Israeli prime minister denies interfering in the US election, but his relationship with Barack Obama grows more antagonistic



Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 20 September 2012 14.32 EDT

Binyamin Netanyahu may be gambling too heavily on Mitt Romney, the potential blowback of which could be damaging for Israel. Photograph: Getty Images

The political TV advertisement featuring Binyamin Netanyahu and the slogan "The world needs American strength, not apologies" is likely to fuel claims that the Israeli prime minister is interfering in the US presidential election in support of Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

It comes increasing during anxiety that Netanyahu has overplayed his hand in displays of warmth and enthusiasm for Romney while his relationship with Barack Obama grows more antagonistic. Some say Netanyahu is gambling too heavily on a Romney victory on November 6 and that if Obama is re-elected, the potential blowback could be damaging not just for the prime minister but for Israel itself.

By Josef Federman September 20, 2012, 6:58 pm

JERUSALEM (AP) — After a series of attacks by vandals on Christian holy sites in Israel, normally tight-lipped Roman Catholic officials are beginning to speak out, publicly appealing to authorities to take a stronger stand against the violence.

The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, one of the church’s top officials in the Holy Land, said he is worried about relations between Jews and Christians in the Holy Land. He believes the blame can go all around.

“I think the main atmosphere is ignorance,” Pizzaballa told The Associated Press in an interview.

Because the local Christian population is tiny, “we do not exist for the majority … They have other priorities,” he said. “On the other side, we as a minority maybe didn’t invest enough energy and initiatives” to reach out to Israeli Jews.

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http://www.timesofisrael.com/catholic-official-calls-on-israel-to-stop-anti-christian-violence/

Source: (Newsroom America)

Protesters claiming outrage over a amateur video critical of the Prophet Mohammed have besieged the U.S. Embassy in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, reports said Thursday.

Scores of students from nearby educational institutions clashed with Pakistani riot police, as they were blocked from approaching the embassy, Al Jazeera reported.

Protesters threw stones at police, who were said to have returned fire using tear gas. Television reports said several police were injured.

A number of protesters expressed anger at police for denying them access to the U.S. embassy, said Al Jazeera.

Read more: http://www.newsroomamerica.com/story/295917/protests_besiege_u.s._embassy_in_pakistan.html

Source: Agence France-Presse

Egypt and Jordan could annul their peace treaties with Israel if it carries out a preemptive strike against Iran, US officials have warned the Jewish state, an Israeli newspaper reported Thursday.

Quoting a high-level Israeli official, Yediot Aharonot said Washington had warned the Jewish state that Arab leaders would not be able to control an angry public backlash if Israel were to mount an attack on Iran.

The newspaper said the US official pointed to the violent response in several Middle Eastern countries to a film insulting Islam, saying: “Today the Arab leaders do not control their peoples, the streets control the leaders.

“An Israeli strike is just what the Iranians need. The entire Arab and Muslim street will take to the streets to demonstrate,” the official said.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/20/israeli-strike-on-iran-may-wreck-arab-treaties-u-s-officials/

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Ya think?...

Conservative televangelist Joel Osteen on Thursday asserted that homosexuality was a sin and not “God’s best” — but at the same time, he said had not chosen to be straight.

During an interview on CNN, host Soledad O’Brien asked Osteen how he could claim to be uplifting LGBT people while also telling them they were sinners.

“It seems like in Christianity, sometimes we categorize sin,” Osteen explained. “I mean pride is a sin, being critical is a sin, being negative is a sin.”

“Those are all things you can change,” O’Brien noted.

“I don’t think it’s God’s best,” the evangelist insited.

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/20/joel-osteen-tells-soledad-obrien-lgbt-people-arent-gods-best/

Source: Reuters

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS | Wed Sep 19, 2012 6:40pm EDT

(Reuters) - Iran has been using civilian aircraft to fly military personnel and large quantities of weapons across Iraqi airspace to Syria to aid President Bashar al-Assad in his attempt to crush an 18-month uprising against his government, according to a Western intelligence report seen by Reuters.

Earlier this month, U.S. officials said they were questioning Iraq about Iranian flights in Iraqi airspace suspected of ferrying arms to Assad, a staunch Iranian ally. On Wednesday, U.S. Senator John Kerry threatened to review U.S. aid to Baghdad if it does not halt such overflights.

Iraq says it does not allow the passage of any weapons through its airspace. But the intelligence report obtained by Reuters says Iranian weapons have been flowing into Syria via Iraq in large quantities. Such transfers, the report says, are organized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.






Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/19/us-syria-crisis-iran-iraq-idUSBRE88I17B20120919

PARIS — France’s government on Wednesday asked a health watchdog to carry out a probe, possibly leading to EU suspension of a genetically-modified corn, after a study in rats linked the grain to cancer.

Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll, Ecology Minister Delphine Batho and Health and Social Affairs Minister Marisol Touraine said they had asked the National Agency for Health Safety (ANSES) to investigate the finding.

“Depending on ANSES’ opinion, the government will urge the European authorities to take all necessary measures to protect human and animal health,” they said in a joint statement.

“(The measures) could go as far as invoking emergency suspension of imports of NK603 corn to Europe pending a re-examination of this product on the basis of enhanced assessment methods.”

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/19/france-orders-probe-after-study-links-genetically-modified-corn-to-cancer/

During a conference call with evangelicals on Tuesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry (R) called upon “Christian warriors” and “Christian soldiers” to “stand our ground” against President Barack Obama, who he said is trying to ”remove any trace of religion from American life,” a message inspired by “Satan” himself.

Perry made the comments during a conference call with pastors and evangelicals nationwide, as first cited by Right Wing Watch. He was taking part in an ongoing religious campaign called “40 Days to Save America.” Other participants in the calls this week include Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), and even former Jack Abramoff co-conspirator Ralph Reed.

Introducing his guest, pastor Rick Scarborough, one of the “40 Days” organizers, credited the governor’s spirituality with ending the Texas drought. (Update: The Texas drought is actually still going on.) But it was Perry himself who did the real preaching.

In audio published to the campaign’s website (embedded below), Perry claims that the constitutional provision which guarantees the right to religious freedom actually drives faithful Christians out of the public sphere. “This iron curtain or whatever you want to call it between the church and people of faith and this separation of church and state is just false on its face,” he said.

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/19/perry-tells-christian-soldiers-to-stand-our-ground-against-obama/

By MAGGIE HABERMAN |
9/19/12 3:27 PM EDT

Bibi Netanyahu is not running a campaign in the US - it just looks that way in this new ad.

A spot featuring only the Israeli prime minister talking about Iran is set to hit the airwaves in select Florida markets tomorrow, a media tracking source confirms.

The spot is the work of a c4 called Secure America Now - which, thanks to its tax status, doesn't have to disclose its donors.

A Republican involved with the project said its airing in Miami, West Palm Beach and Ft. Myers. The flight is ultimately going to be $1 million, the official said - a media-tracking source said about $400,000 has been placed so far.

Those markets house some of the state's largest Jewish communities.

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http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, September 19, 7:49 AM

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military on Wednesday conducted its largest snap drill in years as tensions with Iran over its nuclear program rise and civil war in neighboring Syria rages.

Military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz ordered the exercise to test the competence and preparedness of several units in the armed forces, a military statement said. It called the drill in northern and central Israel “part of a routine inspection” that “does not indicate any changes” in the country’s alert levels.

Tens of thousands of soldiers were mobilized for the exercise, including artillery and air force personnel, making the drill unique because of the number of soldiers and senior officers involved, several officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity, according to military regulations.

As part of the exercise, troops were dispatched by air from central part of the country to the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights, captured from neighboring Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, the officials said. The drill ended with a live fire exercise in the Golan.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-army-holds-largest-snap-drill-in-years-as-tensions-mount-over-iran-threat-syria-war/2012/09/19/33fbab88-0239-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html