| From Egypt to the IDF Posted: 29 Mar 2013 02:30 PM PDT The IDF blog has a really great story: Dina recalls how she tried to find herself among the troubling mix of religions. "We had a
mosque next to the school, and the girls would go there to pray. I told this to my mother, slightly anxiously, and she was very angry. They forbade me from doing it again. I remember that I was hurt, and I started to tell them that because of that they won't like us, and that I wouldn't have any friends. It was the anger of a child. During Ramadan I would escape to my friends houses, and I even fasted on one of the days, because I always wanted to belong to something and I didn't have a clear answer for what I was," Dina explains. When she told her parents that she had tried praying in a church, that didn't make them any happier. They distanced her from every religion, without giving an explanation as to why.
The turning point occurred on a day like any other. Dina was studying for a history test, her brother and cousin were playing on the computer upstairs, and her mother, aunt and sister were also at home. Suddenly the sounds of shouting and shattering glass cut through the calm routine. "I really panicked, and immediately I thought that because we were different they had come to our house. I went outside and saw five masked faces – they were Salafists." Five bearded men in robes, with clubs in their hands and rifles slung over their shoulders, broke through the electric iron gate at the entrance to the grand family home and demanded to know where the men of the house were. Their explanation was as simple as it was incomprehensible: "A'lit el'Yahud" – a Jewish family.
"I thought, 'what the hell!?' I didn't understand why they were saying that we were a Jewish family. Anyone who was different, the stranger, was always called 'the Jew'. I was certain that they were mistaken. They entered the house. My mother said that the men weren't there, and they threw her into the corridor, she slammed into the pillars, and she fainted. I started to scream – I was sure that they had killed her. And then I saw two of them going up the stairs. I heard shots. I was sure that they had murdered both my brother and my cousin."
...
A few days later, her grandfather gathered all of his family together and he revealed the truth. "He explained why he kept us from other religions and told us that we were Jewish, and we that we had little time to leave Egypt. He told us we were going to Israel. I remember the little ones at home were excited about it, but I wasn't. I started crying and was so disappointed. I told him I did not want to move to that bad country. I rebelled against it." Read the whole thing. (It was in Ian's linkdump Wednesday as well.)  |
| Friday Links Part 2 Posted: 29 Mar 2013 01:00 PM PDT From Ian:
Daniel Pipes: Obama to Palestinians: Accept the Jewish state One key shift in U.S. policy was overlooked in the barrage of news about U.S. President Barack Obama's eventful fifty-hour visit to Israel last week. That would be the demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish state, called by Hamas leader Salah Bardawil "the most dangerous statement by an American president regarding the Palestinian issue." CAMERA Ian Lustick Needs A New Map (And Flare Gun) Ian Lustick, a political science professor from the University of Pennsylvania with a penchant for making predictions that simply don't pan out and for downplaying Islamist intransigence, is at it again, this time with a March 19, 2013 Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times. In the piece, titled, "Israel Needs a New Map," Lustick depicts Israel as a pariah state and glosses over the sins of its adversaries. He apparently suffers from a bad case of the Oslo Syndrome, which afflicts its victims with the false delusion that Jewish self-criticism and Israeli concessions can bring a unilateral end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Lustick also mocks Israeli concern about the campaign to de-legitimize the Jewish state. BBC's 'History of Syria' erases ancient Jewish community, distorts Six Day War Snow of course fails to inform his audiences that the Golan Heights can only be considered to have been "part of Syria" for a maximum of 45 years before 1967, but it is his one-liner on the subject of the Six Day War which in particular stands out as a blatant breach of BBC Editorial Guidelines on accuracy. How British Justice Failed Ronnie Fraser The lesson of the Fraser debacle is simply this: a single employment tribunal in the United Kingdom has created a precedent which will be invoked by every Jew-baiter around the globe; namely, that when Jews raise the question of anti-Semitism in the context of visceral hostility toward Israel, they do so in bad faith. That such a bigoted principle can be established in a democracy famed for its enlightened judicial methods is, perhaps, the most shocking realization of all.
So, yes, Ronnie Fraser was defeated. But so too was British justice and fair play. Jerusalem: Of Irving Moskowitz or Qatar? If a Jew purchased a home legally in Moscow, Tokyo, Los Angeles or Paris it wouldn't make headline news accusing the buyers of blocking peace, would it? When African-Americans sought to "integrate" white schools in the '60's, they were heroes – not inflaming racial tensions, right?
In Jerusalem, which is a Jewish city and always has been a Jewish city, no Jew should be accused of "thwarting Middle East peace" as a result of a legal real estate purchase. Yet, a Florida newspaper recently ran an attack article on Dr. Irving Moskowitz, a Jew who invests in Jerusalem real estate, this week and it reeks. If democracy and civil rights matter, why can't Jews live and buy real estate wherever they want? British Peer Apologizes For Jewish Conspiracy Remarks A British Muslim peer, who caused outrage after blaming a Jewish conspiracy for his imprisonment over a fatal car crash, apologized on Thursday for his "unacceptable" remarks, the AFP news agency reported. Half of Belgian Muslim teens hold anti-Semitic views Survey shows Muslim students are seven times more likely than non-Muslims to agree that 'Jews foment war' Reaching Out to the 'Hidden Jews' of Southern Italy Shavei Israel has appointed a new emissary who will help the 'hidden Jews' of southern Italy to reconnect with their roots Hiding Judaism in Copenhagen In Denmark, known for its historic tolerance, Jews are now threatened and told to remove their 'Jewish hats'  |
| Friday Links Part 1 Posted: 29 Mar 2013 11:40 AM PDT From Ian:
Britons in aid convoy kidnapped and sexually assaulted in Libya Three women who were part of an aid convoy passing through Libya on the way to Gaza have been sexually assaulted in Benghazi, after a group of five British nationals were briefly kidnapped.
The three women, two of whom are sisters, were part of a large aid convoy travelling to the Gaza Strip. It is thought that they were part of a group of five people who were briefly kidnapped near Benghazi in the early hours of Tuesday and they were released some hours later. The group is currently safe in the Turkish consul in Benghazi and is expected to return to the UK. Hamas and human organ trafficking? Sudanese and East African flesh peddlers aligned with Hamas terrorists are ransoming captives and engaging in the trade of human organs to buy weapons for jihad. This information does not come from right-wing Cassandras, but from CNN's own correspondent in Berlin, Frederik Pleitgen. The final days of the UN's Golan peacekeepers? As the war in Syria intensifies, the international peacekeepers' mission and the reality on the ground have grown increasingly incompatible
Peacekeepers, the blue-helmeted warriors of the United Nations, know what to do when two attacking armies begin to advance toward one another. They leave. Quickly. IDF video shows terrorists caught in the act Two Tanzim members try to shoot at cars near Beit Fajjar but are spotted by a military observation team After the soldiers report that the men are attempting to carry out a shooting attack, an IDF patrol arrives, and the men try to flee. Moments later, they can be seen returning in surrender, their hands over their heads. Palestinian journalist jailed for 'reviling' Abbas on Facebook A West Bank appeals court on Thursday upheld a one-year prison term for a Palestinian journalist who had a photo on his Facebook page that authorities claimed portrayed President Mahmoud Abbas as a traitor, rights activists said.
It was the second such case in two months, and Abbas' Palestinian Authority is facing mounting criticism for stifling dissent. In particular, Abbas' security forces have targeted supporters of the Islamic militant Hamas, which seized the Gaza Strip from him in 2007.
The defendant in Thursday's case was Mamdouh Hamamreh, a reporter for the Hamas-linked Al-Quds TV. PA: We don't want Turkish PM to visit Gaza By Khaled Abu Toameh Senior official in the Palestinian Authority: Gaza is not an independent Palestinian state, Hamas is not the legitimate representative of the Palestinians. US to Erdogan: 'Opposed to Engaging Hamas' White House politely warned Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan this week against visiting Gaza and "engaging with Hamas." Internet cable-cutters caught by Egypt signal new terror threat Two bids within days to sabotage a major cable off the coast of Alexandria raise the specter of a new kind of 'hacking,' says Israeli expert Egyptian forces foil 10 attacks in Sinai, official says Another report claims 230 smuggling tunnels between the peninsula and Gaza have been destroyed in recent months Cyprus gives Hezbollah terrorist 4 years in prison Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, who holds Lebanese and Swedish passports, acknowledged membership in Hezbollah and admitted to having staked out areas frequented by Israeli tourists, but claimed he did not know his work was part of a plot to kill Israelis. France ready to add Hezbollah to terror list, says report French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius reportedly informed US Secretary of State John Kerry of Paris's decision at their meeting on Wednesday, a French official told al-Hayat.  |
| Hanan Ashrawi's Miftah NGO also praises female terrorists Posted: 29 Mar 2013 10:08 AM PDT As my readers look a little deeper into Miftah, which published an outrageous piece of anti-semitic hate only two days ago, Yenta Press found this piece written by Miftah's Johara Baker: Fighting Back
Palestinian women have also participated in the resistance. As the conflict grew more intense and young men were recruited to carry out military operations against Israeli targets, several young women also decided to join the ranks of the resistance movement. In January 2002, 28-year-old nurse Wafa Idrees, detonated a bomb in Jerusalem's Jaffa Street, killing one Israeli and injuring 150 others. She was also killed in the blast.
This marked the beginning of a string of Palestinian women dedicated to sacrificing their lives for the cause. Over the next two years, seven other women carried out similar operations, the most deadly of which was carried out by Hanadi Jaradat, a 29-year-old attorney from Jenin. Hanadi detonated explosives strapped to her body in a busy Haifa restaurant, killing 19 Israelis and injuring 50 others. Not a word of condemnation. On the contrary, this article shows a clear romanticism in describing unspeakable acts of terror aimed squarely at innocent civilians - what it calls "resistance." And this is in English! In Arabic, I found this piece that says that if Hamas decides to respond to international sanctions with terrorism, then the responsibility for the deaths belongs to the US. To be fair, Miftah officially claims that it is against some terrorism. It did condemn a couple of attacks on Israeli civilians many years ago. But its funders must be aware that the same organization that sometimes claims that terrorism is immoral cannot turn around and lionize the bravery and dedication of female terrorists. One gets the impression that Miftah's condemnations are perfunctory while the praise for the terrorists themselves reflects more of how they really think. For example, they regard Dalal Mughrabi as a heroine. If Miftah wants to be hypocritical, that is no big deal. The question is whether the European and American NGOs that fund it want to be part of that hypocrisy.  |
| Ma'an acts as mouthpiece for Jew-hating Al Aqsa Foundation Posted: 29 Mar 2013 08:30 AM PDT Ma'an, which strives to appear like it maintains good journalistic standards in English, has an Arabic article today that shows again that it reports things differently to different audiences. The artiicle is about the Birkat Kohanim event at the Western Wall Plaza (Kotel), that attracts tens of thousands of Jews every year. Ma'an's headline? "Tens of thousands of religious Jews storm into the vicinity of Al-Aqsa." The article itself is simply a reproduction of a press release by the virulently anti-semitic Al Aqsa Foundation that denies any Jewish connection to Jerusalem. It says that the Kotel is really the "Buraq Wall" and is a Muslim holy site, notwithstanding that even the few Muslims that had heard of that site before the twentieth century identified it to be a distance away from the Kotel. Uncritically quoting the Al Aqsa Foundation, the Ma'an article says Tens of thousands of religious Jews desecrated the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque during the day and night on Thursday, and performed Talmudic rites, including what is called the "priestly blessing" - on the occasion of "Passover", at the Wailing Wall and its courtyard throughout the day and night, through loudspeakers, with the participation of "senior rabbis" whose voices could be heard inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which sparked great disquiet among worshipers during prayers. The "Aqsa Foundation" said that violations of the occupation of the area of the Buraq will continue throughout the Passover festival days which ends the middle of next week. The "Aqsa Foundation" confirmed that the Wailing Wall is a precious part of the Al Aqsa Mosque, and is purely Islamic, and that Square Buraq is also purely Islamic, they constitute the Moroccan Quarter, which was destroyed by the occupation in 1967, and turned it into a yard for "prayer of the Jews." and "Aqsa Foundation" showed that every occupation practice in the Buraq is illegitimate and really part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Talmudic stories about them are false. The supposedly liberal Ma'an can't even be bothered to mention that Jews say that they have historic ties to Jerusalem. No, it can only reproduce the ahistoric rantings of the Islamists as fact.  |
| Email addresses of NGOs that support Miftah Posted: 29 Mar 2013 06:43 AM PDT |
| Palestinian Arabs keep getting killed in Syria, and no one cares Posted: 29 Mar 2013 05:20 AM PDT I noted that the death toll of Syrian Palestinians had gone over 1000 last month. Things have, if anything, accelerated since then. On Sunday and Monday, six more were killed. On Tuesday, nine were killed - including five members of one family. On Wednesday, seven were killed. UNRWA noted the deaths of five children earlier this month: On 15 March, Mohammad Al-Khateeb (aged 14) was killed by a bullet as he was returning home on foot after buying bread from a bakery in his neighbourhood in Dera'a. On 19 March, Hisham Mahmoud (aged 10) and Farhat Mubarak (aged 11), were killed at the crossroad of Yazour and Safad Streets in Yarmouk, Damascus. They were returning home from classes at a community-run learning centre when an explosive shell detonated nearby, killing them instantly. In a separate incident on the same day, two brothers, Ali Mijel (aged 14) and Abdullah Mijel (aged 15), were killed along with their aunt and cousin when an explosive shell hit their home on Hittin Street in Sbeineh Camp. We must have missed the stories about these in Mondoweiss and Electronic Intifada, who pretend to care so much about Palestinian Arabs.  |
| Israeli commando raid to save Jewish objects from Syrian synagogue? Posted: 29 Mar 2013 03:24 AM PDT A couple of weeks ago there was news that the ancient synagogue in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus, known as the Eliyahu HaNavi synagogue, had been bombed, apparently by Syrian regime forces. Syrian TV is reporting that it is the Free Syrian Army that is looting the synagogue: The latest rumor, which may be coming from Israel, is that Israeli commandos have taken valuable Jewish objects from the synagogue. Syria Truth, which has not been a fan of the Assad regime, writes: Informed sources in Tel Aviv revealed this evening that Israeli intelligence succeeded in recent days in a raid the synagogue in the suburb of Jobar in the east of Damascus, and to transfer its contents out of Syria across the Turkish and Jordanian borders in collaboration with "Banner of Islam" group, which controls the region.
A source close to Syrian Rabbi Abraham Hamra, the leader of Jews who came from Syria to Israel in 1994, said that a commando group was composed of about 15 people belonging to the "Jewish Black Panthers" unit went to Jobar early this week in collaboration with Jordanian and Turkish security agencies and "Banner of Islam", which controls the area, and rescued the contents of the Temple of priceless manuscripts and precious collectibles, including a copy of the Torah is one of the oldest in the world, before being transferred through "Banner of Islam" out of Syria through different ways, revealing that the commando team split on the way back to more than five groups, each consisting of two or more people, carrying with them a part of the manuscripts to prevent the loss of all of them if caught by the Syrian army. According to the source, the commandos were mostly Iraqis, Moroccan and Lebanese Jews of who disguised themselves as "Mujahideen Islamists"...
According to sources for Syria Truth, the decision-making process started about three weeks ago when the temple was exposed to mortar fire that destroyed portions of the outer walls and internal rooms and almost destroyed the synagogue totally. Then the Israeli authorities initiated contacts with third-party Turkish and Jordanians to help save the contents of the temple through the channels established by the two countries with the "Free Syrian Army". I didn't see this in Israeli media, but given the Syrian news story about how the Free Syrian Army looted the synagogue, this actually might have some truth behind it. Let's hope so.  |
