Elder of Ziyon Daily News

How I spent Thursday (plus a little request)
HRW can't wait to publish hit pieces on Israel
The Hurva is stunning at night
Thursday links part 2
Islamic Jihad leader says they have no problems with Jews, but a third intifada is on the way
Thursday links part 1
Iran Photoshops its fighter jet

How I spent Thursday (plus a little request)

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 08:00 PM PST

While part of my visit to Israel is personal, a great percentage of it is dedicated to doing stuff for the blog. Thursday was a whirlwind of activity, which should generate at least three separate video posts when I get a chance to edit them.

My first appointment was with Yisrael Medad, blogger at My Right Word, for a visit to the Har HaBayit (Temple Mount.) This requires some preparation ahead of time. The Israeli guards did not let me bring in all my video equipment, and since the line to enter the area is ridiculously long, it looked like I wouldn't make it up at all. Yisrael nicely convinced the guard to watch my stuff while I took my camera with me.

I haven't seen all the footage yet, and the Israeli police officer who accompanied us was rushing us a bit so the video is not as smooth as I had hoped, but with luck you will get to see a video tour of the (perimeter of the) holiest spot in the world. That will take time to edit well so it might not be until I return to the US.

Then I met with NGO Monitor. Mrs. Elder and I did a video interview with its president, Gerald Steinberg, and then we got to meet the whole staff for a lunchtime Q&A.

After that, we went to visit the Ministry of Strategic Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office where (after going through a grueling security check) I met with Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser, its Director General. I interviewed him as well. He was familiar with my work, which is pretty cool, and we discussed his ministry and how Israel is trying to, belatedly, fight against the delegitimization attempts by her enemies.

So eventually I'll get the videos out. My Friday is very busy with personal stuff and if I was sane I would be sleeping instead of writing this. Sunday, I'm back to doing meetings as Elder.

Since I have no desire to navigate Israeli traffic, I am taking taxis everywhere. This is very expensive. I know that my normal request for donations isn't due for another month, but I would appreciate if you guys can pitch in and contribute.

If all goes well, the material I gather during these two weeks should provide first-hand insights into Israel that you simply cannot get anywhere else. If you believe that this is valuable, please click on the Donate or Subscribe buttons on the upper right corner of this blog and be a partner in getting the truth about Israel published and disseminated.

Here's a preview video to whet your appetite:

HRW can't wait to publish hit pieces on Israel

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 03:16 PM PST

From The Volokh Conspiracy:

Human Rights Watch has just released a report on Israel's recent "Pillar of Defense" operation to suppress rocket fire from Gaza. The report concludes that 18 airstrikes violated international law by not being properly targeted. I do not know if 18 is a little or a lot for an operation of this scale, as there an no good comparative data (though the report is released as Afghanistan says yet another NATO airstrike hit a house with innocent women and children inside.)

The report, by its description of its methods, appears to be a hit piece. Here is what the report said about the group's investigative method (emphasis added):

Human Rights Watch sent detailed information about the cases to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on January 14, 2013, requesting further information. At a meeting on January 24 and in subsequent phone conversations, the military spokesperson's office told Human Rights Watch that the military chief of staff had ordered a general (aluf) to conduct an "operational debriefing" (tahkir mivtza'i) concerning "dozens" of Israeli attacks during the conflict, including the cases Human Rights Watch investigated, which would be completed by late February.

Because previous Israeli "operational debriefings" involving attacks were not conducted by trained military police investigators or dedicated to investigating alleged laws-of-war violations, Human Rights Watch has decided to publish its findings rather than wait for their results.

In other words, HRW received high-level and consistent cooperation. A meeting between HRW and the IDF took place on Jan 24 (just 10 days after HRW asked for further information), and were told that the IDF would have a more detailed response by late February after its own investigations were over. One month is not a long time to wait, certainly not covering an incident that occurred months ago.

It is completely baffling why HRW would rush to publish their report a mere two weeks before they could hear in full Israel's response to their allegations. Furthermore, HRW's explanation why they chose not to wait lacks any coherence. What is so special about designated military police as opposed to other investigators? And even if the IDF investigations were not conducted by trained military police, it is unquestionable that the IDF investigators would have access to sources HRW does not. One would expect that an organization whose influence is completely based on their reputation for objectivity and thoroughness would wish to have all the facts before rushing to publish.

Well-meaning observers are often puzzled why Israel sometimes does not cooperate with the multitudinous foreign investigations into its military operations. The minimal lack of procedural fairness investigations such as HRW's is surely one reason for their reluctance.

NGO Monitor went into more detail:

HRW possesses neither the military expertise nor the appropriate fact-finding methodology to make these assessments and conduct proper investigations. Such judgments require knowledge of the military intelligence possessed by Israeli commanders at the time of the strikes, and information on intent of the officers. In contrast, HRW's "evidence" consists solely of its inability to identify "indication[s] of a legitimate military target at the site at the time of the attack" and Israel's refusal to explain its operational decisions to the NGO.

HRW's press release is its seventh document relating to the November 2012 fighting in Gaza and Southern Israel. The disproportionate obsession and political agenda are further seen by HRW's decision to conduct "field investigations" on that particular conflict, at a time when the UN estimated that over 10,000 people were killed in the Syrian civil war in the month of January 2013 alone.

HRW's statement also denounced Israeli investigations, claiming that they "were not conducted by trained military police investigators or dedicated to investigating alleged laws-of-war violations." Therefore, HRW did not wait for a response from the IDF, dealing with HRW's cases and other attacks, which is anticipated "by late February."

In fact, Israeli investigations meet international standards, as noted by Judge Mary McGowan Davis (empanelled by the Human Rights Council to lead the follow-up committee to the Goldstone Report), Judge Richard Goldstone, and the Turkel Committee. The real reason HRW does not want to wait for the IDF report is because it will demonstrate that HRW's claims are baseless, as happened with Israeli responses to the 2009 Gaza conflict and the 2006 Lebanon War.

I visited NGO Monitor in Jerusalem on Thursday, and asked them about the supposed expertise of the "field investigators" GRW sends into Gaza. They are not completely transparent on who writes and contributes to many of their reports, but apparently they rely on people who live in Gaza to fill out much of the information in these reports - and they, in turn, rely on biased sources like PCHR and the Gaza Health Ministry to get the "facts" about particular incidents to them.

One of their Gaza researchers, Fares Akram, also has written for the New York Times - even about HRW itself, without disclosing his affiliation in the article!

This incestuous relationship between native Gazan "investigators," news organization stringers and reporters, and biased "human rights" organizations and NGOs is sorely unreported.

One other fact that NGO Monitor noted to me that is terrifically important: HRW does not have a published methodology on how they conduct these "field investigations." Without a rigorous and known methodology, bias isn't only possible - it is inevitable. Facts that conform to the "researcher"'s preconceived notions will naturally get highlighted and anything that contradicts it will be silently ignored. This is natural, after all, the news media do this all the time. But an organization like HRW must adhere to the higher standard it demands from others. Its standards must be far greater than that of journalists. In this case, there was no "deadline" that forced HRW to release this report before waiting for the official investigation by Israel. They simply decided to ignore any response before the fact.

HRW claims that Israel's investigations do not reach some arbitrary level of professionalism and objectivity that they made up. Yet if HRW would investigate itself with the same standards, it would come out far, far worse. Its bias has been exposed over and over again, here as well as elsewhere. HRW never admits it was wrong, and when caught doing something unethical itself.

This is not the way an organization dedicated to the truth should act. But it is exactly how a biased organization with an agenda would act.

The Hurva is stunning at night

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 12:11 PM PST

I had seen photos of the restored Hurva synagogue, rebuilt after Jordan destroyed it (along with some fifty other synagogues in Jerusalem) in 1948.

But until not, I never saw it in person. And its lighting at night is beautiful.

This photo does not do it justice. I might have a better one, but for now this will have to do.

Thursday links part 2

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 09:30 AM PST

From Ian:

NGO Monitor: Pure Speculation: HRW Statements on Gaza and Prisoner X

"HRW possesses neither the military expertise nor the appropriate fact-finding methodology to make these assessments and conduct proper investigations. Such judgments require knowledge of the military intelligence possessed by Israeli commanders at the time of the strikes, and information on intent of the officers. In contrast, HRW's "evidence" consists solely of its inability to identify "indication[s] of a legitimate military target at the site at the time of the attack" and Israel's refusal to explain its operational decisions to the NGO.
HRW's press release is its seventh document relating to the November 2012 fighting in Gaza and Southern Israel. The disproportionate obsession and political agenda are further seen by HRW's decision to conduct "field investigations" on that particular conflict, at a time when the UN estimated that over 10,000 people were killed in the Syrian civil war in the month of January 2013 alone.
HRW's statement also denounced Israeli investigations, claiming that they "were not conducted by trained military police investigators or dedicated to investigating alleged laws-of-war violations." Therefore, HRW did not wait for a response from the IDF, dealing with HRW's cases and other attacks, which is anticipated "by late February."
In fact, Israeli investigations meet international standards, as noted by Judge Mary McGowan Davis (empanelled by the Human Rights Council to lead the follow-up committee to the Goldstone Report), Judge Richard Goldstone, and the Turkel Committee. The real reason HRW does not want to wait for the IDF report is because it will demonstrate that HRW's claims are baseless, as happened with Israeli responses to the 2009 Gaza conflict and the 2006 Lebanon War."

Prisoner X
"HRW's Israel-based staffer Bill van Esveld was quoted extensively in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) exposé on "Prisoner X," reportedly an Australian-Israeli Mossad agent who hanged himself in prison in 2010. As noted by most media reports, the entire episode remains unconfirmed and speculative."
"In fact, as reported in Israeli media and contrary to van Esveld's claims, Prisoner X was represented by a lawyer, was informed of the charges against him, and was in the process of negotiating a plea bargain shortly before he committed suicide. His family was aware of his imprisonment and was in contact with him. Moreover, Israel's Supreme Court was also aware of the arrest and ruled on whether the security circumstances warranted a "gag order."

The Arab Spring is great, says leading Israeli analyst
Yigal Carmon, founder of MEMRI, believes the current revolutionary shift is an essential first step in the Arabs' long road 'to 'join humanity'

"People were warning us about the rise of Islamism, but from day one my attitude was exactly the opposite: I was shining," said Yigal Carmon, founder and president of MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute. Carmon's assessment, as someone who hails from the heart of Israel's security establishment, might bear particular significance.
"It is indeed an Arab Spring," he told The Times of Israel this week, "where people are fighting for freedom, putting their lives on the line every day against dictatorship. There can be no other name for it."
Before the Arab Spring, Carmon said, the Middle East was "a frozen swamp of repression, on every level." But that stagnation, which he said left Arabs and Muslims "outside the world in its progress," is gone, never to return."

Is Israel really to blame for Gaza's water shortages?
Israel has met and exceeded expectations in terms of the supply of water to the Palestinian people. So why are Palestinian and British politicians still playing politics with this issue?

"An argument that makes as little sense in theory as it does in practice. To get the facts straight from the outset is important, as misinformation propagated by the delegitimisers of the Jewish state often leads to erroneous beliefs being implanted in the minds of journalists, activists and, importantly, legislators. Take a look at what passed between Israel and Gaza just last week, here. and here.
How else could an Early Day Motion in the British Parliament have been tabled blaming the Israeli government for a situation that the World Bank claimed in 2009 would make the Gaza strip 'uninhabitable'? But the World Bank didn't blame Israel and a similar report by the United Nations stated that while Operation Cast Lead intensified the problems already faced, Gaza's problems were "due to underinvestment in environmental systems, lack of progress on priority environmental projects and the collapse of governance mechanisms."

Belgian Nazi Parade Makes Mockery of Holocaust
ADL expressed outrage that participants in UNESCO-affiliated festival dressed as Nazis and paraded through the streets of Belgium.

"The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has expressed outrage that a group of participants in the UNESCO-affiliated Aalst festival dressed as Nazi SS officers and paraded through the streets of Aalst, Belgium on a rail car reminiscent of those used to deport Jews to concentration camps during the Holocaust.
Photos in the Belgian media showed the men dressed in full Nazi regalia with a Hassidic Jewish boy character on a rail car, decorated with posters depicting pails labeled, "Zyklon," the chemical used in the Nazi gas chambers."

Yaalon Hizbullah Armed, Waiting
Israel must not be lulled into false security by quiet in the north, Yaalon warns.

"While northern Israel is now enjoying relative quiet, "we must not be lulled into false hopes," Yaalon warned. "Hizbullah is armed with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles and is supported by Iran," he explained, "and in Syria the civil war and instability continues, and is likely to bring unrest to the border near to where we stand right now."
"Now, too, the best of our sons and daughters are ready to deal with the threats from north and south, from near and far, and with our enemies' unwillingness to recognize our right to exist in peace and security as the national homeland of the Jewish people, in any border" Yaalon declared."

Rocket Preparedness Drill to be Held in Schools
Israeli children will practice moving briskly to their "safe spaces," getting to a shelter and hiding from rockets on Thursday.

"Israeli children will have the opportunity to learn a new lesson on Thursday as they practice moving briskly to their bomb shelters and hiding from rockets in as many other safe spaces as possible.
The Ministry of Education is holding the nationwide exercise in kindergartens and schools to test the preparedness of every educational institution in Israel in the event of a rocket or missile attack while children are playing outside during recess."

Jewish Israeli Soccer Star Banned from Training With Club in Dubai

"Jewish Israeli soccer star and Swansea City (UK) striker Itay Shechter has been forced to miss his club's week-long training decampment because it's taking place in Dubai. The UAE and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and Shechter could have been arrested and deported if he tried to enter Dubai as the United Arab Emirates does not recognize Israel as a state."

Israeli helps India rehabilitate polluted river
Technologies developed in Israel to recycle the country's precious water resources are being used to help save India's Noyyal River.

"Prof. Yoram Oren first saw how chemicals from textile dyeing factories were poisoning India's Noyyal River during a year-long stay in the country's southernmost state three-and-a-half years ago.
Oren, an expert on water desalination from Ben-Gurion University, spent his sabbatical year setting up a water research laboratory at Karunya University in Tamil Nadu state. A passionate advocate of water rights, he saw the effects of river pollution on local people, agriculture and wildlife and decided to return to Tamil Nadu and help local water experts save the dying Noyyal."

Savior of Thousands of Jews Honored Posthumously
Varian Fry, an American journalist responsible for aiding thousands of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, was honored posthumously.

"The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) posthumously honored Varian Fry, an American journalist responsible for aiding thousands of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, with the ADL Jan Karski 'Courage to Care' Award.
The award was presented posthumously to Fry on February 8 during the League's National Executive Committee Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, where it was accepted on behalf of the family by his son, James Fry."

Richard Silverstein gets owned and duped on twitter.
Israelly Cool: Australian Foreign Minister Rips Silverstein a New One

Islamic Jihad leader says they have no problems with Jews, but a third intifada is on the way

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 07:33 AM PST

Sheikh Bassam Saadi, an Islamic Jihad leader recently released from prison, says that his movement has nothing against Jews.

Saadi said, "We do not hate Jews, and Jews were living among us for hundreds of years."

He goes on to say that there will be no solution except that Jews would accept to live in an Arab Palestinian state as second-class citizens "like any other sect."

As long as Jews are second-class citizens in a Muslim, happily paying their jizya and not talking about their right to national self-determination, then everything is hunky-dory!

Saadi also said that all indications point to a "third intifada on the way", and if the unity talks go nowhere, the people will take the initiative to fight against Israel.

I wonder if any of these Arabs might target those Jews that they love in this third intifada?

Thursday links part 1

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 05:30 AM PST

From Ian:

NYT OpEd: Palestine's Democratic Deficit By David Keyes

"It should come as no surprise that the Palestinian Authority is cracking down on basic freedoms. From the top down, a culture of repression reigns supreme. President Abbas's term ended four years ago. He has clung to power as an unelected autocrat for nearly half a decade. In November, a senior adviser to Mr. Abbas, Mohammad Shtayyeh, told me that Mr. Abbas had no desire to continue ruling, but that he simply could not leave because of the divisions in Palestinian society. Suppressing criticism by resorting to a 50-year-old Jordanian law — designed to punish critics of Jordan's monarchy when it ruled over the West Bank — has not helped burnish the questionable democratic credentials Mr. Abbas so often claims when meeting Western leaders."

Karl Vick: Spy Fail Why Iran Is Losing Its Covert War with Israel

"Created to advance Iran's interests clandestinely overseas, the Quds Force has lately provided mostly embarrassment, stumbling in Azerbaijan, Georgia, India, Kenya and most spectacularly in Thailand, where before accidentally blowing up their Bangkok safe house, Iran's secret agents were photographed in the sex-tourism mecca of Pattaya, one arm around a hookah, the other around a hooker. In its ongoing shadow war with Israel, the Iranian side's lone "success" was the July 18 bombing of a Bulgarian bus carrying Israeli tourists — though European investigators last week officially attributed that attack to Iran's Lebanese proxy, Hizballah. That leaves the Islamic Republic itself with a failure rate hovering near 100% abroad and an operational tempo — nine overseas plots uncovered in nine months — that carries a whiff of desperation. A Tehran government long branded by U.S. officials as the globe's leading exporter of terrorism may be cornering the market on haplessness." (h/t RK)

Member of UK Parliament's International Development Committee says British government should 'end relationship' with anti-Semite aid recipients
Pauline Latham, a member of the Department for International Development's Select Committee has responded to The Commentator's article from this week

"Pauline Latham, Member of Parliament for Mid Derbyshire said: "DfID need to be able to ascertain how exactly UKaid partners are spending our aid donations. These examples of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic vitriol from the Ma'an Network – a UKaid partner – will do nothing to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians and the British government should certainly not be funding this sort of incitement. I hope that after further investigation, the DfID will see fit to end its partnership with the Ma'an network."

British MP Asks Liberal Democrat Leader to Condemn His Party's Anti-Semitism (VIDEO)

"Will my Honorable friend take action against those MPs who use the conflict in Israel to make inflammatory statements about Jews, and does he not realize that his party is getting a reputation, sadly, amongst some of its senior members for being hostile to Jewish people?" Halfon asked."

Israel blamed for death of Iranian general in Lebanon
Hassan Shateri of the Revolutionary Guard assassinated by 'Zionist mercenaries,' news site claims

"An Iranian independent news website reported early Thursday morning that Israel killed a senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon.
The website, mashreghnews.ir, said Gen. Hassan Shateri was killed by "mercenaries of the Zionist regime," but provided no details about his death. The semi-official FARS news agency confirmed the report a few hours later.
Shateri led Guard forces in Lebanon and oversaw Iranian-financed reconstruction projects there, aiding Hezbollah both financially and by training its members.
A second senior Iranian official was reported killed Wednesday in an attack on his car after he crossed from Syria into Lebanon."

'Tehran removing key intel material from Damascus'
Intelligence said to include secret agreements, minutes of meetings reports relating to Iran's support of Hezbollah.

"Sources in the Syrian opposition claim that Iran has already begun transferring its diplomatic and intelligence archives from Syria, according to the Iraqi paper Azzaman on Monday.
The intelligence is said to include secret agreements between Tehran and Damascus, minutes of meetings of senior officials and reports relating to Iran's support of Hezbollah from Syria."

'Iran tried to buy game-changing centrifuge parts'
Large order of magnetic rings from China would greatly expand the country's nuclear enrichment capacity, Washington Post reports

"Iran attempted to purchase special magnets used for uranium enrichment, components which experts believe would enable the regime in Tehran to upgrade its centrifuges and greatly expand its nuclear program, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Iran has been under heavy sanctions from the international community for the past few years due to its drive to acquire nuclear weapons.
Recently, the Islamic Republic sought to purchase 100,000 units of the highly specialized ring-shaped magnets, which are banned from export to the country under a number of UN resolutions, the report said."

Russia Sends More Arms to Prop Up Syria's Assad
Moscow is continuing its export of military hardware to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Russian government confirmed.

"We are continuing to carry out our obligations on contracts for the delivery of military hardware," Isaikin told reporters at a news conference in Moscow, adding there were no attack weapons among the hardware, such as helicopters or planes."

Almost 1,000 Palestinians dead among 70,000 Syria death toll

UN states that death toll in Syria may be as high as 70,000, with Palestinian deaths almost 10 times higher than Hamas-Israel conflict of last year

MEMRI: Released Lebanese Terrorist Samir Al-Quntar Calls to Kill Collaborators with Israel VIDEO

Egyptian officials accused of covering up torture

Opposition suspects foul play in recent deaths of anti-government activists, which investigations attributed to accidents

Egypt Approves New Controversial Protest Law

Egypt's cabinet approves a new draft law regulating public demonstrations that is slammed by rights groups as restrictive.

Egypt's Central Bank Governor Narrowly Escapes Carjack Attack

Three masked gunmen killed the bodyguard of the Governor of Egypt's Central Bank and stole his car on Wednesday. The driver survived.

MEMRI: Egyptian Cleric: Christian Women who Go to Tahrir Square to Get Raped Are Not Taboo

The war against Valentine's Day in South Asia
The fact that people prioritise campaigning against Valentine's Day in a part of the world with so many problems is absurd and disturbing

"It is a harmless bit of fun that can help a relationship along or even help start a new one. But it seems not everyone shares my cosy or perhaps naïve perspective.
With endemic poverty, illiteracy, corruption, poor health care and sectarian violence to deal with, one would think political and religious activists in South Asia have enough on their plates as it is. But never underestimate the twisted and illogical priorities of some. Against all the odds, certain political/religious groups in South Asia have managed to find time to organise protests against Valentine's Day. Yes, Valentine's Day!
Pakistan's premier Islamist agitators, Jamaat-i-Islaami, managed to organise a large protest in Peshawar, demanding that Valentine's Day be outlawed and replaced with a 'modesty day'. I'm not quite sure what people are expected to do on a modesty day in a city where most of the women already wear a burka and free-mixing of the sexes is strictly taboo. Who knows, maybe even further 'modesty' is just what that place needs in order to make progress."

Iran Photoshops its fighter jet

Posted: 14 Feb 2013 02:00 AM PST

From The Telegraph:

Iran has been accused of dissembling after a picture apparently showing its latest fighter jet patrolling the skies was dismissed as a fake.

Iranian bloggers were quick to claim that the picture, which purports to show the Qaher-313 jet soaring over a snowy mountain and which was posted on Iranian site Khouz News, had been altered using PhotoShop.

The angle of the shot, as well as the reflections of light and shadows on the plane's wings, appear uncannily similar to a publicity shot of the jet taken at its unveiling earlier this month.

The background also strongly resembles a stock image of Iran's Mt Damavand available elsewhere on the web.