Elder of Ziyon Daily News

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Saturday night links Posted: 07 Jul 2012 08:00 PM PDT From Ian: A very rare article about Jewish M.E. refugees on HuffPo! The Middle East's Greatest Untold Story by Ron Prosor "Nowhere is this revisionist history clearer than in the halls of the United Nations. Year after year Palestinian refugees attract more attention and resources at the U.N. than Britney Spears at a paparazzi convention, yet not a single syllable about the Jewish refugees expelled from Arab countries can be found in any of the 1,088 U.N. resolutions on the Middle East or the 172 U.N. resolutions dedicated to Palestinian refugees." Why the creation of a 'European' identity necessitates unashamed antisemitism from Brussels "And now, just as we have our long-held suspicions confirmed that the Foreign Office is essentially Arabist and ever so subtly anti-Israel, with government officials outrageously asserting that Benjamin Netanyahu uses 'the incitement issue as a delaying tactic in peace talks', we hear that Nigel Farage is confronting the 'strong bias' against Israel that exists within the European Union. 'There is within the European institutions a very strong anti-Israel bias', Mr Farage said. 'I would almost say — and I am bit nervous of saying this — there's almost a new trendy form of anti-Semitism creeping in…" Is Toulouse the Future of Europe? by Jonathan S. Tobin "It was bad enough when such sentiments were linked with the traditional right in France and then Muslim immigrants, but nowadays Jew-hatred is part of the parlance of so-called human rights groups that vent bias against the Jewish state. Thus, while the French government condemns such incidents, anti-Semitism continues to grow, and Jews must now wonder whether it is safe to go about wearing anything that might give away their identity. That is no way for anyone to live in a democracy, but that is the situation in France. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to envision much of a future for Jews in Europe." Tragic story of German worker's epic attempts to save his Jewish fiancee from the Nazis becomes European best-seller Memorial held at LA airport for victims of 2002 attack on El Al counter I doubt this will get 1 percent of the condemnation that the Israeli bill, to just tax foreign funded NGO's whose stated aim was to destroy Israel. Russian bill tightening rules for international NGOs gets initial backing "Under the wide-ranging bill, all Russian NGOs that are funded from abroad and ruled to be involved in politics, or acting in the interests of foreign states and other international donors, will have to carry a "foreign agent" tag and submit to more rigorous checks by the authorities." Indonesia to informally upgrade its relations with Israel via ambassador-ranked diplomat in Ramallah "Israel and Indonesia already maintain quiet trade, tourism and security contacts; new envoy's appointment will smooth contacts with world's most populous Muslim nation, source tells Times of Israel" Syrian forces fire on villages in northern Lebanon Three civilians killed and 10 injured in cross-border shelling US orders Iran to pay for 1983 Lebanon attack "Federal judge in Washington rules Tehran should pay $813m in damages to families of US soldiers killed in Beirut blast."

Interview with chief pilot of Entebbe operation Posted: 07 Jul 2012 06:30 PM PDT From the IDF blog: Brig. Gen. (res.) Joshua Shani was the lead pilot in Operation Entebbe, flying the first C-130 Hercules cargo plane with the entire rescue force on board. This week, for the 36th anniversary of the rescue operation on July 4th, he agreed to answer a few questions. The flight to Entebbe is about 2,500 miles (4,000 km). How'd you do it?  We had to fly very close to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, over the Gulf of Suez. We weren't afraid of violating anyone's air space — it's an international air route. The problem was that they might pick us up on radar. We flew really low — 100 feet above the water, a formation of four planes. The main element was surprise. All it takes is one truck to block a runway, and that's all. The operation would be over. Therefore, secrecy was critical. At some places that were particularly dangerous, we flew at an altitude of 35 feet. I recall the altimeter reading. Trust me, this is scary! In this situation, you cannot fly close formation. As flight leader, I didn't know if I still had planes 2, 3 and 4 behind me because there was total radio silence. You can't see behind you in a C-130. Luckily, they were smart, so from time to time they would show themselves to me and then go back to their place in the formation, so I still knew I had my formation with me. ... How were you greeted in Israel?  The plane with the hostages landed at Ben-Gurion Airport, where they were reunited with their families. The other three planes remained for a debrief. Here comes Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, walking up to me. I had been in my flight suit for 24 hours straight, in temperatures over 100 degrees in the airplane, sweating and smelly, and here walks the prime minister with big open arms. I'm thinking — please don't hug me — he may die from this! He hugged me for what felt like a full minute, and said only "Thanks."  What was it like returning to Israel as a hero?  After my father's death, I found his letters from Bergen-Belsen that he sent to Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek. The letters describe his experiences during the Holocaust, what happened to his family, etc. I won't discuss it here. One of his letters said, "My only comfort is Joshua. He gives me reason to continue." The reason I mention this letter is because, 30 years later, when I returned from Entebbe, my father hosted a party for me. Family and friends were all there to celebrate the success of my mission. My father was in a great mood. I know what he was thinking, a Holocaust survivor. His son at the time was a lieutenant colonel in the Israel Air Force and had just flown thousands of miles in order to save Jews. It probably added ten years to his life. Read the whole thing. (h/t David G)

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