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1. Netanyahu’s Nemesis Rahm Emanuel On Way Out of White House
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
U.S. President Barack Obama soon may hang the “help wanted” sign outside the door of his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who reportedly will step down. Emanuel once was allegedly called a “self-hating Jew” by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who denied the report.
Sources said that Emanuel, whose father was an underground fighter against the British Mandate before Israel was re-established as a country in 1948, has arguably landed President Obama in hot water for pushing policies that squeezed the Israeli coalition led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Emanuel is expected to announce on Friday whether he will run for mayor of Chicago, in President Obama’s home state. Regardless of his decision, reports have been floating for months that he has caused problems for the president, particularly among Jewish donors.
“To say I don’t sleep easily with the current administration’s relationship to Israel would be an understatement,” billionaire Israeli native and Obama supporter Chaim Saban said earlier this year. He added that when he expressed his views to the White House, Emanuel said his own views were more hawkish than 50 percent of Israelis. The figure is highly doubtful considering the makeup of Israel's Knesset and poll results, and reflects the insularity of President Obama’s appointments.
Politco.com reported that President Obama is likely to replace him with one of his “insiders’ rather than take the risk of making a radical change in his staff. If Emanuel quits, a replacement probably will not be named until after the mid-term Congressional elections in November. Polls so far point to a likely vote revolt against President Obama’s Democratic party.
Another "help wanted" sign may be hung out to replace White House senior advisor David Axelrod, another Jew in President Obama’s “inner circle.” He said this week that he probably will leave office in several months, as previously planned.
A third departure may include General (ret.) James Jones, the U.S. national security advisor. Both Jones and Emanuel are far from being friends of the Netanyahu government. The IDF privately was critical of him when he served as the Middle East military envoy in Judea and Samaria.
President Obama won cheers for appointing a Jew as White House Chief of Staff, but the applause rapidly became mixed with suspicion and trepidation after Emanuel’s background became known. He took pride in choreographing the handshake on the White lawn between then-President Bill Clinton, Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat and former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.
Emanuel was quoted later as saying he that he wanted to see similar diplomatic maneuvers. He is widely viewed as having steered President Obama towards stiff opposition to a Jewish presence in areas of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinian Authority as well as all of Judea and Samaria.
Several months ago, Emanuel brought his son to Israel for a Bar Mitzvah but avoided visiting the Western Wall, a common venue for American Bar Mitzvahs. His presence there would have been viewed by the Palestinian Authority as recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the holy site, adjacent to the Temple Mount.
Emanuel’s frequent use of rude language vaulted him into the headlines at the same time he had intensified the powers of Chief of Staff, acting as a liaison with Congress as well as trying to stifle criticism of his boss.
With domestic issues dominating the concerns of America voters, Emanuel's successor, whoever he is, is expected to be less active in Middle East affairs.
2. US Senate Backs Netanyahu, Asks Obama to Pressure Abbas
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Eighty-seven U.S. senators—almost the entire 100-member Senate—have signed a letter to President Barack Obama that in effect blames the Palestinian Authority for freezing direct talks--at least for the time being--with Israel.
The Senators' letter may help counter anti-Israel international sentiment, led by the Obama administration. U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters Monday that the United States is “disappointed” that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not extend the 10-month moratorium on building. The freeze was instituted to satisfy Abbas’ condition for a resumption of direct talks, but he balked, arguing that it was not comprehensive and extensive enough.
A new poll reveals that President's Obama's peace-making efforts in the Middle East do not interest voters, whose attitude points to his becoming a one-term president for not succeeding in addressing issues such as economics, that do interest constituents.
The senators’ letter praises Prime Minister Netanyahu, who they pointed out "did not abandon the talks” despite “the brutal murder of four innocent Israeli civilians by Hamas militants at the start of the negotiations. We also agree with you [Obama] that it is critical that all sides stay at the table," the letter stated.
The senators sent the letter on Monday, according to the Foreign Policy website’s ”The Cable,” which described the message as including a “thinly veiled reference to Abbas's multiple statements that he would leave the talks if the moratorium was not extended.”
"Neither side should make threats to leave just as the talks are getting started," the letter stated. It was sent several hours before U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced he will return to the region this week in an effort to prevent the talks from being frozen indefinitely.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has not said he will carry out his threat to end the talks following Israel’s resumption of building for Jews in Judea and Samaria, but instead he has referred the issue to the Arab League for a decision next week, relieving himself of the responsibility.
3. Sarkozy Tries to Take Over for Obama in Mideast Talks
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Flamboyant French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Paris on Monday and announced he will ask to host a new summit with the PA, Israel and Egypt next month. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said he would be willing to talk with Abbas "at any time."
With Abbas placing the “diplomatic process” on hold following Prime Minister Netanyahu’s refusal to extend the 10-month building freeze on Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria, Sarkozy used stronger language than U.S. President Barack Obama to oppose renewed construction for Jews.
Instead of saying that renewed building is “harmful” to American efforts advance discussions for a New Arab country headed by the PA, Sarkozy stated. "The settlements must stop. Israel has a moratorium for 10 months and it should be extended for 3 to 4 months more to give peace a chance."
Israel leaders have pointed out several times that Abbas' originally demanded a building freeze and then refused to resume direct talks after the Israeli government conceded to American pressures and instituted the unprecedented moratorium. The PA argued that the building freeze was not comprehensive enough.
Although Abbas said he would refuse to resume talks if the freeze were not extended, he has reacted more diplomatically and placed the ball in the court of the Arab League, which is to meet next week to discuss their next move. “We will not have any quick reactions,'' Abbas said after meeting with Sarkozy.
A summit hosted by Sarkozy would take the momentum away from the Obama administration, which has failed to bridge the gaps between the PA and Israel.
He told reporters that American involvement is necessary but is not enough. "Nothing will be resolved without strong American backing," he said. "But does the strong commitment that's needed have to be exclusive? That's been the question for 10 years, since Camp David. If such an exclusive commitment was enough, we'd know it."
Sarkozy’s inclination to take the limelight in international discussions has reached as far as Al-Qaeda. After its terrorists kidnapped five French citizens and two others last week, Sarkozy’s aide stated, "We are ready to talk to the kidnappers," who are members of a wing of Osama bin Laden's international terrorist network.
France has been reported to have frequently paid kidnappers with cash and the release of prisoners in return for French citizens and the protection of French business interests.
Sarkozy’s offer to talk with the kidnappers came less than a month after he stated, “It can't be our only strategy to pay ransoms and to agree to free prisoners in exchange for unlucky innocent victims."
4. Diplomatic Tide Turns Against Abbas as He ‘Freezes’ Talks
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The constantly changing sands in the Middle East have left Abbas roasting under diplomatic heat as he faces blame for “freezing” talks with Israel.
He has frozen discussions with Israel while giving Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu five days to reinstate the building freeze on Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria. If Israel does not comply, Abbas said he will turn to the Arab League to consider the next step.
However, Prime Minister Netanyahu apparently has checked Abbas in what has become a diplomatic game of chess.
U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell hurriedly returns to Israel Tuesday in a frantic attempt to save the Obama administration’s diplomatic “momentum” effort from falling into a ditch that seems to get deeper by the day.
Mitchell and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been hoping to expand a proposed Palestinian Authority-Israeli agreement to a regional peace accord. Mitchell last week visited Lebanon and Syria, which also hosts the headquarters of the Hamas terrorist organization.
The U.S. envoy said that Syria and Lebanon, where Damascus and the Hizbullah terrorist party increasingly influence the country’s affairs, are keys to a regional peace.
American expectations that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu would find a way to overcome PA demands for a building freeze are fizzling out. The administration publicly said it was "disappointed” that Israel did not extend the 10-month moratorium on building, a move that was made under American pressure to satisfy Abbas’ condition for direct talks.
Despite the verbal criticism of Israel by the United States as well as the European Union and the United Nations, Abbas is increasingly viewed by media and analysts as the reason for the failure to sit down with Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has “managed to leave the dead cat [of prospective blame] at the doorstep of both the Obama administration and Mahmoud Abbas,” Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. peace negotiator, told Politico’s Ben Smith.
“Last summer, Israel owned the dead cat,” Smith wrote. “Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made plain their view that Netanyahu’s failure to stop all settlement construction on the West Bank was the obstacle to resumed talks, and after an ill-timed construction announcement, Clinton’s office released details of the unusual 43-minute tongue lashing she delivered to the Israelis.”
“There are people on both sides who have no confidence [in the peace process] and so the name of the game is who gets blamed," pro-PA think tank expert Hussein Ibish told Smith. “[That] is why the Palestinians can say a million times that they’ll walk out — but they can’t.”
Any doubt about support for Israel from Washington was removed on Monday when 87 senators—almost the entire U.S. Senate—signed a letter that effectively praised Prime Minister Netanyahu and blamed Abbes for the latest impasse.
5. Poll: Only 38 Percent Say Obama Deserves to be Re-Elected
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A new poll indicates that if U.S. President Barack Obama wants to improve his sagging popularity by solving the Palestinian Authority’s attempt to create a new country within Israel’s borders, he is going down the wrong road.
Only 38 percent of Americans think Obama deserves to be re-elected, according to the poll published by the Washington news site Poltico.com Monday. Significantly, most respondents ignored the Middle East and cited the economy and the Obama health plan as reasons for their discontent that, for the time being, point to President Obama's going into forced retirement in two years.
The George Washington University poll revealed that 44 percent of the respondents will definitely vote against President Obama and that another 13 percent will consider the option. The president’s overall approval rating remains under 50 percent.
The most likely replacement, according to the poll, is Republican Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney. Sarah Palin, who is the unofficial Tea Party front-runner, has enthusiastically loyal supporters, but they are a minority, outnumbered by Obama's supporters when faced with the choice of voting for Obama or Palin.
However, the Tea Party movement, the first serious third-party threat in 40 years, is on the road to help Republicans break the Democratic Congressional majority in this November’s mid-term elections, according to the Politico and other polls.
6. IDF to Restrict Jews during Arab Olive Harvest
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The IDF says it will prohibit Jews from entering some fields, including those in Jewish towns, during the olive harvest season, which begins in October and lasts through December.
"Civil Administration officials met with their Palestinian counterparts, representatives from various villages in the region, and Palestinian olive oil manufacturers in order to coordinate a schedule for the harvest," military spokesman said.
“The IDF and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) respect this mission with high importance and value, understand the cultural and economic significance of the olive harvest to the Palestinian people of the region, and will operate accordingly so as to allow for the harvest to occur," they added.
Several olive orchards are located in areas that Jewish communities claim as belonging to them, and altercations have been common the past several years.
The restrictions on Israelis may hinder efforts by left-wing and Arab activists who in the past have accused Jews of cutting down or damaging olive trees "that actually were pruned by Arabs and then shown to foreign photographers as if they had been damaged willfully by Israelis," Military spokesmen said Monday, Wen olive trees are pruned to increase productivity, they look as if they have been hacked.
“Various Israeli and international non-profit organizations are expected to be extensively involved in the Palestinian olive harvest,” the IDF stated. “Representatives of the Civil Administration have met with representatives of these organizations and have agreed on guidelines for their activity during the olive harvest.
“Israeli civilians will not be permitted to enter particular olive fields so as to prevent friction between different populations. Representatives of the Civil Administration, Israel Police and IDF will be present in these areas.”
7. Report: Government to Raze Home of Slain IDF Commander
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The government apparently has “compromised” and will destroy the home of a slain soldier because it allegedly sits on Arab land, Channel 10 has reported. A second home, belonging to another officer killed in action, will remain.
The government is scheduled in several days to answer a High Court petition, filed by Peace Now, demanding that nine homes located on the Yovel Hill in Samaria be destroyed because they did not have all of the required building permits. The neighborhood is part of the Jewish community of Eli, in northeast Samaria, and was dedicated in 1998.
Peace Now filed its petition five years ago, although Arabs had not claimed the land before then. One year after Peace Now turned to the court, Ro'i Klein, a resident of the neighborhood, was killed in the 2006 Second Lebanon War when he jumped on a live grenade that landed near him in order to save the troops under his command, leaving a widow and three chidlren.
The case has been in the discussion stage while the government tries to work out a compromise, which apparently has resulted in the Civil Lands Administration declaring that the home of Klein’s family is built on state land, while Peretz's family residence is on Arab land.
Hundreds of friends and supporters of Peretz, who was a Golani Brigade commander killed this year, visited the family’s sukkah during the holiday and turned to 500 Likud party members to put pressure on Knesset Members and Cabinet ministers to save the home.
Miriam Peretz, mother of the slain soldier, said she is optimistic that “everything will work out” and noted that what interests the widow’s family is a “life of faith and joy” as they sit in their sukkah.
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