AHARON BARAK, 'LEGAL BUCCANEER': Barak has written a book, but Six Kids and a Full Time Blog thinks the review of the book by Richard Posner stands on its own--for what it reveals about Barak's manipulation of the system.

Maybe so, but Posner does not condemn Barak for it. On the contrary, Posner writes:

Israel is an immature democracy, poorly governed; its political class is mediocre and corrupt; it floats precariously in a lethally hostile Muslim sea; and it really could use a constitution. Barak stepped into a political and legal vacuum, and with dash and ingenuity orchestrated a series of (in Laurence Tribe's words on the dust jacket) "surprisingly agreeable outcomes." He was a legal buccaneer, and maybe that was what Israel needed. [emphasis added]

Really?

Technorati Tag: Israel and Aharon Barak.

PROMINENT DOMAIN: The bloggers at American Thinker temporarily lost their domain because of a dishonest company that registered their domain for only half the time they paid for. American Thinker is now back and has the details.
[Hat tip: Larwyn]

Technorati Tag: Domain Registration.

DID FORMER MK AZMI BISHRA AID HIZBOLLA DURING THE WAR? We know that is what he is suspected of, now that Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court Judge Lia Lev-On partially lifted the gag order on the allegations against Bishara--Tel-Chai Nation has more.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Azmi Bishara and Hizbollah.

GIULIANI: ABBAS=HAMAS. Giuliani says they are the same:

“Hamas or Abbas, it makes no difference. The ball is in their court, and we just have to show patience and not push any peace process until they do what they have to do,” said Mr. Giuliani.

What they have to do, he said, is, at the very minimum, to recognize Israel’s right to exist and to renounce terrorism. Then, he said, Israel and the US should sit back and see if they mean it.

“They don’t just have to say the words. Anyone can say the words. They have to show that they are ending terrorism; they have to show that they are doing what they have to do to end terrorism. I’m a strong proponent of the philosophy that we can trust, but we have to verify,” he said. “If all that happens, then it will lead naturally to a peace process, but we have to wait patiently until they are ready to make it happen. And no one should make any concessions to the Palestinians until they take those steps.”

Sigh...why do politicians sound so good so pro-Israel before they get elected.
(Yeah, I know why...but still...)
[Hat tip: LGF]

Technorati Tag: Israel and Rudy Giuliani and Abbas and Hamas.

HILLARY TO NATIONAL JEWISH DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL: TALK TO IRAN. Jim Geraghty has a post about Clinton advocating James Baker's recommendation of using diplomacy--and being applauded for the idea, which Geraghty approaches skeptically.

Senator Clinton was applauded when she talked about re-engagement with Iran, a position that I suspect would be more controversial with other Jewish organizations.

"We cannot should not and must allow Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons - that has to be our starting point. No option can be taken off the table. But I think it’s important to look at all options – some have been narrowed by the choices of this administration. If the Bush administration had been smarter, and had been engaged with Iran, Syria and others, I’m not saying dangers would be lessened, but that the process of direct engagement is important. This president’s attitude is “I don’t talk to bad people.” I don’t think that is a smart way to manage the threats we face."

Geraghty has more on Clinton's speech, including a partial transcript.

Technorati Tag: Iran and Hillary Clinton and Israel.

IN MARCH--46 KIDNAPPINGS AND 25 MURDERS: Of Palestinians in Gaza, according to the New York Post. Imagine that--Hamas is unable to protect its citizens! Problems include international exodus of foreigners, unsafe streets, dwindling media freedom, health risks, and provocations of Israel.

In other words, Gaza's suffering proves, once again, that terrorist groups, thanks to their utter indifference to human suffering, are unfit to govern.

Unless you can blame Israel, of course.

Technorati Tag: Hamas.

MYTH: THE JEWS STARTED THE FIRST WAR WITH THE ARABS. I wasn't aware that there were people out there who said/believed this, but then again there is no accounting for what people will say/believe when Israel is the topic. The following is by Dr. Mitchell Bard of Myths and Facts

MYTH #260

"The Jews started the first war with the Arabs."

FACT

The chairman of the Arab Higher Committee said the Arabs would “fight for every inch of their country.” 1 Two days later, the holy men of Al-Azhar University in Cairo called on the Muslim world to proclaim a jihad (holy war) against the Jews. 2 Jamal Husseini, the Arab Higher Committee’s spokesman, had told the UN prior to the partition vote the Arabs would drench “the soil of our beloved country with the last drop of our blood . . . .” 3

Husseini’s prediction began to come true almost immediately after the UN adopted the partition resolution on November 29, 1947. The Arabs declared a protest strike and instigated riots that claimed the lives of 62 Jews and 32 Arabs. Violence continued to escalate through the end of the year. 4

The first large-scale assaults began on January 9, 1948, when approximately 1,000 Arabs attacked Jewish communities in northern Palestine. By February, the British said so many Arabs had infiltrated they lacked the forces to run them back. 5 In fact, the British turned over bases and arms to Arab irregulars and the Arab Legion.

In the first phase of the war, lasting from November 29, 1947 until April 1, 1948, the Palestinian Arabs took the offensive, with help from volunteers from neighboring countries. The Jews suffered severe casualties and passage along most of their major roadways was disrupted.

On April 26, 1948, Transjordan’s King Abdullah said:

All our efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Palestine problem have failed. The only way left for us is war. I will have the pleasure and honor to save Palestine. 6

On May 4, 1948, the Arab Legion attacked Kfar Etzion. The defenders drove them back, but the Legion returned a week later. After two days, the ill-equipped and outnumbered settlers were overwhelmed. Many defenders were massacred after they had surrendered. 7 This was prior to the invasion by the regular Arab armies that followed Israel’s declaration of independence.

The UN blamed the Arabs for the violence. The UN Palestine Commission, which was never permitted by the Arabs or British to go to Palestine to implement the resolution, reported to the Security Council on February 16, 1948, that “powerful Arab interests, both inside and outside Palestine, are defying the resolution of the General Assembly and are engaged in a deliberate effort to alter by force the settlement envisaged therein.” 8

The representative of the Jewish Agency told us yesterday that they were not the attackers, that the Arabs had begun the fighting. We did not deny this. We told the whole world that we were going to fight. 9

The British commander of Jordan’s Arab Legion, John Bagot Glubb admitted:

Early in January, the first detachments of the Arab Liberation Army began to infiltrate into Palestine from Syria. Some came through Jordan and even through Amman . . . They were in reality to strike the first blow in the ruin of the Arabs of Palestine. 10

Despite the disadvantages in numbers, organization and weapons, the Jews began to take the initiative in the weeks from April 1 until the declaration of independence on May 14. The Haganah captured several major towns including Tiberias and Haifa, and temporarily opened the road to Jerusalem.

The partition resolution was never suspended or rescinded. Thus, Israel, the Jewish State in Palestine, was born on May 14, as the British finally left the country. Five Arab armies ( Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq) immediately invaded Israel. Their intentions were declared by Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League: “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.” 11

Notes

1New York Times, ( December 1, 1947).
2Facts on File Yearbook, (NY: Facts on File, Inc., 1948), p. 48.
3J.C. Hurewitz, The Struggle For Palestine, (NY: Shocken Books, 1976), p. 308.
4Facts on File 1948, p. 231.
5Facts on File 1947, p. 231.
6Howard Sachar, A History of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time, (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1979), p. 322.
7Netanel Lorch, One Long War, (Jerusalem: Keter Books, 1976), p. 47; Ralph Patai, ed., Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, (NY: McGraw Hill, 1971), pp. 307-­308.
8Security Council Official Records, Special Supplement, (1948), p. 20.
9Security Council Official Records, S/Agenda/58, (April 16, 1948), p. 19.
10John Bagot Glubb, A Soldier with the Arabs, (London: Staughton and Hodder, 1957), p. 79.
11Isi Leibler, The Case For Israel, (Australia: The Globe Press, 1972), p. 15.

This article can be found at the Jewish Virtual Library where you can access the article's hyperlinks

Source: Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Israeli War of Independence and 1948.

WEST BANK MAMA'S 'ONLY IN ISRAEL' STORIES: For Yom Haatzmaut I was looking for this collection of stories on West Bank Mama's old blog and finally found them:

For my one year blogiversary I treated myself to one of my favorite things - "only in Israel" stories. Not only do I enjoy reading them, but even though not all of them are positive, in general they give me chizuk (strength) for the inevitable times when living in Israel is not a bed of roses.

Read them!

Technorati Tag: Israel.

ALIYAH AND 'LIFE IN ISRAEL' BLOGS: Here is a list from The Aliyah Blog, posted a few months ago--and take a look at what else The Aliyah Blog has to say.

• A Mother in Israel - The cutting edge (!) of homemaking and parenting in Israel and the observant Jewish community. By a mother of many, born in the US and now living in Israel. (MiI also just put up a list of her best aliyah-related posts)

• Aliyah! Step-by-Step: Making a Life in Israel - Aliyah on 17, August, 2005. Roadmap: What do you mean there’s no roadmap?! Hang on, we’re in for a bumpy ride! Ole!
  
  
• Almost Aliyah - Sharing our journey as we get closer to the big move…. (by David)
  
  
• Baka Diary
  
  
• Chayyei Sarah - An Orthodox Jewish thirty-something is living,playing, writing, and dating in Jerusalem.
  
  
• House of Joy - A nice Jewish girl from Long Island married to a Jewish doctor from Long Island…. Oh yeah, we are both “born again” religious fanatics living in Yesha also known as “The West Bank”.
  
  
• Israel Perspectives - Perspectives on the challenges confronting the Jewish People and State through the eyes of one who finds himself taking an active role in the compelling drama that is the life of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel
  
  
• JoeSettler - “A Blog about the Jewish State”
  
  
• Kumah - “The Neo-Zionist Uberblog”
  
  
• Life in Israel - A regular Joe with a Yeshiva background living in RBS
  
  
• lost in bec’s world - “i miss eretz israel. not a day goes by that i am not reminded–either by the way the light shines in that early morning where everything seems pink or in the afternoon where everything is bathed in an orange glow, or right before a storm when the sky turns dark, the world brightens, the colours are heightened and i know that i am almost there, and i hear the wisps and sighs of jerusalem calling, calling, and i can almost touch her”
  
  
• phishaliyah - If Phish got back together, would I still make aliyah?
  
  
• Planet Israel -To seek out a new life and civilization. To boldly go to…Planet Israel (from Evan)
  
  
• The Muqata - Wherever I am, I blog towards Eretz Yisrael
  
  
• Treppenwitz - The “wisdom of the stairs” by David Bogner. Some of what you’ll find here deals with the ’specialness’ and reality of everyday life here. Other stuff dances around the periphery of subjects like fatherhood, husbandry (hmmm…maybe that’s the wrong word), commuting, home improvement, and pet ownership.
  
  
• West Bank Mama - Here I try to share my views on Israel and life in general, from the perspective of a mother living in a very controversial part of the world. Orthodox Jews call it by its Biblical name, the Shomron (Samaria). Others call it the “west bank” referring to the west bank of the Jordon river. (Old archives here)

Technorati Tag: Israel and Aliyah and Blogs and JBlogosphere.

ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACKS WORLDWIDE ARE UP: Yid With Lid has the results from a new survey.

Technorati Tag: Jews and Anti-Semitism.