On the same day that Americans are test-driving the idea that Osama bin Laden lived on the outskirts of Pakistan’s West Point, undetected, for six years, Orly Taitz goes to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to prove that President Obama’s long-form birth certificate is a forgery. As they say in conspiracy-land, there are no coincidences.
The Hamas-Fatah reconciliation may portend yet another Congress vs. White House showdown in the battle in Washington over Middle East policy. The Obama administration has expressed its unhappiness with the compromise reportedly negotiated this week in Cairo, but it is not counting out the prospect of supporting a reconstituted Palestinian Authority in which Hamas plays some role.
Renowned Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim will present a \”peace concert\” in the Gaza Strip. Barenboim, a Palestinian activist, will direct an organization of 25 European musicians on Tuesday, the French news agency AFP reported. The so-called \”Orchestra for Gaza\” was announced Monday by the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
Back at the hotel after a moving video celebrating 50 years of the Religious Action Center and an inspiring speech by Vice President Al Gore, news broke that U.S. Forces had killed Osama bin Laden. We paused briefly to digest the information and to watch CNN. Suddenly our congregants grabbed us to go to the White House, where people were gathering to celebrate.
The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday condemned the killing by U.S. forces of Osama bin Laden and mourned him as an \”Arab holy warrior.\”
For years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans waited in fear for the next strike by al-Qaida on U.S. soil. But the ensuing decade has seen no more major terrorist attacks in the United States. Now, with the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed in Pakistan by U.S. forces, the question many American Jews are considering is whether the liquidation of al-Qaida’s leader makes a follow-up attack more or less likely, and whether Jews could be a target.
The U.S. Supreme Court said it will hear the appeal of a U.S. citizen born in Jerusalem whose parents want Israel listed as his country of birth on his passport.
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav has appealed his conviction on rape and sexual assault charges and requested a delay of his prison sentence. Katsav is scheduled to enter prison next week to serve a seven-year sentence.
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