Elder of Ziyon Daily News

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• Links by Ian
• Lessons from the weekend protest you won't read about
• The American Girl in the Bunker (Tablet)

Links by Ian Posted: 01 Jul 2012 12:00 AM PDT George Washington letter to American Jews going on display "Letter is widely regarded as the first US president's most eloquent statement on religious liberty" "May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in the land continue to merit and enjoy the goodwill of the other inhabitants. While everyone shall sit safely under his own vine and fig-tree and there shall be none to make him afraid." The Full Letter – PDF format The New York Times: Clueless in Jerusalem "Papers like the New York Times, which propogate the Palestinian Authority's false narrative to Western audiences, only prolong the Palestinian people's suffering at the hands of their failed leaders" NY mayor opposes Morsi call to free 1993 World Trade Center bomb plotter "Bloomberg against any effort to 'undermine' Omar Abdel-Rahman serving a life sentence " UNSC publishes report on Iran arms trade with Syria "Panel submits report to Iran sanctions committee, says Syria main destination for illicit Iranian arms transfers. " Egypt seizes weapons headed to Gaza from Libya "According to the report, Ibrahim said at a press conference that the shipment included 138 rockets and some seven thousand rounds of ammunition." Assad lets Kurdish PKK rebels operate against Turkey from inside Syria "The two countries nearly went to war over the PKK in the late '90s. Now, with border tensions rising, Assad is risking confrontation again" (with the caveat that information about Syria can rarely be positively confirmed) 43 Jewish graves desecrated in Vienna "Police investigating anti-Semitic vandalism in city's main cemetery" Jewish leaders mock Hungarian far-right politician who reveals Jewish origins "We can but offer our sympathies in light of the terrible discovery" Gunter Grass told to stay away from Polish synagogue "He was in our synagogue once, five years ago, and I think that would be enough"

Lessons from the weekend protest you won't read about Posted: 30 Jun 2012 07:45 PM PDT Over the weekend, some 10,000 people protested over social issues in Tel Aviv. Unlike the violent protests the week before, where riots broke out and banks were broken into, this one was largely peaceful and as far as I can tell, no one was arrested There was another, much smaller protest over the weekend that reveals a lot more about the Israeli/Arab conflict, however. And if it was covered at all by world media, it was barely a footnote. From Ma'an: Dozens of young Palestinians clashed with PA security forces in Ramallah on Saturday at a protest against the leadership's scheduling of a meeting with Israeli vice premier Shaul Mofaz. The youth gathered in central Ramallah and tried to march on the headquarters of the leadership, the Muqataa, where they were blocked by riot police and some plain clothes agents. "They beat them badly," a witness who asked not to be identified told Ma'an, adding that three people were taken to hospital but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. They were identified as journalist Muhammad Jaradat, Hassan Faraj and Waed Barghouti. So at a much smaller protest with only dozens of people, we have six arrests and some serious beatings, including that of a journalist. And their protest wasn't for social justice or for Palestinian Arab unity or anything like that. It was a protest against even talking with any Israeli. And here's the kicker: It worked. President Mahmoud Abbas was slated to meet Mofaz in Ramallah on Sunday, but officials announced Saturday the summit had been postponed indefinitely. A senior Fatah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Ma'an the meeting was postponed for several reasons including public opposition under the current circumstances. Imagine a world where Palestinian Arabs would protest to make peace with Israel. Has that ever happened, even once, in history? It will never happen. Because only one side has shown any real interest in any sort of real peace, the kind where both sides compromise to reach a permanent solution. And the other side has been raised to believe that if they just wait long enough, they'll get everything they demand no matter what, so there is no reason to compromise, ever.

The American Girl in the Bunker (Tablet) Posted: 30 Jun 2012 06:30 PM PDT From Talia Lefkowitz in Tablet: [...]I am a volunteer IDF soldier from New York City serving in an elite paratroopers unit. I am the only girl in a unit with 85 combat soldiers. Over the past year, we have served all over the country. Now we are based on the border of Gaza and Sinai, and things have started to get hairy. The rocket attacks always stop at some point. I know there will eventually be a temporary ceasefire, and life on base will go back to normal. I'm surprised, frankly, that the current attacks even made it onto Facebook, because outside of Israel, no one seems to think they're newsworthy, much less an act of war. No big deal, right? It doesn't feel that way inside the bunker. When you are on the other end of these rockets—hearing their high-pitched squeal as they fly past, feeling the room shake as they hit ground, and smelling the acrid smoke plumes that rise from the craters—it feels like war. Our rooms on the base are similar to a caravan. The walls are thin, and the ceiling is just weak metal. Our beds are made of thin pieces of steel, and the mattress is a smelly egg-crate that has probably been slept on for over 20 years. When soldiers are not on missions, they are doing exactly what the movies portray: playing cards, smoking cigarettes, lifting dumbbells, making coffee on a little gas stove. Three days ago we were just minding our business when we heard a huge explosion that literally shook the ground. I know the floor moved because our coffee spilled. I didn't think it could be a rocket or bomb because the warning siren, the tzeva adom, had not sounded. We all ran out to see what the noise was all about, and in the distance, maybe 2 kilometers away, we could see the telltale plume of smoke. Seconds later, the siren rang and we all ran to the nearest shelter. The shelter is windowless. The room is built to hold 30 people, but somehow we managed to squeeze 70 inside. [...] Hours go by without a rocket, and I start to relax. Maybe it's over. The media, even the Israeli newspapers, are saying that it is no big deal. I start to believe them. But then another bomb hits without warning, and this one falls just feet from us. It's like an earthquake. The room sways, and I fall out of my bed. The next few minutes seem to move in slow motion. Screaming, frenzy, smoke. Everyone running. Hands covering their ears. Wiping their eyes. Holding tissues over their mouths and noses. As I run, trying to get to safety, I flash back to my family's apartment in Manhattan, or to the house in which I grew up in Maryland. It's inconceivable to me that something like this could happen there. There would be shock, outrage, even international condemnation. Or maybe such a massive American response that the rocket attacks would finally stop—forever. Instead, I am sure tomorrow's Facebook page will be filled with more criticism of Israel and more justification for the attacks. I am a New York City girl who came to Israel to defend the Jewish state. I am proud of my service and of all the remarkable young men I have met who risk their lives every day to keep this country safe. I am the girl in the bunker, and I can tell you that these rocket attacks are a big deal.

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