Putin’s Israel visit showcases diplomacy’s strengths and limitations
July 4, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Israel last week, as part of a larger Middle East tour by the newly re-elected leader, is seen by analysts as a productive diplomatic exercise between the two countries.
At the same time, analysts agree, the visit demonstrated the limits of diplomacy in persuading Russia to change its policies regarding matters of key national interest to Jerusalem, especially regarding Iran and Syria.
Muslim Brotherhood leader: Liberating Jerusalem and Palestine should be “sole goal”
July 4, 2012 | Allon Lee
A June 14 speech by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s leader Mohammed Badie in which he dreams of a Muslim leadership ready to make the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem “the sole goal” does not engender hope the world’s leading Sunni Islamist organisation is ready to moderate its extremist positions now that it’s candidate has won the country’s presidency.
In the speech, Badie, who selected Mohammed Mursi to run for the Egyptian presidency, says:
“How happy would be the Muslims if all Muslim rulers made the Palestinian cause a pivotal issue, around which Muslims, rulers and the ruled, would line up [and ally to make] the sole goal for all of them the recovery of al Aqsa Mosque, freeing it from the filth of the Zionists, and imposing Muslim rule throughout beloved Palestine.”
Media Week – Waterlogged; Horse and cart reporting; Simplistic moralising
July 3, 2012 | Allon Lee
Age/Sydney Morning Herald (June 23) Middle East correspodent Ruth Pollard reported on an NGO study claiming that Gaza drinking water is “too contaminated”, “never in continuous supply because of daily power shortages,” and the infrastructure distributing it is in disrepair because Gazans have lived under an “Israel-imposed military blockade for five years.”
Nowhere in the article was Hamas mentioned, which is astounding given that it has been the sole governing authority in Gaza since 2007 and has been effectively at war with Israel while doing little for its own population’s welfare or water needs.
Furthermore, she ignored or was unaware of IDF reports documenting at least 27 water and sewage purification projects in place in Gaza – all of them facilitated by Israel, and not a single one funded by Hamas.
BBC admits bias in its “Arab Spring,” Itamar coverage
June 29, 2012 | Andrea Nadel
In a rare admission this week of what many who follow the organization have long observed, the British Broadcasting Corporation admitted that significant aspects of its coverage of the “Arab Spring” uprisings had been biased. They have also apologised, albeit somewhat half-heartedly, for a failure to report one of the most heinous terror attacks in recent years against Israelis.
Egypt under a Muslim Brotherhood President
June 29, 2012
This Update focuses on new analysis from noted experts on the likely trajectory of Egypt under its new President, Muhammed Morsi from the Muslim Brotherhood.
First is Eric Trager, the expert on Egyptian domestic politics for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who discusses whether the democratic election victory of the Brotherhood means that it will now behave as a democratic party. Trager discusses considerable evidence of undemocratic behaviour by the Brotherhood and their supporters during the lead-up to the election, including signals that the Brotherhood intended to fight for a Morsi victory by any means necessary if he failed to win.
Motion for one minute’s silence unanimously passed in Australian Parliament
June 26, 2012 | Sharyn Mittelman
A motion calling upon the International Olympic Committee to observe a minute’s silence at next month’s London Olympics for the 11 Israelis killed in the 1972 Munich massacre, has today been unanimously passed in the House of Representatives.
The motion was moved by Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Lib.) and seconded by the Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Lib.).
Declassified documents from ’67 show Israel’s willingness to trade land for peace
June 22, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
Did Israel’s government covet the land it captured as part of the defensive war of June 1967, which ended with Israeli forces in control of the Sinai Peninsula, Golan Heights, West Bank and Gaza?
For the most part, not at all, according to 200 pages of newly declassified transcripts from cabinet and committee meetings in the days following the war, released by Israel’s National Archive this month.
Iran nuclear talks go nowhere/ Iran and Syria
June 22, 2012
As readers are probably aware, the third round of “P5+1” talks with Iran over its nuclear program took place on Monday and Tuesday of this week in Moscow and ended not only with no sign of an agreement, but without any clear plans for further high-level talks. This Update deals with what happened in Moscow and the implications of the talks’ failure.
First up, Barak Ravid of Haaretz receives some insights into the exact nature of the discussions from an anonyomous participating diplomat. He says that the Western states attempted to correct an Iranian belief that they were interested in a deal at any cost, while the Iranians were vague and unhelpful in discussing plans to limit their enrichment of uranium to 20% – which is, in terms of technical difficulty, almost bomb grade – and refused to discuss the fate of the secretly-built underground Fordo enrichment complex at all.
Media Week – Antisemitic poster boys; Radio daze; Go Canada
June 21, 2012 | Allon Lee
A Sydney Morning Herald story (16/6) on the Egyptian Supreme Court overturning a ban on the presidential candidacy of former Mubarak-era Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq featured a picture of a male protester holding a poster of Shafiq covered in at least five Star of Davids.
The paper’s accompanying caption stated: “Hatred….protesters hold a defaced poster of presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq”. Perhaps “Stereotypical antisemitism that is a feature of Egyptian political discourse” might have been a more apt description.
Thailand, Israel defence ties highlight Jerusalem’s increasing focus on Asia
June 20, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
Ties between Israel and Thailand increased last week following a visit to Israel by Thai Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat, which culminated in the signing of an intelligence pact between the two countries.
According to the report in the print edition of Friday’s Bangkok Post, Thai and Israeli defence ministries have signed a non-disclosure agreement over classified information on intelligence, military and security.
“The agreement is part of the two countries’ cooperation on security issues. We also agreed to exchange information on anti-terrorism operations,” Sukumpol told the paper.
According to the story, a Thai military source added that Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak offered his mine-clearing and other military technology to the Thai Defence Ministry to help Thailand cope with ongoing violence in the country’s south.
The visit came in the wake of a terror explosion in Bangkok on February 14 which wounded five people. The bombers, reportedly linked to Hezbollah, allegedly intended to attack Israeli diplomats in the city.
