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Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: click here In-Depth Issues:
Jerusalem's Latest Suicidal Driver - Tim McGirk (TIME)
Does Hijacked Iranian Ship Contain Chemical Weapons? - Nick Grace (Long War Journal)
Palestinian Sewage Endangers Underground Water Reservoirs - Assaf Shmueli (Ynet News)
Anti-Israel Facebook Groups Infiltrated - Paul Lungen (Canadian Jewish News)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Iran is nearing the ability to arm a nuclear warhead, the European Union warned the International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna on Wednesday. The EU also asserted that Iran appeared to have had a past nuclear arms program despite its denials. David Albright, of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, says Iran has managed to iron out most of the bugs in the enrichment process and its centrifuges "now appear to be running at approximately 85% of their stated target capacity, a significant increase over previous rates." To date, Iran has produced nearly 1,000 pounds of low-enriched uranium, close to what Albright says is the 1,500-pound minimum needed to produce a simple nuclear bomb. (AP/USA Today) Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said on Wednesday that giving Iran a seat on the UN Security Council would be "absurd." "It is absurd that a state unparalleled in threatening the security of its neighbors and calling for the destruction of another state should be a member of a body whose goal is to further global security," Livni said. "The significance would be to let a criminal become his own judge." Iran has launched a bid for the seat reserved for an Asian nation, currently held by Indonesia, which becomes vacant in January. (AFP) See also Making a Joke of the UN - Editorial Iran would be unsuitable as a UN Security Council member in so many ways, it's hard to keep count. First and foremost: it is currently the subject of the most strenuous sanctions imposed by the Council on any nation, over its refusal to shut down its nuclear program. In addition, it would be ridiculous to elect the world's foremost sponsor of terror to a body that fancies itself a bodyguard of global security. Despite all this, we suspect there is a good chance Iran will win a place on the council in January when a seat for an Asian country comes open. (National Post-Canada) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
The Shin Bet and Israel Police have recently uncovered an Arab terror cell operating in eastern Jerusalem that was responsible for the murder of two Border Police officers at the Lions' Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem on July 11. The cell was also planning to assassinate a Jerusalem policeman, carry out a shooting attack at the French Hill junction, kidnap a civilian or a security officer, and stage a shooting attack on a police car on the Jerusalem-Dead Sea highway. Jerusalem District Police Commander Maj.-Gen. Aharon Franco said Wednesday that there have been 250 arrests of eastern Jerusalem residents involved in terror-related activities since the beginning of 2008, a sharp increase in comparison to 2007. (Ynet News) According to data released Wednesday by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, 2007 saw a rise in the average number of children born to Jewish mothers, from 2.75 to 2.8. In the Arab sector, the average number declined to 3.9 from 3.97. Knesset Member Nadia Hilou (Labor) notes: "More and more (Arab) woman are studying and working. In addition, they are influenced by Israeli civil society and modern life, which lead them to think about investing in their quality of life." (Ynet News) On January 14, 2009, Mahmoud Abbas' term of office will end, and the storm will start. Hamas argues that according to the Palestinian constitution, a retired president should be replaced by the parliament speaker. The current speaker is a Hamas man, Aziz Dweik, who has been detained by Israel. His deputy, Ahmed Bahar, is also a Hamas man. This is how Hamas intends to take over the West Bank. In the coming months, Abbas will become radical in respect to his words and deeds. It is no coincidence that he went to visit Samir Kuntar in Lebanon, and that he constantly declares that the refugees will return to Israel. Abbas will be radicalizing his statements so he is not accused of capitulating to Israel. (Ynet News) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Ahmadinejad's fourth visit to New York was held against the backdrop of the disintegration of the international effort to impose sanctions on his country in an attempt to curb its nuclear program. According to an assessment by Israeli Military Intelligence, Iran is "galloping toward a nuclear bomb" and mastering the technology for enriching uranium, while the diplomatic and economic battle against it is ineffective. Israel is justifiably concerned about the naivete with which Ahmadinejad was received by the American media, as well as the world's growing tendency to view him as a legitimate leader. (Ha'aretz) If a Western head of state had echoed Adolf Hitler, as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did this week, would Europeans have shrugged their shoulders and dragged their feet over sanctions? Ahmadinejad's language actually reminded me of Heinrich Himmler's notorious speech at Posen in October 1943, in which he explained why the Nazis wanted to exterminate even Jewish children, to "make this people disappear off the face of the Earth." Like Himmler, Ahmadinejad claims that his own people - and Muslims more generally - are threatened by "Zionists," exploiting the paranoia of the Islamic world to justify turning Iran into a single gigantic nuclear suicide bomb. (New York Sun) On September 23, 2008, the UN General Assembly provided a platform for a head of state to spew unadulterated, vile anti-Semitism - and the assembled nations of the world clapped. Ahmadinejad told the UN: "A small but deceitful number of people called Zionists...have been dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the political decision-making centers of some European countries and the U.S. in a deceitful, complex and furtive manner. It is deeply disastrous to witness that some presidential or premier nominees in some big countries have to visit these people, take part in their gatherings, swear their allegiance and commitment to their interests in order to attain financial or media support." Less than half of UN members are fully free democracies and among them there is no consensus that demonization of Jews and the Jewish state is wrong. (National Review) Sir Paul McCartney performs in Tel Aviv on Thursday. The concert is a measure of how far Israel has relaxed, modernized and embraced Western cultural freedoms. Sir Paul's determination to proceed with the concert in the face of a reported threat by the radical Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed that he risks being attacked by suicide bombers is a reminder of the sheikh's barbarism. It is also a show of courage by a singer who says he is not political, but believes in music's power to heal. The performance is also a moment for Sir Paul to make a loyal nod to many Jews who have shaped his life, from his late wife Linda, and his lawyer and the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, to the band's song publisher. (Times-UK) See also Paul McCartney Concert in Israel Touches a Nerve - Ashraf Khalil McCartney-mania has taken hold ahead of Sir Paul's concert in Tel Aviv. The performer, who arrived in Israel on Tuesday, is being treated to pomp and speculation exceeding that of most major heads of state. "Some here have called it the greatest cultural event in our 60-year history," wrote Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief David Horowitz. (Los Angeles Times) Observations: Israel: The Iranian People Are Not Our Enemies - President Shimon Peres (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Israeli President Shimon Peres addressed the UN General Assembly on Wednesday:
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