Free Republic

Biased Middle East studies professors are nothing new, but what about a professor who actually states in his course syllabus that he has no intention of presenting a scholarly, balanced approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict? This is how Vassar College history professor Joshua Schreier introduces the syllabus for his fall 2008 course, "The Roots of the Palestine-Israel Conflict": Students should keep in mind that this course is NOT designed to present "an objective" account of a "two-sided" conflict. The fact that there are supposedly two sides does not obligate us to portray each as equally right and/or equally wrong. The...

(IsraelNN.com) The President of the UN General Assembly attempted to prevent Israeli ambassador Gavriela Shalev from addressing a plenary session on Wednesday marking sixty years since the UN adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann tried to cancel speeches to be given by representatives of a “Western Europe and others” group, which is chaired by Israel’s ambassador. In response to the European representatives’ voiced outrage, Brockmann announced that he would add an Arab representative to the list of speakers.

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel can no longer expect "blank cheques" from Washington once president-elect Barack Obama's administration takes over in January, a former US ambassador to the Jewish state said on Sunday. "The era of the blank cheque is over," said Martin Indyk, director of the Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute who is considered close to incoming secretary of state Hillary Clinton. "The Obama administration intends to be engaged, using diplomacy to try to bring about a safer and more peaceful place, that is different from the seven years of the (George W.) Bush administration," he...

Clinton Supporter and Jewish Kappo Martin Indyk Has a message of Warning for Israel: Israel can no longer expect "blank cheques" from Washington once president-elect Barack Obama's administration takes over in January, a former US ambassador to the Jewish state said on Sunday. "The era of the blank cheque is over," said Martin Indyk, director of the Centre for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute who is considered close to incoming secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

Israeli Newspaper Ha'aretz is reporting that President-elect Obama is about to appoint Daniel Kurtzer as his special envoy reporting directly to him.Kurtzer is another gift given to Israel from that 78% of Jews who voted for BOH. When Daniel Kurtzer was part of the George HW Bush's administration he was known as one of Secretary of State James Baker's team of "Jew Boys."--- Kurtzer, Dennis Ross, and Aaron Miller. They were Baker's closest advisers and the designers of the Bush's policy to reach out to the PLO, appease terrorism and blame Israel for everything.

With the nominations of Clinton as Secretary of State and Rice as United Nations Ambassador, Obama’s global agenda is becoming clear. He wants to dramatically expand the power of the U.N., a corrupt global institution that is infested with spies for foreign and hostile interests. Obama’s record in the Senate included sponsorship of the pro-U.N. Global Poverty Act and co-sponsorship of the Jubilee Act. These two foreign aid spending measures alone would cost $920 billion to implement. Obama also wants to pass several controversial U.N. treaties and says that he would consider joining the International Criminal Court, a U.N. institution...

An ex-National Security Council member and former assistant secretary of state, Susan Rice brings the resume of a Rhodes Scholar-turned-diplomat to the team as she becomes the US face at the United Nations. The Washington-bred Rice -- no relation to outgoing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice -- served as member of the national security council during the administration of president Bill Clinton. She worked as a top foreign policy advisor to the campaign of president-elect Barack Obama prior to her latest appointment; indeed despite far-reaching ties to the Clinton administration, she joined Team Obama when Hillary Clinton was widely seen...

This blood libel of Israel, Jews, and John McCain’s father is sanctioned by Barack Obama’s official campaign It has been established [http://husaria.wordpress.com/2008/06/29/obama-campaign-sanctioned-anti-semitic-and-other-hate-speech/] that Barack Obama’s official campaign site exercises editorial control over the content of my.barackobama.com, and is capable of finding and removing “offensive” and “disrespectful” material within two days. The following has been online for almost three weeks. It accuses Israel of deliberatly murdering the crew of the U.S.S. Liberty, American Jews with divided loyalties of complicity, and John McCain’s father of complicity in a cover up. The following entry is sanctioned (tolerated) by Barack Obama’s official campaign... Now,...

Those who hoped that — with the victory of the antiwar party in 2006, the departure of Rumsfeld and the neocons from the Pentagon, the rise of Condi and the eclipse of Cheney — America was headed out of Iraq got a rude awakening. They are about to get another. Today, the United States has 30,000 more troops in Iraq than on the day America repudiated the Bush war policy and voted the GOP out of power. And President Bush, self-confidence surging, is now employing against Iran a bellicosity redolent of the days just prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom. What...

BURLINGTON, Vt. City's cable company offers Al-Jazeera A cable company is offering the Al-Jazeera network in its cable package, one of only a few in the nation to do so. Burlington Telecom, a city-owned cable company that serves 1,200 households in Vermont's largest city, began offering the Arab-operated network about six months ago. "We were certainly squeamish about it at first, given its reputation in the United States," said Tim Nulty, director of Burlington Telecom. "But if you look at it, it looks like BBC. I think it's more mainstream and more objective than CNN." (AP)

Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said Tuesday that America needs to ask Israel to help change the status quo in its conflict with the Palestinians, the only candidate at a National Jewish Democratic Council conference to suggest that there is any onus on the Jewish state when it comes to making peace with its neighbors. "The United States government and an Obama presidency cannot ask Israel to take risks with respect to its security," he told the crowd of Democratic activists and campaign contributors. "But it can ask Israel to say that it is still possible for us to allow...

Decision comes as Iran declares industrial-scale uranium enrichment capabilities It’s not a joke. On April 9, the United Nations Disarmament Commission reelected Iran to the senior office of a vice chairman. The commission also elected Syria as its recording secretary. The very day the Disarmament Commission—yes, as the name implies, this organization is in fact responsible for reducing the development of dangerous weapons by dangerous nations—cast its vote to reelect Iran to one of the three vice chair positions, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that Iran could now produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale. No joke. He did so...

A reader has sent me the following deeply disturbing account of the current atmosphere on a British law course: 'I must say it's been an eye-opener for me regarding the level of antizionism/antisemitism I have encountered from the people on the course, many of whom have training contracts and will go into practice as the next generation of lawyers. Upon realising the hostility I decided not to tell anyone that I was Jewish. 'One day, at the end of a workshop, someone raised the issue that an Israeli soldier was in the headlines for shooting a Palestinian boy. Three other...

French Ambassador Gerard Araud can't seem to decide whether to serve Israel teaspoons of sugar or tablespoons of vinegar. Two days after he broke from France's traditionally harsh public pronouncements toward Israel and told The Jerusalem Post he felt Israel "has tried to show the utmost restraint" in its recent conflict with the Palestinians, Araud did an about-face and slammed Israel for what he called its "anti-French neurosis." In an Army Radio interview broadcast Thursday, he went on to characterize the relationship between the countries as "very difficult" and said recent polls in Israel show the public likes Saudi Arabia...

ATTENTION -quotes by German, Belgian ministers /// EU foreign ministers on Monday condemned Israeli home demolitions in the Gaza Strip as disproportionate and pressed Israel to stop the action immediately. Meeting as Israeli forces launched a new operation in the flashpoint southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, they said the actions were illegal and against Israeli commitments under the international roadmap for peace. The ministers "condemned the large scale demolition of Palestinian houses in the Rafah district of Gaza as disproportionate and in conflict with international law and also with Israel's obligations under the roadmap. "The Council (of EU ministers)...

14 May 2004 – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the UN's top human rights official today both voiced their dismay at the violence and destruction in Gaza during the latest cycle of fighting that erupted earlier this week. "The Secretary-General strongly condemns Israel's ongoing and widespread destruction of Palestinian homes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip," said a statement issued by a spokesman for Mr. Annan. Reports cite the demolition of scores of buildings over the last two days, in addition to 130 residential buildings already destroyed this month. "The Secretary-General has repeatedly called on the Government of...

Greek Olympic officials have not listed Jerusalem as Israel's capital city on the official website for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games (www.Athens2004.com). The entry opposite the heading 'capital' is marked with an asterisk figure (*) instead. A footnote, at the bottom of the webpage, reads: * Please visit the official United Nations website for further information regarding the capital of Israel. The comment provides a web link to a United Nations fact file on Israel, which also doesn't list the Jewish State as having a Capital, but instead writes: "The position of the United Nations on the question of...

Calling Brahimi's statement "very disturbing," Israel's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Arye Mekel, said Friday that the mission was considering its response to the Iraqi envoy's description of Israeli policy as "poisonous." "We believe that UN officials should be objective, and in fact when we complain about the automatic anti-Israeli majority, they always tell us that we must distinguish between that and the fair treatment [accorded to Israel] by UN officials," Mekel said. Brahimi's statement, Mekel noted, contradicts public and private statements made by Annan, who has praised Israel's proposed disengagement plan from Gaza. The UN's Middle East...

The European Union expressed distress Monday at last weekend's Israeli raid in the Gaza Strip, warning such strikes fuel Palestinian radicalism. "I am concerned that too often strikes directed against radical Palestinian elements end up fueling more pain, hate and frustration among ordinary Palestinians," Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy representative, said. "I was distressed at the news that the raids carried out yesterday morning by the Israeli army in the Gaza strip resulted in a number of killings, including of innocent children, as well as in many people wounded," Solana added in a statement. Eleven Palestinian gunmen and three...

Mexican-American separatists don't believe U.S. has Saddam A Mexican-American separatist website, La Voz de Aztlan, is claiming the U.S. capture of Saddam Hussein is a hoax. The pro-Arab and viciously anti-Israeli organization also sees a spontaneous uprising of popular support for Hussein throughout Iraq – a phenomenon unnoticed by news organizations throughout the world, including those in Arab countries. According to the site, "extreme doubts have arisen throughout Islam that the released pictures by U.S. occupation forces of the 'captured Saddam' are of the Iraqi leader. Thousands of Iraqis, who knew Saddam, are claiming that it is one of Saddam's...