Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest |
- Latest member of the Zionist Attack Zoo: Puffer fish!
- Goldstone - yes, Goldstone - defends Israel from "apartheid" slander
- More on the Palestinian Arab culture of martyrdom, plus two more posters
- Another UNESCO poster, and a discussion of culture
- Iranophobia-palooza!
- "Palestine" at UNESCO: The Poster
- Abbas: "I am against terror (wink, wink)"
- This IsReal (video)
- What will happen next with UNESCO?
- Jordanians plan to sue Netanyahu
- Jordan says Hamas will not move to Amman
- Islamic Jihad mother happy that her fifth son is "entering Paradise"
Latest member of the Zionist Attack Zoo: Puffer fish! Posted: 31 Oct 2011 11:45 PM PDT From the Daily Star Lebanon: Before returning to Ain al-Mreisseh's small port in the capital, fishermen take a moment to remove a few fish from their net, stab them and throw them overboard.(h/t Serious Black) |
Goldstone - yes, Goldstone - defends Israel from "apartheid" slander Posted: 31 Oct 2011 07:55 PM PDT From the New York Times, an op-ed by Richard Goldstone, author of the infamous Goldstone Report that slandered Israel: THE Palestinian Authority's request for full United Nations membership has put hope for any two-state solution under increasing pressure. The need for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians has never been greater. So it is important to separate legitimate criticism of Israel from assaults that aim to isolate, demonize and delegitimize it.As night follows day, we can expect the rabid anti-Israel Left who embraced Goldstone as their messiah two years ago will issue vicious condemnations of this piece, and charge Goldstone with being a tool of the Zionist lobby, tomorrow. But as bad as the Goldstone Report was - and its flaws were so numerous as to border on the malicious - it was not in the same league as the anti-Zionist Left who routinely accuse Israel of "apartheid." These people are not interested in facts or in arguments. They are inherently dishonest and their interest in the truth is nil. They have one purpose and one purpose only - to destroy Israel. It is mindless hate. And it is a shame that their lies have gained such currency that someone like Goldstone even feels compelled to answer them. If I had to do some armchair psychology, my guess is that he saw people used his report in ways he never intended, mostly people who didn't even bother to read it themselves. Very possibly, he did not want to be associated with such haters who pretended he was one of them, sort of like Benny Morris after his early works on Israel's history. |
More on the Palestinian Arab culture of martyrdom, plus two more posters Posted: 31 Oct 2011 06:11 PM PDT This is a followup to my previous post discussing whether it is accurate to describe Palestinian Arab support for terrorism as an example of its culture. In 2008, Palestine Media Watch gave lots of evidence that the (secular) Palestinian Arab Ma'an News Agency would routinely use the word "martyrs" in its English language articles describing the death of terrorists. In response, Ma'an said, "in the Palestinian cultural/religious tradition, the martyrdom aspect is significantly different from the Judeo-Christian understanding. Those who die as martyrs may be defending their wives or their property, not necessarily engaging in the Western notion of a holy crusade. The PMW interpretation, while undoubtedly held by some religious individuals, is not necessarily the general interpretation of these terms." So Ma'an is saying that it is merely following the Palestinian Arab cultural (not religious) tradition when referring to people killed by Israelis as "martyrs" in Arabic. But if they died directly because of a terror act, does this Palestinian Arab cultural tradition still allow them to be called "martyrs"? Let's look at a Ma'an article to find out. On January 18, an Al Qassam Martyr's Brigades member killed while he was engaged in a "jihad mission." Not defending his family, not minding his own business, but engaged in a purely offensive mission, and he appears to have accidentally killed himself while performing his jihad. And Ma'an in Arabic called him a "martyr" both in the headline and in the article. If you believe Ma'an, when Palestinian Arabs glorify terrorist acts, it is cultural. But you don't even have to go that far to see how Palestinian Arab culture glorifies terrorism. All you have to do is look at the songs and dances at the annual Palestinian Cultural Festival! In 2010, a dance troupe held rifles and danced to the idea of dying, using lyrics like He who offers his blood doesn't care if his blood flows upon the ground.And in attendance was the PA Minister of - you guessed it - Culture. The dance was shown multiple times on Palestinian Arab TV. And in September of this year, at another edition of this cultural festival, singers sang: He sacrificed his life for the land. So for anyone who thought my first poster was offensive - here are two more: |
Another UNESCO poster, and a discussion of culture Posted: 31 Oct 2011 01:40 PM PDT A blog-friend was offended by my last poster (which said "Palestinian culture.") It led to a spirited debate on Twitter over whether it is fair, or bigoted, to say that "Palestinian culture" can be symbolized by a bus bomber. (Others wildly misinterpreted the poster as saying I was calling all Palestinian Arabs suicide bombers, which is ridiculous.) My contention is that it was an accurate caption, although posters force me to be more brief (and therefore open to misinterpretation.) I regard posters a a form of political cartoon, where a point is often made by using exaggeration. Nevertheless, there wasn't much exaggeration here. One of Wikipedia's definitions of culture is: The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization, or group The word "culture" perfectly describes the Palestinian Arab attitude of support towards "resistance." And, yes, that means terrorism. From the political leaders on down, you will not find many significant Palestinian Arab voices who are actively against political violence for moral reasons - only for pragmatic reasons. How many examples have I given over the years, of schools and camps and town squares named for terrorists? Not terrorists who turned into political leaders, but people who were nothing but terrorists. If Palestinian Arab culture found these people abhorrent, where are the op-eds and protests against them? Samir Kuntar is a hero among Palestinian Arabs If there are any who find him to be a monster, they certainly aren't making themselves heard. And poll after poll has shown that Palestinian Arabs support terrorism. The number has gone down in recent years when the questions were asked in the abstract, but when specific terror attacks were mentioned (like the massacre at Mercaz HaRav) the percentages were overwhelmingly pro-terror. Just last week, Mahmoud Abbas said that Hamas' kidnapping of Gilad Shalit - not technically an act of terrorism, but a violation of multiple Geneva Conventions - was a "good thing," and he agreed that armed "resistance" was a necessity for negotiations. How many Palestinian Arabs would disagree with this? It is a culture that glorifies terror attacks, where masked terrorists are cheered, where killers are feted, where no distinction is made between prisoners who have done no violent crime and those who have been instrumental in mass murder - they are all heroes. No doubt there are other facets to Palestinian Arab culture. They have plays, art, crafts, clothing and books that have nothing to do with terrorism. But to deny that glorifying terror is part of today's Palestinian Arab culture is to deny reality. Wishful thinking will not make this ugly truth go away. It is a serious problem in today's Palestinian Arab society, and pointing out that PalArabs are friendly when you visit Ramallah does not lessen the immensity of the problem. And I think there is a solution. But that is for another post. |
Posted: 31 Oct 2011 12:49 PM PDT I first noticed the term "Iranophobia" last year, but in recent weeks Iran has been using the term a lot more: October 13: "The repeat of ineffective and stupid methods by hapless and distracted policy-makers in the West (to spread) Iranophobia will again bear no result," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an army base in the western city of Kermanshah, the official IRNA news agency reported. October 25: US and Europe Seek to Promote Iranophobia October 28: 'US using Iranophobia to shield Israel' October 29: Iran's top investment official says despite the West promoting Iranophobia, the country's foreign direct investment (FDI) index has seen a 124 percent growth in the past two years. I think there is a great merit in engaging in Iranophobia - the fear of Iran - since Iran is literally threatening the world with destruction. Iranophobia is a healthy and normal reaction to the idea of an unstable nuclear Islamist state headed by irrational people who are consumed with hate and obsessed with destroying their enemies and turning the world into an Islamist 'ummah. What is interesting, though, is the seeming conscious use of the term by Iran. It appears to me that they see how Westerners are scared of accusations of "Islamophobia" and will react to that charge by overcompensating and overlooking Islamist dangers. They want to create that same dynamic - hoping that the West will vigorously deny this charge of "Iranophobia", because it sounds vaguely racist, and therefore will bend over backwards to distance themselves from anything that seems slightly "Iranophobic." The irony, of course, is that Iran is rabidly Ziophobic, yet few would consider that term an epithet. That is a very sad commentary on the world today. |
"Palestine" at UNESCO: The Poster Posted: 31 Oct 2011 11:14 AM PDT |
Abbas: "I am against terror (wink, wink)" Posted: 31 Oct 2011 10:15 AM PDT From MEMRI, from an interview with Mahmoud Abbas on Egypt's Dream TV: Interviewer: "Don't you think that it was the resistance that managed to liberate a thousand prisoners? You see, the "moderate" Abbas that the West sees is against terrorism and "armed resistance." But he knows quite well that there is always the Al Aqsa Brigades, Al Quds Brigades or Al Qassam Brigades who are willing to do the dirty work of actually killing Jews, and he applauds them. The terror groups do what he wishes them to do, but he can claim that he is personally against such actions (at this time, of course.) And the Western media swallows the myth of a moderate Palestinian Arab leader whole, mostly because they want to believe in it so darn much. By the way, did you notice that Abbas never condemned the murder of Moshe Ami in Ashkelon, killed by a Grad rocket on Saturday? (h/t CHA) |
Posted: 31 Oct 2011 09:10 AM PDT Nice short film by Matthew Brown. A road trip straight through Israel. Had no idea what the complexities and diversity of the cultures were, but I got deeper and deeper, seeing all walks of life living together in this amazing land. The conglomerate of things happening in that tiny, but EPIC country (it's smaller than New Jersey!) packed a punch like a bustling beehive. I was overwhelmed and totally let Israel envelope me. I bonded with every flavor of person there... they were all Israeli. They were all beautiful people. (By the way, the title isn't spelled wrong, lol...read it again ;)I have got to get myself a new digital SLR - the quality of the videos made with these cameras is fantastic. (h/t DM) |
What will happen next with UNESCO? Posted: 31 Oct 2011 08:15 AM PDT As was obvious, UNESCO voted to admit a fictitious state: Palestinians won a crucial vote to enter UNESCO as a full member on Monday, scoring a symbolic victory in their battle for statehood ahead of a similar vote at the UN General Assembly in New York.So will US funds be stopped? HuffPo wrote up what looks like a comprehensive description of the legal issues involved. Back in the earliest days of the peace process, when Congress was not entirely behind White House efforts related to Madrid (and subsequently Oslo), Congress passed a number of pieces of legislation intended to block normalization of Palestinian relations and activities in the international community. These included the following provision of law -- which notably does not include authority for the president to waive the requirements of the law, even in cases where vital U.S. national security interests are at stake.I cannot imagine that the White House will not find a way around this, but it is a stickier situation than it first appeared. UPDATE: The US announced it stopped funding UNESCO: The United States said on Monday it had stopped funding UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, following its vote to grant the Palestinians full membership. |
Jordanians plan to sue Netanyahu Posted: 31 Oct 2011 07:17 AM PDT From Ammon News: Jordanian farmers from the Jordan Valley intend to file a lawsuit against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in international courts over the fires Israel reportedly sets ablaze at the borders with Jordan, causing major damages to Jordanian border farms.I don't know where the Manshiyyeh region is. Practically the entire border between Israel and Jordan is the Jordan river and the Dead Sea, so while I suppose it is possible for burning embers to go across the water and start fires, this seems strange. |
Jordan says Hamas will not move to Amman Posted: 31 Oct 2011 06:11 AM PDT From Ammon News: The leadership of the Hamas, including the political bureau, will not move to settle in Amman, Minister of State for Media Affairs Rakan Majali said on Sunday.Others in Jordan believe that the entire idea to move Hamas' headquarters to Amman is an American plot! Here's part of an unhinged op-ed from yesterday - written by a Jordanian Palestinian Arab: Hamas is being ejected from Syria and it's also being rejected and denied a foothold by other countries in the region. Because of that, Jordan and its leadership are at the receiving end of very vicious arm twisting, threatening and blackmailing by the U.S. and some corrupt Arab governments to force it to host HAMAS on its territory. |
Islamic Jihad mother happy that her fifth son is "entering Paradise" Posted: 31 Oct 2011 03:40 AM PDT The Islamic Jihad website Saraya has an article about Khansa Fatima Sheikh Khalil, a Gaza mother who has had five of her terrorist sons killed "in martyrdom." She is looking forward to joining her sons in paradise. The article says that she did not cry for more than five minutes upon news of her son Ahmad's death on Saturday. She expressed joy and praised Allah for what happened, and expressed hope that her sons are all accepted into Paradise where they would be, presumably, happily screwing a bunch of virgins for eternity. Khalil also expressed her fervent wish that Islamic Jihad continue to create Jewish widows and orphans. She called on Allah to grant success to the "resistance" and to defeat the Jews for "our land." She has two more sons left, as well as two daughters. Ahmed also leaves behind three wives. One of Ahmad's remaining brothers said "we always expected him to be killed." You see? Terrorist families are just like everyone else. You just have to understand their culture, and show empathy for them. |
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