Dancing Around Genocide
At Human Rights Watch, a bitter behind-the-scenes battle over Iran's calls to annihilate Israel.
"Mr. Roth's main claim is legalistic: Iran's rhetoric doesn't qualify as "incitement"—which is illegal under the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948—but amounts merely to "advocacy," which is legal.
The theory to which Human Rights Watch subscribes, he has written in internal emails, "is that in the case of advocacy, however hateful, there is time to dissuade—to rebut speech with speech—whereas in the case of incitement, the action being urged is so imminently connected to the speech in question that there is no time to dissuade. Incitement must be suppressed because it is tantamount to action."
Mr. Roth added in another email: "Many of [Iran's] statements are certainly reprehensible, but they are not incitement to genocide. No one has acted on them."
Candidly Speaking: Australia tilts against Israel By Isi Leibler
Germany and Australia, 2 countries considered solid supporters of Israel, abandoned us at the crucial moment.
"The opposition Liberal Party adamantly supports Israel. Former prime minister John Howard described the government’s tilt as “pathetic” and an “embarrassment.” Elections are scheduled next year and recent polls indicate that the Liberals may win by a landslide.But unless Gillard succeeds in persuading the Labor Party caucus to change its approach, in the short term Israel should not expect support from Australia under Foreign Minister Carr. Like many of our European “friends,” Carr may continue insisting that his motivations are based upon having the Jewish state’s security at heart and trying to save Israel from itself. But when the chips are down, he will abandon us, as he did at the UN General Assembly."
Andrew Bolt: Intellectual racism
Isn’t this racism - and the kind of intellectual ghettoisation that creates division, not peace?
“THE Sydney University’s Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, which has thrown its support behind controversial Palestinian leaders, has cited its boycott of Israel for refusing to help an Israeli civics teacher who has designed programs for both Jewish and Arab children.”
Netanyahu to Czech PM: Thank You for Standing Up for Peace
Netanyahu thanks Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas for his country’s vote against the PA's unilateral statehood bid.
“My real purpose in coming here is to say on behalf of the people of Israel to you and your government and your countrymen and women, to say thank you,” Netanyahu told Necas in a joint press conference.
Amendments Penalizing PA for Unilateral UN Bid Fail in Senate
“Any reports of its ultimate demise are premature,” the source said. “It can be attached to another piece of legislation down the road. Senate amendments can resurrect themselves in other forms.”
BBC Watch: BBC promotion of the ‘targeting the media’ myth
"But by indiscriminately promoting the theme of ‘targeting the media’ whilst failing to make the necessary distinction between legitimate members of that profession and every member of a terrorist organization with a video camera, journalists also provide – intentionally or not – a protective mantle to terrorist organisations."
CAMERA Sun Sentinel Columnist Gets Facts Wrong
"Writing yesterday in Florida's Sun Sentinel, Pierre Tristam argues that the U.S. is on "the wrong side of history" with its vote against upgrading the Palestinians' status in the United Nations. Too bad, though, Tristam can't get the history right."
Despite Military Atrocities, Ivory Coast Elected as UN Disarmament Commission Vice-Chair
“A government whose military has just committed widespread human rights abuses — including arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, extortion, inhuman treatment, and torture — should not be made vice-chair of a U.N. arms control body. The U.N. should recognize that it has sent absolutely the wrong message at the wrong time, cancel the decision, and apologize to the victims,” said Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director.
As Iranian Nuclear Program Forges Ahead, is 2013 a Make-or-Break Year?
"Many experts are also concerned with Iran’s refusal to allow IAEA inspectors into the Parchin military complex. The IAEA believes that Iran may have conducted “explosives tests” as part of its nuclear program at the site, its report said. Satellite photographs indicate that Iran has been working quickly to clean the site up, while delaying the IAEA’s access."
Sudan Must Face the Consequences of Its Alliance With Iran
Syrian Mortar Lands in Israel: UN Peacekeepers Reinforced on Golan Heights
"The IDF confirmed that a Syrian mortar shell landed near an IDF base on the border between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights on Wednesday afternoon, December 5. It was most likely a misfire from Syrian infighting stated an IDF source, with the mortar landing in Israel by accident and causing no damage or injuries."
US ‘huddling’ with Israel, other allies as Assad’s forces ‘load chemical weapons into bombs’
Syrian troops reportedly began mixing components over the weekend; ‘remote’ danger of chemical weapons being fired into Israel, CNN contributor notes
"The CNN report said that the US analysis is that Assad is not ready to flee Syria at this point, but that if he did, his possible bolt holes could be Venezuela, Russia or Iran. The Russians, however, are growing increasingly wary of Assad, in part because of signs that he might be readying to use chemical weapons against his own people. And he would likely be safest from retribution in Iran."
CAIR Targets Morsi/Brotherhood Critics
CAIR-New York’s Cyrus McGoldrick disparaged criticism of Morsi as “a last stand by old pro-West/Mubarak/Israel crowd to keep power in judiciary.”
Out of the ashes, a ghoulish display
Swedish artist uses remains of Holocaust victims, taken from a concentration camp mausoleum, to create a macabre ‘painting’
"A Swedish artist, Carl Michael von Hausswolff, has stirred up controversy in his home country for blending the ashes of Holocaust victims, taken from a concentration camp, in water and using the resulting admixture to paint a picture. The morbid work, which the Daily Mail described as a “small painting of grey streaks,” is currently on display in a gallery in the Swedish city of Lund."
EJC: Swedish Jewish Community 'Dying of 1,000 Cuts'
Sweden's Jewish community is in “grave danger” after a series of anti-Semitic attacks, warns the European Jewish Congress. The statement came in the wake of an attack on two Jewish women earlier this week in the city of Malmo.
Ecuador’s president compares Jewish center bombing to NATO action
South American leader condemned for remarks likening terrorist attack to overthrow of dictator
“Speaking so callously in Argentina displays extraordinary insensitivity on the part of President Correa. The attack on AMIA was an assault on all of Argentina. One would expect Latin American nations to be empathetic and supportive of Argentina’s efforts to bring those responsible, including Iranian officials sought by Interpol, to justice.”
India urges Israel to speed up defence projects
"NEW DELHI: India has asked Israel to speed up crucial bilateral defence projects, including the around Rs 13,000 crore development of two advanced surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems to arm Indian armed forces against hostile aircraft, drones and helicopters.
This came at the 10th joint working group on defence cooperation here, co-chaired by defence secretary Shashikant Sharma and Israeli defence ministry director-general Major-General Ehud Shani."
Jordan reportedly drops out of Dead Sea canal project
Ambitious plan to run a waterway from the Red Sea to the water-depleted lowest point on Earth may now be put on hold
"The dream of using the drop in height from the Red Sea down to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, has been around for decades, but in 1998 Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority began serious research into building a canal. The initiators of the project hope to use the water to drive hydroelectric plants that would power desalination stations to produce up to two billion cubic meters of drinking water for the regional partners."
Israel in the frame (III)
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