| Saturday night links Posted: 13 Oct 2012 07:20 PM PDT From Ian:
Swedish government body funds book on Israeli 'apartheid' Member of country's Art Council praises 'high quality' of work that claims Herzl sought to increase Jewish suffering
The book contains a quote attributed to Theodor Herzl which the Stockholm-based Swedish Israel Information Center claims is a forgery: "It is essential that the sufferings of Jews become worse. This will assist in the realization of our plans. I have an excellent idea. I shall induce anti-Semites to liquidate Jewish wealth."
Lisa Abramowicz, the center's secretary general, has said the book reminded her of "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." [The quote in the title of the book has also been proven false - EoZ] Fake Gaza "Art" at Canadian Public Library "The unanimous opinion of experts is that these drawings – which depict various scenes of alleged "Israeli brutality" – are far too sophisticated to have been drawn by children. Contrary to CJPME President Thomas Woodley's claims as published in the Hamilton Spectator, this artwork cannot be considered "authentic". The symbolism, detail, colouring and motifs all indicate the work of trained artists imitating the style of a child." [Some of the text from that article was taken from my earlier post on the topic. I assume it was an oversight that they didn't credit me. -EoZ] The banal realities of Israel's self-defence If an enemy state or organised military group sent drones over Russia, or Britain, or France, as part of an openly stated campaign of ultimate destruction, there would not be the smallest word of dissent against the victim's right to self-defence
"When is an act of war not an act of war? In the Middle East, that is usually when the State of Israel is the target of unprovoked aggression from some group or other hell bent on securing the Jewish state's destruction. At least, that is how it is seen in the chancelleries of Europe and much of the rest of the world besides." Sarah Honig: Another Tack: If only we were Turks "Obviously one set of rules applies to Turkey and quite another to Israel – without even configuring the incomparably more prolonged, frequent and menacing provocations against
Israel.
That goes for the media too. One Syrian mortar shell that hit just inside Turkish territory last Sunday made headlines worldwide. Over 55 shells and rockets that barraged Israel that same night went largely unmentioned. Israeli pain is clearly not worth wasting airtime for." Dore Gold: Iran and Turkey Compete for Middle East Power It will not be so simple to wave the flag of the Palestinian issue in order to cover up their own encroachments on the rest of the Middle East. Many Sunni Arabs understand that "Iranian special forces were involved in the massacres of their people in Syria, which were part of the spreading of Iranian power across the region. Pointing to Israel will not change what Iran did in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. Ironically, Israel and the Arab states have growing mutual interests in seeing that their region is not dominated by either Turkey or Iran, but whether they can draw together to block these two powers remains to be seen." US: Russia's policy on Syria is 'morally bankrupt' "The Obama administration on Friday accused Russia of pursuing a "morally bankrupt" policy in Syria, following Turkey's seizure of alleged Russian military equipment from a Syrian plane headed from Moscow to Damascus." Secret Israel-Syria Peace Talks Involved Golan Heights Exit For several months in 2010, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel engaged in secret, American-brokered discussions with Syria for a possible peace treaty based on a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights. Prosecutor: Suspects in Paris store attack linked to Syria Terror cell called the 'most dangerous' uncovered in France in more than 15 years
"Suspects in the recent bombing of a kosher supermarket near Paris belonged to an "extremely dangerous" cell with links to Islamist rebels in Syria, a Paris public prosecutor has said." Hezbollah claims it sent drone over Israel, but expert calls it 'rinky-dink' "Israel usually tracks these drones as they come across the border and often doesn't bother to shoot them down," Zenko said. "They just want to see what Hezbollah thinks it can do."
Drones like the one shot down on Saturday cannot even be piloted until someone has "line control" of the device, or is at least within 50 kilometers of it, he said.
"To call them rinky-dink would be polite," he said. "The drones that Iranians display at airshows or that they tout for sale, defense industry press people describe them as crude."
These drones don't have "hard points," or brackets, on which ammunition can be fixed, Zenko said, but they do have the ability to conduct surveillance. It's unclear if the Iranians have drones that can do surveillance in real time, he added. BBC tunnel vision in Gaza "The frequent use of the phrase "Israel says" by journalists is a subject for discussion in itself. It implies to the reader that, whilst seemingly presenting multiple viewpoints on a certain subject, the journalist is not entirely convinced of their validity or objectivity.
Of course in this specific case, it is not just Israel which "says" that weapons are smuggled into Gaza through the tunnels.
In May 2012, Major General Warren James Whiting – commander of the Multinational Force and Observers in Sinai – said that advanced Russian-made missiles were being smuggled from Libya, through Egypt, into the Gaza Strip. " 'All the Jews there live in fear that their telephones are tapped' "Iranian Jews view Iran as their home, and they can practice their religion freely. Most belong to the upper class, so they are not as affected by the economic sanctions. But there is suspicion and fear too, since Big Brother is always watching." Iron Dome can handle Hamas's improvised multi-barrel rocket launchers, expert says Uzi Rubin, chief engineer of the Arrow anti-missile system, says there are 'no game-changers' in the ongoing conflict with Gaza. Rocket hits backyard in Netivot Gaza terrorists continue to pound southern communities: Explosion heard in city of Netivot on Friday evening as rocket lands in house's yard. No injuries reported; one person suffers from shock Iranian Diplomat to be Honored at Holocaust Museum Abdol-Hossein Sardari was the Iranian envoy to France in 1940 when Nazi Germany became the occupying power there, and it was at this time that his efforts led to saving the lives of thousands of his countrymen. The European Union has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in what can only be described as a travesty and a complete farce Nobel committee said the award was for 'the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights'
But critics condemn the move at a time when the bloc is gripped by the Eurozone crisis and facing serious questions about its future
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg says it is 'slightly interesting' to give to the award to an 'acronym'
Tory MEPs joke the Nobel committee 'is a little late for an April fools joke' and declare: 'Parody is redundant'
The prize is awarded by a panel of five people from Norway - which is not even a member of the EU
Also, BBC Radio looks at Jewish refugees from Arab lands (h/t Yerushalimey)
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| Nice shooting! Posted: 13 Oct 2012 06:00 PM PDT From JPost: The air force launched an air strike on Saturday night on members of a Palestinian jihadi organization that fired a rocket into southern Israel over the weekend – and which were planning terror attacks on Israel – the IDF said.
Palestinian medical sources said two men riding a motorcycle in northern Gaza were reportedly killed in the strike.
The interior ministry of Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, said one of the men killed was Hisham Al-Saedni, also known as Abu Al-Waleed Al-Maqdissi, believed to head the Jihadist Salafi group Tawhid and Jihad (One God and Holy War).
The group, rival to Hamas, has an Islamist ideology shared by al-Qaida and sources have said that Saedni joined al-Qaida in Iraq at the beginning of the US-led invasion in 2003.
In March 2011 Hamas detained Saedni for 17 months and had freed him in August.
Last year members identifying themselves with Tawhid and Jihad kidnapped and killed a pro-Palestinian Italian activist, Vittorio Arrigoni, in an apparent attempt to secure the release of Saedni.
An Israeli military spokesman could not confirm Saedni was the target of the air strike. A written military statement said the two men targeted were "terror operatives of the Shora Council of the Mujahideen, a Gaza-based Global Jihad affiliate." The same group had claimed responsibility for a rocket that was fired into Israel on Friday and landed near a house in the Israeli town of Netivot, causing damage but no casualties.
An army source said the cell was involved in past terrorist attacks on Israel, and was in the last stages of preparing another attack. 
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| Hezbollah CFO flees to Israel? (update) Posted: 13 Oct 2012 04:50 PM PDT I was waiting for confirmation of this story first noted in The Jewish Press and Israeli site Terror Watch, and here it is: Hezbollah's CFO has fled to Israel taking with him large sum of stolen money, classified documents and maps, local news media reported on Friday.
The news website, Now Lebanon, cited Hezbollah officials saying that the 29-year old telecommunication engineer, Hussein Fahs, has crossed to Israel carrying with him $5 million in embezzled money from the group. Fahs is also head of Hezbollah's operational communications network.
In September, Fahs, who is native of southern Lebanon, was arrested along with other four Hezbollah members over the suspicion of embezzling the group's funds and collaborating with Israel, Yoni Alpert's Terror Watch reported.
The operation to arrest the five was a collaborative one between Hezbollah and Iranian intelligence. Hezbollah, which has long been a staunch ally to both Iran and Syria, officially became part of the Lebanese government in 2011.
According to Al-Joumhouria newspaper, he was arrested while on his way to an unknown destination by 20 Iranian intelligence officers at Beirut's Hariri Airport. At the time it was suspected that they stole at least $5 million in Iranian aid funds.
Cases of Lebanese nationals collaborating and spying for Israel are not new.
On Tuesday, Imad al-Zein, a Lebanese Military Tribunal Judge, issued eight arrest warrants against Lebanese citizens charged of collaborating with Israel, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
The eight arrested include seven women and one man and were all charged in absentia. They were also natives of southern Lebanon, a region known for being a Hezbollah stronghold.
Since 2009, Lebanon has arrested more than 100 people on suspicion of spying for Israeli intelligence, including high-ranking security and telecommunication officials, Nahar Net said. Interestingly, Debka reports that Israeli sources deny this story. ( UPDATE: So does Israel Radio.) So until Fahs surfaces, the facts are not all in yet. 
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