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Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
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To contact the Presidents Conference: click here In-Depth Issues:
Record Number of Jews Elected to Congress - Allison Hoffman (Jerusalem Post-Ynet News)
Neither Israelis Nor Palestinians Expecting a Major Obama Effect - Ashraf Khalil (Los Angeles Times)
Israeli Leadership Confident in U.S-Israel Ties - Barak Ravid, Ofri Ilani and Avi Issacharoff (Ha'aretz)
Hamas Bans Arafat Memorials in Gaza (PNN-PA)
Moscow Invests $100M in Dead Sea Resort (Bloomberg-Jerusalem Post)
Morocco Bans French Magazine for Insulting Islam - Hassan Alaoui (AP/Washington Post)
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News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
Tehran feels the Obama team represents potential new threats to Iran, analysts say. A unifying figure like Obama might help convince fence-sitters such as India, China, Turkey, Malaysia and Russia to synchronize their Tehran policies with the U.S. "There is the thought that Obama could be as dangerous as Bush, but in a different way," said Abolfazl Amouei, a conservative-leaning political scientist at Imam Sadeq University in Tehran. "In Iran, Democrats don't have a good reputation. They were the first ones who started the sanctions under President Clinton." Obama's victory could take the wind out of the sails of Iranian hard-liners who have consolidated their power on the threat of an American attack and weekly chants of "Death to America!" at Friday prayers. Saeed Leylaz, a Tehran analyst and newspaper editor, predicted that outreach by the Obama administration might spell the end of Ahmadinejad and usher in a more pragmatic government more amenable to compromise over Iran's nuclear program. In any case, it might be a tough sell to condemn a country whose leader's middle name is the same as that of the prophet Muhammad's grandson. (Los Angeles Times) Israel said Thursday U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's stated readiness to talk to Iran could be seen in the Middle East as a sign of weakness in efforts to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear program. "We live in a neighborhood in which sometimes dialogue - in a situation where you have brought sanctions, and you then shift to dialogue - is liable to be interpreted as weakness," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Israel Radio. Asked if she supported any U.S. dialogue with Iran, Livni replied: "The answer is no." Livni also said "the bottom line" was that the U.S., under Obama, "is also not willing to accept a nuclear Iran." (Reuters/Washington Post) Israel accused the UN Human Rights Council Tuesday of targeting the Jewish state "in an obsessive and discriminatory fashion." The performance of the council, which replaced the discredited UN Human Rights Commission, was the subject of debate in the General Assembly. Israel's Deputy UN Ambassador Daniel Carmon said the council had adopted seven resolutions condemning Israel in the past year and held "a one-sided special session against Israel" - far more than any other UN member. The U.S. argued against the creation of the council and has not sought to join it because rights-abusing countries remain members. (AP) News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Wednesday that Israel could not put up with "flagrant violations" of the cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, after dozens of Kassam rockets hit Israel on Wednesday. (Ha'aretz) See also Israel Targets Gaza Rocket Launching Cell - Ali Waked An Israeli airstrike targeting a rocket launching cell in northern Gaza killed one Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant and injured four others, Palestinian sources said Wednesday. (Ynet News) See also Kassam Rocket from Gaza Lands Near Sderot Cemetery Thursday (Jerusalem Post) Tuesday night's successful Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza, to blow up a tunnel to be used in a kidnapping attempt, thwarted a concrete terror threat, but military officials admitted Wednesday that this was only one of many threats to Israel which still exist in Gaza. The "operation conveyed a message to Hamas that the IDF will not turn a blind eye when a tunnel is being dug near the fence," a military source said. "We proved that we know about it and do not hesitate to operate when needed." (Ynet News) See also Both Hamas and Israel Want to Continue Ceasefire - Amir Mizroch Despite the recent flare-up, neither Hamas nor Israel has announced the end of the ceasefire. Hamas has no interest in sparking a war with Israel that would threaten its hold on Gaza. In the meantime, Gaza has turned into the world's largest terrorist base; it has not become the Middle East's Singapore. (Jerusalem Post) Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
Conversations over the past few days with several members of the president-elect's inner circle yielded some basic outlines of the new administration's approach to foreign policy. Obama wants to make an early push on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, despite political turmoil in Israel. He has learned from watching Presidents Clinton and Bush that you can't wait until the eleventh hour to be an active mediator. On Iran, Obama wants to open the door to a process of engagement and dialogue, even though his advisers aren't confident it will succeed. They think Iran may not yet have found the language of "yes," but that's no reason not to explore areas of possible common interest. (Washington Post) Those in our part of the world dedicated to rejectionism, violence and terror will soon discover anew that the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem is above partisanship. And the members of the new administration will see with their own eyes that no one wants peace more than Israel. Congratulations President-elect Obama on a historic victory. Godspeed. (Jerusalem Post) See also Obama and the Challenge of Iranian Islamist Ambition - David Horovitz Blocking Iranian Islamist ambition is central to the vow at the heart of Obama's victory speech: "To those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you." The stirring sentiment will count for nothing if this confrontation is ducked. For only by thwarting the death-cult Islamists can the new leader of the free world liberate the moderates who seek reconciliation. (Jerusalem Post) The detractors of the Jewish state are increasingly using civil lawsuits and criminal investigations around the world to tie Israel's hands against Palestinian terror by accusing Jerusalem of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity." In the process, the NGOs also subvert and interfere with the diplomatic relations of Western countries with Israel. Anti-Israeli cases have been filed in Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Canada and the U.S. by exploiting "universal jurisdiction" statutes. These laws allow courts to rule on cases even though the parties and events at issue are wholly foreign. The honorable intent was to provide relief to victims of real mass murderers in countries that don't respect the rule of law. Instead, these statutes have been co-opted by NGOs to advance an anti-Israel agenda. NGO superpowers with budgets in the tens of millions of dollars have supported these efforts by providing publicity, organizing demonstrations and issuing reports crafted as legal briefs to coincide with court hearings. The writer is the legal adviser of NGO Monitor. (Wall Street Journal Europe) Observations: Obama Good for Israel If He Can Restore America's Power - Ron Ben-Yishai (Ynet News)
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