Another All-Star pickup for the Knesset lists, again on the right

Last week it was Uzi Dayan joining the Likud, this week another huge name. Former long serving Ambassador to the United States and well known Israel advocate Danny Ayalon has joined Israel Beitenu (Israel our Home) the secular right ring party led by firebrand Avidgor Lieberman.

YNET [...]
Former Ambassador Ayalon was the political advisor of three prime ministers - Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon. Since the conclusion of his tenure in Washington, he has served as chairman of the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization and has engaged in international consulting along with Attorney Dov Weisglass, Sharon’s associate.

“We are facing a serious political crisis, and this is why I have decided to join politics,” Ayalon told Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday. “My connection with Ivet (Lieberman) and Yisrael Beiteinu is very clear. I read Yisrael Beiteinu’s platform and realized that this was my natural home.”

Ayalon added that he is a great believer in the ideology of the Yisrael Beiteinu movement. “I feel a connection to their platform, mainly in terms of changing the government system, civil marriage and exchanging territories,” he said. “The issue of exchanging territories, for example, should have been put on the table a long time ago. If I were an Israeli-Palestinian-Arab I would want to join a Palestinian state. I wonder why this has not been proposed by Israel’s Arabs.” [...]

Not only is Ayalon by far the highest profile new member for Israel Beitenu next to its leader, but he brings with him some hefty international openings / avenues for the party. Israel Beitenu has enjoyed for the most part international support from dual citizens and patriots of the former soviet mold being a mostly Russian party. The addition of a big pick can open news doors, both to the Israeli electorate and the all important North American market.

Ayalon was well regarded by American Jews in Washington, strong ties to AIPAC followed by a year long stint with Nefesh Benefesh the primarily orthodox American aliyah organization will certainly help Israel Beitenu get on the political map in a way denied the party until now, this will end up taking some support from the Likud and moving it perhaps another notch right. Ayalon is an effective spokesman and he can drum up support and even money in ways Avigdor cannot, who is less well known and less well regarded outside Israel. 

Playing Poker this weekend someone at the table mentioned voting Israel Our Home in the next round, seemingly a meaningless mention but it is noteworthy because it surfaced in an all sabra group and I am by far the most right of the players and a Likud voter.. Frustration with our Arab partners surfacing in even unlikely places.

Comments(1) | Go to top

Not exactly what you want to here when you’re running the most famous ‘occupation’ around..

YNET / Associated Press

Italy agreed to pay Libya $5 billion as compensation for its 30-year occupation of the country during the 20th century, the Libyan foreign minister told reporters Saturday.

Abdel-Rahman Shalgam said that visiting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is set to sign a memorandum pledging a $5 billion compensation package involving construction projects, student grants, and pensions for Libyan soldiers who served with the Italians during the Second World War.

“It is a material and emotional recognition of the mistakes that our country has done to yours during the colonial era,” Berlusconi told reporters at the airport on his arrival. “This agreement opens the path to further cooperation.”

In return, Italy wants Libya to crack down on illegal migrants turning up on Italian shores and will fund US$500 million worth of electronic monitoring devices on the Libyan coastline. [...]

These are the kinds of things that can really ruin your week. I’m happy for the Libyans who are seemingly at least a little reformed these days, but now occupation compensation is going to be a new buzzword. Surely it won’t be long before this comes up in Ramallah as an ‘inalienable Palestinian right’.

It’s not so sexy to the press but we’ve already absorbed billions in shekel costs from Gazan withdrawal which involved several thousand Israelis, we are footing the bill regardless how it is termed it seems - But have yet to see much benefit, generous Italian gestures notwithstanding.

Comments | Go to top

Palin brings home the bacon with a huge 4 Million dollar haul
(*now 7+ million!*)

Don’t worry, this kind of bacon is Kosher.

John McCain is a fortunate man, shot down over Vietnam yet surviving not only the mission but the POW ordeal that followed. A Successful career as an honorable senator representing America at home & abroad, a full family, and until now I would have said - ‘A’ beautiful woman by his side who has herself been a bacon burner. Cindy McCain is certainly a beautiful woman and successful beyond normal measure, she’s got her own learjet - That is very hot indeed. Nice Job!

Apparently Mack’s good fortune comes in waves

I’m pretty pleased that McCain bucked the Pawlenty / Romney trend and went somewhat more Maverick, here in the holy land we are sliding right within our own electorate with serious threats all around, so we need the stability and security conscious GOP leading America with a man who better understands the need for decisive action at times. Though not my 1st choice if I were afforded one, it was my belief that Sarah Palin could shake things up nicely and help deliver a win for McCain.. What I didn’t expect was her to deliver quite so quickly.

4 Million Dollar Mom

There’s no doubt she will be targeted harshly by the opposition, probably stemming from their well founded fear. Daled Amos points out there are certainly cons to a young Woman, from a far from the action state - Things that can and will be taken advantage of by the opposition and media. But these numbers themselves are impressive beyond measure, showing that American Liberals may have more to fear here than just a pretty face and a charming down to earth manner, this mom has pulling power. Five kids, a rigorous gubernatorial job and now a 4 and half million dollar haul half day! Whoooa.

There’s no getting around the fact that McCain’s right hand women are absolutely smokin.

Links:
More awesome photos are at McCain’s daughter’s blog.. It doesn’t end with this guy ; )

American Jewish Dems react negatively.
American Jewish Republicans react with praise.

UPDATE: Wow, a few hours after my post, and now at the memeo I’m seeing these numbers for the McCain Palin 08 campaign are pretty astounding, 7 Million dollar bounce according to the Washington Post. Holy schnikeys indeed, Cha-Ching. The campaign seems to have released quite a bit of groundswell support in the US, Allahpundit looks at some of the cost benefits.

Comments | Go to top

Stirring is how I would put today’s VP announcement.. Complete with Van Halen blaring ‘Right Now’ in the background

Mazal Tov to the United States of America on a strong and worthy GOP Ticket! Good luck and Godspeed to the Presidency, to security, to energy independence and to the very international and most worthy cause of Freedom!

Sarah Palin Bio; Governor of Alaska.

Fox News
CNN
The Jerusalem Post
Hotair

Continuing Coverage & Opinion:
MEMEORANDUM

JohnMcCain.com

Comments(3) | Go to top

Welcome to the Big Leagues Barack

They don’t pay me the big bucks (total earned from 2+ years blogging? $0) for nothing, that’s why I like to continue earning my keep by trying to stay a step ahead of the MSM in my favorite category here at the Hashmonean, analysis.

Let’s analyze the fact that with great pomp & fanfare the 1st African American has now been nominated to his party’s candidate for President, nice one! Seriously, it’s wonderful for Black Americans and race relations and I wish them all well. With that congratulatory bit out of the way let’s move on to stage 2 of today’s analysis where we rip said candidate up a bit..

Baseline - Foreign Policy Fool
(more…)

Comments | Go to top

War On Terror: Americans not prepared to blink in the face of Radical Islamic Aggression

Americans polled share more than common values with Israeli brethren, they share serious and relatively unwavering concern regarding the Iranian nuclear threat, the majority are prepared to back Israeli allies if diplomacy stalls, or even launch American based strikes. (JPOST)

This is the kind of thing that will put wind in your sails when you are a little country surrounded by missiles, terrorists, Jihadists and now potentially cataclysmic WMD threats. Americans polled overwhelmingly viewed Iran as a serious threat to the United States of America, to the tune of 87% - Those kind of bi-partisan numbers stateside are unheard of in this age, perhaps leaving only Ron Paul supporters and far left wing quacks out of the general mix.

Prepared to do something about it too..

On the topic of taking action should diplomacy stall, again a majority of Americans polled are prepared to go the distance with 63% supporting Israeli strikes, and 55% supporting US and allied strikes if required. A whopping 80% of Americans in the poll felt that should Iran obtain nuclear weapons they would likely use them, no doubt the weekly calls for the destruction of Israel, and the chants of ‘Death to America’ have sunk into the general American public.

The threat of Iran is apparently felt across the political spectrum, with 85% of Democrats and 97% of Republicans believing the Islamic Republic represents a serious threat to the US.

Everything is just cheeky in the UK..

Germans & Brits were also polled. Germany with a historical moral obligation towards the Jewish people showed strongly unfavorable views of Iran at 64%, but our pals in Londonistan it seems only mustered 39% unfavorable views of the Islamic Republic, meaning the vast majority of Brits are prepared to go full on Dhimmi it seems. Pretty scary numbers coming out of the UK in light of the bombing & killing of Brit boys in Iraq by Iranian backed extremists, statements by top ranking UK military officials that they are fighting Iran, and a boatload of UK sailors including a young woman having been abducted at gunpoint on the high seas, and held hostage by the Iranians!?

At the end of the day, ask any US soldier in Iraq, family member of the military etc how much moral support means to them in the general public, and you can divine the powerful effect such support from allies can have for an embattled people and State such as Israel.

Update: Yossi Melman, leftist but highly respected by me analyst writes a heavy article on the Obama / Biden ticket, also looking at the popular Michael Rubin article of a few days ago..

[...] If the Obama-Biden team is elected, the combination of the new president’s inexperience in foreign policy and his vice president’s positions and record do not auger well for Israeli’s foreign and security policy, which is trying to persuade the U.S. administration that a tough policy toward Iran must be pursued - increasing the sanctions on Iran and, if necessary, as a last resort, attacking its nuclear installations.

Check it out! If Melman (bless him) is wary about the Obama / Biden ticket it means the rest of us need to run for the hills.

Comments | Go to top

That’s gotta be good for at least another 25,000 missiles from Syria.. (Updated below)

I was getting worried for a bit there the ‘international forces’ might just pickup & leave handing everything back to Hezbollah, thankfully Hezbollah and Syria have now taken all of Lebanon over so this extension will be especially handy. Don’t look now (UNIFIL sure isn’t) but apparently the Lebanon Syria border is totally open and unmonitored according to a UN inspection team dispatched to report on the situation..

Jpost: Security Council renews UNIFIL mandate by 1 year

[...] The report on the Lebanon-Syrian border released Wednesday was commissioned by Ban at the request of the Security Council to assess the implementation of Resolution 1701, passed to halt the Second Lebanon War.

According to the 21-page document, four-wheel-drive vehicles are still crossing from Syria unchecked. Berms or other physical roadblocks are being dismantled or bypassed, and units based at observation posts have failed to enforce regular identity checks of pedestrians or cyclists.

Despite claims that mobile patrols were conducted regularly, the four-person inspection team found no evidence of mobile patrol activity along the border.

Instead, troops were deployed in stationary, military-style observations posts, including in “cross-border areas controlled by Palestinian groups, where it is crucial to maintain efficient control of any movement into Lebanese-controlled areas, as these areas are open to Syria.”

The team also found that the four border security agencies that have been combined into the Common Border Force, which includes the Lebanese Armed Forces, are not sharing information and have not conducted any enforcement operations based on specific intelligence. [...]

Of course, Hezbollah was supposed to disarm, the border was supposed to be monitored and arms smuggling halted, but non of these things have ever been considered never mind implemented. In actuality the Lebanese government has affirmed the right & legitimacy of Hezbollah armed resistance! They now support terrorism, fantastic.

Israel’s attempts to get a chapter 7 applied to the resolution allowing for some actual enforcement? Went nowhere. Seems the consensus was it was better to protect the ‘delicate balance’ in the Lebanese govt than enforce resolution 1701, or 1552 for that matter. Not that it makes any difference, no one in our government is actually doing anything these days anyhow other than worrying about elections, the fact that Hezbollah is building an army and that Iran & Syria are arming large swaths of Lebanon with tens of thousands of missiles is not too much of a concern it seems.

At least ‘The Peace Process’ is on Track

Anyone incidentally hear anything recently from Olmert our Prime Minister? It is as if he was abducted by aliens, he must be vacationing. Thank Gd we have Livni who negotiated this fiasco looking out for our interests..

Assad in Syria is enjoying new found stardom, apparently he is now willing to parlay his hand even more and get not just France to drop any grievances against him, but now the US too! Yup, he has dangled the option of a direct talk with Israel in return for America’s involvement in the process, meaning sanctions et all would evaporate and Syria would be sitting pretty and all he’d have to do is have some coffee with Olmert and then walk away.

Oh Oh, trouble in Shiite paradise: Hezbollah shot down Lebanese military chopper? (Haaretz)

More good news about Hezbollah’s control of Lebanon, armed with sophisticated SAMs now as Israel has been warning? Shooting down aircraft? And of course.. Blaming whom else? Israel..

If this had been an IAF aircraft we might be at war again right now, and while the facts are just coming to light pls don’t mistake for a moment who they thought they might be shooting at. Danger Will Robinson, DANGER!

Comments | Go to top

No punches pulled in the pursuit of American voters concerned about foreign policy.

I’ve yet to see anything like this so far this campaign season, this ad packs wallop with a capital Dubya. Hitting Obama where it hurts, the much coveted American Jewish swing vote, and building up the strong Evangelical base which is adamantly supporting Israel and is crucial to get out the vote stateside. No more camera snapshot sounds & celebrity snaps, this time the issue isn’t taxes either..

Dangerously Unprepared

Of course we know Obama has been hounded by close senior foreign policy advisers with questionable views, and questionable links, we know that Obama came out strongly for unconditioned dialog with Terrorist sponsoring nations like Iran, like Syria, we know that Obama has downplayed the Islamic Jihad threat to not only America, but Israel & the free world, Judaism, Christianity and even Islam itself.. We also know that Biden is an Israel supporter but he holds questionable views on appeasement and in this regard not much has been done for Obama on foreign policy.

But now we know it with a 30 second smack to the face that will be tough to counter, nice job.

There is natural reluctance to speak loudly towards candidate preference in Israel as we rely on both parties and roughly 80% favorable American public support from our chief ally, clearly this decision is for America to make as they are electing a President for the United States, but everyone knows that when push comes to shove (and it is getting there in regards to threats) John McCain is our man here in Israel if we could pick and Jewish brethren in the US who usually vote Liberal by about 65% also know it, a few ads like this in Florida can wreak havoc on the Obama / Rep. Wexler led efforts there.

UPDATE: The US Left goes bananas (Memeorandum has the action)

The Obama campaign, and surrogates are going bonkos. Check out the memeorandum mania where the usual whiners complain of distortion which says it all, the ad is a hard hitter and it hits Obama precisely where it hurts as above and they are concerned in Obamaland, this is one of his top weaknesses, he took Biden for this reason and has gotten ZERO bounce from the choice. More Iran ads please, the harder the left froths the more it means the ads are good & the polls will pop.

There is no distortion, Obama is weak on Iran, the American Democrats are WEAK on foreign policy, appeasement is not viable policy and frankly from here in Israel Obama’s golden tongue brings no comfort at all and will not bring A SINGLE SPINNING CENTRIFUGE to a halt. Susan Rice can keep yelping about how great Obama and her own advice is, that don’t make it necessarily true..

National Insecurity

This is the national security night for the American DNC, but as usual they don’t deliver much security it seems at all, because from where I sit the liberal left could care less about US allies, will do little to prevent Iran from going nuclear and will be soft on Israeli options to defend ourselves. Today I heard Susan Rice again say how they will immediately ‘engage with the peace process under Obama’, wonderful.. Another reason not to vote Obama as far as I am concerned because BS doesn’t cut it in the mid east, and things like missile defense are a way of life not a luxury for defense cuts.. Across the board Obama is by far the weaker candidate.

Comments | Go to top

Daled Amos posted recently about the tanker kerkuffle, touching on a haaretz article which tied recent denied Israeli weapons procurement requests to re-fueling tankers and a possible Iran strike.

In reaction to an article in Haaretz that the US has refused to give Israel the kind of refueling aircraft that Israel might use as part of an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, David Hazony suggests:

From the Bush administration’s perspective, there is no greater threat to American security than an Obama victory, and an attack on Iran really does carry risks of “instability” that could ricochet back against McCain.
So from an Israeli perspective: are they confident enough of a McCain victory to wait and test his pro-Israel campaign rhetoric–or are they still afraid that despite Obama’s current problems he will still be the next president and therefore cannot wait.

Bottom line: which candidate is more likely to supply Israel with the arms she thinks she needs in the current situation–McCain or Obama.

What do you think?

UPDATE: Israel apparently already has one such plane, and is apparently working on a project (The “Green Salad” — scroll down) for integrating a second one in 2009.

Faster, please.

He of course threw in the what do you think tag lol, irresistible really since I don’t think this story is as clear cut as the small initial Haaretz article suggests.

I posted myself about denied procurement requests and looked at the F22 & advanced JDAMS, those two pieces of hardware would really make the difference and they are the stuff of lustful legend for procurement from the US.. These were the hardware pieces in deep discussions when Bush visited in May. But aside from that, multiple hardware pieces are in procurement plans so that in itself does not preclude tankers or the article’s assertion.

It may very well be that tankers were part of discussions, but is it tied to Iran? and what is the McCain link?

On the question of is this the hardware that if denied can prevent a strike and halt Israeli plans, the answer seems to point to no. Israel has 7+ large tankers. The Haaretz article talks about them being 40 years old, but this is the same fleet the US is flying and their tankers are also old. That is enough tankers to get the job done. Would more be better, surely they would especially if tankers are targeted in operations. But, and it is a big but.. Any new procurement of 767s for tanker purposes would likely not be ready or aloft anywhere near the proper time frames for an Israeli strike, these beasts would need to be built first and Italy & Japan are themselves in line picking up 8 total, 6 are not even in assembly. I don’t think this is Iran related as much as it is internal US politics related, and this is where the McCain link comes in.

A significant reason for tanker denials?

The US is currently studying revamping its own tanker fleet. Actually, that is understating things a bit. There’s been a multi-year ongoing scandal regarding these tankers stateside for US use and McCain is smack in the middle of it.

To be brief what is going on is a war between Boeing, Northrop the providers, and an internal struggle at the Pentagon and US legislative halls for where to invest billions for the tankers, at home or abroad, and further which manufacturer can provide a better plane for US armed forces use. At question has been contract awarding practices and the ping pong ball has been batted back & forth wildly, McCain is holding a paddle and a very visible position.(this story is too big to link to generally, here’s one recently from the FT on the situation, )

It seems much more likely that part of the multi-year plan in Israel involves tankers, perhaps tankers have been discussed maybe even denied at this time, but this is much more likely to do with the fact that the USA needs to resolve its tanker issues first, commit and procure before the added politics of selling disputed tankers to say Israel is added to the mix as this would certainly sway things that are already very delicate. As DA mentioned, Israel is currently in its own tanker conversion plan and this effort is fairly longstanding and is budget based. So Israel is looking to expand tanker abilities, but has already been working on this front beyond a large purchase of new aircraft. The US issues will likely be decided once Bush is out of office, further reason to not announce tankers sales right now.

Better put this one out first..

Further, the notion that Israel will have waited until August 2008 to procure tankers needed for a strike on Iran is somewhat crazy talk, because it would take the biggest mistake in military procurement history to rely on plans, fly actual test runs involving hundreds of aircraft (already tanking over the med) and generally prepare only to realize a few months later that you don’t have tankers..

McCain may be involved, Israel may be looking for tankers going forward, the Pentagon may have denied a request at this time more generally, but making this about Iran seems to be overlooking the much more obvious in the USA, the illogical and unadvised idea of throwing Israeli fuel on the already large US tanker fire which has the GOP presidential nominee intimately involved, worse he’s backing the Northrop deal and Israel likely would have picked up Boeings, that is reason enough right there to delay tanker talks.

Comments | Go to top