Ninety-nine precent of stories about internal Palestinian politics fall into one of two boilerplates. Half of the stories lend themselves well to pointing out how - in spite of all of the State Department's stellar work - Hamas is going to roll Fatah pretty soon. The other half work as reminders that it's actually not going to make much of a difference:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he rejects the idea that Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon might be forced to stay there permanently. Abbas said all Palestinians should have the right to return home... About 400,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants live in a dozen refugee camps in Lebanon, which were set up when Israel was created in 1948. Many Lebanese also oppose the permanent resettlement of Palestinian refugees, fearing they would tip the country's delicate sectarian balance.

Ah well - not much use getting indignant about it. It's not like he's going to be in charge much longer. Although I'd be interested to know where "insisting that millions of hostile Palestinians have the right to invade Israel" falls on Secretary Rice's list of things that decrease confidence.

References:
* Abbas: All Palestinians should have the right to return home [JPost]
* Hamas's West Bank Takeover Proceeding On Schedule [MR]
* Rice On Inevitable Failure Of Misguided Peace Talks: It's Israel's Fault (Plus: Hamas Takeover Of The West Bank Proceeding On Schedule) [MR]

Previously:
* Abbas: That Deal We Just Signed That Would Give Hamas Billions Of Dollars Of International Aid And US Security Assistance? Total Accident.
* Breaking: Two Israelis Murdered By Fatah, IJ Terrorists - While Supplying Fuel To Gaza (UPDATE: Israeli Towns Shelled For Hours Before And After Attack)
* New Poll Shows Peace-Loving Palestinians Somewhat Less Than Peaceful

Here's a neat little challenge for the supple minds who are insisting that an Obama White House would be anything but a disaster for Israel: name a single pro-Israel policy that the Senator supports. Because, as Giuliana pointed out last night, "maybe he's not totally anti-Israel" is pretty much the best that anybody's managed to come up with:

"There's no question he's ambiguous about" his stand on Israel, Giuliani said, citing specifically that Obama said months ago before a Jewish political group that he supported an undivided Jerusalem, and later aides clarified it. "I think that his position in dealing with the issues that are important to Israel, like they are important to me in America, is -- (the) best and kindest thing you can say is, ambiguity... he's too close to the presidency not to have formed views about this that don't require having to explain it two or three different times."

And isn't it really weird how the most strident anti-Israel activists are so convinced that Obama's their guy that they're switching parties just to him. Americans switch religions more often then they switch political parties - a neat little convergence with the rest of The One's campaign themes:

The Obama campaign's conference call yesterday on Republicans who back the presidential bid of the Democrat from Illinois showcased quite a crew. There was Rita Hauser, the PLO apologist whose law firm... racked up millions of dollars in legal fees over the years as a registered foreign agent of Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority... Mr. Obama also is boasting of Lincoln Chafee, who... was responsible for blocking Secretary Bolton from being confirmed as the American ambassador at the United Nations on the grounds that the Bush administration had been too pro-Israel.... The third "Republican for Obama... was a former congressman from Iowa, James Leach [who] took to the House floor in 2004 to deliver a speech titled "The Case for Restraint in Iran," warning against American or Israeli attacks on the mullahs's nuclear facilities.

They must just be really confused about Obama's pro-Israel bona fides. Maybe the NJDC can enlighten them with all of the really compelling reasons that they've come up with for supporting Obama-Biden.

References:
* GIULIANI RIPS OBAMA'S ISRAEL POLICY [NY Post]
* Obama's Republicans [NY Sun]
* Obama Figures Out The Real Problem With Iranian Nuclearization (Plus: Obama's Foreign Policy Kneejerks Provide Excellent Illustration Of Exactly How He'd Screw Israel) [MR]
* NJDC: Biden Is Pro-Israel Because... Ummm... Err... Because He Just Is OK? [MR]

Previously:
* CNN: Obama, Clinton "Clearly Uncomfortable" Criticizing Carter's Hamas Visit
* Obama Discovers That Iran Has Nukes, Circa 2011 (Plus: Sophisticated Foreign Policy Expertise About Iran Is Very Sophisticated)
* JStreet Tools Proudly Declare Their Inability To Distinguish Between Reality And What They'd Like Reality To Be

You know why a nuclear Iran would be a disaster for global security? Because Israel might do something stupid:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama declared Monday that the world must press Iran through sanctions and diplomacy to stop its nuclear program, so that Israel does not feel its "back is against the wall" and that it therefore has no choice but to attack... Obama stressed that Israel, "one of our strongest allies in the world," would feel hugely threatened given claims by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that he would wipe it off the world map... "My job as president would be to try to make sure that we are tightening the screws diplomatically on Iran... We've got to do that before Israel feels like its back is to the wall"

What an exquisite example of the soft anti-Israel faux sophistication shared by virtually every single Obama foreign policy adviser: it's not that there's something inherently problematic about letting an apocalyptic Islamic state acquire nuclear weapons but rather that those jumpy Israelis will overreact. Otherwise nuanced American foreign policy diplomats would be able to deftly steer everyone into a tranquil sea of stability. It's not explicitly anti-Israel. It's merely objectively anti-Israel - the implication being that Middle East crises are caused not by the genocidal declarations of Israel's enemies but by Israel's reactions to those intentions. And so when Israel gets around to bombing Iran in response to explicitly genocidal threats coming from across the Iranian political spectrum: who do you think an Obama State Department will blame for "destabilizing" the region?

Actually, Putin's Georgia landgrab showed exactly how Obama's predispositions play out when actual wars erupt. JPost's judgment: Carter-esque. When Russia started bombing, Obama's first impulse was to call for an immediate ceasefire. Now replace Russia with Hezbollah and Georgia with Israel - and you have exactly the same fake neutrality that was used to stop Israel from winning Lebanon II. This tired leftist internationalist impulse - to ignore the objective facts on the ground and pretend that everybody is starting from the same position - inevitably rewards the aggressor who gets to pocket the benefits of the initial violation. Obama's second impulse - to request UN intervention - was actually dumber than it would be in a Russian context than it would be in an Israeli context. But that's only because Russia has a de jure veto in the UNSC while Israel's Arab enemies only yield de facto vetoes in the GA. It's his instinct and his judgment that'll end up with him selling out American allies to global jihadists and a resurgent Russia while he dithers about compromise and international mechanisms.

On the other hand, Pro-Obama Jewish activists are going hi-tech to answer whispering campaigns about how he's a Muslim. I don't actually think that's a significant problem - about the same number of people believe he's a Muslim who believe that UFOs exist - but good for them. Now if only they could explain why their candidate's instincts won't lead to cascading international disasters - that would be super. No wonder the Democrats aren't letting Carter speak in Denver. It would make The One's climactic acceptance speech redundant. And then what would they do with the rented stadium?

References:
* Obama: World must pressure Iran [JPost]
* Obama's Foreign Policy Advisers Not Exactly Fans Of The Jewish State (Plus: Brzezinski Snubs Israel After Tete-A-Tete With Assad) [MR]
* Obama's "Pro-Israel Advisers" Don't Actually Exist. As Such. [MR]
* Idiots [MR]
* Obama's Carter-esque reflexes [JPost]
* MR Translates Journalistic Cliche - "Compromise" Means "Israeli Surrender" [MR]
* Jewish Democrats go hi-tech to fight anti-Obama 'hate mail' [Ha'aretz]
* Obama: World must pressure Iran [JPost]
* Carter at Dem Convention: My Meeting with HAMAS [BtB]

Previously:
* Mel Levine's Defense Of Obama: He'll Make Obsessed Anti-Israel Lunatics Love The US. Presumably By Magic.
* Obama Complains About Smears From Jewish Groups... And He's Not Totally Wrong (Plus: He's Still Kind Of Wrong)
* Top Obama Foreign Policy Adviser: No Seriously, We Are Totally Going To Screw Israel When We Get Into Power

You might remember this classy gal from the time she sucked up to Islamists by inviting Ahmadinejad to present "various perceptions of the Holocaust" in Geneva. Or that other time when she sucked up to Islamists by embracing just a little bit of obsequious dhimmitude. So it's not really a surprise that she's sucking up to Islamists by, well, sucking up to Islamists:

Switzerland's foreign minister on Monday broke with the country's tradition of studiously discrete diplomacy by raising the possibility of direct talks with Osama bin Laden to tackle global terrorism. Micheline Calmy-Rey, who has raised both eyebrows and hackles with her controversial style, told Swiss ambassadors gathered in the capital Bern that they needed to talk to "heavyweight political figures" on the world stage even if they are considered persona non grata by other powers. "It is important to get away from a Manichean view of the world in black and white, where peoples and countries can only be allies or enemies," she said. If this view prevailed, Israel would never have held talks with the Palestinians, Nepal would never have talked to Maoist rebels -- and the international community would have boycotted the Olympic Games in Beijing, she said. "So should we listen to these 'wise figures'? Or should we continue dialogue without discrimination - even sitting down at the same table as Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden?," she asked rhetorically.

Absolutely right. If we had listened to the people who advised Israel against ceding land to the Palestinians, there wouldn't be peace in the Middle East right now. And then were would we be?

PS - she really is kind of execrable, isn't she?

References:
* Swiss President Invites Iran To Offer "Various Perceptions Of the Holocaust" At Conference [MR]
* Swiss Foreign Minister Dons Hijab, Tosses Iran An Economic Lifeline [MR]
* Switzerland does not rule out talking to bin Laden [AP]

Previously:
* Swiss Diplomats Bankrolling Iranian Economy: Why's Israel So Pissed Off At Us?
* Swiss Embrace Sophisticated Understanding of Hamas
* Bin Laden Calls For Jihad Against Darfur Peacekeepers. Because Why Not, Right?

Because when Israel builds settlements it apparently creates an irreversible situation on the ground. The Palestinians - to say nothing of the broader Arab world - have absolutely no reason to believe that Israel would ever remove settlements in the context of a peace deal. No Israel Prime Minister has ever uprooted Jewish settlements before. Makes perfect sense:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Israel on Tuesday not to undermine peace negotiations with the Palestinians after a Peace Now report found it had nearly doubled Jewish settlement construction in the last year... Rice said the Israeli construction has threatened to undermine the talks. "I think that it is no secret, and I've said it to my Israeli counterparts, that I don't think the settlement activity is helpful to the process," she said. "... anything that undermines confidence between the parties ought to be avoided."

You know what else undermines confidence? Palestinian terrorism. And you know what else also undermines confidence? When Palestinians fire Qassams, builds fortifications, raises an army, and smuggles in weapons. And yet, as Soccer Dad points out, the Secretary's musings in that direction seem a strangely truncated:

The approach to threats against Israel is one of those things that is taken casually. Here's Secretary Rice on the regular but (relatively) infrequent Qassams that still get fired into Israel despite the ceasefire with Hamas:
QUESTION: How does the ceasefire in Gaza help matters? Has it endured better than you imagined?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, it has its ups and downs, obviously. But look, I - we said early on that if there - that calm in Gaza would be a useful thing because it - the Egyptians, who - with whom we worked, have managed to keep what is a very fragile situation at least stable, and that's certainly a help to any process of trying to move forward on the peace process.
Ultimately, though, Gaza has to be resolved and it has to be resolved on the basis of the - Abu Mazen's program for it, which is that legitimate Palestinian Authority institutions have to be reinstated.

Even if she fessed up to the myriad ways that Hamas is provoking Isr - err, reducing confidence – she'd still be unblinkingly insisting that the solution is Fatah control over Gaza. Which is exactly what's going to happen - except instead of "Gaza" substitute "the West Bank" and instead of "Fatah" substitute "Hamas":

Well, many PA leaders agree. Firas Press is reporting that a large number of PA leaders are sending their kids to school - in Jordan. They anticipate that sometime during this school year there will be widespread fatal Hamas/Fatah violence of the type that shook Gaza last year and they want to keep their kids safe. Moreover, they are scrambling to get jobs for the PA diplomatic corps abroad so they don't get caught in the crossfire when Hamas starts hunting Fatah leaders in the West Bank. They are taking Hamas' recent threats to conquer the West Bank very seriously.

At least the US hasn't been mindlessly pouring direct aid and security assistance into the West Bank. Because when Hamas gets around to rolling it, that aid would - in retrospect - seem like kind of a mistake in judgment now wouldn't it?

References:
* Rice calls for end to West Bank settlement construction [Ha'aretz]
* Oh so casual [Soccer Dad]
* PA leaders think Hamas will take over the West Bank [Elder]
* Abbas: That Deal We Just Signed That Would Give Hamas Billions Of Dollars Of International Aid And US Security Assistance? Total Accident. [MR]

Previously:
* Rice Pressures Israel Because Palestinians Are Feeling "Pessimistic"
* Another State Dept Bait And Switch - Rice Says PA Should Control Gaza-Egypt Border (Plus: EU Maybe Kind Of Thinking About Fulfilling Rafah Agreement) [MR]
* Confirmed: Rice Went Out Of Her Way To Screw Israel On Lebanon II

Abbas just announced that Fatah will never make peace until Israel releases thousands of terrorists that Israel will never release. Not that Abbas really matters since Hamas is increasingly prepared to make good on their promise to roll the West Bank. Which helps to explain why in the last few weeks they've all but ruled out peaceful reconciliation with Fatah - why negotiate when you can take? And as an FYI to those others of you who've been reading the international press for the last couple of year years, no, Hamas is not really going to accept Israel.

But luckily, the State Department is here to help:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Monday that it will be difficult to reach a year-end target for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, but said the two sides and the United States remain committed to that goal. Flying into the region on her seventh trip since the goal was set nine months ago at a US-hosted peace conference, Rice said she would press the parties to secure even small, incremental steps and not dwell on producing documents that demonstrate partial progress. There has been speculation the Bush administration wants the Israelis and Palestinians to sign onto an interim statement before the UN General Assembly meets in New York in late September, but Rice suggested that was unlikely and the two sides were not at that point.

I know that a lot of people get pretty upset about how Rice keeps flying to Jerusalem to try to coerce Israel into making concessions. But honestly - at this point - isn't the real frustration that it's just kind of a pathetic waste of taxpayer money?

What's she going to do? Pressure Israel to release prisoners with blood on their hands so that the Palestinians will make peace with them? As if that's not already being done on the much dumber argument that decreasing Israel's leverage over Hamas will somehow "accelerate the negotiations over Gilad Shalit".

References:
* 'No peace unless all prisoners freed' [JPost]
* 'Hamas has built up a force of 20,000' [JPost]
* Hamas: When We Said That We're Going To Overrun The West Bank As Soon As Abbas Gets Land And Weapons, We Were Just Joking [MR]
* Officials: Cairo talks unlikely to reconcile Hamas and Fatah [Ha'aretz]
* Climbdown as Hamas agrees to Israeli state [Guardian]
* Hamas: negotiations with Israel out of the question [Xinhua]
* US secretary of state lands in Israel to push ME peace process [JPost]
* Israel to free 199 jailed Palestinians on Monday - Haaretz - Israel News [Ha'aretz]

Previously:
* Condi: Palestinians Are Like Oppressed Blacks In The Jim Crow South (Plus: Hamas: "No Room For Jews" In Israel)
* Condi: Why Yes, Now Would Be The Perfect Time To Open A Diplomatic Office In Tehran
* Media Consensus Forming: Israeli West Bank Ops Violate Gaza Ceasefire (Plus: Palestinians Shot West Bank Israelis On Day 2)

The National Jewish Democratic Council is now dividing its time between hysterically attacking Republicans who point out Obama's anti-Israel proclivities and publishing mind-bendingly awful arguments to hide Biden's anti-Israel proclivities:

The head of a major Jewish Democratic organization praised Barack Obama on Saturday for an "outstanding selection" in tapping Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware to be his vice presidential running mate. "Biden is a strong leader and great friend of the American Jewish community with extensive foreign policy experience and a solid pro-Israel record," Ira Forman, the executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council said Saturday. "Biden embodies the Jewish ideal of practicing tikkun olam - repairing the world and has a strong commitment to issues important to the Jewish community including, civil liberties, civil liberties, reproductive rights for women, education, health care, the environment, opposition to radical right wing judicial appointees, combating violence against women, and maintaining a strong wall between church and state," Forman said.

The really interesting thing about is that the NJDC isn't even trying to justify the claim that Biden's pro-Israel. Sure, they're saying he's pro-Israel (because of course they are). But among Biden's myriad ostensible virtues, Forman can't even make up a reason that he's pro-Israel. Which is fine if you don't think that Israel should be a decisive issue in the 2008 election. Fair enough - people can debate about that.

But the debate can't even start as long asDemocrats just unblinkingly asserts - in this case on the basis of quite literally zero evidence or reasoning - that their candidates have anything but objectively anti-Israel records or sensibilities. Because while Biden does have strong ties to the American Jewish community, it's not because he's pro-Israel. More exactly the opposite.

In fairness, he does have some pretty strong support in certain quarters of the American Jewish community. Which is surprising not at all.

References:
* Obama Complains About Smears From Jewish Groups... And He's Not Totally Wrong (Plus: He's Still Kind Of Wrong) [MR]
* Biden has 'solid pro-Israel record,' says head of Jewish Democratic group [Ha'aretz]
* Biden and the Jews: Strong ties and friendly disagreements [Wisconsin JChron]
* In Denver, Jewish Dems Kvell Over Biden [NY Sun]
* MR Has A Question For Democratic Jews: Are You Fucking Retarded? [MR]

Previously:
* This Week's Litany Of Reasons Why Democratic Jews Are Either Anti-Israel Or Lying To Themselves
* Memo To Democratic Jews: "US Engagement In The Peace Process" Is Bad For Israel, Barack Obama Edition
* Democratic Recommendations For Israeli and American Jews

Remember that bittersweet rescue mission where British soldiers strapped themselves to an Apache to get to a fallen comrade? They didn't manage to save his life, but they got to him before the Taliban did. Some people would imagine that the op should be emphasized as a source of pride for the British public. Some people would beg to differ:

Presenter Lyse Doucet’s astonishing statement comes as an Apache gunship hero revealed the fanatics aim to capture a British soldier and skin him alive on the internet. Military Cross winner Ed Macy — whose book Apache is serialised in The Sun from today — tells how an intelligence officer gave details of the Taliban butchers’ sick plan. It made Army Air Corps Warrant Officer Macy and his comrades even more determined to rescue a mortally wounded Marine from a Taliban stronghold — which they did with four soldiers strapped to the outside of two Apaches. But BBC World News correspondent Doucet claimed the public also want to seeing the kinder side of the Afghan extremists. Asked what was missing in media coverage, she said: “It may sound odd but the humanity of the Taliban, because they are a wide, very diverse group of people.”.

Revelatory, what some people choose to care about. Because there's probably a case to be made that this story should be about the nature of the enemy that the West is fighting:

But Macy recalls in his book how the room fell silent when the intelligence officer briefed him and his comrades after chilling Taliban radio messages were intercepted. He writes: “She said, ‘The Taliban have a new plan for what they’ll do if they capture a British soldier. They intend to set up a webcam for a live internet broadcast and then skin him alive’.”

Sure it's misguided and crass - but at least it's not unsophisticated.

References:
* Video: Royal Marines strap themselves to Apache’s wings to rescue comrade [Hot Air]
* No humanity for 'evil' Taliban [The Sun]

Previously:
* BBC, CBS Now Just Making Stuff Up About Israeli Military
* The BBC Lies
* BBC Misleads in Article, Clarifies in Sidebar, Regarding Israeli Settlements

Remember how in the 1990s foreign policy experts were sure that Khatami was going to make Iran safe for Western diplomacy- because Khatami only talked about cleansing the earth of Zionist corruption in vague terms? And then how when that didn't work diplomatic dialogue was going to be saved by conservative pragmatists - they only want to wage nuclear wars against Israel because they think can win them. Relying on Iranians who want to win nuclear wars is important because the alternative is that the Iranian regime is actually being led by apocalyptic lunatics.

The problem is that the Iranian regime really does seem to be led by apocalyptic lunatics. Ahmadinejad pretty regularly declares that the 12th imam it just around the corner. Even Iran's nuclear negotiator is more or less committed to bringing about the end of the world. So the people who are out in front - kind of crazy.

Foreign policy experts get around pesky evidence - things like Iran's "statements" and "actions" - by talking about how the lunatics aren't the ones who are really in charge. While it may seem that way to neoconservative warmongers, sophisticated liberal foreign policy elites are privy to the secret battles and power plays that actually set Iranian policy. So while it might look like Ahmadinejad and Jalili are trying to start a nuclear war, there's supposed to be a pitched battle between conservative pragmatists and lunatics for Khamenei's ear. Turns out not so much:

Iran's Supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged hard-line Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to plan for a second four-year term, Iranian official news agency IRNA reported Sunday. According to the report, Khemenei told Ahmadinejad that he should not think his administration is serving its final year and that he has to work as if he will stay in power for another four years. Earlier on Sunday, Khamenei was quoted as praising Ahmadinejad for "standing up to" the West in a dispute over the country's nuclear program, amid growing domestic criticism of the president's management. Khamenei offered unusually glowing praise of Ahmadinejad, who upon his election in 2005 sparked a confrontation with the West by resuming uranium enrichment and also prompted worldwide condemnation for denouncing Israel. The country's spiritual leader has rarely, if ever, expressed such support for any other Iranian politician.

Not to worry. I'm sure there's some secret coded message in Khamenei's glowing praise. Something that's actually a reason for the US to engage in some Hopeful and Changeful diplomacy. And I'm sure that State's Iran people or someone at the CFR will be explaining it to the NYT's readership soon enough.

References:
* Smug Liberal Sophistication Untroubled By Undeniable Evidence That Hardliners Are Winning In Iran [MR]
* Iran's Ribbentrop [TCS Daily]
* Idiots [MR]
* Ahmadinejad Declares Coming Return Of the Mahdi [MR]
* Super! Iran's New Nuclear Negotiator Dedicated To Bringing About The End Of The World. Yes, Really. [MR]
* 'Ahmadinejad should plan another 4-year term' [JPost]

Previously:
* State Department Discovers Iran Supports Terrorism
* Bolton: Israel Will Attack Iran By January (Plus: New EU Sanctions Somewhat Underwhelming, Still Better Than What Obama Will Do)
* Iran: Israeli Self-Defense is a Cause for War

You're saying money can't buy off religious fanatics who are ideologically committed to wiping out Israel? Warmonger:

The EU is to increase its aid to the Palestinian Authority by EUR40 million, in order to pay the salaries of government employees... Still, the EU's generosity with our money - it has paid the Palestinian Authority €256 million so far this year - creates two problems. First, the PA is run by Hamas, which is on the EU's list of designated terrorist operations. Under Brussels rules, funding such an organisation is a criminal offence. Euro-lawyers have sought to circumvent the letter of the law by funnelling aid money through NGOs, but this is sheer sophistry. Many of the PA's officials are Hamas militants, whose salaries are being paid while they serve their sentences in Israeli jails. Second, it is becoming increasingly clear that overseas aid is arresting a political settlement in the region.... Palestinians receive more assistance, per capita, than any other people on Earth.

Since I'm just getting back into the blogging swing, here's a little sumthin sumthin for MR's friends on the far right: how much of this only got locked in when Livni scored that huge upgrade in US-EU ties? (Answer: yeah right - as if the EU needs excuses to pour money into Hamas coffers). That said: it could be the case that giving money to Iran's terrorist proxies is undermining the international community's efforts to dry up terrorist funding.

References:
* EU aid to Palestine is funding the conflict [Telegraph]
* Israel wins significant EU upgrade [JPost]

Previously:
* Slate Seems a Little Confused about the Israeli-EU Relationship
* EU Lies, Allows Hamas Terrorists to Stream Into Gaza
* EU Again Backs Out of Monitoring Agreement, Endangers Israeli Security

View all NBN conference posts in order:
(1) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 1)
(2) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Bibi
(3) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 2)
(4) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Pro-Israel Branding (Plus: Funnyish Standup Comedy)
(5) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Second Panel

21:32 - And done.

21:29 - Announcement of new NBN website. Neat Web 2.0 concept: My Aliyah Idea. Also nice: launching it during the podcast. Except they just cut off broadcasting. Which is weird.

21:22 - That joke about how Israelis can't give directions? Not false. A second very solid speech in a row. Very effective - provided that any persuadables are still watching. That last hit on that hysterical moron: awesome.

21:20 - What War Zone? is one of the funnier pro-Israel blogs. I have very little snarky or insulting to say about this speaker or this speech. And thus does my self-confidence ebb.

21:17 - Treppenwitz again. I don't want to rush to judgment - but is that a panelist doing a subtle job repairing the damage of recent incompetent and hysterical impropriety? Succinct. And easily one of the best speeches at the conference.

21:13 - Her blog says that she campaigns in Tel Aviv for lost animals. See? "Awww."

21:08 - Third speaker is from Oleh Girl. I've never read her. But she seems reasonable, understated, and kind of "awww" adorable when she nervously enthuses Israel. Plus: it's tough to argue with the modest suggestion that both leftists and rightists are misguided when it comes to Israel. Because, you know, the last 20 minutes happened.

21:05 - Second speaker is from My Right Word. Very good at the beginning, but then another snarky hit at the in-the-final-analysis correct MFA presenter. Because apparently she's just too correct and impropriety is just too totally awesome. Still, on the whole basically right.

21:00 - A claim has been made to me by a credible person that the previous speaker is not, in fact, a narcissistic and petulant child of the idiot self-esteem 80s. I've been asked to link to her blog as an act of fairness. Knock yourselves out.

20:55 - Moderator: "I'm asking speakers to explain how they keep making aliya." First speaker: "fuck that I'm not in this to keep making aliya." I used to think that valorizing impropriety was a result of the idiot self-esteem 80s. But now I think it crosses generational lines. Because, apparently, it crosses generational lines. "I'm doing this for me" - what a perfect crystallization of the last 15 minutes.

20:53 - Nice roundup of Jewish blogs. Not exactly being presented by a "panelist," but good. Meanwhile: can I get a show of hands in favor of screening guests at next year's convention? Not for ideology as much as for "not being a moronic tool with zero understanding of propriety. Or reality." What an asshole.

20:50 - Good point for those oh-so-dissident members of the audience who - not coincidentally - want recognition from the audience. Unfortunately, I strongly suspect it was more or less lost on the hysterical gentleman who just finished his proto-racist diatribe.

View all NBN conference posts in order:
(1) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 1)
(2) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Bibi
(3) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 2)
(4) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Pro-Israel Branding (Plus: Funnyish Standup Comedy)
(5) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Second Panel

20:46 - Thank you, sir, for concretely illustrating some of the reasons why Israel has a public image problem. The scattered applause - that was really good on an international podcast that's getting 10K-plus viewers.

20:45 - "This is passion." Well-played.

20:41 - "Hi - I'm a rightwing pro-Israel blogger. You've just presented a ton of data on why constantly emphasizing political ideology is counterproductive. I wonder if you can help me better articulate my rightwing ideology and tie the Israeli government to it."

20:33 - The MFA's ability to successfully utilize their data totally aside - this focus group is really interesting. Among other things, it demonstrates that my very enthusiastic support for mass marketed bikini-clad Israeli models is the very height of sophisticated and nuanced diplomatic strategizing.

20:32 - FYI - she's talking about subliminal focus group techniques and getting a lot of grumbling from the crowd. That's unfair - so-called "projection techniques" are a very common and a pretty robust way of milking focus groups.

20:31 - Focus group data. This could actually be really good. Danger sign: it has now been claimed that a focus group successfully came up with the names of 40 different countries. I'm highly skeptical.

20:30 - "Others will define you if you don't define yourself."

20:25 - I just realized that these are the kinds of Powerpoints that guide the Israeli MFA's diplomacy and public outreach efforts. That clarifies much that has confused me in recent years. If you're actually interested in branding, use the next 15 or so minutes on this. It's - ummm - better.

20:20 - Her argument: "when you choose a brand, you have to encapsulate the good and the bad." Her evidence for encapsulating negative stereotypes: promotional campaigns that emphasize "you can totally get laid in Vegas" or "you can be totally hard core in New York." For 5 extra credit points, who can explain to the class where this argument went awry?

20:17 - "It's as important to be relevant and attractive as it is to be right." Absolutely correct. I wonder if this presentation is going to end up taking credit for this totally awesome MFA campaign. Because that would significantly alter my opinion of this presentation.

20:15 - Oh - I was wrong. The MFA's failure isn't because they're not spinning. It's because they think that a lack of knowledge is the source of anti-Israel sentiment. Not to put too fine a point on it, but: no it's not.

20:13 - She's happy because Israel is nowhere near as successful or popular globally as it should be - because there's plenty of room to improve. Which is nice and all - but hasn't it been her job for almost two decades to make Israel successful and popular? Because if that's been her job, that would seem like a really silly rationalization.

20:10 - An 18-year veteran of the Israeli Foreign Minister. She's in charge of "presenting Israel abroad." She seems like a real dear - but, they've been kind of sucking at their job. Do you think that her lack of success has anything to do with her belief that the MFA can win precisely by not "spinning." But she's promising that they've got a whole new approach - so fingers crossed.

20:06 - Remind me again: random spamming will make you popular or unpopular? Still: energetic.

20:05 - Will someone please explain the waffle maker jokes to me? I honestly don't get them. And I also suspect that all the people who are pretending to get them aren't getting them.

20:04 - "Take stuff to Israel for me." OK: funny.

20:03 - Jewish humor. Time for me to check out because every reaction will be "I don't get it, but I'm pretty sure that I'm not a fan of at least some of the people who laughed."

20:00 - "And then they said to me: who the hell are you?" Hmm.

19:55 - It is a universally-held principle that making fun of the guy who's up there telling jokes is a dick move. Still: jokes about Wordpress? Dunkin Donuts coffee? What would happen if someone lied to TSA?

View all NBN conference posts in order:
(1) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 1)
(2) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Bibi
(3) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 2)
(4) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Pro-Israel Branding (Plus: Funnyish Standup Comedy)
(5) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Second Panel

19:45 - Break time. I'm trying to cull comments and emails from pro-Israel bloggers who are watching at home, but it will require permission because I don't think most of those people would want most of their comments posted publicly.

19:40 - I suppose I should do my liveblogging duty and pass on Carl's good point about using listservs. Also Treppenwitz's joke about how he saves time by not editing posts. An obligatory joke, but still.

19:32 - Q&A begins. Excruciatingly. You know how at public panels of serious people you usually get non-serious people who give lectures in the context of "asking questions." Yes.

19:30 - Carl makes first demonstrably true and statistically valid point about generating traffic: get links from A-list blogs. Hey - ya think anyone will point out that this is kind of in tension with all of the peons about democratization?

19:26 - Carl starts off by being snarky about bloggers who supported the disengagement from Gaza. Apparently they thought either that (a) there would be peace afterwards and/or (b) that there would be no more territorial demands. Pretty sure I disagree about that. He follows up by talking about how neat the Red Sox are. Very sure that I disagree about that.

19:25 - After showing enormous patience, Carl In Jerusalem gets his turn. Gives props to LGF.

View all NBN conference posts in order:
(1) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 1)
(2) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Bibi
(3) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 2)
(4) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Pro-Israel Branding (Plus: Funnyish Standup Comedy)
(5) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Second Panel

19:15 - Bibi points out that Israel's Arab enemies have been trying to destroy Israel since before 1967 when Israel took over Gaza and the West Bank. Also before 1948 when Israel was declared and created a wave of Arab refugees of indeterminate size. Fair point. References a fallacy which he describes as the "reversal of causality." I believe that this is a phrase he himself made up. Bibi done.

19:09 - Bibi corrects an audience member who is a little too eager to emphasize the oppression and dispossession of Jewish Israelis. He first gets some easy applause for being an advocate for Jewish rights. Then he goes on to list about 2,000 years of "facts" - most of them about how the "2000 years of Jewish" exile talking point isn't, as such, "true." In a touching homage to my point about how truth isn't a very good pushback against ideology, the audience seems kind of unpersuaded.

19:00 - First anti-Olmert joke made by Carl in Jerusalem. It gets exactly the response you'd think it would. He asks a question about electoral politics that he already knows the answer to. I assume he did this because (a) it's educational and (b) because, given the last couple of questions, he thought it was necessary.

18:58 - Some girl is insisting that the government should hire her to blog "the truth" because that way anti-Semitic lunatics will then believe her. Bibi says "that's an excellent idea". Which is weird, because I think it's a retarded idea that would immediately get sucked into the "shadowy global neoconservative conspiracy" meme (and they'd even have a new sophisticated way to talk about Zionist infiltration of new media technologies!)

18:55 - I switch batteries and notice that they didn't provide plugs to the bloggers.

18:54 - Why is electoral reform such a hot-button topic with right-wing Israelis? (1) Don't they remember how it kept a concession-happy Prime Minister in office and insulated from public opinion? (2) Don't they notice that Bibi just bragged about his previous reform - which got rolled back?

18:51 - Bibi asserts that the Israeli government needs better public diplomacy - and that this can be done in part through a reasonably written daily blog. This is true. He also asserts that pro-Israel advocates can counter smears and fabrications with "just the truth" and that facts will defeat smears even if they remain "un-embellished." This is false.

18:50 - Second assertion that the blogosphere has a democratizing function. Just so nobody's misled: that's really not true.

18:47 - In response to question about using blogging for public diplomacy, Bibi provides an explanation of CERN. I've of course talked about CERN experiments. But I wrote about it mostly as a joke because no one in MR's demo really cares about physics and science experiments. Which makes me wonder why there was just an 8 minutes discussion of it at the request of the audience.

18:45 - Question and answer. This is going to be fascinating. The last time I was in a right-wing audience who got to ask Bibi questions someone demanded an explanation for why Bibi - having been his childhood hero - had dashed all his hopes and dreams as PM.

18:44 - Bibi emphasizes that security is important. The economy is also important. And apparently Israel's education system will not escape the guy who - if you judge by what's going on today, and also what the polls are saying - is going to be Israel's next PM.

18:40 - Bibi asks to be allowed to talk in Hebrew, fails. Bibi makes plug for aliya, succeeds marginally. Bibi makes plug for an undivided Jerusalem, succeeds spectacularly. Then asks for input from the room about something. That, it turns out, was an error.

18:39 - Carl in Jerusalem gets up to speak. Gets told to sit down so Bibi can talk. Seems OK with it.

View all NBN conference posts in order:
(1) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 1)
(2) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Bibi
(3) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - First Panel (Part 2)
(4) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Pro-Israel Branding (Plus: Funnyish Standup Comedy)
(5) Liveblogging Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlog Conference - Second Panel

18:38 - Treppenwitz says that the single most important thing is to enjoy blogging. The second thing is to be nice. I'm beginning to think that I'm in the wrong place.

18:37 - Benjamin Netanyahu has just entered the building. Really.

18:35 - Treppenwitz makes first joke about Ha'aretz and leftwing bias. It gets exactly the response you'd think it would. As near as I can tell, he advises people to have friends in newspapers who will push their blog. "Blog and the traffic will come" - hey, that's what she said.

18:30 - David: SEO and social media don't work. Focuses instead on blogrolling and commenting on other blogs. Repeats initial peon about democratizatizing functions of the web - which, from an academic perspective, is kind of false. Still - his emphasis on interaction and slow growth is both correct and valuable. "Community" now said three times, and I'm seriously beginning to miss alcohol.

18:25 - David from Jewlicious gets started. Makes joke about how bloggers should get out more. Everyone tries to take two shots - but alas, no alcohol (have I mentioned that). Also: "I'm pretty cool", leading me to speculate that he may live in Williamsburg. Talks about the Cool Jew movement, leading me to conclude that he does indeed live in Williamsburg. So this is going to be a very steep very uphill climb. Still, he seems like a serious person.

18:20 - Rabbi who says bloggers shouldn't promote themselves can promote themselves by putting your blog's URL in your signature. Also: use aggregators.

18:16 - Some rabbi whom I've never heard of. He says "I'm going to start off with a parsha." It involves a 13th century rabbi and his dream about the 613 mitzvas. This is a good clue as to why I've never heard of him (see - that's exactly the kind of thing that probably should end up on Twitter). The punchline of the story is about how you're not supposed to become arrogant. That's probably an even better clue as to why I've never heard of him.

18:10 - First panel is under way. It's about increasing blog traffic. First use of "our Jewish community" 17 seconds into the speech. Nobody takes a shot. Because there's no bar here.

18:03 - Some woman just told Judith and I to "shush." Despite my strong urging, Judith refuses to "yank that nobody's hair and scream 'do you know who I am'" Oh well.

Here at the NBN JBlogger conference. This thing is huge. Much, much bigger than you - or anybody else - would think. I'm going to liveblog it exactly until the moment where the level of bile makes Twitter a more appropriate medium. So I'm thinking maybe 30 minutes.

I just got done with a conference call with Jeff Gedman, President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and David Kakabaze, head of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Georgian Service. The call - about Russia's landgrab in Georgia - was organized in part by One Jerusalem and hosted by the Heritage Foundation. The audio will soon be posted on Case For Freedom and - though it's extensive - you should listen at least to the entire question and answer session. I'm not exactly a fan of US public diplomacy efforts in the Middle East. But RFE/RL seems to be marked by professionalism and objectivity. They've seen their audience share increase 10-fold in the last week, which makes sense since those values are sought out in Eastern Europe and north Asia.

I've been a little skeptical about some of the more colorful reports of Russian atrocities. But these are credible and if anything left-leaning government officials. They're extremely careful about differentiating what they can prove from what they suspect - and again from what they're skeptical about. And some of what they're reporting is just horrifying. Almost certain: the Russians are setting houses on fire, bombing civilians, and burying landmines in the middle of villages. A local reporter on the call repeatedly broke in to describe how Russian troops were violating the ceasefire and creating new waves of refugees. You also might want to look out for the broader discussions of geopolitics - hint: the phrase "only pipeline that bypasses Russia" makes an appearance.

Updates on the current situation - plus our foreign policy community's predictable scapegoating of US and Israeli policies - after the jump.

Done with Athens, off to an academic conference in Tokyo. That picture is me in front of the Parthenon, which looks like it does partly because the Ottomans - after conquering and pillaging Greece - thought it'd be totally appropriate to use it as an ammo dump. Don't worry - they converted it into a mosque first. As ammunition is wont to do, it eventually ignited and helped do that to one of the most important monuments in the history of civilization. Charming, no?

Anyway, I'm off to Tokyo. I doubt there are any MR readers in the area since the site has gotten about five hits from Japan ever - and four of them were lonely hotel guests looking for this post. But if you're in the area drop me a line.

References:
* Israeli Model Wednesdays - Photos: Israeli Model Bar Refaeli In SI Swimsuit Edition [MR]

Previously:
* Israeli Hottie Shirly Boganim Is Happy You Voted For MR In the JIB Prelims
* TSA's Idiotic Pilot Handgun Regulations Kept Classified, End With Accidental Firing On Flying Plane
* Israeli Hottie Wednesdays - Israeli Playboy Party [Video, Mostly SFW]

If you're reading this right after it goes live then the answer is "jet lagged in Athens." If it's been a couple of days then the answer could be "jet lagged in Tokyo," "jet lagged in Sofia," or "jet lagged in Israel." Nonetheless, two upcoming MR-related appearances that you might want to keep in mind:

(1) Unless you're filtering out MR's webads - in which case, I'd like a word with you over here for a second - you've noticed the badge to the right about the Nefesh B'Nefesh JBlogger Convention. It's happening in Jerusalem on Aug 20, it's going to be filled with earnest Jewish bloggers, and I'm going to be in the audience. Which means that I expect I will be drinking heavily. Stop by and say hi.

(2) Skewz.com is a user-driven political news aggregation site that seperates out stories into liberal and conservative and then lines them up next to each other. Their stated goal is to "expose media bias, and fill the gaps made by mainstream media to deliver honest, fair and accurate news," but they're probably more valuable as a way of diluting the blogosphere's echo chamber effect. Instead of explaining disagreement by having the left think the right is stupid and having the right think the left is evil, the idea is that for really complicated problems there are good arguments on both sides or no good solutions on either side. There are rumors that I might end up on one of their podcasts talking about Israel.

UPDATE: You can also check the running list of NBN attendees that Mom in Israel has put together. It's not totally complete - I know for instance that Judith and Robert are both going to be there and they're not yet on the list yet. But it's a great start.

Previously:
* MR Updates - Grad School, Law School, Etc
* Israeli Hottie Moran Gros Wants You To Vote For MR In Round 2 Of the JIBs
* Annapolis As A Rosetta Stone For How Anti-Israel Bait And Switch Diplomacy Works

Suprise [PDF]:

The State Department's efforts to reach out to the Muslim community have resulted in multiple collaborative efforts between the State Department and radical Islamist groups and individuals. Some of these groups and individuals have even been convicted, indicted, or designated unindicted co-conspirators in terrorism cases in the United States, many linked directly to the Muslim Brotherhood or share its fundamentalist ideology. Collaboration between the State Department and Islamists has occurred in a variety of ways including hosting and sponsoring Islamist speakers, meeting with Islamist advisors, attending Islamist events, and funding programs involving Islamist groups and individuals, particularly at U.S. embassies abroad.

Want to stump a State Department public diplomacy bureaucrat? Ask whether Al Hurra - State's Arab TV station and occasional anti-Semitic jihadist propaganda outlet - is supposed to be news, entertainment, or just cheap propaganda. Honestly. Don't even bother with the whole "you're an utter and abject failure because your viewing share is in low single digits." Just try to figure out what they think Al Hurra does.

They're in a touch position. You can't come out and say "well, in order to be convincing we have to speak the audience's language so that's why we broadcast Nasrallah's genocidal exhortations." It doesn't play well in front of Congress.

Aside from the whole "US tax dollars funding jihadist propaganda" thing, State's projects are also useless. The whole dejected "they'd love us if they only gave us a chance" nonsense is not just pathetic but demonstrably false. Saudis already understand the West's tolerance for gender and racial minorities - those are the first dozen exhibits in their "Western decadence" rants. But all those mid-level State Department kids coming out of State feeder schools like Fletcher and the Woodrow Wilson School need jobs. So diplomacy becomes the hammer and global crises become nails - "we should negotiate with Iran because this time it might work"; "we should bolster with the Palestinians because this time it might work"; "we should explain ourselves to the Arab world because then they'll stop hating us".

And of course bureacratic inertia doesn't just stop when it fails. Instead it gets ugly and vicious. When State's outreach backfires - as it inevitably does because outside of their fantasy world Iran is nuclearizing and the Palestinian public doesn't want peace - the choice becomes between blaming someone else or accepting that their oh-so-sophisticated understandings of the world, crafted in the interest of justifying a bloated bureaucracy, are wrong - well, it's Israel's fault. Or it's the anti-Iranian neocon warmonger's fault.

Or it's because we haven't been obsequious enough to the Arab world. Ergo State's new strategy for public diplomacy: revolutionize the US's relationship with the Arab and Muslim world by respecting their anti-Western biases more. Seriously.

References:
* Testimony To House Subcmte On Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade [Steve Emerson]
* State Department's Arab TV Station: Israel Conducting "Holocaust Against 1.5 million Palestinians" [MR]
* State Department Public Diplomacy Scores Again - Nasrallah Now Most Admired Leader In The Arab World [MR]
* "Good News and Bad in US Public Diplomacy" [Rami Khouri]

Previously:
* Karen Hughes - Public Diplomacy Chief, Utter Failure - Finally Resigns [Video]
* State Department Public Diplomacy Scores Again - Nasrallah Now Most Admired Leader In The Arab World
* US State Department: Lebanon Is Not Responsible for Hezbollah

Just kidding, obviously. Palestinian children that get used by Hamas as human shields and hit by Israeli fire - that's Israel's fault and is worthy of unending condemnation. But remember that time when the Palestinians were pretending to start a civil war and then a toddler got caught in the crossfire but nobody in the international community really seemed to care? It was right now:

Gunfire and explosions shook Gaza City on Saturday as Hamas forces battled fighters in a tribal stronghold where suspects in a deadly bombing were allegedly hiding. Two Hamas men were killed and 35 people were wounded. They included several Hamas policemen in critical condition, a spokesman said. He also reported 15 arrests. The fighting with machine guns and mortars raged around the stronghold of the Hilles clan, which is allied with Hamas rival Fatah. Loud explosions could be heard throughout Gaza City, and ambulances and police cruisers raced to the scene. It was the most violent confrontation between Hamas forces and Fatah supporters since last week's deadly bombing, in