Bibi Netanyahu Gets the Cold Shoulder in Washington
Though it was overshadowed by other events, particularly the massacre at Fort Hood and its aftermath, there was a meeting in Washington this week between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Obama. Certain anomalies about this meeting inspired a flurry of rumors and speculations — particularly, though not only, in the Israeli press.
It wasn’t arranged, for one thing, until the last minute, and it wasn’t confirmed until Netanyahu was literally on a plane to Washington — even though his visit to the U.S. had been announced weeks in advance and both he and Obama were set to address the annual General Assembly conference of the American Jewish community. (Obama ended up canceling to speak at the Fort Hood memorial service instead.) Since it’s customary for the Israeli PM and U.S. president to meet during any visit to the U.S. by the former, the White House’s sluggishness in working Bibi into its schedule was interpreted in Israel as a very cold shoulder.
Netanyahu then found himself transported to the meeting in a simple van instead of the government vehicle normally provided to foreign heads of state. And after he and Obama conversed at a relatively late hour on Monday evening — joined for the second half of the tête-à-tête by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak — conspicuous for their absence were the habitual photo-op and press briefing. Israeli officials, for their part, offered nothing to the eager Israeli media but stony silence, while the White House released the following terse statement: “The president reaffirmed his strong commitment to Israel’s security, and discussed security cooperation on a range of issues. The president and prime minister also discussed Iran and how to move forward on Middle East peace.”
Especially against the backdrop of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s announcement last week of his desire to resign over frustration at the stalled diplomatic process, the Israeli media reacted to Monday night’s events and non-events with surmises of a huge crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations. Dov Weisglass, a former adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who was closely involved in talks with President Bush, declared: “Clearly, one of two things occurred during the meeting — a severe crisis and deadlock which the sides do not want to make worse by making it public, or far-reaching understandings that may lead to a domestic crisis in Israel.”
Although the U.S. media for the most part were otherwise preoccupied, an exception was the Wall Street Journal, which quoted a “U.S. official” as expressing disappointment at Netanyahu’s speech to the General Assembly conference a few hours before the meeting with Obama: “‘We had an idea that he might bring something out to push the process forward. But he’s kept it in his pocket.’… The official said the U.S. side had hoped Mr. Netanyahu would unveil a more detailed proposal for restraining the settlements.” And: “U.S. officials said the White House had held off until late Sunday firming up Mr. Netanyahu’s meeting with Mr. Obama, in an effort to pressure the Israeli leader to take a more conciliatory line.”
Other reports in Israel had it that the White House media blackout after the meeting was as a way of expressing anger at Israeli leaks — or at claims in Israel that Netanyahu was succeeding in diplomatically outmaneuvering Obama.
Where the hell is the anger and opposition by American Jewish voters and citizens? Are you waiting for those of us that have always been patriots, who supported Israel and Jewish people in the past to take the lead while you step back and review your options? Don’t you see that this President HATES you? Don’t you see he doesn’t want Israel to survive? Aside from the fact that you overwhelmingly voted for this President despite the evidence that he didn’t support you, despite the fact that he has given voice and position to those anti-Semites that for the first time feel they might be able to crush you and Israel, you have spit in the face of politicians that have Israel’s and Jewish peoples interests at heart,many of us still respect and support Jewish people even though you continually, and on a regular basis vote people into office that act against other Jewish people, we are still here and willing to help. How about doing something really crazy like joining us? We’re feeling pretty lonely out here! We’re feeling like we’re being used by people that don’t have the courage to do what is right. If Israel falls, if Jewish people are reduced to second class citizens and scapegoats, then we’re back in the 1930′s again. What are you going to do? Blame Republicans and conservatives that stood beside you every step of the way while you pissed on us so you could gain some type of economic and political advantage? Get your shit together, join those of us that still against all odds and are unbelievably still willing to protect you despite how you’ve treated us, protect Israel, and protect other Americans that are hated for their support of Jews and against Islamic nuts that want to eliminate Jews once and for all. Being a survivor in today’s times means you have to nut up or shut up! It doesn’t mean stepping back and watching the rest of us take on the enemy while you make deals with those that could care less about you. It doesn’t mean you vote for Jewish politicians that are sellouts and are trying to undermine the rest of us just because they’re Jewish. American Jews are starting to embarass the rest of us that have been in the forefront and are willing to die for YOU! There are men and women dying on the front lines at this very second and you know why. You supported this President overwhelmingly? What are you going to do about it now that you have seen what he really is and where his allegiances lie? Will you sit back and watch the rest of us sacrifice and die or will you do something about it in the next election? I have always respected, loved, and admired Jewish people, their history, their resolve, their sense of survival but I’m starting to question the resolve of the latest Jewish generation and what exactly is going on here. If American Jews vote overwhelmingly for this President again, then I’m done with my support and I can assure you I’m not alone. I’ll be supportive of Israel, but not you. To me you’ll be a bunch of opportunist traitors that let others sacrifice while you stayed in the background… cowards that allowed others to fight for them and their families while doing nothing. Actually more than “doing nothing” you cast votes that made it more difficult for those of us that support you. I refuse to believe that this is even possible. Come ON! I don’t care if you feel you have to openly support these anti-Semite candidates or pay lip service to the local Jewish liberal politician, so long as you vote the other way in the end. If Obama gets elected again, knowing how much he relied on the Jewish vote, knowing how much Democrats rely on the Jewish vote, knowing how much the Jewish politicians have tried to violate our constitution then I can easily come to the conclusion that you’re not deserving of my support. Netenyahou is the last great hope in my opinion and I’m guessing he also is starting to feel betrayed. Go ahead and vote for this President that undermines him every step of the way, maybe you will be able to rationalize it in your own minds but those of us that see right and wrong won’t be able to do so. That tiny dot of “occupation” in the Middle East called Israel will be a memory thanks to you unless you “nut up.”
Please don’t assume we Israelis share the same infatuations – and blind spots – as American Jews.
I doubt Bibi cares much about his reception – he’s clearly outmaneuvered Obama, and most Israelis see what a Carteresque lame duck he is becoming.
Bibi and Liberman (this Israeli one!) have been working carefully behind the scenes to build anti-terror consensus among the “little countries” that the US dissed – who are now worrying about defending themselves in a way they didn’t when the US was the “sheriff of the world”.
The fickle US abandonment of missile defense in Europe is opening many ears and doors to Liberman, and to Israeli statements on terrorism, Islamicism, and Iran.
Bibi also handled the White House’s demand for a settlement freeze very nicely – bobbing and weaving like a boxer, deploying hard-liners in the coalition in a good cop/bad cop routine. Look at what Hillary wound up saying… it’s no longer a precondition.
Any solution involving 2 states east of the Jordan is a non-starter for most Israelis.
Not-particularly-right-wing Israelis have seen Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, and now know that it was a game of salami-slicing for the Palis all along. We’ve seen the maps showing the range of various missiles – and mentally calculated the striking distance from the Green Line.
Our lefie elite was wrong, the magic is gone, and behind Abbas stretches a line of ever more openly radical Islamicists. Any land ceded to them will be used to stage further attacks – most Israelis know this now in our bones, whether or not the settlers say “I told you so”.
Bibi and Liberman are laying the groundwork to move the discussion beyond the land-for-peace, 2-state framework of Oslo. Of course this conflicts with a White House that’s all PC and multiculti – but Bibi’s been playing the hand he’s been dealt quite well.
Bibi’s demand that the Palis recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland is one example of this – a masterful gambit that cannot be challenged without coming off sounding like a racist, and underscores the Pali’s true intentions and intransigence.
Bibi would do well to exercise the patience of an adult and continue to prepare for war. Obama’s tenure will be mercifully short. His ego is incapable of not sparking his ouster in ’12.
And may he take down the drain with him all who share his beliefs.
Maybe Bibi should just do a special on FOX News. One hour documentary with any of them except Shep or Gerry Rivers would pass the message without actually campaigning for the opposition to the liberals. My choice would be John Strossel as a documentary. Pure news exposure (as opposed to the opinion shows) with the News side would maintain the message.
Forget the politicians for the time being. Get out the message and become the official opposition to those segments of the Jewish vote that can be swung. Solidify the vote with the right that continues to be Israel’s strongest support.
What is the point of this charade?
The Palis want the lot, that’s the stated aim.
Obama the vunderkind wanted to please his Arab friends and make his name.
It’s all posture.
Obama’s rating amongst Israeli’s is about 2% approval.
They know the score.
We know the score.
Bibi knows the score.
Even B Hussein knows the score.
It ain’t going to happen.
Let’s face it, if the Arabs knew a reprise of 1967 would work they’d be doing it. It’s as simple as that.
Israel is only safe because of the IDF and the nukes.
All the rest is bullshit.
“The president reaffirmed his strong commitment to Israel… blah, blah, blah blah…”
The only thing strong about Obama is the way he smells. The man has the class of a wet ally cat, an alligator mouth and hummingbird rear end all of which stinks.
Obama is a mistake that the American people made. He does not represent the strength of America, the American people nor the future of our relationship with Israel; which is bright, healthy and strong.
Prime Minister Netanyahu knows all of these truths. He is also more than capable of dealing with a pathetic looser like Obama and faithfully serving Israel at the same time.
Bottom Line: If you are going to tell a story that attempts to help Israel, tell the one that will bring Israel safely through these difficult times instead of seizing every bump in the road as another opportunity for flimsy fiction and worthless melodramatics.
I’d like all of Washington’s talks with Israel to be kept in the dark. The moment the press gets hold of them, Israel’s image is covered in mud. The journalists and photographers will find out soon enough, just what was said and done in the Oval Office.
Mr Hornik’s descriptive article offers an inside look at just how dismally petty and 8th grade this administration is in it’s misguided attempt to recast our longstanding relationship with Israel. The only thing more pathetic is the blindness of American Jews in voting for Candidate Obama.
Mr Netanyahu must truly believe his country is now alone after such shabby treatment. That should free him up regarding dealing with Iran. Our inexperienced and naiive President probably didn’t think of that when dissed the Israeli PM.
It will be interesting to watch the reaction of Israel supporters such as Gerald Nadler in the aftermath. Someday, the American Jewish comminity will realize that it’s best interests are served by those who are actually historically pro Isreal, not the likes of Carter and Mr Obama. In the mean time they will continue to vote against their own interests by supporting the likes of people like Mr Obama. Must be some sort of deep seated guilt reaction, it can’t be considered an otherwise rational decision.
Completely abominable, and I should add for those of us who bothered to educate ourselves about the radical constitutional law professor, absolutly predictable. The whirlwind cometh.
Our President seems to like dictatorships and detest democracies. Kind of odd for a President of the United States, wouldn’t you say?
Smoke and mirrors, the content of this article is a complete farce, intended to misdirect attention away from Iran, which was the only topic of conversation that transpired between the two leaders.
Perhaps the real tension between the Israelis and Obama has absolutely nothing to do with the settlements and has EVERYTHING to do with Iran. Let’s face it, these silly “negotiations” with Iran are going nowhere and even by the United Nation’s own admission Iran is experimenting now with ways to deliver a nuclear device with a missile. The Iranians wouldn’t be doing this if they were not serious about getting a nuclear weapon and putting it on a rocket. Israel understands this, and Israel also understands that time is rapidly running out. Bambi in the White House just doesn’t want to admit that the Iranians are talking him to death and that they are ignoring him on the way to obtaining nuclear weapons. The real question is how long the Israelis are going to wait before they make their move, whatever that may be. Perhaps that is why the Israeli Defense Minister joined the talks with Obama and Netanyahu. The clock is ticking and Obama has to decide what he is going to do about Iran, before the Israelis make the decision for him. Bambi doesn’t have the luxury of voting “present” now. He actually has to do something. It’s called being a President.
In American foreign policy under this President, maybe his tendency to dither is our best hope.
According to Israel sources, which are credible, Netanyahu was called to Washington so that Obama could beg him to give Obama’s “talk to Iran” policy more time before Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities.
That was the sole purpose of the meeting.
Tell Obama to look at his shoulder and the shoulders of the wife and children for Salk’s legacy.
Dont be naive guys expecting Obambi to be supportive or protective of Israel is much too much even contemplate.
Does anyone really believe these players met to discuss the “peace process?” We’re looking at another general war soon to start in the Middle East. This meeting was about Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Netanyahu came to Washington to inform the president the time is nigh. The prime minister wants to know the U.S. reaction both official and unofficial. The return trip via Paris tells us that Mr. Netanyahu is seeking support from Mr. Sarkozy, the only man who seems to take the Iranian nuclear program seriously.
Israel will strike soon and all hell will break loose in Gaza and to the north along the Lebanese border. Israel will be heavily criticized in public even as heads of state quietly acknowledge the awful necessity in private. We’ve seen this pattern before.
The joker in the deck will be the Iranian response. Will Iran attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz? Will the mullahs lash out at the Gulf States in order to widen the war? If so, the U.S. will get sucked into the conflict like it or not. Mr. Obama is about to be tested for the first time in his presidency. Voting “present” won’t be an option this time.
So Obama blows off BiBi and then Iranian assests are on the way to being seized. At least BiBi got a stateside meeting with Obama. Thats more then what he gives his war zone generals.
Dave B @ #1: Amen. I keep asking myself the same question, Why are Jews (my coreligionists) Liberals (from the title of Norman Podhoretz’s recent book). And don’t think I don’t cringe every time I hear the names, Emanuel and Axelrod. They are doing more to hurt this country (in the name of good intentions) then anyone I can remember in my lifetime. I think most of coreligionists have abandoned the Torah of Moses for the Torah of “Liberalism” which in truth is not liberal at all.
Taking into account that this was their last meeting before Israel launches a preemptive strike against Iranian nuclear sites, debka.com had the only plausible report I’ve seen: http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6368 “Iran was the only subject on the Obama-Netanyahu, Gates-Barak agendas”
Indeed, as the fanatical Mahdi seeking regime to whom MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) is an incentive is getting dangerously close to nuclear weapons , it seems quite improbable that Netnyahau would discus anything else except Iran.
Paules at 16 above,
If I were a betting man I wouldn’t wager against your post. It will be a mess when it occurs, we will be caught unprepared would be my guess without the necessary naval resources available to deal with the Iranian response, at least initially.
It’s too bad President Obama doesn’t understand the politics of strategic interest and the application of threatened force. If he did, there would be two carrier battle groups in the Gulf and a third on the way. That would get the mullahs facing east right quick, especially if forces in the Mediteraian were suddenly shifted to the other side of Cypress. We would find out in a hurry whether Ahmadinijad wanted to pursue the 12th Imam or make a deal.
Oh well, get ready for 8.00 a gallon gas America and remember, elections have consequences.
If Bibi is smart (and I think he is), then he is using every card he has to assemble a American-free coalition to confront Iran. It would include the French, Germans, Brits (after Labour is tossed out), Turks maybe, and the Sunni gulf states who are directly in the firing line. Obama, has taken himself out of the game. It is clear that he is willing to throw any friend under the bus to advance his agenda. Why should anyone trust him? Does this guy have any idea what friendship and support even is? does he have any real friends in his private life?
As for #1′s comment re jews and BHO, I think it was a combination of bad history with anti-semitic country-club republicans, the trashing of neo-cons by the popular media and being taken in by BHO’s swindle. Republicans have a great opportunity to change some hearts and minds if they do it right.
Isn’t it obvious by now that Obama is an islamic sleeper?
i’m not Isreali or jewish, but i love me some Bebe.
you just keep on keeping on Bebe and God bless ya
America first.
Israel can take care of itself.
I expect an arab/islamic attack on Israel to occure soon.
I expect Barack Hussain Obama POTUS (PBUH) will bomb Israel in that case or at least support the islamo’s.
I expect all support from America will go to the Arabs, palis and islamofascist because well, that’s the way this administration both thinks and works.
Israel should know they do not have an ally or friend in American Government.
Based on the way this played out, especially the meeting being confirmed only after Bibi was en-route suggests a meeting of such importance that Bibi pushed it even after being told “No” by Obama. The only thing I can think of that would be so important is if Bibi were giving Obama official notice that the strike against Iran was on and what the timetable is.
I wonder if Obama will betray him to the Iranians?
Giving in to my inner pedantic self for a moment, but Bibi is a head of government, not head of state. The Israeli head of state is President Moshe Katzav.
Stupid of me. The current Israeli president is Shimon Peres, not Katsav.
Hoist with my own petard!
Frankly Bibi would receive a warmer reception from a US government in exile, or alternative to the beltway. Why? Because that government would bust their butts to make sure that the US is deserving of the trust exhibited in: http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110002994
#16. “Israel will be heavily criticized in public …”
============
Not by US citizens. We can see what Obambi is afraid to acknowlege. Israel, Go With God.
Regarding Bibi’s treatment: This administration has also shown that they aren’t particularly competent when it comes to protocols or sensitivities to other nations. There is a high level of incompetence in this group. They rationalize this as trying to do things differently, to send a different message to the world. Well, the message they are sending isn’t what they think they are sending.
Regarding the first commenter:
#1–You’re feeling lonely?! Read any book on Jewish history then talk to me about lonely. The book would be about 2000 pages of the Jews being in this exact spot. This isn’t exactly unfamiliar territory.
I agree with #1 and #9. President Obama refused to go to the 20th year celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, saying he was too busy, but he was not so busy that he could not go to Copenhagen to lobby for Chicago to get the Olympic Games. He supports Zelaya, a Chavez ally, in Honduras but refuses to support the opposition in iran, saying that he does not meddle into the internal affairs of countries! So he supports Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs against their liberty-loving opposition; and supports the Arabs in their war against Israel.
Why should there be another Arab state carved out of Israel, particularly since it would be on Eretz Yisrael – Judea and Samaria? If the Arabs want peace with Israel, all they have to do is to stop waging wear against Israel. It is up to them and not to Israel – except that Israel needs to keep its defenses up. (See Conor Cruise O’Brien’s book, THE SIEGE.)
I am amazed that people on this blog believe that Obama will stand up to anyone anywhere in the world.
I feel in my gut that he will abandon the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq and will abandon Israel should it be attacked by Hizb’Allah and Hamas. That abandonment will take the form of not resupplying munitions used up by Israel in the conflicts or making demands for unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank.
I don’t think Bibi gave away any time table for the attack on Iran. He would be foolish to trust Obama anymore than he could trust the devil. I think he laid some cards on the table, and perhaps hinted at the “support” he has from various sources, our allies, the “moderate” Arabs, etc. I like to think that even in our military, there are elements that would at least frustrate any Obama response to the attack. Kinda like, “WHAT SQUADRON OF BOMBERS? NEVER SAW THEM.”
Say what you will about McCain but if he were POTUS, you can bet that the situation would be completely different. First, he would not have abandoned the pro-democracy Iranians who were protesting in the streets and getting murdered by the mullahs. Second, he would be projecting US hard power in a big way. Third, he would be assembling a coalition to neutralize the Iranian threat – especially to protect shipping in the Gulf. Fourth, he would not be abandoning Israel or any other friend at their time of need. But most important, he would call out the mullahs for what they are – hate-filled lunatic thugs who are exporting their misery. Enough with the high-school amateurs. 2012 can’t come soon enough.
Obama will do what his lord the King of Saudi Arabia tells him to do.
However this plays, remember 80% of American Jews-in-name-only voted for Obama. Historians of the future will need to consult heavy texts on psychology and sociology, especially the work done on masochism, denial and cognitive dissonance in order to explain this travesty.
What a dangerous man Obama is.
Well, the chilly reception and darkness is not surprising given that “Sauron” is occupying the WH. But seriously, we don’t know the circumstances behind the meeting. Perhaps it was an attempt at “dressing down” by the clown and his ladyboys, but I would hope that the secrecy and lack of publicity was an indication that another agenda was being brought to the fore; Israel’s intentions on Iran. We can only hope.
It would have been priceless to have been a fly on the wall, and not one around the Obamamessiah’s arm.
Many Americans support our ally Israel, its just sad our government is no longer “of the people, and by the people”.
18. Jack in Silver Spring: “Dave B @ #1: Amen. I keep asking myself the same question, Why are Jews (my coreligionists) Liberals….”
No mystery, Jack. We read nauseating right-wing rants against Obama, see shmegeggies like Palin, Beck & Limbaugh taking over the GOP, and naturally react with … Feh! Treif!
It was wonderful to see (finally!) the voice of good, strong, Americans supporting both our great nation, America and our one true ally, Israel,(may Hashem bless both) on this board. Especially wonderful without any of the usual, nasty, little, anti-American, anti-semitic maggot trolls infesting it…
Enjoy and Share:
Israel:
* Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world’s population, can make claim to the following:
* Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
* Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin – 109 per 10,000 people – as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
* In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world.
* In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
* Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US. oside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
* Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
* Wth an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US.
* Israel’s $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
* On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups.
* Israel has the largest raptor migration in the world, with hundreds of thousands of African birds of prey crossing as they fan out into Asia.
* Twenty-four percent of Israel’s workforce holds university degrees – ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland – and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.
* Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
* In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel.
* When Gold Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world’s second elected female leader in modern times.
* When the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day – and saved three victims from the rubble.
* Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship – and the highest rate among
* women and among people over 55 – in the world.
* Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants
* come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.
* Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as “conflict free.”
* Israel designed the airline industry’s most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
* Israel’s Maccabi basketball team won the European championships in 2001.
* Israeli tennis player Anna Smashnova is the 15th ranked female player in the world.
* Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was produced by Haim Saban, an Israeli whose family fled persecution in Egypt.
* In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv.
* Israel has the world’s second highest per capita of new books.
* Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.
* Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
* Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic.
* Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
* An Israeli company developed a computerized system
* for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment.
* Every year in U.S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
* Israel’s Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used the view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
* Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with congestive heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart’s mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
* With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).
* In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops.
* Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
* Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per
* 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. *
* With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.
* The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
* Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel.
* The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
* Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
* Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.
* The technology for AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
* A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct – all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue.
* An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California’s Mojave desert.
* The first PC anti-virus software was developed in Israel in 1979.
Israel and the Arabs:
* Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1000th of the world’s population, can make claim to the following:
* Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
* Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin – 109 per 10,000 people – as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
* In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of startup companies in the world.
* In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of startup companies than any other country in the world, except the US (3,500 companies mostly in hi-tech).
* Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the US. oside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
* Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
* Wth an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16s, Israel has the largest fleet of the aircraft outside of the US.
* Israel’s $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined.
* On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups.
* Israel has the largest raptor migration in the world, with hundreds of thousands of African birds of prey crossing as they fan out into Asia.
* Twenty-four percent of Israel’s workforce holds university degrees – ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland – and 12 percent hold advanced degrees.
* Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
* In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews at risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel.
* When Gold Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world’s second elected female leader in modern times.
* When the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day – and saved three victims from the rubble.
* Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship – and the highest rate among
* women and among people over 55 – in the world.
* Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants
* come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.
* Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as “conflict free.”
* Israel designed the airline industry’s most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
* Israel’s Maccabi basketball team won the European championships in 2001.
* Israeli tennis player Anna Smashnova is the 15th ranked female player in the world.
* Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was produced by Haim Saban, an Israeli whose family fled persecution in Egypt.
* In 1991, during the Gulf War, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra played a concert wearing gas masks as scud missiles fired by Saddam Hussein fell on Tel Aviv.
* Israel has the world’s second highest per capita of new books.
* Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.
* Israel has more museums per capita than any other country.
* Israel has two official languages: Hebrew and Arabic.
* Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
* An Israeli company developed a computerized system
* for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment.
* Every year in U.S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
* Israel’s Givun imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used the view the small intestine from the inside, the camera helps doctors diagnose cancer and digestive disorders.
* Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with congestive heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the heart’s mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
* With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world (apart from the Silicon Valley).
* In response to serious water shortages, Israeli engineers and agriculturalists developed a revolutionary drip irrigation system to minimize the amount of water used to grow crops.
* Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
* Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per
* 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. *
* With over 25% of its work force employed in technical professions. Israel places first in this category as well.
* The cell phone was developed in Israel by Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
* Most of the Windows NT operating system was developed by Microsoft-Israel.
* The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
* Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
* Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.
* The technology for AOL Instant Messenger was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.
* A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the ClearLight device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct – all without damaging surroundings skin or tissue.
* An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California’s Mojave desert.
* The first PC anti-virus software was developed in Israel in 1979.
I’m sure that Israel deleted Obama from the “friends” column some time ago. They know that he will be AWOL in any crisis/war with Iran. It’s probably better that he be a non-factor than pushing some foolish intervention. The left wing Jews have placed socialist ideology before being a Jew. They will wake up one day. In the meantime there are many of us non-jewish Americans and Canadians who support Jews and Israel. Let’s hope that makes a difference.
Larry in Tel Aviv. My thinking is this: Those who are Jewish in name only, instead of by practise, see the evangelical christian community rise up in support of Jews who have more than a nodding acquaintance with the Synagogue. Seeing that evangelical christians are demonized by the MSM, they don’t want to be demonized by the same people. So, they do what they do. Namely say, “If the synagogue goers do a,b,c, then a,b,c is wrong”.
Or could it be, that just like for church goers,
those who go to church, or synagogue, more often, and pay closer attention to the service,
the greater the likelihood that their politics would be more conservative. Ergo, those who go less often, and pay less attention to the service, are more likely to vote liberal.
We need a way to con Israel into swapping Netanyahu for Dumbama. If we could then elect Lee Kwan Yew, Alan Keyes and Bibi as our very own Tripresident, we could be instantly on our way to the restoration of the Republic. With the franchise delimited as per the Founders.
Yeah, rapid meeting with Prez and Bib, then the next week the FBI reels in the Alavi Foundation.
That was the topic of this mysterious no-comment meeting.
Good work, Bibi. Now read your mail and see what comes in with the tide.
If I could graciously offer Bibi advice, it would be “don’t pander to the fake American president bho; he certainly isn’t doing anything to favor you or to protect/support a rare ally such as Israel. In fact, it is time to call obama out for the dismal NON-leadership he has exhibited since moving into the White House… and NOT only by US citizens!!!!
#41-Anonymous- “No mystery, Jack. We read nauseating right-wing rants against Obama, see shmegeggies like Palin, Beck & Limbaugh taking over the GOP, and naturally react with … Feh! Treif!”
You have the party-line well memorized.
1. Dave B:
“Where the hell is the anger and opposition by American Jewish voters and citizens? Are you waiting for those of us that have always been patriots, who supported Israel and Jewish people in the past to take the lead while you step back and review your options? Don’t you see that this President HATES you? ”
The American Jews are in Obama’s coat pockets. Most of them are liberals and will do whatever Obama wants. Jewish patriots are by and large conservatives, and many have a problem understanding how other Jews can be so cavalier about Israel.
The liberal hierarchy has been screwing Jews, as well as every other minority, since the reign of FDR. It’s the mindset of liberals, who believe the government is the answer to all things.
And don’t forget the greed, graft and power attendant with association to big government programs. The Dems are the champions of big government. A Marxist takeover will ensure total government control. Anyone with a lack of morals and ethics, wants to be in on that.
As a supporter of Israel I still say It is more than difficult to take the Israeli talk of wanting a peace agreement seriously until they stop building illegal settlements. Show us don’t tell us.
Re Arthur #51
You are not a supporter of Israel, Arthur.
What we have in Israel is Peace now, though you don’t want to recognize it. What we have in Israel is NO apartheid, where Israeli Arabs live with Israeli Jews. And “Palestinian” Arabs live with Israeli Jews. Show me how it would improve things to shrink Israel and create a Jew-free “Palestine.” What exactly do the Jews get out of that arrangement?
Obama is a danger to the world. He’s poison, utter poison.
Many forget the Egyption-Israel peace agreement came about because Sadat wanted peace and went to Israel.
There is no pro-peace partner on the Arab side.
Abbas knows that if he put an ageeement before the Arabs he would be killed.
the Israelis usually vote democratic. i dont know the ratio, but i would be cash money that they voted for obama. but im surprised that people didnt see this coming from obama. he hates israel, plane and simple. would you expect anything from the Jews. they didnt even recognize the day of their Mesiah. i know that they will wake up soon though. it says so in the Bible. i hope that they just wake up sooner than later.
A considerable majority of Israelis favored McCain–the only country where it was so.
“As a supporter of Israel I still say It is more than difficult to take the Israeli talk of wanting a peace agreement seriously until they stop building illegal settlements.”
Translation: The West Bank must be Judenrein.
Some things never change.
obama is a shmuck with a grievance. and it’s not as interesting as nixon’s.