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

'Palestinian' journalists to stage sit-down strike to protest assaults by 'security forces'

The 'Palestinian Authority' is working on the democracy thing. They understand that deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsy is not a democrat. They understand think that the Americans will not be pleased with them if the 'Palestinians' come out en masse to support Morsy. They know that Hamas supports Morsy and therefore they must oppose him - my enemy's enemy is my friend. But they think that

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

Why Assad is winning and why America is letting it happen

This analysis by Michael Hirsh is largely correct. Bashar al-Assad is looking at what's happening in Egypt and realizing that there is no way that the United States is going to help depose him. And given the alternatives, maybe that's how it ought to be for now.

[T]his week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin
Dempsey, finally said plainly what Obama administration

Egypt's message to the world

Please tell me that this picture - posted by Roger Simon - doesn't say it all:



Translation: Leave Islam out of the picture.

Last Jews in Egypt happy with army takeover

My grandmother a"h (peace be upon her) was in Israel in 1980 while I was studying in yeshiva. In the post-Camp David euphoria, she suggested that we visit Egypt together during my Pesach vacation. And so, we did. We flew Tel Aviv to Cairo on El Al, spent three days staying in the Sheharezade Hotel along the banks of the Nile (right near the 6th of October bridge you've all seen in the news and

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

What's realistic and desirable in Egypt?

In the Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens has it right.

Releasing deposed President Mohammed Morsi and other detained
Brotherhood leaders may be realistic, but it is not desirable—unless you
think Aleksandr Kerensky was smart to release the imprisoned Bolsheviks
after their abortive July 1917 uprising.

Restoring the dictatorship-in-the-making that was Mr. Morsi's elected
government is

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

Obama 'secretly' suspended aid to Egypt, Israel warns of consequences for 'peace process'

Both the Daily Beast and CNN are reporting that the Obama administration has quietly suspended military aid to Egypt. This is from the first link.

The U.S. government has decided privately to act as if the military
takeover of Egypt was a coup, temporarily suspending most forms of
military aid, despite deciding not to announce publicly a coup determination one way or the other, according to

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

'Hitler killed the Jews for his people, Sisi kills his people for the Jews'

This poster was seen at a demonstration on the Temple Mount on Friday (Hat Tip: Elder of Ziyon).



The caption in Arabic reads 'Hitler killed the Jews for his people, Sisi kills his people for the Jews.'

I can imagine the 'Palestinians' - God forbid - justifying the murder of Jews in the same way. It's being done for their 'people.'

But in fact, both sides in Egypt are blaming Israel for

At least 25 Egyptian soldiers/policemen killed in Rafah ambush

At least 25 Egyptian soldiers or policemen (the reports vary) have been killed in an ambush in Rafah, along the border between Egypt and Gaza. This is from the 'Palestinian' Maan News.

At least 25 Egyptian soldiers were killed by militants in an ambush on two buses in north Sinai on Monday.The
soldiers were reportedly executed by militants after being ordered to
leave the buses. The armed

Israel pushing United States to back Egyptian army?

In an earlier post, I reported that 'out friends the Saudis' were pushing the United States to continue to support the Egyptian army and that Israel was trying to stay out of the picture. Now, the New York Times reports that Israel is getting into the picture, and may begin openly pressing the United States to support the Egyptian army.

With the European Union planning an urgent review of its

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