יום שני, 18 בפברואר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder of Ziyon

EoZ News Video: A visit to the Temple Mount

Posted: 17 Feb 2013 07:00 PM PST

Here is the first of what I plan to be a series of videos taken during my current trip to Israel.

Last Thursday, I ascended to the most sacred place in Judaism, the Temple Mount, with Yisrael Medad (author of the My Right Word blog.) He has been there hundreds of times and he showed me around, literally - we circled the Dome of the Rock while staying in areas that most Jewish authorities allow visiting.

The video, about 34 minutes long, is almost real-time, with perhaps two or three minutes edited out.

I overlaid a satellite image of the Mount at various parts of the video so you can see where we are walking.

I hope you enjoy it!

Two pieces of good news from the Arab world

Posted: 17 Feb 2013 02:40 PM PST

In general, anti-semitism is getting more apparent in the Arabic media that I am reading. But two recent stories counter that trend.

The first was reported in English last week, but not that widely:
Morocco's Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane inaugurated the reopening of a historic synagogue in the city of Fez Wednesday, conveying the wish of Morocco's King Muhammad VI that all the country's synagogues be refurbished and serve as centers for cultural dialogue.

Benkirane, head of the Justice and Development party, wore the traditional Moroccan Fez and a white robe at the reopening ceremony of the seventeenth century Slat Al Fassiyine (Prayer of the Fesians) synagogue, where he read out a congratulatory message by King Muhammad VI, A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported.

From its peak of over 250,000 during the late 1940s, the Jewish community of Morocco has shrunk to less than 5,000 today. Most Jews left the country during the 1950s and 1960s following the establishment of Israel, with the remaining community members mostly concentrated in Casablanca.

According to local media, Benkirane conveyed the King's praise for the historic influence of Jews in Moroccan culture and his commitment to protect Jewish freedom of religion.

The synagogue will serve as a cultural center focusing on interfaith dialogue.
While that last sentence gives reason to be a little cynical, given Islam's traditional misuse of the term "interfaith dialogue," the symbolism of an Islamist political leader dedicating a synagogue at the same time other Islamists in that country are railing against a film about Morocco's Jewish community of years past is striking. The decision to support this dedication ceremony is still causing some controversy.

This other article comes from an Arabic news source I had never heard of, Murasel (Reporter.) The domain name is registered in Romania, and its articles seem to be centered on Egypt.

Murasel has an article about the 117th anniversary of the publication of Theodor Herzl's "Der Judenstaat" which was a blueprint for the creation of a Jewish state. The title of the article is "The Jewish State: The book that became a reality."

I can see little hate in this article, which goes through Herzl's life and his part in the early mainstream Zionist movement. It does emphasize Herzl's willingness to have the state built in other places besides Israel, and it akes a passing mention that Israel was "set up at the expense of a peaceful Arab people stripped of their land and identity," but besides that the article seems more admiring towards the founder of Zionism than anything else, which is an astounding thing to see in Arabic.

"Suicide bombing the most lofty form of Jihad"

Posted: 17 Feb 2013 11:33 AM PST

From MEMRI:


Following are excerpts from an interview with Ja'far Abd Al-Salam, secretary-general of the Islamic Universities Association, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on January 21, 2013.

Ja'far Abd Al-Salam: The spirit of resistance is nurtured by the ideology of Islam. "Allah purchased from the believers their lives and their property, in return for Paradise." For a Muslim, life is worthless unless it is given away and spent for the sake of Allah. This culture is nurtured by Islam and by patriotism.

[…]

Only great pain makes a great man. The great pain of martyrdom leads to the great reward of Paradise. Brother, this culture does not exist in the West, because Westerners value human life very much.

Interviewer: They focus on the material at the expense of the spiritual.

Ja'far Abd Al-Salam: Maybe you have noticed that the thing that frightens the Jews, or Zionists, most of all is being killed. We do not have this kind of fear.

[…]

It is certain that Islam views [suicide operations] as sacrifice and as the most lofty form of Jihad.

Sunday Links Part 2

Posted: 17 Feb 2013 08:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Syrian refugees receive ongoing treatment in Israeli hospital for first time
They asked for our help and we gave it, says top Defense Ministry official of seven wounded Syrian nationals evacuated by IDF troops to Ziv Hospital in Safed
It was still not clear Sunday whether the wounded Syrian nationals were rebels fighting Assad's forces or civilians desperate to escape a civil war which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of insurgents and troops. It was clear, however, that they had been injured in the fighting.
Hospital director Oscar Embon said one of the Syrians arrived at the hospital in critical condition, but was now in serious condition. The other six were said to be in moderate condition after undergoing surgery.

GOP Sen. Rubio Visits Israel, Eyes 2016 Presidential Run
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is visiting Israel and Jordan, in a trip that could bolster a possible 2016 presidential run.
Rubio plans to visit Israel and Jordan and will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Jordan's King Abdullah II.
"America's friendship with Israel is a truly special one, and we must continue to do all we can to support this beacon of democracy, religious freedom and free enterprise in the heart of an unstable region," Rubio said in a statement announcing his trip.

Jewish groups call for further review of Hagel statements
AJC, ADL ask defense secretary nominee to clarify reports on 2007 quote saying 'State Department has become adjunct to the Israeli foreign minister's office'
Two centrist Jewish groups called for further review of Chuck Hagel's record in light of an account of a 2007 speech in which he allegedly said the State Department acted as an "adjunct" of Israel's foreign ministry.
Hagel, President Obama's nominee for defense secretary, has the support of a majority of senators, but confirmation of his nomination was blocked on Feb. 14 by several Republican senators exercising their power to hold any vote.

The Washington Free Beacon reported, in a posting just hours before the failed bid in the Senate to advance Hagel's nomination, a contemporaneous account of a Hagel speech delivered in 2007 at Rutgers University.
George Ajjan, a blogger sympathetic to Hagel's foreign policy views, quoted him as saying "The State Department has become adjunct to the Israeli foreign minister's office."

David Ward's Bulldozer
With this new article, Ward has swapped his spade for a bulldozer.
Old friends and (new) foes have advised David Ward MP that he is in a hole and really should stop digging. (For background, see here and here.) Unfortunately, whoever runs his website disagrees, and has posted an article that renders Ward unfit to serve as a Member of Parliament for so long as it remains there.
With this new article, Ward has swapped his spade for a bulldozer.
The article is entitled, "Guardian continues the hounding of David Ward". It exemplifies the type of loose – and therefore dangerous and highly offensive – language about Jews, Israel and the Holocaust that got Ward exactly where he is today.

Stakelbeck Hosts Itamar's Mayor VIDEO
I recently hosted an event in Nashville for Mayor Moshe Goldsmith and his wife, Leah. The couple are longtime residents of Itamar, a town in Israel's Biblical heartland of Samaria where Moshe serves as mayor. They share the truth about Israel's so-called "settlements" and why it is so important for Jews to settle this sacred land.

Israeli water tech draws new European investment
Atlantium Technologies is the first cleantech firm in Israel to receive funding from Europe's Aster Capital group
It's a new era in water disinfection, declares Atlantium Technologies, which claims to have "re-invented ultraviolet-based water disinfection with unique Hydro-Optic Disinfection." The experts will decide if that's so or not – but Atlantium's latest funding round represents a new era in cleantech funding in Israel. For the first time, Europe's prestigious Aster Capital venture fund is investing in an Israeli company, giving $3 million to Atlantium to continue its development of its new products. The investment is part of a $9 million financing round which includes Aeris Capital A.G. (Switzerland) along with the current investor Benjamin Kahn.

The nose that can smell cancer goes commercial
Israeli professor's revolutionary disease-detection device is on the road to changing how early, and how easily, lung cancer is diagnosed.
An Israeli invention that can detect lung cancer from exhaled breath will be commercialized in a joint venture between the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Alpha Szenszor, a Boston-based manufacturer of carbon nanotube sensing equipment.
As ISRAEL21c reported in 2011, Technion Prof. Hossam Haick has been working on what he calls "Na-Nose" (the "na" is for "nanotechnology") since 2007, and the device has been proven in numerous international clinical trials to differentiate between different types and classifications of cancer with up to 95 percent accuracy.
Patients breathe into a tube; the Na-Nose analyzes the more than 1,000 different gases that are contained in the breath to identify those that may indicate that something's wrong. It works by binding gases to specific nano-materials, a technique formally known as volatile organic compound (VOC) detection.

Sunday Links Part 1

Posted: 17 Feb 2013 06:00 AM PST

From Ian:
MEMRI: Egyptian Anti-Porn Activist: When Muslims in Islamic Countries Watch Porn, Disasters Occur in Gaza VIDEO

Islamic Universities Association Secretary-General: Martyrdom the "Most Lofty Form of Jihad" VIDEO

Analysis: Making sense of Hamas's visit to Bulgaria
The hello-goodbye Hamas affair coincides with swirl of debate over Bulgaria report attributing Burgas bus explosion to Hezbollah.
According to Slateva, Mr. Vigenin said he would be ready to meet the delegation, but "when it was clarified what the background of those MPs was, and that they represent Hamas, the organizers of the event were informed that neither Mr. Vigenin nor any other representative of BSP [the Bulgarian Socialist Party] is ready to meet them."
She said that "BSP has no intention to challenge or to disregard the current status of Hamas as a terrorist organization. Our partner in Palestine is Fatah, full member of the Socialist International and observer member of the Party of European Socialists."
Given the tendency among some left-wing parties in Europe to court radical Islamists, the BSP's clear statement against Hamas is encouraging from a counterterrorism perspective.

Expelled Hamas leader claims Israel behind Burgas bombing
Salah Bardawil, booted out of Bulgaria along with three other Gaza lawmakers, claims Jerusalem told Sofia to send his group home

Khamenei: Even if We Wanted Nukes, U.S. Couldn't Stop Us
Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons but if it wanted to, the U.S. could not thwart it, says its supreme leader.
Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons but if it wanted to, the United States could not thwart it, its supreme leader said on Saturday.
"We believe nuclear weapons must be abolished and we have no intention of building" such weaponry, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks posted on his website leader.ir and which were quoted by AFP.
But, Khamenei said, "if Iran had such intentions, the U.S. could in no way prevent it" from building an atomic bomb.

'Iranian nuke chief was in N. Korea for atomic test'
Apparently successful detonation indicates both countries on the cusp of ability to assemble atomic warhead, Sunday Times reports
The man whom Western intelligence agencies say may very well be the head of Iran's clandestine nuclear weapons program was present as an observer last week when North Korea carried out a critical nuclear test, The British Sunday Times reported.
According to the report Sunday, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi very rarely leaves Iranian soil due to fear that Israel's Mossad will make an attempt on his life, following an alleged pattern of previous assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Bahrain arrests 8 members of Iranian terror cell
Move follows widespread clashes in the Gulf nation during protests marking the second anniversary of an Arab Spring-inspired uprising
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain's interior minister says police have arrested eight members of an alleged terrorist cell linked to Iran and other countries following widespread clashes in the Gulf nation during protests marking the second anniversary of an Arab Spring-inspired uprising.
A statement Sunday on the ministry's website said the suspected terror network received training and financial support from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon — references to Iranian-backed Shiite groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and others.

Hezbollah chief warns Israel against attack
"They know their power plants, airports are under threat," Nasrallah states; says Hezbollah doesn't need weapons from Syria.

60 Arrested in Egypt Anti-Morsi Clashes
Egyptian police arrested 60 demonstrators across the country during violent protests targeting government and police buildings.
Opposition activists have organized nearly weekly protests every Friday that often dissolve into brutal clashes outside the presidential palace.
Last Friday, Islamist supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi staged their own rally in Cairo in support of the president.

Egypt: Christian Priests Threatened to Convert to Islam or Die
A few days ago in Safaga, an Egyptian town near the Red Sea, Christian priests from the local Coptic church reported to the local prosecutor that they were personally being threatened with death. According to the February 10, 2013 report from the Arabic news site El Balad, yet another new jihadi group in Egypt calling itself jihad al-kufr or "Jihad Against Infidelity—that is, jihad against all non-Muslims—has been sending the priests "invitations" to enter Islam, or otherwise be killed.

Egypt court orders belly dancing station off air
Judge says ads for sexual enhancement products aired on ElTet 'offensive' and can 'arouse' viewers
A court in Egypt has ordered a TV channel that airs belly dancing clips off the air for showing "sexually explicit" content and operating without a broadcast license.
The judge Saturday said that ElTet airs ads that are "offensive" and can "arouse" viewers. The station carries advertisements for sexual enhancement products and matchmaking services.

Libya arrests suspected Christian missionaries
Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday.
Police spokesman Hussein bin Hamid said the suspects were from South Africa, Egypt and South Korea, and one held both Swedish and U.S. nationality. The Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed that a dual national Swedish-American citizen was arrested while traveling on a U.S. passport. The U.S. Embassy in Libya declined comment.
Spreading Christianity is a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county.

Bomb rips through Pakistan market, killing 65
Attacks against Shiite Muslims on the rise in Sunni-dominated country
Senior police officer Wazir Khan Nasir said the bomb, set off in a residential suburb, was detonated by remote control.
Another officer, Samiullah Khan, said the bomb was detonated while dozens of women and children were buying produce for their evening meal. Local residents rushed the victims to three different area hospitals, often in private vehicles because there weren't enough ambulances to transport the victims.
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