[Big A]

Unprecedented

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/bl...p/rubin/278821

At the time, many of us who have been highly critical of Obama’s Israel policy noted that it was a bad idea for him to make Jerusalem housing permits the focus of his ire (at least for now). There is no issue so emotional and no aspect of the conflict with the Palestinians that so unites Jews as the historic capital of the Jewish people. And today, the depth of his misjudgment is laid bare by Elie Wiesel, who takes out full page ads in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal to object to the assault on what he calls “the heart of our heart, the soul of our soul.”
He doesn’t mention Obama by name but his point could not be clearer: forget it, Mr. President. He writes, in part:For me, the Jew that I am, Jerusalem is above politics. It is mentioned more than six hundred times in Scripture — and not a single time in the Koran. Its presence in Jewish history is overwhelming. There is no more moving prayer in Jewish history than the one expressing our yearning to return to Jerusalem. To many theologians, is IS Jewish history, to many poets, a source of inspiration. It belongs to the Jewish people and is much more than a city, it is what binds one Jew to another in a way that remains hard to explain. When a Jew visits Jerusalem for the first time, it is not the first time; it is a homecoming. The first song I heard was my mother’s lullaby about and for Jerusalem. Its sadness and joy are part of our collective memory.He continues with a historical review of the city dating back to King David. And then he brings us up to date:Today , for the first time in history, Jews, Christians and Muslims all may freely worship at their shrines. And contrary to certain media reports, Jews, Christians and Muslims ARE allowed to build their homes anywhere in the city. The anguish over Jerusalem is not about real estate but about memory.
What is the solution? Pressure will not produce a solution. Is there a solution? There must be, there will be. Why tackle the most complex and sensitive problem prematurely? Why not first take steps which allow the Israeli and Palestinian communities to find ways to live together in an atomosphere of security. Why not leave the most difficult, the most sensitive issue, for such a time?It is significant that it is Wiesel – a Jewish figure without peer and the embodiment of Holocaust memory – who writes this. It is as powerful a rebuke to an American president as any he can receive. It is not simply a geopolitical critique; it is an indictment of Obama’s ignorance of and lack of sympathy with the Jewish people. It cannot be ignored.

[S.T.D.]

...[B]Today , for the first time in history, Jews, Christians and Muslims all may freely worship at their shrines...

Except for the fact non-Muslims are currently not allowed pray on the Temple Mount!

[Peptobismol]

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/201...uth-about.html

The anti-Israel crowd is up in arms over Elie Wiesel's full-page ad published over the weekend. (This includes that paragon of dishonesty, Richard Silverstein.) But if you want to see a classic example of sputtering, insane Arab anger, you have to check out Khaled Amayreh, the pseudo-journalist whose entire purpose in life is to make Israel Judenrein.

Writing in AlJazeerah.Info, he can't even pretend to hide his disgust at Wiesel:
But pornographic crimes, such as last year’s genocidal atrocities in the Gaza Strip, require at least equally pornographic lies to whitewash them or at least mitigate their brutal ugliness. Needless to say, this task was left for people like Wiesel to carry out which he has been trying to do.

In a full-page add [sic] published in the Jewish-Zionist newspaper, the Washington Post, Wiesel regurgitated another dose of lies about Palestinian plight. He criticized what he called American “political pressure” on Israel , saying that such a pressure wouldn’t produce a solution to the issue of Jerusalem .

Then what would produce a solution to the issue? Allowing the mad dogs of Zionism to expel the Arabs, the true natives of the city, to the Arabian desert ? Or perhaps accelerating and completing the process of ethnic cleansing now under way in Jerusalem ? Or, maybe, the destruction of Islamic and Christian holy places in the city to make it goy-free?So, what is the lie that Wiesel wrote in his ad? Certainly Amayreh has a good example:“For me, the Jew that I am, Jerusalem is above politics. It is mentioned more than six hundred times in Scriptures and not a single time in the Koran.”

Well, first of all, a liar has no right to even allude to the scriptures which teach “thou shall not lie.”

Second, it is not true that Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. In fact, Jerusalem was the first Qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims. Moreover, there is an entire –and large- Quranic chapter called “Suratul Israa” which deals with the prophesized corruption by the Children of Israel.*
The following are the first few verses of the Suratul Israa, Chapter XVII of the Holy Qur'an:

“1. Glory to ((Allah)) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem), whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who hears and sees (all things).Hate to break it to you, Khaled, but the only place you mention Jerusalem is in your parenthetical comment, not in the text itself. (Not to mention that many Quranic scholars believe that "Al Aqsa" is not referring to Jerusalem, see Daniel Pipes for a great article on the topic that I have never seen rebutted.)

You see the deceitful, morbid discourse of this man who calls himself a “moralist.”! He would like to see the international community, principally to give the Judeo-Nazi regime in Israel more time to effect more ethnic cleansing until the criminal entity reaches a stage at which there will be nothing left to talk about. That would signal the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.
I Wonder why some people in the West still object when Zionists are called “the Nazis of our time.”There is a sickening, immoral liar being quoted here, and it sure isn't Elie Wiesel.

[tgs]

Richard Silverstein = Capo

[Paul Bunyan]

Thankfully my browser anti scripting tools keep me from posting on Silverstein's blog. I was poised to go full antimatter.

[radikal]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1164297.html

United States administration officials have voiced harsh criticism over advertisements in favor of Israel's position on Jerusalem that appeared in the U.S. press with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's encouragement. The authors of the most recent such advertisements were president of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel. "All these advertisements are not a wise move," one senior American official told Haaretz.

In the advertisement, Wiesel said that for him as a Jew, "Jerusalem is above politics," and that "it is mentioned more than 600 times in Scripture - and not a single time in the Koran." Wiesel called to postpone discussion on Jerusalem until a later date, when there is an atmosphere of security allowing Israeli and Palestinian communities to find ways to live in peace.

The ongoing confrontation with the U.S. administration over construction in East Jerusalem was present in many of the comments made by senior Israeli officials during Independence Day.

Netanyahu himself said in an interview to ABC that freezing construction in the east of the city was an impossible demand, and refused to answer questions on the Israeli response to demands from Washington. Instead, he called on Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas to return to the negotiating table without preconditions.

Foreign Minister Lieberman, meanwhile, made Jerusalem the focal point of his speech in a festive reception for the diplomatic corps at the President's Residence in Jerusalem. President Shimon Peres spoke first, calling for progress in the diplomatic process. Lieberman, who took the podium immediately after Peres, made diametrically opposed statements in his speech, stressing that the Palestinian Authority is no partner for peace.

"Jerusalem is our eternal capital and will not be divided," Lieberman said. Many of the ambassadors in the audience left feeling stunned and confused, some of them told Haaretz. "The gap between Peres and Lieberman is inconceivable," one of them said. "We couldn't comprehend how Lieberman can say all that in front of all the international community delegates."

Speaking at the torch-lighting ceremony on Mount Herzl on Monday, Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin said that there was "an attack on Jerusalem" and that Israel "will not apologize for the building of Jerusalem, our capital."

The diplomatic freeze and crisis with the Americans fueled a heated meeting of Labor Party ministers on Sunday. Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, Isaac Herzog and Avishay Braverman told Defense Minister and party chairman Ehud Barak that unless there was some movement on the diplomatic front within weeks, the Labor Party should consider leaving the government or working to bring in Kadima.

Senior Labor officials, who declined to be named, said this was the first time the diplomatic freeze was being discussed between Labor ministers. "They main message coming from this discussion is that things can't go on like this," one senior Labor official told Haaretz. "The Labor ministers told Barak that we will be approaching a moment of political decision within weeks."

Barak tried to calm the ministers, saying he was concerned by the state of Israeli-American relations and will travel to Washington next week for talks on the peace process. Barak appears to be set to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, special U.S. envoy George Mitchell and national security advisor General Jim Jones.