Goldstone: Israel Did Not Target Civilians in Gaza

On Friday, The Washington Post published an article by Richard Goldstone, the South African jurist whose UN report excoriated Israel for deliberately targetting civilians in Gaza during its defensive operation there from December 2008 to January 2009.

Well, now Goldstone states Israel did no such thing and if he knew now what he knew then his report would have drawn a different conclusion. While I suppose I ought to praise Goldstone for being willing to admit he was wrong. Yet I am troubled as to how he could have ever believed that it was Israel's policy to wantonly kill Palestinian civilians. Of course when one spends any amount of time amongst UN apparatchiks one is suspectible to believe any aspersion cast against Israel at face value.

Trump's Birther Buffoonery

I don't know if Donald Trump will seek the GOP nomination. Quite frankly I hope he doesn't because he really comes across as quite a buffoon. This was especially evident when he was discussing President Obama and the birther issue with Bill O'Reilly last night. I couldn't believe it when he said he had never seen a birth announcement. I guess that means he's never seen an obituary either.

The objective for 2012 is to see that President Obama is defeated at the ballot box. So let's say for argument's sake that Trump is a presidential candidate whether as the GOP standard bearer or as an independent (because he can certainly afford that option.) I can't see how Trump gets to the White House by questioning whether Obama was born in this country. Yes, of course, there are people who believe Obama wasn't born in the United States and we know that those people aren't going to vote for him anyway.

But what about the people who voted for Obama in 2008 but voted for Bush in 2004? What about the young people who cast their first vote for Obama and might now be having second thoughts? And what about first time voters who might be on the fence? You are not going to convince these people to cast a ballot for Trump if he insists on talking about where Barack Obama was on August 4, 1961. In fact, the more Trump talks about it the more he comes across as an unserious person who will ensure Obama's re-election. Whether we like it or not, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. If Republicans and conservatives are serious about ensuring there's no second term then we would be wise to focus our attention on what Obama has said and done from January 20, 2009 onward.

Sarah Palin hit the nail on the head last month when she said questions concerning Obama's birth were distracting and annoying. The same could be said for Donald Trump.

The Obamas & School Choice

With regard Joe Lawler's post about the Obama Administration's opposition to Speaker John Boehner's efforts to restore funding to the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) why is it that the Obamas can send their daughters to the school of their choice but would deny the same opporunity to their neighbors in the District of Columbia? If the Obamas truly believed in public education they would send their daughters to a public school. But when it comes right down to it President Obama doesn't really believe in the efficacy of public education. His support for public education begins and ends with the teachers' unions. In the grand scheme of things, it is a classic case of public education for thee but not for me.

UN Secretary General Bashes Israel

Yesterday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon lambasted Israel at a regional UN meeting in Uruguay.

So what else is new?

Ban specifically called on Israel to stop expanding settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as to ease the blockade on Hamas in Gaza. The Secretary General stated, "Actions that prejudge the outcome of the process must stop." If that wasn't enough Ban also praised the efforts of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank "to establish viable State institutions."

Frankly, I don't know what "viable State institutions" in the Palestinian Authority to which Ban was referencing. But the Secretary General made no mention of Mahmoud Abbas' overtures to Hamas, made no mention of its culpability in the massacre of the Fogel family, made no mention of the recent bombing in Jerusalem nor did he make any mention of the escalating rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza. I guess Ban doesn't deem Palestinian behavior constitute "actions that prejudge the outcome of the process."

Will Qaddafi Be Lured By Uganda's Healing Waters?

Yesterday, I asked who on earth would want Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi to come live in their country.

Well, today, a spokesman for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni stepped up and said Qaddafi was welcome to come and live amongst that nation's healing waters. However, at this point, there's no word from Tripoli if Qaddafi is planning a one way trip to Kampala.

I should note that shortly after I submitted yesterday's post a reader was kind enough to provide a link to an article written on AOL by Lauren Frayer speculating as to which countries would be amenable to granting Qaddafi asylum. Curiously, Uganda was not amongst them.

Assad: Uprisings Are An "American-Israeli Plot"

In his address to the Syrian parliament, Bashar al-Assad called the protests in Deraa an "American-Israeli plot." And to think that Assad is Hillary Clinton's idea of a Middle East "reformer."

Who The Hell Wants Qaddafi?

In his assessment of President Obama's speech on Libya, Quin Hillyer thinks it's not beyond the realm of possiblity that Qaddafi could leave office through diplomatic efforts:

Also, I warn conservatives not to be too quick to belittle Obama's goal of a regime change via diplomacy. With Qaddafi, it might just work. The man is a coward. When Reagan bombed him, he stayed mostly silent for 15 years -- apart from Lockerbie, which he denied having anything to do with. When we overthrew Saddam, he got so scared that he turned over all his nukes and lots of other weapons. I can EASILY see Qaddafi accepting some sort of arrangement like the shah did, as in a life in safe exile somewhere, with some of his wealth still available along with his retinue of bodyguard babes.

I agree that Qaddafi is a coward but I think he feared Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush far more than he does the Libyan rebels. As for NATO, they are also saying the mission is not to remove Qaddafi from office. In which case, one must ask how long are NATO members prepared to commit to this mission? Qaddafi could very well be in a position to wait them out. One doesn't hold onto power for four decades plus without a lot of patience and the money to go with it. But let's suppose Quin is right and Qaddafi does want to go into exile. Who the hell is going to want him?

Meanwhile in Syria

The Syrian cabinet resigned this morning. Of course, this isn't nearly as impressive as it sounds. After all, the Syrian cabinet is nothing more than a rubber stamp for Assad and this rubber stamp had outlived its usefulness. Assad is planning to make an address on Syrian state television tomorrow to say that he is large and in charge.

Veena Malik is One Very Brave Woman

Yesterday, both Andrew Stuttaford of National Review Online and Mark Hemingway of The Weekly Standard made a point of drawing our attention to a video (courtesy of MEMRI) of a Pakistani actress named Veena Malik standing up to a Pakistani Muslim cleric who had called her immoral for appearing last year on a reality show called in India called Big Boss (based on Big Brother.)

In Big Boss, Malik was physically affectionate with a Bollywood actor named Ashmit Patel. Malik drew anger in Pakistan not only because she embraced Patel but because Patel is Hindu. Relations between Muslims and non-Muslims are forbidden (unless, of course, the non-Muslim converts to Islam.) For these actions, Malik has been accused of humiliating "the whole country and also the good name of her motherland."

The confrontation took place on Pakistani television in January. Malik's willingness to stand up to a Muslim cleric is no small feat. Pakistanis who speak out for religious tolerance have been assassinated or under threat of assassination. Indeed, on January 4th, Punjabi Governor Salman Taseer was assassinated by one of his own bodyguards for his opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy laws. Shortly after Taseer's assassination Sherry Rehman, another Pakistani politician, went into hiding for her efforts to amend the blasphemy laws. Earlier this month, Shahbaz Bhatti was also assassinated for his opposition to the blasphemy laws. Bhatti was Pakistan's only non-Muslim cabinet minister. Suffice it to say that Veena Malik is one very brave woman.

The New York Times at a Crossroads

There's a lot of moving and shaking at The New York Times since announcing back in February that it would be overhauling its editorial pages.

Yesterday, Bob Herbert announced he was leaving The New York Times after 18 years to "write a book and expand my efforts on behalf of working people, the poor and others who are struggling in our society."

Earlier this month, Frank Rich wrote his last column after more than thirty years with The Gray Lady. He will be joining New York Magazine in June.

Does this mean Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd will soon also be leaving for greener pastures? And by greener I don't mean more environmentally friendly.

Geraldine Ferraro, 1935-2011. R.I.P.

Geraldine Ferraro passed away this morning of complications from multiple myeloma. She was 75.

Ferraro is, of course, best remembered for having been plucked from relative obscurity by Walter Mondale to be his running mate in the ill-fated 1984 Presidential election. Prior to her selection, Ferraro had been a three term Congresswoman from New York's 9th District. Despite the Mondale-Ferraro ticket winning only Mondale's home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia she nonetheless made American history as the first woman to appear on a presidential ticket. She also made history as the first (and only) American of Italian heritage to appear on a presidential ticket.

Ferraro later made two unsuccessful bids for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1992 and 1998. In between those attempts, President Clinton appointed her as Ambassador to the UN Commission on Human Rights.

Three years ago, Ferraro became the center of controversy when she said that Barack Obama would not be in the position to win the Democratic Party nomination if he were a white man or a woman of any color. Ferraro subsequently resigned from her position as a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton. For her part, Ferraro said the Obama campaign should have apologized to her for accusing her of racism.

Personally, I didn't agree with her observation. After all, Obama was able to generate a broader appeal than Jesse Jackson could never attain in his two bids for the White House. Nevertheless, I didn't believe her opinion was intended to be malicious.

Indeed, when I occasionally saw Ferraro on the Fox News Channel I found her take on things well grounded in reason and absent of animosity. While she clearly disagreed with conservatives her criticisms were generally constructive. She wasn't disrespectful towards conservatives. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of her fellow liberals.

With that here are Geraldine Ferraro and Sarah Palin appearing together for the only time at the Fox News election desk during the mid-term elections last November.

The Book of Mormon Debuts on Broadway

Last night the curtain rose on The Book of Mormon to rave reviews. This marks the Broadway musical debut of South Park co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone who collaborated with Robert Lopez of Avenue Q fame.

As a fan of South Park, I am sure The Book of Mormon is laugh out loud funny without being demeaning as they amply demonstrated with their "All About the Mormons?" episode which originally aired in 2003. Who knows? I might even try to get a ticket on my next trip to New York next month.

For its part, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints issued a statement last month which neither praised nor condemned the production. It is worth noting the contrast in the reaction of the Mormon church to that of the group Revolution Muslim. Nearly a year ago, one of Revolution Muslim's leaders Zachary Chesser (a.k.a. Abu Talhah al-Amrikee) encouraged violence against Parker and Stone for their two-part episode about the Prophet Muhammad. His threats were sufficient for Comedy Central to not only pull the Muhammad episodes but to also pull the 2001 episode "Super Best Friends" which also featured Muhammad. Chesser was recently sentenced to 25 years in prison in part for his threats against Parker and Stone.

I remind people of this incident to illustrate that while it is possible in this culture to create a Broadway musical about Mormons it is not possible to do the same with Muslims. Now I am sure that if Parker and Stone could do such a thing they would but they cannot. Even if they were prepared to stand up to death threats I doubt anyone in the world of Broadway would stand with them. It is amazing how our willingness to defend freedom of speech and freedom of expression recedes in the face of violence or even the threat of violence.

Canadians Appear Headed for the Polls

It looks like Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government is going to fall today. The Liberals have introduced a motion of non-confidence in response to the federal budget that was submitted earlier this week by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. If the government falls, Canadians will elect a new parliament sometime in May.

Frankly, I don't understand why the Liberals have decided to topple the government now. After all, a poll that was released last weekend by Nanos Research had the Conservatives leading the Liberals by double digits (38.6% to 27.6%). Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff is also the least trusted of the three major national political leaders. Ignatieff is well behind both Harper and New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jack Layton on that score. As late as yesterday, an Ipsos-Reid poll had the Tories ahead of the Liberals by nearly 20 points (43% to 24%).

It is also worth noting that according to another Ipsos-Reid poll, half of all Canadians do not want an election at this time. Indeed, if the Tory government falls it will be the third election in a little over five years.

Now I could understand Ignatieff doing this if the Liberals were up in the polls by double digits and if he was the most popular leader in the country. But it seems to me that if half of all Canadians don't want an election a lot of them aren't going to vote Liberal. Now I realize that a week in politics is a lifetime. Harper could make a mistake and Ignatieff could capitalize. But unless Ignatieff becomes Prime Minister in the next 60 days or so then his political career is done.

So methinks Stephen Harper will remain Prime Minister. The only question is whether Harper will lead another minority government or if he and the Conservatives will be given a chance at majority rule.

UPDATE: Prime Minister Harper met with Governor General David Johnston this morning to advise him to dissolve Parliament. Canadians will go to the polls on May 2nd.

Is Romney Really a Tea Party Favorite?

I am sure I am not the only one who shares Jim Antle's skepticism about the Pew Research poll which has Mitt Romney as the favorite potential GOP presidential contender amongst Tea Partiers.

Take note of the wording in the poll. It reads, "Among those who say they agree with Tea Party movement, 24% say Romney would be their first choice, 19% say Huckabee, 15% say Gingrich, 13% say Paul and 12% say Palin." One should also take note of the Tea Party question itself. It asks, "From what you know, do you agree or disagree with the Tea Party movement, or don't you have an opinion either way?"

So what exactly does it mean when someone says they agree with the Tea Party movement? It could mean that they like the Tea Party's positions on certain issues or that they like the fact that they are making their voices heard in the public square. But just because someone agrees with the Tea Party doesn't necessarily make that person a Tea Party activist. I think there's a world of difference between someone who admires the Tea Party from afar and someone who is intimately involved with the Tea Party.

There are few things that Tea Party activists hold in higher disdain than Obamacare. The idea that the architect of Romneycare has any resonance with Tea Party activists just doesn't pass the laugh test.

It is also curious that Michele Bachmann, a big Tea Party favorite who now appears to be forming an exploratory committee for a White House bid, did not appear on the Pew list of possible Republican presidential candidates.

Thoughts on Scott Brown & Planned Parenthood

With respect to Senator Scott Brown's unwillingness to eliminate federal funding for Planned Parenthood, John Guardiano writes, "Sure I understand that Brown faces re-election in overwhelmingly liberal Democrat Massachusetts. No one expects him to be a stalwart advocate for unborn children. But is it really asking him too much for him to oppose appropriating taxpayer funds to subsidize abortion?"

But is it really fair to say that Brown supports appropriating taxpayer funds to subidize abortion? Consider Brown's statement on the matter 48 hours ago:

I support family planning and health services for women. Given our severe budget problems, I don't believe any area of the budget is immune from cuts. However, the proposal to eliminate all funding for family planning goes too far. As we continue with our budget negotiations, I hope we can find a compromise which is reasonable and appropriate.

While Brown opposed to federal funding for abortion during his Senate run last year I don't think anything in his statement changes that position. Even if one objects to Planned Parenthood for providing abortion services it isn't the only service they provide. Thus it is entirely possible to continue to oppose federal funding for abortion but to continue to support federal funding for other services such as breast cancer screening.

Of course, the flip side to that argument is if federal funds are allocated to Planned Parenthood what is to prevent them from diverting funds intended for mammograms into abortion services? Well, nothing really. So while it's possible that Brown might not intend for Planned Parenthood to receive federal funding for abortion whatever compromise he might be involved with could end up doing so anyway.

For his part, Guardiano isn't calling for conservatives here in Massachusetts to dump Brown - at least not yet. He writes, "At some point, after all, conservatives must conclude that it is better to lose on principle than to win by jettisoning core beliefs."

It might very well come to that. But do Bay State conservatives really want Deval Patrick or Mike "Let's Get a Little Bloody" Capuano to be their next Senator?

Gene Simmons Gives Israel Boycotters a Tongue Lashing

Gene Simmons, currently in Israel filming episodes of his A&E reality show Gene Simmons' Family Jewels, has taken some of his fellow musicians to task for refusing to perform in Israel. The Kiss bassist has called musicians like Elvis Costello "fools" for boycotting the Jewish State. In an interview with the Associated Press, Simmons said, "The countries they should be boycotting are the same countries that the populations are rebelling."

You could say that Simmons has given them a well-deserved tongue lashing.

Explosion at Jerusalem Bus Stop

An explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem has wounded 25 people, four of them seriously. No fatalities have been reported as of this writing.

The explosive appears to have been placed into a bag and then detonated.

This attack follows the resumption of rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. On Saturday, Hamas fired more than 50 rockets into Israel.

UPDATE: One woman was killed as a result of the bombing.

Elizabeth Taylor, 1932-2011. R.I.P.

Actress Elizabeth Taylor passed away this morning. She was 79.

Taylor burst onto the Hollywood scene at the age of 12 with her performance in National Velvet. The peak of her career took place from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s as she was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two Best Actress statues for BUtterfield 8 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

In later years, Taylor became better known for her marriages and health problems than for her acting. In all, she was married eight times to seven different men. She was twice married to Richard Burton and once married to former Virginia Republican Senator John Warner.
I remember Taylor being a frequent target of Joan Rivers in the early 1980s because of her weight although the two did eventually bury the hatchet. As I recall, they joined forces for an AIDS benefit. Taylor became associated with raising money for AIDS charities after her friend Rock Hudson went public with his condition.

Palestinians Don't Want Their Children Learning About The Holocaust

The Hamas government in Gaza has angrily reacted to a plan by the UN to teach Palestinian schoolchildren about the Holocaust.

Hamas Education Minister Mohammed Asqoul stated, "Playing with the education of our children in the Gaza Strip is a red line." Well, of course it would. The Hamas narrative is that the Holocaust was cooked up the Jews themselves. Besides if Palestinian schoolchildren were actually taught about the Holocaust it might interfere with their daily chants of "Death to Israel!!!" and "Death to the Jews!!!" during recess.

The Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank also opposes the UN plan. This should also come as no surprise. Let us not forget that the "moderate" Mahmoud Abbas wrote his doctoral thesis on Holocaust denial describing the deaths of six million Jews as a "rumor."

Open Season on Conservatives & Jews at McGill

Apparently, it's open season on conservatives and Jews at McGill University in Montreal.

Earlier this month, the McGill Conservative & Libertarians clubs sponsored a screening of the film Indoctrinate U, a documentary about left-wing bias on university campuses in North America. A student named Haaris Khan was amongst those in attendance. The film must have made quite the impression because Khan took to Twitter and said amongst other things "I want to shoot everyone in this room," and "I should have brought an M-16." Khan also described the documentary as "a Zionist/Conservative propaganda film." It should be noted that the screening was sponsored by McGill's Conservative & Libertarian clubs. The day after the screenings, Khan tweeted, "The jihad begins today."

Incredibly, McGill declined to discipline Khan. Montreal police, however, are continuing their investigation into the incident. However, I would be surprised if criminal charges are forthcoming. For his part, Khan has issued your standard non-apology apology in which he insists he is not anti-Semitic because his sister-in-law and niece are Jewish but proudly declares, "I am an anti-Zionist."

Mookie Kideckel, an editor at The McGill Tribune, is not surprised by the turn of events:

The morning before we published the story about Haaris Khan's tweets last week, I think I startled one of my fellow editors. She was convinced that the story was a huge deal, that there would be a unanimous outcry, that this was one of those things that transcends politics and gets right to the roots of how people are supposed to treat each other. I was a bit more blasé. Sure, I said, this is some scary stuff. But we're talking about words that mention Jews here. That's not "real racism." A lot of people will be upset about this, but many will find ways to dismiss it as nothing, thinking that so much as printing that article is little more than another conservative attack against innocent Muslims daring to question Israel's hegemonic power. She disagreed, and I hoped my cynicism would be disproven. Unfortunately, in this case, I think I turned out to be right.

Not only is Kideckel right but I think we will not only see more incidents like this on college campuses but we will also see more university administrations unwilling to do anything about them.

Sheriff Sarkozy

John Guardiano praises French President Nicolas Sarkozy as "the new sheriff in town" with regard to initiating military action in Libya. I think Guardiano is correct in his assessment becaue without Sarkozy I still think there would be much dithering.

Guardiano notes that both Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron got spooked with what was happening on the ground in Libya given that Libya "is in their backyard." He also notes that it is not coincidental that both men are conservatives. But I would point out that Libya is every bit as much in Germany's backyard and that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is surely as conservative as either Sarkozy or Cameron. Yet Germany opposed the no-fly zone from the outset and abstained during the Security Council vote.

As for the Brits, I think they would have been on board with this action regardless of whether a Conservative or a Labour government was in power.

But could you imagine Jacques Chirac (or for that matter his old Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin) leading a military campaign in Libya much less supporting one? Sarkozy and Chirac have both led the Union for a Popular Movement but never has one political party produced two more diametrically opposed leaders.

Indeed, who could have imagined that France would produce a President more pro-American than our own?

Thoughts on Libya

I have to confess that I was surprised that UN Security Council authorized a ceasefire with provisions for a no-fly zone over Libya yesterday. After all, the no-fly zone over Iraq was undertaken at the initiative of the United States, the United Kingdom and France, not the UN.

So when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week that the UN not the US had to take the lead with regard to a no fly zone on Libya I don't think she envisioned the UN Security Council would actually go ahead and take the lead.

Which is why I find it curious that some like Mark Krikorian thinks the United States is in for an open-ended commitment in Libya. Not only do I think an open-ended commitment isn't in the plans but I also think President Obama is still reluctant to commit to any action at all as evidenced by his declaration this afternoon that he will not send in ground troops despite his threat of military action. Let's not forget that this is the same man who a year ago wouldn't let our flag at U.S. military compounds in Haiti because it would "send the wrong message." If President Obama was afraid to send the wrong message while providing relief supplies to earthquake victims in Haiti you can be sure he is worried about sending the wrong message where it concerns Libya even if it would prevent a mass slaughter of innocent civilians.

The other thing to consider here is what kind of military commitment the U.K., France and the Arab League are prepared to make and for how long. If David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy and Amr Moussa are prepared to take the lead and are willing to see things through to a satisfactory resolution then by all means. But if that were to be the case then I think it would reflect poorly on President Obama and the United States if Britain and France and members of the Arab League were willing to protect innocent civilians from a tyrant while we sat on the sidelines. We should never forget that this was the tyrant whose regime was responsible for the deaths of American civilians on Pan Am Flight 103. So even if the Obama Administration doesn't want to take the lead in Libya I don't think it can sit it out altogether.

Aristide Returns to Haiti

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide has returned to Haiti after seven years in exile apparently over the objections of President Obama. Aristide's returns comes 48 hours before Haitians go to the polls to elect a new President.

I wonder if Haitian authorities will charge Aristide with corruption as they did with Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier following his return to Haiti in January after nearly a quarter century in exile.

A Thought for Tarek Fatah

Last August, Tarek Fatah, one of Canada's most prominent Muslim public figures, received a good deal of attention in this country when he co-wrote an article with Raheel Raza in The Ottawa Citizen opposing the Ground Zero Mosque.

Back in the late 1990s, when I was still living in Canada and active with the New Democratic Party (NDP), I was acquainted with Tarek when we served together on the Ontario NDP Resolutions Committee.

Today, it came to my attention that Tarek was diagnosed with spinal cancer last month. I learned this when I read an article written by his daughter Natasha, who is a radio producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. At present, she reports her father remains hospitalized and unable to walk. But she also points out that he is still able to think as clearly as ever and is writing his thoughts on Facebook from his hospital bed. I am sure he has a long road ahead of him but it looks like he's won half the battle.

So let me take this moment to wish Tarek a full and speedy recovery. Voices of reason in the Muslim world aren't easy to come by and Tarek's voice is surely needed now more than ever. I mean it isn't everyday that a Muslim writes a book titled The Jew Is Not My Enemy.

Palin to Visit Israel

On Sunday, Sarah Palin will travel to Israel along her with husband Todd. They are expected to stay for about 48 hours. Amongst other things, Palin will visit with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

Prior to her arrival in Israel, Palin will speak at a conference in New Delhi, India.

Palin has long been an admirer of Israel. When she was Governor of Alaska she kept an Israeli flag in her office. It is also not unusual to see Palin sporting a lapel bearing both the American and Israeli flags. She has also frequently criticized President Obama for his policies towards Israel particularly where it concerns Israeli settlements. Not only does not she not agree with a settlement freeze she believes there should be an expansion. It was one year ago yesterday that Palin called upon the Obama Administration to reset its relations with Israel after they embarked upon a row with Israel over settlement construction in East Jersualem. Consider her words of wisdom:

Once again, the Obama Administration is missing the boat on a very, very important issue. They need to go back to basics and acknowledge Palestinian leaders have not progressed any peace process since President Obama was elected. As Israel makes concessions (and is still criticized by the Obama Administration), Arab leaders are just sitting back waiting for the White House to further pressure Israel. The Obama Administration needs to open its eyes and recognize that it is only Iran and her terrorist allies that benefit from this manufactured Israeli controversy.

Amen to that.