Israel’s ‘peace of paper’ with its neighbors - Frida Ghitis

This item was below my radar until it popped up in a second Google News Alert.  Anyway, here it is and the news is, well, not unexpected.

We have always known that the rare examples of peace between Arabs and Israelis were built on a fragile foundation. Now cracks in that foundation have started becoming more visible, and they are making ominous sounds as they grow.

And just how do those cracks sound when they happen?

Mursi is on record calling the Israelis “vampires.” As the top vote-getter in the first round, he has been careful not to antagonize Washington and its generous aid package by engaging in new anti-Israel rants. But his surrogates have had no such compunction.


During a campaign rally, Mursi watched and assented while the Islamist preacher Safwat Higazi told the crowd in a soccer stadium that Egypt under Mursi will usher in a new Islamic caliphate whose capital will be in Jerusalem, where Israel’s capital now stands. As Higazi cried out, “Our capital shall not be in Cairo, Mecca or Medina,” thousands chanted in unison, “Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem.” Over the loudspeaker Mursi supporters heard the call to “Banish the sleep from the eyes of the Jews.” The runner-up, who will face against Mursi in the runoff, is Gen. Ahmed Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister. Shafiq has warned that the Muslim Brotherhood and Mursi would start a new war with Israel. But when voters have doubted Shafiq’s worthiness, his favorite achievement to cite is that he shot down two Israeli fighter jets. There could hardly be anything more heroic in the eyes of Egyptian.

And so goes the sad state of affairs in the enlightened Arab countries of the Middle East.  Read the full article Israel’s ‘peace of paper’ with its neighbors.

Stephen M. Flatow
Alisa Flatow

Eileen Fleming, extreme anti-Israel candidate runs for Congress

Eileen Fleming, an extreme left-wing, anti-Israel in the name of human rights resident of Florida is running for Congress in Florida's 5th Congressional District. 

Just how anti-Israel is she?

First, her website home page features articles on the Israeli air force attack on the USS Liberty in the Six-Day War in 1967 when it was mistaken for an Egyptian war ship.  Israel apologized for the attack following investigations by US and Israeli armed forces and civilian groups.  But that has not been enough for Miss Fleming.

Second, Miss Fleming's position on all things Palestinian is one of either ignorance or intentional malice towards Israel and Israelis.  She has bought into the canard that Arab Christians are fleeing Israel when the opposite is the case, and decries the physical separation of Israeli and Arab communities without mentioning the reasons why the wall and fences were necessary in the first place.

Third, Miss Fleming cannot distinguish between the thousands of missile attacks launched from Gaza by Hamas, et al, and the need for an Israeli response in Operation Cast Lead.

The list goes on and on.  Surely, she won't win the election, but America is such a great country that it gives her the opportunity to run for elected office.

That's what think.

Stephen M. Flatow

Israel returns bodies, Palestinians hold parties

Sometime during the day of May 30, 2012 Israel returned the bodies of more than 90 Palestinian terrorists to the Palestinian Authority.  And the Palestinians reacted by celebrating the return of their martyr heroes.

Admittedly shaken by this, I penned the following column that appeared in the Monday, June 4, 2012 edition of the New York Post.

As a “goodwill gesture,” Israel last week returned the remains of 91 Palestinian suicide bombers and other terrorists. The Palestinian Authority responded by holding a “national rally” to glorify the “martyrs” and will bury them with “full military honors.”

I know, I know — sounds like the same old news from the Middle East: Israelis making one-sided concessions, Palestinians heaping praise on murderers. For most, it’s probably getting a little boring.

Not for our family. For us, it’s personal.

You can read the full column at this link -
Palestinians honor dead terrorists—Stephen M. Flatow - NYPOST.com

What do you think about the glorification of terrorists?  I'd like to know.