יום שישי, 9 בדצמבר 2011

Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest

Elder of Ziyon Daily Digest

Chanukah video: Rocky Hora "Let's Light the Candles Again"

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 05:26 PM PST

I like this one, by the Shlomones:

More evidence of Hamas leaving Syria

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 03:45 PM PST

There have been a number of reports lately that Hamas has been quietly moving its personnel out of Syria.

Hamas has vehemently denied it.

Now there is some more evidence. Palestine Press Agency reports that sources in Gaza say that Hamas members and their families have been entering Gaza recently, through the Rafah crossing, many with forged passports. (We all know that forged passports is a major international crime - when one country does it.)

An anonymous official also repeats older rumors that Hamas is looking to relocate its headquarters to Jordan or elsewhere.

British Advertising Standards Authority forces Palestine Mission to take down map

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 02:06 PM PST

From TheJC:

The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against the Palestinians' diplomatic mission to the UK for displaying a map which included the whole of Israel as part of Palestine.

The map, decked in red, green and black, the colours of the Palestinian flag, appeared on a tourist section of the mission's website called "Discover Palestine".

Barrister Jonathan Turner, head of the Zionist Federation's legal group and one of six complainants to the ASA, said that the authority "should be congratulated on its careful and impartial scrutiny.

"Too often we are on the defensive against attacks on Israel and Israeli organisations. As this ruling shows, those who attack us should pay more attention to failings in their own camp."

The mission - referred to in the ASA report as the Palestinian Embassy UK - argued that the map referred to "historic Palestine" in 1948 and that it had changed the colour coding to demarcate Israel from the Palestinian territories.

But the ASA noted the use of the Palestinian national colours and the lack of any reference to the state of Israel. "We considered that the average consumer would infer from the map and the linked information that the total area represented by the map was the Occupied Palestinian Territories," it concluded.

It also upheld complaints against the website for implying that Haifa, Jaffa and all of Jerusalem were part of the Palestinian territories.

Entries on Hebron and Bethlehem also breached the advertising watchdog's code because they failed to provide information on travelling restrictions to the two destinations that should have been given to potential tourists.

Mr Turner said: "We will examine the revised website as well as other advertising and if necessary make further complaints."
The website used to be called the "Palestine Embassy UK" website - even though there is no such embassy. Now the website is called "Palestine Mission UK" - and while they don't refer to this map issue, they have a headline accusing Israel's tourism board of showing a map of all the territories as Israel. (They don't reproduce it, though.)

I had noted the map in May.


Even today, after the British ASA ruling, it says things like Palestine is "Located in the Levant, surrounded by Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon" - even though "Palestine" does not border Syria or Lebanon, and they don't mention Israel.

But they do mention the fact that "More than 96% of Palestinians are Sunni Muslims and approximately 2% are Christians." Something to be most proud of, given that in 1948 they were some 7% of the population.

Holy Land Foundation (Hamas front) loses appeal

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 12:30 PM PST

Good news:
A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of five leaders of an Islamic charity on charges of funneling money and supplies to Hamas, which the United States designates as a "terrorist" group.

The organizers of the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation argued they were denied a fair trial in 2008 when the government used secret Israeli witnesses to testify against them. The organizers also raised a host of constitutional challenges to the evidence presented against them at trial.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those challenges, concluding that "while no trial is perfect," Holy Land and its leaders were fairly convicted. The court pointed to "voluminous evidence" that the foundation, which was started in the late 1980s, had long-running financial ties to Hamas.

Once the largest Muslim charity in the United States, Holy Land was closed by the administration of former President George W. Bush soon after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Holy Land argued that the millions of dollars it raised went to charities in the West Bank and Gaza known as zakat committees. Although those committees performed legitimate charitable functions, they were also Hamas social institutions, the court found.

Federal law makes it a crime to provide material aid and support to a designated terrorist organization like Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and does not recognize Israel's existence.

"By supporting such entities, the defendants facilitated Hamas' activity by furthering its popularity among Palestinians and by providing a funding resource. This, in turn, allowed Hamas to concentrate its efforts on violent activity," Judge Carolyn King wrote on behalf of the unanimous three-judge panel.

Two layers of discrimination against Israeli writers in France

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 11:15 AM PST

From Ha'aretz:
There was a stir at a conference of Mediterranean writers in Marseilles yesterday when Israeli author Moshe Sakal was booted from a panel discussion at the request of Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish.

The director of the conference, French-Jewish author Pierre Assouline, said Sakal's participation in the panel, which was on the Arab Spring, "was not crucial."

Speaking by phone from Marseilles, Assouline told Haaretz that in the previous two years the conference had been held, Palestinian writers had refused to come because there were Israeli participants.

This year, Darwish said he had no problem with Israeli participants, so long as he would not have to sit with any of them at the same roundtable discussion.

Assouline said that when he explained to the audience before the discussion about the Palestinian's refusal to sit with Sakal, "half of the crowd got very angry, and the other half was thrilled."

Sakal, who entered the hall after the discussion had begun so he could listen to it, was somewhat surprised when his entrance caused a stir.

"I entered the hall just as [Moroccan poet] Tahar Ben Jelloun was speaking forcefully against this type of boycott," Sakal said. "He said that there are many Israeli authors who are supportive [of the Palestinian cause] and one should speak to them even if one doesn't approve of current Israeli politics."

"There were hundreds of people there and there were a lot of hecklers," Sakal said. "People were very upset."

Darwish, said Sakal, accused him of expelling him from his home, and said "the Jewish-Arabs [Jews from Arab lands] particularly hate the Palestinians."

Sakal, who is of Syrian and Egyptian origin, said he told the crowd "I understand them but I also understand my situation, and the one thing that distressed me was that he didn't try to find out who I am or what my views are."
The article makes an obvious point that is ignored by the so-called liberal Left: that even educated, cultured Palestinian Arabs like Najwan Darwish are bigoted and narrow-minded. You won't find any angry tweets about this from people who rail all day about supposed Israeli "apartheid."

But there is a more subtle, equally outrageous discrimination going on.

Both the Morroccan poet and, it seems, the Israeli author imply that there is no problem discriminating against Israelis if they are perceived to have political views that are different from their own. They are arguing that the Israeli writers who agree with them are OK, but poets and authors should ban any other writers who happen to have different ideas. Nothing to do with their writings, of course - only their political opinions.

Don't ban Israelis, they say. Allow Israelis whose opinions fit the political correctness of the Palestinian Arab narrative - and merely ban the others.

Why this second kind of discrimination is considered progressive is a question left unanswered by the "progressives."

(h/t Silke)

Egypt grants citizenship to 454 PalArab children

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 10:00 AM PST

In January, in a UNRWA report about Lebanon, the agency stated "Tawteen (naturalization) is also strongly rejected by the Palestinians, who insist on their right to return to Palestine."

As I noted then, this is simply a lie. Every time an Arab government allowed Palestinian Arabs to become citizens, they rushed in to do it.

The latest example comes from Egypt. 454 children in Egypt who have Palestinian fathers were given citizenship yesterday, making over 1000 people who were formerly considered Palestinian to now be Egyptian citizens this year. And tens of thousands more are trying desperately to gain Egyptian citizenship.

The idea that Palestinian Arabs do not want to become citizens in the countries that they were born in and grew up in is simply another lie. Many, probably most, do, especially when they hear that even in the case of a Palestinian Arab state, their own leaders don't want them to move to "Palestine" - but to flood Israel instead, a scenario that will never happen.

The Arab nations and Palestinian Arab leaders are colluding to keep their "refugee" population miserable and stateless. And they have succeeded, brilliantly.

Fatah and Hamas really ARE united - in terror

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 08:32 AM PST

YNet reports on some more nice shooting:

Israel Air Force aircrafts were able to target a vehicle transporting Assam Subahi Ismail Batash, a senior Gaza-based terror operative.

According to the IDF and the Shin Bet, Batash was the mastermind behind several terror attacks carried out by militants who infiltrated into Israel from the Sinai Peninsula.

Palestinian security officials said Thursday that a car transporting three people exploded near a public garden in Gaza City, killing at least two people and injuring six. IDF officials confirmed that the IAF had targeted a vehicle carrying Batash. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the two men being pulled out of the white vehicle.

Batash, IDF officials claimed, was a senior figure in the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, and was behind the imminent terror threat in the south.

Officials said Batash was also involved in several attacks in which terrorists from Gaza were smuggled into Sinai and then infiltrated back into Israel through the border. In January 2007 he organized a suicide bombing in Eilat that killed three Israelis.

Batash was also involved in several botched attacks, in which he tried to smuggle terrorists and arms into Israel.
However, who was the other person killed?

According to Palestine Press Agency, it was his nephew, Subhi Batash, who was a member of the Al Qassam Brigades.

Which means that members of the Fatah terror group and the Hamas terror group really do love to cooperate!

So there really was some unity that was being celebrated in Cairo.

(Fans of car swarm videos can see the one from this strike here.)

UPDATE: A touching photo of the double funeral with both group flags draping the dead terrorists:

When you hate Israel, even pro-PalArab articles are hasbara

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 06:50 AM PST

A few months ago I wrote a tongue-in-cheek post about how Israel-bashers cannot stand any news from Israel, no matter how trivial or how local,  that does not prominently feature supposedly evil Israeli policies against Palestinian Arabs.

I suggested that you too can share their viewpoint if you wear the special Occupation Glasses, through which the entire world can be seen refracted correctly where "occupation" is the central theme of everything you look at.

A hilarious example could be seen this morning on Twitter - and the offending article doesn't praise Israel, but Palestinian Arabs!

The Atlantic has a piece about the art scene in Ramallah. It is upbeat and positive. It shows a thriving art culture and it highlights new institutions that bring art to Palestinian Arabs. It tells us about the effort to bring a Picasso to the territories and how popular that exhibit was.

It is a nice article, it tells a story that people do not hear about, and (as long as the art is not used as a cover for incitement to kill Israeli Jews) it is a trend that should be encouraged. I don't look at this pro-Palestinian article and foam at the mouth in anger that someone dares write a piece that doesn't demonize all Arabs in the territories.

But when you wear the Occupation Glasses, even this article is terrible!

Joseph Dana looked at this article that humanized and praised his erstwhile Palestinian Arab friends and seized onto one sentence. Here it is in context:

Thanks to Palestine's tense political history, the visual arts in Palestine have long failed to gain the foothold they deserve. From 1967 until the signing to the Oslo Accords in 1993, when Palestinian cities were under military occupation, there were restrictions on arts and culture. For example, it was forbidden to paint images combining the four colors of the Palestinian flag, black, green, white, and red. "Painting a watermelon was not allowed," explains Khaled Hourani, one of Palestine's leading artists and former Director of Fine Arts for the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.

Even after 1993 and the end of military occupation, the visual arts stalled in the territories.

The author obviously meant that the restrictions that Israel placed on Palestinian Arab art are no longer in place since Oslo. Whether there is a "military occupation" after Oslo or not, it completely peripheral to the article's intent and thrust - unless you are wearing the Occupation Glasses.

You have got to see this conversation between Dana (writing as ibnezra) and Jewlicious, a liberal and pro-Palestinian Jew, to see how hate twists people's minds:

ibnezra says:
1967-1993, "when Palestinian cities were under military occupation" http://t.co/yxZtNIHZ

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra The thrust of the article was arts, not politics, and from that perspective it was rather good and humanizing http://t.co/UX8v51zQ

ibnezra says:
@jewlicious the article claimed that there was no military occupation of Palestinian cities. That is a joke.

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra The nature of Israel's presence in the WB changed dramatically after 1993 and the article is about arts!

ibnezra says:
@jewlicious I am sure that you are not saying that Palestinians cities in the West Bank are not under military occupation

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra That's not what I said

ibnezra says:
@jewlicious then you should not have any problems with my argument that the @theatlantic should be ashamed with itself

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra Gevalt. I think it was overall a good piece, esp if you focus on the arts.

ibnezra says:
The article is basically saying there is an art culture in Ramallah and no military occupation. Why are they complaining about? @jewlicious

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra and i am not arguing with you to score points either...

ibnezra says:
@jewlicious I understand. @noamsheizaf is going to write a post soon which will be necessary reading on the matter.

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra i for one am just glad there's a thriving arts scene in Ramallah, c'est tout...

ibnezra says:
@jewlicious there is not a thriving arts scene in my opinion. There is something but it is not thriving.

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra ok more thriving then? more thriving than 7 years ago?

ibnezra says:
@jewlicious Not necessarily

jewlicious says:
@ibnezra So you're saying the entire article is completely flawed? Come on, be fair...

ibnezra says:
@jewlicious I am saying that the article is dangerously flawed and basically a piece of propaganda
Yes, an article that praises Palestinian Arabs, that humanizes them and is more sympathetic to them than anything you are likely to see in the mainstream media, is "basically a piece of [anti-Arab] propaganda." No redeeming qualities at all. Completely flawed.

It takes a special kind of hate to be able to discern such a bizarre version of reality.

The Truth About Refugees (latest Ayalon YouTube video)

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 05:30 AM PST

When I spoke with Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Sunday, he told me that he has a new video about the 1948 refugees.

It just came out:



He hits most of the major points about the history and about UNRWA's shortcomings.

He also quotes Alexander Galloway, head of UNRWA in Jordan in 1951,whom I posted about at length here.

CSU math professor uses college resources to attack Israel

Posted: 08 Dec 2011 03:00 AM PST

From the Amcha Initiative, a letter to California State University/Northridge's president:

Dear President Koester,
 We are faculty members at the University of California, who have been investigating and documenting anti-Jewish bigotry on California public university campuses for the last several years.
In case you have not seen them, we wanted to bring to your attention two webpages of CSU Northridge Professor of Mathematics David Klein, which are hosted on the CSUN server:
  • Professor Klein's "Boycott Israel" page contains a litany of false and inflammatory statements and photographs intended to incite hatred and promote political activism against the Jewish state.  
There are several reasons why Professor Klein's webpages should be immediately removed from the CSUN server:
1)  These webpages are in clear violation of the CSU policy prohibiting the misuse of the CSU name for inappropriate purposes, including for the promotion of  political organizations and activities such as "boycott."  As you have seen on Professor Klein's Home Page, he specifically links the University to several political action organizations and activities, including the boycott of Israel, in a section he telling calls "CSU and Political Issues."  
2) Many of Professor Klein's statements on his "Boycott Israel" webpage meet the U.S. Department of State's Working Definition of Anti-Semitism, including the statement that "Israel is the most racist country in the world."  In addition, the pictures of mutilated dead babies that appear on this page, with the clear implication that the babies have been brutally murdered by Israeli soldiers, are perfect examples of the classic anti-Semitic "blood libel", the false accusation that Jews kill non-Jewish children for evil purposes, an accusation that has been used throughout Jewish history for the purpose of inciting hatred and violence against Jews. Campaigns to boycott the Jewish state are also anti-Semitic according to the U.S. State Department, and in some cases are a violation of U.S. law.
3) The promotion of virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic statements and imagery on the departmental website of a CSUN faculty member cannot help but contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students on your campus.
4) CSUN is a public university, whose facilities and resources, including the CSUN website, are supported by the tax dollars of California citizens, many of whom would find Professor Klein's webpages an egregious violation of public trust.

We do not believe that this is an issue of Professor Klein's freedom of speech.  Indeed, CSUN's policy on internet use explicitly states that the University has the right to remove "any defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal materials" from its website.   If you choose not to remove Professor Klein's anti-Semitic material from the CSUN website, we will presume that it is because the University finds nothing "defamatory, offensive, infringing, or illegal" about these webpages, and is unconcerned with the effects they may have on CSUN students, parents, community members, and taxpayers.
We know that you will soon be retiring as CSUN President, but we trust that you will have the opportunity to look into this matter and take appropriate action.  
We look forward to hearing from you soon.

The president responded:
...The University takes such concerns very seriously. Thus, as soon as we became aware of these concerns and the web pages, I requested a full administrative review. In particular, the review considered whether the web content is in violation of California State University (CSU) or Cal State Northridge web use policies. While the review raised many difficult issues, it found no such violations. This conclusion was affirmed by CSU legal counsel.

While we recognize this finding will not satisfy everyone, the conclusions are based on the important tenets of academic freedom and free speech, which are central to the values and traditions of academia and, indeed, a democratic society. We encourage our professors—as well as students and all members of the campus community—to express their points of view, even when many others may disagree with them or even find them offensive.

This determination does not mean that the University supports or endorses Professor Klein's views. In fact, Professor Klein is clearly speaking for himself and does not represent Cal State Northridge as a whole. The University, as a forum for the free expression of ideas and points of view, takes no position on the individual expressions of ideas by faculty, staff, or students. But the University does uphold and preserve the principles of academic freedom—and Professor Klein's right to express his views. Our review affirmed that this right extends to the use of an individual's web pages, as part of the University website, as a vehicle for expression.
...
I share with those who have expressed concerns a personal discomfort with some of the material on Professor Klein's web pages, especially because the University is celebrated for its diversity and its spirit of inclusion. As core values, the University also upholds academic freedom, eschews censorship, and defends rights to express points of view. For all these reasons we must tolerate the presence of these web pages.

I personally do not think that Amcha has a slam-dunk case against the virulently anti-Israel (and arguably anti-semitic) webpage of Professor Klein. The biggest point of dispute between CSU and Amcha is whether the "Boycott Israel" page appears to represent CSU (where it would violate CSU policies) or is clearly Klein's personal opinions. Since the page is so laughably amateur - it looks like a webpage from 1996 - CSU has a slight point there.

On the other hand, using resources paid for by California taxpayers to push a boycott if Israel is an extraordinary misuse of funds. CSU's academic website is not Facebook. And the fact is that Dr. Klein's page is linked from the Math Department webpage - where from what I can tell all the other faculty use the pages in a professional manner - and it makes CSU's math department look bad. (Interestingly, the Math Department has a policy that "laboratory facilities, equipment and supplies are only to be used by College faculty, staff and students in the pursuit of instructional and research endeavors." This does not apply to webpages but I have a feeling that the other math faculty are not happy with Klein's use of the math section of CSU's website for blatantly political ends.)

All else being equal, I'm biased towards free speech, and I think people should see the hateful webpage to understand exactly how college professors can be so absurdly stupid (and to laugh at Klein's 1970's-style photo.) But you may want to write to CSU's chancellor, especially if you are a California resident, if you don't want to have your tax dollars supporting what is effectively hate speech on campus websites.

(h/t Bill)
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