| Jordanians continue to argue over whether they should get water from Jewsnoreply@blogger.com (Unknown), 16 Dec 05:45 AM Jordan's Prime Minister Bish | | Jordan's Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh responded to those who are against getting desalinated water from Israel, with a stark warning that Jordan will run out of water if it does not immediately look for alternative sources.
"The water poverty we have reached is unprecedented and threatens the level and quality of life for our current and future generations," he told a Lower House of Parliament session on Wednesday.
Khasawneh said that the annual per capita share of water in Jordan is about 90 cubic meters, while the global water poverty line is 500 cubic meters annually. He warned that if things don't change, the annual per capita share will drop to 60 cubic meters by 2040.
The prime minister defended the deal with Israel, but said it is still in the early stages.
Parliamentarians continued to squabble over the issue after one said that Israel might poison the water for Jordan. Representative Najeh Al-Adwan said that Jordan is going through a great water crisis. he defended the agreement with Israel with Quarnic precedents of Muslims buying...Read More |
Weekly column by Vic Rosenthal A recent editorial in the Jerusalem Post views with alarm recent statements by some media and political personalities that the Post sees as advocating "ethnic cleansing." For example, journalist/political consultant Itamar Fleischman remarked on the anti-Jewish riots that took place in several mixed Arab-Jewish cities in May, saying
The bottom line is that we have a situation in which Arabs forgot the Nakba. … And the solution is to remind them of the Nakba. We should tell them as soon as now that if they don't start to come to their senses, and if they keep trying to murder our children, their next stop is beyond the Jordan River or in al-Yarmuk [refugee] camp in Syria. Radio host and former MK Yinon Magal said something similar: "if you'll keep killing Jews, we will exile you again." And Betzalel Smotrich, MK and leader of the Religious Zionist party, spoke bluntly in response to anti-Zionist comments by Arab members of the Knesset:
I am not holding any conversations with you, you anti-Zionists. You are supporters of terror, enemies. You are [here] due to a mistake because [Israel's first prime minister David] Ben-Gurion didn't finish the job and throw you out in 1948. The Post's editorial writer said that such public statements "raised a red flag," and that
The Jewish people should be particularly sensitive to such racist remarks. People who know...Read More |
From Ian: Gil Troy: Anti-Zionists rob US Jews of their Zionist dreams Our enemies try making Zionism a dirty word; in Israel, Zionism is a blessed blueprint, helping the Jewish people flourish. Our enemies try making Israel the world's greatest problem; here, Israel is the greatest platform for finding meaning – and building a good life. Our enemies try unraveling Judaism, falsely distinguishing the religion's "good" spiritual dimensions from the "bad" peoplehood and statehood parts; Israel – at this wedding and every day – brings alive the Jewish Oreo cookie, the natural integration between our religious and national identities, cemented by culture, history, fate and faith. Our enemies try making every Israel-oriented conversation about the Palestinians and "the" Arab-Israeli conflict; but Israel is a multidimensional country with so much more to it than its Palestinian enemies. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's trip to the UAE proves that "the" Arab-Israeli conflict should be rebranded as the Arab-Israeli conflicts, wherein we emphasize "Peace More" – the growing peace we have with Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Morocco and Sudan. Sun Tzu taught 2,500 years ago: "If you know the enemy and yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. But if you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will lose every battle. Most Israelis know themselves, their enemies, our...Read More |
"Palestine" is an important topic for most liberals. As such, there is no reason to think that it is any different for liberal Jews. Perhaps even more so, and that is why an item in the latest edition of the American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) newsletter, piqued my interest. "Celebrates 85 Years of Magnificent Music!" blared the headline, referring to the IPO. My brain saw "85" and spat out "pre-state," meaning "pre-state Israel." "If the IPO was founded in pre-state Israel," I mused, "then it would have been called something like the 'Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra.'" The newsletter said nothing about a name change and I was curious. Not just about the name, but about the history of the IPO. Anything pre-state is my gig. Besides, I remembered something about the Philharmonic being founded by Bronislaw Huberman to save Jewish musicians from the Holocaust. Cool stuff. I wanted to refresh my memory. Sure enough, when I clicked on the newsletter to navigate to the website, I found a timeline with a short introductory paragraph headlined: "Marching To A New Drum: The IPO Origin Story." The paragraph begins: The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1936 by Bronislaw Huberman to save the lives of Europe's Jewish musicians from the Holocaust. "Hmmm," I thought. "Well, it wouldn't have been called 'Israel' in 1936, so the orchestra could not have been founded under that name." More properly, that sentence...Read More |
Today's Tehran Times included a map of potential targets for Iranian (and Hamas and Hezbollah) rockets in Israel: They also included a map of a close-up around Gaza so that Hamas wouldn't be upset at being a potential target.
There are a lot of "targets" along the Egyptian border.
Google Maps shows that in many of the places they mark there is nothing but desert. So I guess there are three possibilities:
1. Israel is placing lots of military installations along the Egyptian border and hiding them for unknown reasons.
2. Iran plans to bomb the border fence in many spots to allow Sinai ISIS members (whom Iran professes as their enemies) to come across the border.
3. Iran has so many rockets that it can afford to aim them at random desert locations just for fun.
4. This target map is completely made up.
The headline, "Just One Wrong Move!," is also interesting. Because by now Iran has admitted that Israel has successfully sabotaged Iran's crucial nuclear facilities multiple times. Were they not the "wrong moves"? * * * * * *
...Read More |
From Ian: The Left should end its Iran hypocrisy The core of the Biden administration's strategy on Iran appears simply to do the opposite of former President Donald Trump. Trump walked away from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action? Then the goal must be to rejoin it rather than address its fundamental flaws. Trump embraced "maximum pressure" to compel behavioral change in Tehran? Then step one for the Biden team must be to flood Iran with sanctions relief. Never mind the inconvenient truth that, in the Islamic Republic, there is a direct correlation between trade and terrorism thanks to the Revolutionary Guards' stranglehold over most industries. If liberals want to be successful on Iran issues, they should change their tack. Rather than define themselves as doing the opposite of the Republicans, they should instead be true to their stated principles of supporting labor, protecting the environment, and defending human rights. It has now been more than 15 years since President George W. Bush missed Iran's Lech Walesa moment when bus drivers defied their government to form the Islamic Republic's first independent trade union. Today, unionism is a growing force in Iran, one that leader Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Hossein Salami each fear. On Monday, teachers went on strike across Iran to demand basic rights. From...Read More |
Last month, Israel and Jordan signed a declaration of intent for a water-for-energy deal, where Jordan would build export 600 megawatts of power generated by new solar generators in the desert, and Israel providing 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water. Today, the deal was debated in the Jordanian parliament, where it was opposed by many. There were complaints that Jordan should investigate other alternatives rather than deal with Israel. The most insane comment came from representative Suleiman Abu Yahya, who said: "There are two reasons for announcing this treaty, the first is the announced lack of water, and the second is our possession of a power source, and the enemy's possession of a water source. But the occupation does not have any energy problem, and it is possible that they put poison in the water coming to us. We cannot trust the water coming from the occupation." Jews poisoning the wells? Sounds familiar. It...Read More |
Arab fighters with a burning Jewish supply truck on the way to Jerusalem, 1948
Mondoweiss publishes a pro-BDS article by Donna Nevel who is frustrated that South Florida Jewish newspapers. won't publish her anti-Israel op-eds. Seventy-three years ago this week, on December 11, 1948, U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194 made clear that Palestinians had the right to return to their homes and lands from which they had been expelled. Resolution 194 stated that "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date." Let's summarize the reasons why there is no "right to return." UN General Assembly Resolution 194, paragraph 11 states: Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible; Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation, and to maintain close relations with the Director...Read More |
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