יום שישי, 28 בדצמבר 2012

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder of Ziyon

The Redacted Iraqi Jews

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:30 PM PST

An amazing article at Gatestone Institute by Nabil Al-Hadairi:
The recent Conference of Religions and Sects in Sulaymaniyah, organized under the supervision of Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, was an important milestone: The first such conference to take place in Iraq that seriously covered the defense of religions and sects after the collapse of the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein.

Present at the conference were Christians, Muslims (both Sunni and Shi'a) and other, smaller, minority groups. What was surprising was that there was not a single representative of Iraqi Jews to relate their glorious history, so full of great accomplishments for the glory of Iraq and its constitution. In their absence, they could not tell of the calamity that befell them when their citizenship was withdrawn, their money and property confiscated, their rights denied, and when they were subjected to being imprisoned or murdered while ethnic cleansing was committed by forcing the best of my Iraqi Jewish friends to emigrate.

At the conference, it was apparent that no one was available to represent them or mention this sensitive subject. Therefore, to balance the debate, I decided that this was going to be my discussion subject, as my solemn duty to repay some of our debt to them.

The Presidential Council, the ruling party, and Iranian agents in Sulaymaniyah all warned me not to raise such a subject and speak about it, and tried to forbid it. They claimed that it is too sensitive and dangerous, and that due to the current public mood, it should not to be spoken about in public.

...Despite the uncivilized methods used in attempting to suppress my presentation, the audience responded with full support and a standing ovation The address apparently caused considerable embarrassment to the conference's organizing committee, which then was forced to take the topic seriously.

Results were achieved when three paragraphs were adopted in the text of the final communique: The seventh paragraph states the importance of correcting the constitution to add Judaism as an official religion alongside Islam, Christianity and others, and restoring the Jews' citizenship. The ninth paragraph consists of ten points, of which article nine recognizes the rights of Jews in nationality and national belonging. Article five recognizes the crime of expulsion and its effects, and article five calls for Jewish heritage sites to be cared for, without tampering.
It is great to see one person making a difference.

(h/t Ian)

An Israeli car, sort of, gets ready for the EU market

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 05:30 PM PST

From CarBuzz:
New automakers from China seem to be popping up left and right these days, but only a few will actually survive to export cars from the (ironically) decentralized local automotive industry. One of the new brands that's showing potential is Qoros, a joint venture between Chery Automobile and Israel Corporation. And now it has revealed initial images and details of its first model, the GQ3 compact sedan. Set for a live debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the GQ3 is sized to compete with the likes of the Ford Focus and Honda Civic.

The GQ3 will be the first of a broader model lineup that will later include larger family cars. Along with a host of hi-tech safety features, the GQ3 seems like it may be one of the few Chinese-built cars that may have a realistic future outside of its native country.
Globes adds:
Israel Corp. has set up a company to manufacture mainstream gasoline cars and become "more European than Europe." While Israel Corp's partners are Chinese, car manufacturer Chery, and the factory is located in the Yangtze delta, but to all intents and purposes this is a standard development project that could have been implemented by Volkswagen or Hyundai. The engineers, designers, and even media strategists were hired in Europe. A large part of the basic engineering planning of the car was put in the hands of Austrian company Magna Steyr - an independent systems contractor for the European car industry. The gearbox and navigation systems and many other car components were purchased from known international manufacturers, and the car was planned to meet the most stringent European collision and emission standards and so on. Major effort was even put into the car's interior and exterior design to meet European consumer preferences with an unconcealed likeness to the Volkswagen Jetta.

The highly effective campaign to unveil Qoros is focused on Western Europe and especially the German market, which is a rock on which many previous Chinese cars have floundered.

"Shirley Temper" gets a "bravery" award in Istanbul

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 02:10 PM PST

Remember Shirley Temper?



Her parents (who are, of course, well-known anti-Israel activists themselves) are now trotting her around the world so she can talk about her "bravery":
A 10-year-old girl who was featured in a video angrily punching an Israeli soldier has arrived in Turkey as a guest of the Başakşehir Municipality of İstanbul.
Ahed Tamimi has become a hero to many in Turkey after a video showing her hitting Israeli soldiers -- who remain nonchalant, possibly due to the presence of cameras at the scene, after her brother's detention -- was posted online on Nov. 28. She arrived in İstanbul on Monday. Her first words were "I am very to be happy to be in Erdoğan's country," referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a beloved figure in Palestine for his staunch opposition to Israeli policies in Gaza.

Tamimi arrived in Turkey on a Jordan Air flight at 2 p.m. on Monday, accompanied by her mother, Neriman Tamimi. She was greeted by primary school students holding flowers and Palestinian flags. Ahed made a victory sign, posing at journalists' cameras, and said after her initial statement at the airport: "I didn't fear the Israeli soldiers at all. I showed them the courage of Palestinians."

Tamimi will be presented the Hanzala Bravery Award by the Başakşehir Municipality. The 10 year old, who appeared to be shy during her interviews, will also attend a panel on Palestine.
Since Ahed is so brave, maybe she should start taking on the soldiers in Syria. Or even the Turkish soldiers as they attack Kurds. I'm sure they will be overcome by her natural charm and wouldn't hurt her when she yells at them and hits them.

(h/t Vandoren)

Thursday links

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 01:00 PM PST

From Ian:
Barry Rubin: The Schoolmarms Tell the Terrorists to Play Nice
"The entertainment director on the ship of fools that constitutes so much mainstream analysis of the Middle East—I refer, of course, to Thomas Friedman—has produced a wonderful paragraph that beautifully characterizes the problem, exquisitely expressing a Western mentality that not only makes it impossible to understand the Middle East but even to set up the question in a way people that could help people even begin to confront the truth. So perhaps it is worth disassembling. Sound like fun? Let's go!"

Egyptians want peace, says blogger visiting Israel
Maikel Nabil Sanad, an Egyptian blogger hosted by Hebrew University in Jerusalem says 'There is a peace-seeking community in Egypt'
"Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, 27, carried an unusual speech at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and was interrupted by pro-Palestinian activists who broke into the hall and shouted at him "Shame on you, this is Palestine."
Sanad has been known to express views about Israel, which caused him to be heavily criticized in Egypt."

In Israel-US relations, settlements are entirely beside the point
"Most American legislators and policy makers understand that the strategic cooperation between Israel and the U.S. does not hinge on the Palestinian issue nor on the settlement issue not even on the overall conflict between Israel and the Arab nations. Rather, it is based on mutual and common interests in the Middle East and the world over such as Iran's nuclear threat, counter- terrorism, missile defense, intelligence-sharing, battle tactics, defense and commercial industrial research, where Israel has a competitive edge over any other country in the world."

With eye on Sinai, IDF establishes brigade to defend Eilat
Southern Command head says soldiers represent final piece of security puzzle for Red Sea resort town
"In recent years, several attacks on Israel originated from the neighboring Sinai peninsula, targeting the large desert region to the north of Eilat. Rockets have also been fired at the town from Egypt, though most have landed in Jordan or in the sea."

Smugglers Galore
How Iran arms its allies.
"Israel's next war with Hamas—a further confrontation is almost inevitable—may well feature not only Iranian missiles smuggled through Sudan, but NATO-quality small arms and shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles that come by way of Hamas's most recent weapons supplier, post-Qaddafi Libya."

PMW "Jesus is a Palestinian par excellence" - PA Mufti Muhammad Hussein
"The Palestinian leadership's falsification of history by presenting Jesus as an ancient Palestinian increased in regularity as Christmas approached this year. In the last month alone, the PA media has transmitted six additional PA misrepresentations of Jesus as a Palestinian"


Barghouti predicts he'll be president of Palestine, says right of return is 'sacred'
Most popular West Bank leader, serving multiple life terms for murder, tells Israeli TV Abbas would have been 'finished' had he not pressed ahead with UN membership move

Israel not renewing VIP cards of PA officials By Khaled Abu Toameh
Palestinian official tells 'Post' move a response to Ramallah's successful bid to upgrade UN status to non-member state.
"One of the PA officials affected by the new policy is Nabil Sha'ath, a member of the Fatah Central Committee and a former negotiator with Israel.
Sha'ath's card was revoked after he visited the Gaza Strip to participate in Hamas's "victory" celebrations in the aftermath of Operation Pillar of Defense."

Israel to boost Gaza imports under truce deal
Israel to begin allowing 20 trucks with construction materials enter Gaza daily; blockade easing part of ongoing ceasefire dialogue.
"Guy Inbar, of the Defense Ministry's civil administration, said the changes came as a result of Egyptian mediation, and the ongoing calm in the South.
"As long as the quiet will remain in the South, our civilian policy and assistance to Gaza's residents will continue," he said."

US preparing attack option in Syria, top minister implies
Moshe Ya'alon says Washington would interfere to keep chemical weapons from falling into 'irresponsible hands,' hails Israeli cooperation with Jordan

Netanyahu visited Jordan with plans to destroy Syrian chemical weapons
Senior officials confirm visit; Israel's neighbor said to oppose air strike or ground assault
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently held top-secret talks in Jordan regarding possible methods for destroying Syria's sizable chemical weapons stockpiles, including air strikes or a ground assault, but so far Amman is reluctant to put its weight behind such action."

Syrian minister flees Beirut for fear of arrest
Meanwhile, top general in Assad regime switches sides, says he has joined 'the people's revolution'
"Syria's wounded interior minister cut short his treatment at a Beirut hospital Wednesday and returned home for fear of being arrested by Lebanese authorities, while Syria's chief of military police defected to the opposition, becoming one of the highest-ranking officers to switch sides.
The twin developments reflected the deepening isolation of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, which has suffered a number of setbacks on the battlefield as well."

SWC Issues Travel Advisory for Copenhagen Amid Warnings
The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a travel advisory for Denmark in wake of warnings by Israel's ambassador.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a travel advisory last week for Denmark in wake of warnings by Israel's ambassador advising Jews and Israelis to refrain from wearing kippot, religious symbols, and speaking Hebrew on the streets of Copenhagen.

The Redacted Iraqi Jews
"Despite the uncivilized methods used in attempting to suppress my presentation, the audience responded with full support and a standing ovation The address apparently caused considerable embarrassment to the conference's organizing committee, which then was forced to take the topic seriously.
Results were achieved when three paragraphs were adopted in the text of the final communique: The seventh paragraph states the importance of correcting the constitution to add Judaism as an official religion alongside Islam, Christianity and others, and restoring the Jews' citizenship. The ninth paragraph consists of ten points, of which article nine recognizes the rights of Jews in nationality and national belonging. Article five recognizes the crime of expulsion and its effects, and article five calls for Jewish heritage sites to be cared for, without tampering."

Walking on Heroes' Ground in Poland
WARSAW—"Zegota," the official unit of the Polish Underground Army tasked with helping Jews in German-occupied Poland from 1942-1945, was commemorated on the occasion of its 70th anniversary earlier this month in Warsaw.

Notable EoZ blog posts of 2012 (part 2)

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:05 AM PST

April:

Thomas Friedman and Ha'aretz whitewash a terrorist

Hamas leader: "Half of Palestinians are Egyptian, the other half Saudi"

Poster: Homocrites (and the post it was inspired by on "Homonationalism and Pinkwashing")

The "As-a-Jews" of the New York Times

How to misuse statistics: Israel accused of jailing too many journalists

Mike Wallace interviews Abba Eban, 1958


May:

Ben White proves the hypocrisy of the anti-Israel crowd (may be the post of the year)

Latest nonsense from Shlomo Sand - "The Land of Israel is a myth"

Purpose of J-Street is not to reflect US Jewish opinion, but to change it

June:

Arab political cartoons on the eve of the Six Day War (later turned into a video)

Gaza's kindergarten jihadist wannabes

Hilarious boycott of Israeli goods by tiny cafe in Olympia

Debunking the "Bride is beautiful, but she is married to another man" myth

Reuters vs. the truth about the Temple Mount

"Euro-Mid" NGO fabricates data, counts Hamas terrorists as "children" killed in Gaza

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:35 AM PST

The Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights, a Geneva-based NGO, has released a 72-page report (Arabic-only) detailing the names, photos and details of 41 children they claim were killed in Gaza by Israel.

Some of the "children" listed were, in fact, adults.

 Some were Hamas terrorists.

 And at least one was killed by a Hamas rocket.

 Here are some details:

Muhammad Hani Ibrahim Hani Al-Kaseeh was - according to Euro-Mid! - born on July 29, 1994, making him 18 years old when he was killed on November 14, 2012. PCHR admits that he was a terrorist, as the motorcycle he was on together with Essam al-Meiza was targeted.

Ahmed Taqfiq al-Nassasra was identified as a member of Hamas by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terror Information Center. He was 17.

Muhammad Kamel Salame Abu Udwan was born in March of 1994, making him 18 years old. I could not find him in the known lists of people killed.

Abdallah Tal'at Ahmad Ibrahim was also born in March 1994, making him 18 years old as well. I could not find him either.

Ouda Arafat al-Shindi was 17 years old, according to Euro-Mid. PCHR notes that he was a terrorist, but does not mention his age.

And Mahmoud Sadallah, 4,  was killed by a Hamas rocket, a fact admitted even by HRW.

These are only the ones I could identify. But it shows a pattern.

These are not simply mistakes. The inclusion of all these names in this glossy, professional report is meant to serve only one purpose - to demonize Israel as much as possible. Very few people would question a report that looks as slick as this one does, replete with photos of the dead, and even fewer would bother doing research to see if it is accurate. The prestigious-sounding name of the NGO, its Geneva address, and the trappings of professionalism, together with an audience that is already predisposed to believe the worst of Israel, together creates a culture where anti-Israel "researchers" can lie with impunity and with little worry about being exposed.

The NGO itself is more than sketchy. I could not find out the sources of funding for the Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights, and its webpage doesn't even list the names of its founders or leaders. A press release mentions Dr. Ramy Abdu as the chairman of its board of directors, and he is also the head of the Council for European Palestinian Relations, which exists purely to pressure Europe to pressure Israel. The Twitter account of  Euro-Mid says explicitly that the purpose of this report is to kick off an international campaign against Israel.

In any sane world, finding out that an NGO is purposefully fabricating its data should be enough to get it disbanded, to get its donors to cut off all funding, and to force the leaders to answer for their lies. But we don't live in a sane world.. Anti-Israel NGOs will continue to proliferate and attract attention with lying reports that convince those who want to be convinced.

(h/t Al Gharqad and CHA)

Egyptian secularists turn to satire

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 07:30 AM PST

Now that the Egyptian constitution has become law, secularists in Egypt have turned to satire in order to keep their sanity.

At least, for as long as it lasts.

Jew-hatred increasing in even liberal parts of Turkey

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 05:30 AM PST

From Die Welt, December 20, by high school student Ege Berk Korkut:
Jew-hatred has become an everyday phenomenon in Turkey. Although I live in Izmir, the most democratic city in Turkey, [even here there is] growing anti-Semitism. Everywhere I meet Jew-haters and enemies of Israel, listen to their prejudices on the daily bus trip or during a visit to a popular fast-food restaurants.

Many of them admired Hitler, wish he would have his "mission" brought to an end and not stop at six million murdered Jews. Though it disgusts me, I can do nothing. I belong to a minority in this country and I know that the government will not protect my rights, which is why it would not be a good idea to respond.

...I visit the twelfth grade of an [exclusive] high school. During a lesson the religious teachers talk about the operation "Pillar of Cloud" in Gaza.

Some students began to complain about Israel. They became more and more violent, and the teacher, an official of the Turkish state, said, "Do not worry, Israel will be destroyed one day, and the day is near that all Jews will pay for it." After the teacher had incited the students some students began to praise Hitler, while others expressed their readiness to drive the Israelis into the sea.

I was surprised. I did not expect that a teacher, a Turkish government official, would incite students to kill people just because they are different, especially in Izmir, where the people are known for their tolerance.

Jew-hatred is spreading and the influence of Sharia law have changed the secular society, even in the most advanced parts of Turkey, such that it is no longer possible to ignore it, at least as a Jew.

I have no hope that the situation will improve in the future. On the contrary, it gets worse every day. This is not surprising. Biased media and politicians spread the manipulative rhetoric, and the textbooks that are issued by the Turkish state are dripping with hatred of Jews.

In a country where children are taught to hate, true respect for diversity cannot thrive, which is the foundation of any free society. While the secular society collapses, the growing power of the Islamists continue every day. Therefore I am not pessimistic, but realistic when I say that Turkey's future is not rosy.
There were Arabic reports yesterday that the number of Turkish Jews moving to Israel have increased in the last two years, although I couldn't find the original article in Turkish.

(h/t Lachlan)

Hamas again outmaneuvers Fatah; no Fatah rally in Gaza

Posted: 27 Dec 2012 02:30 AM PST

Fatah in Gaza has announced that it is canceling its planned rally to celebrate the 48th anniversary of its first terror attack.

Hamas refused to let Fatah use any of the large public squares in Gaza for the rally, Fatah was offered alternate venues, such as a soccer stadium, but they could not accommodate the expected 100,000 people Fatah was hoping for.

Fatah in Gaza decided not to complain too loudly about this in order to keep the facade of unity between Hamas and Fatah. Instead, they are calling on members to fly the yellow Fatah flag at their homes and to wear the keffiyeh, as a symbol of the movement.

This is actually a fairly big deal. Fatah allowed Hamas to hold a large public rally in Nablus. Which means the net effect is that Hamas is ascendant in the West Bank while Fatah is publicly invisible in Gaza. Hamas' refusal to allow a Fatah rally in the large public squares is being interpreted as a desire to ensure that Hamas has no visible competition in the sector.

"Unity," to Hamas, is only one way - for it to gain influence the West Bank without giving any quarter to Fatah in Gaza.

Once again, the Islamists completely outmaneuvered their opponents in the Middle East.
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