White House Meeting

The word is that Bibi and Obama are scheduled to meet in Washington next week, on July 6. They were supposed to meet a month ago, on June 1, but that meeting was cancelled because of the May 31st flotilla fiasco.

This White House meeting does not promise to be a jolly event. The enmity of the Obama administration to the State of Israel grows more and more obvious. We can only hope that Prime Minister Netanyahu has the strength to resist the attack that is awaiting him behind the closed doors at the White House.

Immigrants (1990)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon I did 20 years ago this month. Back in June 1990 we were trying to figure out how to absorb a flood of Jews from Russia pouring into the Jewish State. "Jews returning to the Land of Israel" is called "Aliya". It is Hebrew for "Going up". * * * Arab refugees are not welcomed in Arab states the way that Jewish refugees are welcomed by the Jewish state. The Arab world is divided into a set of bickering kingdoms, dictatorships, and theocracies. They are united only through the device of an agreed-upon common enemy; the Jews and the Jewish State. Their lip-service to Arab unity does not extend to welcoming Arab refugees as their brothers and sisters.

Consider the following, from an AFP report out of Lebanon just two days ago:

Palestinian refugees seek basic rights in Lebanon
June 27, 2010

BEIRUT — "Thousands of Palestinian refugees gathered on Sunday outside UN headquarters in Beirut to demand basic civil rights in Lebanon, such as a choice of jobs and ownership of property.

The protest organised by Palestinian and Lebanese non-government organisations was initially due to be held outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut.

"The police outside parliament usually ban any protest there," said Maher Shehadeh, one of the Palestinian organisers. So the protesters gathered instead several hundred metres (yards) away outside the UN headquarters.

Maher said 6,000 people were taking parting in the peaceful protest.

The Palestinians travelled in buses from Lebanon's 12 refugee camps for the Beirut gathering organised by Palestinian and Lebanese non-governmental organisations.

"Working is a right," "We want to live in dignity," read placards carried by the protesters.

"I have the right to own property," said another, summing up the frustration of the tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees who live in dire conditions in Lebanon."

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) lists almost 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, a country of four million inhabitants.

But Lebanese and Palestinian officials say the actual number may be as low as 250,000 as UNRWA does not strike off its list those who move to other countries.

The majority of UNRWA-registered refugees live in dire conditions in the camps across and are denied basic civil rights." -more

87 Senators

The Story as reported by UPI:

WASHINGTON, June 23 (UPI)
-- "Eighty-seven members of the U.S. Senate urged President Barack Obama Wednesday to oppose a U.N. resolution criticizing Israel's handling of an aid flotilla.

The senators -- including Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. -- signed a letter to Obama defending Israel's actions in a May 31 confrontation during which nine people aboard a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza were killed, The Hill reported.

The letter expresses support for Israel's right to defend itself and asserts Israel was acting in self defense when its troops boarded ships in the flotilla.

"In response to thousands of rocket attacks on Israel from Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Israel took steps to prevent items which could be used to support these attacks from reaching Gaza," the letter said. "Israel's naval blockade, which is legal under international law, allows Israel to keep dangerous goods from entering Gaza by sea. The intent of the measures is to protect Israel, while allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza." -more

Eighty-seven Senators out of the 100 in the Senate is really impressive.
But I was curious about the identity of the 13 American Senators who refused to sign the letter. So I checked.
The thirteen are:

1. Chris Dodd (D) - Connecticut
2. Dan Akaka (D) - Hawaii
3. Tom Harkin (D) - Iowa
4. John Kerry (D) - Massachusetts
5. Jeff Bingaman (D) - New Mexico
6. Tom Udall (D) - New Mexico
7. Jeff Merkley (D) - Oregon
8. Patrick Leahy (D) - Vermont
9. Jim Webb (D) - Virginia
10. Jim Bunning (R) - Kentucky
11. Judd Gregg (R) - New Hampshire
12. Robert Byrd (D) - West Virginia
13. Bernie Sanders (I) - Vermont

* * * Meanwhile Bibi will soon be off to a meeting with Obama. Will the message from the Senate mean anything to the President? Your thoughts?

Media Attention

On May 31, 2010, two events took place:

1.) Israeli troops were assaulted by Islamists as they boarded the Mavi Marmara, forcing the Israelis to fight back. Nine of the provocateurs were killed.

2.) Islamist gunmen entered a Pakistani hospital, where they shot and killed 12 badly wounded patients...The 12 victims were survivors of Islamist attacks on two mosques a few days earlier, when 93 worshipers were killed.

* * * The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights immediately responded. What she said that day was:

“I unequivocally condemn what appears to be disproportionate use of force, resulting in the killing and wounding of so many people attempting to bring much needed aid to the people of Gaza”’

Source: the Ettinger Report

Euro Tribalism (1990)

Today's Golden Oldie is a Dry Bones cartoon done 20 years ago, in June of 1990.

Back then we were comfortable with the idea that the borders of African states were drawn with little respect for the primitive tribes and tribal regions of their inhabitants. Europe was more civilized. The people who lived in France were French. The folks who lived in Yugoslavia were Yugoslavian. It all had a neat, intelligent, civilized, European feel to it.

20 years ago we were surprised by the post-cold war rise of tribalism (which in service of preserving our prejudices we call ethnicity). 20 years ago this cartoon brought a laugh. 20 years of European reality has killed the joke.

* * * As I write this column the latest news is reporting the tribal, anti-Uzbek violence by Kirghiz attackers.

Your thoughts?

Piracy

The lawless "wild west" of 20th century Hollywood movies has been translated into the 21 century. The Somali Pirates are the outlaws raiding stagecoaches. The Flotilla battles are becoming like the American range wars between farmers and cattlemen. "Why can't the Farmer and the Cowman just be friends?" goes the frustrated refrain of the peace-loving audience. * * * Meanwhile, the world media shields us from seeing the massive world-wide assault on modern society and its freedoms by ferocious, totalitarian Islamism.

Heat (1988)

Today is a special day. It's the Summer Solstice. And it's the official start of Summer. The season of heat!

This Golden Oldie was done 22 years ago. in 1988. Back then buses, cabs, restaurants, living-rooms and stores were not all air-conditioned. Back then we were grumpier. I believe that the two facts are connected. Sure we continue to remark on the heat, but we do it in uncomfortably cool surroundings.

The other day, when I suggested to the LSW (Long Suffering Wife) that we go out for dinner, she said "Wait, I'll get a shawl!" Sitting in an Israeli restaurant in a summer heat wave can be a chilling experience.

Independent Women

Samar Hajj, who is coordinating the trip was quoted as saying; “We are all independent women who believe in breaking the siege on Gaza.”

According to Iranian TV:

"One day after Israel threatened to attack a new Gaza-bound aid ship with only women activists on board, the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah highlights Israel's fear, saying its military ability is "deteriorating."

"Israeli threats against women activists and journalists who are organizing new flotillas serve as proof of the immense fear the Zionists are living in," Israeli dailyYnet news reported Hezbollah's Executive Council Chief Hashem Safieddine as saying on Saturday.

The comment comes after earlier on Friday, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev called for a halt to the Gaza-bound aid ship scheduled to set sail from Lebanon, warning that Tel Aviv would use "all necessary means" to stop the vessel.

Israel "is terrified by a boat carrying women who want to deliver aid to Gaza. How will this Israel be able to face the rockets and the resistance bloc in the next confrontation?" the Hezbollah official asked.

"This is the Zionist entity in its current state and its deteriorating ability," he went on to say.

A group of 50 female Lebanese and foreign activists have announced a plan to send an aid ship loaded with medical supplies to Gaza, which has been under siege since 2007.

The organizers are yet to announce a departure date for the ship, named "Mariam" in honor of the Virgin Mary."

Turkish Tomorrow?

Are we witnessing a major shake-up in the region with Turkey going Islamist and becoming part of the anti-Western Islamic Jihad bloc? Will Gaza, the Palestinians, and the "Flotilla" affair be successfully and skillfully used to focus Turkish public attention on the "demonic Jews" while the throat of secular Turkey is slit?

Forbes offers this interesting analysis out of Istanbul:

Erdogan's Dangerous Rhetoric
"ISTANBUL -- Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's speech upon his return to Turkey from meeting President Obama was greeted in some quarters with relief. "At least he didn't declare war," said one headline. Understandably, the confrontation between Israeli commandos and the Mavi Marmara has consumed the media here. And though it seemed, at first, that the national mood was one of shock followed by outrage, already numerous gently demurring voices have begun to break the surface. The prime minister's speeches showed no such restraint: "Even bullies, pirates and criminals have a code of honor," he said, "but for those who have none, it would be a compliment to call them such names."

Condemning Israel for harming innocents, Erdogan added, "Even in a war, you don't attack women, children and religious personnel," (without, of course, elaborating on what to do if the latter happen to be combatants, as they often are in Islamist circles). The prime minister has traveled the country in a kind of victory tour inciting massed crowds to chant anti-Israeli slogans, repeatedly citing "Thou Shalt Not Kill" as being explicitly a commandment from the Torah and therefore all the greater a sin when committed by Israel. Some 22 national leaders are currently in Istanbul for a conference of Eurasian nations; Erdogan is publicly flogging the issue there, too.

The atmosphere in Turkey is highly combustible and open to political exploitation. Photos of bashed and bleeding young Israeli commandos published in the leading newspaper, Hurriyet--thereby confirming Israel's self-defense argument--elicited cries of "traitor" and threats.

Meanwhile, the Mavi Marmara events coincided with a string of guerrilla attacks in the country by the Kurdish terror group PKK. These included an unprecedented operation against off-duty navy personnel in the non-Kurdish port town of Iskenderun, which left six dead and seven wounded. In the anti-Israeli side of the docket one can include attempts by highly placed Turkish officials to link the two--that is to suggest Israeli support of the PKK--and ubiquitous voices asserting that no Israeli inquiry into the Mavi Marmara raid can be dependable." -more

Your thoughts?

Best Seller

This is one of the cartoons that I did while watching the Flotilla affair from America and not from back here in Israel. Many Jews back in America and here in Israel now understand that virulent antisemitism is alive and well. The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was, and is, a major vehicle for the spread of "Jew hatred".

For info about the history of the Protocols click here.

"The Protocols" was not only a big hit in Nazi circles, it's a now a blockbuster in the Arab world. Below is the cover of the currently best-selling Egyptian version.

Click on the book jacket and we'll take you to an Islamic site where you can read the whole thing yourself... In English, French, German, Swedish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, or Italian!

Their Problem

I'm just back from a trip to America to attend the National Cartoonists Society's Annual Awards Weekend, where I gave a presentation on the history of Dry Bones.

Before I got back, the "flotilla" story broke, so I scratched out a few cartoons about it. The story does not look like it's going to go away. So I'll post the cartoons that I did while watching the world from America and not from my usual vantage point back here, at home in Israel, in a little town on the Mediterranean sea.

Eurological Problem (2007)

How did Turkey do an Islamist Flip? Why is the West surprised? Today's Golden Oldie was a clear warning I sounded in a cartoon that I did in 2007. I'm reposting it today, along with the column that originally accompanied it three years ago in April of 2007! * * * Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the modern secular state of Turkey was born in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War II.

The leading legal reforms instituted by Mustafa Kemal included the complete separation of government and religious affairs and the adoption of a strong interpretation of the principle of laïcité in the constitution. This was coupled with the closure of Islamic courts and the replacement of Islamic canon law (1924 - 1937) with a secular civil code modeled after Switzerland and a penal code modeled after the Italian Penal Code (1924 - 1937). The reforms also instituted legal equality between the sexes and the granting of full political rights to women on December 5, 1934, well before several other European nations. -more

The Turkish Army is the "Guardian" of the secular state and functions as a block against the establishment of Islamic rule. Unfortunately, today's Europe is unhappy with that fact.

EU Enlargement Commissioner, Olli Rehn, speaking at an international conference in Brussels, noted that the recent controversy in Turkey was a litmus test for the military to respect democracy, BBC reported.

EU officials believe that the recent reaction by the Turkish military to the country's democratic process indicates the likelihood of them interfering in the election procedures.

At the first round of parliamentary votes on Friday, the present foreign minister and AK party candidate, Abdullah Gul, narrowly failed to win. The Turkish army then issued a statement saying it would defend the country's established secular principles. -more

* * * Your thoughts?

World Public Opinion

I'm fresh back from my trip to the States. Before I left I did this cartoon and set it to automatically post today. I was sure that it was the kind of cartoon that would have a long "shelf-life".

And that was before the "Flotilla" business.

Yikes!!