JAPANESE TOURISTS SINGING AT THE KOTEL: Mere Rhetoric has the video, but doesn't know who they are or why they're doing it. Me neither--but there's another video: this one at Ben Gurion Airport, featuring Japanese tourists singing--among other songs--Ki M'Zion Tatzei Torah.

Update: Thanks to Paul who wrote in the comments--

They are Makuya - see:

http://www.makuya.or.jp/eng/index.htm

Makuya, who are ardently pro-Israel and 'ohavei Yisrael', have maintained a presence in Jerusalem for more than thirty years. Many of them have studied in Israel and attained great proficiency in Hebrew and Jewish studies, and groups frequently visit Israel (as, presumably, the group in the video).

Technorati Tag: and Makuya.

DEMOCRATS AND ISRAEL: Besides examining the latest defense offered of Pelosi's trip to Syria, Soccer Dad also looks at the signs of stress between the Democratic Party and Israe/Olmertl.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Democrats.

A RESIGNATION: As reported by Tel-Chai Nation. No, it's not Olmert--but it's a start.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Winograd Commission.

WINOGRAD REPORT CANNOT DISSOLVE SUPER GLUE: West Bank Mama is pessimistic about the chances that the report will change anything.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Winograd Commission.

WINOGRAD, SHAKESPEARE, AND MONTY PYTHON: Yid With Lid has an extensive rundown of the the ongoing jockeying for power in reaction to the release of the Winograd Report:

In a cross between Monty Python (I'm not dead yet! Oh Don't be a spoiled sport) and Julius Caesar (Et. Tu Brute) Ehud Olmert's friends and enemies are jockeying over succeeding him as Prime Minister.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Winograd Commission.

MAYBE HE WAS JUST TRYING TO INCREASE MOSQUE ATTENDANCE? Yoni The Blogger has a post about Sheik Ahmad Bahr--the acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council--who gave a sermon on Friday about killing Israelis and Americans.

Technorati Tag: Sheik Ahmad Bahr and Hamas.

GAZA GOINGS-ON: Meryl Yourish has an assortment of what is going on in Gaza these days--besides firing rockets at Israel.

Technorati Tag: Gaza.

WHY THE MIDDLE EAST DOESN'T MATTER: That is from the cover of the May issue of Prospect Magazine. The lead article is Middle of Nowhere by Edward Luttwak. He writes about how the middle east experts are so consistently wrong: among other things on the effect of the Israel-Arab conflict on global conflicts:

Yes, it would be nice if Israelis and Palestinians could settle their differences, but it would do little or nothing to calm the other conflicts in the middle east from Algeria to Iraq, or to stop Muslim-Hindu violence in Kashmir, Muslim-Christian violence in Indonesia and the Philippines, Muslim-Buddhist violence in Thailand, Muslim-animist violence in Sudan, Muslim-Igbo violence in Nigeria, Muslim-Muscovite violence in Chechnya, or the different varieties of inter-Muslim violence between traditionalists and Islamists, and between Sunnis and Shia, nor would it assuage the perfectly understandable hostility of convinced Islamists towards the transgressive west that relentlessly invades their minds, and sometimes their countries.

On the one hand, we stress the importance of Israel as a democracy and as the advance shock troops in the war on terror. The result is that Israel becomes the center of attention--and contention--on dealing with and appeasing the Muslim world.

If Israel--and by extension the Israel-Palestinian conflict--was no longer a focal point, and the focus instead was trained on Islamist terrorism as it manifests itself in terrorist attacks around the world: would Israel be less in the lime-light, less pressured, and more free to defend herself the way she should?

It will never happen.
But read the article anyway.
[Hat tip: Prairiepundit]

Technorati Tag: Israel and Edward Luttwak.

JEWISH AMERICAN RELEASED BY IRAN: I previously linked to a petition for the release of Robert Levinson, a Jewish American who disappeared in Iran. It is now being reported that Levinson--whom Iran denied knowing the whereabouts of--has been released.

SEE-DUBYA notes the rumor that Levinson may have been released in exchange for the release by the US of the Irbil Five--and describes the implications.

Technorati Tag: Robert Levinson and Irbil Five.

DID YOU KNOW WE HAVE A NEW AMBASSADOR TO THE UN? His name is Zalmay Khalilzad--the highest-ranking Muslim in the administration of President Bush and has also served as U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan and to Iraq.

Claudia Rosett, well-known for her reporting on UN corruption, has written about a meeting between Khalilzad and Iqbal Riza--whom she refers to as the Sandy Berger of the UN:

Perhaps our new ambassador to the UN has his own reasons for believing there are gains to chatting with a former Annan-acolyte whose resume includes doing UN headquarters sentry duty during the Rwandan genocide, covering up Saddam’s kickbacks during Oil-for-Food, shredding documents during the subsequent investigation, and last fall (while Annan was telling the Iranians not to worry about violating the UN resolution) bringing an Iranian mouthpiece to the U.S. as a special guest of the UN. But if Khalilzad really feels he must talk with Riza, don’t dignify it with lunch at the residence. Paper-bag it in a utility closet, preferably near an industrial-size shredder, as a reminder of what the advice is worth.

Moynihan, Kirkpatrick, Bolton...Khalilzad?
Not yet.

See also: They Come In Threes

Technorati Tag: Zalmay Khalilzad and Iqbal Riza and UN.