vjp-global

http://forward.com/articles/191068/why-benjamin-netanyahu-may-look-at-the-math-and/?p=all Take Kerry's plan for Jordan Valley. It's not the Israeli military's dream scenario, but it's the best that has a chance of winning Palestinian acceptance. In fact, the Israeli military helped design it. That makes it harder for Bibi to reject it. That's bind number one. Bibi can argue, and rightly so, that generals and spooks don't make national policy in a democracy. That's what elections are for, and he was elected prime minister. If he doesn't like the deal, it's his prerogative to say no. On the other hand, when he looks at the elected Knesset, he realizes that the Israeli voters didn't vote for a government that would say no. Upwards of 60% voted for parties that would say yes. That's bind number two. It's not just American pressure that's pushing him toward the painful compromises ...

http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/191212/how-israels-politics-vs-security-rift-aids-jihadis/#ixzz2r9DqPTNg   Here's the gist: Israel is alarmed at the unraveling of the November 2012 Pillar of Defense cease-fire "understandings" and the increasing rocket fire from Gaza — 17 rockets fired in January alone as of Friday (and more since then). It wants Egypt, which acts as mediator between Israel and Hamas, to pressure Hamas to stop the rocket fire. But Egypt has lost influence over Hamas since the military deposed the Muslim Brotherhood government of Mohamed Morsi last July. The military government's approach is not to work with Hamas as Morsi did but to crack down on it. Hamas, in turn, complains that the Egyptian crackdown — particularly the mass destruction of smuggling tunnels, which squeezes the Gaza economy — weakens Hamas rule and reduces its ability to control the jihadi organizations that are doing the fi...

http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Labor-officials-lobby-Livni-Lapid-to-quit-confrontational-Netanyahu-coalition-338578 MK Shai calls on dovish elements of government to join "center-left" bloc that would compete with right. Yesh Atid will leave Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's governing coalition if the diplomatic process with the Palestinians does not advance, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid warned Saturday in an interview with Channel 10. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

16 Dem Senators Join AIPAC Against Iran Deal; Feinstein and TV's Chris Hayes Support Obama | Wallwritings http://wallwritings.me/2014/01/17/16-dem-senators-join-aipac-against-iran-deal-feinstein-and-tvs-chris-hayes-support-obama/?utm_source=Weekly+Digest+Jan+22%2C+2014&utm_campaign=December+18%2C+2013&utm_medium=email Sixteen Democratic U.S. Senators, including two with higher political aspirations, have joined Republican senators as co-sponsors of Senate legislation which might better be described as "the kill the Iranian nuclear pact" legislation. The legislation was presented to the Senate by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez  (D-NJ), major AIPAC Senate leaders for their respective political parties.. Posted by Sam Bryan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6z-tR14Pw0 Finance Minister Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party helped organize the demonstration. Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

http://qumsiyeh.org/americanstudiesassociation/ I am an academic living under Israeli brutal occupation and denied freedoms that are enjoyed by most people in the world.  I was arrested by Israeli authorities for simply participating in peaceful demonstrations expressing objections to Israeli apartheid policies.  Palestinian universities suffer from Israeli occupation policies including lack of freedom of movement and inability to get faculty and students from abroad (Israel regularly denies visas to them).   Dozens of military rules try to make education impossible including preventing import of basic educational material.  Gaza is even worse as its universities are under siege….Where is academic freedom when Israel bombed universities including the science faculty in Gaza? Where is freedom of speech when 7 million refugees, 60% of them under age 18 and some 20% are university-age, most of them denied ability to attend a university?...

http://972mag.com/?post_type=post&p=86117 After more than a month of continuous protests and actions, the African asylum seeker community in Israel declared Wednesday an 'International day of solidarity with the African asylum seeker community in Israel.' Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member