 Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon's dressing down of the Turkish ambassador in Jerusalem last week was in the air but not directly referred to during Defense Minister Ehud Barak's time in Ankara on Sunday. Instead, the 12-hour visit was characterized by pleasantries and long conversations, in a clear attempt by both countries to broadcast that the past was behind them. The Turks viewBarak as someone they can work with and believe that he can have the impact on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that they are hoping for. The Turkish media highlighted this point by making a distinction between Barak, whom they described as the leader of the left-wing Labor Party, and Ayalon, who, some papers wrote, was a member of the "far-right" Israel Beiteinu Party. The last time Barak visited Ankara was in February 2008, the same day that Hizbullah military commander Imad Mughniyeh was assassinated in Damascus, an operation attributed by some to the Mossad. The killing came half a year after Israel bombed a nuclear reactor in northwest Syria. Then, Israeli-Syrian relations were at an all-time low. Soon after, though, Jerusalem and Damascus launched indirect peace talks with Turkish mediation. Barak's visit at the time likely had something to do with that. On Sunday, Barak's hosts pressed him on the Syrian issue, identifying him correctly as the Israeli cabinet member most supportive of peace talks. Whether or not such negotiations will take place is not up to Barak, though. Netanyahu will have to decide. Barak was trailed throughout his visit by a crowd of Turkish press. At the airport, journalists and cameramen lined the runway with satellite hookups reporting his arrival live. At the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, he was again met by a pool of reporters. After the minister laid a wreath on the tomb of the republic's first president, and as he signed the visitors' book with a plea for a "safe and secure region," one ofBarak's senior advisers marveled at the size and grandeur of the monument while noting what a great leader Atatürk was. Israel will likely have to keep on hoping for a new secular leader like Atatürk. While Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic party is predicted to get only 33 percent of the vote in the 2011 elections - more than 10% less than his party received in 2005 - he is still likely to come out first and win a third term. Within the Turkish cabinet, there are believed to be a number of ministers favorable to Israel. Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Barak's official host on Sunday, who called the Israeli Embassy on Friday and asked how to translate some Turkish words into Hebrew, is perceived in Jerusalem as the "Israel lobbyist" in the Turkish government. He has tried over the past year, unsuccessfully, to restore warm and full diplomatic and military ties, one of the goals ofBarak's visit. His other meeting, with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, lasted three-and-a-half-hours, more than double the time originally allotted. Davutoglu is the foreign policy architect within theTurkish cabinet, and is a close associate of Erdogan. Members of Barak's delegation said they believe Erdogan will tone down his criticism of Israel. While he is unlikely to begin supporting Israel, the officials said that the countries could maintain good working relations regardless. The Turkish dailies Sunday were filled with articles about Barak's visit. One column in Today's Zaman, an English-language paper affiliated with the Islamists, said that Israel could no longer rely on maintaining ties with Turkey just on adefense level, and could no longer depend on American-Jewish groups like AIPAC to influence the US Congress. Instead, the column recommended that Israel renew peace talks with Syria and work to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The hope in Ankara is that Barak will be able to deliver the goods. This is also the understanding within Israel. As long as Erdogan is prime minister, the most Israel can hope for are lukewarm ties. "The moment there are peace talks, this will change," explained one Israeli official. The only question left is whether Netanyahu will agree to hold those talks. JPost 
 Every three minutes a Christian is being tortured in the Muslim world, and in 2009 more than 165,000 Christians will have been killed because of their faith, most of them in Muslim countries, according to a human rights organization that is visiting Israel starting Sunday. "Hamas digs up the bodies of Christians from Christian burial sites in the Gaza Strip claiming that they pollute the earth," said Reverend Majed El Shafie, President of One Free World International (OFWI), who will head a delegation of human rights activists, members of parliament from Canada and religious personalities. During their visit to Israel the delegation will hold a conference on human rights and persecuted minorities at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. The conference will provide new statistics on the persecution of minorities in Muslim countries. El Shafie said that between 200-300 million Christians are being persecuted in the world, 80 percent of whom lived in Muslim countries and the rest in communist and other countries. Members of the delegation will meet with Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon and Mayor ofJerusalem Nir Barkat in the hope of enlisting Israel to champion their cause. OFWI is a human rights organization whose headquarters are located in Toronto, Canada. The organization numbers some 3,000 members, divided into 28 branches that are active in countries all over the world, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even Iran. El Shafie, 32, was born in Cairo to a distinguished Muslim family of lawyers and judges. Through a Christian friend he was exposed at an early age to hatred toward the Christian minority in Egypt. He decided to convert to Christianity, wrote a book about it and as a result became an outcast and a victim of oppression. In 1998 he was arrested, imprisoned, tortured and condemned to death. El Shafie managed to escape, fled to the Sinai, where a Beduin family hid him for two months, and crossed the Israeli border on a jet-ski.
He was arrested in Israel and was imprisoned for over a year in Beersheba, until he was released through the assistance of the UN, Amnesty International and the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, which managed to obtain political asylum for El Shafie in Canada, where he emigrated. He founded OFWI in 2004. JPost H/T: Atlas
 Israel's warnings that it will not tolerate an existential threat in the form of a nuclear Iran should be taken seriously, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon warned in an interview with the Britain-based Sky News on Friday. "The one who's bluffing is Iran, which is trying to play with cards they don't have," Ayalon told the news network. "All the bravado that we see and the testing and the very dangerous and harsh rhetoric are hiding a lot of weaknesses." Israel has repeatedly warned the Islamic Republic -- and the rest of the world -- that it will not allow Iran to complete its nuclear development program and create an atomic weapon to be aimed at the Jewish State. "If Iranian behavior and conduct continues as they have exhibited so far, it is obvious that their intentions are only to buy time and procrastinate," Ayalon said. He pointed out that negotiations with Western nations have not resulted in any reduction in Iranian nuclear activities. Iran has vowed to continue all of its nuclear development programs regardless of what proposals for alternatives are offered by Western nations in diplomatic talks. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared last Sunday that Iran is negotiating with the West from a position of power, and compared the power of Iran's enemies to that of "a mosquito." IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi politely warned the Islamic Republic in September that the Jewish State is prepared to defend itself against any nuclear or other attack it might be inclined to launch. "We all understand that the best way of coping [with the Iranian nuclear threat] is through international sanctions]" Ashkenazi told an interviewer on IDF Army Radio. However, he added, "Israel has the right to defend itself, and all options are open." Source: INN
 So says Danny Ayalon. But no doubt more Israeli concessions will make this problem go away, eh, Mr. President? "Israel Official Says Hamas Rockets Can Reach Tel Aviv (Update2)," by Gwen Ackerman and Calev Ben-David for Bloomberg, November 3 Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The Islamic Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip can now launch rockets capable of reaching the Israeli metropolitan area of Tel Aviv, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said at a Jerusalem briefing. "We know they have tried to, and have obtained missiles that reach 60 kilometers (37 miles)," Ayalon said today. "Tel Aviv and its vicinity are now under the range of Hamas." During Israel's military operation against Hamas in Gaza, which ended in January, the farthest rocket strike was some 40 kilometers into Israel, endangering southern cities such as Ashdod and Beersheba. Since the three-week operation, Hamas has been able to replenish its stock of military equipment and explosives as well as upgrade its rocket capability, Ayalon said.
Hamas is receiving support from Iran, which is using the Islamic movement to increase its influence in the region, he said. Hamas recently successfully tested a rocket with a 60- kilometer range, Major General Amos Yadlin, chief of military intelligence, told a parliamentary committee in Jerusalem today, according to the YNet news Web site. When reached for comment, Abu Obaida, spokesman for Hamas's military wing, said: "We are not interested in responding to the Zionist intelligence reports. They can say whatever they want."... Source: JihadWatch
 Roni Sofer Russia has made it clear to Israel that it will oppose a Goldstone Report discussion at the United Nations Security Council or at the International Criminal Court in Hague, although its representatives voted in favor of adopting the report accusing the Jewish state of committing war crimes at the UN Human Rights Council, Foreign Ministry officials told Ynet on Sunday night.
The remarks were made in a meeting between Russian Ambassador to Israel Peter Stegney and a Foreign Ministry official. The ambassador relayed messages from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Ministry sources said.
Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon on Saturday expressed his deep disappointment over Russia, India and China's vote in favor of adopting the report. Stegney noted that Russia had voted in favor of passing the report to the UN headquarters in New York "because it had no choice," and even blamed European Union countries.
According to the ambassador, the EU tried to ease the resolution's wording, but failed "due to the stance of Western countries." Stegney stressed that Russia believes Israel should investigate itself. "The most important thing is that the peace process won't suffer," the Russian ambassador said. State officials said that Stegney had slammed the Goldstone Report, saying that "it includes statements that do not relay on facts, but rather on subjective estimations." Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is expected to examine the messages conveyed by Moscow and decide how to act, in light of his attempts to reach an understanding with the Russians before the Geneva vote and his desire to improve Jerusalem's relations with Moscow.
Source: YNet
 While one refers to the "foreign press" in Israel, most employees are local Israelis or Palestinians who are hired for their language skills, access and local knowledge. Sometimes it isn't enough just to monitor only the news stories and critique the media. The hiring practices of the media organizations can also impact significantly on what news is reported and how decisions are made as to the information reaching Western audiences. It isn't only the personal attitudes or potential bias of a journalist influencing the final article or television report. Other media professionals can also have a major bearing on the construction and direction of a story. Palestinian translators and fixers may be necessary but those with a political agenda can be selective with the information they feed the journalist or, at worst, mistranslate the words of the interview subjects. Writing on the influence of Palestinian organizations on foreign news reporting, the JCPA's Dan Diker noted: According to senior foreign news sources based in Jerusalem, the vast majority of Palestinian fixers - often close friends of Palestinian employees of Jerusalem-based foreign news agencies - are ideologically motivated by the Palestinian cause, and actively encourage journalists to report exclusively on the "evils" of the Israeli occupation, rather than on the lack of democratic freedoms or human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza. Read more ... Source: Honest ReportingCNN
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Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon's dressing down of the Turkish ambassador in Jerusalem last week was in the air but not directly referred to during Defense Minister Ehud Barak's time in Ankara on Sunday.
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