April 22, 2010- Michell Makes Surprise Visit, Corruption Case Continues

Michell is making a surprise visit to Israel. Rumor has it that a temporary agreement has been reached between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government, where Netanyahu will not have to officially say anything about Jerusalem, but he will also not surprise the American administration with any actions on Jerusalem. The Israeli government has agreed to additional unspecified concessions as well. In the world, the agreement is being described as Netanyhu saying "No" to Obama. Netanyahu was shown on the PBS newshour speaking in Hebrew on Israel channel 2 as saying Israel will never agree to a building freeze in Jerusalem. Why Netanyahu cannot not just stay quite on the matter is beyond me. If you want to read a depressing article on Netanyahu, veteran correspondent Yoel Marcus has one today called: Netanyahu isn't, and never will be, a true leader

Former head of the Mossad, Ephraim Halevi, made news in Israel when he claimed that last night's speech by General Jim James represents a major shift in US policy, downgrading its concerens about Iran and furthering the issue of linkage. I am happy to say I have no idea what he is talking about. I have included on the site the full text of Jones' speech, maybe one of my readers will be more insightful than me on the matter. Jones Speech

The criminal corruption cases continued today, with the arrest of Yehoshual Pollack, another former deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, and the person who was the Charedi community's "fix-it" man in city hall. The Israeli method of arresting someone and holding them, without bail, until the police can finish their investigation remains extremely problematic. However, it does not seem to bother anyone in Israel other than the odd Americans. I guess I have taught about and written about the US Constitution a little too much not to be deeply disturbed by this.