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Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett responded Monday night to the uproar created by comments he made last week regarding the expulsion of Jews from their homes. Referring to Netanyahu's campaign, Bennett told Channel 2 that "a national camp does not attack a national camp. It is completely unnecessary to play in the internal field. We have to take votes away from Livni." "This policy debate is fine," said Bennett, "but to get up in the morning and see a flood of anonymous personal negative ads is not right." "Netanyahu prefers to surround himself with weak parties who have no influence...

62 soldiers, fighters and officers stood up on Sunday for the chairman of the Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home), Naftali Bennett, who has been under attack by members of the Likud. Bennett, who served in the elite IDF unit Sayeret Matkal, said during a television interview last Thursday that if he ever receives an order to evict Jews, he would ask his commander to release him from his position and added he would be willing to serve time in prison over this issue. While he did not advocate refusing to obey orders, candidates from other parties and particularly from the Likud...

Policy making for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria is moving from the Defense Minister to the Prime Minister's Office.. The move could be the result of an initiative by Coalition Chairman MK Ze'ev Elkin (Likud) and MK Miri Regev (Likud), who demanded that authority over construction be taken away from Barak after they visited Efrat in February. Defense Minister Ehud Barak had requested a delay in discussing any such action until he was to return from Paris. Nevertheless, on Sunday the government authorized the transfer of responsibility for the Settlement Department of the World Zionist Organization from the Agriculture...

As the Washington Post pointed out on Friday, US President Barack Obama purposely provoked the current fight with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He knew full well that Netanyahu does not back the Palestinian formulation that negotiations with Israel must be based on the indefensible 1949 armistice lines, or what are wrongly referred to as the 1967 lines. In the days leading up to Obama's speech last Thursday, Israel registered explicit, repeated requests that he not adopt the Palestinian position that negotiations should be based on those lines. And so it was a stinging rebuke when Obama declared Thursday: "The...

AND NOW . . . amidst billowing clouds of fragrant, aromatic first- and second-hand premium cigar smoke. . . it is time for . . . that harmless, lovable little fuzz ball, the highly-trained broadcast specialist, having more fun than a human being should be allowed to have, from behind the golden EIB microphone, firmly ensconced in the prestigious Attila-the-Hun chair at the Limbaugh Institute of Advanced Conservative Studies, serving humanity simply by showing up, and he’s not retiring until every American agrees with him, do NOT doubt him, with shrieks of joy at the mere mention of his name...

WASHINGTON — The administration of President Barack Obama has approved military sales to three Arab League states in advance of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister. The White House agreed to requests worth $500 million by Egypt, Oman and Tunisia for air defense upgrade, aircraft and naval ship support as well as helicopters. "The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

The reaction to Obama's treatment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ("Bibi") Netanyahu was as strong if not stronger than I have seen in the comments here and elsewhere in the blogosphere on any other issue. (I didn't let through a number of over-the-top comments.) Why this reaction? I bet a lot of the people having this reaction only had heard of Bibi Netanyahu in passing on the news. Who would care if our President left a foreign leader to wait in the White House while the President supposedly went to have dinner with his family? Who would care if our...

During the recent Herzliya Conference, billed as the platform for articulating Israel’s national policy, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu departed from the usual script of Israeli premiers. Instead of focusing on security, Netanyahu talked about Israel’s Jewish heritage and the right of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria (termed the West Bank by the media) and Jerusalem. In this article I’ve taken much from my friend Jerry Verlin, who has literally written a book on the subject. (See below) The media use the descriptions “Arab East Jerusalem” and “Jewish West Jerusalem.” But what is called (capital-E) “East Jerusalem” was only...

(IsraelNN.com) United States envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell arrived in the region this week in efforts to further press the Jewish state into relinquishing territory to the American-backed Palestinian Authority. According to PA sources quoted by the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Hayat, Mitchell is unveiling a five-point plan that will force local parties back to the negotiating table and press Israel to retreat back to the Armistice Line that existed between the Jewish state and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the years 1949 and 1967. Reflected in Mitchell’s new plan is an acceptance of the 2002 Arab...

The Republican upset in the race for the U.S. Senate seat held for nearly half a century by liberal Edward M. Kennedy reflects a huge victory for opponents of U.S. President Barack Obama - and also for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Scott Brown defeated once-favored Martha Coakley for the Massachusetts seat even after U.S. President Barack Obama rushed to Boston on Sunday to try to save her candidacy. Over the past nine months, Netanyahu has managed to curb pressure from Obama, who enjoys a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. Now, however, Obama will be more dependent on the...

The Kuwaiti newspaper al-Sayissa reported Wednesday that Iran has urgently summoned either Syrian Vice President Farouk Sharaa or Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem and Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah. They are apparently being called to the Iranian capital to receive orders to be carried out in the event of Iranian nuclear sites being targeted in war, Israel Radio reported. The newspaper quoted a Gulf state diplomat as saying that Nasrallah will travel to Teheran in the coming days in order to receive his marching-orders. Iranian opposition organizations in Paris told the newspaper that the Iranian intelligence apparatus has established a bank...

President Shimon Peres told schoolchildren in the north that "the prime minister will be demonstratively absent from a meeting with one of the most evil and horrible people of modern history, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who lies through his teeth about the existence of the Holocaust and curses Israel". Referring to the Iranian president's speech at the upcoming UN General Assembly, Peres added that Ahmadinejad "is pessimistic and has no future, and I'm sure Prime Minister Netanyahu will repay him." During his visit to the agricultural school 'Kaduri', Peres also spoke about the trilateral summit called by US President Barack Obama, who...

A Tale of Two Leaders: Obama vs. Bibi (ILLUSTRATED) Benyamin Netanyahu was born in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1949, a year after the state of Israel declared independence. Barack Hussein Obama may or may not have been born in Hawaii, United States in 1961. Kenya is not part of the United States. In his early years, Bibi served as a captain in the Sayeret Matkal reconnaissance unit of the Israeli Defense Force. In his early years, Obama says he did marijuana, cocaine and booze. Bibi’s brother, Yoni, (who attended Harvard) was wounded in the 1967 War and later killed during...

Israel will continue to keep the Gaza crossings closed, except to allow in humanitarian aid, until the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US National Security Advisor Jim Jones Wednesday. Sources in the Prime Minister's Office said a decision made by Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday to allow the shipment of hundreds of tons of cement into Gaza did not signal a change in the country's policies regarding the Gaza crossings. Rather, the sources said, the cement was earmarked specifically for three humanitarian projects, including a sewage plant under construction in northern Gaza as...

The beginning of a week of annoying meetings with the Obama team began with Defense Secretary Robert Gates. The goal of the U.S. is to break Netanyahu's will, give more U.S. tax money to the PA, and stop the Jews from building so it will be easier to kick them out of their land and move the arabs in.JERUSALEM - JULY 27: U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (L) laughs with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) during a luncheon July 27, 2009 in Jerusalem, Israel. Gates has arrived in Israel, and U.S. special envoy George Mitchell has arrived in Egypt...

JERUSALEM, Jul 23 (IPS) - Israel's newly installed ambassador in Washington says the "disagreement" with the U.S. over Israel's settlement policy will be resolved "soon". Speaking on Israel Radio, Michael Oren was giving his first interview since taking up his post. His upbeat assessment is challenged by many other Israeli officials and by most political pundits who foresee the U.S. and Israel being on collision course. With the EU and Russia following suit. Defining Israel's 'settlement policy' is the nub: Does it include also occupied East Jerusalem? A low-key U.S. demand for Israel to scrap a plan for a new...

Nov. 16, 2005 8:24 | Updated Nov. 16, 2005 19:39 New poll finds Sharon has 30% lead over Netanyahu By GIL HOFFMAN AND JPOST STAFFPrime Minister Ariel Sharon at Sunday's cabinet meeting. Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski If Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is considering whether to split the Likud and form a new party, he may want to draw his attention to a recent poll that found that he would defeat his main challenger, MK Binyamin Netanyahu, by over 30 percent. The poll, which was commissioned by Channel 10 and conducted among Likud voters, found that nearly 49% would vote for Sharon,...

Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to vote against disengagement in Sunday's cabinet vote unless Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agrees to a national referendum, sources close to him said on Tuesday. The minister is to vote in favor of the disengagement implementation bill in the Knesset on Wednesday. Netanyahu does not plan to announce how he intends to vote in Sunday's cabinet vote on the withdrawal until the last minute, but a source close to him said he has made up his mind and something very dramatic would have to happen for him to vote in favor. The source said that...

Last Update: 12/01/2005 23:03 PM wins war of wills with Likud rebels on State Budget bill By Mazal Mualem and Zvi Zrahiya, Haaretz Correspondents The Knesset on Wednesday approved the first reading of the 2005 State Budget bill after the Likud rebels decided to support it. The bill was passed by a majority of 64 to 53 MKs, thus preventing a deep parliamentary crisis as sources close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned that if the bill was rejected, Sharon would not hesitate to call on new elections. The anti-disengagement Likud rebels decided earlier on Wednesday to vote in favor...

Just saw former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu: I just got back from the American Enterprise Institute. When I arrived there, police were everywhere. The line to go through security and get into the conference room was long, but by being near the end of the line (I was late, so sue me), I passed through the metal detectors just before Bibi came breezing in. I stepped forward to try to shake his hand and five Secret Service agents gave me the stare of death... so, no hobnobbing with greatness tonight. But I did listen to one of the most engaging...