IDEALS

WASHINGTON, (Jun. 2, 2010) IPS/GIN – Faced with what the Wall
Street Journal calls “one of Israel’s worst international relations
disasters in years”, the right-wing leadership of the so-called
“Israel Lobby” has been pulling out all the stops to defend the
Jewish state against global outrage over its deadly seizure of a
Gaza-bound vessel in international waters carrying humanitarian
supplies early Monday morning.

Its biggest concern for now is to prevent the administration of
President Barack Obama from distancing itself in any way – let
alone joining in the almost universal condemnation – from the
military operation in which at least nine civilian passengers of
Turkish-flagged Mavi Marmara were killed by Israeli commandos.
Read the rest of this entry →

TEL AVIV, (Jun. 3, 2010) IPS/GIN – Attempts by media to interview
some of the hundreds of Free Gaza (FG) members, who were being
deported from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport,
Wednesday, were thwarted by Israeli authorities.

“No, you will not be able to talk to them or interview them,”
Shahar Ariel, a deputy-spokesman from Israel’s ministry of foreign
affairs told IPS as TV crews and journalists jammed one of the
airport’s sidewalks and filmed the dramatic departure.

Foreign media, and some Israeli journalists, have accused Israeli
authorities of censoring news and interfering with journalists
trying to interview the FG activists who were trying to deliver
humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip when they were attacked
by Israeli commandos.
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With tongue firmly
entrenched in his cheek, an Arab diplomat recounts an Israeli
cabinet meeting interrupted by an aide rushing in with the latest
statistics on the state of the economy.

The crops were down, growth was low, reserves were minimal and
inflation was high, he announced, portraying a rather gloomy
economic picture.

Momentarily, the prime minister seemed flustered by the news -
until he realized the aide was really referring to the state of
the Israeli economy. Read the rest of this entry →

WASHINGTON, (Mar. 22, 2010) IPS/GIN – U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton offered reassurance Monday to the influential
American Israel Public Affairs Committee that the Barack Obama
administration’s “commitment to Israel’s security and Israel’s
future is rock solid,” while echoing the words of warning issued
by Gen. David Petraeus and Vice-President Joe Biden.

Clinton’s address at the annual conference of AIPAC – a powerful
pro-Israel lobby group – comes as the U.S. and Israel are entering
the third week of one of the worst bilateral crises since 1975, as
the Israeli ambassador, Michael Oren, reportedly described it on
Mar. 13. Read the rest of this entry →

JERUSALEM, (Mar. 23, 2010) IPS/GIN – Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s current visit to Washington is not just about
trying to smooth over the crisis which has rocked U.S.-Israeli
relations over the past fortnight.

It is first and foremost about how he chooses to operate at what
Israel sees as a critical juncture between peace with the
Palestinian Authority (PA) and war with Iran.

He may be pressed to make his choice when he meets with President
Barack Obama at the White House. Read the rest of this entry →

WASHINGTON, (Mar. 15, 2010) IPS/GIN – The crisis touched off by
last week’s announcement of Israel’s plans to build 1,600 new homes
for Jews in Arab East Jerusalem during a high-profile visit by U.S.
Vice President Joseph Biden appears to be escalating rapidly.

Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to Washington and a historian
who has written widely on ties between the two nations, called the
growing contretemps “the worst (bilateral) crisis in 35 years” in
a teleconference with other U.S.-based Israeli diplomats Saturday
night, according to a number of published accounts. Read the rest of this entry →

WASHINGTON, (Mar. 13, 2010) IPS/GIN – “Condemn” is not a word that
rolls trippingly off the tongue of a U.S. politician addressing
anything having to do with actions, however objectionable, by
Israel.

So it was no surprise that close observers of U.S. Middle East
policy sat up a lot straighter in their seats when Vice President
Joseph Biden used the word not once, but twice, during his visit
to Israel this week in reference to the Israeli Interior Ministry’s
announcement that it intends to build 1,600 new housing units for
Jews in an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Read the rest of this entry →

WASHINGTON, (Jul. 18, 2009) IPS/GIN – The U.S. should proceed
cautiously in its engagement strategy with Iran, while moving
quickly toward final-status negotiations between Israelis and
Palestinians, according to a new report by a team of veteran
diplomats and Middle East policymakers.

The policy paper, released Wednesday by the Israel Policy Forum
(IPF), an organisation that promotes U.S. diplomatic engagement in
the Middle East, expresses support for President Barack Obama’s
ambitious Middle East strategy. Read the rest of this entry →

WASHINGTON, (Mar. 13, 2010) IPS/GIN – “Condemn” is not a word that
rolls trippingly off the tongue of a U.S. politician addressing
anything having to do with actions, however objectionable, by
Israel.

So it was no surprise that close observers of U.S. Middle East
policy sat up a lot straighter in their seats when Vice President
Joseph Biden used the word not once, but twice, during his visit
to Israel this week in reference to the Israeli Interior Ministry’s
announcement that it intends to build 1,600 new housing units for
Jews in an Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Read the rest of this entry →