Obama Tours Holocaust Museum In Israel

13 Comments

1. 

   idredit on July 23, 2008 at 11:33 am

   I’m dismayed at Obama’s policy position on the Israel-Palestine issue. Same old, same old Israel first…ignore the plight of Palestinians. Do we need the second coming to pay attention?

   If Obama bends over more than he has so far to please Israel, put Israel first, he’ll break his spinal cord or at worst a serious curvature of the spine.

   He’s now aligned himself with McCain. Bomb Iran. So, if Bush doesn’t, “I will.”

   Obama says nuclear Iran poses “grave threat”

   SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) – U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday a nuclear Iran would pose a “grave threat” and that the world must stop Tehran from obtaining an atomic weapon.

   Obama told reporters during a visit to Israel that if elected, he would take “no options off the table” in dealing with the Iran issue and said tougher sanctions could be imposed.

   “A nuclear Iran would pose a grave threat and the world must prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Obama told reporters after visiting the Israeli town of Sderot, which lies close to the border with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.

   [.]

   “Iranians need to understand that whether it’s the Bush administration or the Obama administration, this is a paramount concern to the United States,” he said in Sderot, which has been hit by cross-border rockets fired by Gaza-based militants.

   Another four years of fear mongering and diminishing of civil rights.

   So much for change we can believe in. But why am I surprised ..look at the make-up of his inner circle. Sure ain’t Indians who gave the AIPAC embrace.

   • 

     shergald on July 23, 2008 at 12:27 pm

     Sad outlook, really. And I am not impressed by Obama’s foreign policy advisors on the Middle East, especially since Brezniev was moved to the periphery. He liked to tell the truth and that was much too dangerous for center stage politics or AIPAC.  

     • 

       idredit on July 23, 2008 at 1:00 pm

       So much for avoiding interest groups and lobbyists.

       Obama’s campaign has been hijacked.

       He’s beholden.

       • 

         shergald on July 23, 2008 at 11:46 pm

         Hope now that he is deceitful enough to be putting on a show behind which he will do what is right. Still, I was a bit bothered by the million dollar home. On the other hand, working the Chicago street has to count for something.

         Ball is rolling and we will have to wait to find out just what Obama is all about.

     • 

       shergald on July 23, 2008 at 2:31 pm

       Had to laugh at my phonetic error.

       That is, Zbigniew Brzezinski, that I was referring to.

2. 

   Oui on July 23, 2008 at 12:37 pm

   .
   Senator Barack Obama lays a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem

   PS I avoid using the H-word because it’s used in Israeli policy to suppress the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

   • 

     shergald on July 23, 2008 at 2:36 pm

     Finkelstein has written much about it, the use of the Holocaust to cover the Palestinian nightmare Israel has been causing for 60 years.

     It began in ernest with Menachum Begin, the engineer of the Yeir Yassin massacre and many other terrorist acts, as leader of the Irgun. There have been at least three Israeli terrorists elected to prime minister in the last 40 years, the last of course being Ariel Sharon. How did Sharon manage not to be arrested by the Hugue for war crimes: he just never traveled outside of Israel or the US. Yes, we protected this guy.

3. 

   Mattes on July 23, 2008 at 8:48 pm

   Israeli settlers spray chemicals on Palestinian farmers during attack
   Ma’an news

   July 22, 2008

   Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli settlers sprayed chemicals on a group of Palestinian farmers while attacking them in the Qalqilia area of the northern West Bank on Monday, human rights fieldworkers reported.

   According to a report compiled by the International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS), five settlers, two of them riding horses, from an outpost called Havat Gilad approached two farmers while they were working on their land in the village of Immatin.

   As the settlers started surrounding the two Palestinian farmers, they phoned their family for help. In the meantime, an additional fifteen Palestinians from Far’ata who had been working in their land nearby rushed to the aid of the other farmers.

   The farmers told IWPS that the settlers threw stones at the Palestinians, threatened to beat them, and set small fires on the hillside. Approximately 15 more masked settlers joined them.

   Fifteen Israeli soldiers arrived, looking on while the settlers continued their assault, the farmers said.

   When a 54-year-old Palestinian farmer approached the soldiers, a settler came between the soldier and the Palestinian and sprayed the Palestinian with an unknown chemical substance on his arms, hands and eyes, causing a burning sensation and loss of vision.

   When the farmer’s 22-year-old-son attempted to protect his father, the settler sprayed his arms and hands with the same unknown substance.

   According to the victims, the soldiers did nothing to stop the settlers from assaulting them, instead shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the Palestinians. A 34-year-old Palestinian was shot with a rubber bullet at the top of his thigh from approximately thirty meters away. After this, a soldier threw a tear gas bomb directly in front of him.

   The farmers reported that the fires, some started by the settlers and others caused by the heat of the teargas canisters, destroyed a total of 60 olive trees before Palestinian firemen could put them out.

   After the confrontation had ended, the injured Palestinians were treated at a local clinic.

   Both Palestinian men who had been sprayed with the unknown chemical substance reported that the burning sensations caused by the spray had not subsided the following day.

   http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m45897&hd=&size=1&l=e

   • 

     shergald on July 23, 2008 at 11:49 pm

     The date of your report is the most significant fact: nothing has changed, just the characters engaging in futile pseudonegotiations.

4. 

   Mattes on July 23, 2008 at 8:51 pm

        

   Soldier who killed peace activist denied appeal

   Taysir Hayb tells military committee hearing his appeal that he sent taped apology to family of British peace activist Tom Hurndall, whom Hayb killed while he was shielding Palestinian children from gunfire; however family denies receiving tape

   A special IDF committee has denied an appeal by the soldier Taysir Hayb, who was convicted of killing British photographer and peace activist Tom Hurndall, for early release from prison. Hayb has served half of his sentence, and the committee determined that when he completes two-thirds his case will be reconsidered.

   Hurndall, 21, was shot in the head during a protest in Rafah, while acting as a human shield for Palestinian children that had been caught in the crossfire. He lost consciousness following the injury and eventually died from complications of the onset of pneumonia. The soldier was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eight years in prison.

   During a debate that took place in the Haifa Military Court Hayb’s attorney, Idan Pesach, asked that the soldier be freed from prison due to good behavior and the success of a rehabilitation program in which he had taken part. The military prosecutor objected to the appeal, claiming it would harm relations with Britain.

   Pesach denounced the prosecution’s claim and said the case had nothing to do with diplomatic relations. Hayb received the right to speak and apologized for the incident in a trembling voice, saying he understood the grief of the Hurndall family.

   Hayb also claimed he had never intended to harm the British protestor, and was only tying to intimidate him. He told the committee that he had recently asked to be filmed asking the Hurndall family’s forgiveness. He said the tape had been sent to the family.

   ‘Never received tape’

   However when Ynet contacted the Hurndall family for comment, Tom’s mother Jocelyn told Ynet that the family had never received the tape. “We have never received any tape from the soldier,” she said. “If we had it would have gone through our lawyer, and he didn’t inform us of the existence of any such tape.”

   She added that the soldier’s apology was not as important to them as official apologies by the State. “The apologies we are waiting for are from the government of Israel, and the Israeli prime minister. The soldier is merely a pawn. We as a family didn’t receive anything and this is the first time I am hearing about the committee for his parole. I will check with my lawyer regarding this information,” she concluded.

   The Hurndall incident caused international and British turmoil and was considered to be one of the most distressing events of the intifada. It caused tension between Britain and Israel, and the Hurndall family has recently announced their plans to file a civil suit.
   http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3572412,00.html

   • 

     shergald on July 23, 2008 at 11:52 pm

     Another example of why publicity makes a difference. If the victim were a Palestinian, well, forget it. The shooter would not be sending apologies; actually, he might be commended, and certainly never charged with any crime.

     Military occupation is not what it used to be.

5. 

   Oui on July 24, 2008 at 4:05 am

   .

   Arab view of Obama trip

   
   Published early june in two papers: Al-Watan and Arabnews

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

   • 

     shergald on July 24, 2008 at 8:50 am

     Who can blame Palestinians for being skeptical that any change will follow an Obama election to president. Some of his advisors on the Middle East are right wing slanted and worked with Clinton to engineer the “generous offer” that never was.

     Perhaps worse than that: Bzesinsky (excuse the spelling) has quietly taken a back seat as a foreign policy advisor to Obama. Obama’s talking the AIPAC-Likud line on Iran is also troubling.

     Still, the symbolism of visiting the West Bank is positive, and since Bush has broken the ice with his January demands, demands not contradicted by Obama, a small light remains on. Obviously, the Israeli right wing would prefer a McCain-Lieberman administration.