Most people in the U.S. now realize that Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) board member James Woolsey’s pre-war talk about the Iraqi government’s alleged hidden “nuclear weapons equipment” and “biological weapons laboratories” was inaccurate.  Yet the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs role as a pro-war pressure group with an annual budget of $2.5 million, is rarely mentioned by the U.S. media. Since 1982, at least twelve trips to Israel have been sponsored  by the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs for retired Pentagon admirals and generals who are connected to the American security establishment.  Read more about The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (and War) 

Following the recent meetings between the Palestinian and Israeli authorities, the struggle for an independent Palestinian state will probably move to the political and diplomatic front. In this new phase, the role of the international community will be of utmost importance for a successful outcome. Therefore, there exists an urgent task for Palestinian NGOs and leaders to capture world support for the Palestinian cause. Sietse Bosgra considers international opinion of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the importance of international solidarity movements and the need for more mobilised activism through the Western media. Read more about Lessons from the struggle against Apartheid 

Well, I just got hung up on again. This time by an editor on the Los Angeles Times foreign desk. I had called and attempted, as politely as possible, to give him a correction for the story on the Times’ website tonight. This will probably be their front-page lead news story tomorrow morning. The headline proclaims: “Palestinian Suicide bomber Shatters Calm of late.” The lead sentence then goes on to state that this bomber “shattered a months-long period of relative calm…” The fact is, however, that the truce and this “calm” were shattered long before this. The last suicide bombing against Israeli civilians was Nov. 1, 2004. It took three Israeli lives. Since that time, while Israelis have basked in “relative calm,” 170 Palestinian men, women, and children have been killed. Read more about The LA Times' notion of "relative calm" 

Recently, a law was passed saying that settlers who will be evacuated following a future retreat from the Gaza Strip will be given compensation. The balance was tipped to the side of the government from outside the coalition by MK Mohammad Barake. Barake, a MK from “Hadash” party (the former communist party) is, as his name might indicate, an Israeli Arab. Limor Livnat, the Israeli minister of education, who had also voted in favor of the law, was one of the most noticeable politicians in a group of right wing Knesset members and others who had each expressed outrage that an Arab (who had, like any other Member of the Knesset, been elected democratically) was the one to determine the future of Israel in such an important question. Read more about Limor Livnat and the Palestinian "problem" 

An Arab businessman has reportedly offered Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon tens of millions of dollars to buy evacuated Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah looks at the legal background and argues that this scheme is as outrageous as offering a common thief compensation for returning stolen property, as well as offering him the expenses for the petrol, tools and clothing he used to commit his crime. Rather than encouraging such prepesterous ideas, as it appears to be doing, the Palestinian Authority should put a stop to it and focus on regaining Palestinian rights as set out in international law. Read more about Rewarding aggression in Palestine