(Israel) authorizes construction of 300 new homes in West Bank

[kpete]

Source: Haaretz

Barak authorizes construction of 300 new homes in West Bank
By News Agencies
Tags: Israel News, Ehud Barak

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has authorized the building of 300 new homes in the West Bank, defying U.S. calls for a halt to settlement growth.

According to Army Radio said 60 of the 300 homes slated for the Talmon settlement in the West Bank have already been built and that Barak had approved plans to construct another 240 units there.

U.S. President Barack Obama has pressed Israel to halt settlement activity as part of a bid to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The World Court has ruled all settlements illegal under international law. The United States and European Union regard them as obstacles to peace.

Read more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1095031.html

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Oh, for the sake of fuck. And then they wonder why their neighbors hate them.

Good lord, will Israel never learn?

[snappyturtle]

6. Ditto. Why couldn't Israel turn over at least some of the settlements

to the Palestinian people whose land was confiscated to built such? At least it would be a beginning.They'd probably have to come up with something fairly spectacular to convince the settlers (squatters imho) to move but.....oh well, it is only a day dream.


edit: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1095038.html

My preview feature isn't working on 'edit'...I wanted to link back to give you more info but essentially Netanyahu says settlements aren't the question....interesting read.

[Zhade]

64. Headline should read "(Israel) authorizes THEFT OF PALESTINIAN LAND in West Bank"

Fucking assholes.

[dgibby]

2. Time to shut down their funding.

[safeinOhio]

16. Time to write your senator and rep.

Email to them takes no longer than to post here. More effective too.

[sharesunited]

3. I guess this is their way of battling the dismal demographical trend they face.

In the end, Arab fertility overwhelms.

[snappyturtle]

7. Yeah, like forced over crowded Arabs are more peaceful. What are the

Israelis thinking (or not)?

[The Stranger]

8. Maybe societies and laws shouldn't be based on one's ethnic, gender or religious demographic.

Holy shit, I can think of one nation that tried that before, and that didn't turn out well.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

38. For decades now the commercial property in my town is being bought up a religious group.

That means they cut into to corporations buying property to help pay our taxes.

This religious group knows how to work the system. "They" marry under the eyes of their God, then all the "unwed" mothers collect assistance.

They have a heavy voters block. For years many people in our town wanted a new library, but this religious group voted against it. ...Finally our town settled on letting this group pay a one time library fee of $100,000 (I think it takes $3 million a year to run the library). ...Long story short, this group will never have to pay taxes for the library they share.


Most people in our neighborhood pay about $1k a month in property taxes. YET the medium income for families of this religious group is about $16k a year.

[pattmarty]

44. You're right. That has been my NEW rag, Start taxing ALL religious groups.

[Nihil]

10. Nope ... just their way of saying "F*ck you" to the world (as always).

> In the end, Arab fertility overwhelms.

Replace "Arab" with any other race (ignoring your inaccuracy for now)
and see how it sounds as a statement on a supposedly progressive board.

[sharesunited]

14. I suppose I could have said non-Jewish fertility.

But to whom would I have been referring in this instance?

[maxsolomon]

39. the arab birth rate would go down

with increased education,opportunity and standard of living.

israel is creating what they fear.

[Cass]

4. The US needs to yank their funding. Enough of this bullshit. nt

[high density]

5. Why does Israel repeatedly do the same stupid things and expect a different result?

It boggles the mind.

[atreides1]

9. It's called insanity

[Hydra]

12. Because they're not expecting a different result

They take, and we back them up. I suspect it will be no different this time.

[high density]

18. I just don't understand the desire to be constantly warring

At least here in the US we blow up shit on the other side of the world instead of trying to incite our neighbors.

[Hydra]

21. That's not really the case

Recall "Manifest Destiny"- we took, burned and killed here until we reached the other side of the ocean. Then we decided we needed "colonies," which is where the other side of the world stuff came in. We still screw around on this continent, too.

The big question that comes to mind for me is, "What happens when Israel successfully takes all of Palestine?" Where will they expand to next? Lebanon? Syria? Beyond?

[defendandprotect]

33. More than likely US has been pushing this right-wing Israeli warmongering in ME . . .

Nixon armed right-wing fundamentalist hawks in Israel - giving them sway

over peaceful Israelis -- also provided our first solid foothold in ME.

Evidently US and Israel weapons production is so closely intertwined that

you can barely tell the difference! Plus we give them $15 million every day!!!

What did we get for it?

I think what imperialist US wanted . . . !!!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

26. yup.

[closeupready]

28. Who says they expect a different result? They obviously want war, because

it serves to delay further peace talks, during which time they can continue expanding into illegally annexed territory, creating yet more 'facts on the ground' in the meantime. Should be pretty obvious to everyone who is paying attention.

[pattmarty]

11. What this is doing to Israel, is creating another round of world-wide anti-semitism.

They are finally going to piss off their dwindling supporters in this country and then what do they do?

[defendandprotect]

35. Well, it has certainly made me anti-right-wing fundie Israelis . . .

they've pretty much buried peace-loving Israelis.

In fact, the assassination of Rabin pretty much buried peace-loving Israelis -

and Netanyhu is suspected of having a role in that right wing conspiracy.

[pattmarty]

40. It's really weird watching this over the years (I'm 62). After 1948 when.......

........they declared their statehood (and also after the war & the holocaust) they pretty much had the world behind them. Even after the 6 day war and the other wars the world stood by them. But now, they are becoming slowly what they left behind in Germany in 1945. If it was up to me, I would threaten to cut them off completely, money and weapons UNTIL they seriously talked of a Palestinian state. AND, if they go fucking with the Iranians the people in the US at this stage aren't going to put THEIR kids in harms way for their bullshit.

[Flaneur]

50. Yes. Israel went from noble underdog to thuggish bully.

I'm old enough to remember the noble underdog, which makes Israel's current posture all the more dispiriting. We should not be subsidizing them.

[defendandprotect]

52. Agree with you . . .

but as I've tried to point out, Nixon armed their rightwing hawks and buried
peace-loving Israelis. Every people have their right wing nuts.

Nixon used their religious fundamentalist whaackos to get what he wanted . . .
a foothold in the Middle East. And it worked!

Israel hasn't benefitted from these years of war -- only right-wing religious
fanatics have benefitted. And US . . .

Re Iran . . . call me crazy, but I think Cheney would just love it if we had a
nuclear attack on US. I'd love to think otherwise . . . but I think it's a notion
kinda in line with the insanity that parallels the insanity of Iraq/Afghanistan --
and Cheney's recent politicking to make Bushco look responsible and Obama look
careless about security.

Despite 9/11 having happened on their watch . . . something the corporate-press chooses
not to remind the public about.

[Cresent City Kid]

13. Might as well give the homeowners 30 year mortgages

Israel will not pull back to the '67 border in that time.

[pattmarty]

46. LBJ did back in 1966, mortgages that is. Section 235, I had one.............

.........So I guess in that case anything's possible???

[PA Democrat]

15. Authorized by the Defense Minister.

How appropriate, considering this move will ensure that there will be no peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians any time in the near future.

[Klukie]

17. I thought they only wanted the ability to ...

expand existing homes in the case of families having more children. Wasn't that the arguement presented when Obama asked for a stop to settlement growth?

[peacetalksforall]

19. What was on the property. Who was it taken from. Let's get down to the real

facts. Whose land is it?

[iandhr]

20. I think the settlements are wrong

but they NOT illegal. This land never belonged to the Palestinians. Before 1967 This area of the West Bank belonged to the Kingdom of Jordan. The Gaza Strip belonged to Egypt. Any nation has a right to wage war under international law to defend itself and again Israel was attacked. I also would like to point out to all the Israel haters that Israel is the only country ever to return land that it took over in a war willingly. They returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt,

[Leftist Agitator]

25. "Israel is the only country ever to return land that it took over in a war willingly."

Your historical ignorance is stunning.

Israel is by no means "the only country ever to return land that it took over in a war willingly".

Learn about de-colonialiazation and get back to me.

"the Israel haters"

It's hard to take you seriously when you employ inflammatory rhetoric such as this.

"This land never belonged to the Palestinians."

Um, you are technically correct, with respect to the West Bank and Gaza, but let us not forget that ALL of the land that Israel is situated on originally belonged to the Palestinians. Just because the British controlled that territory in 1948 as the "British Mandate of Palestine" doesn't mean that they had any legitimate claim to that region. That land was home to the Palestinian people for nearly 20 centuries after the destruction of the Second Temple and the ensuing Diaspora.

The Jewish claim to that land is predicated on nothing more than a millenia-old religious covenant, hardly the sort of thing that can be legitimately considered a rational justification for the divestment of a nation from its people.

[Malikshah]

43. Get the history correct--in order to do so, look into the legal aspects

Israel was not attacked, it was the attacker in 1967. It's been 42 years now-- time to look into the facts before posting in ignorance.

[tabasco]

66. You should not spin history, either.

Israel conducted a spoiling attack on an army that was preparing to attack them.

[pattmarty]

48. That land was "returned" as part of a peace deal. AND, exactly..............

who here are you calling "Israel haters"??????? You better read a little history, moron, before you start calling people on this board "Israel haters".

[snappyturtle]

60. Google is your friend. The link will take you to a map site

depicting the "Israeli" area from 1917 to the present.

http://palestinethinktank.com/2006/05/10/the-shrinking-map-of-palestine/

[Douglas Carpenter]

63. ALL settlers anywhere in Occupied Territories are illegal under international law

This is not even debatable among sane and rational people - and never - EVER has been.

The entire premise of U.N. Resolution 242 is founded on the principle of the inadmisability of the aquirement of land by force. That is why all territory occupied by Israel after June 1967 has been deemed by all international legal bodies and all credible and independent human rights orgainizations without any exceptions whatsoever as Occupied Territory. This is also not debatable among sane and rational people and never has been.

Theodore Meron, the Israeli Foreign Ministry legal adviser notified the Israeli government of these fact way back in September of 1967:

"The declaration by Theodor Meron, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's legal adviser at the time and today one of the world's leading international jurists, is a serious blow to Israel's persistent argument that the settlements do not violate international law, particularly as Israel prepares to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the war in June 1967.

The legal opinion, a copy of which has been obtained by The Independent, was marked "Top Secret" and "Extremely Urgent" and reached the unequivocal conclusion, in the words of its author's summary, "that civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Judge Meron, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia until 2005, said that, after 40 years of Jewish settlement growth in the West Bank - one of the main problems to be solved in any peace deal: " I believe that I would have given the same opinion today."

Judge Meron, a holocaust survivor, also sheds new light on the aftermath of the 1967 war by disclosing that the Foreign Minister, Abba Eban, was " sympathetic" to his view that civilian settlement would directly conflict with the Hague and Geneva conventions governing the conduct of occupying powers"

The declaration by Theodor Meron, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's legal adviser at the time and today one of the world's leading international jurists, is a serious blow to Israel's persistent argument that the settlements do not violate international law, particularly as Israel prepares to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the war in June 1967.

The legal opinion, a copy of which has been obtained by The Independent, was marked "Top Secret" and "Extremely Urgent" and reached the unequivocal conclusion, in the words of its author's summary, "that civilian settlement in the administered territories contravenes the explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention."

Judge Meron, president of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia until 2005, said that, after 40 years of Jewish settlement growth in the West Bank - one of the main problems to be solved in any peace deal: " I believe that I would have given the same opinion today."

Judge Meron, a holocaust survivor, also sheds new light on the aftermath of the 1967 war by disclosing that the Foreign Minister, Abba Eban, was " sympathetic" to his view that civilian settlement would directly conflict with the Hague and Geneva conventions governing the conduct of occupying powers"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/secret-memo-shows-israel-knew-six-day-war-was-illegal-450410.html

===================================
===================================

Here are just some of the many UN Security Council Resolutions affirming the recognition by the virtually the entire international community that the territories are OCCUPIED Arab land and the illegal nature of ALL settlements in occupied territory:

Resolution 252 (1968)
Urgently calls upon Israel to rescind measures that change the legal status of Jerusalem, including the expropriation of land and properties thereon.

267 (1969)
Urgently calls upon Israel to rescind measures seeking to change the legal status of occupied East Jerusalem.

271 (1969)
Reiterates calls to rescind measures seeking to change the legal status of occupied East Jerusalem and calls on Israel to scrupulously abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding the responsibilities of occupying powers

298 (1971)
Reiterates demand that Israel rescind measures seeking to change the legal status of occupied East Jerusalem.

446 (1979)
Calls upon Israel to scrupulously abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention regarding the responsibilities of occupying powers, to rescind previous measures that violate these relevant provisions, and "in particular, not to transport parts of its civilian population into the occupied Arab territories."

452 (1979)
Calls on the government of Israel to cease, on an urgent basis, the establishment, construction, and planning of settlements in the Arab territories, occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.

465 (1980)
Reiterates previous resolutions on Israel's settlements policy.

484 (1980)
Reiterates request that Israel abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

592 (1986)
Insists Israel abide by the Fourth Geneva Conventions in East Jerusalem and other occupied territories.

672 (1990) Israel
Reiterates calls for Israel to abide by provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied Arab territories.

673 (1990) Israel
Insists that Israel come into compliance with resolution 672.

681 (1990) Israel
Reiterates call on Israel to abide by Fourth Geneva Convention in the occupied Arab territories.

link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Nations_resolutions_concerning_Israel

========================================================

===========================================================
===========================================================

EVEN the one dissenting judge in the July 2002 case regarding the Wall -agreed that any part of the wall that was built to protect settlement is illegal. Thus any protection of the settlements or the settlers by the Israeli state is illegal under international law.

Out of 15 distinguished international jurist representing 15 different countries, 14 agreed that the wall was completely illegal and the one dissenting jurist, Judge Buergenthal representing the United States ruled that those parts of the Wall built to protect the settlements are ipso facto illegal because the settlements themselves are illegal. All 15 Judges without exception agreed that every single inch of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza which was Occupied after June 1967 - every single inch is Occupied Palestinian Territory.

http://www.asil.org/insights/insigh141.htm#_ednref2

================================

LAND GRAB:

Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank

link to full report:

http://www.btselem.org/Download/200205_Land_Grab_Eng.doc

Introduction

In December 2001, a long article appeared in Ha’aretz under the headline “Five Minutes from Kfar Saba – A Look at the Ari’el Region.” The article reviewed the real estate situation in a number of “communities” adjacent to the Trans-Samaria Highway in the vicinity of Ari’el. The article included the information that most of the land on which these “communities” were established are “state-owned land,” and that “despite the security problems and the depressed state of the real estate market, the situation in these locales is not as bad as might be expected.”

The perspective from which this article was written (the real estate market) and the terminology it employs largely reflect the process of the assimilation of the settlements into the State of Israel. As a result of this process, these settlements have become just another region of the State of Israel, where houses and apartments are constructed and offered to the general public according to free-market principles of supply and demand.

This deliberate and systematic process of assimilation obscures a number of fundamental truths about the settlements: the “communities” mentioned in the article are not part of the State of Israel, but are settlements established in the West Bank − an area that has been occupied territory since 1967. The fundamental truth is that the movement of Israeli citizens to houses and apartments offered by the real estate markets in these “communities” constitutes a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The fundamental truth is that the “state-owned” land mentioned in the article was seized from Palestinian residents by illegal and unfair proceedings. The fundamental truth is that the settlements have been a continuing source of violations of the human rights of the Palestinians, among them the right to freedom of movement, property, self-determination, and improvement in their standard of living. The fundamental truth is that the growth of these settlements is fueled not only by neutral forces of supply and demand, but primarily by a sophisticated governmental system designed to encourage Israeli citizens to live in the settlements. In essence, the process of assimilation blurs the fact that the settlement enterprise in the Occupied Territories has created a system of legally sanctioned separation based on discrimination that has, perhaps, no parallel anywhere in the world since the dismantling of the Apartheid regime in South Africa.

As part of the mechanism used to obscure these fundamental truths, the State of Israel makes a determined effort to conceal information relating to the settlements. In order to prepare this report, B’Tselem was obliged to engage in a protracted and exhaustive struggle with the Civil Administration to obtain maps marking the municipal boundaries of the settlements. This information, which is readily available in the case of local authorities within Israel, was eventually partially provided almost one year after the initial request, and only after B’Tselem threatened legal action.
The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians did not lead to the evacuation of even one settlement, and the settlements even grew substantially in area and population during this period. While at the end of 1993 (at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Principles) the population of the settlements in the West Bank (including settlements in East Jerusalem) totaled some 247,000, by the end of 2001 this figure had risen to 375,000.

The agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority entailed the transfer of certain powers to the PA; these powers apply in dozens of disconnected enclaves containing the majority of the Palestinian population. Since 2000, these enclaves, referred to as Areas A and B, have accounted for approximately forty percent of the area of the West Bank. Control of the remaining areas, including the roads providing transit between the enclaves, as well as points of departure from the West Bank, remains with Israel.

This report, which is the continuation of several reports published by B’Tselem in recent years, examines a number of aspects relating to Israeli policy toward the settlements in the West Bank and to the results of this policy in terms of human rights and international law. The report also relates to settlements in East Jerusalem that Israel established and officially annexed into Israel. Under international law, these areas are occupied territory whose status is the same as the rest of the West Bank.

This report does not relate to the settlements in the Gaza Strip. Though similar in many ways to their counterparts in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip settlements differ in several respects. For example, the legal framework in the Gaza Strip differs from that applying in the West Bank in various fields, including land laws; these differences are due to the different laws that were in effect in these areas prior to 1967.

This report comprises eight chapters.

• Chapter One presents a number of basic concepts on the principal plans implemented by the Israeli governments, the bureaucratic process of establishing new settlements, and the types of settlements.
• Chapter Two examines the status of the settlements and settlers according to international law and briefly surveys the violations of Palestinian human rights resulting from the establishment of the settlements.
• Chapter Three discusses the bureaucratic and legal apparatus used by Israel to seize control of land in the West Bank for the establishment and expansion of settlements. The chief component of this apparatus, and the main focus of the chapter, is the process of declaring and registering land as “state land.”
• Chapter Four reviews the changes in Israeli law that were adopted to annex the settlements into the State of Israel by turning them civilian enclaves within the occupied territory. This chapter also examines the structure of local government in the settlements in the context of municipal boundaries.
• Chapter Five examines the economic incentives Israel provides to settlers and settlements to encourage Israelis to move to the West Bank and to encourage those already living in the region to remain there.
• Chapter Six analyzes the planning mechanism in the West Bank applied by the Civil Administration, which is responsible for issuing building permits both in the settlements and in Palestinian communities. This mechanism plays a decisive role in the establishment and expansion of the settlements, and in limiting the development of Palestinian communities.
• Chapter Seven analyzes the map of the West Bank attached to this report. This analysis examines the layout of the settlements by area, noting some of the negative ramifications the settlements have on the human rights of the Palestinian population.
• Chapter Eight focuses in depth on the Ari’el settlement and the ramifications of its establishment on the adjacent Palestinian communities. This chapter also discusses the expected consequences of Ari’el’s expansion according to the current outline plan. "

link to full report:

http://www.btselem.org/Download/200205_Land_Grab_Eng.doc

[peacetalksforall]

22. How many millions do we give Israel EACH DAY? PULL IT - THEY DON"T PLAY FAIR.

Inhuman acts of the worst kind of aggression. Slow, consistent taking of what belongs to others.

Their motive is obvious - they want all Palestinians to FLEE. They want the earth resources for themselves. Selfish, law breaking. At least they don't try to cover-up their crimes. They just blatantaly take and tell us they are taking. The only thing they haven't said yet is they are going to TAKE IT ALL!

[closeupready]

29. Yes, that is the ultimate goal, I am certain.

At least with regard to the more hawkish.

[defendandprotect]

53. And weren't they torturing . . . ??? I think we all have to see the effects of the new weapons . .

I've seen some pics of what the US is using and it is simply insane.

And every new conflict seems to bring new weapons testing!!!

These pictures are around, but last time I saw some of them, I thought

too difficult to put up here.

[peacetalksforall]

57. Can you give us an idea - call it xxx and tell us what it does. I welcome it.

Palestinians have stones, body bombs, and some missiles.

Israel has Nuclear bombs, F-16's, night vision, ?????????????????

And they have white phosphorous.

Israel has mega corporations supplying Caterpillars and other destruction and construction mammaoth tools and implements to PUSH THE PALESTINIANS out and create another exiles community burden to neighboring countries.

I read that Israel is blaming renegate settlers for the takeover of the land, but they buy them plenty of destruction and construction tools to steal and they use their army to tear gast the stone throwers and white phosphorous to add the frosting to the cluster bombs.

[defendandprotect]

58. I agree . . . Israel has been engaged in superpower full scale war ....

on Palestinians ...

agree with all you say --

and, unfortunately, this isn't enough on the minds of DU'ers . . . we all need

to hear it more.

I'll try to remember where I saw some of the photos . . .

It may have been something off of Common Dreams -- and it was probably 6-8 weeks

ago.

But all of the new weapons are so far beyond what any of us would imagine --

it's shockingly inhumane.

But neither will I ever forget one of the first photos out of Iraq -- a young

boy of about 11-12, having lost two arms and two legs!!!

How we would ever begin to make amends for this brutality we've inflicted on the

world, I have no idea!

If I do come across pics again, I will definitely put them up -- VERY CAUTIOUSLY . . .

[defendandprotect]

56. This is on-going GENOCIDE .... and has long been -- !!!!

[stranger81]

62. I think calling the occupied territories Judea & Samaria is tantamount to saying

that they're taking it all.

[snooper2]

23. What the fuck is their fucking problem

Oh yeah, they want all the fresh water :mad:

[damntexdem]

24. All U.S. aid to Israel should be immediately terminated.

Reprogram it to the Palestinian Authority.

[JayMusgrove]

27. Yeah.....Or just re-program it back to the USA. It makes me

sick, every time I have this kind of news.

[defendandprotect]

31. We also need to cut off Israel from US weapons production . . .

[defendandprotect]

30. Israel has to be reigned in -- the right-wing religious fanatics are running Israel . . .

which was set up by Nixon -- giving us a foothold in the ME.

Meanwhile, we're also giving Israel $15 million a day for this criminal warmongering --

and their weapons production is so closely aligned with American weapons production that

evidently you can't tell them apart!!!!

Israel/US = war in ME

[fascisthunter]

32. what a bunch of psychos...

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

34. There are other places Israel could build

but I guess it's all about occupation? Or G D "giving" the land to the "Israeli's"? Maybe G D should have said Jew because I think Israel included most of the middle east, which would have included Arabs. I could be wrong though. :shrug:

[Selatius]

36. Israel is betting that Obama and the US gov't isn't really serious about stopping new settlement.

There has been no American president who did anything more than issue terse words whenever Israel decided to build more settlements on illegally annexed land.

[Beaverhausen]

37. for fuck's sake

timing couldn't be better, could it?

I am sick of this bullshit.

[bvar22]

41. Will Obama STAND UP, or roll over for Israel.

I posted HIGH PRAISE and applause for Obama when he took a specific, authoritative stand AGAINST expanding settlements last week.

The ball is now in Obama's court.
Will we see Obama emulate Churchill....or Chamberlain ?

[Zhade]

65. Of COURSE he'll capitulate. Look at his recent abysmal track record.

He suckered us.

[rateyes]

42. But, Israel isn't an apartheid state! :sarcasm:

The US should push for sanctions against Israel for their continued defiance of UN Resolutions in occupying Palestine.

[secondwind]

45. The Israeli govt. gives cash incentives for large families, women are encouraged

to have more than ten children, and they are considered "patriotic".

:puke:

[defendandprotect]

55. Let me add one of those . . .

:puke:

[varelse]

47. I can't wait to see what our response will be

Wonder if our Congress will punish the Israeli goverment by increasing aid to them again. :eyes:

[maxsolomon]

49. they've called Obama's bluff

if we are to be seen as an objective mediator, there must be consequences.

can/will they make it happen?

[defendandprotect]

54. obama can pull $15 million a day from Israel . . . and as far as I can see ...

popular support in America is dwindling!!!

[maxsolomon]

59. he should, but

i'm not holding my breath.

AIPAC will scream like a stuck pig, and congress will start screaming in response.

[drmeow]

51. They are calling Obama's bluff

to prove how much power they have.

[and-justice-for-all]

61. what bastrads...nt

[junior college]

67. I learned about the Jewish people when I was around 20 years old

My parents never talked about them and my next door neighbor was a hardcore Jew but I never knew it because I didn't know about the Jewish people. Then later in life I learned about them and they are pretty cool people. Many of them are scholars, artists and very nice and good people. I like Jewish people. That being said, fuck Israel.