Friday Links Part 1

From Ian:

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An Honest Answer to John Kerry’s Question to American Jewry

Is Kerry asking American Jews to pressure their Israeli counterparts to respond positively to Abbas’s outrageous demands? The last time Israel wandered down that path, with the settlement freeze of 2009, the Jewish state was met with yet more recalcitrance from Abbas.
In truth the onus is on Abbas, and in that regard, to paraphrase, “No one has a weaker voice in this than the American Jewish community.”
The real question to be asked here is by American Jewry to John Kerry. Ma nishtana, why are you any different from all those who instinctively hold the Jews responsible for everything that is wrong in the Middle East.

Palestinians campaign to regain 'occupied' Latrun

One Israeli official was stunned by the Palestinian campaign over Latrun, saying it was as if the Palestinians were moving the goal line backwards.
Referring to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s push to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the official said, “It’s almost as if every time we move forward, or every time there is a prospect of moving forward, the Palestinians bring up an issue which they know is a game breaker.”
The Palestinian decision to make this an issue, the official continued, “raises concerns as to their seriousness.”

The Palestinian Excuse Machine

In every peace plan put forward by peace groups as well as the Israeli government’s offers of statehood to the Palestinians, the Jewish areas of East Jerusalem remain part of Israel. The Palestinians know that even in the most generous distribution of territory – including the one put forward by former prime minister Ehud Olmert in 2008 that called for the abandonment of the Old City by Israel – Ramot and Gilo and other such neighborhoods are not going to be handed over to them and emptied of their Jewish inhabitants.

Barry Rubin: Obama Middle East Policy: Wrong Team, Wrong Ideas

In the Middle East, to paraphrase President Barack Obama's mentor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the dodo birds are coming home to roost.
At this moment, the administration's policy team consists of CIA director John Brennan, father of the ""moderate" Islamism-and-the-Muslim Brotherhood-are-good school; the Secretary of State John Kerry who thinks he is going to make Israel-Palestinian peace in one month; the know-nothing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel; the chilling ideologue Samantha Powers as UN ambassador; and the dupe of the Benghazi scandal Susan Rice rewarded by being made national security adviser.

Samantha Power, U.N. Nominee, Highlights Obama’s Genocide Problem

The nomination of Samantha Power for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations has drawn the Jewish community’s attention to her controversial 2002 remark about hypothetical U.S. action against Israel to protect Palestinians from genocide. But Power’s confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate is also likely to address a broader question: How can lawmakers judge her record on responding to genocide, when the government agency she has headed for the past year has no office, no staff, no phone number, and no public record of taking any action to fulfill its stated mission—to prevent atrocities in Darfur and elsewhere around the world?

Leading Arab journalist sympathizes with Bin Laden

A leading Arab journalist expressed sympathy with former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, considering him only “half a terrorist” in a television interview published by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Asked whether he believed Bin Laden was a terrorist, Abdel Bari Atwan, editor in chief of the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi, told Egypt’s ONtv TV channel June 2 that the Saudi terrorist leader was “half a terrorist,” since his organization’s attacks against American forces in Saudi Arabia could not be considered terrorism.

Galon Upset Over Ban of Inciting PA Official

Meretz chair blasts the Defense Ministry for refusing to allow PA official who called to nuke Israel take part in her party's conference.
MK Zehava Galon, head of the extreme leftist Meretz party, blasted the Defense Ministry on Thursday for preventing the participation of Palestinian Authority official Jibril Rajoub at the party’s conference this coming Sunday.

Meretz's Darling: Netanyahu is a Dog

Video shows Meretz's would-be guest Jibril Rajoub denouncing "Jews, Satans, Zionist sons of bitches.”

Senior Fatah official: Palestinians suffered more from Munich killings

Senior Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rajoub, who also heads the Palestinian Olympic committee, claimed Thursday that the Palestinians had suffered three times as much as the Israelis because of the 1972 Munich attacks.

IDF Files Complaint With UN as Syrian Tanks Enter Golan Demilitarized Zone

Israel has filed a complaint with the UN after it was reported Thursday morning that Syrian tanks had entered the demilitarized zone in the vicinity of the Quneitra crossing. The move would be in violation of the ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

Dozens of Syrians try to flee fighting into Israel

Syrians fleeing fierce fighting near the Israeli-Syrian border tried to escape through the Quneitra border crossing into Israel on Thursday. IDF soldiers sheltered the civilians within buildings at the crossing, then sent them back into Syria when they determined it was safe to do so.
In addition, the Israeli military told The Times of Israel that three mortars had fallen in open areas on the northern and central Golan Heights on Thursday. No damages or injuries were reported.

Jordan threatens to expel Syrian envoy

US ally Jordan threatened on Thursday to expel Syria's ambassador, after he warned the kingdom Syrian missiles could be used against Patriot batteries due to be deployed soon along their border.

Bulgaria: No Backtrack over Burgas

Bulgaria denied Thursday backtracking over whether Hizbullah was behind a bomb attack last July on its soil that killed five Israelis, saying earlier comments were misinterpreted, AFP reported.
"Bulgaria has not revised its stance on the terrorist act," Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin was cited in a statement as telling Ireland's ambassador to Sofia, John Rowan, in talks.

Kerry quietly approved $1.3 billion in arms to Egypt

US Secretary of State John Kerry quietly approved sending $1.3 billion in arms to Egypt in May, waiving the requirements of a US law meant to promote democratic development in the post-revolutionary country.

Unrepentant Norwegian paper claims reaction to its gory cartoon is ‘similar to Mohammed riots’

The Norwegian daily newspaper Dagbladet said reactions to its caricature on circumcision “are similar” to riots that erupted over cartoons mocking Mohammed.
Referencing Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten caricatures of Mohammed in 2005, Dagbladet wrote in a statement: “We now have similar reactions to a cartoon that Dagbladet printed last week.”