Evangelical faith drives Palin's pro-Israel view

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Written by Ralph Z. Hallow (Contact), Washington Times Ralph Z. Hallow (Contact), Washington Times

Published: 10 September 2008 10 September 2008

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ST. PAUL, Minn. | Sarah Palin displays an Israeli flag in her governor's office in Juneau, even though she has never been to the country, and attends Protestant evangelical churches that consider the preservation of the state of Israel a biblical imperative.
Her faith makes her a favorite with the staunchly pro-Israel neoconservative elements in the Republican Party.
But other Republicans may be concerned that a John McCain-Sarah Palin administration will disregard the caution of former President George H.W. Bush and some of his top advisers and continue the tilt toward Israel.
Most Republicans and conservatives outside Alaska know little about Mrs. Palin's foreign policy views - on Israel or anything else.
But Tucker Eskew, who holds the title of counselor to Mrs. Palin in the McCain-Palin campaign, left no doubt where she stands.
"She would describe herself as a strong supporter of Israel's, with an understanding of Israel's fear of an Iran in possession of nuclear weapons," Mr. Eskew told The Washington Times.
In June, Mrs. Palin told ministry students at her former church that in going to war with Iraq, the United States is "on a task that is from God," the Associated Press reported.
Mrs. Palin's brand of evangelical Protestantism is especially well-disposed to the preservation of Israel for biblical reasons, said Merrill Matthews, an evangelical Christian and a Dallas-based health-policy specialist.
Mrs. Palin was baptized as a teenager at the Wasilla Assembly of God Church. She frequently attends the Juneau Christian Center, which is also part of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God. Her home church is the Church of the Rock, an independent congregation.
"Historically, the Assemblies of God have been dispensationalists, which means they believe in 'the rapture' of Christians that takes them out of the world," said Mr. Matthews. "Central to that position is a very strong support for Israel. It's integral to their view of both prophecy and politics. Denying Israel is almost like denying the faith."
Meanwhile, she is getting rave reviews from Jewish Republicans.
"I think it is very telling that she has a flag of the state of Israel in her office," said Matthews Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. "That was not inspired by domestic politics, since there is a very small Jewish population in Alaska.
"The fact that she keeps the flag of Israel in her office means she has Israel in her heart," Mr. Brooks said. "I am confident the Jewish community will be impressed with the strong pro-Israel views of Governor Palin as she begins to travel the country and ... discuss the critical issues in this campaign."
On the Democratic side, presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama and his running mate, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., while not identifying with neoconservatism, have put themselves solidly in the friends of Israel camp.
"The essence of neoconservatism is the protection of Israel - a shared priority with evangelical Christians," said Paul Erickson, the Republican strategist who managed Pat Buchanan's presidential bid in 1992.
Chief among the McCain campaign's foreign policy advisers known for their neoconservative worldview is Randy Scheunemann, a former aide to Trent Lott and Bob Dole in the Senate.
Other neoconservative foreign policy analysts who have Mr. McCain's ear are former Clinton White House CIA Director R. James Woolsey Jr., who predicted that Iraq's Shi'ite Muslims would flock to support the U.S. in the event of war, and Robert Kagan, a co-founder of the neoconservative Project for the New American Century.
The Republican presidential hopefuls who competed with Mr. McCain earlier this year tended to share the same interventionist approach in foreign policy that is integral to the neoconservative worldview.
"There is an overwhelming presence of neoconservatives and absence of traditional conservatives that I don't know what to make of," said Richard V. Allen, former Reagan White House national security adviser.
In June, Mr. Obama pledged his support before a powerful pro-Israel lobby, though not couched in biblical or religious terms.
"I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington. "Let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel."
Not to be outdone, Mr. Biden appealed in person to elderly Jewish Floridians on Wednesday.
"I am chairman of the [Senate] Foreign Relations Committee," he said. "I give you my word as a Biden I would not have given up that job to be Barack Obama's vice president if I didn't in my gut and in my heart and in my head know that Barack Obama is exactly where I am on Israel. And he is."
On Monday, Mr. McCain told an AIPAC audience that a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would lead to "anti-Semitic rants and a worldwide audience for a man who denies the Holocaust."

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Written by Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - ICAHD-USA Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - ICAHD-USA

Published: 08 September 2008 08 September 2008

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"What we've done shows that people can do what governments should have done. If people stand up against injustice, we can truly be the conscience of the world."  --Jeff Halper

 

We have just heard that our request for re-funding has been rejected, in high probability because of pressure brought to bear by right-wing Israeli neo-cons who have campaigned obsessively against our funding while threatening publicly to close us down.  
 
So we now face a real crisis.
 
That said, those who want us "gone" make a mistake in assuming that we will close if our funding is withdrawn.  Our plan is to keep the office open and retain two staff; I will work on a voluntary basis until the financial picture improves.
 
We continue to be very grateful for the support we've received from the ICAHD-USA community; your contributions have been an important supplement to the EU funding, allowing us to launch the Constructing Peace Campaign.  Now we are turning to you for help; we must work together to preserve ICAHD's position as a leader in the Israeli peace movement.  
 
 I promise you, no matter what, ICAHD will not be silenced. 

Israeli police recommend charges for PM Olmert

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Written by CNN CNN

Published: 08 September 2008 08 September 2008

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• State prosecution office will decide whether to charge Ehud Olmert with corruption
  
• Recommendations stem from two ongoing probes involving Olmert
  
• "Talansky affair" involves allegations that he received illegal funds from American
  
• In "Rishon Tours affair," authorities say Olmert pocketed money for official travel
  

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli police on Sunday recommended that outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be indicted on corruption charges stemming from two investigations, a police spokesman said.

Police made the recommendation to Israel's attorney general and the state prosecution office, which will make the final call on whether to charge Olmert, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told CNN.

The recommendations stem from two ongoing probes involving Olmert, who served, most recently, as mayor of Jerusalem and minister of industry, trade and labor before he became prime minister in 2006.

Earlier this year, police began an investigation into the "Talansky affair," in which Olmert allegedly received illegal funds and bribes from Jewish-American businessman Morris Talansky.

In the "Rishon Tours affair," named for an Israeli travel agency, authorities are investigating whether Olmert pocketed money intended for official travel. 

The Jerusalem Post reported in July that police said they had evidence Olmert sought funding from multiple donors for the same trips. Using a fund created at the agency, he put the excess cash toward flights for family members while he was Jerusalem mayor and minister of industry, trade and labor.

Olmert has denied any wrongdoing. He announced on July 30 that he would resign as prime minister as soon as his Kadima party elects a new chairman. He cited "a wave of investigations and criticism" at the hands of his political opponents.

Kadima is scheduled to hold its party primary on September 17.

US air power triples deaths of Afghan civilians, says report

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Written by Richard Norton-Taylor Richard Norton-Taylor

Published: 08 September 2008 08 September 2008

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Civilian deaths in Afghanistan from US and Nato air strikes have nearly tripled over the past year, with the onslaught continuing in 2008 and fuelling a public backlash, a leading human rights group says today.

The report by Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch says that despite changes in the rules of engagement which had reduced the rate of civilian casualties since a spike in July last year, air strikes killed at least 321 civilians in 2007, compared with at least 116 in 2006. In the first seven months of this year at least 540 Afghan civilians were killed in fighting related to the armed conflict, with at least 119 killed by US or Nato air strikes, such as this July's attack on a wedding party which killed 47, says Human Rights Watch.

"There has been a massive and unprecedented surge in the use of air power in Afghanistan in 2008," the report says. It found that few civilians casualties were the result of planned air strikes on suspected Taliban targets. Instead, most were from air strikes during rapid response missions mostly carried out in support of "troops in contact" - ground troops under insurgent attack. Such strikes included situations where American special forces - normally small in number and lightly armed - came under insurgent attack.

"In response to increased insurgent activity, twice as many tons of bombs were dropped in 2007 than in 2006," the report says. "In 2008, the pace has increased: in the months of June and July alone the US dropped approximately as much as it did in all of 2006. Without improvements in planning, intelligence, targeting, and identifying civilian populations, the massive use of air power in Afghanistan will continue to lead to unacceptably high civilian casualties."

"Mistakes by the US and Nato have dramatically decreased public support for the Afghan government and the presence of international forces providing security to Afghans," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The report criticises the response given by US officials when civilian deaths occur. Before conducting investigations, US officials often immediately deny responsibility for civilian deaths or place all blame on the Taliban, the report says.

US investigations have been "unilateral, ponderous, and lacking in transparency, undercutting rather than improving relations with local populations and the Afghan government".

Last night the US military announced it would reopen its investigation of an air strike last month in which the Afghan government says 90 civilians, mainly women and children, were killed. An initial US inquiry found that up to 35 suspected insurgents and seven civilians died in the attack on Azizabad in Herat province, but General David McKiernan, the senior US officer in Afghanistan, announced a review in the light of "new information". Afghan and western officials say that videos of the bombing's aftermath shows dozens of dead civilians.