Welcome to Team Shalom Fry'd Daze. Fry'd Daze is a long running series dedicated to dialogue in the Middle East. Currently we are in season 3.07. These diaries are not intended to be a flame forum, but rather something where community members can meet and exchange ideas about I/P and/or issues that concern the Middle East.
Generally, these diaries take the form of four to five news articles and short commentary selected by the diarist. These stories however, are just a platform to get discussion going. The diaries from now on will publish under the banner of the Team Shalom
What is Team Shalom:
"Team Shalom is Team Peace. We are a group of Kossacks supporting a fair, pragmatic, and realistic resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the two-state solution. We support Israel's continued existence as a Jewish and democratic state, with it existing alongside Palestine, a Palestinian and democratic state, as friends and neighbors. We believe this is the only way forward and the only way to achieve an enduring peace. This is the view endorsed by the overwhelming majority of the world's nations, including the Quartet, which consists of the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations."
So please participate. The only thing we ask is that you keep comments respectful, reality based and please no use of Anti-Semetic or Anti-Arab memes. Enjoy!
Our first story comes out of the UN where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas rejects U.S. request to withdraw UN settlement resolution
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to turn down Washington's request to withdraw a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding Israel halt settlement expansion on occupied land.
Several officials close to Abbas on Friday predicted this would be the consensus of a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive later in the day to discuss President Barack Obama's telephone call with Abbas on Thursday.
Washington has made it clear that it will veto the resolution should it come to a vote, and has implored the Palestinian Authority and other Arab nations to withdraw the proposal, but to no avail.
The point of the resolution, foreign diplomats say, is to highlight Washington's isolated position on the Security Council, show the Palestinian population that the Palestinian Authority is taking action, and to pressure Israel and the United States on the settlement issue.
This move is going to acheive exactly what it was designed to do. The U.S. has already announced that it will veto.
Our next two stories come from Egypt where the Iranians wasting no time to take advantage of the situation in Egypt, plan to send two aging warships through the Suez Canal. iran asked for permission and Egypt has approved Iran warships to use Suez Canal
Egypt has approved the passage of two Iranian warships through the Suez Canal, a source said on Friday, a move that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman described as "provocative".
"Egypt has agreed to the passage of two Iranian ships through the Suez Canal," the security source told Reuters.
State TV and the official news agency subsequently reported the news, without citing sources. An army source earlier said the Defense Ministry was considering a request by the Iranians to allow the naval ships to cross the strategic waterway.
No Iranian military ship has passed through the Canal since 1979, this is supposedly part of a year long training mission. Two boats, an aging frigate and supply ship are supposed to go through. The U.S. has stated that it views this crossing with concern and is monitoring it closely.
Also from Egypt there has been concern regarding the Muslim Brotherhood and it's intentions either in pre-election or post election Egypt. In response to a U.S. Intelligence assessment the Brotherhood stated that the 'Peace treaty with Israel is up to the Egyptian people'
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's best-organized political force, said on Friday any decision on the country's peace treaty with Israel was up to the Egyptian people and it would not impose its view on them.
"The decision on the treaty does not belong to the Brotherhood, it belongs to the entire Egyptian people," said Essam al-Erian, a spokesman for the Islamist group, in an interview with Al Arabiya television.....
....."The important thing is the position of the Egyptian people and not the Brotherhood," Erian said. "The Brotherhood will not impose their vision on the Egyptian people. The Brotherhood are part of society that accepts what the Egyptians accept and nobody can wipe out a treaty with a pen," he added.
The Brotherhood went on to say that they felt the Gaza border should be opened and that they would not want to continue participation in the blockade of Hamas. Currently though, the Military is in charge of the country and that is a group that has strong ties to the West. Thus far the Military has said that Camp David would stand.
For the Palestinians - Maan News reports, Official Nabil Shaath is ready to go to Gaza to end division
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Fatah official Nabil Shaath said Thursday he was prepared to go to the Gaza Strip and discuss national conciliation if the Hamas leadership would agree.
He told Ma'an there had been no secret communications with Hamas officials, adding that all unity talks and contact would be made public.
The senior Fatah official said his party had approved all Hamas' amendments to the Egyptian-mediated unity paper. He was prepared to go to Gaza and help the Islamist movement ratify the paper, he said.
President Abbas had called for general Palestinian elections for September yet those calls had been rejected by Hamas citing a lack of faith in the P.A. to be fair.
Finally, it looks like Helen Thomas is at it again. I will let her words speak for themselves.
Helen Thomas: Jews didn't have to leave Europe following Holocaust
When Behar asked Thomas if she realized that her comment regarding sending the Jews back to Poland and Germany were insensitive in view of the past the Jews share with those countries, the former correspondent said: "I also said Russia."
"Well Russia, they had their share of anti-Semitic pogroms," the CNN interviewer said, to which Thomas answered: "They also had 25 million who died in World War II…. More than that." ......
.....Responding to Behar's question whether or not she considered herself to be anti-Semitic, Thomas said: "Hell no! I'm a Semite…of Arab background," and saying of the Jews: "They're not Semites. I mean, most of them are from Europe."
Jews are not Semitic people... wow. Just wow. Not much more to say there... UGHHH!
Anyway, please enjoy and feel free to comment.
Shalom!