Your tax dollars for the Palestinians — hard at work? Might as well throw all the money in a pile, pour gasoline on it, and have a bonfire. From Free Middle East:

By Andrew L. Jaffee

President Obama is losing political support on all fronts — and, “Now comes evidence that the war in Afghanistan cannot be won — certainly not with the effort and constraints now in place,” according to Dick Morris:

Having already lost all Republicans and almost all independents, Obama is shedding Democrats these days. According to a Fox News poll, his job approval among them has dropped from 84 percent at the end of June to 76 percent in mid-July. A combination of the Afghan War, the oil spill, Guantanamo and his failure to act on immigration reform have all eroded his credibility with his liberal constituents.

Now comes evidence that the war in Afghanistan cannot be won — certainly not with the effort and constraints now in place. It is obvious that Obama and Hillary Clinton are being duped by the Pakistani government and the Afghan leadership is awash in corruption. With Pakistan offering the Taliban sanctuary next door and the government in Kabul staying in office in order to steal American aid, the Afghan war is looking more and more like Vietnam.

And now we have the equivalent of the leak of the Pentagon Papers discrediting the war effort from the inside. …

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

So, because of “multiculturalism,” we throw out our most cherished beliefs about human rights — all for the sake of being “sensitive” to immigrants with extremist belief systems? Is it so hard for all Americans to agree that rape is wrong? This is worrisome (below), from Jihad Watch (and what, did this judge skip all his/her ethics classes?):

… And now a New Jersey judge sees no evidence that a Muslim committed sexual assault of his wife — not because he didn’t do it, but because he was acting on his Islamic beliefs: “This court does not feel that, under the circumstances, that this defendant had a criminal desire to or intent to sexually assault or to sexually contact the plaintiff when he did. The court believes that he was operating under his belief that it is, as the husband, his desire to have sex when and whether he wanted to, was something that was consistent with his practices and it was something that was not prohibited.”

Luckily, the appellate court overturned this decision, and a Sharia ruling by an American court has not been allowed to stand. This time. …

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by Phyllis Chesler

This is, indeed, “the worst of times, the best of times.” Dangerously brazen evil-doers and outrages both surreal and diabolical abound — but so do tireless heroes who have risen up to combat them.

When the history of our time is written, Israel’s Nahum Shahaf, France’s Philippe Karsenty and Nidra Poller, Germany’s Esther Shapira, and America’s Richard Landes, (who collectively exposed the first Big Lie of the Intifada of 2000, that of Mohammed Al-Dura) will be remembered.

As will Pierre Rehov, formerly of Algeria, Israel, and France, who, in films, exposed the second Big Lie: that of the Israeli non-massacre in Jenin — and who also exposed, in films, the really big-but-all-but-forgotten refugee story of the Middle East: that of Jews expelled or forced to flee from Arab and Muslim countries; this film is called The Silent Exodus. … Continue reading…

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By Barry Rubin

This is a remarkable story in human terms but there is an extremely important point for understanding the Middle East embedded in it as well.

On June 14, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on a police car traveling on a road, en route from Beersheba to Jerusalem. One policeman, Yeheshua Sofer was killed. Two others were wounded. Sofer was due to be married in three months. It took a month but members of the cell were finally captured. They spoke quite freely about this attack and others they had planned for killing Israelis.

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

A recent episode of the popular Arabic show al-Sharia wa al-Haya (Law and Life), which airs weekly on Al Jazeera and features renowned Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, addressed the important yet little known Muslim concept of taysir (pronounced “tey-seer”).

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By Fern Sidman

“For us Poles, it was war and occupation. For the Jews, it was the end of the world,” declared the legendary Polish hero of the Holocaust, Jan Karski, as he spoke of the ravages of World War II and the Nazi invasion of Poland. Marking the 10th anniversary of his death, the Kosciuszko Foundation on Manhattan’s upper east side was the venue for a most fitting tribute to Jan Karski; the man who is considered “a universal hero” for his role in attempting to wake up the free world to the heinous atrocities being perpetrated against the Jews during WWII.

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by George L. Simpson, Jr.*

Recent years have witnessed the rise of irregular but frequently intensive opposition to U.S. global preeminence by Russia and China. In their own ways, and in pursuit of their own interests, each of these authoritarian governments has established an informal alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran. For its part, the Khamenei regime in Tehran continues to view the United States as the “Great Satan” and works against American interests by engaging in international terrorism,[1] aiding in attacks on U.S. and coalition personnel in Iraq[2] and Afghanistan,[3] working to derail any resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute,[4] and most of all by seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

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by Raymond Ibrahim*

That France is moving toward banning the burqa is a positive development on several fronts: For starters, while many are the arguments against the burqa — it is anachronistic, misogynistic, etc. — the fact is there have been many instances worldwide where criminals and Islamic terrorists have facilitated their activities by concealing their identities via the burqa (which, we are reminded, was originally designed for female “modesty”).

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By Fern Sidman

The November mid-term elections are gearing up to be an exciting and most critical race that will undoubtedly alter the political face of this country. Those who stand in staunch opposition to the “tax and spend” policies of the Obama administration and other polemical legislation have galvanized their forces and are ready to make their voices heard to the American electorate. One of those people is Jay Townsend, a GOP candidate for United States Senator for the State of New York. Seeking to unseat the incumbent; Sen. Charles Schumer, the senior senator from New York, Jay Townsend articulates his position on the issues that effect the future of New Yorkers throughout the length and breadth of the state. I sat down with Mr. Townsend to find out more about “the man who would be Senator.”

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by Phyllis Chesler

Syria — yes, Syria — Bashar Asad’s Syria — has just banned full face veils in their universities.

According to Syria’s minister of higher education, “All female students wearing the full face veil will be barred from Syrian university campuses … the niqab contradicts university ethics and compromises the government’s secular identity.”

Amazingly, the Minister confirmed that “hundreds of primary school teachers who were wearing the niqab at government-run schools were transferred last month to administrative jobs.” … Continue reading…

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By Barry Rubin

1. Saudi and Arab Leaders Want Obama to Rescue Them, Not Flatter Them

A UPI dispatch reports:

“A former Arab leader, in close touch with current leaders, speaking privately not for attribution, told this reporter July 6, ‘All the Middle Eastern and Gulf leaders now want Iran taken out of the nuclear arms business and they all know sanctions won’t work.’”

Now there are few former Arab leaders–they usually stay leader until health or a bullet makes them no longer available for interviews–but this sounds precisely like Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, former Saudi ambassador to the United States.

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By Fern Sidman

On July 15th, I had the pleasure of covering the address delivered by Dr. Phyllis Chesler at the 2010 Aspen Counterpoint Summer Symposium. Aspen Counterpoint is an independent project founded by three residents of the Aspen Valley: Alan Altman, M.D., Elaine Sandler, and Judith King. Dr. Chesler could not personally attend the conference in Colorado, but she participated in a live teleconference that was recorded in a Manhattan studio.

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by Phyllis Chesler

On July 13, the day before Bastille Day, France stood up for “la liberté, l’égalité, la sororité,” for the rights of French women and for Western values when the French lower house of parliament approved the ban on face veils. Even the French communists caved in to feminist pressure and did not oppose this ban.

Vive la France! This is the country which in 2004 outlawed headscarves (as well as all religious insignia such as crosses or Jewish stars) in public schools. Contrast this attempt to uphold “republican” and “democratic” values with President Obama’s speech in Cairo on June 4, 2009, where our president expressed pride in America for having defended the right of Muslim girls and women to wear hijab. … Continue reading…

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WASHINGTON (July 15, 2010) — “Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border 2: Drugs, Guns, and 850 Illegal Aliens” is the Center for Immigration Studies’ second web-based film on the impact of illegal alien activity in Arizona. The Center’s first video on the subject, “Hidden Cameras on the Arizona Border: Coyotes, Bears, and Trails,” has received over 52,000 views to date. This new 10-minute mini-documentary raises the bar, featuring footage of both illegal-alien entry as well as gun- and drug-smuggling. At minimum, the inescapable conclusion is that hidden cameras reveal a reality that illegal-alien activity is escalating.

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