Going Green in Egypt

                                           
The Guardian has a a great gallery of pictures of makeshift helmets (if this stuff rises to that. More like 'protective makeshift headgear') from the Cairo demonstrations. Now, that Mubarak has sent forth his goons to break the will of the activists, the pro-democracy protesters are using whatever they can get their hands on to keep their heads.
Looks like this guy knows how to head off trouble.

Jewish and Democratic - Yes Arab and Democratic - No

Egyptian protestors at Tahrir Square today (NY Times)

                                

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's muzzling of his ministers,  turns out to have been just a tactical ploy. Netanyahu's public silence was the cover for diplomatic activity. The Israeli newspaper of record, Haaretz, reports that the Israeli government is advocating in Western capitals on behalf of Mubarak' regime.

Liberal Zionists argue that Israel can resolve the paradox of being simultaneously a Jewish ethnocracy
and a Western democracy. The shorthand for this is "Israel is Jewish and democratic".
Now it appears that Israel does not share the same optimism with regard its Arab neighbors.

In 1989, the world trusted Eastern Europe's democratic revolutions against totalitarianism.
Five years later, the West trusted South Africa's democratic revolt against apartheid.

In the last few days, the U.S. has - albeit belatedly - begun to shift support from Mubarak to the Egyptian people.

Why is Israel still behind the curve?

Netanyahu's machinations will surely reinforce Arab suspicions that Israel will never voluntarily end its domination over Palestinians.

Who will trust that Israel with its Palestinian population when it backs a dictator against his own people?

Those who are invested in the status quo in Israel/Palestine are rightly concerned that if the Egyptian protests against Mubarak succeed in deposing him, Israel's military occupation and ethnic discrimination of the Palestinians will come under close scrutiny.

For those of us who support a peace and justice resolution in Israel/Palestine, nothing could be more welcome.

Israeli Cabinet Minister: No Democracy for Arabs Right Now

Events in Egypt are moving fast. U.S. and Israeli officials are trying to keep up. 


Only yesterday, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley  said that while the U.S. welcomed the Tunisian democratic uprising, Mubarak should be allowed to remain in power because of  the Egyptian peace treaty with Israel. The New York Times picked up the administration's line in its reporting today.
By this afternoon, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was already calling on the Egyptian government to refrain from violence and introduce reforms. 


Early this morning, an unnamed Israeli cabinet minister proclaimed:
"I'm not sure the time is right for the Arab region to go through the democratic process."
By the evening Prime Minister Netanyahu had instructed his government minsters and officials to stay mum on the subject of Egypt.


Will the Egyptian protesters forget that Mubarak's security police fired US-made tear gas canisters at them? (h/t Phil Weiss at mondoweiss.net)