place a diplomatic failure on Israel’s shoulders for its refusal to accept its conditions.

Neither Israel nor the PA has wanted to take the blame for failure of the Obama administration’s latest Middle East diplomatic move, but each side has tried to paint the other as being guilty for not agreeing to meet in good faith.

IDF Intelligence officer Brig. Gen. Yosef Baidatz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday, “Abbas is preparing the ground for the talks to fail. He believes the failure will expose Israel’s true face. He is pessimistic about the outcome and believes the ball is in Israel’s court.”

The mediated talks, if they take place in effect are between Israel and the Arab world, represented by the PA. The issue of a new PA country, including Jerusalem’s holiest sites, is at the center of an Arab strategy to force Israel to surrender all of the land that was occupied by Jordan and Egypt before the Six-Day War in 1967.

Since taking over the PA after the death of Yasser Arafat five years ago, Abbas has leaned heavily on the Arab world and its allies for advice and support. He told the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz on Tuesday, “The support of the kingdom to our cause springs from its strong belief that what it is doing for the Palestinian cause is a duty dictated on it by its conscience and its faith.”

Why is the U.S. so darned concerned about whether or not Israel builds homes for her citizens in the capital city of Jerusalem!!!

I think we are talking “Chutzpah” here…the Imperial Majesty of the United States of America is all in a tizzy because her vassal state of the Banana Republic of Israel will not bow to the demands of her master, the U.S., as to when, where and how to build homes…pretty unbelievable, if you ask me…

The Obama administration is snubbing the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat by not receiving him in an appropriate, dignified official capacity (welcome to the club, Mayor Barkat, says Prime Minister Netanyahu) because he has the audacity to say that his country, Israel, will, indeed, continue to build homes for Israelis in the capital, Jerusalem. And HOW DARE such a peon openly express his dissatisfaction with the public dissing of Israel by the American administration…who does he think he is, anyway?…The Mayor of Jerusalem, or something like that???

And then, the Americans think that they can sidle up and make nice with the Interior Minister, Eli Yishai, in spite of the fact that it was, most likely, Yishai himself that was responsible for the announcement of the Jerusalem building plans during US VP Biden’s visit to Israel…the event that started the tempest in the teapot boiling away in the first place…

Seems the Americans think that we Israelis are not only unimportant and weak, but stupid as well…

Good for you, Mayor Barkat, for telling it like it is and doing the job that you were elected to do…looking after the interests of the Capital City of Israel, Jerusalem and her inhabitants…

Jerusalem mayor shunned by top US officials


Following harsh statements against Obama Administration, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s request to meet with Clinton, Mitchell denied; Israeli official slams mayor’s remarks, says his actions undermine renewal of negotiations

Reprinted from YNetnews.com Yitzhak Benhorin

Administration rejected Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat’s request to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Special Mideast Envoy George Mitchell, Ynet has learned.

Barkat, who is visiting Washington, continued his attacks on the US government Wednesday, further embarrassing the Netanyahu government.

In the interview, Barkat said his positions on the Jerusalem issue are identical to PM Netanyahu’s views; however, an Israeli official expressed anger at the mayor’s conduct “at such sensitive period in US-Israel ties, when every housing unit in Jerusalem gains prominence.”

Uncoordinated meetings
A senior Israeli official said “Jerusalem is a sensitive issue when we’re on the verge of entering talks.” Addressing Barkat’s visit and remarks, the official said: “He arrived here without any authority to engage in diplomatic issues and without any responsibility – he arrived and is causing damage.”

On Tuesday, Barkat met American reporters and was quoted as saying that President Obama’s move constituted a slap in Israel’s face.

While the Jerusalem mayor informed the Israeli embassy in Washington of his arrival, he independently coordinated meetings in Congress and with the US media, without coordinating his moves with Israeli diplomats in charge of these issues.

Minister Yishai officially invited to White House


US seeks closer ties with minister held responsible for controversial construction decision

Reprinted from YNetnews.com Roni Sofer

American bear hug? Interior Minister Eli Yishai has been officially invited to visit the White House.

The decision is apparently the result of the US Administration’s desire to forge closer ties with the minister they perceive to be behind the east Jerusalem construction turmoil during Vice President Joe Biden’s visit in Israel.

During Biden’s visit last month, the Interior Ministry approved the construction of 1,800 housing units in east Jerusalem’s Ramat Shlomo neighborhood.

The invitation was handed to Yishai by Dan Shapiro, Director of the Middle East department at the National Security Council.

Shapiro was also the one who reprimanded Yishai following the east Jerusalem construction decision, yet despite the harsh tones, the interior minister was asked to visit Washington at that time already. The official invitation, as noted, was extended Wednesday.

At the time, Yishai expressed his satisfaction in respect to the US holding him responsible for the east Jerusalem construction affair.

In an interview with Shas’ journal, he said that he “thanks the Creator for being given the right to be the minister who approves the construction of thousands of housing units in Jerusalem. This is the Jewish people’s capital. We built in Jerusalem for many years, and we’ll continue to build it.”

An ad by the Israeli Government Tourism Office was banned in England because it showed a picture of the Western Wall and the Jewish Temple Mount and implied that these sites are a part of Israel…imagine that…

The Advertising Standards Association claims that these holiest of Jewish sites in Israel are a part of the “disputed West Bank” and, hence, it is not true to say that they are in Israel…

It’s hard for me to comment any further on this idiocy, other that to:
1. Let you view the ad, below
2. Let you read the article proclaiming the outrage in the British press, below, and
3. Let you read the comments by the Honest Reporting organization
4. Urge you to join the Facebook group condemning this ridiculousness

‘Nuff said…

Israeli tourism advert uses picture of Occupied Territories

Israel’s tourist office has been criticized by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for using images of the Palestinian-run West Bank as part of a package tour for a holiday in Israel.

Reprinted from Telegraph.co.uk

The advert for the Israeli Government Tourist Office (IGTO) boasted that one could “travel the entire length of Israel in six hours” and urged tourists to sign up for the trip.

But the images shown in the poster included the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock – the oldest Islamic building in the world, built in the 7th century – both of which are in East Jerusalem, part of the disputed Occupied Territories of the West Bank.

Viewers complained that the advert misleadingly implied that the areas pictured was part of the “state of Israel”.

The future of Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues dividing the Palestinian leadership and Israel, which occupied and later annexed the east of the city following the Six Day War in 1967.

Israel’s approval of the construction of 1,600 new settler homes in East Jerusalem last month during a visit by Joe Biden, the US vice-president, prompted the worst diplomatic spat between the US and Israel in a generation.

The controversial move also angered Palestinians, who consider settlements a major hurdle in attempts to reach a peace accord, and who want occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.

The ASA said the advert breached truthfulness guidelines and ordered it not to be used again, adding: “We told the IGTO not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the State of Israel.”

It added: “We noted the ad stated ‘You can travel the entire length of Israel in six hours – imagine what you can experience in 4 days’ and ‘visit now for more itineraries in Israel’ and considered that readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the state of Israel.

“We understood, however, that the status of the Occupied Territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.”

The State of Israel Ministry of Tourism (SIMT) said that the advert provided “basic, accurate information to a prospective UK traveller who wanted to know what to expect in Israel”.

It claimed that it was “entirely accurate to assert that a visitor to Israel could visit Jerusalem as part of a short visit”, adding: “Had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading.”

It said that Israel “took responsibility to support the religious sites of all denominations, a commitment which also formed part of the obligations of an agreement with the Palestinian Authority signed in 1995″.

UK Bans Western Wall from Israel Tourism Ads


The Advertising Standards Authority rules that an Israeli ad breaches rules on truthfulness.

Reprinted from Honestreporting.com

From Palestinian denials of Judaism’s historical ties to the Old City and the Temple Mount to the most recent spat surrounding the status of Jerusalem and Israeli building in Jewish neighborhoods, campaigns to disconnect Israel and the Jewish people from Jerusalem and Judaism’s holiest sites are nothing new.

However, a ruling by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has taken things to new heights of absurdity. The ASA dealt with a complaint concerning an Israel Government Tourist Office advert that “the photograph featured for Jerusalem was of East Jerusalem” and therefore “the ad misleadingly implied that East Jerusalem was part of the state of Israel.”

The Israeli Tourism Ministry responded, saying that:

the ad provided basic, accurate information to a prospective UK traveller who wanted to know what to expect in Israel. They maintained that it was entirely accurate to assert that a visitor to Israel could visit Jerusalem as part of a short visit. Furthermore, they believed that, had the ad omitted a reference to a visit to the city of Jerusalem, it would have been incorrect and potentially misleading.

The Ministry also reminded the ASA of Israeli commitments to supporting religious sites of all denominations and that Israeli jurisdiction over those sites and tourism there was agreed upon with the Palestinian Authority in 1995. According to the ASA, the Ministry also:

maintained that the present legal status of Jerusalem had nothing to do with the point at issue. They said it was only of relevance if there was an attempt to interpret the straightforward message of the ad in a manner that went beyond what consumers were likely to understand from the ad.

Nonetheless, the ASA upheld the complaint, judging that the ad had breached rules on truthfulness. Referring to the image of Jerusalem’s Western Wall and Temple Mount, the ASA:

considered that readers were likely to understand that the places featured in the itinerary were all within the state of Israel. We understood, however, that the status of the occupied territory of the West Bank was the subject of much international dispute, and because we considered that the ad implied that the part of East Jerusalem featured in the image was part of the state of Israel, we concluded that the ad was likely to mislead.

Despite the fact that the final status of Jerusalem has yet to be determined through any negotiations between the involved parties, the ASA has, without the aid of international lawyers or politicians, come to its own decision – Israel is “not to imply that places in the Occupied Territories were part of the State of Israel.”

The bottom line – Israel can no longer feature Jerusalem’s Old City, including the Western Wall, as part of its tourist advertising campaigns in the UK.

Since when was it legitimate for the ASA to rule on the historic connection of Israel to its capital city and holy sites?

Israel’s Tourism Minister responded:

These statements join the list of repeated attempts by anti-Israel organizations to discredit Israel’s standing using absurd claims. The ministry will continue to promote marketing and advertising campaigns that make use of historic and religious sites in order to increase tourism to Israel. Jerusalem and its many religious and historic sites is Israel’s central tourism anchor that draws millions of tourists of all religions every year, regardless of political views.

The Tourism Ministry brands Israel as the Holy Land with Jerusalem at its heart, which beyond being the City of Peace, is the united capital of Israel. It is obvious to any thinking person that the Western Wall is one of Israel’s inalienable assets and as such it will continue to appear in the ministry’s campaigns. Just as nobody would dare interfere in the discretion of British state authorities on the matter of marketing Britain, the attempt to do so to Israel is illegitimate and non-negotiable.

Join the campaign to reverse this disgraceful ruling by the ASA. Please request that the ASA reconsider this decision as a matter of urgency – enquiries@asa.org.uk –

and

CLICK HERE

to join this Facebook group to help spread the campaign through social media.

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Bad for Israel, bad for the Arabs, bad for the Americans…Even bad for the palestinians…

Even Obama and Clinton seem to be finally getting the message, even backing off their previous stance of imposing an “agreement” on Israel, including retreat to the pre-1967 borders, division of Jerusalem and surrender of Israeli control of the Jordan Valley. Israelis and palestinians alike are massively against accepting the American initiative, obviously, for different reasons. And it’s a good thing, given America’s dismal past track-record of imposing defeat on Israel. The show explains just how terrible an American-imposed arrangement would be for everyone in the region…and just how terrible the outcome could be for the Americans…Plus…Why it is so strategically important to restore good relations between Israel and the U.S….Especially for the Americans…All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…

More fruits of Israeli/Jewish brainpower…Exciting research out of Hadassah University Medical Center, located in Israel’s capital city, Jerusalem. A new technology that allows the production of very large numbers of human embryonic stem cells for use in industry and research. Prior to this Israeli breakthrough, the cells could only be produced in tiny numbers. Now, massive amounts of cells can be made available for repairing human tissues and organs…and who knows what else?

Israeli advance in stem cell tech

Hadassah breakthrough to produce large number of human embryonic stem cells

Reprinted from Jpost.com JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH AND JPOST.COM STAF

A new technology developed at Hadassah University Medical Center has made it possible to produce large amounts of human embryonic stem cells for industry and research by growing them in suspension.

Until now, hESCs – which have the potential of ripening into any other type of body cells for repair of tissues and organs – have been created in small numbers.

Called a “breakthrough” in hESC technology, the research was just published in the prestigious science journal Nature Biotechnology. The article, titled “Derivation, propagation and controlled differentiation of human embryonic stem cells in suspension,” was written by Dr. Debora Steiner as part of her post-doctoral work under the direction of Prof. Benjamin Reubinoff, both of Hadassah’s Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center, with participation by other Hadassah colleagues.

HESC research has been stymied by the fact that it has, until now, been difficult to make large amounts of them. Conventionally, they have been cultured as colonies consisting of one cell layer attached to a flat “bed” of chemicals or nutrients. The involved a great deal of work, and the number of hESCs produced was limited.

It was thought that propagation of hESCs in a suspension (a mixture in which fine particles are suspended in a fluid where they are supported by buoyancy) was impossible because under these conditions, the cells would stop multiplying and instead undergo uncontrolled ripening into various types of cells.

But the Hadassah researchers developed unique conditions that made it possible for the cells to multiply significantly in suspension without differentiating into specific cell types. By changing the conditions of the culture, they showed that they could control the ripening of hESC clusters in suspension into neural spheres. Thus instead of being grown on beds in one layer, the stem cells could be cultivated in large vats with precise, computerized monitoring of growth conditions.

For more than 1000 years, the Jewish capital city of Jerusalem was the focus of THE happening for Jews around the world. During the 1000+ years that the Jewish Temple was standing on Har HaBayit (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem, this week, the week of the Jewish festival of Pesach/Passover, was one of three weeks throughout the year that all Jews would travel to the Jewish capital and camp out for a week of barbecues, eating, drinking, merriment and spirituality unmatched anywhere or anytime.
Passover was one of the three times every year that Jews were commanded for “aliyah l’regal”, or pilgrimage to the Holy Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. All the Jews would set up their tents and spend the week in prayer and festivities, eating the barbecue of the roasted sacrifices, enjoying kosher wines and celebrating the closeness of the Jewish people to the Creator.
Today, in the modern Jewish State of Israel, the Temple has not yet been rebuilt, but the Jewish people are keeping the tradition. Passover week continues to be a week of family celebration and trips through the length and breadth of Israel. Festivals abound in all parts of the Holyland, spiritual happenings, musical events and concerts, treks into the wonders of nature…Israel comes alive for the entire week as Jews of all levels of religious observance celebrate the week of the Jewish Holiday of Freedom in our Homeland, each in his or her own way, in the cities or in the Negev Desert, in the holy hills of Safed or on the heights of the Golan overlooking the Kinneret, Sea of Galilee.
And many of us yearn for the days, soon to come, we hope and pray, when we will once again be able to all go up to Jerusalem to visit the Third Holy Jewish Temple, may It be built speedily in our days, and enjoy the Festival of Passover fully once again…

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Why all of the international uproar is based on lies…A historic survey of the history of Israel, Jerusalem and the Jews from King David up to the present…Jerusalem has NEVER been the capital of ANY country, except Israel…Also…Why the controversy over Israel’s building apartments in Ramat Shlomo is ALSO based on a faulty assumption…Ramat Shlomo was NEVER part of East Jerusalem…Plus…The re-dedication of the Hurva synagogue…For the THIRD time…Again, no historical basis for objection by palestinians or anybody else…All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…

All the international outrage, the rioting Arabs, the crisis in US-Israel diplomatic relations, the redresses of Israel by American high officials…all based on a mistake?
The outrage is that Israel has announced new building in her capital, Jerusalem. The world says it is EAST Jerusalem, hence, occupied territories and, therefore, illegal.
Whether or not Israel building in East Jerusalem is illegal, they might first want to be sure that all the uproar is about building in East Jerusalem…which it is NOT!!!!!
We’re talking “no man’s land” here, NOT East Jerusalem. This is what the official documents signed by Israel and Jordan in 1949 stated. The land was NEVER even under Jordanian control, hence, was never in dispute.
Maybe Israel should be throwing the ARABS out of this area…but Israel does’nt do that sort of thing…

Ramat Shlomo in No man’s Land – Not Eastern Jerusalem


Ramat Shlomo in No man’s Land – Not Eastern Jerusalem

Reprinted from IMRA

Makor Rishon correspondent Arial Kahaneh reports in today’s edition that a
check of the maps signed by representatives of Israel and Jordan on 4 March
1949 in Rhodes finds that Ramat Shlomo is located in “No Man’s Land” rather
than in territory that at the time was designated as being under Jordanian
control.

Among areas having the same “No Man’s Land” status are Kfar Ruth. Shilat,
Lapid, Neveh Shalom (the Arab-Israeli community) part of the Tel
Aviv-Jerusalem highway route 1, Mini Israel and Ramot.

Read the text of this 1990 US Congressional resolution below…It should open your eyes…
When the US Congress passes a resolution, does it have any meaning whatsoever the day after? Can the word of the United States of America be trusted? Maybe it is ISRAEL that should be insulted by the affront of US Secretary of State Clinton and Vice President Biden. Israel’s policy has been clearly stated, and it is the correct one. The US congress has clearly supported that position in the past. What has changed, other than the leadership of America?

This US Congressional Resolution, dated April 24, 1990 clearly states America’s support of Jerusalem as the un-divided capital of Israel and specifically confirms the RIGHT OF JEWS TO LIVE FREELY IN ANY PART OF THE JEWISH CAPITAL JERUSALEM!!!

US Congressional resolution, April 24, 1990

“House Resolution Expressing Support for Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital
Whereas the State of Israel has declared Jerusalem to be its capital;
Whereas from 1948 to 1967 Jerusalem was a divided city and Israeli citizens
of all faiths were not permitted access to holy sites in the area controlled
by Jordan;

Whereas since 1967 Jerusalem has been a united city administered by Israel
and persons of all religious faiths have been guaranteed full access to holy
sites within the city; Whereas the President and the Secretary of State have
demonstrated their strong desire to achieve a just and lasting peace in the
Middle East and have worked diligently toward that end;

Whereas ambiguous statements by the Government of the United States
concerning the right of Jews to live in all parts of Jerusalem raise
concerns in Israel that Jerusalem might one day be redivided and access to
religious sites in Jerusalem denied to Israeli citizens; and the search for
a lasting peace in the region: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House
of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress

(1) acknowledges that Jerusalem is and should remain the capital of the
State of Israel;

(2) strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which
the rights of every ethnic religious group are protected; and

(3) calls upon all parties involved in the search for peace to maintain
their strong efforts to bring about negotiations between Israel and
Palestinian representatives.”

White House Ups Ante With New Criticism of Israel


The White House is raising the stakes with Israel, calling it an “insult” and an “affront” that the Jewish nation would continue plans to build 1,600 new apartments during a construction freeze aimed at re-igniting peace talks with Palestinians.

Reprinted from Fox News

WASHINGTON — The White House is raising the stakes with Israel, calling it an “insult” and an “affront” that the Jewish nation would continue plans to build 1,600 new apartments during a construction freeze aimed at re-igniting peace talks with Palestinians.

Palestinians have not sought as part of their capital the area of northeast Jerusalem where the Jewish settlement of Ramat Shlomo resides, but the decision to announce construction plans just as Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the region led to strained meetings that continues past his return.

Biden expressed his displeasure by showing up late to a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to issue a statement of condemnation.

On Sunday, President Obama’s chief political adviser David Axelrod told ABC’s “This Week” that the move undermines the fragile effort to bring peace to the troubled region and called the timing of the announcement “very destructive.”

Axelrod would not say what has been discussed in diplomatic talks but suggested the decision by Israel was “calculated to undermine” peace talks with the Palestinians. He added that because Israel is a special ally to the United States “for just that very reason that was not the right way to behave.”

But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Netanyahu’s apology on Sunday was a “good start” to rebuild trust, but more needs to be done.

“I think what would be an even better start is coming to the table with constructive ideas for constructive and trustful dialogue about moving the peace process forward,” Gibbs said.

“There’s no doubt that events like last week weaken the trust that’s needed for both sides to come together and have honest discussions about peace in the Middle East. So there’s no doubt that that was not a bright spot for the Israeli government.”

The State Department on Friday outlined what was described as a stern 45-minute call by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the prime minister. The unusually tough dressing down reportedly took Netanyahu by surprise. On Sunday he announced plans to set up a committee to review processes to ensure an embarrassment like the one with Biden doesn’t happen again.

Though Netanyahu had not included East Jerusalem in an earlier decision to halt construction for 10 months, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building committee canceled two meetings scheduled for this week after Clinton’s call, Haaretz newspaper reported Sunday.

I told you that they were just looking for another excuse NOT to come to the peace table. After all, why should the palestinians negotiate when the world is ready to give them everything they want on a silver platter, without them having to give up ANYTHING…
So now, they have their newest excuse for not negotiating…Israel is building homes for her citizens in her capital city….BTW, a building plan that was approved THREE YEARS AGO!!!

Amr Moussa: Talks on hold


Abbas reportedly halts indirect negotiations due to Ramat Shlomo plans

Reprinted from Jerusalem Post

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not enter indirect peace talks with Israel as planned, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said overnight Wednesday, due to the approval of plans to build 1,600 housing units in Ramat Shlomo in east Jerusalem.

“The Palestinian president has decided that he does not intend to enter negotiations at this stage,” Moussa said at a press conference in Cairo.

A senior PA official in Ramallah had said Wednesday that the PA would resume talks with Israel in the coming days, despite the threats and strong condemnations coming from Ramallah.

The official’s comments came after visiting US Vice President Joe Biden condemned the plan for the second time in 24 hours, this time standing in Ramallah next to Abbas.

“Yesterday the decision by the Israeli government to advance planning for new housing units in east Jerusalem undermined that very trust, the trust that we need right now in order to begin as well as have profitable negotiations. That is why I immediately condemned the action,” Biden said after meeting Abbas.

New Show/Podcast!!!

Billions of annual aid to Israel pays off big-time for the Americans…Those who think that America should punish her closest ally, Israel, by cutting off economic aid need to think, and then think again…The economic and military benefits that the U.S. receives from her strategic relationship with Israel FAR exceed the billions invested in the Jewish State…Also…A look at “Arab” East Jerusalem…What is really going on there?…What communities are we talking about, and why do the Jewish communities in the capital, Jerusalem, need to be expanded?…What do the local Arabs REALLY think about the building boom?…All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…Listen to the show below…

Listen to the Show Here…

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The US has a lot of nerve…not to mention the UN and the Arab League. Basically, Israel building homes for her citizens in her capital is none of their goldang business!!
First of all, Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish state for more than 2000 years. It has NOT ever been the capital of any other country. Anyone can claim anyplace as the capital of their country, but first, they should have a country, and then, it would help if there was some sort of historic basis to their claim…Neither of which is the case when it comes to so-called palestinians and Jerusalem. In case you forgot, Jerusalem is city #3 in importance to Islam…They pray with their behinds facing Jerusalem. Every Jew in the world faces Jerusalem to pray, wherever they are in the world.
Secondly, if you ask the Arabs living in the neighborhood where the building is slated to take place…They are HAPPY to have the additional housing units in their neighborhood. The tradesmen and shopkeepers cannot wait to start earning money from the increased population in their area. I just heard some of them interviewed on the radio, and, although fearful to speak out in public, that is what they said.
Oh, and I condemn the decision by the US government to build new apartments in Washington D.C….Very counterproductive…(even if you Do look cute wearing that silly black yarmulke)

Biden Condemns Construction Project in Israel’s Capital


U.S. Vice President Joe Biden flatly condemned a years-old city construction project in Israel’s capital late Tuesday, saying it is “undermining the trust” needed to jump-start final status talks with the Palestinian Authority.

Reprinted from INN Hana Levi Julian

“I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem,”
Biden said in a prepared statement. “The substance and timing of the announcement, particularly with the launching of proximity talks, is precisely the kind of step that undermines the trust we need right now and runs counter to the constructive discussions that I’ve had here in Israel.”

The term “proximity talks” is the new phrase that refers to final status negotiations between Israel and the PA, so called because the Obama administration will now be serving as an intermediary. PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and his aides have refused to meet for direct talks with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other top government officials.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also slammed the government’s approval of the project, issuing a statement Wednesday that said “the settlement activity is contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Roadmap, and undermines any movement towards a viable peace process.”

According to the Interior Ministry, which also issued a statement Tuesday night, the authorization for the project, a plan by the Jerusalem District Planning Committee to build 1,600 housing units in eastern Jerusalem, was routine. Interior Minister Eli Yishai said the announcement had been a “procedural matter,” and not a deliberate attempt to insult Biden or anyone else. He added that he regretted the timing and would have delayed the announcement had he been aware it was coming up.

The project, slated for the hareidi-religious neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo, had been on the table for more than three years, did not require approval of the prime minister, and has been submitted for public comment – a 60-day process. It is still subject to final approval, and still must be reviewed by the committee. If after that process it passes muster, the project will extend the existing neighborhood by adding an access road from the west, upgrading the current entrance road, and adding apartments on the southeastern side. Each apartment will be approximately 120 square meters (1,290 square feet). The total project will comprise some 580 dunams (143 acres).

The Interior Ministry said in its statement that Netanyahu had been unaware of the plan and its timing.

Biden’s statement was issued at the close of his second day in the region on a visit that was promoted primarily as confidence-building mission meant to emphasize America’s support for Israel. “There is no space between us,” Biden told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Jerusalem on Monday.

The prime minister responded by telling journalists following their two-hour meeting that the American vice president was “a real friend to me, and a real friend to Israel and to the Jewish people.” Biden is the latest in a parade of American officials to arrive in Israel in recent weeks on a mission to keep the Netanyahu administration in line with American policy on Iran and talks with the PA.

Last November, Netanyahu responded to pressure from the White House by authorizing a freeze on construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. However, he was unwilling to extend that freeze to the neighborhoods of Jerusalem that were restored to the capital following the 1967 Six Day War — a point of contention with the PA which has refused to resume talks with Israel until those areas are included.

An entry and show from the archives

Gay Pride Parade Through the Holy Streets of Jerusalem…Is THIS what we mean when we say, “Next Year in Jerusalem”???

Also…US President Bush Is Encouraged by the Arab Energy Plans…Why???

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Would YOU Trust Your Entire Economy to These Guys??? (especially the one in white!!!)

Bush seems satisfied with Arab promises of increased oil production to solve the world’s energy woes…

I don’t think that I would even want to buy a used SUV from that guy in the shmatta, would you???

What do YOU think???

Maybe You could Run This Thing on Nuclear??? (if the solar thing doesn’t quite cut it)

OR, you might think about a smaller one…

OR, you might think about some serious use of alternative, non-fossil fuels!!!

REAL Alternative Energy

Hey, guys, it’s the 21′st century!!!

How about some alternative energy sources, but FOR REAL, not just lip service???

You can do this stuff SAFELY, now!!!

REAL Alternative Energy

Hey, guys, it’s the 21′st century!!!

How about some alternative energy sources, but FOR REAL, not just lip service???

You can do this stuff SAFELY, now!!!

Coming Soon, to a Synagogue Near You (if you don’t put him away in prison first!!!)

At least in America, at least SOMETIMES, they arrest guys like this for hate crimes…

That’s more than we can say for Europe, or Russia, isn’t it???

Next Year in Jerusalem???

Since most (intelligent) people don’t really want this abomination in the Holy City of Jerusalem, why not be just a bit un-PC, and send their party to some OTHER city???

No one says they CAN’T put on their freak show, but it DOES NOT have to be in the holiest city on earth!!!

How about some “Jewish pride”???…

Or even some “Christian pride”???…

Or even some “Moslem pride”???…

Hey, that’s “Ecumenical Pride” happening here, in Israel!!!

Thank G-d we were saved from this evil man….

Olmert: I Was Willing to Surrender Temple Mount

…Luckily the palestinians hate Israel more than they want a state…Once again, they prove that they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity…

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