The quoted highlights and commentary demonstrate my own perspectives and might not be reflective of the slant of the article they relate to
INDEPENDENT [ENGLAND]
1. A Divided Nation Argues as Israel Prepares to Vote
[Has a picture that shows the beauty of Kadia candidate Tzipio Livni,a physical fairness that conceals the skull of the bloodthirsty radical militarism that led to the deaths of 1,300 Palestinians, many of them children in an operation in which 13 Israelis died in 3 weeks of unchallenged Israeli aerial,naval and missile supremacy as they bombarded Gaza,claimg that they wanted to stop missile attacks into Idsrael while their opponent Hamas claims those missiles were protesting continuous Israeli blockade of Gaza that led its inhabitants to communicate with the outside world through dangerous tunnels which thereby became an industry]
[This article identifies Livni with an olive branch in contrast to the more militarist Likud candidate Netahyahu and the particularly uncompromising Lieberman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party because in an arena of militaristic radicals,the radical who modifies their radicalism is seen as holding out an olive branch]
2.TIME [US]
HIGHLIGHT:
"Israeli voters are also worried that Netanyahu — and his objections to a proposed Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza — may clash with the Obama Administration. Otherwise, the ex-premier, with his flawless American accent (he went to M.I.T.) and mannerisms, is media-ready for the U.S. Netanyahu says he will refuse to stop expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank and to share Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Both are seen as key to an accord with the Palestinians. Netanyahu also says Israel will stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, by force if necessary, while the White House is making more conciliatory noises towards Tehran lately.
The Israeli press has often repeated a quote from ex-President Bill Clinton, that Netanyahu "thinks he's the superpower and we are here to do whatever he requires." Few Israelis want to their new premier to jeopardize their country's special relationship with Washington. The more moderate Livni and Barak are seen as less likely to rile the Obama Administration.
One fourth of Israel's 5.2 million voters are still undecided, but if Tuesday's results mirror the earlier polls, Netanyahu is likely to lead a rightwing coalition cobbled together with Lieberman's party, along with the ultra-religious and nationalist parties, all of which oppose giving up land to the Palestinians for a future state, a solution pushed by the U.S. and the international community."
3.2002 Netanyahu-Sharon elections shows how a similar drama is being replayed in 2009
HIGHLIGHT:
"In a series of conversations with TIME this month, Netanyahu has for the first time unveiled details of his strategy for ending the conflict with the Palestinians. His plan would make Sharon's military operations in Ramallah and Gaza last week look like training exercises. Netanyahu insists that Arafat and the Palestinians have not accepted Israel's right to exist, despite the 1993 peace accord signed by Arafat and Rabin that was supposed to lead to a negotiated end to the conflict. Arafat, he points out, still talks about Palestinian refugees' "right of return" to family homes inside what is now Israel. Israelis believe that such immigration would mean the end of their nation as a Jewish state. "As long as the right of return is on the books, that means there's no real acceptance of Israel," Netanyahu says."
"If Palestinian leaders emerge who are ready to give up on the right of return, says Netanyahu, he would be ready to sign a full peace agreement."
4.Very percipient article from December 2009,before the Israeli offensive, that weights the motivations of the various actors in the deadly drama.Makes for fascinating comparison with the present reality of Februrary 2009.
HIGHLIGHT:
"...Israel's leaders [could be ] be compelled to launch a more robust military response. That, of course, may be what President Abbas — and others in the Arab world hostile to Hamas — are counting on, as the only plausible scenario for restoring Fatah's control over Gaza".
HARRAETZ [CENTRIST ISRAELI NETWORK]
5. On AIPAC, the central Israeli lobby in the US
HIGHLIGHT:
"Personally, I do not share the underlying philosophy of AIPAC, in particular its unreflective support of hard-line, right wing policies in Israel. But this organization is merely playing by the rules governing the American political system."
6.ALMOST FUNNY;OMINOUS
Senior U.K. diplomat said arrested over anti-Semitic tirade
"A senior diplomat in the British Foreign Office has been arrested for inciting religious hatred after he launched into an anti-Semitic tirade at a London gym, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
Witnesses told the British newspaper they heard diplomat Rowan Laxton shouting "f**king Israelis, f**king Jews" while watching a TV report of Israel Defense Forces operations in Gaza from the seat of an exercise bike.
He also reportedly shouted that IDF soldiers should be "wiped off the face of the Earth."
The Daily Mail said Laxton continuedthe tirade even after he was approached by other gym users.
READERS COMMENT:
itle: anger at IDF slaughter
Name: naomi
City:
State:
If he said that about Jews, then that is wrong and hard to forgive. There is a big distinction between Israel and Jews (although the Isreali government would love to combine the two and accuse anyone accusing it of war crimes as "anti-semitic" ). Most people criticising Israel for killing children and other atrocities know this distinction.
On the other hand, the anger felt by many watching Israel`s pre-election war games amid a trapped population is widespread. The real problem for Israel is not some heated words by a tactless individual but how the world see it now.
7. Jerusalem in photographic art:the work of Israeli artist Yoram Amir
Perhaps the most contested space in the world:Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their capital;that notion is anathema to a significant number of powerful Israelis, even though Israel annexed the city in the 1967 war.Before then it was not part of Israel according to the 1948 UN initiative that founded Israel .
INDEPENDENT [ENGLAND]
1. A Divided Nation Argues as Israel Prepares to Vote
[Has a picture that shows the beauty of Kadia candidate Tzipio Livni,a physical fairness that conceals the skull of the bloodthirsty radical militarism that led to the deaths of 1,300 Palestinians, many of them children in an operation in which 13 Israelis died in 3 weeks of unchallenged Israeli aerial,naval and missile supremacy as they bombarded Gaza,claimg that they wanted to stop missile attacks into Idsrael while their opponent Hamas claims those missiles were protesting continuous Israeli blockade of Gaza that led its inhabitants to communicate with the outside world through dangerous tunnels which thereby became an industry]
[This article identifies Livni with an olive branch in contrast to the more militarist Likud candidate Netahyahu and the particularly uncompromising Lieberman of the Yisrael Beiteinu party because in an arena of militaristic radicals,the radical who modifies their radicalism is seen as holding out an olive branch]
2.TIME [US]
HIGHLIGHT:
"Israeli voters are also worried that Netanyahu — and his objections to a proposed Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza — may clash with the Obama Administration. Otherwise, the ex-premier, with his flawless American accent (he went to M.I.T.) and mannerisms, is media-ready for the U.S. Netanyahu says he will refuse to stop expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank and to share Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Both are seen as key to an accord with the Palestinians. Netanyahu also says Israel will stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, by force if necessary, while the White House is making more conciliatory noises towards Tehran lately.
The Israeli press has often repeated a quote from ex-President Bill Clinton, that Netanyahu "thinks he's the superpower and we are here to do whatever he requires." Few Israelis want to their new premier to jeopardize their country's special relationship with Washington. The more moderate Livni and Barak are seen as less likely to rile the Obama Administration.
One fourth of Israel's 5.2 million voters are still undecided, but if Tuesday's results mirror the earlier polls, Netanyahu is likely to lead a rightwing coalition cobbled together with Lieberman's party, along with the ultra-religious and nationalist parties, all of which oppose giving up land to the Palestinians for a future state, a solution pushed by the U.S. and the international community."
3.2002 Netanyahu-Sharon elections shows how a similar drama is being replayed in 2009
HIGHLIGHT:
"In a series of conversations with TIME this month, Netanyahu has for the first time unveiled details of his strategy for ending the conflict with the Palestinians. His plan would make Sharon's military operations in Ramallah and Gaza last week look like training exercises. Netanyahu insists that Arafat and the Palestinians have not accepted Israel's right to exist, despite the 1993 peace accord signed by Arafat and Rabin that was supposed to lead to a negotiated end to the conflict. Arafat, he points out, still talks about Palestinian refugees' "right of return" to family homes inside what is now Israel. Israelis believe that such immigration would mean the end of their nation as a Jewish state. "As long as the right of return is on the books, that means there's no real acceptance of Israel," Netanyahu says."
"If Palestinian leaders emerge who are ready to give up on the right of return, says Netanyahu, he would be ready to sign a full peace agreement."
4.Very percipient article from December 2009,before the Israeli offensive, that weights the motivations of the various actors in the deadly drama.Makes for fascinating comparison with the present reality of Februrary 2009.
HIGHLIGHT:
"...Israel's leaders [could be ] be compelled to launch a more robust military response. That, of course, may be what President Abbas — and others in the Arab world hostile to Hamas — are counting on, as the only plausible scenario for restoring Fatah's control over Gaza".
HARRAETZ [CENTRIST ISRAELI NETWORK]
5. On AIPAC, the central Israeli lobby in the US
HIGHLIGHT:
"Personally, I do not share the underlying philosophy of AIPAC, in particular its unreflective support of hard-line, right wing policies in Israel. But this organization is merely playing by the rules governing the American political system."
6.ALMOST FUNNY;OMINOUS
Senior U.K. diplomat said arrested over anti-Semitic tirade
"A senior diplomat in the British Foreign Office has been arrested for inciting religious hatred after he launched into an anti-Semitic tirade at a London gym, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
Witnesses told the British newspaper they heard diplomat Rowan Laxton shouting "f**king Israelis, f**king Jews" while watching a TV report of Israel Defense Forces operations in Gaza from the seat of an exercise bike.
He also reportedly shouted that IDF soldiers should be "wiped off the face of the Earth."
The Daily Mail said Laxton continuedthe tirade even after he was approached by other gym users.
READERS COMMENT:
itle: anger at IDF slaughter
Name: naomi
City:
State:
If he said that about Jews, then that is wrong and hard to forgive. There is a big distinction between Israel and Jews (although the Isreali government would love to combine the two and accuse anyone accusing it of war crimes as "anti-semitic" ). Most people criticising Israel for killing children and other atrocities know this distinction.
On the other hand, the anger felt by many watching Israel`s pre-election war games amid a trapped population is widespread. The real problem for Israel is not some heated words by a tactless individual but how the world see it now.
7. Jerusalem in photographic art:the work of Israeli artist Yoram Amir
Perhaps the most contested space in the world:Palestinians want East Jerusalem as their capital;that notion is anathema to a significant number of powerful Israelis, even though Israel annexed the city in the 1967 war.Before then it was not part of Israel according to the 1948 UN initiative that founded Israel .
