I previously posted about the latest rash of scandalous photos coming out of Afghanistan showing U.S. military atrocities under Obama’s command, and wondering if the media would pick up on it the way they did when it was Bush’s army… Well, here’s a twist I wasn’t expecting: yes, one of the U.S. media, Rolling Stone, [...]
Jeffrey Goldberg, a correspondent for the Atlantic, cast a spotlight on yet another disgustingly overt example of pure bias in the mainstream media, particularly at the anti-Semitic Reuters newswire. He points to a Reuters news item which contains the following despicable sentences: Police said it was a “terrorist attack” — Israel’s term for a Palestinian [...]
In the [sparse] reporting of the Palestinians’ massacre of the Fogel family, several newspapers stand out with their distorted sense of “balance”, i.e., where they feel overwhelmingly uncomfortable describing the barbarity of the Palestinians without at least taking a swipe or two at the Israelis, no matter how patently irrelevant or disgustingly disrespectful it comes [...]
Senators Press Obama To Press Arab World, Part II
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I posted previously regarding the efforts of Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN) and James Risch (R-ID) to press Obama to put pressure on the Arab world.
Despite some rabblerousing by the leftist organization Americans for Peace Now, trying to stop the impact of the letter and trying to counter the initiative with a letter of their own, this original initiative by Bayh and Risch has picked up quite a bit of steam.
(See my original post on this for the text of the two letters.)
According to Arutz 7, there are currently 71 senators who have signed on to this letter:
No fewer than 71 US Senators – including only six of the 13 Jewish ones – sent a letter to US President Barack Obama on Monday, asking him to press Arab states to recognize and normalize relations with Israel. The effort, led by Senators Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), was promoted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
The 71 signatories included the Senate leaders and whips of both parties, namely, Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.).
The letter states that Israel’s efforts toward peace are not being met with equal efforts by Arab states. A similar letter was sent by 226 House members of both parties last week to Saudi Arabia, calling on its leaders to deepen their commitment to peace with Israel…
The letter to Obama lists the various “concrete measures” taken by Israel of late to “reaffirm its commitment to advancing the peace process.” The letter specifies in this regard Prime Minister Netanyahu’s publicly-expressed support for the “two-state solution” and his call for the immediate resumption of peace negotiations, as well as “Israeli efforts to improve the daily lives of Palestinians, through measures such as removing roadblocks, assisting with economic development in the West Bank, and supporting the training of professional Palestinian Authority security personnel… even in the face of continuing threats to its security.”
On the other hand, the Senators ask to “understand what steps you [President Obama] are urging Arab states to take… in the coming weeks and months.” Specifically, the writers suggest that the Arabs could end the Arab League boycott of Israel, meet openly with Israeli officials, establish open trade relations with Israel, issue visas to Israeli citizens, end official propaganda campaigns that demonize Israel and Jews, and more.
The Senatorial writers also “hope that you will continue to press Arab leaders to consider dramatic gestures toward Israel similar to those taken previously by brave leaders like King Hussein of Jordan and Anwar El-Sadat of Egypt.”
Notably, only six of the Senate’s 13 Jewish members signed the letter: Barbara Boxer (D-Cal.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Joe Lieberman (I-Ct.), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The seven Jews who did not sign the letter asking for Arab peace gestures towards Israel were Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).