Even Saudis Want Netanyahu to Address Congress

Tuesday, March 03, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

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As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared on Tuesday to address the US Congress regarding the Iran threat, in direct defiance of the Obama White House, at least one nation outside of Israel was supportive of the move: Saudi Arabia.

Writing in the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Jazirah on Monday, columnist Dr. Ahmad Al-Faraj called Netanyahu’s appearance before Congress under such circumstances “unprecedented in US political history.”

Obama Administration officials and Netanyahu’s political rivals in Israel insisted the speech is a mistake and would only serve to damage US-Israel relations. But Dr. Al-Faraj said the Israeli leader was providing a vital service not only to the Jewish state, but the entire Middle East.

“I am very glad of Netanyahu’s firm stance and [his decision] to speak against the nuclear agreement at the American Congress, despite the Obama administration’s anger and fury,” wrote the Saudi. “I believe that Netanyahu’s conduct will serve our interests, the people of the Gulf, much more than the foolish behavior of one of the worst American presidents.”

Al-Faraj hinted Obama’s naive and dangerous behavior in the Middle East had necessitated someone like Netanyahu taking a bold stand.

“…Obama is the godfather of the prefabricated revolutions in the Arab world, and…he is the ally of political Islam, [which is] the caring mother of [all] the terrorist organizations,” he wrote, suggesting that any deal struck by this particular American president could simply not be trusted.

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Report: Saudis Ready to Help Israel Attack Iran

Thursday, February 26, 2015 |  Israel Today Staff

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European officials say that Saudi Arabia is just as concerned as Israel over the details of the nuclear agreement the Obama Administration is currently negotiating with Iran, and is even prepared to facilitate an Israeli airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, should it come to that.

“The Saudis have declared their readiness for the Israeli Air Force to overfly Saudi air space en route to attack Iran if an attack is necessary,” an unnamed senior European diplomat was cited as saying by Israel’s Channel 2 News.

The source added that Saudi Arabia is “completely coordinated with Israel on all matters related to Iran.”

The one condition Riyadh reportedly had for providing this kind of assistance is some kind of tangible progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The report, if credible, is a major blow to the Obama Administration, which insists that Israel’s urgent criticism of its proposed deal with Iran is unwarranted.

“Anybody running around right now jumping in to say, ‘Well we don’t like the deal,’ or this or that, doesn’t know what the deal is,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told a congressional hearing on Tuesday.

Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs, Yuval Steinitz, responded by suggesting that perhaps it’s Kerry that lacks the full picture.

“We know all we need to know, and we have an excellent picture of the negotiations,” Steinitz told Israeli media. “Maybe [Kerry] doesn’t know everything we know.”

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Syrian Dissidents Look to Israel for Support - ISRAEL TODAY

Syrian Dissidents Look to Israel for Support

Tuesday, May 13, 2014 |  Israel Today Staff  

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Hundreds of thousands have been killed and millions displaced in Syria’s ongoing civil war. And still, the international community and the Arab world drag their feet, to the growing frustration of Syrian dissidents, many of whom are now ready to seek aid from even their worst enemy: Israel.

The Syrian arena is being used as a kind of chessboard by world powers and powerful regional Muslim groups. And as the Syrian people are paying the price, it is becoming increasingly clear that Israel is one of the few nations that just wants the fighting to end in a way that is most stable and most secure for all involved.

“The Saudis were the worst, followed by the French, the British and the Americans,” leading Syrian dissident Kamal al-Labwani told The Times of Israel regarding recent Syria peace talks held in Geneva.

Noting that Washington was making the same mistakes it made in Egypt, Labwani said, “More than once I’ve heard Americans say that ‘the [Muslim] Brotherhood must lead this stage.’ We told them: ‘The Brotherhood are extremists, not moderates. This is not Islam which is appropriate for civilization.’”

According to Labwani, the Syrian revolution, like those in Egypt and Tunisia, didn’t have to descend into civil war. It was only after the Assad regime treated demonstrators in a “criminal, unacceptable way” that people began to take up arms. Assad “intentionally humiliated people and killed them in cold blood. This is why the revolution began,” said Labwani.

Of course, with war raging, the situation has been exploited by numerous different radical Islamist groups, many of them originating from outside Syria itself. Nevertheless, there is no turning back until Assad falls. Labwani and many others hope that Israel will increasingly assist in achieving that goal.

“If you want to befriend the Syrians, send a message of friendship. I tell you, my people are ready,” he said.

What Labwani and others want is for Israel to use its influence with America, Europe and Russia to spur more serious action on the part of the international community. Ideally, he’d also like to see Israel directly supply weapons to the rebels, and perhaps even enforce a no-fly zone over southern Syria.

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