ADL Speaks out against Swiss ban on Islamic Minarets

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Thursday December 03, 2009 · 7:12 PM PST

2009/12/03 · 19:12

The Anti-Defamation League, one of the most important organizations fighting antisemitism and promoting human rights in the world, issued a statement condemning Switzerland for putting in its constitution a ban on minarets, a type of religious building directly associated with the Islamic faith.

The statement is as follows:

sorenScostanza

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Monday November 30, 2009 · 10:34 PM PST

2009/11/30 · 22:34

Faced with rising anti-Semitism in the world and caught mostly off-guard by a quite critical new media response to Operation Cast Lead, Israel Defense Forces has laid the groundworks for a new unit to fight back in cyberspace:

The new unit, as well as an initiative by the Information and Diaspora Ministry to train people to represent Israel independently on the Internet and in other arenas, were presented Monday at the conference during a panel discussion on Israeli public relations abroad. Responding to criticism of Israel's ability to face hostile entities on the Web, Benayahu said the new program would be able to deal with the problem. He said that from each group drafted to the Army Spokesman's Office, between eight to 10 young people who are experts in Web 2.0 - YouTube, Facebook and Twitter - to be identified before induction, would be assigned to the new department. The new recruits would be put to work in the new media unit after undergoing a general Army Spokesman's Unit training course.

sorenScostanza

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Saturday November 28, 2009 · 12:53 PM PST

2009/11/28 · 12:53

A known hater of the Jewish people, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez kept up his vitriolic rhetoric against Israel by committing somewhat of a Godwin's Law violation:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Friday charged that Israel aims to "terminate the Palestinian people" and said he backs the establishment of Jerusalem as capital of an independent Palestinian state.

"We .. are on the side of the Palestinian people's memorable struggle ... against the genocidal state of Israel that knocks down, kills and aims to terminate the Palestinian people," Chavez told visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

sorenScostanza

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Saturday November 21, 2009 · 1:14 PM PST

2009/11/21 · 13:14

Well, if not a gesture of peace, it's at least a gesture of partial non-violence:

Hamas announced Saturday evening that it has reached an agreement with other militant groups in Gaza to stop firing rockets at southern Israeli towns to prevent retaliatory attacks.

"We have agreed with the factions that nobody carries out any action involving rockets for now," Fathi Hammad, Hamas' interior minister, was quoted as saying by the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

sorenScostanza

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Wednesday November 18, 2009 · 8:55 PM PST

2009/11/18 · 20:55

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is soon going to announce a complete freeze in West Bank settlement construction for 10 months, Army Radio quoted former Meretz chairman Yossi Beilin as saying on Wednesday.

This is very important as even though President Obama believes there should be no preconditions on negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to be showing he's willing to compromise to try and get Palestinians to the table, where peace can truly be forged.

Will Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas reciprocate?

sorenScostanza

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Sunday November 15, 2009 · 1:27 PM PST

2009/11/15 · 13:27

At a forum attended by President Bill Clinton, Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message to Palestinians that efforts to unilaterally declare a state and ask for recognition by the United Nations would lead to a unilateral Israeli response:

"There is no substitute for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and any unilateral attempts outside that framework will unravel the existing agreements between us and could entail unilateral steps by Israel," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told a high level gathering of Israeli and American policy makers at the Saban Forum in Jerusalem on Sunday night.

What that response would be as of yet is unclear.

sorenScostanza

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Tuesday November 10, 2009 · 11:46 AM PST

2009/11/10 · 11:46

President Obama was scheduled to address the Jewish Federation of North America's annual meeting. He was forced to back out to attend a service for those who were murdered at Fort Hood. Considering how important a gathering this was, Obama sent his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, in his stead.

This is what he said:

"Make no mistake, the path toward peace is not one that Israel should be asked to walk alone. That is why the U.S. will remain actively engaged, and Israel's one true friend. The Palestinians must come to the table, recognize Israel's right to exist and reject violence," he went on to say.

Poll

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Do you stand behind President Obama?

138 votes Vote Now!

Do you stand behind President Obama?

Yes

89 votes

49 votes

Human Rights Watch's founder slams HRW over Israel

sorenScostanza

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Tuesday October 20, 2009 · 9:01 PM PDT

2009/10/20 · 21:01

Incredible this didn't get diaried (sorry if I missed it), but in the New York Times yesterday, there was an opinion piece written by Robert Bernstein. He was the founder, the chairman for 20 years, and now the chairman emeritus of Human Rights Watch, a once proud organization. He writes:

I must publicly join the group’s critics. Human Rights Watch had as its original mission to pry open closed societies, advocate basic freedoms and support dissenters. But recently it has been issuing reports on the Israeli-Arab conflict that are helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state.

sorenScostanza

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Monday October 19, 2009 · 9:04 PM PDT

2009/10/19 · 21:04

I feel in progressive circles and especially on the "blogosphere," President Obama takes a lot of crap for stuff completely out of his control.

Poll

163 votes Show Results

Should free speech be curtailed to avoid offending the religious?

163 votes Vote Now!

Should free speech be curtailed to avoid offending the religious?

Yes

11 votes

152 votes

OMG What is with the "Obama's War" background? 12 Updates

sorenScostanza

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Tuesday October 06, 2009 · 9:16 PM PDT

2009/10/06 · 21:16

Wow that's weird.

title=

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5422 votes Show Results

Do you like the new "Obama's War" background?

5422 votes Vote Now!

Do you like the new "Obama's War" background?

Yes

541 votes

3850 votes

A puppy

1031 votes

(I/P) Goldstone responds to Sderot's Mayor

sorenScostanza

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Sunday October 04, 2009 · 12:32 PM PDT

2009/10/04 · 12:32

Yesterday I brought to this community's attention a letter sent by David Buskila, mayor of Sderot, to Richard Goldstone regarding Goldstone's team's controversial probe of Israel's Operation Cast Lead.

Today, I present to you Goldstone's response to that letter.

sorenScostanza

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Saturday October 03, 2009 · 5:37 PM PDT

2009/10/03 · 17:37

Mayor of the southern Israeli town of Sderot, David Buskila, on Saturday sent a scathing letter to South African justice Richard Goldstone, who headed the United Nations fact finding mission on Israel's offensive in Gaza last winter.

Sderot, as many of you know, is the town that had been, and is still being, bombarded by thousands of Palestinian militant rockets. These acts were the Israeli justification for Cast Lead, a military assault aimed at ceasing terrorist activities targeted at Israel from the Gaza strip. This operation was criticized heavily by Goldstone in a controversial "fact finding mission" mandated by the much-discredited United Nations Human Rights Council.

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ADL Speaks out against Swiss ban on Islamic Minarets

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Rahm lays down Obama's law for Israel / Palestinians

Human Rights Watch's founder slams HRW over Israel

Obama's gift to too easily offended radical religious nutjobs

OMG What is with the "Obama's War" background? 12 Updates

(I/P) Goldstone responds to Sderot's Mayor

You were silent in the face of the dead bodies of our children