PM sparks Germany's anger in latest East Jerusalem construction spat

Have you considered that it is not that the world doesn't want a right government, but that it doesn't want a government that does what right governments do?

land of israel.There never was an Arab presence in the Holy land or Jerusalem, no Arab nation or culture and in fact, Jews were called Palestinians by the british and Israel, Palestine by the Romans no connection to Arabs. In 1867, Mark twain said of his visit to israel, no people were there just swamps and some Jewish and bedouin villages on the fringes and jerusalem was majority, Jewish.first temple is 3000 years old, Mosque came much later, after Mohammed's death. He was never in Jlem and doesn't mention it in the Koran.Jews around the world who forgot are about to remember what anti-semites like John will never understand. Jews and Israel are inseperable

You'd be screaming "anti-Semites!", even if the answers are true.

I still believe there is Israel, and there are Jews. These are not equal.

Anybody who thinks Merkel or Germany are truly friends or allies of Israel is woefully ignorant of the Bible and history. The final revival of the unholy Roman Empire is being forged in Europe today and it will wage a New Crusade under the guise of peace and brutally betray both Arabs and Jews.

way to the bomb. Wake up and focus not on settlements but on Iran and what the Islamists are doing!!!

I absolutely agree with Mr. Twain's comments of 1899--and their relevance to today. But I would respectfully point out that he refers to "the Jew" as a people, not a place, and (I believe) was remarking on their collective ability to survive over millennia in the face of severe challenges. That survival took place in many venues, even while some of those venues themselves crumbled. While many now believe that "the Jews" and "Israel" are one and the same, I am not sure that--in his 1899 context--Mr. Twain would have agreed.

The German-Iranian tie needed to be broken. A cut between national Israel and national Germany is pertinent, too. If a german chancellor is asking an Israeli PM for moral behaviour towards herself that means that she acted incorrectly before: Germany is certainly more powerful than Israel and can say "no" when Germany deems this appropriate. Merkel should know that the Jewish nation does not have a moral obligation towards the German nation.

The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?? - Mark Twain (?Concerning The Jews,? Harper?s Magazine, 1899 see The Complete Essays of Mark Twain, Doubleday [1963] pg. 249)

They must be just about the only countries left that Israel hasn't - yet - insulted. Way. To. Go. Bibi! Still, I guess that's what happens when you don't have a functional Foreign Ministry... ....everything - and I do mean everything - is fed through the meatgrinder of domestic political point-scoring, and bugger the damage that this does to foreign relations...

Come on now, there must be one capable diplomat in all of Israel. How the hell does someone who starts to shout at a foreign representative get into a position to negotiate with him or her? I can understand that Bibi doesn't want to go through the foreign ministry, given its recent history of professionalism, but there must be better options than this...

Including your newspaper. Seems your newspaper wants to see Bibi in a bad light and won't put the matter to rest. Settlements are not part of the problem toward peace, Hamas is, and all the rest is theatre.

All what you have mentioned is true. I hope that the american jews ,including their AIPAC, would realize the future danger on their existence because of their blind support for israeli occupation and humiliation of palestinian people. The existence of israel in peace and democracy can only be guaranteed if their occupation strategies completely stopped .

He didn't give her a public feel-up like Bush did.

The big problem azbob, is that the nutters that pull all the strings in the Netanyahu government, have an unbelievable sense of entitlement to all of Israel because of the "god factor". Until moderate Israelis run the government, Israel will be seen as a pariah by the rest of the world.

Obama was given an opening to bash Israel. He jumped onto it will both hands and hung on tight. The whole episode was intentially blown way out of proportion. Israel, and the Jews within, need to stick to what is morally and historically right. Any wavering only invites more pressure. Germany has a special part to play and it would seem that Obama abused this channel. But as we know, not everything is what is seems.

BiBi must stand strong. He is doing something very right, and the Jew haters who pretended to be pro Israel are now freaking out. All Israelis must begin an immediate austerity program, planning for major embargoes. Food, fuel, medicines, etc. Israel must not fire one bullet, or send one jet to deal with Kassams. Israel must begin launching kassams back into gaza. They are cheap. Do not fire on weopen, if it will only require it be done again to remedy the problem. either end the problem, or live with it until you can end it permanently. no more half stops that deplete Israels reserve capacity for war. That is their plan.

We have to stop our PM, before he takes us down. We don't have leader now

you're right, only to the tune of billions of $$, cheap subs etc etc etc, apart from that, yeah, Germany has ever supported Israel (note sarcasm)

In a world of compromise Netanyahu needs to stand firm. It's the cowardly leaders of this world, like Obama, who have caused this tension to rise by backing down to evil. Our prayers are with Israel as we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. God Bless! Your Christian Supporter in America, Wayne

you just don't listen, just now on another post right here i said that bibi has just signed israels death warrant, and now i read this, and on previous posts i've also said many will sign up for the anti-israel camp, so far so good my predcitions are true and correct, watch things get so bad that there will be no way israel will ever be able to mend ties with anyone.

Israel always says that talks must begin with no preconditons. Yet Bibi says: "that Israeli governments have never stopped building in Jerusalem and that Ramat Shlomo will be part of Israel after a peace settlement". Sounds like a precondition to me. No wonder the world no longer believes Israel wants peace.

All the public/media displays of indignation aside, Ramat Schlomo is just a little development of homes, a short walk from the "green line" in between two existing and established Jewish neighborhoods. Its what most negotiators accept will remain Israeli in almost all reasonable deal scenarios. Why all the international drama?

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It is one thing to make your enemies mad, but only an idiot makes his allies mad. Bibi is self-destructing and he is taking Israel with him. No one trusts him or Israel!!!

with Israel against the Palestinians, just to make up for its past Sins against the Jews.

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please, please, please get these people out of power. If a general strike is needed, do it - whatever it takes. They will be the death of our homeland. They are fools - the worst kind, angry fools.

After damaging relations with the Swedes, the Norwegians, the Turks, the British, the Irish, the Australians, the Americans and the Brazilians now Netanyahu's gone and insulted the Germans, Israel's strongest supporter in Europe. Israel's list of friends seems to be getting shorter by the week, when will this strange (to be polite) government realise that it simply cannot carry on the way it's going, unless it wants to turn the entire world against Israel.

City_size matters a lot, obviously Russia might afford two Moscow, French two Paris and American, a bunch of New york. Things are different in different domains, a variety of shades and stories. Some people might consider that I made unjust comments that caused Internet donwturn around 2000, however, my judgement is not because of private interests but the knowledge of people of the society before a "sudden" revolution might erupted. Hence I defend myself with word "intention". For example, by the traditional Chinese medical views, French fries and Kentucky chicken are not good for health, which would never accepted by economists. Also, I believe that most people in the world could not accept the pressure and sudden changes though a bunch of others are joyous to expect the wave of of ride (revolution of all kinds). In the end, I accept the traditional views: money is not everything and people's relations matters more than money. Virtual capital or ideas of all kinds do have great social impetus and could bring great leap of society. However, I also felt the certain pressure that might be rejected by a lot of people, including the parents of those young entrepreneurs.

Well, if nothing else, we now know you can't accuse the Israeli government of diplomatic competence. In the past few days Israel has managed to piss off two of the most important countries in its world.

Please bring some pragmatists leader.

Now no one will trust any Israeli spokesperson, leader or Zionist sympathizer. Lies, obfuscations, delays all try to hide the continuing land grab. Can't the Israeli's see that the world now knows the game. Green Line. No other choice. And please don't bring up god as a last resort.

No one wants alliance with Israel, only the stregnth of our lobby in the US secured us our status. As American anger against the lobby grows so the lobby which behaves despicably in America, will diminsh and by then there will not be a world leader who will want nor have to give us the time of day. We are unbearable.

...but a lot of the "stuff" that we keep reading about regarding people in the government telling tales out of school, reversing positions from one day to the next, placating Peter and then rushing back to placate Paul, etc.; well they sound to me like the sort of "Lord, help me make it through the night" expediencies that folks resort to when they sense that things are unravelling, and--out of panic and/or frustration--they temporarily lose the ability to make good decisions. (Then again, I flunked Psych 101.)

"By why did you bite me? said the crocodile to the scorpion that had hitched a ride, dooming them both? "Because it's what I do" the scorpion replied.

Relations with another country shot down. another major financial contributor as well. Does Israel have a death wish?