The Middle East Media Sampler 8/10/2012: Israel Lives In A Tough Neighborhood

From DG:

1) Embattled democracy  

"Next week, Mahmoud Abbas will enter the 92nd month of his 48-month term, and now has Yasser Arafat’s record in sight. Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian Authority in 1996, running essentially unopposed (his opponent was a 72-year old woman with no political party). In 2004, in the ninth year of his four-year term, he left office on account of death. His second-in-command was elected president less than two months later, running essentially unopposed (Hamas boycotted the election). Abbas is now midway through the eighth year of his own four-year term, almost certain to break Arafat’s record if he can just stay healthy."

Palestinian “President” Nears Record by Rick Richman

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Benzion Netanyahu And Why The West Bank Is Part of Israel According To International Law

The existence of Israel in accordance with international law--including Jewish rights to Gaza and the West Bank-- precedes the 1967 War, and the 1948 War. The legal basis for the reestablishment of the State of Israel goes back to the Treaty of Versailles.

Following WWI, the Treaty of Versailles established a system of mandates for parts of the Ottoman Empire to aid them in becoming independent. That is how Lebanon, Syria and Iraq came into existence--and ultimately Jordan too. The mandate for the Palestinian territory was for the re-establishment of a Jewish home, putting the Balfour Declaration into effect, based on "the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country."

Here is the sequence of events:

The Middle East Media Sampler 5/3/2012: Another BDS Defeat, But...

From DG:

1) Methodists don't divest

It seeemed like a positive headline, Methodists Vote Against Ending Investments Tied to Israel. Unfortunately, the reporting was less than encouraging.

In Tampa, many delegates took to the floor to testify that they had traveled to the Holy Land and met with Palestinian Christians who were suffering and increasingly desperate for an end to the occupation. But in the end, they listened to some Jewish leaders and fellow Methodists who warned that divestment was a one-sided strategy that penalized only Israel.

Benzion Netanyahu, Father of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Passes Away At Age 102

Maariv reports on the death of Benzion Netanyahu, father of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu:

Benzion Netanyahu, the prime minister's father passed away

In February, the Spanish Consulate in New York decided to grant a medal to Professor Netanyahu for his research on the history of the Inquisition and the Marranos.

...Prof. Benzion Netanyahu was born on March 25, 1910 in Warsaw as Benzion Milikovsky writer and Zionist activist. He was a leader of the Zionist movement in the United States and is considered one of the important historians in dealing with the study of Jewish life in medieval Spain and the study of the Inquisition, the organization pursued the Marranos in Spain. He also served as adjunct professor at the Academy for Jewish Research, a member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Science history Spain and professor emeritus at Cornell University.