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Politics : Israel to U.S. : Now Deal with Syria and Iran -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: sea_urchin who wrote (10045)	2/12/2006 7:44:28 AM
From: Crimson Ghost	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22250

World Jewish Congress launches anti-Iran campaign By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent The World Jewish Congress has launched a campaign against Iran following the nuclear crisis and the anti-Semitic statements of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In its biannual gathering in Jerusalem on Thursday the WJC called on Jewish communities throughout the world to pressure their governments to act against the Iranian nuclear program and urge economic and political sanctions against Iran. The WJC also called on Jewish communities to act to change their countries' energy policy so that they decrease the dependence on oil. Advertisement President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Alexander Mashkevich called on the WJC to prepare for the possible emigration of Iran's Jews. "It's our responsibility to prepare for the unexpected. It is not clear what their condition is and what their fate will be, and if they want to leave, we should not be surprised," he said. He said an estimated 30,000 Jews live in Iran, and that it is extremely hard to maintain contact with them. Mashkevich, who emigrated from Kazakhstan, said the former Iranian foreign minister had authorized his visit to the Jewish communities in Iran, but after Ahmadinejad's election, the visit was canceled. The WJC is a world Jewish organization, not a Zionist one, and sees itself as the diplomatic arm of the Jewish people. The chairman of the WJC's Policy Council, Rabbi Israel Singer, told Haaretz on Thursday that despite the risk of the Iranian regime's harming the Jewish community, the congress decided to debate the issue. "The Jews in Iran have been living there for 2,700 years, from the days of Queen Esther. They remained there despite the wars and Zionism, and are aware of their situation. We are working for them, not against them," he said. Singer said Jewish communities around the world must make it clear to their governments that the Iranian regime threatens not only the Jews with its utterances and nuclear activity, but all the countries in the world. The WJC's strategy is not to spearhead the move against Iran, but to encourage countries to act themselves against Iran. "The Iranian nation is very civilized and its majority doe not support the regime's acts. We must convey the message that it endangers the whole world in sophisticated methods, like blogs and other means to prevent another world war," Singer said.

To: sea_urchin who wrote (10045)	2/14/2006 5:35:44 AM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 22250

Re: In the Muslim world the notion of democracy is a contradiction in terms because democratic elections will eventually lead to the creation of an Islamic state with sharia law, in other words, a caliphate -- and that is anti-democratic. Likewise, the separation of powers is another "contradiction in terms" in the so-called "Only Democracy in the Middle East": Crimes unit questions Bishara on his visit to Lebanon By Yoav Stern MK Azmi Bishara (Balad) was interrogated yesterday at the national unit for international crimes about his latest trip to Lebanon in November, following a recent decision by the attorney general. Bishara gave a speech as a guest of the Arab book fair in Beirut and also met with various Lebanese public figures. He described the police interrogation as "dry and polite," and said he had elected to answer the policemen's questions instead of invoking his right to remain silent. Bishara said afterward that freedom of movement is essential to the work of a Knesset member, and termed the attempt to curb that freedom "an arbitrary attempt - political." He also rejected the Israeli designation of Lebanon and other countries as "enemy countries." "Whoever wants to contact a hostile element does not do so by traveling to what is defined as an enemy country. He does so here in Israel or in European countries, clandestinely." Dozens of Bishara's supporters, including MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad), demonstrated yesterday outside the Petah Tikva police station where he was being questioned. Also yesterday, MK Taleb al-Sana (United Arab List) told investigators probing his recent trip to Syria that he visited to promote peace. The International Fraud Squad questioned him for an hour and a half. Sana told his questioners his trip didn't need the approval of the interior minister, because "the interior minister is subordinate to the Knesset, and not vice versa." "We should be praising those who break down barriers of hatred, not investigating them," he said. "The state is oppressing and terrorizing Arab elected representatives." haaretz.com