US Politics: "Emergency Committee for Israel" is Launched

The birth of The Emergency Committee for Israel has been announced by a combination of Republican Party activists and Evangelical Christians. Its board includes Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, former Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer, and conservative writer and activist Rachel Abrams.

Kristol said, "We’re the pro-Israel wing of the pro-Israel community", while Bauer described the Obama presidency as “the most anti-Israel administration in the history of the United States".

Kristol explained why there was a need for a new pro-Israeli group:

There are some who say they’re pro-Israel but aren’t really [a reference to another activist group, Street]. Then there’s AIPAC [America Israel Public Affairs Committee], which is a wonderful organization, but one that’s very committed to working with the administration, so they pull some punches publicly.

While the question is debated of how many advocacy groups are needed to support Israel in the US, Haaretz's Akiva Eldar points out an important detail ignored during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meetings with American Jews last week. Eldar writes:

"Everybody knows that there are Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem that, under any peace plan, will remain where they are," Netanyahu said in response to the question from Malcolm Honlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, on the fate of the eternal capital. Netanyahu did not say: "Israel's united capital forever and ever."

Is The Emergency Committee for Israel even more "committed" than Netanyahu, who is hinting a possible shift in Israeli state policy over the status of Jerusalem? Are they putting gentle pressure on him as well as sending a firmer message to US politicians?

EA on the Road: New Media and the Clinton Institute Summer School

From Monday to Thursday, I will have the pleasure of working with the International Summer School of the Clinton Institute for American Studies at University College Dublin. The seminar with which I am involved is "New Media, American Studies, and the World", which seems an ideal opportunity to swap ideas with folks on issues that link EA, academia, and activism. Other seminars at the Institute, which is a partner of EA, will cover American literature, culture, race, and politics.

Mike Dunn and Ali Yenidunya will be minding the EA shop, so please do keep ideas and news flowing.

Iran: Understanding the Nuclear Scientist/Abduction Case (All It Takes is 1 Cartoon)

As we predicted in our first entry in our updates today, the international media are seeing "Iran" via the case of Shahram Amiri, the scientist who had come to the US --- willingly or unwillingly --- and is now back in Tehran.

My gratitude to the EA correspondent who found a cartoon that matches some information from my sources: Amiri had defected, had little or no valuable information, was depressed over his family back in Iran, and wanted to return.

In more effective words, the cartoon Amiri to the cartoon US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (from Khodnevis):  "I am your servant. I have a wife and children....Please be a lady and say you abducted me and wanted to bring disaster upon me."

The Latest from Iran (14 July): Getting to the Point

1730 GMT: We have posted a separate entry which explains everything about the Shahram Amiri nuclear scientist defection/abduction case...in a single cartoon.

1720 GMT: Back to the Bazaar. Khabar Online maintains the impression that the conflict over the bazaars is far from over. The website post one item that the "Bazaari Guilds Council in crisis" and another that some vendors do not accept the wishes of their representatives --- presumably a reference to the claimed deal for a 15% tax increase --- and have even managed to cut off power in some parts of the Bazaar.

NEW Iran: Understanding That Nuclear Scientist/Abduction Case (All It Takes is 1 Cartoon)
NEW Iran Through the Looking Glass: “Never Judge Enduring America by Its Cover”
Iran Analysis: Grand Ayatollah Golpayegani Criticises Supreme Leader? (and What Could It Mean?)
The Latest from Iran (13 July): Back to Politics?

1718 GMT: You Know, Vacations Do Cost Money. Claim of the day in the Iranian media via a member of Parliament's National Security Commission: the extra two holidays this week, allegedly because of high temperatures, have meant a $4 billion loss to Iran's economy.

1715 GMT: Swallowing the Bazaar? The new website Green Correspondents posts an analysis asserting that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps are seeking to take over the bazaar, cutting off its "traditional relationships".

1415 GMT: Picture of the Day (Add Your Caption). The Supreme Leader before military officers on Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Day.



1400 GMT: Grounding Iran's Flights? After confirmation that BP has stopped supplying fuel air to Iran Air at Hamburg Airport in Germany, Mohammad Reza Rajabi, Iran Air's head in Hamburg, has admitted, "Finding a substitute for BP to provide Iranian passenger planes with fuel in Hamburg airport will take some time."

1335 GMT: Khabar Online's Punches of the Day. And now, courtesy of our friends at Khabar Online (did we mention that the website is linked to Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani?), the first of a regular feature on its jabs at President Ahmadinejad.

As the anniversary of the death in Kahrizak Prison of Mohsen Ruholamini approaches, the website features his father, Abdolhossein Ruholamini, a key advisor to former Presidential candidate Mohsen Rezaei, who repeats his call for Presidential advisor Saeed Mortazavi to "be tried as promised and announced".

And, in the business section, it appears that 110 Mercedes vehicles for Ahmadinejad and the Foreign Ministry have been imported without paying the required taxes.

1035 GMT: Break Time. Apologies that updates are sporadic today, as I move between seminars and a plenary lecture this afternoon.

Thanks to all for keeping the news flowing.

1030 GMT: The Battle Within. A (relatively) gentler statement from key MP and Ahmadinejad critic Ali Motahhari: the relationship between govt and Majlis is critical --- if it is positive, it helps to overcome mistakes.

1025 GMT: Electricity Squeeze. Khabar Online claims that extra holidays did not ease blackouts, with only a 10% reduction in consumption of electricity.

0820 GMT: Parliament (and a Cleric) v. President: MP Mohammad Ali Karimi comments, "Imam Khomeini believed that the parliament is at the heart of Islamic republic. But the government is not respecting the parliament’s approved laws." Karimi, referring to the President, asserted, "By dreaming we can not manage the country, let alone the world."

0810 GMT: Culture Corner. An EA correspondent checks in with the hot topic for chatter amongst young Iranians. Bazaar strike? Economic issues? The postponement of the President's trip to Lebanon?

No. It's this: "The Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has not granted a license to any Iranian expatriate pop singers living in Los Angeles, the culture minister said on Monday."

0800 GMT: Parliament v. Government. Lawmakers have lodged a motion for impeachment against Minister of Agriculture Sadeq Khalilian.

The specific grievance is dissatisfaction with excessive imports of food products. The broader allegation is Khalilian's lack of skill.

0625 GMT: We begin this morning with a bit of a diversion, noting in an analysis how the tangled covering post-election Iran turned EA into a US "neo-conservative" on the opposition website Rah-e-Sabz.

Most of our colleagues in the international mainstream press begin with a bit of a diversion, devoting their attention to the return of scientist Shahram Amiri --- did he defect? was he kidnapped? --- from the US to Iran.

Meanwhile...

Tuesday's Top Quote

Reformist MP Dariush Ghanbar comments on recent political and economic developments by noting the Supreme Leader's of this Iranian year as a "Year of Productivity": "Is this the year of extra work or extra holidays?"

Extra Holidays, Well, Strikes Actually

We had reported yesterday that the Tehran Bazaar was almost completely closed as the supposed deal between the Government and Bazaaris apparently fell through.

It appears that was also the case in Tabriz.

Israel: Member of Knesset Hanin Zuabi Stripped of Privileges over Flotilla Clash

Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, voted 34-16 on Tuesday to revoke three parliamentary privileges of Arab MK Hanin Zuabi because of her participation in the Freedom Flotilla that sailed to Gaza in late May. Zuabi cannot carry a diplomatic passport, cannot exit the country, and cannot claim the right to have the Knesset cover litigation fees if she faces trial.

Zuabi accused her fellow lawmakers of punishing her out of vengeance and said:

UPDATED Gaza Latest: Is Aid Ship On Its Way or Going Back to Egypt?

It's not surprising that a country that strips the fundamental rights of its Arab citizens would revoke the privileges of a Knesset member who loyally represents her electorate.

In a civilized country, the people who incite against and threaten MK Zuabi would be punished and have sanctions imposed against them.

You have no freedom of choice with regards to the rules of democracy. There are fixed rules that do not change at whim. You do not need to protect democracy, but to protect me for democracy's sake.

Zuabi's party, Balad, condemned the decision as "racist and anti-democratic."

"The MKs who incite against Zuabi spill her blood –-- they are calling on the public to harm her and following their decision, her life will be threatened," Balad said in a statement.  "These MKs will be responsible for any harm that may be caused to her."