"It'll Take a While..."

Israel & Washington?
Want a gauge on the atmosphere in Washington these days on Israel? See yesterday's White House Press briefing below and read how Obama's press secretary responds and certain members of the White House press corps ask about building in Jerusalem etc...[Hat tip to Dr. Aaron Lerner at IMRA.] QUESTION: On the peace process, Israel has approved today the construction of 900 new housing units in East Jerusalem. How do you view this approval at this specific time?MR. KELLY: Well, I think, Michel, you’ve heard us say many times that we believe that neither party should engage in any kind of actions that could unilaterally preempt or appear to preempt negotiat

Sigd: The Ultimate Zionist festival

Israel Provides Swine Flu Vaccine to Pal. Hajj Pilgrims
This just in from the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria: (Anyone taking bets on whether you'll see this in the NY Times tomorrow..?)Transfer of Swine Flu Vaccine via Israel to the Palestinian Authority This evening the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria facilitated the entry of 20,000 doses of swine flu vaccine to the Palestinian Authority. This effort, which brought the vaccines to Ramallah via the Qalandiya crossing, comes a few days before Palestinians set out to the Hajj to Mecca early week and was necessary since vaccination against swine flu is a condition for entrance into Mecca, Islam's holiest city. The Civil Adminis

Yahrzeits
Today is the traditionally observed yahrzeit of Rachel, one of the matriarchs of the Jewish people. Thousands flocked to her tomb just south of Jerusalem near Bethlehem last night and today to pay their respects and pray for the release of captured Israeli sodlier Gilad Shalit.“For generations Rachel has prayed for her children to return home safely, and we hope that this year our prayers will be answered and Gilad will return home to his family,” said Rabbi Yosef Schwinger, Director of Israel’s Holy Sites Authority.Most Israeli media outlets barely mentioned the yahrzeit of Rachel, preferring to focus hours of discussion and debate on the 14th anniversary of

SDS is still Alive...not well, but alive
Hat tip to Solomonia for spotting a planning session of SDS--the campus radicals who were around back in my days in college. Today they're a group of anti-Zionist Jews who are plotting to disrupt the upcoming Dore Gold/ Judge Goldstone debate at Brandeis.From: "Jonathan M. Sussman" jsus[snip]To: sds sds@lists.brandeis.eduSubject: Goldstone Forum Action Planning - Wed. @ 10!Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:32:19 -0400 (EDT)Hey!As many of you know, Brandeis will be hosting a forum next Thursday, 11/5, to discuss the Goldstone Report, a report from the United Nations which determined that Israel