Amidror: Iran Deal a ‘Failure, Not a Triumph, of Diplomacy’

Joshua Levitt

In a New York Times Op-Ed, Yaakov Amidror, the former head of the Israeli National Security Council, slammed the outcome of the Geneva deal with Iran, as “a failure, not a triumph, of diplomacy.”

Entitled, “A Most Dangerous Deal: The Iran Agreement Does Not Address the Nuclear Threat,” Amidror wrote, “The agreement represents a failure, not a triumph, of diplomacy. With North Korea, too, there were talks and ceremonies and agreements — but then there was the bomb. This is not an outcome Israel could accept with Iran.”

Washington Post': White House omitting facts about Iran nuclear deal

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Paper's editorial board warns that while interim deal delays progress toward bomb, text on comprehensive deal makes many concessions.

US President Barack Obama Photo: REUTERS/Pete Souza/The White House/Handout via Reu

 

The White House is omitting key facts about the nuclear deal signed with Iran, which makes a number of important concessions to the Islamic Republic, The Washington Post argued in its editorial Friday.

Sunday’s accord is a six-month agreement with an option to extend, meant to limit the Iranian nuclear program as the P5+1 – the US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany – try to hammer out a comprehensive accord with Iran. In return, Iran received some sanctions relief.

While Iran has agreed to cap uranium enrichment and delay completion of the Arak heavy-water reactor during the interim, six-month negotiation period, the text of the deal says that the final agreement will involve "a mutually defined enrichment program with mutually agreed parameters.”

Why Isn’t the World More Thankful to Israel?

David Gerstman    

Israel is a world leader in humanitarian aid yet it is rarely recognized for this great quality.

The Israeli delegation has just returned from the Philippines after nearly two weeks of providing emergency care to the island nation’s survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. According to the Jerusalem Post the first baby delivered by the Israeli medical teams was named “Israel.”
In fact Israel – the IDF particularly – has been one of the world’s great first responders in recent years, helping countries across the globe deal with the results of man made and natural disasters. The IDF has a map on its blog, with links to many of its notable accomplishments.

View #IDFWithoutBorders in a larger map
Japan, 2011, Earthquake/Tsunami
According to the IDF:

The majority of the medical equipment taken to Japan by the IDF, including x-ray machinery and lab equipment, will remain in Japan in order to benefit the physicians and local authorities providing care to the community of Minamisanriku and its vicinity. …

The IDF Aid Delegation departed for the disaster-struck zone two weeks ago, and included a team of medical specialists from the Medical Corps, Home Front Command Search and Rescue experts, as well as logistics and communications personnel.
During their stay, IDF Medical Corps physicians treated 220 patients.

Obama's 'Historic' Mistake Emboldening Iran

Arnold Ahlert (Bio and Archives) 

In the last few days, an Obama administration desperate to turn Americans’ attention away from the ObamaCare disaster has been touting its “historic” deal with Iran. Toward that end they released a document Saturday entitled, “Fact Sheet:  First Step Understandings Regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Nuclear Program,” outlining the details.
Those “facts” have been rejected—by the Iranians themselves.

“What has been released by the website of the White House as a fact sheet is a one-sided interpretation of the agreed text in Geneva and some of the explanations and words in the sheet contradict the text of the Joint Plan of Action,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham explained Tuesday.

New Religious Leadership Needed

Isi Leibler
November 28, 2013
http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=4898

There was hardly a murmur when former Chief Rabbi Metzger was arrested for the second time and placed under house arrest on suspicion of money laundering, bribery and obstruction of justice. This lack of reaction to such a scandalous event reflects the depths to which the Israeli rabbinate has descended. Yet, at the same time and despite a lamentable absence of spiritual leadership, there has been an extraordinary renewal of interest in Jewish religious values in recent years throughout Israeli society.

Iran claims White House is lying about wording of nuke deal

Rick Moran

Those who oppose the agreement on Iran's nuclear program may want to pause and take a breath. Apparently, there's still about 10% of the deal that needs to be worked out, and given Iran's track record, it's still very possible that the whole thing could fall through.
This certainly isn't a good sign:

Iranian officials say that the White House is misleading the public about the details of an interim nuclear agreement reached over the weekend in Geneva.
Iran and Western nations including the United States came to an agreement on the framework for an interim deal late Saturday night in Geneva. The deal has yet to be implemented

International law and Judea and Samaria: It’s time to return to the facts

YAIR SHAMIR

 

It is time to return to the intentions and words of the original drafters of international law, and rely less on specious interpretations with little basis.

 

In his November 21 article on “Humanitarian law vs. political choices,” Juan Pedro Schaerer, head of the local delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), repeats the longstanding point of view that Judea and Samaria, what some refer to as the “West Bank,” is “occupied territory.”

In fact, Mr. Schaerer is so certain of this opinion, he invites a public debate on the issue.

However, before stating a contrary point of view, it would be pertinent to begin by debunking Schaerer’s own statements. In the article Schaerer starts, as many opinions do, by quoting Article 42 of the Hague Regulations of 1907, writing: “The facts on the ground were such that they fell squarely into the definition of occupied territory, which is codified in Article 42.”

A shifting Middle East alliance

JAMES ZUMWALT, UPI

In this official presidential photo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announces to the Iranian national press that a deal has been struck by Iran and six world powers to curb the Iranian nuclear program with initial sanctions relief, during a press conference at the presidential palace in Tehran, Iran on November 24, 2013. The six world powers involved in the negotiations were the United States, France, Britain, Germany, China and Russia. UPI

| License Photo

HERNDON, Va., Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The late ventriloquist Edgar Bergen used a dummy named Mortimer Snerd, a character so dumb everything required a full explanation. Finally understanding, Mortimer would shake his head in amazement, saying "Who'd 'a' thunk it (possible)?"

World saved? Hardly. More a final countdown to nuclear blackmail and war

Melanie Phillips

One by one, the commentators have today fallen like dominoes. Presented with the transparent victory by Iran over the rest of the world at Geneva, they have eagerly swallowed the line they have been fed that this is a ‘historic’ step towards peace with Iran whose nuclear wings have now been clipped.

Journalists who would normally ask themselves ‘why is this lying bastard lying to me?’ if a western politician merely said ‘hello, nice day isn’t it’ (apart, of course, from The One) have suspended all independent powers of observation and thought over this risible farce of a deal.

Viewing it through the prism of ‘after-Iraq-don’t-give me-any-more-lies-about-Islamic-terror/anything-that-sounds-like-compromise-and-lets-us-put-our-heads-back-in-the-sand-must-be-good/war-with-Iran-is-sooo-much-more-terrifying-than-a-nuclear-Iran/new-Iranian-President-Rouhani-sounds-charming-and-moderate-so-phew!-we-can-believe-anything-that-he-says/anything-Benjamin-Netanyahu-is-against-I’m-for’, the chattering classes have apparently decided that yup, this really is peace in our time and any comparison with you-know-what in 1938 is well, just hysterical, and anyway we’ve had it up to here with Israel and they can just shut up.

Iran nuclear deal fuels anger, jitters in Mideast

JOSEF FEDERMAN

(AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in... Full Image

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JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's prime minister harshly condemned the international community's nuclear deal with Iran on Sunday while Western allies in the Persian Gulf were conspicuously quiet, reflecting the jitters felt throughout the Middle East over Iran's acceptance on the global stage.
Elsewhere, many welcomed the agreement as an important first step toward curbing Iran's suspect nuclear program.
Israel and Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia have formed an unlikely alliance in their opposition to Sunday's deal, joined together by shared concerns about a nuclear-armed Iran.

Fatah publicizes threats to kidnap, kill, and bomb Israelis by terror organization Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - the military wing of Fatah

"Death is in your cup - make them [Israelis] drink"

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=10231

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

"We are preparing to kidnap Zionist soldiers," is part of a promise made by the terror organization Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades - the military wing of Fatah, and published in a video on Fatah's official "Main Page" on Facebook.

In the video, a masked terrorist sitting among dozens of rockets states that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is preparing to kidnap Israeli soldiers in order to "empty out the Zionist prisons." This is a warning that Fatah terrorists plan to follow the precedent set by Hamas, who kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and held him hostage for five years until Israel released over 1,000 terrorists including many murderers, to enable Shalit's release:

"We are preparing to kidnap Zionist soldiers to settle accounts with the Zionist enemy properly, in order to empty out the Zionist prisons."

Ukrainian game show is source for latest anti-Israel blood libel. Really. (updated)

Elder of Ziyon

 From Ma'an:

An Israeli soldier admitted that she shot and killed unknown numbers of Palestinian people, including children, on a Ukrainian television program that aired in early November.

Elena Zakusilo, a Ukrainian Jewish woman who moved to Israel in order to serve in the Israeli army, revealed on the Nov. 4 episode of the program "Lie Detector" that she had killed Palestinians and had shot at Palestinian children, but was unsure how many she managed to kill.

Zakusilo, who goes by the name Elena Gluzman in Israel, also explained that she trained army dogs to raid Palestinian villages and conduct video surveillance that she monitored from up to 10 kilometers away.

Iran’s Secret Underground Nuclear Sites

Majid Rafizadeh

While the Obama administration was tirelessly pushing to make a flimsy deal with the Ayatollahs and Mullahs of the Islamist state of Iran, along with going around the world to promoting the idea that Iran should be trusted and given a chance, new crucial revelations and reports about undeclared underground nuclear sites, militaristic long-range missiles, and drone programs have reinforced the true intentions of the clerics and Iranian Islamist leaders.

Firstly, according to reports from the official IRNA news agency, Iran unveiled a missile-equipped drone with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) just a few days ago.  Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan stated, “The Fotros drone has an operational range of 2,000 kilometers and can fly at an altitude of 25,000 feet, with a flight time of 16 to 30 hours”.

"Horrendous"

Perhaps a "disaster" is an even better description of what is going on in the world.

 

I feel the impulse to apologize for not posting sooner at this critical time. But I know that is silly, as I've been working hard for Israel.  Just know, dear readers, that you are not far out of my mind, even as I consult on Levy Report matters.  With the help of Heaven, good things will come from that work...

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

But now, in light of the deal struck last night between P5 + 1 with Iran, how could I fail to do at least a short posting?? 

 

We shouldn't have been surprised -- not even after the fine words by French President Hollande as to how he was going to stand strong against Iran.  And yet, until the end, there was hope, however faint, that the negotiations in Geneva would fall apart.

 

What evidence do we need of the error of the current deal with Iran other than what has now been said by the Iranian president: According to Iranian Press TV, Rouhani had declared that, "the deal reached with six world powers in Geneva 'recognized Iran’s nuclear rights' by allowing it to continue to enrich uranium and that Tehran’s enrichment activities would proceed similar to before." 

 

http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/11/24/rouhani-says-deal-recognizes-irans-rights-to-enrich-uranium/

Where the Jews Are

Ron Lipsman

Several reports of increasing anti-Semitism have appeared recently.  For example, a major story in the NY Times last month described renewed and virulent outbreaks of the deadly phenomenon in Hungary.  Alas, this is not an isolated phenomenon.  Europe is awash in Jew-baiting, BDS hysteria, Israel-bashing, and other overt instances of naked anti-Semitism.  The focus of this aggression is normally Israel.  But there is also no shortage of physical attacks on Jewish people in the cities of Europe.  There are neighborhoods in Paris, Antwerp, and Malmö into which a Jew with a kippa enters only at the risk of bodily harm.

Israeli Ministers Line Up to Lambast Iran Nuclear Deal; Choice Was Between ‘Plague and Cholera’ Says Lapid

Dovid Efune

As news broke in the wee hours of the morning of an interim deal reached between Iran and world powers over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, Israeli ministers and political figures from across the political spectrum took to the airwaves with sharp critique.
According to various reports, the deal calls for Iran to halt key parts of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief said to be valued at approximately $7 billion dollars.
In an interview on Israel Defense Forces radio, Israel’s Finance Minister, Yair Lapid, widely believed to be the second most influential politician in the country, sounded a bitter tone.
“We had a choice here between the plague and cholera. We were left alone explaining the truth, and all of our options were bad,” he said. “I don’t understand how the French Foreign Minister can call an agreement that doesn’t involve the dismantling of one centrifuge a ‘victory.’ I can’t understand the world’s failure to notice the nineteen thousand Iranian centrifuges.”
“Obviously a deal is better than a war, but not this deal,” he said. “Netanyahu did everything he could and we all stand behind him on this.”
Describing it as “the biggest diplomatic victory Iran has known in recent years,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that “the State of Israel will have to think things over.”
“We awoke this morning to a new reality. A reality in which a bad deal was signed with Iran. A very bad deal,” said Israel’s Economy Minister Naftali Bennett. He painted a bleak picture of what may come to pass as a result of the arrangement. “If a nuclear suitcase blows up five years from now in New York or Madrid, it will be because of the deal that was signed this morning,” he said.

“It is important that the world knows: Israel will not be committed to a deal that endangers it’s very existence,” Bennett added.

Fact Sheet: First Step Understandings Regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Nuclear Program

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

The P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China, facilitated by the European Union) has been engaged in serious and substantive negotiations with Iran with the goal of reaching a verifiable diplomatic resolution that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

President Obama has been clear that achieving a peaceful resolution that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is in America’s national security interest.  Today, the P5+1 and Iran reached a set of initial understandings that halts the progress of Iran's nuclear program and rolls it back in key respects.  These are the first meaningful limits that Iran has accepted on its nuclear program in close to a decade.  The initial, six month step includes significant limits on Iran's nuclear program and begins to address our most urgent concerns including Iran’s enrichment capabilities; its existing stockpiles of enriched uranium; the number and capabilities of its centrifuges; and its ability to produce weapons-grade plutonium using the Arak reactor.  The concessions Iran has committed to make as part of this first step will also provide us with increased transparency and intrusive monitoring of its nuclear program.  In the past, the concern has been expressed that Iran will use negotiations to buy time to advance their program.  Taken together, these first step measures will help prevent Iran from using the cover of negotiations to continue advancing its nuclear program as we seek to negotiate a long-term, comprehensive solution that addresses all of the international community's concerns.

The President Who Has Done the Most Damage

 http://www.dennisprager.com/president-done-damage/

 Dennis Prager

 

I have been broadcasting for 31 years and writing for longer than that. I do not recall ever saying on radio or in print that a president is doing lasting damage to our country. I did not like the presidencies of Jimmy Carter (the last Democrat I voted for) or Bill Clinton. Nor did I care for the “compassionate conservatism” of George W. Bush. In modern political parlance “compassionate” is a euphemism for ever-expanding government.

But I have never written or broadcast that our country was being seriously damaged by a president. So it is with great sadness that I write that President Barack Obama has done and continues to do major damage to America. The only question is whether this can ever be undone.

This is equally true domestically and internationally.

Domestically, his policies have gravely impacted the American economy.
He has overseen the weakest recovery from a recession in modern American history.

He has mired the country in unprecedented levels of debt: about $6.5 trillion dollars in five years (this after calling his predecessor “unpatriotic” for adding nearly $5 trillion in eight years).

He has fashioned a country in which more Americans now receive government aid — means-tested, let alone non-means tested — than work full-time.
He has no method of paying for this debt other than printing more money — thereby surreptitiously taxing everyone through inflation, including the poor he claims to be helping, and cheapening the dollar to the point that some countries are talking another reserve currency — and saddling the next generations with enormous debts.