| Yemeni arguments against MB "culture of death" also apply to PalArabs Posted: 31 May 2012 06:48 PM PDT Yemen has been at war with al-Qaeda in recent months, and on May 21 a suicide bomber killed 96. A featured article in Yemencom describes how sick the people are of Islamist terror: During the past few months many Yemeni cities, particularly Aden and Sanaa, have seen terrorist bombings carried out by suicide bombers that booby-trapped their bodies, in an assembly line for the production of the culture of death...they carry out suicide bombings targeting a large number of civilian sites as well as military and police, security and armed forces during performance of their duties; the massacre in the capital Sanaa on the morning of Monday, May 21, 2012 is further evidence that confirms the seriousness of machine-like production of the culture of death on society and the state at the same time.
A large number of researchers in the affairs of political Islam believe that all entities and extremist groups popped up like mushrooms from the robe of the Muslim Brotherhood, but this group denies the validity of this belief. For quite some time the Muslim Brotherhood has been making up slogans of democracy and human rights and try to join U.S. and EU projects for the promotion of democracy and liberalism in the Middle East in particular and the Arab and Muslim world in general. No doubt also that there are differences in attitudes between different groups of the jihadist spectrum under the umbrella of political Islam, but they have a common desire to seek to restore the caliphate... The author goes on to give a history of the Muslim Brotherhood and how it has been the basis for Al Qaeda and other groups, many under the umbrella of the "World Islamic Front for Fighting Jews and Christians." It is interesting that the author describes the culture of death so well - but doesn't notice that on this day in particular, Palestinian Arab society has united in their fond memories of the "heroism" of the suicide bombers and other terrorists whose bodies were given to them today. The culture of death is not limited to Al Qaeda. It is alive and well in the Palestinian Arab territories. Today. Unfortunately, we will never see an Arabic-language article condemning the essentially universal Palestinian Arab love of terrorist murderers the way this article slams the culture of death in Yemen. 
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| Documentary exposing the impotence of the UN coming tomorrow Posted: 31 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT This looks great: From an interview with the filmmaker, Ami Horowitz: Many conservatives in the United States are critical of the U.N. because they believe it threatens U.S. national sovereignty. Many progressives would be livid at some of the corruption you expose in your film. Which of these two broad groups (and I realize we're dealing with generalizations and labels here) would you say U.N. Me has resonated with the most? Do you think this could be an issue where concerned Americans can unite across the partisan divide in support of substantive solutions?
Horowitz: I knew that conservatives were going to be attracted to this movie. That was the basis of our entire model. It was the liberals that were going to be the wild card. At first, the working assumption was that they would reject the movie as conservative claptrap. But once we began screenings, the opposite was true. Liberals began to change their entire viewpoint on the United Nations after seeing the movie. The only distinction between conservatives and liberals, was that liberals were so outraged by what they saw on screen, the humor got in their way. Conservatives, on the other hand, were aware of many of the issues that we discussed, so they were able to enjoy the humor far more.
Has any general ideological group, or specific individual or organization been especially hostile to the message in your film?
Horowitz: I find that Europeans generally are particularly hostile to the movie. They find the idea of a moral high ground to be an obnoxious thought. They also find that preaching against a particular ideology, for instance radical Islam, is dubious, possibly even racist. Their moral compass has been broken for years. They find that my focus on corruption and wastefulness borders on greediness.
You've got a gutsy, humorous approach to documentary-making, especially as highlighted by some of the segments in your trailer. I see shades of Michael Moore in places (in a good way– referring to his dead-pan humor and sense of irony, not some of his deceptive editing practices). Who are your influences and inspirations when it comes to documentary-making?
Horowitz: Obviously I am influenced by Michael Moore. Say what you will about his politics, he has taken the staid documentary genre and turned it on its head. Sasha Baron Cohen, who is not, strictly speaking, a documentary filmmaker, has an interview technique that I have emulated in many ways. I was so enamored with both of their styles, that I hired much of their teams. (h/t EBoZ) 
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| Jewish philosopher takes credit for Libya intervention; Arabs believe him Posted: 31 May 2012 12:00 PM PDT From Variety: Followers of global politics will be surprised to learn that Bernard-Henri Levy is responsible for the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi, but that's the story Levy tells in "The Oath of Tobruk," co-helmed with Marc Roussel. Levy is France's media star philosopher, a peculiarly Gallic creation whose immaculate tailoring and savvy self-promotion make him the darling of celeb rags and higher institutions. With "Tobruk," he's finally been subsumed by his own ego, placing himself front and center of Libya's revolution and barely acknowledging other forces. Such self-aggrandizement will play to only acolytes at home.
[H]is nonstop theatricalized narration, interminable use of the first person, and treatment of the Libyan desert as little more than a "GQ" fashion shoot with himself as model don't make for a sympathetic portrait. Nor together do they say much about the real nature of Gaddafi's defeat.
BHL entered Libya in March 2011 together with sidekick Gilles Hertzog (Ed McMahon to Levy's Johnny Carson). His appearance was informed by 20 years of guilt, when his cry for intervention in Bosnia (the subject of his 1994 docu "Bosna") went largely unheeded. Convinced that the West must intervene in Libya, he crisscrossed the globe, using his access to the halls of power to spur leaders into military action.
According to "Tobruk," that's pretty much all it took. Interviews with Nicolas Sarkozy, David Cameron, Hillary Clinton and others are edited to reflect BHL's importance and glory, while scenes of adulatory crowds cheering him in Benghazi testify to his skills in selling himself as the embodiment of First World action. The chaotic nature of the opposition is nowhere seen, and there's little sense of what was happening on the battlefields. I admit to being confused as to how philosophy and self-promotion are in harmony. At any rate, if a self-absorbed Jewish figure says that he is the reason Western powers decided to act in Libya, the Arabs are more than happy to believe him. Al Manar uses this documentary as proof of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy to foment chaos in the Arab world. If Levy thinks that releasing such a film would have a positive effect in, say, Syria, it is possible that his own ego is now more pronounced than his analytic abilities. 
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| Arab women writers kill anthology rather than include Israelis Posted: 31 May 2012 10:30 AM PDT If you go to Amazon, you can see pre-publication information for this book:
The synopsis from the publisher, the University of Texas Press, says: Memory of a Promise
Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women
By Annes McCann-Baker
What is life like for women in the Middle East? As the region continues to make headlines, more and more people in the West have begun to ask this question. Unfortunately, stereotypes abound. In Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women, female authors from sixteen nations, from Morocco to Uzbekistan, provide a look at a broad range of women's experiences and do much to dispel notions of the region as homogenous. Unfortunately, you will never be able to buy this book. Here is why: For many scholars, a fitting way to honor a deceased colleague is to produce an anthology of related work. At the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, that was the thinking behind plans for a volume of fiction and other writing by women in the Middle East. The anthology was to honor the late Elizabeth Fernea, who in her years at Texas had helped build up the study of the region and who promoted the publication in translation of works from the many countries there.
In the last week, however, the project fell apart -- as the movement to boycott Israel in every possible way left Texas officials believing that they couldn't complete the work.
The anthology was to have been published in conjunction with the University of Texas Press, and 29 authors agreed to have works included. Then one of the women found out that two of the authors were Israelis. She then notified the others that she would withdraw her piece unless Texas excluded the two Israelis. When the university refused to do so, a total of 13 authors pulled out. A few others wouldn't tell the center whether they were willing to go ahead with the project, and without assent from those authors, it was not clear that the anthology would include a single Arab author. (The other authors besides the Israelis were from non-Arab parts of the Middle East.)
Kamran Scot Aghaie, director of the center at UT, said that it "would not have been academically sound" to do the book without any Arab authors, but that it wouldn't have been academically or ethically sound to exclude the Israelis. Since the Arab authors wouldn't participate, the book was scrapped.
Aghaie said that several of the authors who pulled out told him that they objected to his not telling them in advance that there would be Israelis in the volume. He said he rejected that idea -- not only for this book but for any future work.
"My view is that it's not proper to single out individual contributors for other contributors to veto. We were not willing to give any group special treatment," he said.
Further, Aghaie said that he does not believe academic institutions should be involved in boycotts of academics or writers in other countries. Aghaie said he understands the idea behind boycotts generally. He describes himself as someone who is "highly critical of the tactics Israelis and Palestinians have been using against each other." But whatever one thinks of Israel, he said, there is no reason to refuse to work with Israeli academics or authors -- or to expect other universities to assist in such a boycott -- as some of the authors expected Texas to do with regard to calls by some pro-Palestinian groups to boycott anything or anyone connected to Israel.
"As an academic institution, we cannot censor people for the country they are from," he said. And he also noted that the boycott of Israel is a boycott of Jewish Israelis, not other Israelis, whose participation does not raise objections. Even if one feels boycotts are appropriate for, say, companies that engage in particular activities, "academics need to be an exception," he said. "As a publishing press or as a program, it's not appropriate for us to single out anyone based on religion or national origin," he said. "To do so is simply discrimination, and it's wrong."
"The last thing you want to do is cut off dialogue. That's the stupidest thing one would do," he said.
Aghaie views the events of the last few weeks with sadness, but others view them as a victory.
Gulf News ran an editorial praising Huzama Habayeb, the Palestinian writer who organized the boycott from Abu Dhabi, where she lives. The editorial describes her as smiling upon finding out that the anthology had been called off.
"Habayeb's actions are those of a resistance fighter -- never giving an inch to Israel, which has illegally occupied her homeland," says the editorial. "But there's also a bigger issue — one whereby academics the world over need to ensure that Israel is isolated for its immoral and illegal actions in occupying Palestine and repressing the Palestinian people. The pen is mightier than the sword."
In an interview with Gulf News, Habayeb said she was thrilled that her efforts had killed the anthology. "I am so proud of having the book canceled," she said. "I am a Palestinian and to achieve this, to be able to resist the illegal Israeli occupation of my homeland is something that I will cherish forever. It is my own victory in the struggle." Prominent, presumably liberal Arab women authors chose to have their own voices muzzled rather than allow Israeli words to be heard along with theirs. This story once again epitomizes the difference between Zionists and anti-Zionists. Zionists want to include, anti-Zionists want to exclude; Zionists want to embrace, anti-Zionists want to hate. And this manifestation of boycotting Jews of the Middle East is pure, unadulterated hate. Moreover, Gulf News - an Arab media outlet that publishes in English - chooses to support the suppression of free speech. However, the newspaper's comparison of Habayeb with terrorists is most apt, even if it is meant to be a compliment. Like a terrorist, Habayeb wants to silence Jews in the Middle East from speaking, and she is willing to sacrifice her own well-being to do so. The director of the Center for Middle East Studies at UT astutely notes that the Arabs only want to boycott Jewish Israelis, not Arab Israelis. Because even from Texas, despite his sympathies for Arab women, he knows bigotry when he sees it. (h/t Phyllis) 
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| Iran threatens Israel if US intervenes in Syria Posted: 31 May 2012 09:00 AM PDT From Al Arabiya: Any crisis caused by a military intervention in Syria would engulf Israel, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani warned Wednesday, the Tehran Times reported on Thursday.
Larijani made the remarks in reference to calls by certain U.S. officials for a military campaign against Syria to put an end to Syrian regime's 14-month assault on its opposition.
"U.S. military officials probably have a poor understanding of themselves and regional issues because Syria is in no way similar to Libya, and (the effects of) creating another Benghazi in Syria would spread to Palestine, and ash rising from the flames would definitely envelop the Zionist regime," Larijani said, according to the newspaper.
"It seems that the United States and the West are seeking to pave the way for a new crisis," he added. The only conceivable way that Israel would be dragged into the Syrian conflict is if Iran, through its Hezbollah and Syrian proxies, attacks. Which means that this warning is really a threat. And while on the subject: Iran, meanwhile, has recently blamed Israel for the violence in Syria, saying Jerusalem is deliberately sabotaging the Annan peace plan.
Speaking at a weekly press conference, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast stated: "Any crime committed (in Syria) can be traced back to the (Israeli) regime's hirelings," Iran's semi-official FARS news agency reported on Tuesday. Thus creating the fiction to create the situation that Larijani describes. 
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| PalArabs celebrate dead terrorists as heroes Posted: 31 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT From AP: Israel on Thursday handed over the remains of 91 Palestinian militants, including suicide bombers, to the West Bank government in an effort to induce President Mahmoud Abbas to renew peace talks.
All 91 were killed over the past decades while carrying out suicide bombings or other attacks on Israeli targets, Palestinian officials said. At least one of the attacks dated back to the 1970s. There is a huge amount of joy over this in the Palestinian Arab media, as the terrorists are called "heroes" and the PA calls them" martyrs" - with their terror acts lovingly described. In the pro-Fatah Palestine Press Agency, a family talks about how proud they are of their daughter, 19 year old Hiba Daraghmeh, who blew herself up in a mall in Afula, killing 3 - including a Muslim. (Notably, the PA issued one of their fake condemnations for that attack.) The bodies of terrorists from the Savoy Hotel attack were also released. Fatah also regards these as heroes. Also being celebrated is the suicide bomber who killed 13 at the Dizengoff Center attack of 1996 The Kfar Darom car bomb attack on a bus that killed 8, including American Aliza Flatow, is also being newly celebrated. Hamas put out statistics on how many Israelis these "martyrs" killed (163 killed, 692 wounded, they claim) and listed the major attacks they were a part of. For some reason, I haven't seen any Arabic articles that call for peace talks to be resumed because Israel released the bodies. 
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| Satellite images show Iran destroying nuclear evidence Posted: 31 May 2012 05:45 AM PDT From ISIS: Satellite imagery obtained by ISIS shows what appears to be further sanitization activity at the site in the Parchin military complex where Iran is suspected to have conducted high explosive tests pertinent to the development of nuclear weapons.
DigitalGlobe satellite imagery from May 25, 2012 shows that two small buildings at the same site as the suspected testing chamber have been completely razed. There are visible tracks made by heavy machinery used in the demolition process. Heavy machinery tracks and extensive evidence of earth displacement is also visible throughout the interior as well as the exterior of the site's perimeter.
This new round of activity has followed suspected cleanup activities in the explosives testing chamber building, which are visible in an April 9, 2012 satellite image published in an earlier ISIS report. In the April 9, 2012 image, the two support buildings are intact.
These activities raise further concerns of Iranian efforts to destroy evidence of alleged past nuclear weaponization activities. The IAEA has asked repeatedly to visit this site, but so far Iran has refused. In the May 25, 2012 IAEA safeguards report on Iran, the IAEA stated that "based on satellite imagery, at this location, where virtually no activity had been observed for a number of years, the buildings of interest to the Agency are now subject to extensive activities that could hamper the Agency's ability to undertake effective verification."
The newest image raises concerns that Iran is attempting to raze the site prior to allowing an IAEA visit. The razing of the two buildings may also indicate that Iran has no intention to allow inspectors access soon. In 2004, Iran razed the Lavisan-Shian site, which held the Physics Research Center (PHRC), interfering with the ability of the IAEA to investigate allegations that the PHRC was involved in military nuclear activities.
Iran should immediately allow the IAEA access to Parchin and explain the significance of these apparent cleanup activities. I put two of the photos together to make it a bit easier to compare: Parchin is the complex where IAEA inspectors were turned away in February, and where ISIS had previously identified likely nuclear activity. Here is the area in Google Maps, which still shows the buildings intact: View Larger Map 
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| PA school principal punished over class trip to Israeli beach Posted: 31 May 2012 02:59 AM PDT From Gulf News: Mohammad Abu Samra, the youngest known school principal in the history of Palestinian Territories, paid a huge price for dancing and allowing his pupils to dance with Israelis on the Jafa beach.
The 33-year-old Mohammad Abu Samra, principal of Al Salam Secondary School in the city of Qalqiliya, north of West Bank, was transferred after he organised a picnic for 45 pupils of grade 11 and 12 to the Jafa beach in Israel.
The pupils are now up in arms against the Ministry of Education's decision to transfer the principal to a school more than 30km away from his home.
As Abu Samra was quite popular with his pupils, the latter went on a strike and organised several processions within the premises of the Ministry of Education, demanding Abu Samra be reinstated to the principal's post.
He said each student who went on the picnic had to provide a parental approval, saying that they knew that their sons were heading to the beach that would have women. "It is illogical and unfair for me to be punished," he said.
Still photos taken on the beach showed some of the pupils with women in bikinis, which was considered as a disgrace by the pupils' families.
According to Abu Samra, the ministry, in the past, had sent a memo, encouraging schools to organise picnics to the 1948 areas. The Israeli authorities also granted the pupils and their supervisors visit permits, which usually expire at 7pm.
Speaking to Gulf News, Abu Samra said the pupils were all in the age group 17-20 years and it was extremely difficult to control them on the beach. "It is true that in keeping with the regulations of the Ministry of Education, the pupils were not allowed to swim, but how could I have controlled them once they were there?" he said.
Abu Samra said at sunset, as the Israeli permits were about to expire, he instructed his pupils to get ready to go back home. However, at the same time, a group of Israeli men and women were preparing a dance floor with a DJ around.
"On our way to the bus, my pupils were attracted to the music and I could not say no to them," he said. "My pupils started dancing and I also joined them at the beginning to let them have fun," he said, stressing that their dance had attracted some Israeli men and women to the beach.
"Those Israelis and a child joined us on the dance floor and I could not object or ask them to leave," he said, adding that the dance lasted for about 10-20 minutes. "It was purely unintentional and that has affected my future," he said.
"Volunteers shot a video and took a couple of still photos and forwarded them to the Palestinian Ministry of Education, with a complaint that the incident would imply that there was normalisation of ties with Israel and it exposed the young generation of Palestinians to Israel's illicit code of conduct," he said.
"I was thereafter given two choices: either be downgraded to the position of a teacher with a final warning or voluntarily seek transfer to a far-away school," he said.
A pupil told Gulf News the school supports the principal and that they will fight until Abu Samra returns to the institution as principal. "Our principal did not commit any mistake. It was the Israelis who loved the way we danced and they came forward and shared the dance floor with us," the pupil said.
A senior official from the Ministry of Education told Gulf News that Abu Samra should not have allowed his pupils to dance in the first place. The fact that some Israeli women shared the dance floor with the pupils further complicated the issue.
The official stressed that Abu Samra had committed several administrative mistakes during the outing. Although the picnic was licensed by the ministry, mixing with Israelis on the beach should not have been allowed, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"This issue has serious social and political ramifications and trips such as this should be planned and executed in a more conservative way," the official added. I could not find this story in Arabic, but the Gulf News in this case seems to have done a reasonable job confirming it by getting quotes from officials and from the principal. This story reveals much beyond the surface humor. Not only that Palestinian Arab schools are allowed to regularly visit Israel on field trips - but also that they are instructed by the Palestinian Ministry of Education not to actually speak with any Israelis. It also seems a little strange that 11th and 12th graders are between 17 and 20. But notice that even after a lifetime of anti-Israel indoctrination, they prefer dancing with Israelis to boycotting them, a bit different from what we are constantly told by the hate-Israel crowd. (h/t Yoel) 
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