by Phyllis Chesler

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By Fern Sidman

“European countries are asleep and don’t perceive Iran as a danger. They have adopted a Chamberlain-like attitude and are much more sympathetic to Islamist causes that we’ll ever know,” said Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely at a recent speaking date before the south Florida Jewish community. Addressing an audience of over 100 at a Chabad sponsored “Lunch and Learn” in Miami Beach on December 14th, Ms. Hotovely, who sits on the Knesset’s Security and Defense Committee, referenced her recent trip to Belgium where she had attended a meeting of NATO members.

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Thank G#d that Brits have a prime minister with guts and a moral center — not afraid to condemn the country’s 40-year slippery slide towards decadence. UK PM David Cameron was speaking the honest truth, affirming that, “We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so.” From the Beeb:

In a speech in Oxford on the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, the prime minister called for a revival of traditional Christian values to counter Britain’s “moral collapse”.

He said “live and let live” had too often become “do what you please”.

The PM said it was wrong to suggest that standing up for Christianity was “somehow doing down other faiths”. …

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by Svante E. Cornell*

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) was reelected to a third term in June 2011. This remarkable achievement was mainly the result of the opposition’s weakness and the rapid economic growth that has made Turkey the world’s sixteenth largest economy. But Ankara’s growing international profile also played a role in the continued public support for the conservative, Islamist party. Indeed, in a highly unusual fashion, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began his victory speech by saluting “friendly and brotherly nations from Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, Amman, Cairo, Sarajevo, Baku, and Nicosia.”[1] “The Middle East, the Caucasus, and the Balkans have won as much as Turkey,” he claimed, pledging to take on an even greater role in regional and international affairs. By 2023, the republic’s centennial, the AKP has promised that Turkey will be among the world’s ten leading powers.

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By Barry Rubin

There is a constant effort — especially by the anti-Israel left–to portray those who express mainstream  Israeli public opinion and the views of professional analysts as “right-wing” or “Likudnik.” This leads me to wonder what one would have to say to please these people. What would be the equivalent of a “liberal” position for Israel according to them? What kinds of positions would they see as legitimate?

What follows is not meant to exaggerate in any way but is, I believe, a genuine list of what they demand. To please them, I presume one would have to say the following:

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By Gary Gerofsky

The obsession of the EU, the USA, the UN, the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Russia and even the Vatican to interfere in Israel’s domestic and foreign policy reminds me of the treatment of a Big Brother who has failed to do right in his past and thinks that he can make amends by forcing little brother to make all the sacrifices that Big Brother never has and never will make to satisfy a guilty conscience.

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by Phyllis Chesler

Sweden is the country that once awarded Yasir Arafat a Noble Peace Prize, but Sweden has also been at the forefront of human rights activism and legislation. Now, in sending an apostate back to Pakistan, Sweden is failing its own stated ideals.

We all used to think of Sweden as a very “progressive” country. Now, alas, the word “progressive” has come to mean other, certain things.

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By Fern Sidman

In an exclusive interview with Arutz Sheva, New York City topographer and recent ZOA awardee Mark Langfan, responded to statements made by Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon while on an official visit to Greece. According to wire service reports, during a news briefing on Tuesday, Ayalon was asked what Israel’s reaction would be to a threat posed by Turkey regarding oil drilling in Cyprus. Ayalon unequivocally stated: “If anyone tries to challenge these drillings, we will meet these challenges.” Last month Turkey said it would send naval forces to protect its drilling rights.

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By Barry Rubin

What is the definition of insanity? Repeating the same behavior and expecting different results.

What is the definition of Middle East policy insanity? Intensifying the same behavior that has already failed and expecting a better result.

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by Adam Turner*

Recently, French Islamists (presumably) firebombed the office of French satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo for its speech. Simultaneously, Charlie Hebdo’s website was also taken down in a cyber-attack by a Turkish hacker. The firebombing and hacking occurred just one day after the magazine, which has a history of equal opportunity offensiveness, cheekily announced that the Islamic Prophet Mohammed was going to be a guest editor for this week’s edition, “(i)n order fittingly to celebrate the Islamist Ennahda’s win in Tunisia and the NTC (National Transitional Council) president’s promise that Sharia would be the main source of law in Libya.”

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by Ian Johnson*

In early 1959, a small West German intelligence operation stumbled over a sensational find: U.S. collusion with the Muslim Brotherhood. According to the West German sources — two ex-Wehrmacht soldiers who were in Washington’s pay but still felt loyalty to their old German bosses — Washington was supporting one of the Brotherhood’s top men, the Geneva-based Said Ramadan, son-in-law of the movement’s founder Hassan al-Banna, in the hope of using him in the global battle against communism. The U.S. double-agents wanted to know if the West Germans would also help support Ramadan.

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by Daniel Pipes*

In a Middle East wracked by coups d’état and civil insurrections, the Republic of Turkey credibly offers itself as a model thanks to its impressive economic growth, democratic system, political control of the military, and secular order.

But, in reality, Turkey may be, along with Iran, the most dangerous state of the region. Count the reasons:

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September 11: A Decade Later

by Dov S. Zakheim*

Everyday American images of the war on terror — the legacy of 9/11: Government buildings surrounded by ugly concrete blocks. Pennsylvania Avenue, the street that the White House — once known as the “people’s house” — faces, no longer open to traffic. ID cards required everywhere. Airline passengers waiting patiently in line to take off their shoes, belts, jewelry — and to have their bags searched and perhaps their bodies as well. Fans searched as they enter football stadiums. People on the watch for suspicious characters — including those who might take photos of bridges and tunnels. People fearing to retrieve lost bags in case they are booby trapped. Increased government surveillance of individual Americans, including their telephone calls overseas.

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By Gary Gerofsky

We heard crowds in Egypt chant, “allahu akbar.” We heard the crowds in Yemen chant allahu akbar. We heard crowds in Bahrain chant allahu akbar. We hear the crowds in Syria chant allahu akbar. We hear the crowds in Libya chant allahu akbar. The same chant can be heard all over the Muslim world from troubled people in countries that are themselves in deep trouble. Literally, allahu akbar means “God is great” in Arabic, in the context of the Islamic religion. I am certain that the God to whom they are referring and envisioning is a very harsh deity with a very Islamo-specific agenda in mind; a celestial leader who refuses to include or acknowledge those outside of Islam in his vision of the world order.

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by Ilan Berman*

Are sanctions capable of derailing Tehran’s nuclear drive? Some skeptics reject such measures altogether, preferring to deal with Tehran by either accommodation or containment.[1] Others point to the spotty historical record of sanctions in altering state behavior in arguing that they will similarly fall short of forcing the ayatollahs to rethink their long-standing nuclear ambitions.[2] For example, sanctions were found to be successful in only a third of the 105 instances in which they were applied between World War I and the end of the Cold War.[3] As the past year has shown, however, Tehran may well turn out to be the exception to the rule — but only if the Obama administration (and Western governments more generally) make swift and skillful use of the economic and strategic means at their disposal.

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