podesta_email_02040.txt

podesta-emails 3,268 words email

P18 D4 V11 D6 D3

-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- mQQBBGBjDtIBH6DJa80zDBgR+VqlYGaXu5bEJg9HEgAtJeCLuThdhXfl5Zs32RyB I1QjIlttvngepHQozmglBDmi2FZ4S+wWhZv10bZCoyXPIPwwq6TylwPv8+buxuff B6tYil3VAB9XKGPyPjKrlXn1fz76VMpuTOs7OGYR8xDidw9EHfBvmb+sQyrU1FOW aPHxba5lK6hAo/KYFpTnimsmsz0Cvo1sZAV/EFIkfagiGTL2J/NhINfGPScpj8LB bYelVN/NU4c6Ws1ivWbfcGvqU4lymoJgJo/l9HiV6X2bdVyuB24O3xeyhTnD7laf epykwxODVfAt4qLC3J478MSSmTXS8zMumaQMNR1tUUYtHCJC0xAKbsFukzbfoRDv m2zFCCVxeYHvByxstuzg0SurlPyuiFiy2cENek5+W8Sjt95nEiQ4suBldswpz1Kv n71t7vd7zst49xxExB+tD+vmY7GXIds43Rb05dqksQuo2yCeuCbY5RBiMHX3d4nU 041jHBsv5wY24j0N6bpAsm/s0T0Mt7IO6UaN33I712oPlclTweYTAesW3jDpeQ7A ioi0CMjWZnRpUxorcFmzL/Cc/fPqgAtnAL5GIUuEOqUf8AlKmzsKcnKZ7L2d8mxG QqN16nlAiUuUpchQNMr+tAa1L5S1uK/fu6thVlSSk7KMQyJfVpwLy6068a1WmNj4 yxo9HaSeQNXh3cui+61qb9wlrkwlaiouw9+bpCmR0V8+XpWma/D/TEz9tg5vkfNo eG4t+FUQ7QgrrvIkDNFcRyTUO9cJHB+kcp2NgCcpCwan3wnuzKka9AWFAitpoAwx L6BX0L8kg/LzRPhkQnMOrj/tuu9hZrui4woqURhWLiYi2aZe7WCkuoqR/qMGP6qP EQRcvndTWkQo6K9BdCH4ZjRqcGbY1wFt/qgAxhi+uSo2IWiM1fRI4eRCGifpBtYK Dw44W9uPAu4cgVnAUzESEeW0bft5XXxAqpvyMBIdv3YqfVfOElZdKbteEu4YuOao FLpbk4ajCxO4Fzc9AugJ8iQOAoaekJWA7TjWJ6CbJe8w3thpznP0w6jNG8ZleZ6a jHckyGlx5wzQTRLVT5+wK6edFlxKmSd93jkLWWCbrc0Dsa39OkSTDmZPoZgKGRhp Yc0C4jePYreTGI6p7/H3AFv84o0fjHt5fn4GpT1Xgfg+1X/wmIv7iNQtljCjAqhD 6XN+QiOAYAloAym8lOm9zOoCDv1TSDpmeyeP0rNV95OozsmFAUaKSUcUFBUfq9FL uyr+rJZQw2DPfq2wE75PtOyJiZH7zljCh12fp5yrNx6L7HSqwwuG7vGO4f0ltYOZ dPKzaEhCOO7o108RexdNABEBAAG0Rldpa2lMZWFrcyBFZGl0b3JpYWwgT2ZmaWNl IEhpZ2ggU2VjdXJpdHkgQ29tbXVuaWNhdGlvbiBLZXkgKDIwMjEtMjAyNCmJBDEE EwEKACcFAmBjDtICGwMFCQWjmoAFCwkIBwMFFQoJCAsFFgIDAQACHgECF4AACgkQ nG3NFyg+RUzRbh+eMSKgMYOdoz70u4RKTvev4KyqCAlwji+1RomnW7qsAK+l1s6b ugOhOs8zYv2ZSy6lv5JgWITRZogvB69JP94+Juphol6LIImC9X3P/bcBLw7VCdNA mP0XQ4OlleLZWXUEW9EqR4QyM0RkPMoxXObfRgtGHKIkjZYXyGhUOd7MxRM8DBzN yieFf3CjZNADQnNBk/ZWRdJrpq8J1W0dNKI7IUW2yCyfdgnPAkX/lyIqw4ht5UxF VGrva3PoepPir0TeKP3M0BMxpsxYSVOdwcsnkMzMlQ7TOJlsEdtKQwxjV6a1vH+t k4TpR4aG8fS7ZtGzxcxPylhndiiRVwdYitr5nKeBP69aWH9uLcpIzplXm4DcusUc Bo8KHz+qlIjs03k8hRfqYhUGB96nK6TJ0xS7tN83WUFQXk29fWkXjQSp1Z5dNCcT sWQBTxWxwYyEI8iGErH2xnok3HTyMItdCGEVBBhGOs1uCHX3W3yW2CooWLC/8Pia qgss3V7m4SHSfl4pDeZJcAPiH3Fm00wlGUslVSziatXW3499f2QdSyNDw6Qc+chK hUFflmAaavtpTqXPk+Lzvtw5SSW+iRGmEQICKzD2chpy05mW5v6QUy+G29nchGDD rrfpId2Gy1VoyBx8FAto4+6BOWVijrOj9Boz7098huotDQgNoEnidvVdsqP+P1RR QJekr97idAV28i7iEOLd99d6qI5xRqc3/QsV+y2ZnnyKB10uQNVPLgUkQljqN0wP XmdVer+0X+aeTHUd1d64fcc6M0cpYefNNRCsTsgbnWD+x0rjS9RMo+Uosy41+IxJ 6qIBhNrMK6fEmQoZG3qTRPYYrDoaJdDJERN2E5yLxP2SPI0rWNjMSoPEA/gk5L91 m6bToM/0VkEJNJkpxU5fq5834s3PleW39ZdpI0HpBDGeEypo/t9oGDY3Pd7JrMOF zOTohxTyu4w2Ql7jgs+7KbO9PH0Fx5dTDmDq66jKIkkC7DI0QtMQclnmWWtn14BS KTSZoZekWESVYhORwmPEf32EPiC9t8zDRglXzPGmJAPISSQz+Cc9o1ipoSIkoCCh 2MWoSbn3KFA53vgsYd0vS/+Nw5aUksSleorFns2yFgp/w5Ygv0D007k6u3DqyRLB W5y6tJLvbC1ME7jCBoLW6nFEVxgDo727pqOpMVjGGx5zcEokPIRDMkW/lXjw+fTy c6misESDCAWbgzniG/iyt77Kz711unpOhw5aemI9LpOq17AiIbjzSZYt6b1Aq7Wr aB+C1yws2ivIl9ZYK911A1m69yuUg0DPK+uyL7Z86XC7hI8B0IY1MM/MbmFiDo6H dkfwUckE74sxxeJrFZKkBbkEAQRgYw7SAR+gvktRnaUrj/84Pu0oYVe49nPEcy/7 5Fs6LvAwAj+JcAQPW3uy7D7fuGFEQguasfRrhWY5R87+g5ria6qQT2/Sf19Tpngs d0Dd9DJ1MMTaA1pc5F7PQgoOVKo68fDXfjr76n1NchfCzQbozS1HoM8ys3WnKAw+ Neae9oymp2t9FB3B+To4nsvsOM9KM06ZfBILO9NtzbWhzaAyWwSrMOFFJfpyxZAQ 8VbucNDHkPJjhxuafreC9q2f316RlwdS+XjDggRY6xD77fHtzYea04UWuZidc5zL VpsuZR1nObXOgE+4s8LU5p6fo7jL0CRxvfFnDhSQg2Z617flsdjYAJ2JR4apg3Es G46xWl8xf7t227/0nXaCIMJI7g09FeOOsfCmBaf/ebfiXXnQbK2zCbbDYXbrYgw6 ESkSTt940lHtynnVmQBvZqSXY93MeKjSaQk1VKyobngqaDAIIzHxNCR941McGD7F qHHM2YMTgi6XXaDThNC6u5msI1l/24PPvrxkJxjPSGsNlCbXL2wqaDgrP6LvCP9O uooR9dVRxaZXcKQjeVGxrcRtoTSSyZimfjEercwi9RKHt42O5akPsXaOzeVjmvD9 EB5jrKBe/aAOHgHJEIgJhUNARJ9+dXm7GofpvtN/5RE6qlx11QGvoENHIgawGjGX Jy5oyRBS+e+KHcgVqbmV9bvIXdwiC4BDGxkXtjc75hTaGhnDpu69+Cq016cfsh+0 XaRnHRdh0SZfcYdEqqjn9CTILfNuiEpZm6hYOlrfgYQe1I13rgrnSV+EfVCOLF4L P9ejcf3eCvNhIhEjsBNEUDOFAA6J5+YqZvFYtjk3efpM2jCg6XTLZWaI8kCuADMu yrQxGrM8yIGvBndrlmmljUqlc8/Nq9rcLVFDsVqb9wOZjrCIJ7GEUD6bRuolmRPE SLrpP5mDS+wetdhLn5ME1e9JeVkiSVSFIGsumZTNUaT0a90L4yNj5gBE40dvFplW 7TLeNE/ewDQk5LiIrfWuTUn3CqpjIOXxsZFLjieNgofX1nSeLjy3tnJwuTYQlVJO 3CbqH1k6cOIvE9XShnnuxmiSoav4uZIXnLZFQRT9v8UPIuedp7TO8Vjl0xRTajCL PdTk21e7fYriax62IssYcsbbo5G5auEdPO04H/+v/hxmRsGIr3XYvSi4ZWXKASxy a/jHFu9zEqmy0EBzFzpmSx+FrzpMKPkoU7RbxzMgZwIYEBk66Hh6gxllL0JmWjV0 iqmJMtOERE4NgYgumQT3dTxKuFtywmFxBTe80BhGlfUbjBtiSrULq59np4ztwlRT wDEAVDoZbN57aEXhQ8jjF2RlHtqGXhFMrg9fALHaRQARAQABiQQZBBgBCgAPBQJg Yw7SAhsMBQkFo5qAAAoJEJxtzRcoPkVMdigfoK4oBYoxVoWUBCUekCg/alVGyEHa ekvFmd3LYSKX/WklAY7cAgL/1UlLIFXbq9jpGXJUmLZBkzXkOylF9FIXNNTFAmBM 3TRjfPv91D8EhrHJW0SlECN+riBLtfIQV9Y1BUlQthxFPtB1G1fGrv4XR9Y4TsRj VSo78cNMQY6/89Kc00ip7tdLeFUHtKcJs+5EfDQgagf8pSfF/TWnYZOMN2mAPRRf fh3SkFXeuM7PU/X0B6FJNXefGJbmfJBOXFbaSRnkacTOE9caftRKN1LHBAr8/RPk pc9p6y9RBc/+6rLuLRZpn2W3m3kwzb4scDtHHFXXQBNC1ytrqdwxU7kcaJEPOFfC XIdKfXw9AQll620qPFmVIPH5qfoZzjk4iTH06Yiq7PI4OgDis6bZKHKyyzFisOkh DXiTuuDnzgcu0U4gzL+bkxJ2QRdiyZdKJJMswbm5JDpX6PLsrzPmN314lKIHQx3t NNXkbfHL/PxuoUtWLKg7/I3PNnOgNnDqCgqpHJuhU1AZeIkvewHsYu+urT67tnpJ AK1Z4CgRxpgbYA4YEV1rWVAPHX1u1okcg85rc5FHK8zh46zQY1wzUTWubAcxqp9K 1IqjXDDkMgIX2Z2fOA1plJSwugUCbFjn4sbT0t0YuiEFMPMB42ZCjcCyA1yysfAd DYAmSer1bq47tyTFQwP+2ZnvW/9p3yJ4oYWzwMzadR3T0K4sgXRC2Us9nPL9k2K5 TRwZ07wE2CyMpUv+hZ4ja13A/1ynJZDZGKys+pmBNrO6abxTGohM8LIWjS+YBPIq trxh8jxzgLazKvMGmaA6KaOGwS8vhfPfxZsu2TJaRPrZMa/HpZ2aEHwxXRy4nm9G Kx1eFNJO6Ues5T7KlRtl8gflI5wZCCD/4T5rto3SfG0s0jr3iAVb3NCn9Q73kiph PSwHuRxcm+hWNszjJg3/W+Fr8fdXAh5i0JzMNscuFAQNHgfhLigenq+BpCnZzXya 01kqX24AdoSIbH++vvgE0Bjj6mzuRrH5VJ1Qg9nQ+yMjBWZADljtp3CARUbNkiIg tUJ8IJHCGVwXZBqY4qeJc3h/RiwWM2UIFfBZ+E06QPznmVLSkwvvop3zkr4eYNez cIKUju8vRdW6sxaaxC/GECDlP0Wo6lH0uChpE3NJ1daoXIeymajmYxNt+drz7+pd jMqjDtNA2rgUrjptUgJK8ZLdOQ4WCrPY5pP9ZXAO7+mK7S3u9CTywSJmQpypd8hv 8Bu8jKZdoxOJXxj8CphK951eNOLYxTOxBUNB8J2lgKbmLIyPvBvbS1l1lCM5oHlw WXGlp70pspj3kaX4mOiFaWMKHhOLb+er8yh8jspM184= =5a6T -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- http://www.centerpeace.org ** Israel and the Middle East News Update ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Tuesday, July 7 ------------------------------------------------------------ Click here for a printer-friendly version. (http://www.centerpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/July-7.pdf) Headlines: * Hopes Fading for Iran Nuclear Deal by Tuesday Deadline * Iranian Deal set to Make Hardline Revolutionary Guards Richer * Rivlin: Next Gaza Conflict Could be Worse * Clinton 'Alarmed' by BDS Attempts to 'Delegitimize Israel' * Gold to Thank Indians for Apparent Shift in UN Voting Pattern * Ex-Iran President: Israel a Fake, Temporary Regime * Greece, Deep in Crisis, is Keen on Axis of ‘Security’ with Israel * Netanyahu Bars Mossad Head from Briefing Opposition Party Commentary: * Ha’aretz: “Netanyahu Prepares to Fight World over Iran Deal” - By Barak Ravid * Jerusalem Post: “No Holds Barred: Will Samantha Power be the First American UN Ambassador to Abandon Israel?” - By Shmuley Boteach ** Ha'aretz ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Hopes Fading for Iran Deal by Tuesday Deadline (http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/.premium-1.664652) ------------------------------------------------------------ Hopes of a nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers by Tuesday’s deadline faded on Monday, with the consensus being that an agreement will only be reached by week’s end. This feeling emerged when the Iranian delegation talked of a possible extension being required to conclude talks beyond Tuesday’s deadline. An Iranian diplomat who briefed Western correspondents said, “We are not committed to any deadline,” and urged the West to “make decisions.” The Iranian statements are, in effect, a mirror image of the messages of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday, when he said Iran and the world powers “are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues.” See also, “Iran nuclear talks hit potential snag over arms embargo” (Washington Post) (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/iran-nuclear-talks-could-miss-deadline-again/2015/07/06/ab42e8d2-cb49-4b6e-afbf-01884d73a5c5_story.html?hpid=z7) ** Ynet News ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Iran Deal set to Make Revolutionary Guards Richer (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4676971,00.html) ------------------------------------------------------------ Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have done very well out of international sanctions - and if a nuclear deal is done in Vienna this week under which those sanctions are lifted, they are likely to do better still. The Revolutionary Guards Corps is more than just a military force. It is also an industrial empire with political clout that has grown exponentially in the last decade. A Western diplomat who follows Iran closely told Reuters that the IRGC's recent annual turnover from all of its business activities was estimated to be around $10-12 billion. "Lifting sanctions will boost the economy; it will help them to gain more money." said an Iranian official in Tehran who asked not to be named. ** Times of Israel ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Rivlin: Next Gaza Conflict Could be Worse (http://www.timesofisrael.com/at-first-gaza-war-memorial-rivlin-warns-next-conflict-could-be-worse/) ------------------------------------------------------------ Israel held an official ceremony marking a year since last summer’s war with Gaza and memorializing 67 soldiers killed in the fighting, with President Reuven Rivlin warning that the next confrontation with Palestinian fighters in the Strip would be even tougher. Speaking to mourners at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery Monday, Rivlin warned that a new conflict would be inevitable if sporadic rocket fire from the Strip was not stemmed. “The next conflict will be even more difficult than the last. It is clear that such a conflict will require a decisive and difficult decision,” he said. ** Ynet News ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Clinton 'Alarmed' by BDS call to 'Delegitimize Israel' (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4676914,00.html) ------------------------------------------------------------ Leading Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton is "alarmed" by the boycott movement against Israel, she told Jewish media mogul Haim Saban in a letter. In a letter dated July 2, Clinton seeks Saban's advice on "how we can work together - across party lines and with a diverse array of voices - to reverse this trend with information and advocacy, and fight back against further attempts to isolate and delegitimize Israel." Clinton expressed concerns over comparisons between Israel and the apartheid regime in South Africa, and added that as anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide, now is the time "to repudiate forceful efforts to undermine Israel and the Jewish people." ** Jerusalem Post ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Gold to Thank India for Shift in UN Voting Pattern (http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Gold-to-thank-Indians-for-apparent-shift-in-UN-voting-pattern-408186) ------------------------------------------------------------ Foreign Ministry director- general Dore Gold is expected to thank India for an apparent change in its voting pattern on Israel-related issues at the UN when he leads a high level Israeli- Indian dialogue in the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. In a historic first in UN votes on Israel, India did not vote for the Palestinians, but rather abstained, in an anti-Israel resolution in the UN Human Rights Council last Friday. Indian government sources were quoted in the Indian media in December as saying that India, under the new government of Narendra Modi, was considering changing its automatic support for Palestinians at the UN, and abstaining on those votes. The Hindu newspaper at the time said such a move would be tantamount to a “tectonic shift” in the country’s foreign policy. See also, “Report: Jerusalem asked Britain to vote for anti-Israeli resolution” (Jerusalem Post) (http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Jerusalem-asked-Britain-to-vote-for-anti-Israeli-resolution-408172) ** Times of Israel ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Ex-Iran President: Israel a Fake, Temporary Regime ------------------------------------------------------------ Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told a Hezbollah-affiliated outlet that he was confident that the “forged and temporary Israeli entity” would be wiped off the map, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. According to the report, Rafsanjani, often described by Western media as a moderate in Iranian politics, said that Israel was an alien existence forged into the body of a nation which would eventually be destroyed. “When, and how that will happen, depends on conditions which are rapidly changing. Those conditions can be provided very soon if the usefulness period of Israel will expire,” he said. Rafsanjani said the destruction of the Jewish state could take some time since Israel’s supporters reaped significant benefits from its existence. ** Jerusalem Post ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Greece is Keen on Axis of ‘Security’ with Israel (http://www.jpost.com/International/Greece-deep-in-crisis-is-keen-on-axis-of-security-with-Israel-and-Cyprus-408195) ------------------------------------------------------------ With Greece’s future shrouded in great uncertainty, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias spoke in Jerusalem on Monday of developing an axis of security and stability among Israel, Greece, and Cyprus. Speaking alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu before their meeting, Kotzias said that, “We are living inside a triangle of destabilization,” which he said begins “at the top” with Ukraine, and extends on one side to Libya, and on the other through Iraq and Syria. “We have to create inside this triangle a security and stability framework, and the relations between Israel, Cyprus and Greece are very important,” he said. “I call it the stabilization line in this area.” ** Ha'aretz ------------------------------------------------------------ ** PM Bars Mossad Head from Briefing Opposition (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.664749) ------------------------------------------------------------ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has forbidden the head of the Mossad to brief Zionist Union Knesset members on the threat posed by ISIS (Islamic State) in the Sinai Peninsula. Zionist Union faction chairwoman Merav Michaeli, who submitted the request, said Netanyahu claimed such a briefing would set a precedent, and therefore, he didn’t want to approve it. “Netanyahu is wrong to think that senior civil servants are his personal advisers and work for him,” said Michaeli. “In Israel, they are public servants, and it’s completely unreasonable and inappropriate to prevent them from speaking to the public’s elected representatives.” ** Ha’aretz – July 7, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Netanyahu Prepares to Fight World over Iran Deal (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.664759) ------------------------------------------------------------ With communications between Washington and Jerusalem all but severed, Netanyahu is hedging his bets and preparing to fight Obama on Capitol Hill once a nuclear deal is announced. By Barak Ravid Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing for a world war. The reason, what else, is Iran's nuclear program. This offensive will not involve jet fighters descending on the nuclear facilities in Natanz or Fordo, but rather a frontal charge on Capitol Hill. Netanyahu's goal was and remains to enlist enough members from both houses of Congress to vote against the nuclear deal with Iran when President Obama puts it on the docket. An Israeli source noted that Netanyahu seems optimistic about his chances. According to the source, Netanyahu recently told Jewish-American leaders that the battle is not lost. Those who heard the prime minister's remarks say that it is hard to tell if he actually believes his own words or is only using the rhetoric to try and rally the troops. Either way, Netanyahu conveyed to his interlocutors that he believes that with the right steps, enough Democratic lawmakers with enough political clout can be swayed to stop the deal in its tracks. The question remains of when the opening shot of this war will be fired. The assessment among Netanyahu and the Israeli establishment is that a comprehensive deal with Iran is a matter of days to a few weeks away. The issues that remain to be resolved between Iran and world powers cast in a doubtful shadow the chances of reaching a deal by the July 9 deadline – the final date Obama can submit the agreement to Congress before it takes its summer recess a month later. If no deal emerges by July 9 there is a possibility that the White House will choose to continue negotiations without presenting any deal until Congress reconvenes on September 9. The rationale for this being the White House's desire to give Congress the minimum 30 day oversight period stipulated by law to examine the deal's wording. Should it be presented before Congress returns from recess, the deal's detractors will have double the time to plan for its demise in Congress. Israel is not completely in the dark about the talks in Vienna, but it has relatively limited information regarding the developments from recent weeks. On occasion a French or British diplomat will pass on a snippet of information and once every few days National Security Advisor Yossi Cohen receives a succinct briefing from U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman or from EU representative Helga Schmidt, but Israeli officials closely involved in the Iranian issue admit that Israel does not have the full picture and that uncertainty in Jerusalem is amassing. One of the main reasons Israel finds itself in such a bind stems from the fact that communications between Netanyahu and Obama administration officials has been almost non-existent over the last three weeks. The last time the two sides spoke in-depth about the issue was during Yossi Cohen's mid-June visit to Washington D.C. Cohen met with his counterpart, Susan Rice, as well as Sherman, who heads the U.S. negotiation team, but besides reiterating the regular disagreement between the two nations, no progress was made on the issue. Cohen returned much the same as he had left. Communications between Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have also been all but severed in recent weeks. Since arriving in Vienna 10 days ago for the latest round of talks with Iran, Kerry has not spoken with Netanyahu even once. Netanyahu for his part made little to no effort to get Kerry on the phone either. Both sides have come to understand that at this point of the talks they have little to talk about. The positons are known and both sides have abandoned the pretense of trying to convince each other. All that is left for Obama and Netanyahu to do now is gear up with helmets and flak jackets, and prepare for the political and media battle that will take Washington by storm the moment a deal is announced. ** Jerusalem Post – July 7, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------ ** No Holds Barred: Will Samantha Power be the First American UN Ambassador to Abandon Israel? (http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/No-Holds-Barred-Will-Samantha-Power-be-the-first-American-UN-ambassador-to-abandon-Israel-408170) ------------------------------------------------------------ If President Obama compels her to support this resolution, she must consider her position and her ability to continue as ambassador. By Shmuley Boteach Last week mega-philanthropist Michael Steinhardt, co-founder of Birthright Israel, which has brought 500,000 young Jews to Israel, joined with our organization The World Values Network in a full-page New York Times ad about Ambassador Samantha Power. In the ad Steinhardt reminded the ambassador of her commitment at her Senate confirmation hearings: “I will stand up for Israel and work tirelessly to defend it” at the United Nations. At the AIPAC Annual Policy Conference in Washington, DC, in March, Power avowed, “It is a false choice to tell Israel that it has to choose between peace on the one hand, and security on the other. The United Nations would not ask any other country to make that choice, and it should not ask it of Israel.” Power, of course, was correct – security is the foundation of any sustainable peace framework in the Middle East. To its credit, the United States has long stood for justice and served as an essential check against overreach, anti-Semitism and double standards by Arab and European nations at the UN. Reports have emerged that France plans to put a resolution before the UN Security Council that will call for immediate resumption of peace talks between Israel and the PA with a hard cap of 18 months for a final deal. Under the French proposal, if no deal is reached in 18 months, the UN would recognize the Palestinian state, effectively granting legitimacy to an organization that has consistently proven incompetent, corrupt, hostile to democratic values and openly supportive of terrorism. While the global Jewish community has come to expect little from France, Hamdallah said France and the US are “coordinating” on the diplomatic catastrophe. There also exists the possibility that should Israel refuse to accept a UN Security Council Resolution authorizing a timetable for the unilateral creation of a Palestinian state, economic sanctions could be levied against the Jewish state. For starters, the very notion of this process – which rewards the PA for failure – is patently absurd. In practice, if Israel doesn’t capitulate to every demand of the Palestinian negotiators, the Palestinians are granted statehood. There is zero incentive for Palestinians to even pretend to negotiate in good faith. The mortifying results of the American discussions with Iran on nuclear weapons lowered the world’s estimation of the US State Department’s ability to negotiate, but this framework would be a historic nadir. It’s also worth questioning whether this proposal is even in the best interests of the Palestinian people. The PA’s leadership has repeatedly proven itself incapable of adhering to basic democratic principles, transparency and rule of law. The PA’s history of graft, support of terrorism and lack of accountability is staggering. But at a personal level, it’s not simply the concept of this proposal that is mortifying – it’s the person who would be central to the decision for the United States to betray its closest ally if this proposal moved forward: Ambassador Samantha Power. As many know, long before she became Ambassador Power, she was a well-regarded academic studying human rights at Harvard’s Kennedy School. It was there she wrote the Pulitzer-winning book that launched her career into orbit, A Problem from Hell, the stirring and essential indictment of the inability of the US to act against genocide over the past 100 years. But as her star rose in the Obama administration, many began paying attention to other early statements and writing, including specific ones that raised great concern about her feelings toward Israel and understanding of the conflict. These might have gone unnoticed for any ordinary academic speaking loosely early in her career, but Power was no ordinary academic. Due to those earlier statements, Power wasn’t implicitly trusted by members of the Jewish community when she took her role in the National Security Council. After writing an op-ed where I encouraged her to clarify her statements, she did just that. We met in the White House and spoke candidly – and even quite emotionally – about Israel, the challenges in the region and the real concerns of anti-Semitism that some had regarding her earlier statements. Her passion and emphatic support of Israel was self-evident and convincing. From that moment on, I became intent on transforming the Jewish community’s opinion of her, working side-by-side to persuade others that she was someone whose judgment and understanding of the conflict could be trusted when it came to issues related to Israel. Ultimately, when the time came for her nomination to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, the Jewish American community registered strong, widespread support. Yet in recent months, the person currently representing America before the United Nations has been a far cry from the Samantha I knew. It has pained me to see her embrace the disastrous Iran deal, even as its leadership repeatedly and unapologetically threatened Israel with genocide. Even unrelated to issues involving Israel, she failed to recognize the Armenian genocide by its proper name on its 100th anniversary in April, joining the ranks of that “problem from hell.” The latter was particularly breathtaking given her impassioned plea to the Armenian-American community in 2008 to support President Barack Obama entirely predicated on his commitment to recognize the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as genocide. Still, I concede Iran and the Armenian genocide are issues somewhat tangential to her role. This French proposal, however, is not. It is squarely and unambiguously her responsibility, and will be remembered as a turning point for her legacy. She will be confronted with a stark choice between doing what’s right or giving in to the misguided rhetoric of the UN. For the sake of justice as well as her legacy, she must stand firm and act on the commitment to Israel she impressed so many with when her nomination was considered. The path forward is clear: the US – and specifically Ambassador Power – must stand in the way of any attempt to move this resolution through the UN Security Council. Moreover, if President Obama compels her to support this resolution, she must consider her position and her ability to continue as ambassador. This resolution proposed by the French and the pledges she made to the Jewish community to stand by Israel’s side are completely incompatible, especially in light of the PA’s collaboration with Hamas whose genocidal charter against Israel remains in full force. In recent years, the UN has shown shocking hostility to Israel that would be comical if it were not so serious. From the modern-day blood libel of the Goldstone Report to the laughable double standards applied by any number of UN General Assembly resolutions. As anti-Israel and anti-Semitic fervor has captured the imagination of the UN, the US has stood by the Negroponte doctrine and proudly asserted its support for the only true democracy and ally of the US in the region time and time again. I am supremely confident the Samantha Power I knew would hold up this tradition. Her legacy and the security of the State of Israel depend on it. ============================================================ S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 ** www.centerpeace.org (http://www.centerpeace.org) 2015 S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, All rights reserved. YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS EMAIL BECAUSE YOU SIGNED UP FOR OUR NEWS UPDATES. ** unsubscribe from this list (http://centerpeace.us7.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=232a4a45176fccacab865e520&id=929d521884&e=a7f9100a75&c=85e1f733d4) ** update subscription preferences (http://centerpeace.us7.list-manage2.com/profile?u=232a4a45176fccacab865e520&id=929d521884&e=a7f9100a75)