Elder of Ziyon Daily News

G'mar chatima tovah 5773 - גמר חתימה טובה
Tuesday links
PLO leader says unilateral Israeli withdrawal from WB would be a "disaster"
Israel says it has helped Jordan's nuclear power program
Eldertoons - Mohammed talks about Yom Kippur
Just a little anti-semitism in Sri Lanka Muslim protest
"Tens of thousands desecrate Al Buraq with Talmudic rituals and loud chants"

G'mar chatima tovah 5773 - גמר חתימה טובה

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 02:00 PM PDT

I wish all of my readers who observe the holiday a g'mar chatimah tovah, an easy fast and a meaningful Yom Kippur.

As is the case every year, a large percentage of my recent webpage hits have been for people looking for a translation of that phrase:

So here is the translation again:

Literally: A good final sealing
Idiomatically: May you be inscribed (in the Book of Life) for Good

I unconditionally forgive anyone who may have wronged me during this year, and I ask forgiveness for anyone I may have wronged as well.

Specifically (as enumerated in previous years, courtesy of The Muqata):

If you sent me email and I didn't reply, or didn't get back to you in a timely fashion -- I apologize.
If you sent me a story and I didn't publish it or worse, didn't give you a hat tip for the story -- I'm sorry. (I sometimes get multiple tips for the same story and I usually credit the first one I saw, which is not always the earliest.And I cannot publish all the stories I am sent, although I try to place appropriate ones in the linkdumps.)
If you requested help from me and I wasn't able to provide it -- I'm sorry.
I apologize if I posted without the proper attribution, with the wrong attribution, or without attribution at all.
I'm sorry if any of my posts offended you personally.

May this be a year of life, peace, prosperity and security.

Tuesday links

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 11:30 AM PDT

From Ian:

Kick Me: European Union Backs Iran's Hezbollah

"These measures indicate that Western Governments are aware of the threat Hezbollah poses to Western security. Nevertheless for reasons of appeasement, they refuse to declare the organization a terrorist group -- a classification which would allow the blocking of Hezbollah funds and the seizure of its assets."

U.S. Delegation Stays Put for Ahmadinejad Speech at U.N.

Israel's envoy Ron Prosor led his country's representatives out of the session in protest, telling reporters "There is no justice and no judge," according to the Jerusalem Post. "The leader of an outlaw country that is a serial violator of the fundamental principles of the rule of law has no place in this hall" he said. "It is a shame and disgrace to give someone like him the opportunity to speak on such an important topic."

Ahmadinejad: Israel has no roots in Middle East

Ahmadinejad to Meet with Occupy Wall Street

Romney's Realism on the Palestinians

"Wishful thinking has dominated Western policy in the Middle East. It has been effectively leveraged by enemies and rivals of Western democracies. The national security of Western democracies would be well served by enhanced realism and by dramatically reduced wishful thinking."

Giuliani Blasts Obama Over Israel

"Tonight, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani blasted President Obama's lack of care on Israel, with special attention to Obama's statements that Israel's concerns about Iranian nuclear weapons were "noise"

President Clinton re-writes history: Bill Clinton's Disgraceful Comments About George W. Bush

"He (Powell) was surprised to hear Clinton's voice. "I just wanted to wish you all the best in your new position," the president said. Then he launched into a vituperative, expletive-filled tirade against Arafat. Powell understood the real motive for the call. As he would recount it to me, the president warned him, "Don't you ever trust that son of a bitch. He lied to me and he'll lie to you." Arafat had failed his people and destroyed the chances for peace, Clinton emphasized. "Don't let Arafat sucker punch you like he did me."

Mocking Muhammad Is Not Hate Speech by Daniel Pipes

"That sounds sensible enough. But does mocking Muhammad, burning a Koran, or calling Islam a cult constitute hate speech? And what about the respectful representations of Muhammad in the buildings of the U.S. Supreme Court or the New York State Supreme Court? Even they caused upset and rioting."

Turkish Air Sponsoring Anti-Israel Hatefest

"The AMP conference is due to feature Fadwa Barghouti, wife of imprisoned terrorist Marwan Barghouti, currently serving five life sentences for murder. The AMP has for several years worked to promote nakba (catastrophe) commemorations on college campuses, with a goal to delegitimize Israel's existence. The group's national campus coordinator moved to disrupt a speech by the Israeli ambassador at UC-Irvine back in 2010. Then again, with a press freedom record worse than Russia's, the Turkish government and state-owned companies can't be expected to prioritize free speech over censorship."

Banana Blockade: Hamas Imposes Ban on Import of Israeli Fruit

Produce traders in Gaza, who in the past have bought fruit from Israel and sold it at home, have opposed the move.
"The local product is not nearly enough to offset the shortfall," Gaza fruit importer Jaber Al-Shanty said. "What do we have in large quantities, other than guava?"

Cleric found guilty in blasphemy case

ISLAMABAD: The investigation officer (IO) in the blasphemy case exonerated the minor Christian girl from the main allegation and declared Imam Khalid Jadoon as the prime accused.

IDF Chief Cantor Sings "Unetanneh Tokef"

Terrorists take cover: Chuck Norris to visit

"According to Norris lore, the actor can cut through a hot knife with butter, stop eating Pringles anytime he wants, slam a revolving door, and win Connect Four in three. He is also the holder of all Guinness World Records. Oh, and he has counted to infinity. Twice."

Also:

Must read: Redesigning the peace process by Richard Landes

Evil Jewish settlers get permits to construct 300 new houses in Gush Etzion - for their Arab neighbors

Egypt seeks to "adjust" QIZ deal, risking 70,000 jobs and $1b annual sales. Because they hate Israel.

Child torturers of the desert: Horrific footage reveals human traffickers are even targeting BABIES to get families to pay ransoms in the Sinai

PLO leader says unilateral Israeli withdrawal from WB would be a "disaster"

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT

BBC reported yesterday:

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has called for a unilateral withdrawal from most of the West Bank if peace talks with the Palestinians fail.

In an interview with Israel Hayom, Mr Barak proposed uprooting dozens of Jewish settlements, although he said major settlement blocs would be kept.

There would also still be a military presence along the border with Jordan.

Forgetting the folly of unilateral withdrawal altogether - the Gsza withdrawal didn't anticipate the rise of an Islamist statelet in the vacuum - the PLO's reaction was most interesting.

Nabil shaath, member of Fatah's Central Committee, said the idea would be a "disaster."

Hamas is mocking this reaction, saying that the PLO likes the occupation, as it allows their leaders to obtain Israeli VIP permits and travel to conferences to steal more money from their people. It added that this reaction showed that Fatah has a "bankruptcy of power" as it is happily cooperating with Israel.

Israel says it has helped Jordan's nuclear power program

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 08:30 AM PDT

Two weeks ago, King Abdullah of Jordan claimed that Israel was secretly frustrating his plans to build a nuclear power plant for desalination.

"Strong opposition to Jordan's nuclear energy programme is coming from Israel," the king said.

"When we started going down the road of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, we approached some highly responsible countries to work with us. And pretty soon we realised that Israel was putting pressure on those countries to disrupt any cooperation with us."

Israel seems to have proven that the king is not being very truthful:

Israel has provided the Kingdom with material assistance to build Jordan's civilian nuclear energy program, Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Sunday.

Israeli official statements to the newspaper came after King Abdullah accused Israel of thwarting Jordan's nuclear program, saying it has not intervened and has even provided the Kingdom with material assistance.

...The Israeli delegation [at a regional conference] decided it needed to respond officially. So a paragraph on the subject was added to the speech that Shaul Chorev, head of the IAEC, delivered at the conference: "With regards to Jordan's civilian nuclear program, I wish to emphasize that Israel supports the use of nuclear power by its neighbors, to meet their energy and water needs," he said.

"Israel believes in the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the Middle East, as long as states fully honor their international nonproliferation obligations," he continued. "As for the selection of Jordan's nuclear power site, Israel also provided comprehensive geological data to the Kingdom upon its request."

Danieli said on Saturday that Jordan officially informed Israel in 2010 that it was considering building a nuclear power plant near Aqaba, both to produce electricity and to help it desalinate water. It then asked Israel for geological data about the area, which Israel supplied.

"We told them we had a lot of data from the Geophysical Institute, which did a comprehensive study of the Eilat region and the Gulf of Aqaba as part of its preparations for the possibility of an earthquake, and we gave them all the material," Danieli said. "The material we sent, together with other considerations on the Jordanians' part, caused them to change their minds and move the reactor site from Aqaba to the area north of Amman.

Eldertoons - Mohammed talks about Yom Kippur

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 07:15 AM PDT

Just a little anti-semitism in Sri Lanka Muslim protest

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 06:15 AM PDT

Here's a detail from a photo of a protest in Sri Lanka against the "Innocence of Muslims" film:

And another:

From the Pak Tribune:

Sri Lanka's police barricaded the US embassy in Colombo for the second time in four days on Monday as thousands of Muslims gathered to denounce the anti-Islam film.

An estimated 20,000 people carrying anti-US and anti-Semitic placards marched towards the embassy during heightened security for the World Twenty20 cricket tournament hosted by Sri Lanka.

A ruling party stalwart, Alavi Maulana, was seen among the Muslims taking part in the orderly and peaceful demonstration that blocked traffic for several hours. "Dear Muslims around the world, stop purchasing Jewish products such as Coca Cola, KFC, McDonald's, Pepsi, Fanta, Pizza Hut, YouTube, D and G etc," read a banner carried by protesters.

"Who is behind the film? Jews," said another anti-semitic placard carried by the demonstrators.

The anti-Islam film has been produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, reportedly a 55-year-old Egyptian Copt and convicted fraudster, based in Los Angeles and currently out on parole.

The US government has also denounced the anti-Islam film that has triggered violent protests around the world since 9/11.

Sri Lanka, mainly a Buddhist country, has a small minority of Muslims among its 20 million population.

"Tens of thousands desecrate Al Buraq with Talmudic rituals and loud chants"

Posted: 25 Sep 2012 02:44 AM PDT

Last night, as Yom Kippur approaches, the Kotel plaza in Jerusalem was packed with Jews praying.

And the Muslims are seething.

The Al Aqsa Foundation has dozens of photos of what they called "Israelis desecrating Al Buraq" with "loud chants" and "Talmudic rituals" whose prayers were described as being led by "senior rabbis, accompanied by noisy songs up to the middle of the night."

They clearly took these photos from some Jewish site, but the photos show that the Kotel plaza was overflowing:

They write that they "asserted that the Western Wall is an integral part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the occupation is showing contempt for Al Aqsa with storming by the settlers and Jewish groups, and profaning the Buraq [kotel]area, does not give the occupation and their tentacles of any kind of presence or sovereignty over the Al-Aqsa Mosque."