Free Republic

Israel's largest daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, reported on Wednesday that the Obama Administration is threatening Israel to either apologize to Turkey over its bloody interception of a Gaza aid flotilla last year, or risk strained ties with Washington. Israeli diplomats in Washington told the newspaper that they had received a communique from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisting that the rift between Israel and Turkey was harming American interests in the region, such as affecting regime change in neighboring Syria. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan demands that Israel publicly apologize for intercepting a May 2010 "humanitarian aid" flotilla...

Different Standards By Ari Bussel “And your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.” Leviticus 26:33 There is a monopoly on news and opinions for the Jewish community of Greater Los Angeles in one paper, the Jewish Journal. Not unlike most papers, the Journal’s existence was threatened until recently, when three local philanthropists injected a million dollars into its operations as silent investors. Some would say Rob Eshman, the Journal’s editor-in-chief, is a reflection of the community. In his latest editorial he wished for Israel to have acted differently with respect to the March on...

Timing by Ari Bussel It is all a question of timing. The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles by the urging of the Israeli Consulate General in Los Angeles held a rally to support Israel. It was a week after the Turkish Flotilla of Terror against the Jewish State. Among the many speakers were representatives of J Street, the so-called “Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace” camp, and Americans for Peace Now. When they spoke the public booed. Someone even shouted “Traitor!” That hurt the delicate feelings of the organizers on stage. Alas, the same afternoon, those “Jews for Peace” organized another demonstration in...

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey rallied behind Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his blistering condemnation of Israel after its commando raid on an aid ship to Gaza. But as dust settles from the May 31 attack, Turkey's resurgent opposition seems to be gaining traction by articulating fears that Erdogan is steering NATO's only Muslim member away from the West, jeopardizing EU membership efforts, and even undermining a long-running battle against separatist Kurds. The views of the Republican People's Party — which considers itself a guarantor of secular values and enjoys a power base among Western-leaning urban elites — are increasingly...

Two Approaches to Israel’s Public Diplomacy by Ari Bussel Dear Readers, As the news of the Flotilla started its advance through the world, very little information was coming from Israel. It was in the late evening hours of Sunday, May 30th, and Monday was Memorial Day Holiday in the United States. The Flotilla left on its break-the-blockade-or-die mission a week earlier, on or about the 24th of May. It was a surreal feeling, would there be any response as America was in a long holiday weekend. The Tsunami waves started hitting, their height several stories high, threatening to swallow everything...

Delegitimization from Within by Ari Bussel There is a new buzzword relating to Israel: Delegitimization. For some, particularly in the Israeli diplomatic corps, it is a relatively new discovery, for others the culmination of a process that started some 30 years ago. For a moment it seems all of Israel’s troubles would disappear if she knew how to fight Delegitimization. Where does “Delegitimization” begin? The process stems from within Israel proper and from amidst the Jewish communities in the Diaspora, predominantly the American Jewry. It has already passed the point of no return. While Delegitimization in its current manifestation continues...

SNIPPET: "The navy will operate under the assumption that groups of provocateurs are aboard any future ships that try to break the Israel-imposed sea blockade on the Gaza Strip, Deputy Commander of the Navy Rear-Admiral Rani Ben-Yehuda told The Jerusalem Post on Monday."

TEHRAN, June 14 - Iran is sending aid ships to blockaded Gaza, state radio said on Monday -- a move likely to be considered provocative by Israel which accuses Tehran of arming the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers, Hamas. One ship left port on Sunday and another will depart by Friday, loaded with food, construction material and toys, the report said. The boats would be part of international efforts to break Israel's isolation of the Gaza Strip. "Until the end of the Gaza blockade, Iran will continue to ship aid," said an official at Iran's Society for the Defence of the...

I am a Foot Soldier by Ari Bussel During a recent visit to Israel, I was invited to a discharge ceremony from the IDF. Having last served as an officer during the First Persian Gulf War, I am deemed nonessential, although I still see myself as a soldier fighting on the very front line today. Like me there are numerous other foot soldiers on Israel’s Public Diplomacy front, able and willing to serve, and doing what we can against all odds. We stand against a very capable, sophisticated and motivated enemy. We constantly ask ourselves why are we fighting when...

"What did the President know, and when did he know it?" asked Howard Baker about President Nixon during the Watergate hearings. The carefully planned May 31 ambush of Israeli naval commandos by armed Turkish martyrdom fanatics, in collusion with Jodie Evans of the radical leftist group Code Pink and along with Obama friends Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, raises precisely the same question. Most conspiracy theories are hogwash, but not all of them. Stalinism really was a conspiracy to infiltrate, sabotage, and ultimately conquer the West. It had some spectacular successes, like stealing nuclear secrets from the Manhattan Project, a feat...

Two Iranian ships intended to head for Hamas-controlled Gaza are waiting for their government's approval to challenge Israel on the high seas, escorted by "volunteer marines" that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to send "to teach Israelis a lesson." An Iranian Red Crescent official said the two ships are waiting for the Iranian foreign ministry to give the green light for launching, according to the French news service AFP, quoting the Iranian Mehr news service. The Red Crescent said a third ship probably would join the fleet. Red Crescent official Mojtaba Majd also claimed that more than 100,000 Iranians have...

PM Netanyahu: Investigation must include whole picture (Turkey) The world needs to know the whole picture and we will ensure that the whole picture is made public. Address by PM Netanyahu at The Marker Financial Conference Translation (Excerpt) PMO 09/06/2010 www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speechfinancial090610.htm We meet here every year to talk about Israel's economic policies, and I intend to do so today as well. However, before I speak about the economic policies, I would like to briefly touch on a topic on the international agenda. We are consulting with several figures within the international community regarding the appropriate procedure of inquiry that will...

In the aftermath of the Gaza flotilla incident, we have witnessed a tsunami of virulent, over-the-top criticism of the state of Israel for its actions in interdicting the so-called “peace activists” before they could dock at the port of Gaza. Reasonable people can argue whether the decision on the methods used to stop the ships was the correct course for the Israeli government to take. Indeed, there is a healthy debate within Israel itself over this very issue, including questions about intelligence, tactics, and whether the propaganda victory handed to pro-Palestinian activists could have been avoided while still maintaining the...

In response to the coordinated attack against Israel around the world by pro-Jihadist forces, Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs, syndicated columnist, blogger, and frequent Fox News guest has announced a major 'Stand with Israel' rally in New York City today at 6 PM outside the office of the Israeli Consulate. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamen Netanyahu.

Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas is calling the Israeli Raid on a Turkish Flotilla carrying supplies for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip a “massacre,” while Turkey is saying it will result in “irreparable consequences for Israel. This video report seems slanted in the Palestinians favor, but it does clearly state that Israel had warned the flotilla it would not be allowed to pass through the blockade which has been in place. Israel has the right to defend herself. If Israel had simply let this convoy of ships pass, it would have sent a signal to the rest of the Arab/Muslim world...

Here is raw video in two parts from the Israeli Raid on a Turkish Flotilla of ships taking aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. I believe this video is from Al-Jazeera, so understand that the reporter on board the ship is trying to cast the flotilla in the best possible light. But there is a lot of raw video here from during the raid, and a good deal of it with no commentary, or with commentary in a language other than English.