ALERT

From the Washington Post, commentaries on Obama’s Muslim Outreach

 Jim Hoagland: “Obama has abandoned a George W. Bush slogan — the war on terror — But the struggle to locate, disrupt and destroy international terrorist networks — which target other Muslims even more often than they target foreign infidels, Jews and crusaders — goes on. The Taliban’s quest to return Afghanistan to its misogynistic savagery goes on. Egyptian fanatics who assassinated Anwar Sadat still aim to kill Hosni Mubarak. These efforts will continue, irrespective of Obama’s words.” Read more

Charles Krauthammer: “Every new president flatters himself that he, kinder and gentler, is beginning the world anew. Yet, when Barack Obama in his inaugural address reached out to Muslims by saying “to the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” his formulation was needlessly defensive and apologetic. . . it is both false and deeply injurious to this country to draw a historical line dividing America under Obama from a benighted past when Islam was supposedly disrespected and demonized.” Read more

FBI cuts off CAIR over Hamas questions

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has cut off contacts with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) amid mounting concern about the Muslim advocacy group’s roots in a Hamas-support network, the Investigative Project on Terrorism has learned.

“The decision to end contacts with CAIR was made quietly last summer as federal prosecutors prepared for a second trial of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF), an Islamic charity accused of providing money and political support to the terrorist group Hamas, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

“CAIR and its chairman emeritus, Omar Ahmad, were named un-indicted co-conspirators in the HLF case. Both Ahmad and CAIR’s current national executive director, Nihad Awad, were revealed on government wiretaps as having been active participants in early Hamas-related organizational meetings in the United States. During testimony, FBI agent Lara Burns described CAIR as a front organization.” Read more

Importance of FBI Action on CAIR

“…after years of legitimizing CAIR as a mainstream Muslim organization, has finally cut of their dealings with the organization. This is the first time a part of the government has publicly linked the presence of CAIR in meetings to the government entity’s refusal to attend the meeting. This stand is long overdue, and one that should be followed by other government agencies. The FBI has said it won’t deal with CAIR until certain issues are addressed to the FBI’s satisfaction, and must be addressed by the national FBI, not local field offices.” Read more

NY Times Columnist: From War on Terror to Strategic Challenge

“The war on terror is over. Yes, the with-us-or-against-us global struggle - the so-called Long War - in which a freedom-loving West confronts the undifferentiated forces of darkness comprising everything from Al Qaeda to elements of the Palestinian national struggle under the banner of Islamofascism has been terminated.

“What’s left is what matters: defeating terrorist organizations. That’s not a war. It’s a strategic challenge. The new president’s abandonment of post-9/11 Bush doctrine is a critical breakthrough. It resolves nothing but opens the way for a rapprochement with a Muslim world long cast into the against-us camp. Nothing good in Israel-Palestine, Afghanistan or Iran could happen with that Manichean chasm.” Read more

Top U.N. official blasts Hamas for cynical use of civilian facilities

 “United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Chief John Holmes blasted Hamas Tuesday for its cynical use of civilian facilities during recent hostilities in the Gaza Strip.

“The reckless and cynical use of civilian installations by Hamas and indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian populations are clear violations of international humanitarian law, Holmes told the UN Security Council.” Read more

Study warns of possibility that Iran will have nuclear capacity by 2010

“Iran will amass enough low-enriched uranium this year to have the ability to build a nuclear bomb by the end of 2010, a respected think tank has predicted.

“The International Institute for Strategic Studies has said Iran is months away from crossing a vital threshold which could put it on course to build a weapon.” Read more

Military expert calls for flexible armed forces 

“Future warfare is likely to be hybrid in character, possessing interlocking elements of both conventional and irregular warfare. Under such conditions, strategic flexibility must be the watchword for U.S. military and policy makers.” Read more

 New EU president called “true friend of Israel”

 “Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has been at the helm of the European Union’s agenda for nearly a month now in his capacity as current President of the EU Council of Ministers. He is 71 years old, a Catholic by religion, a conservative by habit, a liberal by leanings, identified with the left and a representative of the Green Party in the Senate of the Czech Republic. In Israel, they are pleased to add to this unique mix that he is a true friend.” Read more

 9 Alumni of Saudi program for ex-jihadists arrested

 “BEIRUT, Lebanon - Nine graduates of an influential Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists, including some who had been imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay, have been arrested for rejoining terrorist groups since the program started in 2004, Saudi officials said Monday.” Read more

On the 64^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we look at ceremonies, or lack of them, around the world

Host of U.N. Holocaust Memorial skips event

Council of Jews snubs Berlin Holocaust ceremony

Hundreds in London mark Holocaust

Barcelona calls off ceremony marking Holocaust

Swedish city cancels Holocaust event

Palestinians not high on Arab priorities

 “The mild reaction by Arab countries to the Hamas-driven Palestinian predicament in Gaza refutes the assumption that the Palestinian issue is a top Arab priority and that it constitutes the core cause of Arab hostility toward the West, USA and Israel” Read more

Head of right wing think tank calls for repartition of Israel

 “Inbar writes that the best solution would be to repartition the country, with Egypt resuming control of the Gaza Strip and Jordan controlling the West Bank. But since such an arrangement would take time to implement, for now focus should be placed on managing the conflict in its current state.” Read more

What the Jewish Orgs are saying plus Rahm, Franken and Coleman

Read a lively and informative sampling of American Jewish commentary on a variety of immediate topics, including: Mitchell Pick, Inauguration Prayer, Tracking Obama’s Promises. . .

Wilders says decision to prosecute him is political

 “Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, the director of a controversial film on radical Islam, says the decision by the Amsterdam Court of Appeals on Wednesday to prosecute him for allegedly inciting hatred against Muslims was strictly political. . .It puts hundreds of thousands of Dutchmen on trial for opposing Islam’s violent messages, the MP told Haaretz on Thursday.” Read more

Dershowitz calls accusation of war crimes against Israel phony

 “The accusation of war crimes is nothing more than a tactic selectively invoked by Israel’s enemies. Those who cry war crime against Israel don’t generally care about war crimes, as such, indeed they often support them when engaged in by countries they like. What these people care about, and all they seem to care about, is Israel. Whatever Israel does is wrong regardless of the fact that so many other countries do worse.” Read more

What effect will uranium shortage have on Iranian nuclear program?

 “Iran is facing a shortage of uranium, according to assessments by Western analysts that were published yesterday in The Times of London. The material is essential for Iran’s nuclear plans, but unlike the impression given by the report, intelligence assessments maintain that even if the shortage is real, it will not affect Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons in one to two years.” Read more

Caroline Glick: History’s Tragic Farce

“US President Barack Obama’s reported intention of appointing former Sen. George Mitchell as his envoy for the so-called Palestinian-Israeli peace process will provide us with a spectacle of an unvarnished repeat of history. . . What is most remarkable about the new administration’s embrace of its predecessors’ failed policy is how uncontroversial this policy is in Washington. It is hard to come up with another example of a policy that has failed so often and so violently that has enjoyed the support of both American political parties. Indeed, it is hard to think of a successful policy that ever enjoyed such broad support.” Read more

Obama & Autocratic Muslim Regimes

 “He should make it clear that the root causes of religious extremism and its byproduct, terrorism, must be ended by those who created them in the first place. The President must make it clear to Arab and Muslim autocratic regimes that all governments’ owned and financed religious schools and mosques that advocate intolerance of non-Muslims, ethnic and religious minorities must be either transformed from the ground up, be closed without any delays or face dire consequences. The leaders of non-compliant countries must be banned from participating in international organizations and forums, banned from traveling and have their assets frozen.” Read more

ACLU Sues MAS-run Minneapolis Charter School

 “A Minneapolis charter school has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues taxpayer money is being used to promote religion, in violation of the Constitution’s Establishment Clause in the First Amendment.” Read more

Dershowitz: Jews should stop being embarrassed of Israel 

“Israel is, despite its enormous weaponry, the underdog, says leading attorney and civil libertarian Alan Dershowitz. It is attacked throughout the world. It is the only state in the world today subject to open threats of annihilation. . . He believes that while criticism of Israel abounds the world over, many of Israel’s detractors are Jews themselves.” Read more

A Druze ambassador & a Bedouin diplomat defend Gaza op in U.S.

 “WASHINGTON - A Druze ambassador and a Bedouin deputy consul general have positioned themselves at the forefront of Israel’s PR battle in the US. Reda Mansour, Israel’s consul general to the southeast US, and Ismail Khaldi, San Francisco’s deputy consul general, have made round-the-clock appearances on television and radio interviews, published articles, and stood before Muslim protestors who accused them of traitorous behavior.”  Read more

Opinion: Israel scored a tactical victory but missed chance finish off Hamas

 “Bottom line: Israel has scored an impressive tactical victory. But it has missed the strategic opportunity to rid itself of the menace on its doorstep. In the Middle East, opportunities don’t always knock twice.” Read more

Analysis: Events in Gaza spell end of the beginning for breaking Islamist ideology

 “As the smoke clears from the latest round of fighting in Gaza, the perception in the Arab world, on both sides of the divide, is that Israel was victorious and that Hamas and its allies suffered a significant setback.” Read more

Obama stresses commitment to stop Hamas arms smuggling 

“WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Barack Obama told Ehud Olmert and three other Middle East leaders he is determined to stop Hamas from smuggling arms.” Read more

 Analysis: Obama plan to negotiate buys Iran time to complete nuclear program

 “The concern in Israel is that if the negotiations end in failure and even if Obama’s administration reaches the conclusion that Iran was toying with it and never intended to reach a compromise and suspend its uranium enrichment, it might already be too late. Iran might have nuclear weapons and then it will be too late and too dangerous to attack it.” Read more

 Dutch court imports Saudi blasphemy norms to Europe

 “The latest twist in the clash between Western values and the Muslim world took place yesterday in the Netherlands, where a court ordered the prosecution of lawmaker and provocateur Geert Wilders for inciting violence. The Dutch MP and leader of the Freedom Party, which opposes Muslim immigration into Holland, will stand trial soon for his harsh criticism of Islam.” Read more

On an American morning bright with the fading of an old hatred, we are saddened to have to bring you evidence that the oldest hatred of all is thriving.

Mark Steyn: The “Oldest Hatred” lives, from Gaza to Florida

“. . . ponder the reaction to Gaza in Scandinavia, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and golly, even Florida. As the delegitimization of Israel has metastasized, we are assured that criticism of the Jewish state is not the same as anti-Semitism. We are further assured that anti-Zionism is not the same as anti-Semitism, which is a wee bit more of a stretch.

Only Israel attracts an intellectually respectable movement querying its very existence.” Read more

Yad Vashem: Nazi imagery at anti-Israel rallies incites violence

 “The head of Israel’s Holocaust memorial said Monday that the use of Nazi imagery at recent violent anti-Israel demonstrations across Europe have fanned the flames of anti-Semitism and incited violence against Jews. . . The protests have come amid a dramatic increase in anti-Semitic acts, including attacks on synagogues, beatings of pro-Israel demonstrators and proposed boycotts of Jewish businesses, according to the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League.

. . Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem museum and memorial, said the comparisons were manipulative distortions of history and called for the Holocaust to be left out of contemporary political discourse.” Read more

 France raises alert after spate of anti-Semitic attacks over Gaza op

 “French authorities will increase their checks on television, radio and the Internet to prevent any hate messages prompted by the conflict in Gaza from spreading, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Friday.” Read more