podesta_email_00396.txt

podesta-emails 2,933 words email

P17 V11 V16 V12 D4

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http://www.centerpeace.org ** Israel and the Middle East News Update ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Tuesday, July 21 ------------------------------------------------------------ Click here for a printer-friendly version. (http://www.centerpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/July-21.pdf) Headlines: * US Defense Secretary: We will Help Israel Defend ItselfBB old headline 2 * EU to Pitch New Formula in Bid to Jump-Start Peace Talks * EU to Israel: Halt Forced Population Transfers * Iran Dismisses Germany’s Call to Recognize Israel * UN Security Council Endorses Iran Nuke Deal * UN Recognizes NGO that Israel Claims has Ties to Hamas * Anti-Defamation League sets Bar for Congress Approval of Deal * Bennett Scolds Lapid for Iran Inquiry Call Commentary: * New York Times: “A Good Deal for Israel" - By Chuck Freilich * Ynet News: “Before we Storm Capitol Hill” - By Efraim Halevy ** Ynet News ------------------------------------------------------------ ** US Defense Secretary: We will Help Israel Defend Itself (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4681981,00.html) ------------------------------------------------------------ US Defense Secretary Ash Carter was warmly welcomed by his Israeli counterpart Monday on the first Cabinet-level US visit to the Jewish state since the Iran nuclear deal was announced. The Pentagon chief met at Israel's defense headquarters with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and on today is to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has strongly criticized the Iran deal. In a joint press conference held by the two defense chiefs, Carter said the US would do all it could to help Israel defend itself including continued funding for missile defense, joint training, and advanced equipment like the F-35, which Israel will receive before all other international partners next year. See also, “U.S., Israel seek common ground on proxies amid divisions over Iran deal” (Washington Post) (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-israel-seek-common-ground-on-proxies-amid-divisions-over-iran-deal/2015/07/20/bdb916b0-2e61-11e5-bf54-9c6cf6a79573_story.html) ** AFP ------------------------------------------------------------ ** EU to Pitch New Formula in Bid to Jump-Start Peace (http://www.timesofisrael.com/eu-to-pitch-new-formula-in-bid-to-jump-start-peace-talks/) ------------------------------------------------------------ The EU said Monday it will explore setting up a new international format to breathe life back into the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, fresh from her role in the Iran nuclear deal, said she was working on an idea for an “international support group.” “We have invested a lot as the EU” in trying to revive the moribund Middle East peace process, Mogherini said after a meeting of the bloc’s 28 foreign ministers in Brussels. “The idea of an international support group is one that we will explore in coming weeks. We will come back to it once I have discussed it with regional actors,” she said. ** Ynet News ------------------------------------------------------------ ** EU to Israel: Halt Forced Population Transfers (http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4682220,00.html) ------------------------------------------------------------ The foreign ministers of the EU on Monday discussed what they perceived to be obstacles to peace, including what they termed "forced transfers", settlements. A list of decisions made at the meeting stated that among other things, the EU "calls on Israeli authorities to halt plans for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure in the Susya and Abu Nwar communities." The decision went on to state that the EU "reiterates its strong opposition to Israel's settlement policy and actions taken in this context, such as evictions, forced transfers including of Bedouins, illegal outposts, settler violence and restrictions of movement and access." The statement concluded that "these actions seriously threaten the two-state solution." See also, “U.S. warns Israel against evicting Palestinians from Susya” (+972 News) (http://972mag.com/u-s-warns-israel-against-evicting-palestinians-from-susya/108989/) ** Times of Israel ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Iran Dismisses Germany’s Call to Recognize Israel (http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-refuses-germanys-call-to-recognize-israel/) ------------------------------------------------------------ Iran dismissed a German official’s appeal that it recognize the State of Israel’s right to exist, saying its stance is not going to change following the signing of a nuclear accord. “We have totally different views from Germany on certain regional issues in the Middle East and we have explicitly expressed our viewpoints in different negotiations,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said Monday, according to the Fars news agency. She added that “this is not something new.” ** Ha'aretz ------------------------------------------------------------ ** UN Security Council Endorses Iran Nuke Deal (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.666925) ------------------------------------------------------------ The United Nations Security Council unanimously endorsed on Monday the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers reached last week in Vienna, as well as the lifting of some sanctions. The resolution will take effect in 90 days. Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message to U.S. lawmakers in congress, in attempt to try and convince them to oppose the nuclear deal with Iran. "The United Nations Security Council resolution (endorsing the agreement with Iran) isn't the last word," Netanyahu said during a Likud faction meeting in Jerusalem. "As long as the sanctions imposed by the U.S. Congress are in effect, Iran would have to make concessions." ** Associated Press ------------------------------------------------------------ ** UN Recognizes NGO Claimed to have Ties to Hamas (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.667032) ------------------------------------------------------------ The United Nations approved UN accreditation Monday for the London-based Palestinian Return Center in a defeat for Israel which claims the organization is affiliated with Hamas and "openly promotes terrorism." The center, which describes itself as an independent consultancy dedicated to find a solution for the Palestinian refugees in accordance with international law, has denied the Israeli allegations. Last month, the UN committee that accredits NGOs, recommended that the center's application be approved. But Israel circulated a resolution, co-sponsored by the US, Australia and Canada, to the committee's parent body, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), opposing the application. In Monday's vote, 13 countries supported Israel's resolution, 16 were opposed and 18 abstained, meaning the resolution was defeated and the application was approved. ** Jerusalem Post ------------------------------------------------------------ ** ADL sets Bar for Congress Approval of Iran Deal (http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran/Anti-Defamation-League-sets-bar-for-approval-of-Iran-deal-in-Congress-409629) ------------------------------------------------------------ The Anti-Defamation League has joined a growing list of major American Jewish organizations demanding tough questions to be answered by and for Congress, over the strength of the Iran nuclear deal, or else they will insist that the US legislature reject it. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, B'nai B'rith International, the Orthodox Union and AJC have all voiced deep concern or outright opposition to the deal announced last week by Tehran and international powers. “Congress should critically examine how the deal would be implemented, whether it can, in fact, effectively safeguard America and its allies from the threat posed by a nuclear Iran, and consider additional appropriate policies and measures that will decrease the likelihood Iran will become a nuclear weapons state,” said ADL chair Barry Curtiss-Lusher and Abe Foxman, ADL's national director. ** Times of Israel ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Bennett Scolds Lapid for Iran Inquiry Call (http://www.timesofisrael.com/bennett-scolds-lapid-for-iran-inquiry-call/) ------------------------------------------------------------ Education Minister Naftali Bennett chastised Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid on Monday for his public criticism of the government’s handling of the Iranian issue, as well as his call for an inquiry on the matter. “Every soldier knows that you don’t conduct an investigation during a battle. If you don’t want to help, at least don’t interfere,” he said during a Jewish Home faction meeting, according to the NRG news site. Bennett was reacting to Lapid’s call on Saturday to establish a state commission of inquiry into what he said was Netanyahu’s diplomatic failure regarding the newly signed nuclear deal with Iran. “When you speak in Hebrew and attack us, the world knows how to translate it. I expect our politicians to act responsibly, especially at this time,” Bennett said. ** New York Times -July 20, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------ ** A Good Deal for Israel (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/20/opinion/a-good-deal-for-israel.html?_r=0) ------------------------------------------------------------ By Chuck Freilich The prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, responded to the Iran deal as expected: It is bad, endangers Israel, he argued; we are against it and will be the only American ally not only to oppose it, but to go down gloriously, fighting a battle in Congress that we are destined to lose. Mr. Netanyahu often warns that Iran is like Nazi Germany in 1938, fooling naïve appeasers even as it plans a cataclysm for Jews. But only those who never see merit in any proposal and never initiate their own could respond as the Israeli leader has. Not that the agreement is without faults. President Obama negotiated from a position of weakness and conveyed a message that failure to obtain a deal was not an option. He misguidedly took the military option off the table long ago and made it clear that a return to sanctions would be a poor outcome. Indeed, Iran will be allowed to retain its nuclear infrastructure instead of dismantling it, and most parts of the agreement are limited to 10 to 15 years, instead of being permanent. It remains to be seen what inspections Iran will actually allow, and the dispute resolution mechanism is cumbersome. The agreement also does not address Iran’s destructive regional role, including its support for terrorism. In fact, the added revenue it will receive as a result of the relaxation of sanctions may enable more aggressive action. So, yes, we could have gotten a better deal. Israel wanted something different (as did the United States), but this is the agreement that was reached — and despite its faults, it is not a bad one. Crucially, it will contribute to Israel’s security. will not face the danger of annihilation. For Israel, that is a major achievement. It will enable Israel to divert precious resources to more immediate threats, like Hezbollah’s more than 130,000 rockets, Hamas and the Islamic State, and no less important, to pressing domestic needs. No agreement is ironclad, but the inspections provisions provide a high degree of confidence that Iran will not be able to renew the nuclear program without its being detected. A regime that has staked so much on this agreement will be reluctant to incur the costs. It was Israel that decided years ago to give priority to the nuclear issue, as an existential threat, over all other Iranian transgressions, and concluded that if we can just resolve the nuclear threat, that would be good enough. Malign as Iran’s other actions are — its regional role, support for terrorism and more — they can be dealt with at a later date; the overriding priority is the nuclear threat. By portraying the issue in absolute terms, Mr. Netanyahu obfuscated the fact that the agreement is not the end of the story, merely another stage in a decade’s long struggle to prevent Iran from going nuclear. Both Israel and the United States wanted a knockout blow; what we got was a punt. The nuclear issue has not been resolved, but postponed for at least 10 years. When the agreement expires, or in the event of a violation, the international community may have to resume its efforts. Iran has not given up its long-term nuclear aspirations. The agreement’s detractors have been long on invective, short on suggestions. A collapse of the talks would have freed Iran to go forward and left America struggling to maintain a sanctions regime weakened by international disunity. Israel would have remained isolated, left only with the military option. These are hardly desirable outcomes. Israel may, at some point, still have to go the military route, but it is abundantly clear that no one in Jerusalem has been avid to do so. Had Mr. Netanyahu wanted to launch an attack, he had many chances. But for very good reasons, not the least of which was American opposition, he did not. An attack probably could not have achieved more than a few years’ postponement of Iran’s program, whereas the agreement will do so for at least 10 to 15 years. After the deal expires, it’s conceivable that Iran will prefer to avoid becoming an international pariah again. Over decades, Israel has built a unique alliance with the United States. This partnership has provided Israel with extensive aid, turned the Israel Defense Forces into one of the world’s most advanced militaries and safeguarded Israel’s interests in hostile international forums. Without America, the I.D.F. would be an empty shell, and Israel would be isolated and sanctioned. Part of being a junior ally is knowing when to say, “Enough, we have made our case, time to be a team player.” Nothing is more important for Israel’s security than the vitality of its relationship with the United States — which Israel will still need in order to deal with Iran in the future. Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security adviser in Israel, is a senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center. ** Ynet News – July 21, 2015 ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Before we Storm Capitol Hill ------------------------------------------------------------ As Netanyahu tries to muster a majority in US Congress against deal with Iran, It's important to hold a profound debate in Israel on whether no agreement is preferable to a signed agreement with components that are crucial for Israel's security. By Efraim Halevy The importance of the agreement reached in Vienna is not only in the detailed arrangements aimed at blocking Iran's way to a military nuclear weapon in the coming decade, but also – and that's as important – in the fact that the document was also signed by Russia and China. This is a rare moment in the complicated relationship between the United States and Tehran's two pronounced friends and main weapon providers. Iran isn't the only country which made concessions in the tough negotiations that were held until the very last moment. Moscow and Beijing committed to it too. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to muster the required majority in the US Congress against the agreement. US President Barack Obama has already announced that he plans to veto such a decision, which would cause the agreement to collapse and erase all the concessions made by Iran. Without an agreement, Iran will be free to do as it pleases, while the sanctions regime will anyway crumble, as many of the world's countries will rush to Tehran to sign profitable contracts. The US will then lose its influence over the situation in the 18 months left until the end of Obama's term, its leadership will be castrated and humiliated, while Israel will only remain with the independent military option. That's what British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond referred to when he said that Netanyahu is not interested in any agreement with Iran, regardless of its content. Hammond's impression is gaining strength in light of the major changes taking place in the Israeli strategy these days. At first, Israel maintained that the Iranian threat is a unique, existential threat which must be dealt with separately. The entire international community teamed up for this purpose, and that was the only goal of the biting sanctions against Iran. Israel had its work done by others. After all, it wasn't Israeli sanctions which forced Iran to report to the negotiations. Israel wanted others to do what was required, and they did. The message sheet in the government spokespeople's hands overturns the previous Israeli strategy by cancelling the nuclear issue's uniqueness. The attempt to change the rules of the game and include additional demands from Iran in the agreement, like recognizing Israel and halting the support for terror, shows that Netanyahu has no interest in any agreement. Why if the nuclear issue is of existential-cardinal importance, what is the point in annulling an agreement which keeps Iran away from the bomb in order to try and insert clauses regarding terror, which is definitely not an existential threat to Israel? As far as terror is concerned, other economic and financial sanctions have been declared, and they will remain valid. The declaration that Israel will not be committed to the agreement is unnecessary, and many even see it as ridiculous. Israel was never a side to the negotiations, and it is not committed to their results in any event. Iran made concessions in a series of critical matters – it loathed the actual detailed discussion of its nuclear plans, and it has been hit with serious restrictions for the next 10 to 15 years. In the Middle East, a decade is eternity. Iran was also forced to agree to an invasive and unique supervision regime like no other in the world. The agreement even allows inspections at sites which supreme leader Ali Khamenei announced that he would not let inspectors into. In addition, the agreement sets a – complex but clear – process giving a forum with a clear Western majority the possibility of restoring the sanctions even without Russia and China's consent. And this is only a partial list of the concessions. A moment before we storm Capitol Hill, led by the Israeli ambassador to Washington, it's important to hold a profound debate in Israel on whether no agreement is preferable to an agreement which includes components that are crucial for Israel's security. There will be no other agreement and no other negotiations. What is better, a signed agreement or no agreement? Efraim Halevy is a former Mossad chief. ============================================================ 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. 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