IN THIS BRIEFING: On the Ground in Palestine: One Article Bush's Speech and "New" Middle East Initiatives: Four articles Christians and Zionism: Two Articles and a great video Iraq: New York Times Misleads Again (1 Article) On the Ground in Palestine: Two Weeks in the Occupied Territories; Report from the Land of Apartheid By STANLEY HELLER The two babies lay nearly side by side in the incubator. One had eyes open, the other shut. It's against medical standards to put more than one child in an incubator, but with only six working incubators in the hospital in Jenin they had to double up. Jenin Hospital, in the north of the West Bank, is the only hospital in the Jenin Governate. It serves 350,00 people with 123 beds. At the moment the hospital has no working ambulance. At one time it had three. Two were destroyed by Israeli missiles during this uprising. In one the doctor inside, Khalil Sulaiman, was martyred. The last working one suffered a car accident last week and it will take another week to repair it. The wards were crowded. In the pediatric wing each small room had three beds and not much medical equipment. There is no air conditioning though temperatures in summer are at least in the 80's. Hospital officials said the hospital was getting aid from Europe, but it's been cut off. Full Article: http://www.thestruggle.org/ ***************************************** Bush's Speech: (1) Bush Launches A New Middle East Initiative; Middle East Peace Is At Hand. Again. by Phyllis Bennis July 25, 2007 Pretty much no one is taking it seriously. Even mainstream analysts usually willing to take Bush administration Middle East initiatives at face value are rolling their collective eyes. The New York Times' senior correspondent Steven Erlanger immediately acknowledged that Bush's latest "vision," a U.S.-Israeli-Fatah alliance creating a model Palestine in the West Bank designed to snub the isolated "Hamastan" in Gaza, is not a "vision shared by other American allies or other members of the so-called quartet - Russia, the European Union and the United Nations." (Yes even the Times said "so-called" quartet.) It is also "doubtful that the Saudis share Mr. Bush's analysis, since they have been urging Hamas and Fatah to get back together again?" A different Times article included a succinct headline identifying the real reason for the latest initiative: "Mired in Iraq, U.S. Seeks to Begin Building a Palestinian State." Full Article: http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=22&ItemID=13369 (2) Bush`s credibility deficit (Palestinian reactions to the proposed `Regional Conference`) Khaled Amayreh - Al-Ahram - (...) the kind of state the Palestinians have in mind would include 100 per cent of the occupied territories, with East Jerusalem as its capital. They are unlikely to trade that vision for a territorially disconnected state lacking sovereignty and authority, whatever the blandishments offered in the remaining months of the Bush presidency. Full article: http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=21265 (For another Palestinian perspective on the irrelevance of the "peace games" currently being played by the U.S. and Israel, see "One Week in July" by Sonja Karkar at http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article7140.shtml) (3) Uri Avnery: A Trap for Fools (July 21, 2007) IN A classical American western, the difference is as glaring as the midday sun in Colorado: there are Good Guys and Bad Guys. The good ones are the settlers, who are making the prairie bloom. The bad ones are the Indians, who are blood-thirsty savages. The ultimate hero is the cowboy, tough, humane, with a big revolver or two, ready to defend himself at all times. George Bush, who grew up on this myth, sticks to it even now, when he is the leader of the world's only superpower. This week he presented the world with an up-to-date western. In this western - or, rather, middle eastern - there are also Good Guys and Bad Guys. The good ones are the "moderates", who are the allies of the US in the Middle East - Israel, Mahmoud Abbas and the pro-American Arab regimes. The bad ones are Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran, Syria and al-Qaeda. Full Article: http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1185055294/ (4) Israel and Palestine: An Invitation to Negotiate by Daniel Levy Guardian, July 19, 2007 (Ed. Note: An overly optimistic view, but interesting) Can anything good possibly come out of President Bush`s Middle East speech earlier this week and the flurry of diplomatic activity that will come in its wake beginning today with the Quartet meeting in Lisbon, Portugal? First of all, let`s be clear. The speech represented more of the same failed policies with even less chance of success. Anyone who thinks that the new speech was a constructive contribution should read an op-ed by Michael Oren in yesterday`s Wall Street Journal that was distributed by the official White House Jewish Public Liaison, presumably signifying that Oren`s interpretation has formal blessing. Oren, of the Shalem Center, a Jerusalem-based, neocon-sympathetic creation of Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote the following: `Mr. Bush has not backtracked an inch from his revolutionary Middle East policy. Never before has any American president placed the onus of demonstrating a commitment to peace so emphatically on Palestinian shoulders...the bulk of his demands were directed at the Palestinians... Mr. Bush set unprecedented conditions for Arab participation in peace efforts.` Full article: http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=21268 **************************** Christians and Zionism Note: Christians United For Israel (CUFI) held a large "Rally for Israel" a few months back at the Madison Overture Center, supported by the Madison Jewish Community Council but protested by Jewish Voice for Peace and many others outside and in the media. The first article offers a perspective about the danger posed by CUFI and similar groups, while the second discusses both CUFI and a new alternative position by some Evangelicals. These are followed by a truly amazing video shot by someone who attended CUFI's big national rally in Washington, DC. (1) M.J. Rosenberg writing in the Israel Policy Forum, Washington DC, uly 27, 2007, Issue # 332 CUFI: Loving Israel to Death Some friends of Israel are playing with fire. I am referring to those who either welcome, or are untroubled by, the increasing influence of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a rightwing evangelical outfit which last week held a sensational all-star extravaganza here in Washington. CUFI is run by Pastor John Hagee whose last Washington appearance was this spring when he keynoted the AIPAC convention and was continuously interrupted by applause and standing ovations. This is some of what the Forward’s Nathan Guttman had to say about the this month’s CUFI conference: “Instead of delivering an introduction to Israeli ambassador Sallai Meridor, Evangelical leader and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer delivered a passionate appeal against any Israeli territorial compromise to the Palestinians. ‘Tell the people in Israel,’ Bauer said to Meridor, ‘that we are praying that they never give up — even under American pressure. Never give up even one centimeter.’ ” Full Article: http://www.ipforum.org/display.cfm?Rid=2491 (2) Coalition of Evangelicals Voices Support for Palestinian State function getSharePasskey() { return 'ex=1343448000&en=8b6e81794fed2670&ei=5124';} function getShareURL() { return encodeURIComponent ('http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/us/29evangelical.html'); } function getShareHeadline() { return encodeURIComponent('Coalition of Evangelicals Voices Support for Palestinian State'); } function getShareDescription() { return encodeURIComponent('More than 30 evangelical leaders are stepping forward to say that those claiming a biblically-mandated hard line of support for Israel do not speak for them. '); } function getShareKeywords() { return encodeURIComponent ('Religion and Churches,Evangelical Movement,International Relations,Israel'); } function getShareSection() { return encodeURIComponent('us'); } function getShareSectionDisplay() { return encodeURIComponent('National'); } function getShareSubSection() { return encodeURIComponent(''); } function getShareByline() { return encodeURIComponent('By LAURIE GOODSTEIN'); } function getSharePubdate() { return encodeURIComponent('July 29, 2007'); } By LAURIE GOODSTEIN Published: July 29, 2007 by the New York Times In recent years, conservative evangelicals who claim a Biblical mandate to protect Israel have built a bulwark of support for the Jewish nation — sending donations, denouncing its critics and urging it not to evacuate settlements or forfeit territory. Now more than 30 evangelical leaders are stepping forward to say these efforts have given the wrong impression about the stance of many, if not most, American evangelicals. Full article and link to complete letter: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/us/29evangelical.html?ex=1343361600&en=b7569d16881e006f&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss (3) Video "Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour" http://vimeo.com/251385 (For more on this topic, see US evangelicals at odds on embracing Israel by Bill Berkowitz, The Electronic Intifada, 3 August 2007 at http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article7146.shtml) ********************************************************************* Iraq: The NYT's New Pro-War Propaganda By Robert Parry (July 30, 2007 at consortiumnews.com Ed. Note: The New York Times recently editorialized against the Iraq War, without admitting its own culpability in creating public backing for that disaster. (Remember Judith Miller?) This article is important reading if you thought anything had really changed there. No need to wait until September. Its already obvious how George W. Bush and his still-influential supporters in Washington will sell an open-ended U.S. military occupation of Iraq just the way they always have: the war finally has turned the corner and withdrawal now would betray the troops by snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. At one time, the Iraq story line was how many schoolrooms had been painted or how well the government security forces were doing. Now there are new silver linings being detected that will justify a positive progress report in September and the U.S. news media is again ready to play its credulous part....Another key element of the coming propaganda campaign was previewed on the op-ed page of the New York Times on July 30 as Michael E. O’Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack of the Brookings Institution portrayed themselves as tough critics of the Bush administration who, after a visit to Iraq, now must face the facts: Bush’s “surge” is working. Full article: http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/073007.html