יום שני, 18 ביולי 2011

Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest

Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest

MJ Rosenberg claims no one is trying to delegitimize Israel. Ha!

Posted: 17 Jul 2011 05:13 PM PDT

An op-ed by MJ Rosenberg in the LA Times:
Israel can't be delegitimized, and no one is trying to do so. But the idea does serve the purpose of diverting attention from the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Suddenly, all the major pro-Israel organizations are anguishing about "delegitimization." Those who criticize Israeli policies are accused of trying to delegitimize Israel, which supposedly means denying Israel's right to exist.

The concept of delegitimization has been used as a weapon against Israel's critics at least as far back as 1975, when then-U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Daniel Patrick Moynihan accused the international body of delegitimizing Israel by passing a "Zionism is racism " resolution. That may have been the last time the term was used accurately.
Is this guy serious? What does he think the entire purpose of the BDS movement is, if not to delegitimize Israel? What exactly doesn't he understand about the slogans being shouted outside the Ahava store just this weekend, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free"? (There is also nothing "sudden" about it, as he admits himself - the term has been around since at least 1975 and the concepts since 1948.)

Maybe Rosenberg needs to read an actual article, published in the mainstream pro-PalArab media, that says explicitly "our aim is to delegitimize Israel." Would that convince him?

Luckily, that exact article was published only this past week in the Uprooted Palestinians site, the Palestine Free Voice site, the far left MWC News and the French Palestine-Solidarite site, among others. It says:
The progressive movement of de-legitimization of the colonial and racist Israel has spread throughout the world. International conferences, a Durban (2), international forums, some commissions of the United Nations itself have also contributed to the change. People around the world claim more and more solidarity with the resistance and has organized to block the roads in their own countries, boycott of Israeli made goods and sanctions against representatives of the Zionist entity, including arrest warrants of its war criminals. And the proliferation of the Zionist entity in media bypasses the media subject to Zionist lobbies and disseminates information and anti-Zionist analysis.
This is not a Zionist site claiming that the so-called progressive movement is working to delegitimize Israel - but the "progressives" themselves!

Lawrence Davidson at Redress.cc put his own spin on this, only two weeks ago, in response to another Rosenberg piece:
There is a growing, world-wide movement of civil society seeking the isolation of Israel at all levels. This is the same strategy that brought change to apartheid South Africa. And, towards the growth of this movement, intellectual debate is very useful and important. It is no accident that the Zionists point to those who advocate boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel as the number one enemies within their category of delegitimizers. I think they know, or at least sense, that the BDS movement is the very best long-term strategy for those who wish to force Israel to rid itself of what makes it truly illegitimate – its Zionist ideology.

Sounds a lot like the "Zionism is racism" argument that Rosenberg admits was an attempt to delegitimize Israel!

These are only two recent examples. For Rosenberg to argue that the "pro-Palestinian' movement represented by the likes of the late Vittorio Arrigoni or George Galloway do not do everything they can to de-legitimize Israel is beyond absurd. In fact, every major Palestinian Arab group worldwide insists on the "right to return" - what is that if not an effort to delegitimize Zionism and the very reason for Israel's existence?

There is also the small matter of Iran and its satellites in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. They make it pretty clear that they will never accept the state of Israel in any form.

Then again, he continues to push lies himself:

The Palestinians are not, after all, seeking statehood in Israeli territory but in territory that the whole world, including Israel, recognizes as having been occupied by Israel only after the 1967 war. Rather than seeking Israel's elimination, the Palestinians who intend to go to the United Nations are seeking establishment of a state alongside Israel.
Yet the poll of Palestinian Arabs that was publicized last week shows that 66% of Palestinian Arabs say that the "two state solution" is only meant to be a stage on the way to - you guessed it - destroying Israel. Not a poll of Hamas members, but of Palestinian Arabs who already live in the areas of British Mandate Palestine as a whole. (And I would bet that the Arabs of Palestinian descent who live in Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere would be even less accepting of a two-state solution.)

And these wonderful moderates that Rosenberg is praising for being willing to accept a state in the territories occupied by Jordan and Egypt from 1948-1967 are still insisting, today, on the same "right to return" meant to destroy Israel.

The truth is completely different from how Rosenberg is painting it.

It is true that Israel is not going anywhere, and that there is no short-term existential danger from BDS or flotillas or Iran. But it is also true that the delegitimization campaign has been effective at making Israel look like a rogue state, and exaggerating its perceived crimes way out of proportion to reality and to use that twisted view of reality to add more ammunition against Israel's very existence - from NGOs, from "non-aligned" nations, and from the entire Muslim world. The war against Israel is a long-term battle, designed to isolate and weaken it to the point where it will eventually be destroyed - militarily, demographically, or otherwise.

And Rosenberg's writings, whether he intends to or not, helps work towards that goal.

Maybe that is why he writes such nonsense - because he doesn't want to admit his part in the entire worldwide campaign to de-legitimize and ultimately replace Israel with another Arab state (or two.)

Ridiculous Daf Yomi question

Posted: 17 Jul 2011 12:51 PM PDT

If you shecht an with a light saber, it the animal kosher?

Discuss.

Finally, a flotilla to support Syria. (Assad's Syria, that is.)

Posted: 17 Jul 2011 10:53 AM PDT

From YNet:
Some 400 Lebanese women arrived in Syria Sunday to show solidarity with the protesters – the pro-government protesters, that is. They women did not come to to side with the activists calling for reform and democracy, but rather to support Bashar Assad's regime.

The women, who intended to set sail from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip aboard the Miriam ship in June 2010 but were eventually barred from doing so, chose a more easily accessible destination this time – Damascus. They travelled overland to stand with Assad against "the schemes being plotted against him."

At 7 am, the women boarded eight buses and set out from Beirut's Gallery Hotel towards the Beqaa Valley.

Samar Al-Hajj, a spokeswoman for the group, expressed contentment with the initiative's progress.

"The Lebanese and Syrian security forces have facilitated the convoy's passage at the border, and congratulated it," she said in an interview with the Hezbollah-affiliated Al Manar television station. "Upon arriving on Syrian land, they welcomed us in a moving manner. We, Miriam's women, cry only on happy occasions, and we did shed tears of happiness.

"We came to Syria to tell the truth, because it is the land of truth and resistance," Al-Hajj said. "We came to stop the attempts to isolate Syria, and to remove the barriers of fear inseminated by those worried about the people and the regime's strength."
Certainly we will be seeing statements from the Free Gaza movement, USTOGAZA and Viva Palestina distancing themselves from these pro-Palestinian Arab, pro-Syrian regime activists. After all, as they never tire of telling us, they are purely interested in non-violence, and democracy, and equal rights, and international law, and having some of their own supporting a despotic, brutal regime would be way too hypocritical for them to even be able to live with themselves.

(h/t Kramerica)

Hezbollah now has SCUDs and other strategic weapons

Posted: 17 Jul 2011 08:25 AM PDT

From Israel Hayom:
The massive civilian uprising in Syria has not stopped Syrian President Bashar Assad from transferring ballistic missiles from storage sites in Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the London Times reported Friday. The report says that despite the growing protests sweeping Syrian cities, the transfers have in fact increased in frequency in recent weeks.

Last year, Syria sent Hezbollah two Scud D missiles, each with the ability to deliver a payload of one metric ton. Hezbollah has received eight more such rockets since the beginning of this year, The Times reported. Each Scud D has a range of 700 kilometers, enabling Hezbollah to target any point in Israel and Jordan, as well as some parts of Turkey.

Hezbollah has also armed itself with M-600 missiles, which are based on the Fatah 110 model made by Iran. The M-600 is capable of hitting targets at a range of 250 kilometers, with a 500 kg payload. 　

"There is a new reality now," The Times said. "This is the first time a terrorist organization has acquired weapons considered 'strategic'. Until now, only the armed forces of countries were in possession of such weapons."
This is a very big deal.

But it is likely that the idea didn't come from Damascus but from Tehran. Assad doesn't have much incentive from his perspective to transfer weapons to Hezbollah now, but Iran wants to hedge its bets in the region as Assad's regime may be in real trouble from the increasing uprisings.

And now that Hezbollah effectively controls Lebanon, it makes sense that Iran will start arming it in a manner of arming a state.

Why the increase in rockets now?

Posted: 17 Jul 2011 07:19 AM PDT

Ha'aretz' Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff have a theory as to why there has been an uptick in rocket attacks over the past week:

At the start of May, Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in Cairo. Since then, despite a declaration of goodwill on both sides, almost nothing has happened to move this forward.

The Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority has not violated its security arrangements with Israel in the West Bank. As already stated, the fire of the last two weeks has been from smaller factions, among them Hamas deserters and groups taking their cues from Al-Qaida. It is possible that Hamas will not this time stick its head above the parapet to rein in the fire, and the "motivational factor" is the power struggle with Fatah and Hamas' desire to return to the center stage regarding the conflict with Israel.

In other words, this an attempt to show Fatah that without any progress on a comprise agreement, Hamas is capable of making trouble with Israel on the diplomatic front, even before the PA goes to the United Nations in September with its plan for recognition of a Palestinian state.
This makes sense.

(h/t Folderol)

A buyer's guide to products of Judea and Samaria. From Meretz.

Posted: 17 Jul 2011 06:19 AM PDT

Israel's tiny far-left party Meretz has published a list of products they would like to boycott because they are produced by Jewish-owned companies on what they consider the wrong side of a mythical line that existed for 19 years out of the past 3000.

So it is only fair that I reproduce their list of these politically incorrect Israeli companies that sell their products in the US. I'm sure Meretz would approve.

Ahava - Manufactures cosmetic products using minerals from the Dead Sea.


SodaStream (The Soda Club Group) - Manufactures and distributes home carbonating devices and flavoringsfor soft drinks.




Ahdut Factory for Tehina Halva and Sweets - Achdut is a factory manufacturing tahini, halva and sweets. Brand name Achva.


Amnon and Tamar - Produce herbal seasonings and spices.


Beigel and Beigel - A baked goods' company, manufacturing pastries, pretzels and mini cracker snacks. 




Maya Foods, The Jerusalem Spice of Life - Manufactures, packs and markets food products, including spices, sweets, rice and legumes. Brand names: Maya, Super Class, and Shufersal.


Shalgal (Food) - Manufacture frozen dough cakes, pies and pastries. The company manufactures products for General Mills (Pillsbury).


Shamir Salads - Manufacture and distribute pre-packaged chilled salads, dips and spreads.


Gat Shomron Winery - The winery produced kosher wines since 2003.


Givon Winery - The winery, founded in 2001, It produces around 5,000 bottles of kosher wines a year, and markets wines to the US online.


Gush Etzion Winery - Wines are available in the USA through "Royal Wines"


Hacormim Vineyard - The winery manufactures wines and fruit liquers.


Livni Winery - Wines are available directly though the winery's own website.


Noah/Hevron Heights Winery. Labels: Noah, Gedeon, La Villa, Village Superior, Jerusalem Heights, and Makhpelah Special Reserve.


Psagot Winery - The wines are marketed by Royal Wine Corp. and DFA - Duty Free of America.


Tura Estate Winery - The wines are available in the US - sold on Only Kosher Wine.com






On a similar note, the Muqata notes:
In response to the anti-boycott law, Peace Now went all out and declared a boycott on products from Judea and Samaria. They printed up fancy ads listing the top companies to boycott. Other leftists went around putting stickers on "Settler" products in stores.

The number one company on the list "Meshek Achiya" a producer of fine olive oil reported a record jump in sales in Israel this week. The same for Psagot Winery and Tekoa Farms. In fact, all the companies that the Left targeted reported a jump in sales.

Why? Because the average Israeli wanted to show their support to the Settler enterprise and against boycotts of Israel and against the Left, and the Left told them who best to buy from to show that support.

He also notes how these boycotts would end up hurting Arabs, and quotes an astute observation:
Oh, and here's a question for you (as asked in Makor Rishon).

If Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli citizen currently living over the Green Line (making him a Settler) were to open a factory, would the Left call for its boycott too? Or are their calls to boycott actually racist and only targeting Jews?

BDS Fail - at new Gaza supermarket (updated with Chanukah gelt!)

Posted: 17 Jul 2011 04:00 AM PDT

The flotilla still has one remaining vessel:
One of the boats that was scheduled to take part in the Gaza-bound flotilla last week has set sail to Egypt from Greece, the Greek coastguard announced on Saturday. According to the coastguard, the Dignite/Al Karama left the tiny Greek island of Kastellorizo for the Egyptian port of Alexandria.
But did the flotidiots think ahead to ensure that they had enough food for the return journey from Gaza?

Lucky for them, their trip was delayed, because on Friday a new supermarket opened in Gaza that would be perfect for ensuring that they don't suffer the starvation that they claim Gazans are in danger of.

Introducing: Metro Market, conveniently located on Al Shuhada Street in Gaza City:







Actually, if they do visit Metro, they would be forced to protest the fact that it is not adhering to BDS because it sells so many Israeli products - and even features them prominently:


It's a terrible world when Israel boycotters can't even convince stores in Gaza to stop selling Israeli goods.

Original photos here and here. There are lots of them.

(h/t Gaia K)

UPDATE: I had missed this great one: milk chocolate Chanukah coins!
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