Former Representative Robert Wexler calls some of the criticism of President Obama 'hysteria,' and explains why he believes Jews should continue to support the president in 2012.

Critics of US President Barack Obama say he has a “Jewish problem,” a claim that stretches credulity as the president received three-quarters of the Jewish American vote four years ago. Even his most vociferous opponents concede that Obama will likely win at least 60 percent of the Jewish vote this time around.

Nevertheless, Republicans believe they can cut into Obama’s sizable advantage in the Jewish community by criticizing his record on foreign policy and the way he has handled the US-Israel relationship. Last week, a top adviser to presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney told the Times of Israel that Obama’s approach to Israel has been “cold.”

 

But the president’s supporters point to strengthened US-Israel security ties, the implementation of biting sanctions on Iran, and American action at the UN in support of Israel as examples of President Obama’s commitment to the Jewish state.

Read more at Times of Israel

In light of the political "War on Women" going on in the United States, we must remember that this fight is going on around the world.

In "Distant View of a Minaret," the late and much-neglected Egyptian writer Alifa Rifaat begins her short story with a woman so unmoved by sex with her husband that as he focuses solely on his pleasure, she notices a spider web she must sweep off the ceiling and has time to ruminate on her husband's repeated refusal to prolong intercourse until she too climaxes, "as though purposely to deprive her." Just as her husband denies her an orgasm, the call to prayer interrupts his, and the man leaves. After washing up, she loses herself in prayer -- so much more satisfying that she can't wait until the next prayer -- and looks out onto the street from her balcony. She interrupts her reverie to make coffee dutifully for her husband to drink after his nap. Taking it to their bedroom to pour it in front of him as he prefers, she notices he is dead. She instructs their son to go and get a doctor. "She returned to the living room and poured out the coffee for herself. She was surprised at how calm she was," Rifaat writes.

 

In a crisp three-and-a-half pages, Rifaat lays out a trifecta of sex, death, and religion, a bulldozer that crushes denial and defensiveness to get at the pulsating heart of misogyny in the Middle East. There is no sugarcoating it. They don't hate us because of our freedoms, as the tired, post-9/11 American cliché had it. We have no freedoms because they hate us, as this Arab woman so powerfully says.

 

Yes: They hate us. It must be said.

Read more at Foreign Policy

Dennis Ross and David Makovsky look at the similarities in positions between the US and Israel on Iran.

There is no daylight between the United States and Israel on the objective and the preferred means for dealing with Iranian nuclear ambitions. Much has been written about possible differences, but the recent meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu highlighted key points of convergence: Both agree that the objective is prevention, not containment, and that a nuclear Iran could set off an arms race in an already-dangerous region. The heightened risk of a nuclear war in the Middle East is, in essence, why Obama has indicated that the issue is in the “American national interest.”

 

The two leaders agree that a peaceful solution to ensuring that Iran does not achieve nuclear weapons is preferable. Iran faces sanctions that are tougher than ever before, giving diplomacy a chance to succeed in a way that it has not.

 

Any differences between the two countries stem from a basic reality: The United States, given its significantly greater military capability, can afford to wait longer than Israel to give diplomacy time to succeed. From Israel’s perspective, as Defense Minister Ehud Barak has explained, there will come a point when, if no action is taken, the depth and breadth of the Iranian nuclear program will force Israel to forgo its military option. Forgoing the use of force against an existential threat would be a historic decision for any Israeli prime minister and goes against that country’s ethos of self-reliance.

Read more at The Washington Post

After yet another tragic incident in which civilians were slain in the name of extremism, a call to stop the incitements to murder; a call for politicians and leaders to stop condemning on the one hand, and then praising on the other these horrific, unjustifiable acts.  If we really want to stop the terror, we must stop the incitement to murder.

This week, after a young rabbi and three children were shot to death at a Jewish school in France, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas cabled condolences to French president Nicolas Sarkozy. In that brief cable, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Abbas claimed that he always absolutely opposed any killing of civilians. And yet, just a few weeks ago, Abbas held a meeting in Turkey to honor the Palestinian prisoner, released by Israel as part of the Gilad Shalit deal, who had used the internet to lure an Israeli high school boy to his terrorist murderers last year.

 

This month also marks the first anniversary of the Fogel murders, for which two Palestinian teenagers were convicted of killing a family of five in the West Bank settlement of Itamar. At the time, Abbas condemned this attack, earning an acknowledgment from some American and even some Israeli observers. Nevertheless, on the very same day, the PA officially dedicated a major town square in honor of Dalal al-Mughrabi, a Palestinian woman implicated in the murder of thirty-seven Israeli civilians during a bus hijacking in 1978. And within a few days, official PA television broadcast a new song lauding the "heroism" of the killers at Itamar.

 

In the year since the Itamar massacre, particularly in the past few months, the PA's record about glorifying violence against civilians has generally taken a turn for the worse. The PA youth magazine Zayzafuna, for instance, recently published a girl's dreamy vision of Hitler -- ironically prompting UNESCO to withdraw funding for this publication, even as Palestine was admitted to that organization as a full member. The official mufti of Jerusalem delivered a televised sermon invoking the hadith (quotation attributed to Muhammad) about "the Muslims killing all the Jews" to bring on Judgment Day -- in sharp contrast to earlier PA efforts to scrub Hamas-style rhetoric from mosques under its jurisdiction. And Abbas himself delivered a highly inflammatory address to a conference on Jerusalem held in Doha last month that falsely accused Israel of planning to destroy the al-Aqsa Mosque. In each case, the PA response to criticism was not apology or even acknowledgment, but denial or deflection, by pointing to supposed Israeli provocations or transgressions.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barack told Israel Radio that while it is still vulnerable to attack, Iran is afraid of completing its quest for a nuclear bomb.

The threat of an attack on its facilities from the US or others has kept Tehran from building a nuclear weapon, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday.

Speaking to Israel Radio, Barak said the US has a much better capability than Israel to strike against Iran in the later stages of nuclear weapons development. He added that Israel and the United States are in concert on intelligence analysis, and on leaving all options open.

Speaking from Germany, Barak said the only difference of opinion comes from the fact that the US has the ability to strike Iran at a later stage of weapons development, whereas Israel is more limited. However, Barak warned Israel cannot just watch from the sidelines and lose its initiative to act.

Read more at Times of Israel

In an op-ed piece, Rep. Ted Deutch (FL-19) discusses the importance of not making Israel a partisan issue - this election season or at any time.   

As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I regularly receive classified reports from our diplomatic, military and intelligence services. There is total unanimity that the most serious threat facing the United States and Israel is a nuclear-armed Iran.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new for Israel. In order to survive in a dangerous neighborhood, Israel has always needed to be more than tough. The country has always needed to be smart.

From the preemptive strike that destroyed Egypt's air force during the Six-Day War, to the daring raid on Entebbe, to using all available means to slow the Iranian nuclear program, Israelis have combined strength with ingenuity to keep the country's enemies at bay.

Read more at The Sun-Sentinel

As southern Israel was barraged by rockets for a fourth straight day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was hitting back "strongly and decisively," and its Iron Dome anti-missile defense system was intercepting many of the rockets coming from the Gaza Strip.

"The IDF is continuing to -- strongly and decisively -- attack the terrorists in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said Monday at the Knesset. "Whoever intends to harm our citizens, we will strike at him."

Israel has responded to the barrage of missiles with more than 30 attacks on rocket-launching sites and weapons facilities. At least 20 Palestinians, including two civilians, have been killed since the recent violence began. Several dozen Palestinian civilians, including several children, reportedly have been wounded in the strikes.

President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu met at the White House this week.  Both leaders agreed that Israel needs to be able to defend itself, and President Obama again emphasized that the US "has Israel's back."

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may not have bridged their differences on how to deal with Iran, but each managed to give the other a measure of reassurance.

In his speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Obama held his ground, declining to articulate new American red lines on the Iranian nuclear issue and strongly advising against “loose talk of war.” Yet he earned the praise of the prime minister and the pro-Israel lobby with his acknowledgement that Israel needs to be able to defend itself, and his vow that America has Israel’s back.

While Obama stressed diplomacy as a continued option in public and private comments, Netanyahu indicated in the two leaders’ private meeting that he believes sanctions have been exhausted. Yet even if the prime minister does not share the president’s patience, he also told Obama that there is not yet any Israeli decision to attack Iran, according to Israeli press reports.

In a rare move, the United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned recent attacks on Israeli diplomats.  Ambassador Prossor calls the move a 'significant step for the fight against terror.'

The United Nations Security Council strongly and unanimously condemned the recent attacks on Israeli representatives and diplomats in India and Georgia on Thursday night.

The condemnation is an unusual move on the part of the body, which last made similar condemnations in 2005.

Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor told Haaretz that “seven silent years have come to an end. It has been seven years since the Security Council has spoken out against terror attacks on Israel and its citizens.”

Read more at Haaretz

An Israeli diplomat's wife in New Delhi was injured by a car bomb, and a second bomb was disabled in a staff member's car at the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Monday's attacks came the day after the fourth anniversary of the assassination of the operational chief of Hezbollah, Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed Feb. 12, 2008 in Damascus by a car bomb. Hezbollah blames his killing on Israel. Israeli embassies and other missions had been on high alert in advance of the anniversary.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was behind the attacks.

Read more at JTA

Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on Sunday, warning the Palestinian movement leader against any potential compromise with Israel, according to AFP.

Referencing the recent reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, Khamenei said that Haniyeh must "always be wary of infiltration by compromisers in a resistance organization, which will gradually weaken it." Haniyeh arrived in Iran on Friday for a three-day visit.

The agreement, reached between Fatah and Hamas under the auspices of Qatar, calls for Abbas to serve as an interim prime minister of a Palestinian unity government made up of independent figures. It has stirred controversy, both within the domestic Palestinian arena and in the international community.

Read more at Jerusalem Post

While no one was looking, democracies around the world have begun warming up to, and even embracing, Israel.

No Israeli could have failed to notice the radical change in weather over the past two months. Forecasters predicted another dry winter, and fortunately they turned out to be wrong. And while Israel is still suffering from a water shortage, for the moment the situation is not as dire as we had thought.

But has anyone noticed that there is another change on the horizon, one that has confounded the prophets of doom? Slowly but surely, it is becoming apparent that the international political climate in Israel is far better than had been predicted, and it seems to be getting better all the time.

Last week the Canadian foreign minister, John Baird, announced during a visit to Israel that Israel has no better friend than Canada. "Ottawa", he said, "stands for what is principled and just, regardless of whether it is popular, convenient or expedient." Baird added, "Israel is a beacon of light in a region that craves freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."

Read more at Haaretz

Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses a special session of Knesset before International Holocaust Rememberance Day, stating that the world still has lessons to learn about preventing genocide, and enabling dictatorships to obtain weapons of mass destruction.

"Seventy years have passed since the Holocaust, and many around the world still remain silent in the face of Iran's threats to wipe Israel off the map, and many stay silent despite Hezbollah's call for the destruction of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday during a special Knesset session ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will be marked this week.

"International Holocaust Remembrance Day is the day on which the world needs to stand behind the words 'no more.' It's not a slogan, but has a deep meaning," he said. "It is the day on which the world must unite to make certain weapons of mass destruction do not fall into the hands of dark regimes, headed by the ayatollahs' regime in Iran."

Netanyahu added: "Have we learned the lessons of the Holocaust? Are we treating these threats of destruction seriously? Or perhaps, like many generations before us we do not want to see the scope of the danger that is facing us. The Iranian regime is openly calling for the destruction of Israel, but many around the world remain silent. We mustn't bury our head in the sand. The Iranian regime is planning the annihilation of Israel and is working towards Israel's destruction – its agents (Hezbollah) fired over 12,000 missiles towards Israel's cities. They are not concealing their intent to kill as many (Israelis) as possible.

Read more at Ynet News

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Ron Prossor called on the UN to take further actions to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon at a recent meeting of the UN Security Council.

Iran is the single greatest threat to the world and the United Nations needs to take action against it immediately, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor told the Security Council in New York on Tuesday.

“Never has it been so clear Iran is seeking to build a nuclear weapon,” said Prosor speaking at a regular meeting debating the “situation in the Middle East and the Palestinians question.”

“Now is the time to act. Tomorrow is too late. The stakes are too high. The price of inaction is too great,” he said.

Read more at Jerusalem Post

A recent poll shows that despite popular claims, younger Jews do support Israel.

Today, it has become popular to malign young Jews and to suggest that they are turning away from Israel. We hear that they have been turned off to Israel by policies of the Israeli government and have become increasingly supportive of the Palestinians. Those of us who work with students know this is rubbish and now a new poll provides evidence that young Jews feel close to Israel, have little sympathy for the Palestinians, are hawkish on peace issues, and don’t believe public criticism of the government advocated by Jews on the far left is helpful.

The nationwide poll of 400 Jewish college students sponsored by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise and The Israel Project found:

·    90% agree that Israel is the spiritual center of the Jewish people.
·    83% said caring about Israel is an important part of being Jewish.
·    73% said American and Israeli Jews share a common destiny.
·    89% have warm/favorable feelings toward Israel.
·    78% sympathize with Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinians.
·    84% think America should support Israel.

To further drive a stake in the idea that young Jews feel less connected to Israel than their elders, we can compare our results to the findings of the American Jewish Committee’s latest national poll. The AJC found that 68% of American Jews feel close to Israel and 31% said they feel very close. In the AICE/TIP survey, 66% of college students said they feel close to Israel and 26% answered very close.

Read more at Jerusalem Post