Following his open letter recently published in advertisements in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder has now continued his criticism of US President Barack Obama’s treatment of Israel in an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel.

Ronald LauderRonald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, recently attacked US President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy in an open letter. Lauder talks to SPIEGEL about Israeli concessions to the Palestinians and why Obama is neglecting the US-Israeli relationship.

SPIEGEL: In an open letter that was recently published in advertisements in The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, you accused US President Barack Obama of having allowed a “dramatic deterioration” of relations with Israel. What do you mean?

Ronald Lauder: The Obama administration is blaming Israel for the stalling peace process, but it is in fact the Palestinians which are opposed to negotiations. Obama’s criticism of Israel is disproportionate.

SPIEGEL: Isn’t the Israeli government also to blame? After all, it announced the plan to expand a settlement in the eastern part of Jerusalem during US Vice President Joe Biden’s visit.

Lauder: That was bad timing. But the Israeli government has made extraordinary concessions: It has accepted the idea of a Palestinian state, a moratorium on settlement building, and it has removed over a hundred roadblocks in the West Bank.

SPIEGEL: And yet, that lip service to a two-state solution was only paid following pressure by Obama. As a close friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aren’t you biased?

Lauder: On this, I don’t represent my friend, but Jews world-wide. I would have written the same letter if someone else were prime minister in Jerusalem. Over his attempts to engage the Muslim world, Obama has strongly neglected the relationship with Israel.

SPIEGEL: At least he has said that a solution to the Middle East conflict was in the “national security interest” of the US.

Lauder: His main concern should be Iran. The regime in Tehran is threatening Israel and the entire Western world with its plans to build a nuclear bomb. That is why Obama should end his feud with Israel.

Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)?

8:15PM: ISRAELLYCOOL EXCLUSIVE: Behind the scenes in Gaza after Al-Quds Brigades training (see 6:26PM update)

8:02PM: Jordan is now claiming the Katushya that hit the refrigeration warehouse was  launched from outside Jordan.

6:26PM: Seems as though the Iranians are not the only ones who like to make Wookie.

Introducing the palestinian version.

palestinian wookies

More pictures here (hat tip: Elder of Ziyon)

5:54PM: One of the following things actually does exist. Can you guess which?

a) Easter bunny

b) Palestinian Zionist Organization

c) Arafat deodorant

And the answer is…

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V

b!

If you don’t believe me, check out their website.

Arutz Sheva adds:

For the first time since pre-State days when Zion and Palestine were synonymous terms, a “Palestinian Zionist Organization” has been established – by Arabs.

The latest Arab to show his public support for Israel is Elias Issa, who describes himself as a “European West-Bank Palestinian.” He writes that he chose a unique approach by which to celebrate Israel’s 62nd birthday – namely, by launching the Palestinian Zionist Organization. He says his goal is “to show the world why it must support the Jewish people and to [distance itself] from the terrorist Palestinian government.”

Statements on the new website include warnings that a new PA state, if it were to arise, would “become the most terrorist state in the world… The Palestinians don’t believe in a two-state solution; they only believe in a one-state solution – a land called Palestine [which] does not involve any Jewishness.”

Issa, who now lives in the United States, explains that the international community is blind “to what’s truly going on in this Middle East conflict. [I hope] to make a difference by shining a different kind of light on the Palestinian-Israeli situation.”

The website notes that “more and more Palestinians” are going public in their support for Israel.

3:30PM: Palestinians are pissed off at Google for it’s homepage on Independence day a few days ago.

Hey, it could be worse.

2:30PM: Al Arabiya reports that the Katushyas were fired from Jordan’s Aqaba port city (not Egypt’s Sinai Penninsula as previously reported), and landed in an empty refrigeration warehouse.

Not cool.

12:42PM: Earlier this morning, terrorists fired two Katushya rockets from Egypt’s Sinai Penninsula toward Eilat, the first time a rocket has been fired at the resort town in almost five years.

One of the rockets struck near the Jordanian city of Aqaba, while the other hit the waters off the coast.

11:44AM: US President Barack Obama wants us to know nothing’s gonna change his love for us.

As relations between Israel and Washington lurch from crisis to crisis, President Barack Obama has had to face down criticism over his Middle East policy from within the United States.

The president on Wednesday sent a rare letter to Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and a long-term Obama ally, in an attempt to allay Jewish fears that the United States is distancing itself from Israel.

In the letter, Obama emphasized his commitment to Israeli ties, saying his policy on the Middle East had been misinterpreted.

“I am sure you can distinguish between the noise and distortion about my views that have appeared recently, and the actual approach of my administration toward the Middle East,” Obama wrote.

He continued: “All sides should understand that our commitment to Israel is unshakeable and that no wedge will be driven between us.”

6:10AM: The palestinians are proud of their latest “great achievement”: entering the Guinness book of world records for the largest loaf of Musakhan.

palestinian cooksPalestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad considered making the largest loaf of ‘Musakhan’ in the world as a great achievement and a great honor for the Palestinian people, who devoted this achievement to their steadfastness on their land.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered on Monday at Aaroora village, north of Ramallah to celebrate the ceremony of accepting the largest Palestinian ‘Musakhan’, loaf of chicken, into the Guinness book of world records.

“This great achievement completely depended on Palestinian products, mainly olive oil. It also has a cultural dimension and a Palestinian message to the world that they want their legitimate rights,” he said.

Jamal al-Aaroori, director of the project of baking the largest ‘Musakhan’ loaf said that the preparations for the project took one complete year, adding that 40 Palestinian cooks from all over the West Bank joined hands in preparing the recipe.

The celebration was held under the title ‘Festival of Joy, The Palestinian Musakhan.’ It was folkloric as the Palestinians wanted to prove their rights in their land and their heritage.

The total diameter of the ‘Musakhan’ loaf was 4 meters, with a total weight of 1,350 kg. The 40 cooks made use of 250 kg of flour, 170 kg of olive oil, 500 kg of onions and 70 kg of almond.

‘Musakhan’ loaf is considered as one of the most popular Palestinian traditional meals dating back to hundreds of years. The meal’s ingredients contain flour and olive oil, where a small loaf is baked together with onions, chicken and the herb of sumac.

Ironic how baking what is essentially a Jordanian dish proves “[palestinian] rights in their land and their heritage.” If anything, it should remind people where the palestinian state is.

I also find it interesting that they would bake all of this food, without even a thought of donating it to their “starving” brethren in Gaza.

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11 thoughts on “The Day In Israel: Thursday April 22nd, 2010”

  1. If the Republicans weren't the Stupid Party, they would be exploiting Obama's problematic policies toward Israel for all the gain they can get out of it instead of siding with Wall Street con artists trying to block financial reform. Actually, there is one unilateral step the U.S. can take that would do more to bring about peace in the region than anything done in more than 60 years. It could veto UNRWA out of existence and cause Arabs to finally come to grips with reality. Unfortunately, Republican administrations, for all their whining about welfare bureaucracies, did nothing to put these poverty pimps out of business when they had the chance. Why should we expect anything more from Obama, with his limited vision?

        1. Michael Zvi Krumbein

          The Security Council does funding?

          What the U.S. ususally does (whatever party), is to deduct the cost of whatever obscene thing the U.N. is doing from the appropriation. Which, of course, makes the elitists scream.

  2. Michael Zvi Krumbein

    For those who think Netantayu is the one who was hurt (leaving out the fact that this rift advances his long-term goals of dragging the Likud leftward) – I just got a letter from Ben Cardin, my Senator and former Congressman. I have always chided Cardin for being rather inactive regarding Israel, even when he could have scored easy points with his ultra-left-wing district by attacking Bush's pressure on Israel toward the end of his presidency.

    Well, Ben has woken up! In his letter to us, couched in diplomatic language (attn. Martin Indyk), he all but attacks Obama's policy! This, folks, is a first! Something is really happening! (P.S. 76 out of 100 Senators signed the (earlier) letter to Obama.)

    Unfortunately, real damage has been done to Israel's reputation in the U.S. Thanks, Barack and Martin!

    1. This is the most upbeat you've ever been on this site, Michael. Sen. Cardin's letter must have really brightened your spirits. You're positively ebulient. While Ben Cardin is a nice man and by all accounts was a fine congressman (my Congressman when I lived in MD was good ol' Steny Hoyer) and a solid senator, he is still a politician. There might be just the slightest chance that he is just telling you what you want to hear. But who am I to be the bastard child at the family reunion and spoil all your good cheer? I'm sure Sen. Cardin is going to leave the Democratic Party very soon and become an impeccable pro-Israel Independent like Joe Lieberman. It could happen.

      1. Michael Zvi Krumbein

        I lost you. Of course he is telling me what I want to hear. The point is that he hasn't bothered all of these years. This means there are a lot of people out there who also want to hear it, which means there is serious, unprecedented, opposition to Obama's Middle East policy. This is a small ray of light in the horrible darkness.

        Of course, he may just be worried about November, as he is a Senator now, and after that go back to "normal".

        Look, I honestly did not think Obama would be this bad. Because I am not (or, more correctly now, was not) a full-fledged Obama-hater, I am more affected every time he sinks to a new depth.

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