Obama the Imperialist
THE TELEGRAPH: Several thousand right-wing Israelis have massed in central Jerusalem to denounce a Jewish construction freeze in the West Bank and brand Barack Obama an imperialist.

In their biggest show of force since a moratorium on new residential building was announced late last month, some 3,000 settlers and their sympathizers gathered outside the residence of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.

But it was the American president Barack Obama, seen by many settlers as ultimately responsible for the 10-month construction slowdown, who was as much in the sights of the demonstrators.

In scenes reminiscent of protests in the Arab world during the administration of George W Bush, they castigated Mr Obama as an imperialist from the same mould as his predecessor.

"Obama is continuing Middle East Imperialism," read one banner, "Was hoping for change - Got the same old imperialist," another.

Despite falling domestic approval ratings, Mr Obama remains the subject of much adulation abroad. But there is little evidence of such sentiment in Israel, where less than 10 per cent of the population claims to trust him, according to opinion polls.

The American president has become the focus of right-wing revulsion in Israel ever since he called for a freeze to Jewish settler construction earlier this year, even though he has since appeared to soften his stance.

The demonstrators at the rally had no doubt that Mr Obama was the real cause of the settlers' woes. Right-wing Israelis protest against West Bank settlement freeze >>> Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Israel Uses Hitler Picture to Sell Its Settlement Expansion
THE INDEPENDENT: Foreign minister orders diplomats to circulate photo ahead of discussions with President Obama's envoy

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister, has triggered fresh controversy by urging diplomats abroad to use a 1941 photograph of a Palestinian religious leader meeting Hitler to counter protests against a planned Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem.

The hard right Mr Lieberman ordered the circulation to Israeli embassies of copies of the notorious wartime photograph of Hitler meeting the then Mufti of Jerusalem, an overt sympathiser with the Nazis who helped them raise an SS division in Bosnia. The move has alarmed some experienced Israeli diplomats who believe it will be counterproductive. It came after the US State Department expressed its disapproval to Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador in Washington, over plans to build at least 20 apartments for Jewish settlers at the site of the old Shepherd's Hotel building in the inner East Jerusalem district of Sheikh Jarrah.

The building was once used as a headquarters of the Mufti, a member of the one of the most prominent Palestinian families in Jerusalem. The Palestinian nationalist Faisal al-Husseini, grand nephew of the Mufti, was a frequent interlocutor and strong advocate of peace moves with Israel in his later years until his death in 2001.

The plans for the Shepherd's Hotel site have highlighted a continuing rift between much of the international community and Israel over the latter's continued settlement building in East Jerusalem. The site was bought in the 1980s by a company controlled by Irving Moskowitz, a major benefactor of of right wing settler groups.

While the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deep in negotiations with US officials over the settlement freeze in the West Bank being demanded by President Obama, he made it clear this week he will not be deterred from sanctioning continued building for Jews in East Jerusalem. Israel's sovereignty over the whole of the city "cannot be challenged", he said. >>> Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem | Saturday, July 25, 2009

Grand Mufti Amin Al Husseini of Jerusalem

Hitler, der Großmufti und Islamo-Nazismus

Hitler and the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem

'Obama's Settlement Freeze Decrees Are Like Pharaoh's'
THE JERUSALEM POST: "The American demand to prevent natural growth is unreasonable, and brings to mind Pharaoh who said: Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river," Habayit Hayehudi head Daniel Herschkowitz said Sunday, referring to US President Barack Obama's demand to freeze all settlement activity, even that ensuing from natural growth.

Speaking ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting, mathematician Herschkowitz furthered his point with a simple equation. "If there is a family that expands from one child to four or five, what should we tell them - to ship the children off to Petah Tikva? This is an unacceptable demand, even if it comes from the Americans, and Israel should reject it decisively," he affirmed.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai said, "The American demand to freeze construction means expulsion for young people living in large locales. I hope the US administration understands that. If not, I don't want to be an apocalyptic prophet saying we're facing struggle and confrontation. The concessions they're demanding of us are a security impediment we cannot withstand." >>> By JPost.com Staff | Sunday, May 31, 2009

FOX NEWS: Israel: We Won't Bow to U.S. Settlement Requests

An official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not agree to U.S. demands to freeze settlement activity in the West Bank.

Israel will not agree to U.S. demands to freeze all settlement activity in the West Bank, the AFP reported an official close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying.

"I want to say in a crystal clear manner that the current Israeli government will not accept in any fashion that legal settlement activity in Judea and Samaria be frozen," Transport Minister Yisrael Katz said, using the Israeli term for the West Bank. "The government will defend the vital interests of the state of Israel."

It was the first high-level reaction to President Obama's call Thursday during a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel stop settlement activity, a key hurdle in Mideast peace talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said last Sunday Israel will continue to build homes in existing West Bank settlements, but would not allow any new settlements to be created.

"We will not build new settlements," he said, according to remarks released by his office. "But it is not fair not to provide a solution to natural growth." >>> FoxNews.com | Sunday, May 31, 2009