100th Post - America tells Israel to stop supporting Iran?

This is ridiculous:
Jewlicious - Fighting Iran One Nut at a Time

US asks Israel to stop importing pistachio from Iran

Washington displeased with nuts smuggled to Turkey from Tehran and imported to Jewish state

US Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Keenum demanded Monday that the Israeli import from Turkey of pistachio nuts originating in Iran be halted immediately, Yedioth Ahronoth has learned.

The US undersecretary met with Israeli Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon in Rome during a conference organized by the International Food and Agricultural Organization.

The Israeli embassy in Italy reported to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem that the Americans are working to stop the export of Iranian pistachio nuts as part of the economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic.

Keenum told Simhon that it was absurd that Israel was purchasing most of its pistachio nuts from an enemy state. According to the undersecretary, Washington was extremely troubled by this, as US pistachio growers have protested the fact that America's friend favors Iranian pistachio nuts over American ones.

But in so many ways this just fails to surprise me.

I would post about Annapolis, but I just don't think there is a point...well except that David Miliband (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) said that the real elected Palestinian government rejected violence and wants peace and is representative of the Palestinian people and is led by Abbas. At least thats the way it sounded on CNN. Maybe he forgot that Hamas won the last elections, and that the PLO hasn't ever had real elections ever, and none at all in the last 10 years. I hope I misunderstood him, because I wouldn't want to think someone in his position completely misunderstands the situation.

Grog against Iran

The Petition doesn't suggest using force against Iran. It talks about sanctions, which is something I think any sane person would agree with. The question is do they really mean it, or is the bait and switch of the IAJV?

So go sign it!

Sudan fights for right to do Evil

Apparently Sudan finds it easier to fight the law instead of following it.

Sudan would rather fight a lawsuit about their assistance to terrorism, rather than stop the actual terrorism.

Sudan would rather fight a UN condemnation of the genocide in Darfur, rather than stop the actual genocide in Darfur.


Sudan rather than claiming it had no involvement in the Bombing of the USS Cole, tries to get off on a technicality

Families of American sailors killed in the suicide bombing of the USS Cole warship are suing the government of Sudan, accusing it of aiding terrorism.

They claim the African nation helped al-Qaeda, which was blamed for the attack, and are seeking damages of more than $100m through a Virginia court.

Sudan has tried to have the case dismissed, saying too much time had passed since the 2000 bombing. - BBC

As for Darfur, Sudan doesn't just rely on technicalities, it creates them:

Sudan tries to block UN from considering Darfur atrocities report

March 13, 2007 (GENEVA) — Sudan on Tuesday accused a United Nations panel of bias, and moved to block the U.N. Human Rights Council from considering its report accusing Khartoum of orchestrating attacks in Darfur.

Sudanese Justice Minister Mohamed Ali al-Mardi told the 47-nation council that the American head of the mission, Nobel laureate Jody Williams, took "a preconceived and hostile attitude against Sudan."

Al-Mardi said Sudan "strongly and resolutely" opposes any consideration by the council of the report, which he said should be dismissed because it was written without the team having visited Darfur. The team said it had to proceed that way because Sudan refused to grant them visas. - Sudan Tribune

And if that wasn't enough, they also lie

"Any attempt to confer legitimacy on this mission will constitute a serious and dangerous precedent in the eyes, not only of the Sudan, but also of many members of this esteemed council," al-Mardi said.

He asserted that two of the six team members had failed to participate, which made the mission "no longer valid."

U.N. officials said Indonesian Ambassador Makarim Wibisono had withdrawn from the panel, but that he was the only one to do so. Gabonese Ambassador Patrice Tonda had to return to Geneva while the panel was waiting in vain for Sudanese visas, but he remains a member of the panel, the officials said. - Sudan Tribune

Some may think that we shouldn't be overly harsh with the Government of Sudan, but as an Israeli Jew, I have no reason to pretend to love a government which gets into bed with Ahmadinejad.

Darfur: The "palestine" of American Jews

No one will accuse me of thinking that Darfur is not one of the most important issues that is facing World Jewry and humanity at large.

So I do not need to start by saying that I am glad that the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) put Darfur high on their agenda.

However, I am disappointed by lack of effort to bring awareness to the genocide which Iran is planning.

The JCPA explained afterward that the resolution was voted down for technical reasons, not because of its content. However, it seems indisputable that the issue of Iran's nuclear armament was not the most popular item on the agenda of the JCPA's plenum: The genocide in Darfur was the top-priority international item on that agenda. In the case of Darfur, a divestment resolution was passed by a large majority.

The mood at the JCPA conference gives some indication of public opinion on the "Jewish street" in America. The fact is that there has been no massive Jewish mobilization to date for the struggle against a nuclear Iran. The largest mass demonstration, in which tens of thousands of American Jews participated, was held in protest of the genocide in Darfur. Israeli leaders like former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and even historians like Benny Morris have declared that Israel is facing the prospect of a second Holocaust; however, Jewish activists in the United States prefer to deal with the genocide of another nation that is taking place right before our eyes.

- Ha'aretz

While it is commendable to be working against a current genocide, that is no excuse to ignore a imminent threat of genocide directed at your people. So what are their excuses?

David M. Elcott, who was recently appointed executive director of Israel Policy Forum, believes that American Jews are simply smarter than Israeli politicians. He says that Netanyahu's apocalyptic rhetoric is not acceptable from the standpoint of Jewish theology; the Jews, he notes, have always spoken of hope, and the language of despair is foreign to Jewish tradition. (still Ha'aretz)

Since when did most of American Jews care about theology? Which tradition is he talking about? Jews are always in despair and they turn to many recourses including Messianism throughout the ages.

In an unforgettable speech that he delivered of the United Jewish Community's General Assembly in Los Angeles last November, Netanyahu kept repeating the same point - namely, that it is as if we are in 1938, but instead of Germany, the threat is an Iran that is trying to arm itself with weapons of mass destruction.

In Elcott's view, the analogy Netanyahu made between Iran and Nazi Germany has a flip side: It draws an analogy between Israel and European Jewry on the eve of World War II. As Elcott sees it, saying that the Jews in Israel are in the same situation as the Jews of Warsaw or Berlin in 1940 "undermines the Zionist vision of an independent State of Israel." (still Ha'aretz)

How are we in such a different position? We were afraid to rock the boat and protest without a state of our own, and now even with a state of our own we are afraid to rock the boat. Political action and acknowledgment of threats to Israel undermines the Zionist vision? What does he suggest, oh right, Jewish theology. I guess by that he means pray to G-d and hope that everything will be alright. G-d forbid you should take action and try to find solutions to the threat of a nuclear Iran, because that would undermine the Zionist vision. I guess when I learned about how Zionism was about taking bold action as opposed to sitting around and talking and waiting for the messiah to come, it was all lies.

I am not saying we should be rushing to go to war with Iran. I know that many people don't want another Iraq, but that is no excuse to hide under the covers and hope it all blows over. It won't blow over if we ignore it, it will blow up in our faces.

But why did I call Darfur the "palestine" of American Jews?

Given the choice between an internal threat and a threat aimed at Israel, many of America's Jews prefer to sit on the fence. It is much simpler and much easier to struggle for the victims of genocide in Darfur. (still Ha'aretz)

Its exactly the same reason the left focuses on Palestinian issue when it looks for someone to rally for. Its easy, and to them non-controversial. We can't just save Darfur because it is convenient and everyone else is doing it. We must do it with the same conviction against genocide that will make us stand up to genocide anywhere in the world, including from Iran. We should not just be interested in Darfur because its the "in" thing. We must stand up in North Korea as well. And as for Jewish groups, its great how we are helping others, but lets not die in the process

Oh... and SAVE DARFUR!

Iran Learns Genocide from Sudan

Iran preparing its own genocide, has decided to get advice from Sudan about its current genocide in Darfur. Well that wasn't the version the media have told us, but what they told us wasn't much better.
Ahmadinejad apparently went to deny the genocide in Darfur and at the same time try to create bonds between the two evil regimes.

Ahmadinejad referred to the increasing willingness of the Sudanese people to have cultural bonds with Iran and said Iran and Sudan enjoy converging viewpoints about regional and international affairs notably regarding the Muslim world.

Converging viewpoints, eh? Yah, they both believe that genocide is acceptable and that its all the Jews fault.

He remarked that he voiced Iran's support for the Sudanese government and people during his talks with Sudanese authorities.

Roughly meaning, he supports the genocide in Darfur and will work to great lengths to pin the blame on the Jews.
That was the official version of events according to Iran's government news outlet.

Thank you Mr. Mahmoud "The Zionists are the true manifestation of Satan" Ahmadinejad.

Its one thing to deny a genocide in the past, and at the same time reflect on the "glory" of the Third Reich and talk about how there was "no final solution" and at the same time believe "Hitler should have finished the job". But this is some thing new, Ahmadinejad does of course believe that but he adds a twist. He denys a current genocide while plotting his own!

Blogger rights in Egypt

I talked about Orthomom, and now a much more serius case of blogger rights is taking place in Egypt.
Its a pity because Egypt is one of the more moderate Arab nations.

An Alexandria court convicted an Egyptian blogger on Thursday for insulting both Islam and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and sentenced him to four years in jail over his writings on the Internet.

Abdel Karim Suleiman, 22-year-old former law student is getting four years in Jail for this

He described some of the companions of the Muslim prophet Mohammad as "terrorists," and has likened Mubarak to dictatorial pharaohs who ruled ancient Egypt.

The last part is especially interesting, because it makes us think if we should relate to Egypt in at all the same way as we relate to the Biblical Egypt. Also the modern day Persia/Iran which is once again threatening to wipe out the Jews "Men, Women, and Children in one day", can we compare Iran's nuclear ambitions with Haman?

"I was hoping that he would get a harsher sentence because he presented to the world a bad image of Egypt. There are things that one should not talk about, like religion and politics. He should have got a 10-year sentence," said lawyer Nizar Habib, who attended the trial as a member of the public.

Nizar Habib, my friend, you just gave me a worse impression of Egpyt than anything this blogger my have written would give me