Cute:
The discord between the United States and Israel over Jewish building in East Jerusalem deepened Tuesday with Israeli officials saying they would reject demands by Washington and expressing anger over the public upbraiding of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by the Obama administration.
On a day of scattered disturbances by Palestinians in East Jerusalem, news emerged that Israel was moving ahead with a second building project there. A notice on the Web site of the Israel Lands Authority invited bids on construction of 309 new homes in the Jewish suburb of Neve Yaakov, in northeast Jerusalem.
A spokesman for the Jerusalem municipality said building and planning across the city were moving ahead. “For us, it is business as usual,” the spokesman, Stephan Miller, said.
I’m not sure what to make of this, but I’m sure Leon Wieseltier is convinced it has to do with Andrew Sullivan’s “anti-Semitism.”
The Main Gauche of Mild Reason
It’s ironic that Netanyahu’s government is going to collapse for the same reason it collapsed last time. Talk about not learning your lesson.
Corner Stone
Yep. And nobody’s ever going to do anything about it. Just like the other things dragging down our empire.
Michael
Dear Israel –
Learn to get along with your neighbors. In the meantime, no more goodies for you.
Love, America
r€nato
If only the Palestinians would practice a little bipartisanship…
DougJ
I haven’t seen anything crazy about this at TNR at all yet, in fairness.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
Fucking Netanyahoo. Asshole neocon hyper nationalist sucking the American wingnut preachers dicks while giving reach arounds to the pasty cheeked keyboard warriors at The Weekly Standard. Piss on em all, they get people killed for no good reason and ought to rot in hell for their troubles.
Michael
Quit holding back.
Joe Beese
– We’re not used to seeing Mom and Dad fight.
– It’s OK. They’re not getting a divorce.
Mr Furious
At risk of cutting in front of Andrew Sullivan in the accused-of-but-not-actually-anti-Semitic line… Fuck Israel.
This shit is outrageous, and I see no one over here who has the will to actually stop them.
The Dangerman
It would appear a Demotivator is in order:
Link
Or, for Tunch fans:
Link
One more for Spring Training:
Link
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@Michael: I really don’t like that dude. He pulled shit like this on Clinton too and it is he that is meddling in American politics, especially democratic politics, not the other way around.
Lev
Israel’s courting another intifada with this shit. Those tend to break governments, you know.
Keith G
@General Egali Tarian Stuck: General, you need five minutes of the cutest puppy story I have seen.
Have a tissue.
http://www.neatorama.com/2010/03/16/all-edie-needed-was-a-hug/
mr. whipple
I’m so tired of all of this.
Annie
It’s ironic that when Obama restores relationships with other countries by showing respect and by acting like an adult, the right considers him anti-American and a wimp.
When he takes a stand against the Netanyahoo government — not Israel but the Israeli government — he is considered anti-American and and worse.
The American jewish community is nuts if they think supporting Netanyahoo is good policy. And, they are nuts if they think partnership with the religious right keeps jews safe. People are tired of the Israeli-Palestine conflict. They are sick of the violence and sick of the cost. The religious right wants Israel because of some insane belief that the messiah will only return when all jews go back to Israel. And, they want Israel as fertile ground for conversion. The jewish community is nuts to believe that the amount of money the right gives Israel is worth loosing their soul in the process and becoming pariahs.
Jews have a long tradition of being oppressed. Instead of understanding what oppressions does do a people, they somehow have come to believe that oppressing others is the right path. It is not, and never will be, no matter what moral or ethical argument they put forward. Israel lost the moral high road a long time ago, and present policy will just dig the hole deeper.
Comrade Kevin
@Annie:
The “American jewish community” don’t think as a bloc. AIPAC and their neocon allies are not representative of “Jews” in this country.
Graeme
Anything that exposes the vast divide between the American people and our Oligarchy re: Israel is welcome.
Let’s have this debate. For real.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@Keith G:
OH man, you weren’t kidding. Poor Edie, Major tearjerker with a good ending. Wish I could give them all a home. Thanks!!
Leelee for Obama
@Annie: I believe they let the slide begin in Lebanon. That was the first time in my life that I ever felt anything but solidarity with Israel. It wasn’t easy to say it then, and it isn’t now. When you become what you abhor, the moral high ground is no longer yours.
Nellcote
Bibi’s really gonna piss off Petraus now.
Annie
@Comrade Kevin:
You are right, although I think sometimes that people do believe that the jewish community thinks like a bloc — the neocons are great at acting as if they speak for all of us.
Thankfully there are groups like “J Street” who are getting stronger and more vocal. They need more support and more media presence. How often do we see someone from J Street in the media?
JAHILL10
Cut the money off and Netanyahoo’s coalition will hold together for about 5 minutes. Then maybe we’ll get someone in there we can deal with. The Repubs shouldn’t kick. They are concerned about the deficit after all.
PeakVT
Israel’s Client State of America
I think people in the Arab world have been joking about this for a few decades.
El Cid
@Annie:
It’s not so much “ironic” as it is their Standard Operating Procedure, and it extends to all of the hawk / warmongering variety.
It’s the same way that the war-mongers, including the liberal hawks, denounced as naive and objectively pro-Soviet stooges those who opposed Reagan’s wars against civilians in Central America and Southern Africa.
Michael D.
Israel is trying to feel out Obama by using the settlement issue so that it can take a course of action it wants to take and intends to take anyway.
When Obama stands firm on settlements, Israel will try to raise the hackles of their proxies in America – aka AIPAC.
AIPAC will bitch. Republicans will bitch. Some Jewish conservatives will bitch..
Obama won’t budge.
Israel will destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities because they feel “alone” and don’t have a choice.
Israel is playing us so that they can have an excuse to do what the right wing in Israel wants to do anyway.
Eventually, if it is to happen, Israel will fire the first nuclear weapon in the Middle East. Mark my word.
Sick.
Of.
It.
El Cid
By the way, politics aside, it’s not irrelevant that Netanyahu is a real, real, real fucking prick. He’s a dick. He’s not just right wing, he’s a total fucking prickbag.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@Michael D.:
The stuff of nightmares.
Midnight Marauder
@The Main Gauche of Mild Reason:
I do not believe that is the word you were looking for exactly.
There is nothing coincidental or unexpected about this.
Nellcote
@Annie:
JStreet petition in support of Prez Obama here.
someguy
Hey, if Netanyahoo hates Livni, does that make him an anti-semite too? What about if a Rabbi hates Netanyahooo? What if Netanyahoooo hates himself?
Annie
@Nellcote:
Thanks…I did see it and signed…
Mark S.
Are the Israelis now claiming that they have legally annexed East Jerusalem? What horseshit.
Violet
@Michael D.:
I fear you are right.
I’m really sick of all this. And sick about it too.
Dr. Morpheus
@Mark S.:
But only the Hebrew speaking sections of East Jerusalem, which, historically, have always been a part of Greater Israel.
/sarcasm
liberal
@Michael D.:
How will they do that without us letting them fly through Iraqi airspace?
Not saying it’s impossible, but …
liberal
@Michael D.:
So what? It’s not like he’s withholding aid to Israel.
Only thing I think it’s likely Obama’s really doing against their wishes is saying “no” to an attack on Iran.
Kyle
Netanyahu calculated he was going to piss on the elected government of the United States by pulling an asshole move to benefit his Repig neocon buddies. So let him go fellate Sheldon Adelson for money and leave my tax dollars out of it.
Why the fuck are we still subsidizing these assholes?
Michael D.
@liberal:
Israel, as a nation, has a sense of international entitlement to sympathy. They believe they can do anything. They depend on a victim culture where anything you do or say against a minority is racism, homophobia, etc.
Know where that happens best? Right here. So they think we’ll do whatever the hell they want out of fear of being labelled anti-Semites.
Am I wrong?
I’m not.
I am a Jew and a fag. I know how this works.
Michael D.
I guess I just came off as an anti-Semiphobe.
ellaesther
@Michael D.: Ha!
MTiffany
I have this friend. Cool enough guy most of the time, but I don’t want to be friends with him any more. Every time we go out, he gets wasted and picks a fight with the some other drunk douche, and then after we all get tossed out of the bar, I have to back his stupid ass up. Usually I have to step into the damn fight before he gets his head knocked in or his throat cut. Usually I wind up taking a punch or two, or getting a window knocked out of my car. Like I said, he’s cool enough most of the time, but I have one too many scars, and one too few teeth because of the way this douche bag acts some times. I just realized he’s never gonna change, and I’m only getting older and more and more tired of his shit. My friend’s name? Israel. If you see this guy, steer clear. He’s a dick.
ellaesther
@Mark S.: Well, “legally,” they did. According to Israeli law. A law that is unrecognized by anyone else on earth, but well, it’s legal. In that sense. If you see what I mean.
If you want to know more about Jerusalem and the boundaries and how the city has just been made to metastasize over the years, go to Ir Amim, in particular, this excellent map.
And because I am nothing if not a blog-pimping machine these days, I will also note that tomorrow I’ll be posting something short about just this issue, and why it’s important that lately we hear American officials calling Israeli communities in what was once Palestinian East Jerusalem “settlements.” Whoot! Good times.
Mark S.
@ellaesther:
Huh, I didn’t know they “annexed” it back in 1967. Thanks for the links; they were very interesting.
SRW1
@r€nato:
The correct version is:
“If only there were a partner for peace …”
But otherwise, you’re right.
SRW1
@someguy:
Never heard of self-hating jews? The worst kind of anti-semites!
SRW1
@Mark S.:
You might want to look a little bit closer to home:
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positions_on_Jerusalem
chopper
@Annie:
careful with that broad brush, dogg. ‘the jews’ are not some monolithic bloc. even ‘israelis’ aren’t, if you know any.
anyway, fuck netanyahu.