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A group of Americans opposed to Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is raising money online to pay for a ship from the United States to take part in a new protest flotilla scheduled to set sail for the Palestinian territory in September or October. In an appeal for money posted on the Web site UStoGaza.org, the activists say they are “planning to launch a U.S. boat to Gaza, joining a flotilla of ships from Europe, Canada, India, South Africa and parts of the Middle East.” They add that the American ship will be named after President Barack Obama’s second book:...

July 19, 2010 Special Dispatch No.3106 SNIPPET: "Al-Qaeda Second-in-Command Ayman Al-Zawahiri: The Only Hope for Palestine is to Depose the 'Arab Zionists' In a new 1-hour 3-minute audio recording, Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri reaffirms Al-Qaeda's basic strategy regarding Palestine and promised imminent victory in Afghanistan, and addresses words of praise and encouragement to the jihadist groups in North Africa, Somalia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, the Caucasus, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The video, dated Rajab 1431 (June-July 2010), was produced by Al-Qaeda's media wing, Al-Sahab, and posted on jihadist websites on July 19, 2010. Despite the date shown on the release, it...

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey rallied behind Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his blistering condemnation of Israel after its commando raid on an aid ship to Gaza. But as dust settles from the May 31 attack, Turkey's resurgent opposition seems to be gaining traction by articulating fears that Erdogan is steering NATO's only Muslim member away from the West, jeopardizing EU membership efforts, and even undermining a long-running battle against separatist Kurds. The views of the Republican People's Party — which considers itself a guarantor of secular values and enjoys a power base among Western-leaning urban elites — are increasingly...

VIDEO / IHH leader tells Gaza flotilla activists to 'throw IDF soldiers into the sea' New footage released by the Foreign Ministry shows IHH leader Bulent Yildirim rallying dozens of passengers on board the Mavi Marmara as they chant 'millions of martyrs marching to Gaza!' The Foreign Ministry released a new video on Friday in which IHH leader Bulent Yildirim is seen on board the Gaza flotilla's ship the Mavi Marmara, telling dozens of activists to throw Israeli commandos overboard if they attempt to board the ship. "If they board our ship, we will throw them into the sea, Allah...

"What did the President know, and when did he know it?" asked Howard Baker about President Nixon during the Watergate hearings. The carefully planned May 31 ambush of Israeli naval commandos by armed Turkish martyrdom fanatics, in collusion with Jodie Evans of the radical leftist group Code Pink and along with Obama friends Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, raises precisely the same question. Most conspiracy theories are hogwash, but not all of them. Stalinism really was a conspiracy to infiltrate, sabotage, and ultimately conquer the West. It had some spectacular successes, like stealing nuclear secrets from the Manhattan Project, a feat...

The Israeli government is blaming IHH extremists for the violence that erupted onboard the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara when troops boarded it at sea on Monday. In this photo of the ship before setting sail, a white and green IHH banner is draped on the hull, between Turkish and Palestinian flags. (Photo: IHH) The Turkish organization responsible for the ill-fated attempt to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip is part of an Islamic “charitable” network that was designated by the U.S. government in 2008 for funding Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza. Although the State Department points out...

PM Netanyahu: Investigation must include whole picture (Turkey) The world needs to know the whole picture and we will ensure that the whole picture is made public. Address by PM Netanyahu at The Marker Financial Conference Translation (Excerpt) PMO 09/06/2010 www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speechfinancial090610.htm We meet here every year to talk about Israel's economic policies, and I intend to do so today as well. However, before I speak about the economic policies, I would like to briefly touch on a topic on the international agenda. We are consulting with several figures within the international community regarding the appropriate procedure of inquiry that will...

In the aftermath of the Gaza flotilla incident, we have witnessed a tsunami of virulent, over-the-top criticism of the state of Israel for its actions in interdicting the so-called “peace activists” before they could dock at the port of Gaza. Reasonable people can argue whether the decision on the methods used to stop the ships was the correct course for the Israeli government to take. Indeed, there is a healthy debate within Israel itself over this very issue, including questions about intelligence, tactics, and whether the propaganda victory handed to pro-Palestinian activists could have been avoided while still maintaining the...

All you’ve heard in the progressive Democrat dominate lame stream media is about the pro-terrorist flotilla supporters. Someone may want to whisper in their ear about this pro-Israel rally that attracted over 5,000 people in of all places, Los Angeles this past weekend. It was briefly mentioned on Fox News over the weekend, and posted at YNet, but you would be hard pressed to find any mention of this rally on any other network’s TV station or website.Supporters of Israel marched along Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills carrying Israeli flags in the largest pro-Israel rally in the US since last...

In the hubbub surrounding the “battle of the flotilla,” Netanyahu’s quick reversal of his decision to remain in the United States has been largely ignored. It turns out that Obama told him to leave because he didn’t want Netanyahu to use the White House as a stage on which to present Israel’s side of the story. The flotilla violence caught Netanyahu in the midst of a diplomatic trip to North America. He was in the Canadian capital of Ottawa at the time, about to leave for Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama. The meeting was to have...