New Tape Suggests Kennedy Assassination Inside Job

May 1, 2007 1:27 PM

AUDIO: Tape suggests JFK assassination was inside job

An audio file serving as the final testimony of CIA veteran and convicted Watergate conspirator, E. Howard Hunt on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy has surfaced.

It has been distilled down from a 20-minute tape made by Hunt at his home in Miami, according to his oldest son with whom E. Howard Hunt had enjoyed a good relationship in later life.

The unmarked cassette was received in the mail by his oldest son, Saint John Hunt, in Janurary 2004. At the time, the 86-year-old E. Howard Hunt was not well. According to Saint John Hunt, his father's only request was that the information not be released until his death. Shortly thereafter, he recovered from his illness and he would not die until January of 2007. The tape remained in Saint John Hunt's hands the entire time.

According to Saint John Hunt, the existence of the tape was unknown by his extended family until its broadcast on "Coast to Coast Live with Ian Punnett" on April 27, 2007. Many of the details of the tape were included in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine published earlier in the month.

The contents of the tape are consistent with E. Howard Hunt's CIA career. He was a significant team member of many CIA "wet ops," that is, bloody operations such as the violent overthrow of the democratically-elected Guatetamalan government of Jacobo Arbenz in 1954 and the assassination of Che Guevara. The Guatemalan civil war that resulted from the CIA-backed coup would eventually lead to the deaths of 200,000 people.

In his lifetime, E. Howard Hunt often would be glib about his roles in these "wet ops" and saw them as a kind of patriotic duty for which he was uniquely suited. He was urbane, well-connected and well-educated. He published over 85 spy novels and enjoyed the respect and companionship of many of Washington's conservative elite such as William F. Buckley who wrote the forward to Hunt's most recent memoirs.

But despite many allegations over the years, E. Howard Hunt had always denied until any involvement in the assassination of JFK. In 1978, Hunt testified under oath to Congress that neither he nor the CIA had had anything to do with the murder of the president.

According to this tape, he was only half-lying.

The "wet op" that was pulled off in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963 may not have been orchestrated by the CIA proper but rather was put together by several CIA veterans and contract players-for-fire in a "non-sanctioned" hit originally "suggested" by then Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson. One of the many purposes of this tape, according to E. Howard Hunt, was to make clear of LBJ's involvement in the assassination.

Perhaps as a way of justifying the assassination, Hunt seems focused on establishing the "chain of command" to this action that allows him to see himself as following orders toward a greater patriotic goal.

On the tape, the man Hunt refers to as "Frank" is, according to written notes taken by Saint John Hunt, CIA Operative and later Watergate co-conspirator Frank Sturgis sometimes spelled "Sturgess." The mastermind appears to be Cord Meyer.

Dave Phillips was also a CIA Operative in Central and South America.

This tape also confirms the long-held suspicion that David Morales was a key member of the assassination team.

What is not on the tape is "Lucien Sartie," the man that Hunt, according to his son, confirmed earlier as the Corsican-born French contract hitman who was flown in to take the "head shot" at JFK from behind the Grassy Knoll.

What is not on this tape is motive but that is attested in other testimony.

These men allegedly hated Kennedy.

They saw him as soft on Communism, soft on Castro, guilty of sending their friends to their torture and deaths during the Bay of Pigs fisasco and a bad risk for the future of the country. They also did not respect him as a person for his philandering and other behaviors which had yet to become public knowledge but would have been known to them.

They were also resentful of the way that the White House had been treating the CIA through Kennedy's disdainful public posture on intelligence and the firings of many of their former associates.

In sum, with the permission of LBJ, Cord Meyer, David Phillips, David Morales, E. Howard Hunt conspired to create a "non-official" hit "for the good of the country."

And here, finally, is the taped testimony that proves that once and for all.

Photo Copyright Getty Images

The Bush/NASA Killer Connection

KPRC Local 2 confirmed that the gunman was a contract worker employed by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., which is headquartered in Pasadena. His identity and the nature of his job were not released. He was described only as a white man between 50 and 60 years old.

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Related

Gunman kills hostage, self at Nasa base

Officials: Gunman Barricaded In Johnson Space Center - With Live Coverage

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April 16, 2007 -- WMR was the first to report on the establishment of a major US airbase in northern Lebanon to facilitate logistics for America's planned long-term stay in the Middle East, including the occupation of Iraq. On July 21, 2006, we reported, "With the carrying out of the Clean Break by Israel and the United States, profits for companies like Halliburton are bound to skyrocket. The Israeli attack on Lebanon is already estimated to have resulted in $2 billion in damage to Lebanon's infrastructure. WMR previously reported that Jacobs/Sverdrup has been promised a lucrative Pentagon contract to build a large U.S. airbase in northern Lebanon.

The editor reported on March 11, 2005: "Washington and Jerusalem media experts spun Hariri's assassination as being the work of Syrian intelligence on orders from President Bashar Assad. However, a number of Middle East political observers in Washington claim that Hariri's assassination was not in the interests of Assad, but that the Bush and Sharon administrations had everything to gain from it, including the popular Lebanese uprising against the Syrian occupation. Lebanese intelligence sources report that even without a formal agreement with Lebanon, the contract for the northern Lebanese air base has been let by the Pentagon to Jacobs Engineering Group of Pasadena, California. Other construction support will be provided by Bechtel Corporation. Jacobs Engineering and Jacobs Sverdrup are currently contracted for work in Saudi Arabia for Aramco, Iraq for the U.S. occupation authority, Bosnia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. The Lebanese air base is reportedly to be used as a transit and logistics hub for U.S. forces in Iraq and as a rest and relaxation location for U.S. troops in the region. In addition, the Lebanese base will be used to protect U.S. oil pipelines in the region (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Mosul/Kirkuk-Ceyhan) as well as to destabilize the Assad government in Syria. The size of the planned air base reportedly is on the scale of the massive American Al Udeid air base in Qatar. A number of intelligence sources have reported that assassinations of foreign leaders like Hariri and Hobeika are ultimately authorized by two key White House officials, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliot Abrams. In addition, Abrams is the key liaison between the White House and Sharon's office for such covert operations, including political assassinations."

Our Lebanese sources as well as the Lebanese daily newspaper Aldiyar now report that a NATO base is to be built soon on the grounds of the largely abandoned airbase at Klieaat in northern Lebanon. The base will serve as the headquarters of a NATO rapid deployment force, helicopter squadrons, and Special Forces units although the cover story prepared by the Lebanese and US governments is that the base will provide training for the Lebanese army and security forces. The base was pushed by elements in the office of the US Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Bush administration had recently warned Lebanon about the presence of "Al Qaeda" teams in northern Lebanon. Before his assassination, former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was known to have been strongly opposed to any U.S. military bases in Lebanon, including the proposed airbase in Kleiaat.

America's new Kleiaat airbase in northern Lebanon prepares to host rapid deployment force. Assassinated former Prime Minister Hariri was adamantly opposed to the American base.

Click2Houston.com

Gunman, Hostage Dead In Shooting At JSC

POSTED: 2:27 pm CDT April 20, 2007

UPDATED: 6:13 pm CDT April 20, 2007

HOUSTON -- A gunman shot a hostage and then himself while barricaded inside a building at Johnson Space Center on Friday, KPRC Local 2 reported. A second hostage was found duct-taped to a chair but was unharmed, according to authorities. Officials said the situation started at about 1:40 p.m. when reports of shots fired came in and a man with a gun was spotted inside building 44, which is the communications and tracking development laboratory, an engineering building. Authorities said the man with a revolver barricaded himself in a second-floor office. Capt. Dwayne Ready of the Houston Police Department said a male hostage appeared to be shot when the gunman initially fired two shots in the building. "The report to us was that there were two shots and that's what caused us to respond to this scene, and we're believing that one of the hostages -- the male who's deceased -- was shot during that particular moment," Ready said. Ready said communication was not established with the gunman, despite repeated efforts. SWAT officers moved in when they heard a third shot hours after the standoff began. They found the gunman dead from a shot to the head and a male hostage dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. Investigators did not release a motive. Officials said the gunman did not leave a note. The victims' names were not released. KPRC Local 2 confirmed that the gunman was a contract worker employed by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., which is headquartered in Pasadena. His identity and the nature of his job were not released. He was described only as a white man between 50 and 60 years old. NASA is a secured facility that requires approved access. "If you are an employee and have the correct badge and the correct sticker on your car, you can generally drive right in," former astronaut Dr. Bill Fisher said. "If this were a contractor or a NASA employee, that person would have almost unlimited access to the Space Center once you're through the gate. For someone who is not a NASA employee, they have to go through a number of security checks and they would have to get a special badge." JSC employees were initially informed about the gunman via e-mail and asked to shelter-in-place. A second e-mail told employees that the situation was confined to one building and they were allowed to go home, according to Eileen Hawley, with NASA. Johnson Space Center is located on NASA Parkway in Clear Lake. Building 44 was described as "one of the smaller" office buildings on the JSC campus, where Mission Control is based. Space Center Intermediate School, located at 17400 Saturn Lane, was placed in lockdown as a precaution. The lockdown was lifted by 3:45 p.m. Background Of Johnson Space Center Johnson Space Center was established in 1961 as the Manned Spacecraft Center and, in 1973, renamed in honor of the late President and Texas native Lyndon B. Johnson. JSC has served as the nerve center for the Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, space shuttle, International Space Station and other programs. About 3,000 employees people work at the center; most are engineers and scientists. More than 12,000 contractors from about 50 companies work onsite or in nearby office buildings and other facilities. There are about 110 astronauts based at JSC for training.

Corzine Crash Comes at Crucial Time for N.J.

This is Joisy, folks. A truck ran him off the road according to witnesses. The cops are eating doughnuts and the truck driver is footloose and fancy free.
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April 15, 2007

Members of the staff of Gov. Jon S. Corzine say it could take a week to 10 days before he is well enough to resume his duties as the governor of New Jersey. His doctor said it could be “days or weeks.” Six months may pass before he can get around by himself.

No matter how long the recuperation period, the incapacitating injuries that Mr. Corzine suffered Thursday evening when his Chevrolet Suburban crashed on the Garden State Parkway not far from Atlantic City come at an important moment in both state government and in the life of his young administration, politicians and analysts said. If his convalescence proves a lengthy one, they said, the crash could define his first term and lead the state into murky political waters.

“From every point of view, this is not a fortuitous time for him or for the state,” Thomas H. Kean, a former governor of New Jersey, said of the accident.

By MICHAEL COOPER

--MORE--

Cheney assassination bid: 'You can never find a competent suicide bomber when you need one'

Some Americans sorry Cheney survived [Imagine that]

Posted: February 27, 2007

Some of Dick Cheney's many fierce enemies on the left were unable to withhold their glee today after the vice president escaped an apparent assassination attempt in Afghanistan.

--MORE--

Iranian nuclear scientist ‘assassinated by Mossad’

The Sunday Times February 04, 2007
Sarah Baxter, Washington

A PRIZE-WINNING Iranian nuclear scientist has died in mysterious circumstances, according to Radio Farda, which is funded by the US State Department and broadcasts to Iran.

An intelligence source suggested that Ardeshire Hassanpour, 44, a nuclear physicist, had been assassinated by Mossad, the Israeli security service.

Hassanpour worked at a plant in Isfahan where uranium hexafluoride gas is produced. The gas is needed to enrich uranium in another plant at Natanz which has become the focus of concerns that Iran may be developing nuclear weapons.

According to Radio Farda, Iranian reports of Hassanpour’s death emerged on January 21 after a delay of six days, giving the cause as “gas poisoning”. The Iranian reports did not say how or where Hassanpour was poisoned but his death was said to have been announced at a conference on nuclear safety.

Rheva Bhalla of Stratfor, the US intelligence company, claimed on Friday that Hassanpour had been targeted by Mossad and that there was “very strong intelligence” to suggest that he had been assassinated by the Israelis, who have repeatedly threatened to prevent Iran acquiring the bomb.

Hassanpour won Iran’s leading military research prize in 2004 and was awarded top prize at the Kharazmi international science festival in Iran last year.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to announce next Sunday — the 28th anniversary of the Islamic revolution — that 3,000 centrifuges have been installed at Natanz, enabling Iran to move closer to industrial scale uranium enrichment.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency say that hundreds of technicians and labourers have been “working feverishly” to assemble equipment at the plant.

IRAN: TOP NUCLEAR SCIENTIST DIES UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

IRAN: NUCLEAR SCIENTIST DIES UNDER MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

Tehran, 25 Jan. (AKI) - One of Iran's top nuclear scientists, Ardeshir Hassanpour, a professor at the university of Shiraz, has died under mysterious circumstances. Hassanpour's death was announced by Iranian state television, a week late, on Thursday. No reason was given for his death. The scientist was proclaimed the best scientist in the military field in the Islamic Republic in 2003. Hassanpour directed the centre for nuclear electromagnetic studies he had founded in 2005.

He had also co-founded the center for atomic research in Isfahan, the most important in the country, Iranian state television reported.

Last year, Ardeshir Hassanpour was awarded Iran's most prestigious scientific award, the Kharazmi prize.

(Rah/Aki)

Jan-25-07 18:14

Ukraine Lawmaker Dead After Hunting 'Mishap'

Ukraine Lawmaker Dead After Hunting Mishap

Evhen Kushnarev, a leaders of Ukraine's pro-Russia political faction, died on Wednesday as a result of a hunting accident, the Interfax news agency reported.

Kushnarev, 56, had been one of the top figures in the Regions Ukraine political party, whose political strength is based in the industrial east and south of the country.

A companion shot Kushnarev one time in the stomach, while the former Kharkiv province governor was hunting for boar in a Kharkiv region nature reserve.

The slug severely damaged his intestine, liver, stomach, and kidney.

Police on Wednesday detained a suspect in the reportedly accidental shooting. Foul play is not suspected.

Surgeons at provincial hospital in the town Izium operated on Kushnarev twice to remove a kidney, 50 centimetres of intestine, and to stop severe bleeding in his liver.

Kushnarev never regained consciousness, and died of a heart failure Wednesday afternoon.

Kushnarev, an outspoken politician, was widely unpopular in the pro-Europe portions of Ukraine, in no small part because of his public suggestion during Ukraine's 2005 Orange Revolution the country's Russian-speaking East secede, by force if necessary.

Regions Ukraine under Kushnarev's guidance regained control over the Ukrainian parliament in September 2006, and pushed through a series of laws dramatically weakening the country's pro-Europe executive branch.

© 2007 DPA

Former Longtime Confidant Accuses Ariel Sharon of Assassinating Yasser Arafat

Saturday, December 30, 2006

by Stephen Lendman

Longtime and now recently deceased confidant to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Uri Dan, published a book in France that may have been his 2006 one titled Ariel Sharon: An Intimate Portrait in which he accused the former prime minister of assassinating Palestinian Authority (PA) President Yasser Arafat by poisoning him. Dan claimed Sharon got approval from George Bush by phone early in 2004 to proceed with his plan after he told the US president he was no longer committed to "not" liquidating the Palestinian leader who then was under siege and practically incarcerated in what remained of his Ramallah compound, most of which had already been destroyed by the Israelis in a lawless act of retribution against him.

Based on his record during his tenure as Texas governor, when he authorized more death row inmate executions than any US governor in history (and was called by some the Texecutioner), this revelation should come as no surprise. It's even clearer based on Ariel Sharon's boast once about his relationship with George Bush saying: "We have the US president under our control."

Arafat died in Paris on November 11, 2004 at age 75. He was taken there on October 29 that year and hospitalized for treatment for an undiagnosed illness that began developing in April and became serious enough for him to need special care. It may have already been too late when he arrived as he slipped into a coma on November 3 and remained in that state till his death eight days later from what was explained at the time as complications from a blood disorder. Indeed it may have been true if his blood was poisoned by a substance able to work slowly and from which no cure was possible at least once the former Palestinian leader arrived in Paris.

To those knowledgeable about Israel's history since it became a state in 1948 and earlier, this revelation, if true, should come as no surprise. All Israeli governments have a long and disturbing record of conducting targeted assassinations in Israel and abroad as it suited them against all persons thought to be a threat to the Jewish state. From his earliest days in 1969 as Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman and President, Arafat went from enemy to ally and back to enemy again under various Israeli governments depending on his willingness to deny his people their rights in service and pledging fealty to Israeli authority as he did in agreeing to the Oslo Accords, or Declaration of Principles (DOP), signed at a White House ceremony in September, 1993.

This was an agreement from hell, a disgraceful act of surrender, giving Israel what it wanted and Arafat and his cronies a "get-out-of-Tunis-free pass" (where they took refuge when forced out of Lebanon after the 1982 Israeli invasion) to return to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) where he agreed to serve as Israel's enforcer against his own people. As it always was earlier and since that time, the Palestinians got nothing but the right to have their lands stolen and lives immiserated with the help and duplicity of their own leader and those complicit in his Fatah-led government.

They endured this fate until the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Mosque (or Second) Intifada on September 28, 2000 following Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to what Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary in occupied East Jerusalem. It's gone on since unabated up to and following Arafat's death and led to the democratic election of a Hamas government in January, 2006.

Fed up with the corrupted Fatah party under Arafat (now under Palestinian President and loyal Israeli servant Mahmoud Abbas), the long-suffering Palestinian people voted them out in an election the Israelis and Bush administration thought they had "arranged" properly enough to assure their preferred quisling party would remain in power but learned to their dismay it didn't turn out that way. It also didn't turn out as Palestinians hoped either as Israel and the US, with complicity or silence from the West, conducted a scorched earth campaign against a defenseless people through invasions, daily attacks with sophisticated and powerful weapons (supplied by Washington at US taxpayer expense), targeted assassinations and other daily killings, mass arrests and incarcerations, a systemic policy of torture, destruction of property, and denial of the most basic rights and services essential to life and survival. And that leaves out all the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did to the Lebanese people over the summer that will take a least many years to recover from if Israel will even allow it to happen.

Throughout it all, the courageous Palestinian people continue struggling daily for their freedom and the right to be treated as human beings to live in peace in their own land - against the greatest odds with virtually no outside support or any show of caring about their desperate state even from within the Arab world.

If Ariel Sharon murdered Yasser Arafat, it should surprise no one, and further, if proved beyond dispute, it would never be reported in the US corporate-controlled media even if it made headlines in Israel which might be possible in a country allowing far more press freedom than the total lockdown of it in "the land of the free and home of the brave" where no press freedom is allowed through dominant news and information sources and only is through alternative sources like the one through which readers are now receiving this report. As we begin the new year with the 110th Congress about to convene on January 4, it's one of many issues to reflect on and consider what we ought to be doing about it in our own behalf.


Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com

An enlightened occupier

By Gideon Levy

The juggler from the palace of justice has struck again. In a single week, retired Supreme Court president Justice Aharon Barak proved his impressive acrobatic talents. In his last rulings, all of them having to do with the occupation, the outgoing Supreme Court president seems to have wanted, as he has during the 11 years of his presidency, to have his cake and eat it, too. Barak wants to appear as though he is both upholding justice and not harming security - the unofficial religion of a state that shoots, then cries. What an enlightened occupier!

But even Barak's verbal acrobatics, his impressive formulations and his lofty words cannot conceal the bitter truth: It would have been better had these rulings not been handed down. Going forward, it is perhaps preferable that proponents of human rights no longer petition the High Court of Justice. The fact that the new president of the court and his deputy are not signed on some of these rulings ensures that nothing will change in the future of our Supreme Court.

At the end of this productive judicial week, the Israeli occupation won significant power. This additional power came in the form of the broad legitimization granted its injustices by the most prestigious institution in Israeli society, also lauded abroad. The targeted assassinations will continue in full force, the victims of the occupation will hardly be awarded any compensation and the separation wall will be completed as planned. The cruel reality of the occupation will not change in the wake of these rulings, but now these actions will have the court's seal of approval.

The Israel Defense Forces assassinating unhindered is one reality, and an IDF that assassinates with the High Court's blessing is an even worse reality. The right's moaning about these rulings is therefore just a manipulation: It should be very pleased.

This last ruling is also the worst of them. Barak's crescendo will echo for many years: The court has laundered the executions. All the restrictions the High Court of Justice placed on targeted assassinations are no more than a collection of hollow words. A failed method of warfare, intended for thwarting 'ticking bombs,' has become unbridled and a matter of routine. In fact, 339 Palestinians have already been killed this way since the start of the current intifada; only 210 were intended targets and it is doubtful that all of them deserved to be executed. The rest were innocent bystanders.

Hit lists and death squads, death sentences without trials, and what does the High Court of Justice say? It is necessary that there be "well-founded, strong and persuasive information as to the identity (of the person assassinated) and his activity."

And who will determine what is "well-founded, strong and persuasive information?" The Shin Bet security services. And who will supervise the assassinations? The executioners. Instead of making clear and bold statements, that, for instance, assassination is permissible only in the case of terrorists en route to a terror attack, the court is being disastrously - and typically - ambiguous and, is essentially passing the responsibility to the IDF and the Shin Bet.

We spent five whole years waiting for this? The High Court of Justice could have determined this long ago.

The court also has lofty words for conflicts where rules of international law apply, though it has never expressed its opinion about the endless violations of such law. Jewish settlements in the territories, the transfer of prisoners in Israel, Israel's refusal to care for those living under occupation - all of this is one big, brazen violation of international law. How is it that the High Court of Justice has never ruled on the legality of the settlements, for example?

The court has proved once again that when given the chance to impact reality and bring about significant change, it instead withdraws in panic. Even when it revoked the Intifada Law, it knew that nothing would change on the ground.

Despite the public uproar, a Palestinian's chance of winning compensation from the state for crimes against him remains close to zero. Maria Aman, whose mother, brother and grandmother were killed in a failed assassination attempt in Gaza, can only dream of compensation. She and her family were after all harmed in the context of "an act of warfare," which the High Court of Justice has now sanctioned. It is permissible to launch missiles at cars in the heart of crowded cities, but it is not necessary to compensate the innocent, inevitable victims.

"The military commander must defend human rights," wrote Barak in another of his rulings - the one that okayed the wall severing the a-Ram neighborhood - summing up in a single sentence his efforts to safeguard the human rights being trampled in the territories. The military commander will "preserve human rights?" Given the reality in the territories, there could be no greater contradiction.

From now on, the Supreme Court will act without Aharon Barak. It will, however, presumably continue to act within his legacy, which has authorized nearly all injustices in the territories. Barak, meanwhile, will continue to be depicted in Israel and the world as a pursuer of justice. But the question will come up one day, and people will want to know where the High Court of Justice was when all this was happening. And where was Aharon Barak? No, not only did he not try to stop it; he was also a willing partner.

Mything the Point of "Targeted Killing"

Dec 16, 2006

It's painful to watch someone you care about commit suicide. Imagine the horror of watching someone drowning before your eyes. Now imagine watching it in slow motion. Repeatedly. For years I have been watching Israel's suicidal spiral with that kind of despair.

I used to explain Israel's current situation by comparing the occupation of the West Bank to the period in American history when Andrew Jackson was president. He was willing to violate the law of the land and there was no political will to stop him. His famous contempt for "John Marshall's decision" paved the way for the Trail of Tears and all the genocide that followed.

Now we learn even this fig leaf of judicial restraint is gone. The Israeli Supreme Court in a unanimous decision has ruled extra-judicial executions are now legal.

The first time I ever heard my grandfather curse, I didn't understand why he was so angry. We were sitting down to breakfast. Grandpa took one look at the New York Times and started yelling, "THAT DIRTY RAT BASTARD!" Grandma looked over and said, "Oh, so after all these years, now there's a problem?" "This is different!" Grandpa shouted. "He's always been a criminal," Grandma said with disdain. "This is different," Grandpa insisted, "That was his business, this affects all of us!" He was really furious.

Looking at the picture, I still couldn't figure out how this old man could be such a big deal. I had no idea who he was, so I asked. It turned out Grandpa grew up with the guy. What Grandma said was true. The guy was a serious criminal, even as a kid when everyone called him "Spider" for reasons Grandpa couldn't remember. That's why Meyer Lansky was in the paper. The reason Grandpa was so angry was Lansky was invoking the Jewish Right of Return as a last ditch effort to avoid going to jail.

Grandpa and Lansky were Polish immigrants who grew up on the Lower East Side of New York. Grandpa took us to see the old neighborhood once. It was a slum, but he had fond memories about it. He could afford to be nostalgic about the neighborhood. He got out, just like Lansky. The difference being that Lansky followed the road of crime, Grandpa went into entertainment. College wasn't even on the map for these guys. The truth is they didn't even have a map. They were just doing their best to survive, and Grandpa did better than most.

In spite of that, the only gold in my grandparent's house was their wedding bands and maybe a couple of Grandma's earrings. It wasn't like they couldn't afford nice stuff. What happened was Grandma pawned all the good stuff and sent the money to the UJA (United Jewish Appeal) when Hitler offered to ransom the Jews. Even after the war was over she kept finding ways to send money. I don't know if they supported everything that was done in Israel, but doing anything was better than nothing. As far as they were concerned, disagreement was a luxury they couldn't afford. This was not about religion, they were secular Jews. This was about survival.

It wasn't until many years later, April of 1984 to be exact, that I finally understood Grandpa's rage. This time, the picture was in Newsweek. It was a black and white shot of a stunned guy being led somewhere by two Israeli soldiers. The problem was after the picture was taken of this terrorist in Israeli custody, he turned up with a crushed skull. It was the first time I had ever seen documented proof of Israelis committing extra-judicial executions. Don't get me wrong, everyone knew about the Mossad hit squads hunting down the Black September terrorists after Munich, but somehow that was different. Maybe it wasn't, but we just liked to think it was. I guess people viewed it as professionals fighting professionals or something.

What became known as the Bus 300 Affair had nothing to do with professionals, defense, or justice. It was cold-blooded murder. Ehud Yatom, acting with knowledge of his superiors, crushed the skulls of not one, but two captives while their hands were bound behind their backs. Today, he is a member of the Knesset. A government that would seat a confessed murderer like Yatom is worthy of people like Lansky. That's a broad stroke, but that's the problem. Once you go down that path, everyone gets tarred with that crap. It's malignant. It spreads like rust.

Here's a clear example of how perverse things have become. In 2000, Dennis Ross and Eric Yoffie were guest speakers at a synagogue in suburban Maryland as part of an ongoing discussion about the Middle East. (For those who don't recognize the names, Dennis Ross is a former ambassador, and Eric Yoffie is President of the Union of Reform Judaism.) Each of the distinguished panel members talked about their many decades of service in the region. Opening comments lasted for about an hour, with each panelist talking about how much Israel wanted a partner for peace, how Arafat would never make a choice until he had no choice, etc., etc. There was a lot of handwringing and lamentation. Then they opened up the floor for questions. So I got up.

"Listening to all of you today, I am struck by how blessed we are to have almost a century's worth of expertise to draw on. So I would like you each to answer a question that has troubled me for some time. What is your position on extra-judicial executions? Do you support them or not? If you do, how do you reconcile that with everything you have been saying for the last hour?"

Have you ever been stuck in a crowded elevator when someone lets loose a real loud fart? That was more or less how they reacted to my question. They were stunned for several seconds. No one wanted to touch this. But the longer they sat there looking at each other, the more the congregation started mumbling and chattering. Eventually, Ross took a stab at it. He hemmed, he hawwed, he meandered about and eventually got his bearings only to end up with this surprising justification: "It's politically stupid, but morally defensible." I thought he had said it backwards, but then Eric Yoffie chimed in with gusto saying, "Besides, there is Talmudic justification!" Things descended into chaos at that point and the moderator had to take control of the room.

It is important to understand Eric Yoffie is basically a liberal. He is opposed to the death penalty. He supports gun control. He was a featured speaker at the Million Mom March. He is constantly battling with the ultra-orthodox crazies, like Yishai of the Shas Party, who don't think converts to Reform Judaism count as real Jews. Oh and another thing, according to Israeli government official estimates, about 40% of the casualties in targetted killings are innocent bystanders. Oh... and another thing... about that "Talmudic justification," that was Yigal Amir's defense for shooting Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. So I honestly don't know where they draw the line anymore. I can't help but think there is no moral center and we're just circling the drain when someone who is generally considered as decent and thoughtful as Yoffie starts carrying water for people who make Ariel Sharon seem moderate.

The saddest part of all this is I know most Israelis, and even most Palestinians, would have been happy to reach an accomodation. The problem is extremists on all sides have betrayed the aspirations of the people they claim to lead.

I hate to say it, but the last time Zealots controlled Jerusalem, things ended badly. Really Badly. I'm just glad my grandparents aren't around to see this.

"What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your neighbor.
That is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary."
-- Hillel

Israel court backs targeted kills

Last Updated: Thursday, 14 December 2006, 09:53 GMT

Israeli strikes target suspected militants but civilians are also killed Israel's Supreme Court has rejected an attempt to declare that the policy of targeted killings of Palestinian militants is illegal. The court noted that not every killing complied with international law, but said the legality of operations should be assessed on a "case by case basis". The ruling came in response to a petition from two human rights groups. In recent years, Israeli operations have targeted many suspected militants and left dozens of civilians dead. The practise of targeted killings dates back to the start of the Palestinian intifada in September 2000 Controversial tactic The term is used by Israeli officials who argue that the tactic is a way of killing militants who are about to carry out an attack or are behind such attacks. However, Israel has targeted political leaders, and civilians have often been killed in the attacks. The tactic is seen by many human rights groups and by some members of the international community, including Britain and the European Union, as contrary to international law. Key Palestinian figures, such as Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, have been killed in targeted killings. The operations often involve air strikes, which use intelligence from agents on the ground to target houses or cars where suspects are believed to be. Civilian casualties The court rejected a total ban saying: "We cannot determine in advance that all targeted killings are contrary to international law." "At the same time, it is not possible that all such liquidations are in line with international law. The legality of all targeted killings must be examined on a case by case basis." According to human rights group B'Tselem, 339 Palestinians have died in targeted killings since September 2000, of whom 210 were suspected militants and 129 were bystanders. The court said that caution was needed to prevent civilian casualties. "Innocent civilians should not be targeted," it said. "Intelligence on the (targeted) person's identity must be carefully verified." The court also allowed for the possibility of compensation claims from civilians. The two human rights groups, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment, filed the suit in 2002 but a ruling has been repeatedly delayed.

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