Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Why the Miftah antisemitism story is so important
Some tunnels are not meant for smuggling
Thursday Links Part 2
Video of those Hebron kids "arrested on the way to school"
Obama's AIPAC/Illuminati shape-shifting reptilian secret service alien
Thursday Links Part 1
Israeli director gets attacked by Arabs at France film festival
Cardboard Chanukiah cutout causes consternation among Muslims
Israel establishes field hospital at Syrian border
Passover blood libel in Hanan Ashrawi's "Miftah" website (UPDATE)

Why the Miftah antisemitism story is so important

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 06:56 PM PDT

On Thursday, I reported exclusively that Miftah, an NGO that was founded by Palestinian Arab media darling Hanan Ashrawi, had published as pure an anti-semitic screed as is imaginable - resurrecting the reprehensible blood libel that Jews ritually slaughter Christian children and consume their blood on Passover.

Miftah is an organization that is ostensibly dedicated to promoting Western, liberal idea like democracy and equal rights for women. At least, that's what they tell their donors, which in 2011 included Oxfam, the Anna Lindh Foundation, Norway, Ireland, UNESCO and the US-based National Endowment for Democracy:

Miftah presents itself as a transparent NGO dedicated to its ideals and principles.

Yet, within hours of my publicizing the disgusting article on its website, Miftah simply deleted it - no explanation, no apologies, no excuses. It simply pretended that the hugely offensive piece never existed, hoping that no one would notice their cover-up.

This is not how a transparent organization should act.

Here we see what happens when a supposedly liberal Arab organization is faced with the exposure of bigotry and hate in its midst: it sweeps it under the rug. And, so far, the NGOs that fund Miftah have been complicit in this silence, hoping that the controversy will go away.

And this is the problem.

While these same liberal organizations would be the first ones to complain when they see an example of anti-blackracism, Arab antisemitism is not regarded as nearly as toxic an issue. They know, as all observers of the Middle East know, that Arab antisemitism is endemic. It is the rule, not the exception.

Instead of demanding accountability and the eradication of hate among organizations funded by these Western NGOs and governments, Arab antisemitism is tacitly accepted as "one of those things," or justified as a side effect of Israeli policies.

However, this example of naked hate has no excuse. The classic blood libel has nothing to do with Zionism, nothing to do with modern Israel. It is a pure throwback to the Christian antisemitism of the Middle Ages. And it exists, today, in the Arab world.

Just like the scourge of Christian Jew-hatred has been largely marginalized by modernity, by exposure and by shaming the haters, this is what must happen to today's Muslim anti-semitism. It is not acceptable, it is not something to be hidden away when it gets exposed. It must be confronted and, most importantly, the people who practice it must be shamed. Shame is the West's biggest weapon to fight Arab hate and it is one that too often is ignored because of a mistaken, cowardly idea that there is nothing to be gained by shaming people who are easily enraged.

The offensive article was not written by a marginal figure or a loose cannon. Nawaf al-Zaru has written other articles for Miftah, and similarly his blood libel article is still visible on major Arab media, today. Not only that, but al-Zaru is regarded as an Arab expert on Israel and Hebrew. He has written numerous articles and books, and was the editor of at least two Jordanian newspapers. Indeed, he had written a more expansive version of the blood libel article in 2009, in response to an earlier Passover seder at the White House.

His viewpoints aren't an aberration. They are mainstream. I see the same kinds of writings nearly every day in the Arab media, although not always as explicit.

By ignoring the hate, the funders of Miftah are tacitly endorsing it. And people like Hanan Ashrawi will not be called to account for overseeing a publication and website in which such hate can be published, past all the editors and webmasters and other gatekeepers whose salaries are being paid by these NGOs.

The NGOs themselves should be falling over themselves to distance themselves from Miftah. The Anna Lindh Foundation says "Our purpose is to bring people together from across the Mediterranean to improve mutual respect between cultures." How exactly can that purpose fit in with Miftah's encouragement of hate of Jews? Shouldn't people be tweeting them about this?

Oxfam says "We strive to do what we say we will do. Read about our core values and operating principles against which we measure ourselves." One of these is that "Unjust policies and practices, nationally and internationally, must be challenged and people's rights must be respected." Should Oxfam be measured by their own words? They are on Twitter as well.

Part of UNESCO's mission is "to contribute to the building of a culture of peace." How can Arab Jew-hatred contribute to peace? Shouldn't people tweet to them as well?

The National Endowment for Democracy is a US-based NGO that also supports Miftah. They say that "NED provides hundreds of grants each year to non-governmental groups working abroad in the areas of human rights, independent media, the rule of law, civic education and the development of civil society in general." How does Miftah's hate and cover-ups fit in with that vision? You can tweet them and ask.

Miftah is not the problem - it is a small symptom of the real problem. But to fix things we must start somewhere. And you, right now, can directly ask all of these NGOs and governments that fund Miftah what they are doing to uphold their own standards and distance themselves from the naked hate that Miftah apparently feels is acceptable discourse in the Arab world.

Some tunnels are not meant for smuggling

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 05:00 PM PDT

From Ma'an:

A member of Hamas' armed wing died Thursday during a mission in eastern Gaza, medical officials and witnesses said.

Mohammad Ahmad al-Sarhi, 20, from the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza City, was killed in a tunnel collapse, and three other people were wounded, health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.

Witnesses in the area confirmed to Ma'an that a group of Al-Qassam members were operating in a tunnel east of Zaytoun when the tunnel collapsed suddenly.

This tunnel was nowhere near the Egyptian border.

Which means it was either an underground bunker to stockpile weapons, or it was a tunnel to kidnap Israelis.

Hamas' Al Qassam website called it a "resistance tunnel."

A little context is a useful thing.

(h/t PTWatch)

Thursday Links Part 2

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 02:30 PM PDT

From Ian:

Pro-Gay and Anti-Israel? 'Pinkwashing' to the Rescue

Given the reaction that a Jewish state has elicited in the region, one can only imagine how a "queer state" would be received. Yet Elia and her fellow travelers prefer a fictional "queer state" to an actual country where gays are welcomed—a sure sign that, for them, bigotry trumps reality.

Flotilla 3.0: International 'activists' work with Hamas affiliates to sail OUT of Gaza

A new propaganda initiative designed to test the resolve of the Israeli blockade on Hamas in Gaza is seeking to highlight how trade from Gaza has been affected by Israel.
The focus of the 'Gaza Ark' is the fact that while goods do indeed enter the Hamas-run, Palestinian enclave, goods are said to rarely ever leave. The premise of the trip is that Gaza wants to trade with the world, rather than receive aid. Critics have called the trip "intentionally misleading", pointing to the fact that on a weekly basis, dozens of trucks export products from Gaza.

Scottish Government Funds Pro-Terror Group

The Daily Express revealed last week that Islamic Relief Worldwide, a British charity accused of links to terrorism, was presented with £398,000 of the taxpayers' money by the Scottish Government last year, as part of its £9 million International Development Fund.

British-Palestinian town twinning plans collapse

The twinning of a norther English borough and a West Bank town has fallen through, with public support for the motion considered too low

Daphne Anson: Anti-Israel Fanatics Petition Morgan Freeman

Celebrated African-American screen actor Morgan Freeman is due to be honoured by the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University at a ceremony in Toronto on 6 May.
Predictably, Israel-haters including the usual BDSers are up in arms, and a furious campaign on social media has been launched in order to bring pressure on Mr Freeman to refuse the honour.

"This is Islamic Apartheid": New AFDI ad campaign to launch in NYC to counter blood libel by American Muslims

Troubling Times for Once Mighty Hezbollah

Writing on February 6 for the Washington Institute, Matt Levitt, taking into account the EU position and Hizballah's support of the Syrian regime, came to the following conclusion:
"The 'Party of God' has turned its 'weapons of resistance' not on Israel, but on fellow Muslims. This, more so than the UN indictment of four of its members for the murder of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, and more so than the exposure of Hizballah operations in places like Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Thailand, and Turkey, is what now threatens Hizballah's standing as a Lebanese political party and social movement."

Bulgaria to present new evidence in Burgas bombing

Move may increase pressure on European Union to label Hezbollah a terrorist group

The Shining Is About What?
Room 237 uses Talmudic exegesis to uncover whether Kubrick's film is about Indians, the Holocaust, or bears

Even people who haven't seen it know that The Shining, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the Stephen King novel, is the scarific tale of a stir-crazy caretaker—Jack Nicholson, no less—driven mad by the ghosts haunting an isolated, off-season hotel to murder his wife, played by Shelley Duvall, and their small son, who happens to be psychic. But, was this contribution to the horror cycle of the late Carter era also Kubrick's meditation on the Holocaust?

Kubrick's Lost Holocaust Film
America's greatest Jewish director was haunted by the Nazi horror—too much to address it directly in film

Nearly all of Kubrick's films are told from the perpetrator's point of view, and references to Nazi Germany populate his work, most often as signifiers for characters who are growing mad with power: Dr. Strangelove's proposal for a "final solution" and his exclamation, "Mein Führer, I can walk!"; the Leni Riefenstahl imagery shown to Alex during his Ludovico treatment in A Clockwork Orange; Jack's German Adler typewriter on which he chronicles his descent into insanity in The Shining.

Israel Daily Picture: More on the Jewish Legion in Palestine, 1917 - 1919,

In our last posting on the Jewish Legion we published this photo of the "Jewish Legion entering a Jewish village in the Land of Israel." We have subsequently discovered more information about the photograph.
The picture shows Colonel Eliezer "Lazar" Margolin riding into Ben Shemen. Margolin, a Russian-Palestinian-Australian, was a decorated officer who succeeded John H. Patterson as the commander of the Jewish Legion.
Margolin was born in Russia in 1874 and moved to a small farm in Rechovot Palestine with his parents when he was 17. He was proficient in Hebrew, Arabic, marksmanship and riding. Years later he was known as a figure who "rides his horse like a Bedouin, and shoots like an Englishman."

Video of those Hebron kids "arrested on the way to school"

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 01:00 PM PDT

On March 20, the Huffington Post wrote:

As U.S. president Barack Obama arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the Israeli military reportedly detained a group of children on their way to school in the West Bank city of Hebron.

Independent Catholic News:

Twenty-seven Palestinian children, age seven to 15, were arrested while on their way to school in the West Bank city of Hebron, Christian Peacemaker Teams reported on 24 March.

B'Tselem:

Soldiers detained or arrested over twenty minors on their way to school.

Now, the video:

Isn't it interesting that the many media outlets that showed video of the children's arrests didn't bother to show what was happening immediately beforehand?

(h/t Omri)

Obama's AIPAC/Illuminati shape-shifting reptilian secret service alien

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 11:30 AM PDT

From The Jewish Press:

Somebody got a hold of the video of President Obama's March 4 speech to the "Zionist cabal," also known as AIPAC, and noticed – how could they not – that one of President Obama's shape-shifting body guards, a lizard-humanoid, let go of his human shape for a brief moment, exposing to the world his truly hideous alien form.

The text-to-speech program narrator tells you all about it with the certainty of a GPS program plowing away minutes after your car has gone into the lake.

The bald-headed secret service agent acts strangely, looking to his right and to his left incessantly and almost mechanically, then totally shape-shifts into a reptile. Or not. How many shape-shifters have you seen to compare with this one?

The video was shot by JN1, a Jewish news service, which probably hadn't been told by the Jewish cabal to keep their lenses off the alien shape-shifters.

Anyway, the video has gone seriously viral, with close to 3 million views.

The original video link is gone, but here is a copy - and it is hilarious.

(h/t Ian)

Thursday Links Part 1

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 10:15 AM PDT

From Ian:

Obama, Einstein, and Jerusalem

Einstein wanted a nuclear weapon-free world, but when he saw what Hitler was doing, he helped America develop an atomic bomb. Einstein knew the difference between imagination and pretense. He could imagine a bomb-free world, but did not pretend that just talking to Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan would stop the war.
Like President Obama, Professor Einstein wanted peace, but when faced with unrelenting war, Einstein wanted to win. Just talking to dictators would not stop them.

Stephen Walt and the Islamist Lobby

Now Stephen Walt has taken another step to confirm this conclusion. He has been featured as the March 2013 Guest Writer for the Middle East Monitor (MEMO), a website whose self-described mission is promoting "the Palestinian cause" by reaching out "to opinion makers and decision makers in a deliberate, organized and sustained manner."
However, as far as MEMO is concerned, the "Palestinian cause" is really the cause of Hamas. It is therefore no coincidence that, together with their esteemed guest writer Stephen Walt, MEMO also featured a "New strategic document" by Hamas leader Khalid Mishaal (also spelled Mashal or Meshaal).

Bernard-Henri Levy: Have I Become an Undesirable in Libya? by Bernard-Henri Lévy

Bernard-Henri Lévy fought tirelessly for Libya's liberation. So why does he suddenly feel unwelcome in the country he loves—all because of his religion?

Europe: The Submission That Dare Not Speak Its Name

The French Jewish community is the largest in Western Europe. Its existence dates back to the early Middle Ages. A decade ago, it had approximately 500,000 members. Last year, its number fell to 400,000, and continues to fall. If the trend does not stop, the Jewish presence in France will, in the medium term, come to an end.
As long as what happens in France also happens in other European countries, what is taking shape could be a shift towards the end of the Jewish presence in Europe. It is impossible to assess the consequences that such an event could have, but one would have to be blind to underestimate its significance.

French soldier, two others held in terror probe

French police have detained three people, including a soldier, in southern France as part of an investigation into last year's deadly terror attacks in Toulouse that targeted Jews and paratroopers, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Cult Of Mohamed Merah

"This newsclip (in French) shows how Mohamed Merah has become an object of veneration to the Muslims of France. Flowers are regularly left at his grave. The grave attendant says they should have buried him somewhere more obscure to make it more difficult for his worshippers to leave flowers.

Critically wounded Syrians treated in Israel; one dies

The IDF said the injured Syrians were met at the border by Golani Brigade soldiers and were secretly transferred to Israel under heavy security for fear that - if identified - they would be harmed upon their return to Syria. All of the wounded are residents of the Syrian-controlled central Golan Heights region.

Trapped: The Plight of Palestinian Refugees From Syria

Families seeking asylum in neighboring Jordan are being turned away at the border because they lack Syrian identification.

Syrian rebels claim Iranian plane shot down

Opposition source in Damascus says the craft carried a weapons shipment for President Bashar Assad's army

Russian lawmaker quits over reports of Israeli citizenship

Opposition blogger targets Vitaly Malkin of Putin's United Russia party for dual nationality, undeclared foreign assets

Swiss gov't employee fired for praising death of Jews

The construction department of the St. Gallen canton in Switzerland dismissed a managerial construction employee because he sent an email to the Israeli Embassy in which he praised the deaths of Jews in a terrorist attack.
Candrian wrote in his email about the attack on Israeli tourists in Burgas in July 2012, "That is a good day in my life. I am proud of the heroes who killed Jews."

France: Jewish minister 'doesn't think in French'

Leader of far left denies comment was connected to religion of Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici

Russia's new Middle East energy game

While we have consistently made out a strong case that the (Iranian-Syrian) Shia v Sunni (Saudi and much of the rest of the ME) divide would, despite the rhetoric, means not a single ME government would come to Iran's aid in the event of an attack, we can also state precisely what Russia won't do.
Moscow won't jeopardize its new deeply strategic energy partnership with its Israeli-Greek Cypriot 'Western' partners – in particular, its burgeoning relationship with the Middle East's coming energy superpower, Israel.

Israeli director gets attacked by Arabs at France film festival

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 08:35 AM PDT

From Mako:

Yariv Horowitz, who directed the film "Rock the Casbah" is currently being featured at a film festival in France, was attacked by a group of Arab youths while winning the best film award.

Horowitz, who represents Israel and directed the film festival "Aoviin" held European country, was attacked immediately after the screening of the film in place by a group of Arab youths. The director lost consciousness, was treated there and after recovering from the blows he received, he returned to the festival area in good condition.

After the violent incident, which apparently was racially motivated, Horowitz's film won the Special Prize of the Jury for Best Picture.

The film "Rock the Casbah" follows the story of young soldiers in the first intifada in Gaza, wh0 are stationed on the roof of a Palestinian family whose son is involved in the murder of one of their battalion.

Here is the trailer to the film:

The film is apparently critical of the IDF but it is not one-sided. Horowitz told Ha'aretz recently:

"It happened there, on the roof, when I was a 19-year-old child in a combat helmet and protective vest," Horowitz says. He starting thinking about the enormous amount of restraint it took for the soldiers to cope with the spitting and the cursing, the rocks and the concrete. "What you want most at that moment is to bash them in the face with your rifle butt," he says. "But in most cases the soldiers didn't do that, at least not near me, perhaps in part because I was holding a camera."

"I went up on the roof and I said to myself, it's absurd, this story must be told from the inside. It cannot be the case that 19-year-olds are being asked to make split-second decisions that the Supreme Court could take months to decide ... whether or not to shoot, to shove, to use 'moderate physical force' or immoderate force. If a child throws a concrete block on them, for example, and flees into some home, they have to decide quickly whether or not they're allowed to force open the door or not, whether it's legal or not. I saw some [soldiers] who broke in without thinking, but others who held themselves back and didn't. These are difficult ethical decisions that can stay with them for years to come."

(h/t Kramerica)

Cardboard Chanukiah cutout causes consternation among Muslims

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 07:15 AM PDT

Multiple Muslim and Arab sources are reporting about a cardboard cut-out found on the Temple Mount:

A closer look:

The Al Aqsa Foundation condemned the cut-out, saying "This incident is a serious incident and has its symbolism, and such practices indicate that the Israeli occupation is involved in the implementation of schemes aimed at al-Aqsa mosque, and is trying to impose a fait accompli by placing multiple pictures in the al-Aqsa mosque." It also mentioned the "Talmudic rituals" that "settlers" often engage in.

Notice that this part of the Mount is strewn with debris from previous Waqf destruction of structures there. I documented some of that in my video tour of the area. The part pictured here seems to be from about the 14 minute mark of the tour.

The cut-out doesn't even depict the Temple Menorah, which had seven branches, but rather a Chanukah menorah, which has nine.

Israel establishes field hospital at Syrian border

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 05:30 AM PDT

Maariv reports that Israel has established a field hospital at the Syrian border in the Golan to treat people
injured in the Syrian civil war who ask for help.

As of last month, at least eleven Syrians have been treated by Israel; eight have returned to Syria. A couple of others could not be saved.

Israeli authorities anticipate an increase in injured Syrians seeking help in coming months.

(h/t Avi Mayer, who wrote an article that addressed Israel's desire to help people no matter who they are.)

Passover blood libel in Hanan Ashrawi's "Miftah" website (UPDATE)

Posted: 28 Mar 2013 02:00 AM PDT

Miftah describes itself this way:

Established in Jerusalem in December 1998, with Hanan Ashrawi as its Secretary-General, MIFTAH seeks to promote the principles of democracy and good governance within various components of Palestinian society; it further seeks to engage local and international public opinion and official circles on the Palestinian cause. To that end, MIFTAH adopts the mechanisms of an active and in-depth dialogue, the free flow of information and ideas, as well as local and international networking.

Hanan Ashrawi, a darling in the Western media, remains the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Miftah.

In Miftah's Arabic edition there is an article railing against President Obama's speech to Israeli students. But one part of the speech particularly raised the ire of the author, Nawaf al-Zaru.

Obama said:

I also know that I come to Israel on the eve of a sacred holiday – the celebration of Passover. And that is where I would like to begin today. Just a few days from now, Jews here in Israel and around the world will sit with family and friends at the Seder table, and celebrate with songs, wine and symbolic foods. After enjoying Seders with family and friends in Chicago and on the campaign trail, I'm proud to have brought this tradition into the White House. I did so because I wanted my daughters to experience the Haggadah, and the story at the center of Passover that makes this time of year so powerful.

It is a story of centuries of slavery, and years of wandering in the desert; a story of perseverance amidst persecution, and faith in God and the Torah. It is a story about finding freedom in your own land. For the Jewish people, this story is central to who you have become.

Al-Zaru asks:

Does Obama in fact know the relationship, for example, between "Passover" and "Christian blood" ..?!
Or "Passover" and "Jewish blood rituals..?!
Much of the chatter and gossip about historical Jewish blood rituals in Europe are real and not fake as they claim; the Jews used the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover ...

He then quotes a 2007 Haaretz article on a book by a Bar-Ilan University professor that bizarrely claimed that a few blood libels could have had a basis in fact, without noting that the same professor recanted those claims a year later.

The upshot is that a journal run by "moderate" Hanan Ashrawi is pushing the Passover blood libel, and you will be hard pressed to find a "moderate" Arab condemning this article. I couldn't.

Unfortunately, CNN won't think to ask her about this the next time they trot her out on TV.

UPDATE: NGO Monitor has this about Miftah:

Funding: Donors include the Anna Lindh Foundation (funding from the EU), Ford Foundation, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Austria, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Heinrich Boell Stiftung, UNFPA, Konard Adenauer Stiftung. In 2009, Miftah's budget was $891,685.

The financial support from Anna Lindh and Ford Foundation, as well as previous funding from the EU, is for a joint project with Israeli NGO "Keshev," "which aims to improve media discourse in both Palestinian and Israeli media through monitoring, research, advocacy and lobbying activities."

UPDATE 2: The article has been taken down.