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After being taken to task by Jeffrey Goldberg and Shmuel Rosner - and presumably by her bosses at the Times - newly named New York Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Jodi Rudoren has toned down her Twitter account. There were a total of five tweets yesterday, four of which had no obvious connection to the Middle East. The other one thanked people for their advice and reading suggestions.Rudoren also

YNet is reporting that Hezbullah attempted to assassinate Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Singapore this week. Kuwait's Al-Jarida newspaper reported Thursday that Israel was able to prevent an assassination attempt on Defense Minister Ehud Barak, during his visit to Singapore this week.According to the report, the Mossad – collaborating with local authorities – was able to stop the

Richard Falk, who once lauded Ayatollah Khomeni's human rights record, and who published an anti-Semitic cartoon on his web site, is concerned over an Islamic Jihad terrorist who has been on a hunger strike for more than 60 days in an Israeli jail. The only reason the rantings of this raving lunatic are news is that he happens to occupy the position of 'United Nations Special Rapporteur on the

Yes, really. Holocaust denier Norman Finkelstein admits that the BDS'ers (boycott, divest, sanctions) want to eliminate Israel. And no, that doesn't mean that he doesn't support BDS.Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Jack W). A transcript follows (sorry - I would have run this last night, but I could not stay awake long enough to watch it). I've earned my right to speak my mind, and I'm not

Doug Ross has discovered the 'Obama truth team's spiffy new logo. No, that's not it at the top of this post. Click through to see it (Hat Tip: Jack W).

In an interview on Israel Radio on Thursday morning, Israel's Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, was dismissive of the progress that Iran is making toward acquiring a nuclear weapon. According to Barak, Iran has not reached the point of no return. There is still time to stop them.The White House agrees. The US also downplayed Iran's latest announcement of nuclear progress, saying Tehran's reported

This video will answer the question, Where does the name Palestine come from? Who are The Palestinians, and where do they come from?Let's go to the videotape.

Here's Modim (We are grateful) from the Sheves Achim album.Let's go to the videotape.

I don't know how many of you have been following the controversy of the use of a film about Islam in New York Police Department but here's a video that sums it up.Let's go to the videotape.

Most Americans want Iran stopped, even if it requires force, and more of them want the United States to do it rather than Israel. The public supports tough measures – including the possible use of military force – to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Nearly six-in-ten (58%) say it is more important to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it means taking military

It's just a 30-minute flight away, but no Israeli Prime Minister has ever been there. That's about to change. Prime Minister Netanyahu will be visiting Cyprus on Thursday (Hat Tip: Joshua I). Netanyahu’s trip shows the degree to which relations with Cyprus, which until four years ago was considered among the most hostile countries to Israel in Europe, have dramatically improved.Now, one

Evelyn Gordon has a couple of recent examples of instances where ignorance of language, customs or history resulted in a misunderstanding of events. An Israeli soldier at a checkpoint had asked a Palestinian, in Hebrew, to show some identification. An observer from the Temporary International Presence in Hebron was standing nearby, along with a local Palestinian translator, as the observer speaks

On Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad loaded the first Iranian-made nuclear fuel rods, containing 20% enriched uranium, into a 'research reactor' north of Tehran. Ahmadinejad celebrated his country's breakthrough. "The president loaded 20 percent enriched rods into the Tehran Reactor... it is a sign of Iranian scientists' achievements," said state TV, which broadcast the ceremony

Turkey has met with Saudi Arabian representatives, and decided to continue to make Iran its primary oil supplier. The sources said Ankara's intentions became clear after a high level delegation travelled to Riyadh over the weekend and decided against requesting additional supplies from top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, the only producer in the world that has spare volumes to offer to replace Iranian

Reuters is reporting that Iran has neutralized the Stuxnet computer worm that had infected its nuclear facilities. US and European officials, who insisted on anonymity when discussing a highly sensitive subject, said their governments' experts agreed that the Iranians had succeeded in disabling Stuxnet and getting it out of their machinery.The officials declined to provide any details on how

Okay, I admit it. I've had the Twitter feed of Jodi (Wilgoren) Rudoren open since her appointment as New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief was announced last night. And with all of the caveats about following and retweeting not being an endorsement - which is something that all of us who use Twitter try to bear in mind - some of the tweets I have seen there are deeply disturbing. Adam Kredo has

The European Union may ban certain Iranian entities from using the Belgian-based SWIFT bank transfer system, a move that would make it extremely difficult for those entities to pay and be paid for goods and services. The system, known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or Swift, oversees the network used by most of the world's largest banks to conduct financial

Twice in the last two weeks, 'Palestinian Authority' television has played a song in which they wish for a world without Israel.Let's go to the videotape.More here.

NATO has assured Iran that NATO's missile shield will not be used against Iran unless Iran attacks a NATO member. Israel is not a NATO member (Hat Tip: Joshua I). In an exclusive interview with Today's Zaman in Brussels last week, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen added his voice to the growing regional controversy over the nascent missile defense system, telling Iranians that they

Sky News is reporting that Iran and al-Qaeda are cooperating in planning terror attacks, possibly including the London Olympics this summer. Iran and al Qaeda's core leadership under Ayman al Zawahiri have established an "operational relationship" amid fears the terror group is planning a spectacular attack against the West.There are concerns such an attack, possibly targeting the Olympics, would

Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler for Wednesday, February 15. 1) New NYT Jerusalem Bureau chiefEthan Bronner in an e-mail to Politico explains why he's leaving his post as the New York Times bureau chief in Israel: My son, who is 22, not 21, left the Israeli army a year ago. And I have not been reassigned. I asked to return. It has been 4 years, my parents are in their 90s and I

Republican Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum slammed the Obama administration as being a bunch of 'elite snobs' at a Boise, Idaho rally on Tuesday night (Hat Tip: Jack W via HotAirPundit). Rick Santorum blasted President Barack Obama's administration as "elite" for dismissing the so-called Ryan Plan, using a word that tends to play well with conservative audiences."Don't you see how they see you

Would we have been better off with John McCain as President rather than Barack Hussein Obama? This video might make you wonder.Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Jack W via Fire Andrea Mitchell).Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.comOh no. John McCain wants to give money to the Muslim Brotherhood? What could go wrong?

Despite the fact that the bombs in Thailand were remarkably similar to those used in India and Georgia on Monday (Hat Tip: Will), and despite the fact that two Iranian nationals have been arrested in connection with Tuesday's blasts in Thailand, Iran denies that it is involved in any of the three sets of bombings that were carried out this week. Iran denied any role in bomb blasts in Thailand and

An anti-Semitic speaker is being featured at three California state university campuses - Fresno State, Cal. Poly San Luis Obispo and Cal. State Northridge - at taxpayer expense (Hat Tip: Amcha Initiative via Twitter).Let's go to the videotape.What - no Berkeley and no Irvine? I'm shocked....

A Thai official said on Wednesday that three bombing attempts that were perpetrated by Iranian nationals in the Asian nation on Tuesday all targeted Israeli diplomats. "These three Iranian men are an assassination team and their targets were Israeli diplomats including the ambassador," a senior Thai intelligence official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity."Their plan was to attach bombs

Judea Pearl, the father of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl HY"D (May God avenge his blood), surprised his listeners at the Simon Wiesenthal Center on Monday night with a scathing indictment of anti-Zionism. Pearl, father of slain reporter Daniel Pearl, used the annual lecture on the “state of anti-Semitism” to upend conventional thinking, and argue that anti-Zionism is a strain

Congressional sources have told the Jerusalem Post that Congress is more than willing to make up President Obama's cuts in spending for Israel's missile defense program - and then some. The cut to the US-Israel cooperative programs has provoked criticism from some quarters.“For an administration that tried to claim that it’s the best for Israel’s security, cutting critical funds for missile

Where did the name Nablus come from? Was that its original name? Who were its inhabitants?These questions will be answered in this short one minute film.Let's go to the videotape.

An interesting comment on departing New York Times bureau chief Ethan Bronner by Jonathan Tobin (Hat Tip: Stephen D). Hoyt took the position, as did many cheerleaders for the Palestinians, that: “The Times sent a reporter overseas to provide disinterested coverage of one of the world’s most intense and potentially explosive conflicts, and now his son has taken up arms for one side.”The problem