"Challenges to Israel have perhaps been the norm, rather than the exception, and its people have been tested in the crucible of conflict time and again. Those threats continue, and it is incumbent upon all free people to stand by Israel in her defense of our common values and ideals. Survival in the face of these enduring trials would be impressive; flourishing would seem out of the question. Yet Israel has thrived, and her people have built a nation that is an inspiration to all those who cherish freedom.

"The close and enduring U.S.- Israel relationship has thrived as well, and I am proud to support the vital ties between our two countries. Our bond will be of great importance in order to continually fulfill that aspiration sounded so eloquently in the HaTikva: 'to be a free nation.' As Israelis celebrate 60 years of independence, let no one doubt that, while the challenges will continue, Israel will survive and it will flourish. There will always be an Israel, and there will always be a vital bond between our two peoples."

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permalink    Posted By: Shari Hillman

How the story was reported and how it developed are a classic example of anti-Israel media bias.

permalink    Posted By: Shari Hillman

New York State Governor David Paterson yesterday signed the "Libel Terrorism Protection Act" (S.6687/A.9652), which on March 31 passed the state's Assembly and Senate unanimously.

Also known as Rachel's Law, the bill will protect American journalists and authors from foreign lawsuits that infringe on First Amendment rights.

In Ehrenfeld v. Mahfouz, New York State's highest court held that it was unable to protect Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld from a British lawsuit filed by Saudi billionaire Khalid Salim Bin Mahfouz. Britain's High Court ordered her to pay over $225,000 in damages and legal fees to Bin Mahfouz, apologize and destroy copies of her books.

Instead Dr. Ehrenfeld sought a U.S. federal court order to protect her constitutional rights. But a New York Court of Appeals ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to protect Americans - on U.S. soil - from foreign defamation judgments that contradict the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Rachel's Law corrects that problem by declaring overseas defamation judgments unenforceable in New York State unless the foreign defamation law provides, in substance and application, the same free speech protections guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.

permalink    Posted By: Shari Hillman

Bahrain is nominating a Jewish woman as its ambassador to the United States, press reports said.

...Huda Nonoo, a businesswoman, was also the first Jewish woman to sit in the Bahriani Shura Council, the 40-member upper house of the bicameral legislature, replacing her uncle.

She is also the first Jewish woman to head a rights organisation, the Bahrain Human Rights Watch, as its secretary-general.

The appointment of Huda is based on her qualification and not just ‘a public relationing campaign’ by the island kingdom, her colleagues in Shura insisted.

Huda Nonoo belongs to a tiny Jewish community in Bahrain, dating back to the Talmudic era. Her forefathers migrated from Iraq in the late 19th century.

permalink    Posted By: Shari Hillman

Jimmy Carter said here on Monday that in talks in Damascus, Syria, over the last several days, he obtained a significant concession from the militant group Hamas regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace and found Syrian leaders eager for a full peace treaty with Israel....

“If the agreement calls for a two-state solution and the recognition of Israel and Palestine, Hamas will, in effect, recognize Israel, if the people agree on the plan,” Mr. Carter told the Israel Council on Foreign Relations in a speech here.

Or of this leader of Hamas?

Hamas said yesterday it was prepared to accept a Palestinian state within 1967 borders, but contradicted a statement by former President Jimmy Carter that it would accept Israel's right to exist if that was the will of the Palestinian people.

However, at a later press conference in Damascus, [Hamas leader] Mr. Mashaal backed away from the concession announced by Mr. Carter.

"We accept a state on the [1967] line with Jerusalem as capital, real sovereignty and full right of return for refugees, but without recognizing Israel," Al Jazeera quoted him as saying.

permalink    Posted By: Shari Hillman