May 13, 2008

Israel army warns journos...

In the wake of its fatal attack on a Reuters cameraman in Gaza, the Israeli military has issued a rather blunt statement to journalists:

IDF Clarification: Movement of Journalists in Combat Areas - Under Their Own Risk

"The IDF wishes to emphasize that it does not take any responsibility for the presence of foreign journalists in operational or combat zones in Judea, Samaria [the Biblical names for the West Bank] and the Gaza Strip. Any journalist who enters these areas is acting under his own will and responsibility. Their will be no coordination of press movement and activity in the areas of IDF operations."

It's not a big leap to take the statement as a warning.

But it doesn't indemnify the Israeli military of its responsibility to act responsibly.

The Israeli military is still investigating its killing of Fadel Shana, the young cameraman killed in Gaza after an Israeli tank on a distant hilltop appeared to fire a shell directly at him.

The Israeli military recently sat down with Reuters officials and told them that they didn't know they were firing on a TV cameraman.

But that doesn't really address the real question: Why did they fire at Shana?

Simply saying that they didn't know Shana was a journalist doesn't make the shelling legitimate.

International law requires the Israeli military to do all it can to protect civilians and non-combatants when it is operating in Gaza.

In short, the tank crew had to view Shana as a danger, or be taking aim at nearby militants who were preparing to attack the tank.

Here is a good summary of the law from Human Rights Watch.

"Two fundamental tenets of international humanitarian law are those of “civilian immunity” and the principle of “distinction.” They impose a duty to distinguish at all times in the conduct of hostilities between combatants and civilians, and to target only the former. It is forbidden in any circumstance to direct attacks against civilians; indeed, as noted, to do so intentionally amounts to a war crime."

The central question remains: What threat did the Israeli tank crew think Shana was posing with his camera and why did they open fire?

May 12, 2008

Olmert donor speaks out

In spite of the urging of his attorney, the American businessman at the center of the unfolding investigation of Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is speaking out.

Morris Talansky says the money he gave to Olmert wasn't a bribe and dismissed reports that he was afraid that Olmert might try to harm him.

In an interview in English with Israel's Channel 10 news, which you can see here for a few hours more, Talansky calls Olmert the one-time "prince of the Likud" and denied suspicions that he was part of a right-wing conspiracy to sabotage Olmert and his peace talks with the Palestinians.

A full transcript is below.

Meanwhile, a new poll finds that 59 percent of Israelis think Olmert should resign. Olmert's popularity has been in the dumps ever since the 2006 summer war against Hezbollah. so it's not especially revealing that the public is disenchanted with the PM.

The most interesting part of the poll is the election match-ups.

Most recent polls have shown voters strongly favoring the conservative Likud Party and its hawkish leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.

But the latest poll shows that voters would prefer Olmert's centrist Kadima party - if Olmert steps aside and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni takes over.

If that happens, according to the poll done for Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, Kadima would get 27 seats in the Israeli parliament, Likud would get 23, and Labor, Kadima's largest current coalition partner, would get 15.

If Olmert leads Kadima, the party only gets 12 seats while Likud gets 28.

The numbers could provide a boost for Livni as Kadima leaders weigh whether to try to push Olmert out before he is ready to go...

Interview with Morris Talanksy on Channel 10  

Did you ever think the money that you raised for Olmert was not legal?

No. I never thought in any way that the money I gave him, which was for the purpose of becoming mayor or electioneering, was in way illegal or wrong. He was not the only one who came to America to ask for money for their election campaign, so I thought it was legal.

We have heard from the police and attorney general that the suspicions are of bribery from you. What is your reaction?

I emphatically deny that I had in my mind to do any business in Israel. It never crossed my mind to do business in Israel. I don’t own any land. I don’t own any buildings. I don’t own any factories. I never built anything here. Never never was that my purpose. I have one apartment. That’s all I had. And for me, this was to build the country and it would have been a desecration if that was my intention, to do that. It never crossed my mind. I can say that (un)equivocally and take an oath anywhere that that is far away from the truth.

So you have no financial interest in Israel?

None. Nothing whatsoever. Check all of the records. I have not now and I never had.

None?

Nothing. Nothing. I don’t have nothing here. If you don’t understand about American Jews you won’t understand what this whole country is about. Okay. It’s very important. My generation in the 70’s who remembered the Shoah and see Israel see this as the place where there is perfection, where there is honesty, where there’s integrity. Therefore all these ideas, these accusations are to us is like something that came out of, as the Greeks call it, they have a very nice name for it “Deus Ex Machina," it came from the luft (air) it came from somewhere. There is something special here and that speciality never made me think this was a place to do business. I would never send my children here, or my grandchildren, and my parents lived here, and 125 people of my family, in a place that -- god forbid -- something should happen to make money. That’s where money is not important anymore.

And Olmert was your leader?

Yes. He was the prince of the Likud, he was going to be mayor. He was a man who was respected, and I respected him too, like everybody else.

And that’s why you helped him?.

Yes.

Do you have any idea what Olmert did with the money you gave him?

No. I assume it was for his election campaign.

Do you still assume that?

I haven’t heard any different to this point and I really don’t know any more. It is very very confusing. I’ve been in a state of questions and I don’t know.

Two days ago we learned from a court decision that you are afraid Olmert will send someone to hurt you?

Ahhh, forget it. That’s ridiculous.

It’s not serious?

No, it’s not serious.

What is your comment on rumors that you are part of a right-wing conspiracy?

Well I’ve heard many funny stories in my life, but that is the most comical one. I’m not part of a conspiracy. I’ve never been involved in a conspiracy. I’ve never marched in a conspiracy and it’s absolutely untrue.

Can you understand the suspicions against Olmert?

I read the papers like everybody else, I hear the stories, but I have no first-hand knowledge of what they’re talking about.

But you’re cooperating with the police?

Yes. They called me and I’m cooperating. I’m telling them the truth. I’m not hiding anything, they asked me questions and I’m telling them the entire truth. I have absolutely nothing to cover or to hide.

(Transcript provided by McClatchy special correspondent Cliff Churgin.)

May 10, 2008

The Hamas factor in US election

Could Hamas play a decisive role in choosing the next US president?

Probably not, but the Islamist forces are sparking a new dust-up in the race.

Last month, Hamas political strategist Ahmed Yousef (pictured below) set things in motion when he spoke warmly of Democratic US Sen. Barack Obama.

"We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the elections," said the Gaza-based, Western-educated Yousef.

"I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse," Yousef said. "I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principal. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance,"

(Last June, Yousef told me that he favored US Sen. Hillary Clinton, but the fact that he's changing horses is a footnote at this point...)

It didn't take long for US Sen. John McCain to seize on Yousef's comments to kick up some dust.

"Barack Obama's foreign policy plans have even won him praise from Hamas leaders," McCain's campaign wrote in a fund raising letter. “We need change in America, but not the kind of change that wins kind words from Hamas, surrenders in Iraq and will hold unconditional talks with Iranian President Ahmadinejad.”

McCain has kept the issue alive in various forums, claiming in one chat that he would be Hamas' "worst nightmare."

"If Senator Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly," McCain said.

Obama hit back this week by calling McCain's implications "offensive" and suggesting that the Republican senator was "losing his bearings."

McCain's campaign immediately accused Obama of trying to inject McCain's age (71) into the race.

On Friday, McCain said the whole issue was "a legitimate point of discussion."

Hmm. Well it seems like the general election campaign is getting off to a dignified start...

May 09, 2008

Olmert: I am not a crook

It probably wasn't how most Israelis wanted to celebrate the 60 years since their nation's founding.

Despite the best effort of investigators to keep a lid on the unfolding investigation of Israeli PM Ehud Olmert so as not to spoil the case or ruin the celebratory mood, the facts blew Thursday night.

Olmert hastily called reporters to his Jerusalem residence to make a blunt statement: I am not a crook.

For the past week, Israeli papers have been filled with ominous, anonymous sources predicting that this case is the beginning of the end for Olmert. And Olmert's unusual decision to deliver the late night statement - televised live - suggests that he, too, sees this investigation as more serious than the others.

The papers here continue to report that the jig is up and that one, if not two, people involved in the alleged scheme are cooperating with investigators.

One central figure is Morris Talansky, the 75-year-old New York businessman who was cornered by a Channel 2 reporter in Jerusalem yesterday.

Wearing dark sunglasses and sporting several days worth of stubble, Talansky appeared bemused by the attention and offered rambling, non-responsive answers to the questions he was asked.

Talansky said he was a longtime Zionist, had known Olmert for 20 years and wasn't involved in politics.

Hours later, Olmert told his nation that Talansky had spent a decade helping him raise money for his political campaigns.

The New York Times went digging in New York and unearthed a pile of legal cases involving Talansky, including allegations that the businessman sent "thugs" to try and collect money he was owed.

One of Talansky's meetings reportedly took place in Scores, a topless bar in Manhattan.

The other person said to be cooperating with investigators is Olmert's longtime law partner, Uri Messer.

In what was almost certainly an indication of his legal defense, Olmert told his nation that it was Messer -- not he -- who handled the money from Talansky.

"The monies raised for these campaigns were transferred to Uri Messer, who organized the financial matters connected to my campaigns," Olmert said. "I have no doubt in my heart that attorney Messer handled the money with all his professional skills and am sure he did this legally."

One crucial thing remains unanswered: If a bribe was involved, who got what for the money?

At this point, it does not appear that investigators know the answer.

The case is likely to drag on for some time before it becomes clear whether the allegations will prove fatal to Olmert. But one piece in particular caught my attention this morning.

In an article for Maariv, Haifa University Professor Emanuel Gross, an expert on criminal law, wrote that an indictment can be issued purely on the testimony of one key participant.

"It is important to know that in offenses of this sort, one testimony is enough, either that of the go-between in the bribery or that of the person who gave the bribe, to incriminate the person who received the bribe," wrote Gross. "It is not necessary that the conviction be supported by other evidence. A government minister who receives money in such amounts, certainly when it comes to alleged cash, must demand to know who the donors are and if Olmert did demand this, we have not heard to this day that he knows who the donors were and what their intentions were."

If that's the case and the burden of proof is so low, it could make it much more difficult for Olmert to survive.

(Photo of Morris Talansky: Yossi Zamir:Flash90/McClatchy Newspapers)

May 07, 2008

Israel's Britney

As the Israeli tourism ad below reminds us, life in this part of the Middle East isn't all missiles and bombs, death and destruction, sorrow and anger.

You might not, as the ad urges, "think Israel" when you are looking to plan your next vacation getaway, but some people still seem to have the perception that Israel is a nation filled with frightened residents rushing from doorway to doorway as empty buses roll past anxious residents peering out from behind locked doors.

Lives here are not always consumed by incoming Palestinian rockets, rape allegations against the president or bribery scandals dogging the prime minister.

There are other things to occupy one's attention here.

Like, for instance, the ongoing trials and tribulations of Bar Refaeli, the 23-year-old supermodel who is something akin to Israel's Britney.

Refaeli is probably best known for being Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend.

(They are on-again, off-again. But, according to the latest People Magazine I could find, the two are "on" and were "hot and heavy" in a New York cafe where she had a regular hot cocoa and Leo had a "heavy" made with vanilla cream... Get it? "Hot and heavy...")

Last year, Bar thought it would be nice to bring Leo back home to meet the parents.

Only, unlike most of us, she had to contend with the swarms of Israeli photogs that treated her the way the paparazzi treat Britney.

Leo and Bar were stalked wherever they went and photogs got in a scuffle at the Western Wall with security guards (which can be seen here) when the couple went to visit Judaism's most sacred site.

Refaeli was so upset that she vowed to never again bring friends to Israel.

Last fall, the model created a kerfuffle by dissing serving in the Israeli military as so, kind of... un-peacelike.

"It's stupid that people have to die so I can live in Israel," quoth Refaeli, who said not serving in the army had "paid off big time."

She didn't win many points with Israelis with those comments, which helped fuel an ongoing debate in Israel about the nation's mandatory military service and those who opt out.

Some who see imminent peril in Refaeli's stance are up in arms about a decision by the Fox fashion chain to hire her as their new public face.

Activists threatened to boycott the fashion line for using someone they've dubbed Bar "Draft Dodger" Refaeli.

But crisis has apparently been averted.

Today's Yedioth Ahronoth reports that Refaeli has agreed to visit wounded soldiers when she comes to Israel and will encourage people to serve in the military (in some way TBD).

How having a proud draft dodger serving as your spokesperson will help the Israeli army remains to be seen...

"Hi, I'm Bar Refaeli. Avoiding military service paid off for me big time. But you should serve because, well, chances are you're nowhere near as beautiful and sexy as I am, so..."

Somehow I can't see a pitch like that working so well.

May 06, 2008

US man central to Olmert's future

The Israeli courts are keeping a tight lid on disclosures in the unfolding new investigation of PM Ehud Olmert. We are under a gag order in the case that prevents us in Israel from directly writing about the details.

But that doesn't mean that the details aren't leaking out.

The man said to be at the center of the case is Moshe "Morris" Talansky, a 75-year-old New York businessman with long ties to Olmert who apparently was known as "the Laundry Man."

According to The New York Post, Talansky was questioned by authorities when he came to Israel to celebrate Passover.

The story quotes a source who says that Talansky is referred to "the Laundry Man" in financial logs kept by Olmert's longtime aide, Shula Zaken, who has been under house arrest for a week while undergoing repeated questioning.

Talansky, the story notes, is believed to have passed cash to Olmert in the 1990s when he was serving as mayor of Jerusalem.

Last week, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth reported that an unnamed US businessman was believed to have passed cash bribes to Olmert in the 1990s.

Photographers have been staking out Talansky's Jerusalem apartment for days and hoped to catch sight of the businessman this morning during a court hearing on the case.

In the court, the judge extended the gag order, but is allowing journalists here to report that a request has been made to hold a special, urgent court deposition of an unnamed "foreign national."

"There is nothing in this to attest that an indictment has been submitted against the respondents in the request – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Ms. Shula Zaken," the court wrote. "This is an investigation that began in recent days and the request is necessary given the circumstances under discussion."

There's no good time for a political scandal to surface, but this one comes literally on the eve of Israel's 60th anniversary this Wednesday, an event that will draw a long list of foreign dignitaries, including a visit next from President Bush.

It also comes on the eve of Israel's Memorial Day on Wednesday.

Israeli Police spokeswoman Iris Barak said it would be bad for the country to release details now.

"Nobody wants to hear such things on a national day of mourning," said Barak.

Olmert has managed to survive every political scandal and challenge to his leadership so far. But his opponents can smell the blood in the water once again and are trying their best to use it topple Olmert...

(AP Photo of Olmert/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

May 05, 2008

Israeli prez nixes Hamas talks

This morning began with a jarring, dream-shattering boom that rattled my apartment windows and echoed across the valley below.

I lay there, half-asleep, and listened to the diminishing echoes of the sonic boom as Israeli planes criss-crossed the sky in preparation for the country's 60th anniversary celebrations later this week.

It had been a long time since I was rudely awakened by sonic booms. The last time came two summers ago when Israel was regularly using sonic booms to rattle Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as part of a military campaign after Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas-led militants.

In those days, the pre-dawn sonic booms came in twos or threes that shattered windows and kept everyone on edge.

The Israeli equivalent of the Blue Angels flew overhead this morning as Israeli President Shimon Peres, one of the nation's last surviving warrior-statesmen, invited the international press to his official residence to talk about his nation at 60.

Peres has long been viewed as one of Israel's pragmatic doves, a political leader who launched secret talks with PLO leader Yasser Arafat in the 1990s that paved the way for the landmark Oslo Accords.

Peres, Arafat and slain Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin won the Nobel Peace Prize for their initiative, though it ultimately failed to end the conflict.

Peres was asked if he thought the time might be right to launch similar talks with Hamas.

But the Israeli president seemed to see no parallels between the PLO of the 1990s and Hamas of 2008.

"I can't speak to a wall," said Peres, who called Hamas "a catastrophe for their own people."

Peres said it was impossible for Israel to talk to a group the refuses to explicitly recognize Israel, something Arafat eventually as part of talks with Israel.

When asked if he had any regrets about helping to launch the West Bank settlement movement after Israel seized control of the area in 1967, Peres said no.

"I don't think so. It would go on whether we started it or not," said Peres. "I think what we did was on a reasonable level."

Peres said he is not calling for a military strike to stop Iran's nuclear programs, but said allowing Iran to obtain nuclear weapons would be a "nightmare."

(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

May 04, 2008

Is Israel's Olmert finished?

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is one of the Middle East's great political survivors.

He has been buffeted by controversy and near-ceaseless calls for his resignation. His approval ratings have at times sunk into the single digits. He was castigated for bungling Israel's 2006 war against Hezbollah. And yet he still stands.

One of the biggest reasons is that no other Israeli leader has the current clout to topple Olmert.

But this weekend has brought new rumblings that Olmert's political career might be coming to an end.

The rumor mill went into high gear on Thursday when Israeli police announced that they were planning to immediately question Olmert about an unknown investigation.

On Friday, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper carried a story with the headline: "Suspicion: Cash bribe from an American businessman."

The story bluntly stated that, before he became prime minister, Olmert had received cash bribes from an American businessman who is cooperating with investigators.

Israeli courts imposed an immediate gag order on the case, a move that has prevented any more significant details from seeping out.

On Sunday, Olmert reportedly called the rumors "wicked and malicious" and suggested that he would be exonerated when the facts come out.

Until then, Olmert vowed to soldier on.

The rumors and questioning have generated a new round of doom-saying and predictions that Olmert would be quickly forced from office.

Israel's attorney general made it clear that there has so far been no talk of forcing Olmert from office.

And Olmert isn't likely to leave without a fight.

Olmert's tenure has been clouded by at least three investigations, including one suggestion that he got a sweetheart deal on a house in Jerusalem in exchange for helping a businessman.

But none of the investigations have led to charges. And investigators have said there isn't enough evidence to charge Olmert in a fourth investigation.

Olmert also faced significant calls for his resignation after a special committee lashed out at Olmert and his government last year for failures during the 2006 war against Hezbollah.

There were front-page calls for Olmert to step aside. Members of his own party said he should go. Lawmakers in his coalition joined opposition leaders in urging Olmert to resign.

And yet he managed to hang on.

Now the ominous whispers are once again sweeping from Israel to Washington.

Once the gag order is lifted it may become more clear just how serious things are for Olmert this go-round.

For the moment, expect Olmert to fight on.

Israeli military video raises questions

The Israeli military has wrapped up its investigation into last week's killing of the Gaza mother and her four kids.

In short, as expected, the Israeli military concluded that it was not to blame for the deaths.

The centerpiece of their investigation is the surveillance video -- posted below -- of the twin IDF air strikes on the militants in Beit Hanoun.

While the video provides a critical view of the attack, it actually leaves lots of questions unanswered.

The Israeli military concluded that the mother and her children were killed by a secondary blast created by some sort of explosives carried by the militant hit in the second air strike.

In the video there is clearly a second, larger blast during the first air strike. But there is no clear, larger, secondary explosion in the second.

According to the Israeli military, the four militants posed an imminent threat to Israeli soldiers who had entered Gaza and were sweeping the area about 400 yards from the air strikes.

But it is not clear from the video that the four men posed an imminent danger to Israeli forces when the first strike was ordered.

And it is even less clear that the man targeted in the second strike posed an imminent danger to Israeli forces, as the militant appears to be lying down near the house of the family killed in the attack.

Maj. Avital Liebovitz, an Israeli military spokeswoman, said the Israeli air strike used the smallest type of missile in their arsenal in an effort to avoid killing innocent bystanders.

I've seen such attacks up close. One time I was doing an interview when the Israeli military tried to hit a car carrying militants in Gaza City.

The single missile missed its target and instead hit the adjacent apartment building. It left a big hole in the roof and damaged part of a room on the top floor. But the damage was remarkable contained.

In the video, you can actually see other people within yards of the targeted militants who are able to flee without apparently being seriously injured by the blast.

Israel constantly blames the militants for operating from within civilian areas and accuses them of using innocent Palestinians as human shields.

Militants most certainly operate from within towns and cities in Gaza, which is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. But international law still calls for Israel to weigh the risks to innocent civilians when it stages such attacks.

The video offers a valuable view of the controversial strike. But it is not the end of the story.

One of the flaws with Israeli military investigations of its controversial attacks in Gaza is that they rely almost entirely on video like this and testimony from their own soldiers.

The Israeli military is unable to gather eyewitness testimony, talk to survivors, interview doctors or examine the scene.

That means that any Israeli investigation is going to start and end without providing a complete understanding of the attack.

Various groups, including Human Rights Watch, are calling on Israel to launch an independent investigation. But Israel is almost certainly not going to do so.

That means that this video is about as far as the IDF will go in addressing the controversy.

Unfortunately, it leaves too many questions unanswered.

May 01, 2008

Israel's wall divides Tel Aviv

(Photo: Lisa Goldman/On The Face)

Check out Lisa Goldman's latest post over at On The Face about a guerrilla street artist who erected a large, faux section of Israel's separation wall in the middle of a popular, bucolic Tel Aviv sanctuary.

The wall generated an interesting, if expected, cross-section of reactions.

Some people were upset by the inconvenience. Others wrote protest messages on the wall. And the wall stood for more than five hours before police came around and asked the artist to take it down.

"I do think there is something very cowardly about building a wall," said the artist, Ehud Segev. "It’s like sitting in a reinforced room in your house all day, wearing a helmet and bullet proof vest. Who wants to live like that?"