For those that don't know it, the aforementioned periodical, Jane's Defense Weekly, is considered by most to be the source for military information around the world.
It is used as the reference for all maner of military information on ALL nations militaries.
Weaponry, strength of forces, armaments, etc.
Funny, but about two weeks ago, just as the little Hitler, Iranian President Ahmadinejad was prepping his, "we are not supplying terrorists or building nuclear weapons" speech for the gullibles, er, I mean professors, at Columbia University and the UN, approximately 2 dozen Iranian and Syrian soldiers were killed when a chemical warhead exploded as it was being loaded on to a missile in Syria.
Now, what was a chemical warhead doing in Syria? And why were Iranian soldiers in Syria?
It obviously has nothing to do with Ahmadinejad's desire to wipe Israel off the map, could it?
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Ahmadinejad at Columbia University
As a graduate of Columbia University, I took a particular interest in the little Hitler's appearance there yesterday.
In fact, for the first time, I wrote to the administration to complain. I didn't write to Lee Bollinger, President of the University though. Two reasons for this. First, I consider him to be a lost cause.
He has allowed the faculty of the University, particularly the department of Middle East Studies to be hijacked by Arabists. The department is funded by Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. Now, there is a similar debate going on at Barnard, the women's college of the University.
Worse, the fact that Bollinger himself, rather than a member of the faculty of the School of International Affairs who invited him, was to serve as moderator indicated to me that Bollinger would use the opportunity to grandstand.
I was pleased that he took Ahmadinejad to task, if possible making a horrific mistake, just slightly, and I mean just slightly better.
What has simply failed to be mentioned is that by giving a forum to this man, Bollinger, a first amendment scholar, has said that the legitimacy of allowing Jews to remain on the planet, is a worthy topic of debate.
Can you imagine the situation if someone who advocated the wiping out of Native Americans received an invitation to speak? Or Edward Teller, who advocates the genetic inferiority of African Americans?
You can't imagine it, because it simply would not happen.
Freedom of speech does not mean the unregulated freedom to speak.
Columbia is a private University.
Does Ahmadinejad have the right to stand up in Times Square and try and spout his lies? Sure, and the public would have the right to ignore him.
But inviting him to Columbia, and providing the type of prestigious outlet that he did, is simply unacceptable.
And the fact that the Iranian press is touting his appearance there only indicates that this is the truth.
Columbia has lost it's moral compass, and this pains me greatly.
In fact, for the first time, I wrote to the administration to complain. I didn't write to Lee Bollinger, President of the University though. Two reasons for this. First, I consider him to be a lost cause.
He has allowed the faculty of the University, particularly the department of Middle East Studies to be hijacked by Arabists. The department is funded by Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. Now, there is a similar debate going on at Barnard, the women's college of the University.
Worse, the fact that Bollinger himself, rather than a member of the faculty of the School of International Affairs who invited him, was to serve as moderator indicated to me that Bollinger would use the opportunity to grandstand.
I was pleased that he took Ahmadinejad to task, if possible making a horrific mistake, just slightly, and I mean just slightly better.
What has simply failed to be mentioned is that by giving a forum to this man, Bollinger, a first amendment scholar, has said that the legitimacy of allowing Jews to remain on the planet, is a worthy topic of debate.
Can you imagine the situation if someone who advocated the wiping out of Native Americans received an invitation to speak? Or Edward Teller, who advocates the genetic inferiority of African Americans?
You can't imagine it, because it simply would not happen.
Freedom of speech does not mean the unregulated freedom to speak.
Columbia is a private University.
Does Ahmadinejad have the right to stand up in Times Square and try and spout his lies? Sure, and the public would have the right to ignore him.
But inviting him to Columbia, and providing the type of prestigious outlet that he did, is simply unacceptable.
And the fact that the Iranian press is touting his appearance there only indicates that this is the truth.
Columbia has lost it's moral compass, and this pains me greatly.
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Islamist Trojan Horse here in NY.
The Islamist Trojan Horse
By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
September 20, 2007
"We're fighting them there, so we don't have to fight them here" has become a hymn for the American right and an abominable lie to the left. But drowned out by all the noise is the fact that "they" are here already, having landed a long time ago and gotten very busy indeed constructing the American wing of jihad.Have you watched the Arabic Channel, also known as TAC, which serves the New York region? Probably not, as most New Yorkers neither understand nor speak Arabic. But if you are among the estimated 1 million viewers — legal and illegal, new and old Arabic-speaking immigrants to the tri-state area — who tune in daily to Channel 507 on Time Warner Cable, this is what you can get:
• A daily dose of Islamic jurisprudence from an Egyptian sheik, Amr Khaled, who comes direct from Cairo as TAC's prime advocate of "peaceful jihad," on how the duty of every Arab-American is to become first, second, and only a member of the Muslim Ummah.
• A nightly helping of Syria's CNN-style digest of the world, sent fresh from a Damascus studio where the Iraq war is nothing but an American butchery of Arabs, and the Zionist regime in Jerusalem is just biding its time until it gets what it deserves.
• A sprinkling of Egyptian and Syrian soap operas (though TAC completely avoids footage of "Oriental" dancing and other "infidel" joys of life).
On its Web site, TAC says it is now 14 years old and serves the "Greater New York City Metropolitan area, including Jersey City, Bergen County, N.J., and Mt. Vernon, N.Y." through cable and satellite transmission.TAC's ownership and funding are, to put it mildly, ambiguous. What is clear is that someone is funding this Islamist Trojan Horse already anchored inside the American fortress.
Another Islamist Trojan vehicle that was once quietly thriving in America — until it was shut down by presidential order in 2001 — is the now infamous Holy Land Foundation, whose recent prosecution by the American government is in its final phase.At the Holy Land Foundation's trial in U.S. District Court in Dallas, the foundation and its many chapters stand accused of allegedly collecting some $57 million for radical Islamic causes and using the money as direct or indirect donations to the Palestinian Arab terrorist organization Hamas. Among other things, Holy Land is accused of allegedly organizing conferences and festivals with Hamas officials at which anti-Israel skits were performed as small children danced and waved flags. But the process was going on long before the Holy Land termination order and trial.
It is naïve to not recognize the fusion between such militant proselytizing and the message spread by TAC. Seemingly separate but unquestionably part of the same process of spreading militancy among immigrant Arab communities was the Debbie Almontaser episode of the Khalil Gibran School saga, in which what she saw as a benign use of the word "intifada" led to her being forced to quit as the school's principal. Neither Ms. Almontaser's project nor her unstated intention to create a Muslim school in Brooklyn under the guise of multiculturalism took place in a void. The common task among all these organizations and individuals is to instill the notion there are no Arab-Americans, only Muslim Americans. What follows next, of course, is the "community's" eventual embrace of jihad against the values and policies of the majority infidel.
This is what has taken place in Britain among native British subjects of Muslim origin.For those who do not understand Arabic, of course, there is the new Al-Jazeera in English, whose slick, transplanted British broadcasters and directors are dedicated to expanding the notion that America and Israel are always aggressive and morally wrong.Al-Jazeera in English is accessible via the Internet and gains greater access every day to satellite dishes and bigger audiences, all of it sponsored by our ally, the government of the tiny emirate Qatar.hile American law enforcement is getting pretty good at spotting violence that emerges in the style of another paramilitary attack, a friend in the national security community in Washington told me that there "are no vehicles nor a body of laws" to stop or monitor that other kind of slow implantation.
Yaroslav Trofimov, a Wall Street Journal correspondent and the author of two impressive books, "Faith at War" and "The Siege of Mecca," travels extensively across the Muslim world and has concluded, among other things: "Often, those with the most bloodthirsty ideas were the well-to-do and the privileged who have had some experience with the West, not the downtrodden and ignorant masses."Maybe Congress should find a way to legislate asking such well placed outfits as TAC, Holy Land, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations a question: Who, pray tell, are you working for, gentlemen?
By YOUSSEF IBRAHIM
September 20, 2007
"We're fighting them there, so we don't have to fight them here" has become a hymn for the American right and an abominable lie to the left. But drowned out by all the noise is the fact that "they" are here already, having landed a long time ago and gotten very busy indeed constructing the American wing of jihad.Have you watched the Arabic Channel, also known as TAC, which serves the New York region? Probably not, as most New Yorkers neither understand nor speak Arabic. But if you are among the estimated 1 million viewers — legal and illegal, new and old Arabic-speaking immigrants to the tri-state area — who tune in daily to Channel 507 on Time Warner Cable, this is what you can get:
• A daily dose of Islamic jurisprudence from an Egyptian sheik, Amr Khaled, who comes direct from Cairo as TAC's prime advocate of "peaceful jihad," on how the duty of every Arab-American is to become first, second, and only a member of the Muslim Ummah.
• A nightly helping of Syria's CNN-style digest of the world, sent fresh from a Damascus studio where the Iraq war is nothing but an American butchery of Arabs, and the Zionist regime in Jerusalem is just biding its time until it gets what it deserves.
• A sprinkling of Egyptian and Syrian soap operas (though TAC completely avoids footage of "Oriental" dancing and other "infidel" joys of life).
On its Web site, TAC says it is now 14 years old and serves the "Greater New York City Metropolitan area, including Jersey City, Bergen County, N.J., and Mt. Vernon, N.Y." through cable and satellite transmission.TAC's ownership and funding are, to put it mildly, ambiguous. What is clear is that someone is funding this Islamist Trojan Horse already anchored inside the American fortress.
Another Islamist Trojan vehicle that was once quietly thriving in America — until it was shut down by presidential order in 2001 — is the now infamous Holy Land Foundation, whose recent prosecution by the American government is in its final phase.At the Holy Land Foundation's trial in U.S. District Court in Dallas, the foundation and its many chapters stand accused of allegedly collecting some $57 million for radical Islamic causes and using the money as direct or indirect donations to the Palestinian Arab terrorist organization Hamas. Among other things, Holy Land is accused of allegedly organizing conferences and festivals with Hamas officials at which anti-Israel skits were performed as small children danced and waved flags. But the process was going on long before the Holy Land termination order and trial.
It is naïve to not recognize the fusion between such militant proselytizing and the message spread by TAC. Seemingly separate but unquestionably part of the same process of spreading militancy among immigrant Arab communities was the Debbie Almontaser episode of the Khalil Gibran School saga, in which what she saw as a benign use of the word "intifada" led to her being forced to quit as the school's principal. Neither Ms. Almontaser's project nor her unstated intention to create a Muslim school in Brooklyn under the guise of multiculturalism took place in a void. The common task among all these organizations and individuals is to instill the notion there are no Arab-Americans, only Muslim Americans. What follows next, of course, is the "community's" eventual embrace of jihad against the values and policies of the majority infidel.
This is what has taken place in Britain among native British subjects of Muslim origin.For those who do not understand Arabic, of course, there is the new Al-Jazeera in English, whose slick, transplanted British broadcasters and directors are dedicated to expanding the notion that America and Israel are always aggressive and morally wrong.Al-Jazeera in English is accessible via the Internet and gains greater access every day to satellite dishes and bigger audiences, all of it sponsored by our ally, the government of the tiny emirate Qatar.hile American law enforcement is getting pretty good at spotting violence that emerges in the style of another paramilitary attack, a friend in the national security community in Washington told me that there "are no vehicles nor a body of laws" to stop or monitor that other kind of slow implantation.
Yaroslav Trofimov, a Wall Street Journal correspondent and the author of two impressive books, "Faith at War" and "The Siege of Mecca," travels extensively across the Muslim world and has concluded, among other things: "Often, those with the most bloodthirsty ideas were the well-to-do and the privileged who have had some experience with the West, not the downtrodden and ignorant masses."Maybe Congress should find a way to legislate asking such well placed outfits as TAC, Holy Land, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations a question: Who, pray tell, are you working for, gentlemen?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
An American Update on Syria
Syria's Role in Regional Destabilization: An American View
David Schenker
* In the aftermath of Israel's air operation over Syria, Dr. Andrew Semmel, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy and Negotiations, warned that Syria might have a number of "secret suppliers" for a covert nuclear program. Syria is reported to have thousands of rockets with ranges of up to 56 miles positioned along Syria's southern border with Israel, while longer-range missiles armed with chemical warheads are believed to be positioned further from the border. At the Sixth Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference in November 2006, John C. Rood, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, specifically cited Syria as being engaged in research and development "for an offensive BW program."
* During his testimony to Congress on September 10, 2007, General David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, presented maps illustrating Syria's pivotal role as the source of foreign fighters entering Iraq. One of his maps showed three arrows that illustrated infiltration routes from Syria into Iraq; they were labeled "Foreign Fighter Flow." A week earlier, in an interview with al-Watan al-Arabi, Petraeus described how Syria allows thousands of these insurgents to arrive at Damascus International Airport and then cross the Iraqi border.
* Syria has sponsored terrorist organizations for decades. The U.S. Department of Defense determined that Syria and Iran were involved in the October 1983 attack on the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. military personnel. In 2001, a U.S. grand jury pointed out that Saudi Hizbullah, which had been responsible for the 1996 Khobar Towers attack killing 19 U.S. Air Force personnel, used Syrian territory for training; indeed, the planners of the attack met at the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine in Damascus.
* During last summer's war, Damascus not only transshipped Iranian weapons to Hizbullah, but also provided its own top-of-the-line, Russian-made military equipment - the Kornet anti-tank missile - and its own 220mm anti-personnel rockets. Likewise, in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Syrian rearmament of Hizbullah continues unabated. On March 24, 2007, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1747 that specifically called on all states to refrain from the procurement of "any arms or related material" from Iran. The resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, and thus constitutes binding international law. Nonetheless, Syria persisted in receiving Iranian weaponry and transferring these prohibited materials to Hizbullah.
The writer, a senior fellow in Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, served from 2002 to 2006 in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as country director for Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories.
David Schenker
* In the aftermath of Israel's air operation over Syria, Dr. Andrew Semmel, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy and Negotiations, warned that Syria might have a number of "secret suppliers" for a covert nuclear program. Syria is reported to have thousands of rockets with ranges of up to 56 miles positioned along Syria's southern border with Israel, while longer-range missiles armed with chemical warheads are believed to be positioned further from the border. At the Sixth Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference in November 2006, John C. Rood, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, specifically cited Syria as being engaged in research and development "for an offensive BW program."
* During his testimony to Congress on September 10, 2007, General David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, presented maps illustrating Syria's pivotal role as the source of foreign fighters entering Iraq. One of his maps showed three arrows that illustrated infiltration routes from Syria into Iraq; they were labeled "Foreign Fighter Flow." A week earlier, in an interview with al-Watan al-Arabi, Petraeus described how Syria allows thousands of these insurgents to arrive at Damascus International Airport and then cross the Iraqi border.
* Syria has sponsored terrorist organizations for decades. The U.S. Department of Defense determined that Syria and Iran were involved in the October 1983 attack on the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. military personnel. In 2001, a U.S. grand jury pointed out that Saudi Hizbullah, which had been responsible for the 1996 Khobar Towers attack killing 19 U.S. Air Force personnel, used Syrian territory for training; indeed, the planners of the attack met at the Sayyeda Zeinab shrine in Damascus.
* During last summer's war, Damascus not only transshipped Iranian weapons to Hizbullah, but also provided its own top-of-the-line, Russian-made military equipment - the Kornet anti-tank missile - and its own 220mm anti-personnel rockets. Likewise, in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Syrian rearmament of Hizbullah continues unabated. On March 24, 2007, the Security Council adopted Resolution 1747 that specifically called on all states to refrain from the procurement of "any arms or related material" from Iran. The resolution was adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, and thus constitutes binding international law. Nonetheless, Syria persisted in receiving Iranian weaponry and transferring these prohibited materials to Hizbullah.
The writer, a senior fellow in Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, served from 2002 to 2006 in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as country director for Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and the Palestinian territories.
Still Crazy After All These Years...
It wasn't bad enough when Iranian President Ahmadinejad was shooting his mouth off about the nascent Nuclear program, and declaring his intent to wipe Israel off the map. That didn't quite satisfy his Napoleon complex.
In recent weeks the rhetoric has become much more frightening.
Actually, it is the rhetoric, combined with the actions and confirmed information that is frightening.
I have mentioned here before that Europe and the Soviet Union seem to be under the impression that the little Hitler simply wants to turn Iran into a regional nuclear power, a la Israel.
To them, this is alright since they are generally anti Israeli and see this as not a threat.
Of course, the failure to recognize the Iranian missile program, combined with the nuclear program made them blind to the fact that the Iranians were building missiles that had in their range all of the major European capitals.
But now, Ahmadinejad has stated bluntly, in numerous speeches over the last few weeks, that Iran's intention is, in fact, to be a global nuclear power.
Worse, he announced that they now have over 3000 centrifuges in operation. For those who don't know, these are necessary for the production of weapons grade plutonium.
In addition, the regime recently made a change in the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the army. The new leader is an expert in unconventional warfare, i.e. terrorist tactics.
It has also been revealed that Iran has been funneling huge sums of money to Hezbollah for the purpose of purchasing as much real estate in Southern Lebanon as possible.
They have been systematically developing a territorial contiguity from Iran through Syria into this area of Lebanon.
In addition, Ahmadinejad has been announcing in these speeches that the Iranians will provide any technology, including nuclear, and training to any entities, nations or terror groups, whose goal is the destruction of the West, America specifically.
Finally, he has continued the crackdown on dissidents, and even those who simply talk of rapproachment with the West. This has included everything from simple arrests to marching them through the center of Tehran, simply never to be heard from again.
In recent weeks the rhetoric has become much more frightening.
Actually, it is the rhetoric, combined with the actions and confirmed information that is frightening.
I have mentioned here before that Europe and the Soviet Union seem to be under the impression that the little Hitler simply wants to turn Iran into a regional nuclear power, a la Israel.
To them, this is alright since they are generally anti Israeli and see this as not a threat.
Of course, the failure to recognize the Iranian missile program, combined with the nuclear program made them blind to the fact that the Iranians were building missiles that had in their range all of the major European capitals.
But now, Ahmadinejad has stated bluntly, in numerous speeches over the last few weeks, that Iran's intention is, in fact, to be a global nuclear power.
Worse, he announced that they now have over 3000 centrifuges in operation. For those who don't know, these are necessary for the production of weapons grade plutonium.
In addition, the regime recently made a change in the leadership of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the army. The new leader is an expert in unconventional warfare, i.e. terrorist tactics.
It has also been revealed that Iran has been funneling huge sums of money to Hezbollah for the purpose of purchasing as much real estate in Southern Lebanon as possible.
They have been systematically developing a territorial contiguity from Iran through Syria into this area of Lebanon.
In addition, Ahmadinejad has been announcing in these speeches that the Iranians will provide any technology, including nuclear, and training to any entities, nations or terror groups, whose goal is the destruction of the West, America specifically.
Finally, he has continued the crackdown on dissidents, and even those who simply talk of rapproachment with the West. This has included everything from simple arrests to marching them through the center of Tehran, simply never to be heard from again.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Where are they now?
It's funny, with the publicity surrounding Osama's most recent tape, and the release of his "anniversary" tape of 9/11 with another of the hijackers jihad testimonial - the tapes these types of murderers make just before they dommit their crimes - I seem to not hear the ludicrous conspiracy theories any more.
I can just hear it now. "He's only taking credit because it serves his purpose".
Of course, his engineering background and his scientific description of knowing exactly how and why the towers would fall and where to hit them with the planes in the first anniversary tape is never discussed.
Nor is the fact that Al Qaeda has released all of the hijackers testimonial tapes now.
Tough to argue against 18 people confessing.
But, I am sure they're still out there claiming it was a US government and/or a Jewish conspiracy.
After all 99% of the Arab world can't be wrong, can they?
Funny how the Arab world can be polled and on the one hand, give full credit to Bin Laden as a "hero" for knocking down the towers, but then also reveal that it was really the Jews who did it as part of the world zionist conspiracy (that's what over 90% of the Arab world believes).
I am always fascinated by the desperate need of so many to believe in conspiracies.
Funny, but with the release of the "OJ" confessional this week it sort of brings home the point that many times in life, things are EXACTLY as they seem.
As the old saying goes, "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you can bet it's a duck".
He was acquitted because of the ludicrous need for some to believe in conspiracies wherever they looked. (In this case, supposedly racist police framing a black man).
There was a conspiracy in the 9/11 tragedies. Between the hijackers, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the Frankfurt cell, and the rest of the Al Qaeda hierarchy. That's it.
And it is an offense of epic proportions to the people that claim otherwise that they commit to families of the victims.
Imagine the children who lost parents who have to listen to people trivializing the epic loss they have suffered, not to mention the rest of their families.
I can just hear it now. "He's only taking credit because it serves his purpose".
Of course, his engineering background and his scientific description of knowing exactly how and why the towers would fall and where to hit them with the planes in the first anniversary tape is never discussed.
Nor is the fact that Al Qaeda has released all of the hijackers testimonial tapes now.
Tough to argue against 18 people confessing.
But, I am sure they're still out there claiming it was a US government and/or a Jewish conspiracy.
After all 99% of the Arab world can't be wrong, can they?
Funny how the Arab world can be polled and on the one hand, give full credit to Bin Laden as a "hero" for knocking down the towers, but then also reveal that it was really the Jews who did it as part of the world zionist conspiracy (that's what over 90% of the Arab world believes).
I am always fascinated by the desperate need of so many to believe in conspiracies.
Funny, but with the release of the "OJ" confessional this week it sort of brings home the point that many times in life, things are EXACTLY as they seem.
As the old saying goes, "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, you can bet it's a duck".
He was acquitted because of the ludicrous need for some to believe in conspiracies wherever they looked. (In this case, supposedly racist police framing a black man).
There was a conspiracy in the 9/11 tragedies. Between the hijackers, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the Frankfurt cell, and the rest of the Al Qaeda hierarchy. That's it.
And it is an offense of epic proportions to the people that claim otherwise that they commit to families of the victims.
Imagine the children who lost parents who have to listen to people trivializing the epic loss they have suffered, not to mention the rest of their families.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Hamas uses American Weapons against Israel.
The following story appeared in World News Daily last week:
Hamas: We fired US weapons at Israel
Terror group says it seized, utilized large stockpiles of weaponry upon takeover of Gaza Strip
Aaron Klein, WND
Published: 09.03.07, 15:05 / Israel News
Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations in the Gaza Strip utilized American and international weaponry to attack the Jewish state on Sunday, top terror leaders claimed to WND.
The weapons were seized in June when Hamas took control of Gaza and overran US-backed security compounds of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, the terror leaders said.
"The American weapons and western weapons that reached Fatah before Hamas took over Gaza is being used by the Palestinian resistance, including in our aerial attack yesterday," Muhammad Abdel-El, spokesperson and a senior of the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees terror organization, told WND on Monday.
"Yesterday was not the first time we used these American weapons against the (Israeli) occupation. The resistance will keep using all weapons at our disposal for the liberation of Palestine," Abdel-El said.
Abdel-El's Committees and members of Hamas' so-called resistance department, said they used heavy machine guns they obtained from Fatah compounds in June to fire at an Israeli Defense Forces helicopter that ventured into the central Gaza Strip near the territory's Nuseirat refugee camp.
Two important things to note here.
Fired from the Gaza strip, which is fully under Palestinian control, note the ready reference to the "occupation". What this means is ANY Israel. Not the so called territories, but the entire country. Where the weapons were fired are clearly in Israel proper, by anybody's definition.
Second, is that the story points out again, the folly of providing weapons to a group that is unable, and UNWILLING to police itself.
Hamas: We fired US weapons at Israel
Terror group says it seized, utilized large stockpiles of weaponry upon takeover of Gaza Strip
Aaron Klein, WND
Published: 09.03.07, 15:05 / Israel News
Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations in the Gaza Strip utilized American and international weaponry to attack the Jewish state on Sunday, top terror leaders claimed to WND.
The weapons were seized in June when Hamas took control of Gaza and overran US-backed security compounds of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, the terror leaders said.
"The American weapons and western weapons that reached Fatah before Hamas took over Gaza is being used by the Palestinian resistance, including in our aerial attack yesterday," Muhammad Abdel-El, spokesperson and a senior of the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees terror organization, told WND on Monday.
"Yesterday was not the first time we used these American weapons against the (Israeli) occupation. The resistance will keep using all weapons at our disposal for the liberation of Palestine," Abdel-El said.
Abdel-El's Committees and members of Hamas' so-called resistance department, said they used heavy machine guns they obtained from Fatah compounds in June to fire at an Israeli Defense Forces helicopter that ventured into the central Gaza Strip near the territory's Nuseirat refugee camp.
Two important things to note here.
Fired from the Gaza strip, which is fully under Palestinian control, note the ready reference to the "occupation". What this means is ANY Israel. Not the so called territories, but the entire country. Where the weapons were fired are clearly in Israel proper, by anybody's definition.
Second, is that the story points out again, the folly of providing weapons to a group that is unable, and UNWILLING to police itself.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
".... Have you no sense of decency. at long last. Have you no decency?"
For those who don't know, these are the famous words uttered by attorney representing the army, Joseph Welch, defending a young attorney in his firm, Fred Fischer, from attacks by Senator Joseph McCarthy.
The full quote is even more appropriate: "Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator.... You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
I couldn't help but think of these words as the entire situation with Senator Larry Craig unfolded during the last few days.
Let's see, he goes into a bathroom and is accused of trying to pick someone up.
I still haven't figured out exactly what his crime was. As far as I can tell, he did not offer money, so it was not soliciting prostitution.
Is he gay? Well it seems so if you believe the various "outing" publications that have been targeting him for some time.
It is so offensive the way that his party has forced him out.
Luckily, it seems that Arlen Specter may have begun to convince him to not resign his seat.
Now, do I think he should be in the Senate? Well, if in fact he is gay, no, I don't.
Not because he is gay, but because as a Senator he has been a leader in destroying gay rights, leading the charge against same sex marriage, etc.
So, I think that hypocrisy should be dealt with.
But in an election, not by being forced to resign because he gave a little signal to a man in a restroom.
If every Senator who tried to pick up someone for sex, not his or her spouse, was thrown out of the Senate, I'm afraid that august body would cease to exist!!
The full quote is even more appropriate: "Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator.... You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
I couldn't help but think of these words as the entire situation with Senator Larry Craig unfolded during the last few days.
Let's see, he goes into a bathroom and is accused of trying to pick someone up.
I still haven't figured out exactly what his crime was. As far as I can tell, he did not offer money, so it was not soliciting prostitution.
Is he gay? Well it seems so if you believe the various "outing" publications that have been targeting him for some time.
It is so offensive the way that his party has forced him out.
Luckily, it seems that Arlen Specter may have begun to convince him to not resign his seat.
Now, do I think he should be in the Senate? Well, if in fact he is gay, no, I don't.
Not because he is gay, but because as a Senator he has been a leader in destroying gay rights, leading the charge against same sex marriage, etc.
So, I think that hypocrisy should be dealt with.
But in an election, not by being forced to resign because he gave a little signal to a man in a restroom.
If every Senator who tried to pick up someone for sex, not his or her spouse, was thrown out of the Senate, I'm afraid that august body would cease to exist!!
Report from the British House of Commons
The New Anti-Semitism
By Denis MacShane
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Hatred of Jews has reached new heights in Europe and many points south and east of the old continent. Last year I chaired a blue-ribbon committee of British parliamentarians, including former ministers and a party leader, that examined the problem of anti-Semitism in Britain. None of us are Jewish or active in the unending debates on the Israeli-Palestinian question. Our report showed a pattern of fear among a small number of British citizens -- there are around 300,000 Jews in Britain, of whom about a third are observant -- that is not acceptable in a modern democracy. Synagogues attacked. Jewish schoolboys jostled on public transportation. Rabbis punched and knifed. British Jews feeling compelled to raise millions to provide private security for their weddings and community events. On campuses, militant anti-Jewish students fueled by Islamist or far-left hate seeking to prevent Jewish students from expressing their opinions.More worrisome was what we described as anti-Jewish discourse, a mood and tone whenever Jews are discussed, whether in the media, at universities, among the liberal media elite or at dinner parties of modish London. To express any support for Israel or any feeling for the right of a Jewish state to exist produces denunciation, even contempt.
Our report sent a shock wave through the British government. Tony Blair called us in and told his staff to fan out throughout government departments and produce answers to the problems we outlined. To Britain's credit, the Blair administration produced a formal government response setting out tough new guidelines for the police to investigate anti-Semitic attacks and for universities to stop anti-Jewish ideology from taking root on campuses. Britain's Foreign Office has been told to protest to Arab states that allow anti-Jewish broadcasts.We made clear that criticism of actions of Israeli politicians was not off-limits. On the contrary, we noted that some of the strongest criticisms of Israeli policy come from Israeli campuses, journalists and political activists, and from the Jewish intellectual elite of many countries. American universities have provided a base for Noam Chomsky and the late Edward Said, among others, to launch campaigns of criticism against Israel, and the bulk of the West's university intelligentsia remains hostile to the Jewish state.Tony Blair's successor as British prime minister, Gordon Brown, recently said in London that he stood with Israel "in bad times as well as good times," and one of the remarkable turnarounds of the new Labor leadership that governs Britain is a strong support for Israel and its commitment to combating anti-Semitism. The problem is worse in other European countries. The Polish politician, Maciej Marian Giertych, recently published a pamphlet under the auspices of the European Parliament that attacked Jews. No action has been taken against him. France and Germany have seen anti-Jewish attacks. Some references to Jews in the Lithuanian press do not bear translating.Europe is reawakening its old demons, but today there is a difference. The old anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism have morphed into something more dangerous. Anti-Semitism today is officially sanctioned state ideology and is being turned into a mobilizing and organizing force to recruit thousands in a new crusade -- the word is chosen deliberately -- to eradicate Jewishness from the region whence it came and to weaken and undermine all the humanist values of rule of law, tolerance and respect for core rights such as free expression that Jews have fought for over time.The president of Iran is the most odious example of this new state-sanctioned anti-Semitism. But from the Egyptian Writers Union to the notorious anti-Jewish articles in the charters of Hamas and Hezbollah, hatred of Jews is an integral element of a new ideology rising to prominence in many regions of the world.Democracies always take their time, often too much time, to recognize and face a totalitarian threat when it is posed in ideological terms. In prewar Europe, conservatives were soft on right-wing ideologies because they were seen as being anti-communist and anti-labor. In postwar Europe, socialists were soft on the Soviet Union because the communists appeared to challenge capitalism and imperialism. Today there is still denial about the universal ideology of the new anti-Semitism. It has power and reach, and it enters into the soft underbelly of the Western mind-set that does not like Jews or what Israel does to defend its right to exist.A counterattack is being organized. My own House of Commons has led the way with its report. The 47-nation Council of Europe, on which I sit as a British representative, has launched a lengthy inquiry into combating anti-Semitism in Europe. The European Union has produced a directive outlawing Internet hate speech originating within its jurisdiction.We are at the beginning of a long intellectual and ideological struggle. It is not about Jews or Israel. It is about everything democrats have long fought for: the truth without fear, no matter one's religion or political beliefs. The new anti-Semitism threatens all of humanity. The Jew-haters must not pass.
The writer is a Labor member of the British House of Commons and has served as Britain's Europe minister.
By Denis MacShane
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Hatred of Jews has reached new heights in Europe and many points south and east of the old continent. Last year I chaired a blue-ribbon committee of British parliamentarians, including former ministers and a party leader, that examined the problem of anti-Semitism in Britain. None of us are Jewish or active in the unending debates on the Israeli-Palestinian question. Our report showed a pattern of fear among a small number of British citizens -- there are around 300,000 Jews in Britain, of whom about a third are observant -- that is not acceptable in a modern democracy. Synagogues attacked. Jewish schoolboys jostled on public transportation. Rabbis punched and knifed. British Jews feeling compelled to raise millions to provide private security for their weddings and community events. On campuses, militant anti-Jewish students fueled by Islamist or far-left hate seeking to prevent Jewish students from expressing their opinions.More worrisome was what we described as anti-Jewish discourse, a mood and tone whenever Jews are discussed, whether in the media, at universities, among the liberal media elite or at dinner parties of modish London. To express any support for Israel or any feeling for the right of a Jewish state to exist produces denunciation, even contempt.
Our report sent a shock wave through the British government. Tony Blair called us in and told his staff to fan out throughout government departments and produce answers to the problems we outlined. To Britain's credit, the Blair administration produced a formal government response setting out tough new guidelines for the police to investigate anti-Semitic attacks and for universities to stop anti-Jewish ideology from taking root on campuses. Britain's Foreign Office has been told to protest to Arab states that allow anti-Jewish broadcasts.We made clear that criticism of actions of Israeli politicians was not off-limits. On the contrary, we noted that some of the strongest criticisms of Israeli policy come from Israeli campuses, journalists and political activists, and from the Jewish intellectual elite of many countries. American universities have provided a base for Noam Chomsky and the late Edward Said, among others, to launch campaigns of criticism against Israel, and the bulk of the West's university intelligentsia remains hostile to the Jewish state.Tony Blair's successor as British prime minister, Gordon Brown, recently said in London that he stood with Israel "in bad times as well as good times," and one of the remarkable turnarounds of the new Labor leadership that governs Britain is a strong support for Israel and its commitment to combating anti-Semitism. The problem is worse in other European countries. The Polish politician, Maciej Marian Giertych, recently published a pamphlet under the auspices of the European Parliament that attacked Jews. No action has been taken against him. France and Germany have seen anti-Jewish attacks. Some references to Jews in the Lithuanian press do not bear translating.Europe is reawakening its old demons, but today there is a difference. The old anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism have morphed into something more dangerous. Anti-Semitism today is officially sanctioned state ideology and is being turned into a mobilizing and organizing force to recruit thousands in a new crusade -- the word is chosen deliberately -- to eradicate Jewishness from the region whence it came and to weaken and undermine all the humanist values of rule of law, tolerance and respect for core rights such as free expression that Jews have fought for over time.The president of Iran is the most odious example of this new state-sanctioned anti-Semitism. But from the Egyptian Writers Union to the notorious anti-Jewish articles in the charters of Hamas and Hezbollah, hatred of Jews is an integral element of a new ideology rising to prominence in many regions of the world.Democracies always take their time, often too much time, to recognize and face a totalitarian threat when it is posed in ideological terms. In prewar Europe, conservatives were soft on right-wing ideologies because they were seen as being anti-communist and anti-labor. In postwar Europe, socialists were soft on the Soviet Union because the communists appeared to challenge capitalism and imperialism. Today there is still denial about the universal ideology of the new anti-Semitism. It has power and reach, and it enters into the soft underbelly of the Western mind-set that does not like Jews or what Israel does to defend its right to exist.A counterattack is being organized. My own House of Commons has led the way with its report. The 47-nation Council of Europe, on which I sit as a British representative, has launched a lengthy inquiry into combating anti-Semitism in Europe. The European Union has produced a directive outlawing Internet hate speech originating within its jurisdiction.We are at the beginning of a long intellectual and ideological struggle. It is not about Jews or Israel. It is about everything democrats have long fought for: the truth without fear, no matter one's religion or political beliefs. The new anti-Semitism threatens all of humanity. The Jew-haters must not pass.
The writer is a Labor member of the British House of Commons and has served as Britain's Europe minister.
3 Updates
I thought I would update three topics, or posts, that I have put up here in the recent past.
The situation in Darfur has been a concern of mine for some time. It is another region of the world being destroyed by the rampaging Muslim hordes.
It seems, according to most major relief agencies and the UN, that the raping and pillaging of the non Arab populations in the Southern regions has reached a point where there is not much booty left to plunder.
As a result, the competing tribes that make up the Janjaweed militias, have turned much of their attention on each other, and unfortunately, the relief workers. The incidents of attacks on UN workers and others have risen sharply in recent weeks.
Next up: I posted recently about Sudanese refugees in Israel. The following is an article from Friday's Jerusalem Post:
Young Sudanese begin school in shadow of deportation
SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL
The last thing 15-year-old Ismail remembers learning in school is basic arithmetic. The Sudanese refugee, who last received regular schooling five years ago in his hometown in Darfur, had since relied on sporadic lessons from aid workers.
Sudanese children start first grade on Sunday with schoolbags and equipment donated by Magen David Adom and the Brit Olam NGO.
Photo Courtesy of MDA
So on Sunday, when he was told he would be attending school alongside Israeli teens in Eilat, the first thing he wanted to know was if he could come back tomorrow.
"I am very pleased for this opportunity, but concerned that my levels will not be good enough,‘ said Ismail, who asked not to use his real name to protect his extended family in Sudan. ’I very much want for this to continue, to remain in school in Israel."
Ismail’s chances of remaining in Israel, however, are very slim.
Although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has allowed 500 Sudanese refugees to pursue asylum status, Ismail arrived after the July 1 cutoff date. He will most likely be deported back to Egypt before the end of the school term, along with 2,400 other African refugees.
"In Egypt there was nothing, no hope, no education,‘ he said. ’We are learning Hebrew. Good words in Hebrew. Why would they send me back?"
It is unclear who among the 76 Sudanese children enrolled in school on Sunday will become permanent fixtures in the Israeli school system.
"It is very confusing for the refugees. On the one hand, they are being told that many of them will not be allowed to stay. On the other hand, the children are being sent to school to learn Hebrew," said Eytan Schwartz, spokesman for the Committee for the Advancement of Refugees.
In the past two years, more than 2,800 African asylumseekers have arrived via the Egyptian border. Half are from Sudan, including 700 from Darfur, the province that has been the hardest hit by years of war.
Human rights organization and individual volunteers had cared for the refugees and provided private schooling for some of the children. There was no formal education plan, however, until last month, when Education Minister Yuli Tamir (Labor) announced that 76 Sudanese refugees, ages four and up, would be enrolled in Israeli schools.
"It is our duty to provide an education for these students," Tamir said.
Elsewhere in Israel, including at Ketziot Prison in the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council, volunteers and staff have been providing a more informal education.
Armed with donated textbooks and half-filled notebooks, the dozen teens at Ketziot are being taught basic math and grammar.
"We know that none of them are currently approved to stay here, but we felt it was important to do something to educate them while we have the chance,‘ said Liat, a police woman who asked to give only her first name. ’In Egypt, the only thing they learned was fear."
Ismail described the time he tried to go to a school near the refugee camp where his family lived in southern Egypt.
He recalled teasing and bullying, and then a long walk home during which a local gang stole his shoes, food and money.
"I did not try to go back to school again,‘ he said. ’Here I will go to school all the time… for as long as this is possible."
Finally, I had mentioned in a recent post about energy dependence etc, that those "in the know" say that one of the major things to come is what is known as E2G or energy to grid.
There will be hybrid cars that during their down time are plugged in and "recycle" their energy, selling it back to the grid, or putting it in storage for you to use later.
Well, this was a feature story in Sunday's NY Times Automobile section. While still a ways away, several people have already altered their Toyota Prius' to do just this.
Once it is in the Sunday paper, you know it can't be too far away!!
The situation in Darfur has been a concern of mine for some time. It is another region of the world being destroyed by the rampaging Muslim hordes.
It seems, according to most major relief agencies and the UN, that the raping and pillaging of the non Arab populations in the Southern regions has reached a point where there is not much booty left to plunder.
As a result, the competing tribes that make up the Janjaweed militias, have turned much of their attention on each other, and unfortunately, the relief workers. The incidents of attacks on UN workers and others have risen sharply in recent weeks.
Next up: I posted recently about Sudanese refugees in Israel. The following is an article from Friday's Jerusalem Post:
Young Sudanese begin school in shadow of deportation
SHEERA CLAIRE FRENKEL
The last thing 15-year-old Ismail remembers learning in school is basic arithmetic. The Sudanese refugee, who last received regular schooling five years ago in his hometown in Darfur, had since relied on sporadic lessons from aid workers.
Sudanese children start first grade on Sunday with schoolbags and equipment donated by Magen David Adom and the Brit Olam NGO.
Photo Courtesy of MDA
So on Sunday, when he was told he would be attending school alongside Israeli teens in Eilat, the first thing he wanted to know was if he could come back tomorrow.
"I am very pleased for this opportunity, but concerned that my levels will not be good enough,‘ said Ismail, who asked not to use his real name to protect his extended family in Sudan. ’I very much want for this to continue, to remain in school in Israel."
Ismail’s chances of remaining in Israel, however, are very slim.
Although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has allowed 500 Sudanese refugees to pursue asylum status, Ismail arrived after the July 1 cutoff date. He will most likely be deported back to Egypt before the end of the school term, along with 2,400 other African refugees.
"In Egypt there was nothing, no hope, no education,‘ he said. ’We are learning Hebrew. Good words in Hebrew. Why would they send me back?"
It is unclear who among the 76 Sudanese children enrolled in school on Sunday will become permanent fixtures in the Israeli school system.
"It is very confusing for the refugees. On the one hand, they are being told that many of them will not be allowed to stay. On the other hand, the children are being sent to school to learn Hebrew," said Eytan Schwartz, spokesman for the Committee for the Advancement of Refugees.
In the past two years, more than 2,800 African asylumseekers have arrived via the Egyptian border. Half are from Sudan, including 700 from Darfur, the province that has been the hardest hit by years of war.
Human rights organization and individual volunteers had cared for the refugees and provided private schooling for some of the children. There was no formal education plan, however, until last month, when Education Minister Yuli Tamir (Labor) announced that 76 Sudanese refugees, ages four and up, would be enrolled in Israeli schools.
"It is our duty to provide an education for these students," Tamir said.
Elsewhere in Israel, including at Ketziot Prison in the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council, volunteers and staff have been providing a more informal education.
Armed with donated textbooks and half-filled notebooks, the dozen teens at Ketziot are being taught basic math and grammar.
"We know that none of them are currently approved to stay here, but we felt it was important to do something to educate them while we have the chance,‘ said Liat, a police woman who asked to give only her first name. ’In Egypt, the only thing they learned was fear."
Ismail described the time he tried to go to a school near the refugee camp where his family lived in southern Egypt.
He recalled teasing and bullying, and then a long walk home during which a local gang stole his shoes, food and money.
"I did not try to go back to school again,‘ he said. ’Here I will go to school all the time… for as long as this is possible."
Finally, I had mentioned in a recent post about energy dependence etc, that those "in the know" say that one of the major things to come is what is known as E2G or energy to grid.
There will be hybrid cars that during their down time are plugged in and "recycle" their energy, selling it back to the grid, or putting it in storage for you to use later.
Well, this was a feature story in Sunday's NY Times Automobile section. While still a ways away, several people have already altered their Toyota Prius' to do just this.
Once it is in the Sunday paper, you know it can't be too far away!!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Scandal and worry in Japan
The Japanese social security system is undergoing a tremendous scandal.
It seems that through a combination of factors, the social security system may be as much as $175 Billion short.
All Japanese workers, 20-60 are required to contribute to the system. All workers receive approximately $1450/month after the age of 65.
The problem seems to be one of incompetence mainly, with some criminal conduct thrown in.
It seems through huge clerical errors, many people were not credited with the proper work hours, or contributions over the years.
This all came out as a result of a book which suggested that workers check on their accounts with the government. So many came up short of what they should have been credited with, the problems became apparent immediately.
Add in the fact that there have also been several high profile instances of theft by workers in the system and you have a recipe for disaster.
Japan is the world's second largest economy, behind the US so it should be able to absorb the damage.
What it points out once again, however, is the changing face of the population in the "first" world. Largely aging baby boomers ready to tax the resources of governments.
It seems that through a combination of factors, the social security system may be as much as $175 Billion short.
All Japanese workers, 20-60 are required to contribute to the system. All workers receive approximately $1450/month after the age of 65.
The problem seems to be one of incompetence mainly, with some criminal conduct thrown in.
It seems through huge clerical errors, many people were not credited with the proper work hours, or contributions over the years.
This all came out as a result of a book which suggested that workers check on their accounts with the government. So many came up short of what they should have been credited with, the problems became apparent immediately.
Add in the fact that there have also been several high profile instances of theft by workers in the system and you have a recipe for disaster.
Japan is the world's second largest economy, behind the US so it should be able to absorb the damage.
What it points out once again, however, is the changing face of the population in the "first" world. Largely aging baby boomers ready to tax the resources of governments.
2 to remember....
On Friday we lost two individuals that should have gotten more recognition than they did.
The first, Edward Brandt, Jr., MD. was the interim Surgeon General in 1981 and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
He was one of the early recognizers of AIDS, before it was known to have been caused by HIV (remember those days?)
In 1983, despite pressure from Ronald Reagan (that fascistic scumbag who now has airports and ships named after him!!!) his boss, Brandt issued a statement that, even with only 1,450 case having been identified at that point, that the disease had become the #1 priority of Public Health Service.
He spent the rest of his time in the administration fighting against cuts in the Center for Disease Control.
In addition to this distinction, the Director of the Office of Women's Health at the National Institute of Health called Dr. Brandt the "Godfather of Women's Health" for encouraging the study of the issue during his time at as Assistant Secretary.
The second person was former Congressman Charles Vanik of Ohio.
He was the co sponsor (along with one of my political heroes, Henry "Scoop" Jackson) of the famed Jackson-Vanik amendment.
The Amendment denies unconditional norm,alized trade relations to certain countries with non market economies and who restricted emigration.
The Amendment was principally designed to force the Soviet Union to allow the emigration of the "refusniks" principally Soviet Jews who had been arrested, detained or refused exit from the country.
The refusniks included many of the Soviets most significant scientists, most notably Andrei Sakharov, the father of the Soviet Hydrogen Bomb. Also included was Alexander Solzhenitsen.
More notable today, is Natan Sharansky, who after a distinguished career in the Soviet Union has become a leading right wing politician and government minister in Israel.
The Jackson Vanik amendment helped increase emigration from the Soviet Union but then became a source of tension as relations warmed in the late 1980's. The amendment is still on the books today and has been repeatedly discussed by Pre3sitdent Putin as a source of friction.
The first, Edward Brandt, Jr., MD. was the interim Surgeon General in 1981 and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
He was one of the early recognizers of AIDS, before it was known to have been caused by HIV (remember those days?)
In 1983, despite pressure from Ronald Reagan (that fascistic scumbag who now has airports and ships named after him!!!) his boss, Brandt issued a statement that, even with only 1,450 case having been identified at that point, that the disease had become the #1 priority of Public Health Service.
He spent the rest of his time in the administration fighting against cuts in the Center for Disease Control.
In addition to this distinction, the Director of the Office of Women's Health at the National Institute of Health called Dr. Brandt the "Godfather of Women's Health" for encouraging the study of the issue during his time at as Assistant Secretary.
The second person was former Congressman Charles Vanik of Ohio.
He was the co sponsor (along with one of my political heroes, Henry "Scoop" Jackson) of the famed Jackson-Vanik amendment.
The Amendment denies unconditional norm,alized trade relations to certain countries with non market economies and who restricted emigration.
The Amendment was principally designed to force the Soviet Union to allow the emigration of the "refusniks" principally Soviet Jews who had been arrested, detained or refused exit from the country.
The refusniks included many of the Soviets most significant scientists, most notably Andrei Sakharov, the father of the Soviet Hydrogen Bomb. Also included was Alexander Solzhenitsen.
More notable today, is Natan Sharansky, who after a distinguished career in the Soviet Union has become a leading right wing politician and government minister in Israel.
The Jackson Vanik amendment helped increase emigration from the Soviet Union but then became a source of tension as relations warmed in the late 1980's. The amendment is still on the books today and has been repeatedly discussed by Pre3sitdent Putin as a source of friction.
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