LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 11/2013

Bible Quotation for today/
Joel 02/13-18: " Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.  Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God.  Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly.  Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, and those who nurse from breasts. Let the bridegroom go forth from his room, and the bride out of her room.  Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh, and don’t give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” Then Yahweh was jealous for his land, And had pity on his people.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
 Ahmadinejad in Al-Azhar/By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid/Asharq Alawsat/February 11/13
Another Fitna/By Hussein Shabokshi/Asharq Alawsat/February 11/13

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for February 11/13
 Pope resignation sends shockwaves through Church
Iran Militia in Syria Preparing for Assad Fall
 Arabs Look for Decisive Obama in Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations
 US withdrawal from Europe-based missile shield will impact Israel’s defense
 Washington Post: Iran, Hizbullah Try to Build Militias Inside Syria
 Iran, Hezbollah building militia network in Syria
 Bulgaria to present findings to EU on Burgas probe
Al-Rahi to Head to Iraq, Russia after Syria Visit
 34 Charged over Arsal Army Ambush, Municipal Chief Summoned
 Lebanese Policeman Killed, Inmates Injured as Prisoners Truck Overturns at Beirut Entrance
 Jumblat Calls against Victimizing Arsal: Some Petty MPs Employing Clash for Political Gain
 9 Dead, Dozens Hurt in Blast at Turkey-Syria Border Crossing
 Belgium House Speaker arrives in Beirut
MP Jarrah denies Arsal haven for 'terrorists'
 Businessman Najib Youssef Freed after in Lebanon 6-Day Kidnap Ordeal
 Phalange to Make New Electoral Law Proposal: Hizbullah's Defiance of the State Led to Arsal Attack
 Aoun Vows to Uproot Corruption: We are Waging a War to Liberate Lebanese Society
 Assad Says Syria Will not Submit to 'Plots'
 Villagers Confront Jihadist Rebels in Northern Syria
 Syria's Assad vows to resist as blast hits Turkish border
Alkhatib Renews Call for Talks with Assad Regime
 Egypt's Muslim Clerics Elect Top Islamic Jurist
Egypt protests on anniversary of Mubarak ouster
Russia: France Fighting in Mali Rebels It Armed in Libya
 Tunisia Islamist leader says unity cabinet imminent

The recent boycott, divestment and sanctions and the Jewish Studies Trap 

Lent in the Catholic Maronite Church
By: Elias Bejjani
February 11/13
Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. In our Catholic Maronite Church Lent starts this year on the ASH Monday, February 11/12. Lent in principle is a Holy period that is ought to be utilized with God in genuine contemplation, self humility, repentance, penances, forgiveness, praying and conciliation with self and others.
Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy.
It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter.
Even in the “valley of darkness” of which the Psalmist speaks (Ps 23:4), while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and during the entire Lenten period, the Church offers us God's Word with particular abundance.
By meditating and internalizing the Word in order to live it every day, we learn a precious and irreplaceable form of prayer; by attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism.
Prayer also allows us to gain a new concept of time: without the perspective of eternity and transcendence, in fact, time simply directs our steps towards a horizon without a future.
Instead, when we pray, we find time for God, to understand that his "words will not pass away" (cf. Mk 13: 31), to enter into that intimate communion with Him "that no one shall take from you" (Jn 16: 22), opening us to the hope that does not disappoint, eternal life.

Iran, Hezbollah building militia network in Syria
Feb 11, 2013 11:10 Moscow Time
Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have jointly set up an armed militia group called Jaysh al-Shabi to fight insurgents, the Washington Post says.
US Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen was cited as saying that Jaysh al-Shabi is effectively an Iran-Hezbollah “joint venture.”
According to the source, as many as 50,000 Iran-backed militiamen are operating in the war-torn Syria. Tehran provides them with cash and armor, while the Iranian Revolutionary Guards oversee their training. Iran has multiples times denied these allegations.
Syrian opposition says willing to negotiate in north Syria
Syrian National Coalition leader Moaz al-Khatib said on Sunday he was willing to hold talks with Bashar al-Assad's representatives in rebel-held areas in northern Syria.
The talks' objective would be to find a way for Assad to leave power with the "minimum of bloodshed and destruction", al-Khatib said in a statement published on his Facebook page.
Brahimi in continued Syria diplomacy
International Syria envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has met in Cairo with head of the National Coalition of the Syrian Opposition Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib to discuss Khatib’s avowed readiness to accept peace talks provided the Syrian government releases all women and all 160,000 opposition supporters held in Syrian jails. Brahimi also held talks on Sunday with Arab League Secretary General Nabil El-Arabi on the “latest developments of the Syrian crisis and the possible efforts to resolve it,” KUNA news agency reported.
In late January, Al-Khatib, a leader of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNCROF), said he was ready to start talks with Syrian authorities, but demanded the release of 160,000 prisoners and the extension of expired passports for Syrians living outside the country.
He later said the dialogue will not start if all women being held in Syrian prisons are not released by February 10.
The Syrian government said earlier this week it is open for dialogue with the opposition, but without any preconditions.
Syria has been locked in an increasingly bloody civil war since demonstrations broke out against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. According to UN estimates, at least 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
Voice of Russia, Reuters, RIA, Washington Post

Bulgaria to present findings to EU on Burgas probe
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT 02/10/2013/Interior minister claims fake documents used by suspects was traced to Beirut, says identity of two or three suspects is known.BERLIN – Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov announced Sunday that he will meet with his EU counterparts on February 18, to discuss the results of an investigation showing Hezbollah’s involvement in the murders of five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver in Burgas last July.
Vessela Tcherneva, a Bulgraian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told The Jerusalem Post via telephone on Sunday that the foreign minister will brief the EU foreign ministers on the “political aspects” of the Burgas investigation, under the “any other business” section of the agenda.
Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov on Tuesday accused two operatives from Hezbollah’s military wing of participating in the bomb attack on a bus at Burgas Airport, which resulted in the deaths of five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver and injured over 30 Israelis.
One of the three suspected terrorists died in the explosion, which is believed to have been triggered by a remote control device.
An Interior Ministry spokeswoman told the Post on Sunday that ministry official Kalin Georgiev gave an interview on Saturday in which is he said that “the investigation is entering a new stage, to collect direct evidence on the perpetrators of the attack.”
The spokeswoman added that Georgiev said, “The printer, which had printed out the fake documents of the bus bomber and his two accomplices, has been tracked down to Beirut... our services and investigation know the identity of two of three men.”
Moreover, Darik Radio, the largest private radio station in Bulgaria, conducted an interview with the foreign minister in which he suggested that Bulgaria might be moving toward the British position of sanctioning Hezbollah. The UK outlawed the military wing of Hezbollah five years ago due to terrorism.
Asked if Bulgaria will in fact move forward with the terrorism designation, he said, “I don’t see any other option...
but I want to note that we don’t have a legal procedure to declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization on our own. We will work towards a common EU decision.”
Mladenov continued: “Now that we have said they [Hezbollah’s military wing] are responsible for the Burgas attack, we cannot have a soft or vague position.`” When questioned by Darik Radio if France and Germany are hesitant to outlaw Hezbollah, he said, “We can’t hide behind politically motivated arguments. They [Hezbollah} came here and perpetrated a terrorist act on our territory. We need to have self respect and speak the truth.”
“Our links lead to the military wing. We are not talking about the party in the Lebanese parliament,” Mladenov stressed.
The Sofia News Agency reported Sunday that Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov thanked the US government for its assistance in the investigation.
Borisov and US Secretary of State John Kerry talked on Saturday and Kerry praised the Bulgarian authorities for the “high professionalism” of their investigation.
Meanwhile, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday denied media reports that Iranian Ambassador Gholamreza Bageri will leave the country and Tehran will downgrade its diplomatic relations with Sofia over the findings that implicated Hezbollah, the Sofia News Agency also reported.
*Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.

Pope's resignation sends shockwaves through Church
February 11, 2013By Philip Pullella/Daily Star
VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict said in a historic announcement he no longer had the mental and physical strength to run the Roman Catholic Church and would become the first pontiff in more than 700 years to resign, leaving his inner circle "incredulous".Church officials tried to relay a climate of calm confidence in the running of a 2,000-year-old institution but the decision could lead to one of the most uncertain and unstable periods in centuries for a Church besieged by scandal and defections.
The Church has been rocked during Benedict's nearly eight-year papacy by child sexual abuse crises and Muslim anger after the Pope compared Islam to violence. Jews were upset over rehabilitation of a Holocaust denier and there was scandal over the leaking of the Pope's private papers by his personal butler.
In the announcement read to cardinals in Latin, the German-born Pope, 85, said: "Well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of St Peter ...
"As from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours (1900 GMT) the See of Rome, the See of St. Peter will be vacant and a conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is."
The Pope, known for his conservative doctrine, did not intend to influence the decision of the cardinals who will enter a secret conclave to elect a successor, Vatican spokesman Father Lombardi Federico said.
Benedict stepped up the Church's opposition to gay marriage, underscored the Church's resistance to a female priesthood and to embryonic stem cell research.
A new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics could be elected as soon as Palm Sunday, on March 24 and be ready to take over by Easter a week later, he said.
Lombardi said the Pope did not fear a possible "schism" but several Popes in the past, including Benedict's predecessor John Paul, refrained from stepping down precisely because of the confusion and division that could be caused by having an "ex-Pope" and a reigning Pope living at the same time.
This could create a particularly difficult problem if the next Pope is a progressive who influences such teachings as the ban on women priests and artificial birth control and its insistence on a celibate priesthood.
"This is disconcerting, he is leaving his flock," said Alessandra Mussolini, a parliamentarian who is granddaughter of Italy's wartime dictator.
"The Pope is not any man. He is the vicar of Christ. He should stay on to the end, go ahead and bear his cross to the end. This is a huge sign of world destabilisation that will weaken the Church."
The Pope's elder brother Georg Ratzinger, a frail 89-year-old priest who shares the Pope's passion for music, told reporters in the Bavarian town of Regensburg where he once conducted the cathedral choir that he had been "very surprised" to learn of his brother's resignation.
"He alone can evaluate his physical and emotional strength," said Ratzinger.
Lombardi said Benedict would first go to the papal summer residence south of Rome and then move into a cloistered convent inside the Vatican walls. It was not clear if Benedict would have a public life.
The last Pope to resign willingly was Celestine V in 1294 after reigning for only five months, his resignation was known as "the great refusal" and was condemned by the poet Dante in the "Divine Comedy". Gregory XII reluctantly abdicated in 1415 to end a dispute with a rival claimant to the papacy.
Lombardi said Benedict's decision showed "great courage". He ruled out any specific illness or depression and said the decision was made in the last few months "without outside pressure".
While the Pope had slowed down recently - he started using a cane and a wheeled platform to take him up the long aisle in St Peter's Square - he had given no hint recently that he was mulling such a dramatic decision.
I am really surprised," said Ricardo Rodriguez, a Portuguese tourist in St Peter's Square. "I hope the next Pope can be better than this one doing the best for the world and Catholics," he said.
Elected in 2005 to succeed the enormously popular John Paul, Benedict never appeared to feel comfortable in a job he said he never wanted. He had wanted to retire to his native Germany to pursue his theological writings, something which he will now do from a convent inside the Vatican.
The resignation means that cardinals from around the world will begin arriving in Rome in March and after preliminary meetings, lock themselves in a secret conclave.
There has been growing pressure on the Church for the cardinals to shun European contenders and choose a Pope from the developing world in order to better reflect parts of the globe where most Catholics live and where the Church is growing.
The Pope told the cardinals that in order to govern "...both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me."
He referred to "today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith".
Before he was elected Pope, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was known by such critical epithets as "God's rottweiler" because of his stern stand on theological issues.
After a few months, he showed his mild side but he never drew the kind of adulation that had marked the 27-year papacy of his predecessor John Paul.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the worldwide Anglican communion at odds with the Vatican over women priests, said he had learned of the Pope's decision with a heavy heart but complete understanding.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Pope's decision must be respected if he feels he is too weak to carry out his duties. British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "He will be missed as a spiritual leader to millions."
Elected to the papacy on April 19, 2005 when he was 78 - 20 years older than John Paul was when he was elected - Benedict ruled over a slower-paced, more cerebral and less impulsive Vatican.
But while conservatives cheered him for trying to reaffirm traditional Catholic identity, his critics accused him of turning back the clock on reforms by nearly half a century and hurting dialogue with Muslims, Jews and other Christians.
Under the German's meek demeanour lay a steely intellect ready to dissect theological works for their dogmatic purity and debate fiercely against dissenters.
After appearing uncomfortable in the limelight at the start, he began feeling at home with his new job and showed that he intended to be Pope in his way.
Despite great reverence for his charismatic, globe-trotting predecessor -- whom he put on the fast track to sainthood and whom he beatified in 2011 -- aides said he was determined not to change his quiet manner to imitate John Paul's style.
A quiet, professorial type who relaxed by playing the piano, he managed to show the world the gentle side of the man who was the Vatican's chief doctrinal enforcer for nearly a quarter of a century.
The first German Pope for some 1,000 years and the second non-Italian in a row, he travelled regularly, making about four foreign trips a year, but never managed to draw the oceanic crowds of his predecessor.
The child abuse scandals hounded most of his papacy. He ordered an official inquiry into abuse in Ireland, which led to the resignation of several bishops.
Scandal from a source much closer to home hit in 2012 when the pontiff's butler, responsible for dressing him and bringing him meals, was found to be the source of leaked documents alleging corruption in the Vatican's business dealings, causing an international furore.
Benedict confronted his own country's past when he visited the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.
Calling himself "a son of Germany", he prayed and asked why God was silent when 1.5 million victims, most of them Jews, died there during World War Two.
Ratzinger served in the Hitler Youth during World War Two when membership was compulsory. He was never a member of the Nazi party and his family opposed Adolf Hitler's regime.

Iran Militia in Syria Preparing for Assad Fall
London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah are building militia forces inside Syria to ensure their post-Assad influence in the country, according to officials quoted by the Washington Post.
The allegations focus on the Jaysh Al-Sha’bi, a militia that was sanctioned last year by the US Treasury Department, which claims the militia has “conducted unilateral and joint operations with Syrian military and security elements against the Syrian opposition that have resulted in the deaths and injuries of Syrian opposition members.”
The Treasury Department say that Iran has provided millions of dollars of funding to the force, which the paper’s sources allege could mean support for as many as 50,000 militiamen.
While Iran has backed the government of Bashar Al-Assad, Tehran’s support for the militia is likely an attempt to ensure that Iran has a local ally in the event of the collapse of the beleaguered government headed by Bashar Al-Assad, one that can help secure Iranian interests. One official quoted by the paper said: “The immediate intention seems to be support for the Syrian regime. But it’s important for Iran to have a force in Syria that is reliable and can be counted on.”
Among these interests is Tehran’s relationship with Hezbollah in Lebanon, another close ally of Iran. “Jaysh is essentially an Iran-Hezbollah joint venture,” said to David Cohen, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. According to the Treasury Department, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah have provided “training, advice, and weapons and equipment” for the force.
The militia may therefore be a means by which Iran can keep a supply line open to its ally in Lebanon if the government collapses and Syria descends into sectarian warfare, as neighboring Lebanon did in the 1970s, allowing Iran to retain some influence in both countries.

Arabs Look for Decisive Obama in Palestinian-Israeli Negotiations
By Michel Abu Najm /Paris, Asharq Al-Awsat—Following the announcement that US President Barack Obama will visit Israel and Palestine for the first time next spring, Arab ministerial sources warned Asharq Al-Awsat that the US president has only a short window to advance peace.
They said: "Obama has 18 months to achieve something on the question of peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. Afterward, there will be the midterm elections and the presidential campaign, which will lead to a decline in interest in this issue."
The sources, which requested anonymity, say they have observed some "encouraging" developments that indicate a serious US effort to break the deadlock that has gripped the Palestinian-Israeli issue since 2010. The first of these is the reelection of President Obama, as well as the appointment of the veteran politician John Kerry, who is acquainted with the details of the standoff, as Secretary of State. The ministerial sources, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat in Paris, say that "the new Obama" is qualified to be "more effective and decisive" than Obama in his first term. The second element is the formation of a new Israeli government following the recent elections, which have seen the softening of the positions of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his need to cooperate with political centrists, represented by Ya'ir Lapid, leader of Yesh Atid (There Is A Future) Party, who is nominated to be the foreign minister Re-launching the negotiations with the Palestinians was one of the items of his election platform. Until the new Israeli government arrives, the Arab sources say that Netanyahu will have to listen to the demands of the centrists, and not to close the door in the face of those who favor progress on the question of peace and the establishment of the Palestinian state. In addition, Netanyahu has no interest in clashing with Obama in the same way he did in the previous four years, which was characterized by poor personal relations between him and the US president.
There is also serious European and Arab pressure to push the US Administration to re-engage in the Middle East. Asharq Al-Awsat has obtained identical information from French and Arab sources that Paris, London, and Berlin are working on the draft of a new "roadmap," which will be presented to the US President to urge him to re-commit to the Arab-Israeli issue and not be sidetracked by consequences of the "Arab Spring" and the Iranian nuclear program.
The Arab sources disclosed that the discussion today is focused on "conceptualizing a framework for resuming the negotiations without hitting the complex of settlement activity and halting it once again." One option under consideration is to consider settlement activity a subject "that can be resolved through the agreement on the item concerning borders in the final-status negotiations." Therefore, it is necessary "not to give Netanyahu a chance to weasel out of the negotiations" since settlement activity is picking up speed, with or without negotiations.
The Arab sources caution that there is "a pressing need" today for presenting implementable "ideas" to the US Administration. Washington "is not going to join the caravan to repeat the first experience of failure," which it suffered with the resignation of Senator George Mitchell, the personal presidential envoy of Obama, who came to the conclusion, after months of shuttle tours, that settlement activity is too difficult an issue to resolve. In the estimation of the Arab ministerial sources, "presenting practical ideas on the table is something that can be followed and implemented" and will encourage the new US Administration, "which is free from [worries] about the next elections," to press ahead.
Sources say that the Arab and European eagerness to expedite the re-launch of the negotiations under US sponsorship is due to worries that "the two-state solution window" has started to narrow because of the acceleration of settlement activity and the fear that the Arab Spring and the Iranian nuclear issue might completely grab international attention, let alone the difficult conditions experienced by the Palestinian Authority. The Arab sources expressed hope that Obama will bare his "new teeth" in dealing with Netanyahu.
In response to arguments that there is nothing that forces Netanyahu to "make concessions" on the Palestinian front because the Arabs are busy with their own problems, the Europeans are busy with their economic crises, and Obama is busy with his internal situation, the Arab sources say that Tel Aviv cannot continue to ignore Israel's worsening strategic situation in the region and its deteriorating relations with the rest of the world.
The sources were likely referring to the fact that Palestine recently obtained the status of an observer state at the United Nations, while Israel's relations with Turkey continue to be stormy, while there are increasing fears in Israel about developments in Syria and Egypt. Despite positive developments, the sources remained cautious in light of the previous failure of Arab-Israeli negotiations, and Netanyahu ability desire to stretch out negotiations and well-known reluctance to offer genuine concessions.

US withdrawal from Europe-based missile shield will impact Israel’s defense
DEBKAfile Special Report February 11, 2013/Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Sunday, Feb. 10 echoed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s rejection of direct talks with the US four days ago which he said were on the grounds that they “would solve nothing” because, "You are holding a gun against Iran.”
Ahmadinejad added is own rider to this dismissal: “God willing, soon Iran’s satellite will be located in orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, next to others from four or five advanced powers and it will relay a message of peace and fidelity to the world,” he said. The boast that Iran would soon be the world’s sixth space power came two weeks after Tehran claimed to have put a monkey in orbit around earth, although it did not report bringing back to earth either the space capsule or the monkey. Indeed, US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, pouring a healthy dose of skepticism on the very existence of the project, commented: “The Iranians said they sent a monkey, but the monkey they showed later seemed to have different facial features.”
Tehran is again caught wandering at ease through its favorite terrain between fact, hyperbole and fiction about its achievements, whether in space or its nuclear program.
In recent weeks, reelected Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed he wants a broad government coalition for the critical objective of preventing Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The question is how does he propose to achieve this when tough US and European sanctions have not just failed to stop Iran in its tracks but accelerated its nuclear progress. Iran is now estimated to be within four months of a nuclear bomb capacity from the moment a decision is taken to build one.
Those months are critical: On February 25 the five UN Security Council’s permanent members plus Germany sit down with Iran in Kazakhstan for a fresh round of negotiations. Former rounds in this format led nowhere and no breakthrough is expected this time either beyond, at best, a date for a continuation.
On March 20, President Barack Obama arrives in Israel for the first foreign trip of his second term. The purpose of his visit is plain, except to Netanyahu’s domestic rivals: Facing a 50 percent cutback in military spending, the Obama administration cannot credibly threaten to go to war against a recalcitrant Iran. But the US president may still wave the Israeli military option in Tehran’s face.
Not that the ayatollahs are likely to be impressed. Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have both dismissed talks with Washington "with a gun" at their head, meaning that they are not scared of the Israeli gun the Americans are putting to their heads. In fact, the Islamic rulers of Tehran are reported by debkafile’s intelligence and Iranian sources to be fully confident that they are home and dry as a nuclear power after a secret US Pentagon research study was leaked that “casts doubt on whether the multibillion-dollar missile defense system planned for Europe” (originally by the Bush administration) “can ever protect the US from Iranian missiles as intended.”
Clearly the missile shield against Iran, which aroused ire in Moscow, looks like falling under the defense budget axe.
The missile shield in Europe was also designed to defend Israel and Turkey against Iranian ballistic missile attack. Leaving it unfinished because of “flaws” exposes both those countries to such attack.
President Obama will no doubt tell Netanyahu that the system for intercepting medium-range Iranian missiles is to be scrapped. However, he will have to take into account that if the Iranians do finally manage to put a capsule in orbit at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, they will be able to fire a ballistic missile at any point on earth as well, including the United States. Even if they did fail to put a primate in space, they will keep on trying and advancing until they get there.

Al-Rahi to Head to Iraq, Russia after Syria Visit
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara Beshara al-Rahi will head to Iraq and Russia soon after he made a short visit to Syria over the weekend. According to An Nahar newspaper published on Monday, al-Rahi will head to Iraq during the upcoming two weeks to attend the enthronement of Louis Sako, the new patriarch of the Chaldean church. Sako will replace Emmanuel III Delly who retired in December after reaching the age limit of 85 in the Christian church which recognizes the authority of the pope. The Chaldean church, which has 700,000 followers and uses Aramaic -- the language that Jesus Christ would have spoken -- belongs to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. But along with other Iraqi Christian communities, it has suffered persecution, forced flight and killings in the aftermath of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Before 2003 there were more than a million Christians living in Iraq. Now they number around 450,000. Al-Rahi's trip to Iraq comes after a two-day visit he made to the capital of Syria, Damascus, over the weekend to attend the enthronement of Greek Orthodox leader Youhanna X Yazigi at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa. It was the first by a Maronite patriarch since Syrian and Lebanese independence in 1943. The patriarch also presided a mass at Saint Anthony's Cathedral in the Christian district of Bab Tuma. Al-Rahi's visit to Syria created a heated debate locally as several officials including President Michel Suleiman called against politicizing it.
The March 14 and 8 alliances are deeply split over the revolt in Syria as the opposition backs the collapse of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
However, sources in the church described the visit as “religious,” and supported by the Vatican. An Nahar reported that al-Rahi will also head to Moscow on a four-day visit to consolidate ties between the Maronite Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.

34 Charged over Arsal Army Ambush, Municipal Chief Summoned
Naharnet/Suspected members of an armed group were on Monday charged in connection with the ambush of an army patrol in the northeastern town of Arsal that left two soldiers dead.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged 34 people and summoned Arsal municipal chief, Ali al-Hujairi, to question him as a witness, the state-run National News Agency said.
Two of the suspects are in custody while the identities of 25 others are known and investigators are trying to identify the rest, it said. The charges include the killing of two soldiers, the attempted murder of others and the seizure of their vehicle, NNA said. The suspects face the death penalty if convicted. Saqr referred the file to the first Military Examining Magistrate Riyad Abu Ghida to question the suspects in addition to hearing the testimony of al-Hujairi. The army said that earlier in the month a patrol was ambushed by Arsal gunmen as it was hunting a man wanted for several terrorist acts. The clashes that ensued left an officer with the rank of captain, Pierre Bashaalani, and Sergeant Ibrahim Zahraman dead, and several military personnel wounded, it said. But Arsal residents claimed that the soldiers were in civilian clothes and hadn't informed the town's authorities that they were planning to carry out a raid. Since then, the military has set up checkpoints at Arsal's entrances, searching all vehicles entering the town and exiting it. Al-Hujairi said on Sunday during a visit by a Mustaqbal movement delegation to the town that army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji should hear the two versions of the story. Al-Hujairi and his son have appeared on a video broadcast by a local channel showing the town's residents encircling the soldiers wounded in the ambush. President Michel Suleiman said Monday that “attacks against the army are unacceptable regardless of their reasons” and “justice will take its course.”

Lebanese Policeman Killed, Inmates Injured as Prisoners Truck Overturns at Beirut Entrance
Naharnet /A police adjutant was killed and three inmates were injured on Monday when a truck transporting prisoners overturned on the Dora highway leading to Beirut, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA identified the adjutant as Hashem H. It said the three prisoners were taken to the nearby St. Joseph hospital.The agency had said that the police rushed to the area immediately after the accident was reported and succeeded in preventing the escape of inmates. The accident caused bumper-to-bumper traffic and long queues that reached all the way to Jal el-Dib.Another truck was brought to transport the inmates who were not injured in the accident.The cause of the accident that happened at noon remained under investigation.

Jumblat Calls against Victimizing Arsal: Some Petty MPs Employing Clash for Political Gain
Naharnet/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat accused some “outsiders” of seeking to tarnish Arsal's image, demanding that all sides support the army and refrain from victimizing the Bekaa town.
He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website: “Some small MPs and sons of MPs are exploiting the confusion within the Mustaqbal Movement in order to achieve governmental gain.”
He condemned “these petty voices that have also plunged Lebanon into futile wars in the past.”
“Those besieging Arsal have forgotten the exceptional sacrifices presented by the army during the Nahr al-Bared battle and other efforts to avert strife in Lebanon,” he added.
“They have also forgotten former Premier Saad Hariri's important message during which he demanded that all sides demonstrate solidarity with the army,” continued Jumblat.
“We cannot but view Arsal from its national, Arab, and historic role,” he added.
“We cannot accept that it be portrayed as a besieged town by the army as Arsal does not deserve to be besieged and the army should not take up such a role,” he stressed.
“Those besieging the town are seeking to tarnish the town's role throughout history,” the PSP leader remarked.
“We must all, without exception, back the army and keep it away from petty political disputes. We are better off refraining from criticizing the army and stop portraying it as being biased to one Lebanese faction against the other,” he demanded.
Clashes broke out on February 1 in the town of Arsal as the army sought to arrest a wanted suspect.
Two officers and the suspect were killed in the unrest. The army has since upped its security measures around the town in an effort to arrest the assailants.
Moreover, Jumblat wondered: “Why are some sides seeking to spread the Syrian crisis to Lebanon at any cost?”“Doesn't Lebanon have enough political, economic, and social problems?” he asked.
On this note, Jumblat hoped that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's visit to Damascus over the weekend would not be subject to political debates.
“His visit helped breathe some hope for Christians in Syria and it helped emphasize the need to protect diversity in the region. This same diversity has been overpowered by the sound of fighter jets, bullets, and religious fatwas made at the expense of alleged coexistence,” he noted. Al-Rahi traveled to Damascus on Saturday where he took part on Sunday in the enthronement of Greek Orthodox leader Youhanna X Yazigi at the Church of the Holy Cross in Qassaa. In addition, Jumblat questioned the criticism directed against President Michel Suleiman. “The president has taken modern and brave positions throughout his tenure, especially over dialogue, which he has said is he only way to tackle disputes among the Lebanese powers,” said the PSP leader. “The president has repeatedly refused to hand over Syrians wanted by Syrian authorities, which is tantamount to handing them over to their death,” he added. “The president was elected through rare Lebanese, Arab, and international consensus and all political powers are obligated to help produce the necessary circumstances that would help him perform his national duties,” stressed Jumblat.

Phalange to Make New Electoral Law Proposal:
Hizbullah's Defiance of the State Led to Arsal Attack
Naharnet /The Phalange Party announced on Monday that it has devised a new parliamentary electoral law, which it will present to the electoral subcommittee. The new law is based on the winner-takes-all and proportional representation systems, revealed MP Sami Gemayel after the party's weekly politburo meeting. The Phalange Party's proposal calls for holding electing 60 percent of MPs based on the winner-takes-all system and 36 districts.
The rest will be elected based on proportional representation and nine provinces. “This proposal offers real partnership among the Lebanese,” stressed Gemayel. “We insist that the elections be held on time based on a new law that ensures fair representation,” he added. He hoped that the draft law would garner the agreement of all Lebanese, adding that it guarantees the election of 56 Christian lawmakers and addresses the insecurities of various powers. Commenting on his meeting over the weekend with former Premier Saad Hariri in Paris, the MP said: “We discussed all Lebanese issues and we are obligated to bridge difference with the Mustaqbal Movement.”
“We hope to follow up on this issue with Mustaqbal MP Ahmed Fatfat,” he added. Moreover, he revealed that he is awaiting to meet with Speaker Nabih Berri in order to present him with the Phalange Party's electoral draft law. On the Arsal clash, Gemayel voiced the party's “absolute support for the Lebanese army.”
“All citizens are obligated to abide by the authority of the army,” he stated. “We hope that the army would clarify the Arsal clash,” the MP demanded. Moreover, he remarked: “We will continue to witness acts of defiance against the army as long as Hizbullah continues to defy the authority of the state.” A clash broke out in the Bekaa town of Arsal on February 1 as the army was seeking to arrest a wanted suspect.
Two officers and the suspect were killed in the ensuing unrest. The army has since upped its security measures at the town in order to arrest the assailants. The Phalange politburo later issued its weekly statement during which it voiced its support to President Michel Suleiman's recent call against “deporting individuals to regions witnessing political, military, and sectarian conflicts.” It also renewed its commitment to the Cedar Revolution in light of the eighth anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005. “Our leaders paid with their lives to achieve the high goal of placing Lebanon on the map of democratic, free, sovereign, and independent states,” it added. “We will not back down from accomplishing these goals,” it stressed. To that end, it stressed the importance of committing to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and demonstrating the country's ability to “govern itself away from foreign meddling and hegemony.”

Aoun Vows to Uproot Corruption: We are Waging a War to Liberate Lebanese Society
Naharnet /Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun pledged on Monday to uproot corruption in Lebanon, stressing the importance of controlling public funds in the country.He said: “We are waging a war to liberate Lebanese society from corruption.”The MP made his remarks during the launching of a book, by the FPM, on lost public funds over the past few years.Aoun added: “We have broken all the barriers and our dream will be achieved.” “We have realized that controlling public funds is the most important aspect of governing,” he continued. “We have long heard accusations about corrupt politicians and the ones who have come up with these claims are the thieves themselves,” he noted. “We have demonstrated that honest people do in fact work for the sake of the state and citizens have the right to press charges against those who squander their funds,” he stressed.
Moreover, Aoun emphasized the need for holding those responsible for corruption accountable for their actions. “We must advocate the culture of punishing those responsible as our society has been too forgiving,” the MP remarked.

9 Dead, Dozens Hurt in Blast at Turkey-Syria Border Crossing
Naharnet/Nine people were killed and dozens wounded when a car exploded on Monday near the border between Turkey and Syria, officials said, although the cause was not immediately clear. A Syrian-registered car is believed to have been at the center of the blast on Turkish soil, local mayor Huseyin Sanverdi told the NTV news channel. Dozens of ambulances were dispatched to the scene at the Cilvegozu border crossing near the town of Reyhanli in the southern province of Hatay. An official from the Turkish foreign ministry confirmed the deadly explosion, adding that the blast triggered a fire that damaged around 15 humanitarian aid vehicles.
The explosion happened barely 40 meters (yards) away from the Cilvegozu crossing, NTV reported, adding that it might have been caused by a mortar bomb fired from the Syrian side.
Another Turkish foreign ministry official said the explosion did not appear to have been caused by a mortar but that a suicide bomber might have been involved in the blast that smashed apart the gates at the crossing, opposite Syria's Bab al-Hawa post.
"It is too early to make a conclusion as the inquiry is still going on," the official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity. The car was believed to have been parked at a crowded lot filled with trucks ready to leave for war-torn Syria with humanitarian supplies, the ministry official added. The explosion comes after a suicide bomber attacked the U.S. embassy in Ankara on February 1, killing a Turkish security guard and wounding three others. That attack was claimed by a radical Turkish Marxist group classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States. Monday's blast also came less than three weeks after NATO declared that a battery of U.S.-made Patriot missiles had become operational on Turkey's border with Syria. Several other batteries of the surface-to-air missiles have also been dispatched by NATO allies Germany and the Netherlands to protect Turkey from a possible spillover of the conflict in Syria. Dozens of mortar shells have landed on Turkish soil in recent months, including a deadly incident in October when five Turkish civilians were killed by Syrian shelling.
Turkey requested help from its NATO allies after the shellings, which it reciprocated systematically by firing mortars into Syria. In another deadly attack, a car bomb exploded near a police station in the southeastern city of Gaziantep in August, killing nine people, four of them children, and injuring dozens more. The blast was blamed on Kurdish rebels, who denied responsibility. Turkey, a one-time Syria ally which is now vehemently opposed to President Bashar Assad's regime, has taken in close to 200,000 of refugees from the conflict which has killed more than 60,000 Syrians in nearly two years, according to U.N. figures.
SourceAgence France Presse

Assad Says Syria Will not Submit to 'Plots'
Naharnet/Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday stressed that his regime, battered by nearly two years of revolt, will not submit to pressure or "plots" against it, reported state news agency SANA.
"Syria will remain the beating heart of the Arab world and will not give up its principles despite the intensifying pressure and diversifying plots not only targeting Syria, but all Arabs," Assad said at a meeting with a Jordanian delegation in Damascus. The statement came after Syrian opposition chief Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib said he had received "no clear response" from Damascus over his offer of dialogue.
Khatib said in late January he was prepared to hold direct talks with regime representatives who did not have "blood on their hands," and so long as the discussions addressed replacing Assad.
The Assad regime had said it was open to talks but without pre-conditions. The Syrian uprising began with mass peaceful protests in March 2011 and steadily grew into an armed insurgency amid continued state crackdowns.
Air raids, shelling attacks and fighting has left over 60,000 people dead since then according to the UN, the vast majority in the second year of the conflict.

Ahmadinejad in Al-Azhar
By Dr. Hamad Al-Majid/Asharq Alawsat
Was the direct stance adopted by Al-Azhar institution—in its recent meeting with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—at odds with the orientations of Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi, since opponents of the Brotherhood claim the group is traditionally in favor of the Iranian revolution project? Or is Al-Azhar’s stance in tune with the strong position that President Mursi outlined himself in the Iranians’ own back yard, when he rebuked Iran’s policies in Syria by criticizing the Assad regime and delegitimizing it, and then referenced the rightly-guided Caliphs and the insults they have been subjected to in Shia literature?
The truth is that Al-Azhar’s tough stance could be interpreted either way, but this is not important. It was a stance independent of the Egyptian government, and this in itself carries two positives: Firstly, it means that Al-Azhar has opened a new page in terms of the independence of its decisions from the Egyptian government, whatever the affiliation of its president, and this is a healthy situation that is consistent with the institution’s honorable history. Secondly, Al-Azhar has abandoned the courtesies that used to characterize its relationship with the Iranian religious authority. The Iranians took advantage of such courtesies recently to infiltrate Egypt in the middle of the night, unbeknown to Al-Azhar and dressed in the gown of unity and the robe of rapprochement, in order to spread Shiism in a Sunni Muslim society and create sectarian hotbeds capable of igniting at any moment. If Al-Azhar’s stance is in line with President Mursi’s position in Tehran, in other words the second case I described above, then this is another positive. It means that both Al-Azhar and the Egyptian presidency are adopting the correct stance towards Iran’s policies, at a time when Brotherhood opponents are speculating that Ahmadinejad’s historic visit to Egypt was an effort to encourage rapprochement with Tehran.
President Ahmadinejad certainly wanted his visit to Egypt and his meeting with Al-Azhar leaders to be Iran’s salvation. The country is experiencing a state of isolation that has been reinforced by its sectarian and inhumane stances in support of its bloodthirsty ally Bashar Al-Assad. This shameful stance—in alliance with the heinous crimes of the Assad regime against its own people—was the final straw that ended Iran’s credibility in the Islamic world, and it was natural that Al-Azhar’s position would reflect this.
It is noteworthy in this regard that Iran, without any consideration for its own dignity, still insists on playing the symphony of unity, rapprochement, resistance, and opposition to Israel; a symphony which is no longer pleasing even to the ears of its allies. The arrogant Iranian leadership relentlessly sought to highlight Israel’s recent battle against Gaza, at the same time as Bashar Assad was continuing to fight his own people. Yet the difference is that the Israeli assault killed an average of ten people per day and stopped after a few days, while the Assad killing machine—with Iranian weapons and expertise—plows down an average of 200 Syrians per day. The Syrian regime has been carrying out these horrific massacres for the past two years. When I speak of a lack of “Iranian dignity”, I mean that the strong messages Iran has received from Mursi in Tehran, and from Al-Azhar in Cairo, have not deterred Iran’s tireless attempts to end its isolation and further penetrate into the Sunni Muslim world, talking advantage of political disorders and economic crises. How else can we explain Iran’s recent move to open its political borders for the Egyptians to enter without a visa?
It remains to be noted here that there is a fine line separating anti-Shiite sectarianism, which is deplorable, and criticizing Iran, its policies and its ideological extension into all Sunni Muslim states. If Iran had turned inwards on itself and its ideology, as in the case of the moderate Shiite state of Azerbaijan, and not spread out like an octopus in all countries of the Sunni world, then we would not see this negative attitude towards Iran and its policies. In past years, members of Al-Azhar condemned those warning of Iran’s plans and its attempts to spread Shiism in the Sunni world, labeling such warnings as short-sighted and sectarian. However, now that Al-Azhar has felt the heat of some of the Iranian flames in Egypt it has become convinced, and it is the most tolerant and moderate religious voice in the region, that standing in the face of this Iranian influence is now a religious duty and a national responsibility for all Arab states.

Another Fitna
By Hussein Shabokshi/Asharq Alawsat
Extremism is currently in a very good state; it is experiencing a golden age and is expanding geographically. It has emerged from the tunnels and the caves and has become a part of public life, even acquainting itself with media outlets. It has established parties, nominated candidates, and entered parliament chanting slogans of freedom, justice, and dignity. Yet despite these manifestations of civility, some extremists continue to label others as infidels, disbelievers and atheists, provoke divisions within society, and spark sedition by adopting radical views that are typified by intellectual distortions and narrow-mindedness. As a result, the "armed" extremist current continues to emerge under vague names, but carrying the same ominous ideology.
Extremism has reared its head in North Africa—in Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Mali—and still enjoys a strong presence in Yemen, Somalia, and other hotspots.
The extremist ideology and its adherent organizations have served as a magnet attracting foreign intervention into the Islamic world’s affairs. This in turn has resulted in the systematic and ongoing killings of hundreds of innocent Muslims. Yet one is still amazed by the schemes and tricks of these extremist groups that continue to justify the great evil they are committing.
Here, the responsibility must be placed primarily on the Muslims themselves to confront this ideology and those groups, for this is not the role of states such as the US, France or Britain.
The Islamic world continues to deal with extremists as groups adhering to a different "culture" with different "opinions". Yet even free and democratic societies are aware that there must be limits to protect freedom against whoever abuses it. For example, Western societies have dealt with neo-Nazi groups as a cancer threatening break up the social structure they are seeking to strengthen, and so these societies have sought to criminalize such groups and curb the spread of their ideology, even if everyone in these countries is theoretically "allowed" to express their opinions freely.
What happened recently in Mali, for example, was a flagrant assault committed by groups of outlaws (who are not originally from Mali, but rather have come from abroad to occupy territories there and then declare the establishment of an Islamic republic compliant with Sharia law). Remarkably, these events gained sympathy and understanding from a considerable portion of the Islamic world. People strived to justify the actions of these extremists and provide explanations for them, neglecting the magnitude of the damage caused or the huge negative repercussions.
Extremism has come now to power, or at least it is participating in it, as well as in the political, social, and economic decision-making process in general.
The criminal and despotic nature of these extremist groups is increasing in proportion to their strength and capabilities. The ideology itself remains intact and there are still those who continue to adopt, advocate, and justify extremist acts on the basis that their underlying rationale is drawn from Islamic culture, which must be appreciated, respected, and championed.
This confusion in concepts can help to transform an absolute truth or bare fact into an illusion and vice versa, and this explains why we see continuing heinous accusations and death threats being leveled against anyone adopting a contrary opinion. This also explains the attacks that are regularly launched against intellectual and patriotic symbols, under the pretext that they are supporters of secularism and Westernization.
Mali is not the last stop for the extremist train; it is merely a station along the way.
We are facing a potentially lethal path towards further bloodshed in the region, and nevertheless the issue of extremism is still being handled with kid gloves. We see the same scenes time and time again and they will only serve as license for intervention in our countries' internal affairs, whether militarily or intellectually, as long as the Muslims fail to take control.
We are facing the greatest challenge the Islamic nation has ever faced since the first fitna [sedition] that emerged following the reign of the rightly-guided Caliphs. These recent events can be considered another fitna, and the price will be exorbitant if it is handled in the wrong manner. Mali is not the final stop, remember this well.

The recent boycott, divestment and sanctions and the Jewish Studies Trap
by Alexander H. Joffe/The Algemeiner
The recent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) event at Brooklyn College featuring professional Palestinian Omar Barghouti and celebrity anti-Israel academic Judith Butler was true to form. A dual purpose was served. For one, students and staff were treated to calls for the destruction of Israel, conducted in a quasi-academic setting, with the implicit endorsement of the institution. Second, as always, trap was sprung on opponents of such campus abuses. Having successfully planned the event and represented it as an intellectual exploration of the one state solution, in which Israel is made extinct, the inevitable complaints regarding its one-sidedness and borderline antisemitism were met with the usual howls of censorship and demands for academic freedom. Politicians became involved on both sides. City Council members were opposed to the campus and tax dollars supporting an anti-Israel recruitment rally. Mayor Bloomberg then came out in favor, and with characteristic tact and insight, condemned the event's content and scolded the presumably close-minded opponents, wittily telling them to apply to school in North Korea.
Never mind that any event promoting a parallel desire to eliminate Palestine would not be able to schedule a room at a university, much less garner faculty support. And never mind that anti-Israel voices are omnipresent on American campuses, and regularly shout down supporters of Israel, sometimes, as Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren found at the University of California at Irvine, quite literally. Lost in the accusations and counter-accusations is how the BDS movement has been relentlessly successful at politicizing American campuses and implicating Jews in its efforts.
The trap works like this. An outside group such as the "International Solidarity Movement," a group of students, or an individual faculty member sponsors a BDS event, usually without the knowledge of the administration. Then someone, usually from the Jewish community, catches wind and protests, and the administration either plays dumb about having rented a room to haters or is forced to defend the event under the guise of "academic freedom." More perniciously, the college or university's Jewish Studies program is then asked to participate in the anti-Israel rally for the sake of "balance" or to develop a counter-program. Sometimes this is baked in from the beginning by BDS organizers. If Jewish studies faculty members go along, then there is "balance" and the event cannot be attacked. If not, then "balance" has been sought but the resulting lack is the fault of the Jewish Studies program.
Jewish Studies at American colleges and universities are almost wholly apolitical in the sense that they were created and are maintained – largely by the Jewish community rather than the institutions themselves – as means for placing serious scholarship and teaching about Jewish history and culture into the academic environment. Individual faculty members have a wide range of political viewpoints, most of which they keep to themselves. The programs often offer courses on Zionism and Israel, not as institutional endorsements but as serious treatments of important historical and cultural phenomena. In fact, most such courses take pains to be "fair," unlike many of their counterparts in political science or history departments, which privilege the "expertise" of Norman Finkelstein, Edward Said, Noam Chomsky and others.
Seriousness and fairness are the trap when dealing with the BDS movement. Few Jewish Studies faculty are activists in any way; in fact, the majority of American faculty members are not activists either, another fact counted on by the hard core of deeply political faculty – mostly in the humanities and social sciences – who are bitterly opposed to Israel.
Specialists in medieval Jewish history, Yiddish culture or Biblical Archaeology are thus compelled to participate or not in the kangaroo courts and to debate individuals who spend their entire lives devoted to the destruction of Israel. Most cannot knowledgeably discuss the Hussein-McMahon correspondence of 1915 or Palestinian politics since the creation of the PLO in 1964, or a hundred other details that are thrown up as factoids to discredit and dismantle Israel. The implication in asking Jewish Studies faculty is that as specialists on the Jews, or as Jews themselves, they should somehow should know everything; the reality is that most do not. This too is a trap. Untenured faculty members rarely take the bait; there is too much at stake, while tenured faculty risk their relationships with colleagues and being forever targeted by professional Palestinian supporters.
Most Jewish Studies faculty members are quiet teachers and scholars, who also know that the prevailing winds on campus blow against Israel and Zionism. Promotion and tenure, grant money, leadership roles in departments and colleges, and the ability to get along on a daily basis, are often shaped by attitudes toward Israel. The BDS movement turns these undercurrents into an outright litmus test.
By putting Jewish Studies faculty in the position of being the "balance" against BDS, proponents of destroying Israel successfully put faculty on the defensive, forcing them to either speak out in rigged settings with packed audiences ready to shout them down, or to remain silent. "Good Jews" speak out against Israel, while pro-Israel Jews are cast as favoring the "colonialist-settler" state. Either way they and the university as a whole are implicated and sullied by the sordid pseudo-intellectualism of BDS, which pretends to present alternative viewpoints and arguments regarding the current existence of Israel and its relationships with the Palestinians, by demanding Israel's extinction.
Exploiting the idea of human rights that is worshiped as a secular religion on campus, relying on spineless administrators and witless politicians who gladly mistake anarchy and hatred for academic freedom, and supported by a hard core of faculty members and students who passionately hate Israel, BDS professionals like Barghouti and their famous faculty enablers like Butler move from campus to campus largely unopposed. Without loudly exposing their game at every stage, they will continue to win.
Alex Joffe is an archaeologist and historian. He is currently a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow of the Middle East Forum and a research associate of the Institute for Community and Jewish Research.