Vital Perspective

A brilliant offensive against the British academic boycott of Israel

Alan Dershowitz writes in the Wall Street Journal:

"As soon as [the British academics boycott of Israel] was reported, I helped to draft a simple petition in which signatories agreed to regard themselves as honorary Israeli academics for purposes of any boycott and "decline to participate in any activity from which Israeli academics are excluded."

Working with Prof. Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in physics, and Ed Beck, the president of Scholars For Peace in the Middle East, we circulated the petition. I expected to gather several hundred signatures.

To my surprise, we have secured nearly 6,000 signatures, including those of 20 Nobel Prize winners, 14 university presidents as well as several heads of academic and professional societies. Three university presidents -- Lee Bollinger of Columbia, Robert Birgeneau of Berkeley and John Sexton of New York University -- have issued public statements declaring that if Israeli universities are boycotted, their American universities should be boycotted as well. Every day, I receive emails from other academics asking to be included as honorary Israeli academics for purposes of any boycott. We expect to reach at least 10,000 names on our petition.

It is fair to say, therefore, that the British boycott appears to be backfiring. British academics are on notice that if they try to isolate Israeli academics, it is they -- the British academics -- who will end up being isolated from some of the world's most prominent academics and scientists."

You can view signatories or add yourself to the list here:

An International Call To Academics and Professionals To Stand In Solidarity With Our Israeli Academic and Professional Colleagues

Fellow bloggers -- please help spread the word!

Eat your heart out Nasrallah!

Girls! with guns! Enjoy. We sure did.

The coming Sunni-Shi'ite nuclear arms race

Gal Luft portrays an unsettling scenario of the face of things to come:

"As tension between Sunnis and Shi'ites mounts from Iraq to Lebanon another front is opening in the deepening strife between the two parts of the Muslim world: The race to acquire nuclear capabilities. Iran's uranium enrichment program en route to a Shi'ite bomb has already whetted the appetite of its Sunni neighbors to follow suit. The December meeting of the of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a new milestone on the road to a Sunni Arab nuclear capability. In the meeting, GCC leaders decided on a joint program in the field of nuclear technology for "peaceful purposes". "Possessing nuclear technology […] has economic and scientific significance," the spokesman for the Council of Ministers explained. Two weeks later another Gulf country, Yemen, announced its aspirations to acquire nuclear technology. On the African side of the Middle East, Egypt and Algeria, two Sunni nations blessed with energy resources, have also declared their intension to pursue nuclear power. Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak drew roaring applause when he announced in a November speech before a combined session of the People's Assembly and Shura Council that Egypt was not "in need of anyone's authorization to develop peaceful nuclear energy".

"What is at stake today is not just a nuclear Iran but a full blown nuclearization of the world's most dangerous region. With this in mind the U.S.' and Europe's strategy should go beyond just preventing Iran from acquiring nukes. As this battle may already be lost, the focus now should be on the next wave of nuclear hopefuls. This will require the development of a fresh set of carrots and sticks as well as a candid dialogue which includes not only Sunni Arabs who desire nukes but also Russia, China and Pakistan, the countries most likely to provide them with the technology they need to meet their ambitions.

As the world transitioned from the Cold War to the war on radical Islam former CIA director James Woolsey said: "We have slain a large dragon. But we live now in a jungle filled with a bewildering variety of poisonous snakes." If subsequent to a failure to prevent a Shi'ite bomb comes another failure to prevent a Sunni bomb this unsavory jungle will be populated in no time with some of the worst of dragons."

Video: Brigitte Gabriel Discusses Radical Islam in Heritage Foundation Forum

Happy New Year to you all. Before we get too far into other activities, we thought we'd leave you with an excellent series of videos of Brigitte Gabriel discussing radical Islam at the Heritage Foundation. Gabriel is a Christian Lebanese-American journalist, author and activist. She is the founder of the American Congress For Truth, a conservative think tank. The videos will take just under an hour to go through.

Bush Signs Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, Putting More Restrictions on Hamas

President Bush signed into law a bill meant to block U.S. aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government and ban contacts with Hamas until they renounce violence and recognize Israel. It also creates a $20 million fund to promote democracy, human rights, freedom of the press and peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), sponsor of the Senate bill with Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), said the legislation makes clear the Palestinian Authority can expect no U.S. help so long as it continues to be led by Hamas. "The Palestinian people are ill-served by a Hamas-led government that refuses to work toward the betterment of its citizens by failing to renounce terror and work toward peace with Israel," McConnell said.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said she was pleased the president signed the bill she sponsored in the House. "By fixing his hand to this legislation today, President Bush has indicated that the U.S. will not, directly or indirectly, allow American taxpayer funds to be used to perpetuate the leadership of an Islamist jihadist entity like Hamas."

The White House said the legislation reflects the administration's concern over the current government's failure to renounce violence and terror, recognize Israel and respect previous agreements and obligations. Exceptions are made to provide financial support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has committed to a negotiated two-state solution with Israel.

Palestinian MP Accuses Israel of Using Chemical Weapons, Depleted Uranium

Palestinian Environment Minister Youssef Abu Sofia has accused Israel of using illegal chemical weapons in the Palestinian territories. "Analyses carried out in laboratories outside Palestine have shown that Israel has had recourse to banned chemical weapons and depleted uranium" Abu Sofia said. He made a similar claim in 2001.

He further accused Israel of having "transported major quantities of dangerous chemical products into the interior of the Palestinian territories thereby seriously polluting the water table".

Abu Sofia quoted figures from the Palestinian agriculture and environment ministry to the effect that "two million trees have been uprooted in the past six years, half a million of them olive trees". He said that Israel had refused the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the IAEA access to the Palestinian territories to look into the situation.

Similar accusations were made that Israel used depleted uranium munitions during the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon this summer. However, the UNEP found no evidence that Israel used munitions with depleted uranium during its conflict. After a three week investigation where samples were taken from 32 sites south and north of the Litani River, no depleted uranium shrapnel, or other radioactive residue, was found.

Praise from Int'l Community for Restraint in Face of Qassams Buoys Olmert

MediaLine reports that Israeli PM Ehud Olmert will continue to ignore Palestinian Qassam rocket fire from Gaza. Apparently buoyed by international praise for the restraint Israel has shown in response to the firing of more than 40 Qassam rockets since a cease-fire went into effect three weeks ago, Olmert has reportedly decided to stay the course.

Seven Qassams landed in Israel on Wednesday and one early this morning. Because the rockets, which carry no explosive payload, have not caused any injuries, Olmert has apparently decided that kudos from the international community outweigh a military response to halt the rockets.

Speaking at a news conference with visiting Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg yesterday, Olmert did warn that his patience was not without limit. Referring to the Qassams, he said, "It is clear that it is impossible to ignore this for long, so long as the Palestinians continue to shoot."

Security Sources: Israeli Forces Kill Two Islamic Jihad Terrorists in Shootout

Security sources tell us that in an Israeli arrest operation today in Silat A Hartiya, northwest of Jenin, two wanted Islamic Jihad terrorists, Salah Hafed Mahmud Suafta and Husam Mahmud Ibrahim Isah, were killed. During the attempt to arrest them, the two opened fire at security forces, sparking heavy exchanges of fire in which they were killed. Two rifles, protective vests and large amounts of ammunition were found by their bodies. The two were receiving instructions and funds from the Islamic Jihad Command in Syria in order to carry out a suicide bombing.

Last month, a suicide bombing spearheaded by the two was prevented thanks to the arrest of Sahmer Suafta, Salah's brother. By this time, Salah Suafta had already recruited a bomber, filmed his statement and instructed him on the use of the explosive belt. Sahmer was due to lead the suicide bomber to Israel, and following his arrest he supplied security forces with the location of the bomb.

• Salah Hafed Mahmud Suafta was a 23-year-old from a village northeast of Nablus. Suafta had in the past operated an explosives laboratory together with another brother, Nur Adin Suafta, in order to produce explosives for terror attacks. Suafta was jailed in a Jericho prison for a number of months at the beginning of this year. Following his release, Suafta returned to the West Bank and resumed his activities in Islamic Jihad.
• Husam Mahmud Ibrahim Isah was a 23-year-old resident of Sanur, north of Nablus. Isah began his activity in Islamic Jihad as an assistant in an attempt to carry out a terror attack. He was imprisoned in Israel in July 2003. After his release in 2005, Isah returned to his activities in Islamic Jihad but was arrested by the Palestinian Authority. When he was released from a Jericho prison, Isah came into contact with senior members of Islamic Jihad in Jenin, and has since been involved in several attempts to carry out suicide bombings against Israelis. Isah was in charge of the bombing plans thwarted last month along with Salah Suafta.

Ahmadinejad: Britain, Israel and U.S. to Vanish Like the Egyptian Pharaohs

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has predicted that Britain, Israel and the U.S. would eventually disappear from the world like the Egyptian pharaonic kings.

"The oppressive powers will disappear while the Iranian people will stay. Any power that is close to God will survive while the powers who are far from God will disappear like the pharaohs," he said Wednesday. "Today, it is the United States, Britain and the Zionist regime which are doomed to disappear as they have moved far away from the teachings of God," he said. "It is a divine promise."

Ahmadinejad's comments were the latest salvo against the West and Israel. He has repeatedly predicted that Israel is doomed to disappear. The remarks come amid mounting efforts by the P-5 to agree a resolution imposing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.

Bush Delays Move of U.S. Embassy in Israel to J'lem, Citing 'National Security'

President Bush has deferred by six months the process of moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the White House said. In a memo for Secretary Rice, dated Friday, Bush said the decision was "necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States."

"My administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our Embassy to Jerusalem," said Bush, who had pledged during the 2000 campaign to support relocation.

Like former President Bill Clinton, Bush has always used the six-month waiver power provided under the 1995 law that calls for the move to postpone it.