Bernard Henri Levy rips Turkish PM Erdogan

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that Israel was behind the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, using French Jewish philosopher Bernard Henri Levy. Here's a Turkish interview with Levy that's been translated into English.

Why do you think that Erdogan mentioned you by name and held you responsible for the overthrow of the government in Egypt?


He's out

2011 Egyptian revolution orchestrated by Hamas, Hezbullah... and Obama?

Writing in The National, a daily newspaper published in the United Arab Emirates, Bradley Hope attaches much importance to the role of the heretofore largely ignored prison escape of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsy in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Hope reports that escape was orchestrated by Hamas and Hezbullah, and that the revolution started from pro-democracy NGO's financed by the

Sharp decline in turnout for Muslim Brotherhood protests in Egypt

Asharq al-Awsat reports a sharp decline in turnout for Muslim Brotherhood protests in Egypt (Hat Tip: IMRA).

The Muslim Brotherhood’s attempts to organize protests to demand the
reinstatement of ousted president Mohamed Mursi on Friday ended quietly
as the total number of protesters declined markedly from previous weeks.


The small turnout prompted speculations over a drop in the group’s

Erdogan looks for hug from Obama

Turkish Prime Minister whined on Saturday over American comments about his blaming Israel for the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt. This is from the first link.

On Saturday, Erdogan said the US should not
have responded to his comments, adding Washington’s reactions had
“saddened” him, as the remarks were aimed at Israel and not at the US.

“When I said that, an answer

Mubarak ordered freed, coud be released as early as Thursday

An Egyptian court has ordered former President Hosni Mubarak freed, saying that there is no further ground to hold him. He could leave his prison cell as early as Thursday.

Convening on Wednesday at the Cairo jail where Mubarak is held, the
court upheld a petition from his lawyer demanding the release of the man
who ruled Egypt for 30 years until he was overthrown during the
uprisings that

The Costanza doctrine

I left the US 22 years ago, and I really no longer watch television at all, so this was enlightening to me. How many of you are familiar with the Costanza doctrine from the popular television hit Seinfeld?

Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Shy Guy).



So what does the Costanza doctrine have to do with Israel and the Middle East? Adam Turner suggests that the Obama administration should adopt

US slams Erdogan's remarks

In an earlier post, I reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had claimed that Israel is behind the coup in Egypt. The United States has now condemned those remarks.

"We strongly condemn the statements that were made by Prime Minister
Erdogan today. Suggesting that Israel is somehow responsible for recent
events in Egypt is offensive, unsubstantiated, and wrong," White

Of course: Erdogan claims Israel behind 'coup' in Egypt

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims that Israel is behind the 'coup' that deposed Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsy from the Presidency of Egypt.

“Israel is behind the coup in Egypt, we have
evidence,” Erdoğan told members of his party at a meeting in Ankara on
Tuesday. He cited a French intellectual, without mentioning his name,
who, according to Erdoğan, said in

Change: Mubarak to be freed in next 48 hours - UPDATED

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is to be released within the next 48 hours according to a report from Reuters in Israel Hayom.




Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president
overthrown in an uprising in 2011, will be released from jail in the
next 48 hours after a prosecutor cleared him in a corruption case, his
lawyer, Fareed El-Deeb, told Reuters on Monday.



He was speaking

Where is Israel's Tamarod?

Interesting comment from Dan Friedman in New York City.

There is something to be said for the anger and courage of the Egyptian
people. Even though their motivations, and their goals, may not be our own,
still, they are willing to give it their all. So where is Israel's Tamarod ("Rebel") movement? Where is Israel’s
appreciation that it has everything to lose if they stay on the current

Steyn: The only thing Egyptians agree on is loathing of Obama, his Secretaries of State and his Ambassador

Mark Steyn at his best on the events in Egypt.

For the same reason, the Gulf monarchies, having weathered the
immediate storms of the Arab spring and understanding the longer-term
threat the Brotherhood represents, have supplanted Washington as Cairo’s
principal paymasters: The $1.5 billion subvention to Egypt was always a
drop in the great sucking maw of the US Treasury; compared to what

Four common misconceptions about Egypt

The Sandmonkey has an interesting post that is addressed to Egyptians, but can help all of us to understand what is going on in that country.

1. The US is not against June 30 



There is a strong held belief in Egypt that the US is against the June 30th
alliance and government, and is waging war against it for the sake of
MB. Egyptians perceive US discussion about cutting military aid as

Europe tries to outdo Obama, 'urgently reviewing' relationship with Egypt

The Europeans are determined to outdo US President Hussein Obama. Europe, which sent foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to visit Mohammed Morsy in his jail cell, announced on Sunday that they will be 'urgently reviewing' their relationship with Egypt over the coming days.

In a statement, the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy
and the President of the European Commission

Report: Morsy didn't really win the elections

How reliable is Yossi Beilin as a source? Beilin, a far-Left Israeli former politician claims that deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy and his Muslim Brotherhood party didn't really win the June 2012 elections, but that the army feared the consequences of announcing what truly happened.


According
to my source, who asked to remain anonymous, Ahmed Shafik, the former
air force

Why the Muslim Brotherhood has been attacking the Copts

The Muslim Brotherhood might have a better chance of winning what's quickly becoming a civil war in Egypt were it not for the fact that they are expending so much energy attacking the country's Coptic Christians.

Since the violent crackdown in Egypt began on Monday, August 12th, nearly
20 Coptic Christian churches and several Coptic owned properties in
Egypt were torched to the ground by

Ambassador Chris Stevens was murdered by the Muslim Brotherhood, killer is in Egypt

This is incredible. The US knows - and apparently has known for a long time - that its Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens was murdered by the Muslim Brotherhood last September.

Let's go to the videotape (video in Arabic - English summary follows).




Moussa said, addressing U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson (in absentia) on his show:


Ambassador Stevens was killed in
Benghazi, and you know

Must read: Crush the Muslim Brotherhood

Daniel Greenfield writes that the Egyptian army should not be stopped from destroying the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the streets of Egyptian cities, Muslim Brotherhood activists
achieved their highest hope. They died in their Jihad against the
liberal opposition and the military, fighting against human rights for
women and Christians, against multi-party rule, freedom of speech,
museums,

With Egypt turning to Russia, Western diplomats accuse Israel of 'undercutting' Obama

Violence continued in Egypt on Saturday, as the Egyptian army attempted to shut down the Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptians are so frustrated with the Obama administration that they are sending a diplomatic mission to Moscow, possibly signalling the undoing of a 35-year alliance (Hat Tip: Weasel Zippers).

As the situation in Egypt escalates, a source with very close ties
to the Egyptian

It starts: Movement behind Morsi ouster calls on army to renounce Camp David, refuse US money

Last week, President Obama canceled a military exercise with Egypt in response to the crackdown on his friends in the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama complained that the exercise could not go on as 'business as usual.'

In response, the Tamarod movement, which was behind the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohammed Morsy, has called on the Egyptian army to renounce the Camp David treaty and

Egyptians support army crackdown

Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.

Even the New York Times admits that most Egyptians support their army's crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

“It was necessary,” Akmal William, standing in his auto-detailing shop
on Talaat Harb Street, said of the raid by soldiers and police officers.
“They had to be strict.”

Witnesses described a disproportionate, ruthless attack. Condemnations
came