יום שלישי, 21 במאי 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

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Yemen rabbi complains about antisemitism in school textbooks

Posted: 20 May 2013 05:30 PM PDT

A Yemen website reports that the leader of Yemen's Jewish community, Yahya Youssef, has urged that the nation halts its incitement against Jews published in the media and in school curricula.

Last week he said that the Jews of Yemen do not want a separate school system, but are happy to send their children to public schools where they learn Arabic and Islam; they learn English and Hebrew afterwards, it seems. Even so, he said that the Jewish children are harassed in school. Youssef is demanding equality. His own children are part of the Children's Parliament.

Youssef also complained about the Houthis who drove the Jewish community out of the al-Salem area of Saada with little notice; they claimed that the Jews drank alcohol, a charge that Youssef denies - he says that Yemenite Jews don't even drink the wine that Judaism allows.

He says that a priceless library was left behind in Sadaa and he wants to ensure its safety.

Monday Links Part 2

Posted: 20 May 2013 02:30 PM PDT

From Ian:
The Palestinian industry of lies
The Muhammad al-Dura affair has been one of the cornerstones of a lengthy delegitimization campaign against Israel, whose sole purpose is to portray Israel as a nation that kills children and perpetrates genocide. Once this premise has been accepted, at least by some among the Western elite and the international media, acts of terror against Israel have been legitimized all the more forcefully.
CIF Watch: A blood libel is born: Fisking the Guardian's original report about Mohammed Al Durah
The following is my fisking of the original report in the Guardian on the Al Durah incident, written by Suzanne Goldenberg and published on Oct. 3, 2000 and titled 'Making of a martyr':
South African MP: Pro-Palestinian ads misrepresent apartheid
On my recent trip to San Francisco, I was deeply disturbed to learn about the posters in The City accusing Israel of apartheid. As a black South African who lived under apartheid, this system was implemented in South Africa to subjugate people of color and deny them a variety of their rights. In my view, Israel cannot be compared to apartheid in South Africa. Those who make the accusation expose their ignorance of what apartheid really is.
NGO Monitor: Due Diligence and Accountability? The Negative Impact of U.S. Government Funding for Mideast Political NGOs
This NGO Monitor report relates to U.S. government funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate in Israel and the Palestinian Authority, specifically to groups whose activities contribute to the political campaigns designed to demonize and delegitimize Israel.
Exclusive: Facebook Promotes Palestinian Propaganda in Jerusalem
Internet companies are forcing a biased Palestinian narrative onto users. First, Yahoo artificially divided Jerusalem into Israeli and Palestinian sections. Then Google made headlines by creating a Palestinian state. Now Facebook is promoting "East Jerusalem."
Church of Scotland 'Revision' Report 'Old Wine in New Bottle'
The Church of Scotland's "revision" of its April report "The Inheritance Of Abraham? A Report On The 'Promised Land'," is insufficient and continues to rely on the anti-Israel group Sabeel, said Jerusalem-based research institute NGO Monitor.
"The revised report is the same tainted wine in a new bottle," said Yitzhak Santis, NGO Monitor's Chief Programs Officer. "Though some of the more hurtful language was removed from the main body of the report, much of its original offensive theology and ideology remains."
Berlin Anti-Semites Seek to Destroy Remembrance Project
Anti-Semites in Berlin have been intimidating community and local officials who are behind a project to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims who lived in the city.
The project entails the placing of the names residents on monuments on the sidewalks of streets where they lived before being deported by the Nazis to concentration camps. The project is several years old, and was undertaken with the full cooperation of the municipality and the Jewish community.
Z Street IRS case to be heard in court
Z Street, which is intended to counterbalance the left-wing group J Street, has claimed that IRS officials delayed approving its status because its views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict contradict those of the Obama administration.
Israeli Exports to Turkey Hit All-Time High
Although there is still plenty of tension in the relations between Israel and Turkey, Israeli exports to the country reached an all-time high in the first quarter of 2013. The total amount of Israeli exports to Turkey, not including diamonds, reached $560 million in the first three months of 2013, 44% higher than a year earlier, the Israel Export Institute said Sunday.
France in talks with U.S., Israel to buy drones: minister
France's existing hardware is outdated and its military intervention in Mali this year has exposed its shortage of surveillance drones suitable for modern warfare. The United States provided French commanders with intelligence from its drones based in Niger.
S.Korea deploys Israeli missile on border with North
Satellite-guided Spike missiles can "destroy North Korea's underground facilities," South Korean army official says.
"Dozens of Spike missiles and their launchers have recently been deployed on Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands," a South Korean army official said.
"They can destroy (North Korea's) underground facilities and can pursue and strike moving targets," he continued.
Acquisition gives Mellanox 'speedy' tech for data centers
In a twist on the usual scenario, Israeli networking equipment manufacturer Mellanox will be opening a research and development facility in the United States.
The new Mellanox facility is the result of the company's acquisition of California-based Kotura, a pioneer in silicon-photonics, a new technology that promises to significantly speed up network data transfer.
Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment Invites Israeli Experts to Assist in Island Preservation
A Ben Gurion University delegation from the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR) recently toured the Galapagos Islands in April. The delegation, led by Professor Ariel Novoplansky, signed a cooperation agreement with the Directorate of the National Park to promote the conservation of the endangered biological diversity of the islands.
Scientists test experimental chemotherapy drug
One of the greatest fears of younger women who have to undergo chemotherapy to fight tumors is possible fertility damage. But the mechanism responsible for the destruction of the eggs in their ovaries and the resultant infertility has not been understood until now.

US State Department finds antisemitism increasing worldwide

Posted: 20 May 2013 12:25 PM PDT

From the Stste Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2012, released today:

A Continued Rise in Anti-Semitism

This report also documents a continued global increase in anti-Semitism. Holocaust denial and glorification remained troubling themes, and opposition to Israeli policy at times was used to promote or justify blatant anti-Semitism. When political leaders condoned anti-Semitism, it set the tone for its persistence and growth in countries around the world. Of great concern were expressions of anti-Semitism by government officials, by religious leaders, and by the media, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt, and Iran. At times, such statements led to desecration and violence. In Venezuela, the government-controlled media published numerous anti-Semitic statements, particularly in relation to opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, a Catholic with Jewish ancestors. Separately, during an anti-Israel protest in November, a group of individuals gathered outside a synagogue chanting anti-Jewish slogans and throwing fireworks. In Egypt, anti-Semitic sentiment in the media was widespread and sometimes included Holocaust denial or glorification. On October 19, President Morsy said "Amen" during televised prayers in Mansour after an imam stated, "Oh Allah ... grant us victory over the infidels. Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters." This is a common prayer in Egyptian mosques and came in a litany of other prayers. Also in October, Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badei made several anti-Semitic statements, including saying in a sermon that was also published online that "It is time for the Muslim [nation] to unite for the sake of Jerusalem and Palestine after the Jews have increased the corruption in the world…." He added that "Zionists only know the way of force."
In Iran, the government regularly vilified Judaism. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to question the existence and the scope of the Holocaust, and stated that "a horrendous Zionist clan" had been "ruling the major world affairs" for some 400 years, while Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi publicly blamed the "Zionists" for spreading illegal drugs around the world. In Tunisia, Salafists (fundamentalist Sunni Muslims) attacked synagogues and issued anti-Semitic messages, as did some imams during Friday prayer sermons. Certain Salafist imams preached anti-Jewish and anti-Christian messages, including calling for the killing of non-Muslim citizens. Police arrested five persons, including one police officer, for allegedly plotting to kidnap Jews in Zarzis in October for ransom.
In Ukraine, vandals desecrated several Holocaust memorials. In May, in Russia, vandals painted a swastika on a St. Petersburg synagogue's fence, and in July, vandals painted a swastika on a synagogue wall in Irkutsk.
Even well into the 21st century, traditional forms of anti-Semitism, such as conspiracy theories, use of the discredited myth of "blood libel," and cartoons demonizing Jews, continued to flourish. An anti-Semitic cartoon appeared in a major newspaper in Argentina, and a member of the Golden Dawn party in Greece read from the notorious Tsarist forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, during a parliamentary session. In a worrisome sign, such anti-Semitic and xenophobic parties gained seats in parliaments, and a rise in violent attacks on Jews in Europe included several shocking incidents. Hungary saw continued racist commentary by an openly anti-Semitic political party with seats in parliament, the Jobbik Party, and also witnessed an attack on a member of the Jewish community outside of a prayer house in Budapest. In France, an Islamist extremist killed a rabbi and his two children, along with another student, outside a Jewish school in Toulouse. While a number of governments took active measures to combat anti-Semitism, this pernicious evil continued to spread.
Egypt:
There have been no violent anti-Semitic incidents in recent years; however, anti-Semitic sentiments routinely appeared in both government-owned and private media, and the government made few public attempts to distinguish between anti-Semitism and opposition to Israeli policies and practices. Media sometimes published cartoons demonizing Jews and accusing them of seeking to subvert Egypt and Islam and take over the world. Private Salafi media sometimes included anti-Semitic programming that glorified or denied the Holocaust, including in interviews with academics and clerics. Privately owned Al-Tahrir TV re-aired the 2002 anti-Semitic TV series "Horseman Without a Horse" in March, which includes a story line around the Tsarist forgery, "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." There were reports of imams using anti-Semitic rhetoric in their sermons, including allegations of blood libel.

On October 19, President Morsy said "Amen" during televised prayers in Mansour after an imam stated, "Oh Allah ... grant us victory over the infidels. Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters." This is a common prayer in Egyptian mosques and came in a litany of other prayers.

For the second consecutive year, authorities cancelled the Abu Hassira celebrations that were slated for January, preventing the annual pilgrimage by non-Egyptian Jews to the shrine of 19th-century scholar Rabbi Yaakov Abu Hassira.
Jordan:
Editorial cartoons, articles, and opinion pieces sometimes depicted negative images of Jews and conflated anti-Israel sentiment with anti-Semitic sentiment. On Ammon News in April, a television director criticized a Gulf TV channel for showing films sympathetic to Jews and recognizing the Holocaust.
Turkey:
Jewish leaders expressed concern about anti-Semitism. Many attributed occurrences of anti-Semitic graffiti and threats to events in the Middle East. Local authorities continued to work with community leaders and synagogue officials to protect Jewish places of worship.

In March local and international Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, criticized a cosmetics company for featuring Adolph Hitler in a shampoo commercial that ran on state television. The company defended the commercial but stopped airing it.
Yes, my scoop made it to the State Department!

Syria:
Government-sponsored media coverage and rhetoric was consistently anti-Israeli, as it has been in the past, and the media continued to disseminate anti-Semitic material through radio and television programming, news articles, cartoons, and other mass media.
PA and Hamas controlled areas:
During the year terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and members of global Jihadist organizations, carried out increased attacks against citizens of the country, mostly in the form of indiscriminate missile, rocket, and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip, particularly immediately prior to and during the November 14-21 conflict, when over 1,500 rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Terrorists' statements often contained anti-Semitic rhetoric and appeals to Islamic religious beliefs in conjunction with the attacks, including in Hamas' founding charter where it states that "the Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews."

Iran:
With some exceptions, there was little government restriction of, or interference with, Jewish religious practice. However, the Jewish community experienced official discrimination. Government officials continued to make anti-Semitic statements, organize events designed to deny the Holocaust, and sanction anti-Semitic propaganda. Such propaganda involved official statements, media outlets, publications, and books. The government's anti-Semitic rhetoric, as well as the perception among radical Muslims that all Jewish citizens of the country supported Zionism and the state of Israel, continued to create a hostile atmosphere for Jews. The rhetorical attacks also further blurred the lines between Zionism, Judaism, and Israel, and contributed to increased concerns about the future security of the Jewish community in the country. In an August statement, President Ahmadinejad conflated Zionists with Jews when he stated, "It has now been some 400 years that a horrendous Zionist clan has been ruling the major world affairs, and behind the scenes of the major power circles, in political, media, monetary, and banking organizations in the world." Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei made similar statements in an August speech referring to the Zionist regime and Zionists as a "cancerous tumor."
Ahmadinejad continued to question the existence and the scope of the Holocaust and publicly called for the destruction of Israel. His rhetoric combined with that of the supreme leader created a more hostile environment for the Jewish community. In his interview with French journalists on September 9 he stated, "The Zionist regime relies on the Holocaust and if it is taken away from the regime, the philosophy of its existence disappears and all politics in the international arena which were based on it will come undone."
The Iranian Documentary and Experimental Film Center produced a film called "The Anti-Semite" or "Yahod Setiz," which makes a mockery of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz. On May 25, the Cannes Film Festival decided to drop this film from its program, describing it as offensive.
In late June, during an international antidrug conference in Tehran, Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi gave an anti-Semitic speech blaming the "Zionists" for spreading illegal drugs around the world, using as proof that not a single Zionist is a drug addict. Iran News later reported that Rahimi's office denied he made anti-Semitic and racist remarks.

(h/t Yisrael Medad)

Al Dura cartoon

Posted: 20 May 2013 11:25 AM PDT



"I still wish I had combed your hair better for the cameras."

(h/t Ruchie)

Monday Links Part 1

Posted: 20 May 2013 10:10 AM PDT

From Ian:
PMW: Official PA daily: Israel's building in State of Israel is also a "settlement"
The Palestinian Authority daily recently published a report attacking Israel's program to resolve questions of land ownership in Israel's southern desert region, called the Negev. The PA daily refers to Israeli building in the Negev as additional "settlement"
Israel nixes UNESCO J'lem delegation at last minute
"The Palestinians violated all the agreements we had with UNESCO: that this was to be a purely professional, not a political visit," he said. The official said the Palestinians asked to introduce a "slew" of political elements into the visit, with PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki characterizing it as a fact-finding commission to investigate Israeli steps in Jerusalem.
Rachel's Tomb: 290 Firebombs and IEDs in 6 Months
The IDF told Knesset Members that about 200 firebombs and 90 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have been thrown at the compound since November's Pillar of Defense military operation in Gaza. That means an average of almost two bombs a day.
New Protective Suits, Advanced GPS to Arm IDF
The IDF Central Command has begun receiving new riot dispersal equipment, including protective suits for soldiers and an advanced GPS system, according to the official blog of the Israel Defense Forces.
Khaled Abu Toameh: 'Palestinian lost speech ability after PA torture'
A Palestinian man who was detained by the Palestinian Authority security forces in Hebron has lost the ability to speak as a result of severe torture, according to a report released by the Independent Commission for Human Rights.
PA continues crackdown on journalists in W. Bank
Despite promises to honor freedom of the media, the Palestinian Authority is continuing its crackdown on Palestinian journalists in the West Bank.
In the past week, PA security forces interrogated and detained two journalists: Haroun Abu Arrah and Omar Arqoub.
CIF Watch: Harriet Sherwood and the myth of olive oil shortages in Gaza
So, not only is there no evidence to support Harriet Sherwood's claim that there is a shortage of olive oil in Gaza (and related higher prices) due to "the uprooting of olive trees" by Israel, but PCBS data suggests an abundant supply of olives and olive oil in the West Bank and Gaza, and that prices, if anything, may have fallen a bit from 2011 levels.
Hamas confiscates rockets from Fatah's armed wing
Hamas has confiscated rockets and other types of weaponry belonging to Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Palestinian sources revealed on Sunday.
The sources told the Fatah affiliated Palestine Press News Agency that Hamas confiscated 100 rockets and 500 "combat units" when Fatah tried to move them from one location to another in the Gaza Strip.
Islamic Jihad Urges Muslim Confrontation with Israeli Aggressions
Representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement to Tehran Nasser Abusharif strongly condemned the recent Israeli air raid on Syria, and called on all Islamic states to confront the Zionist regime's aggressive moves to prevent similar events in future.
In video, kidnapped Egyptian officers beg Morsi for their release
Seven members of Egypt's security forces kidnapped by suspected militants appeared in a video posted on the Internet Sunday, pleading with the government to secure their release by meeting their captors' demands.
Egypt pours armored forces into Sinai
Move comes during stand-off with kidnappers holding 7 security personnel hostage
Saudi princes lose battle to keep court documents secret
Two prominent Saudi princes are involved in a London-registered company that supposedly facilitated "money laundering" for Hezbollah in Lebanon and helped smuggle precious stones out of Congo, according to contested allegations in court documents obtained by the Guardian.
Intertwined fates: The Lebanon-Syria-Iran axis
Jerusalem has drawn red lines over the proliferation of strategic arms to Hezbollah; Syria, Iran or Hezbollah could, at any time, decide to test these, even though it would endanger Assad's gains against the rebels.
'Death to Jews' tattoo costs Hungarian fighter Prague gig
Organizers bar Attila Petrovszki from martial arts bout because of his pro-Hitler, anti-Semitic body art
Golden Dawn MP Shouts 'Heil Hitler' In Parliament Chambers
A Greek neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party member provoked controversy on Friday after shouting 'Heil Hitler' in parliament chambers, causing him to be ejected from the building.
Israeli Eurovision Delegation Threatened in Sweden
Members of the Israeli delegation to the Eurovision song contest in Malmo, Sweden, said they were the targets of anti-Semitic threats as they were walking down the street.
Alon Amir told Sveriges Radio on Tuesday that he and the other two Israelis were confronted by a group of men.

Syria TV claims capture of IDF jeep in Qusayr (video) (update)

Posted: 20 May 2013 08:41 AM PDT

From Lebanon's pro-Assad al-Mayadeen TV:



This al-Mayadeen TV exclusive footage shows a Jeep armored vehicle (armored version of AIL M240 Storm used by the IDF) that was used by the "Free Syrian Army" (FSA) in the Qusayr city that is currently being liberated by the Syrian Army. Writings in Hebrew can be seen on the vehicle, as shown in the footage. This is yet another example demonstrating the ties that bind the so-called "Free Syrian Army" to their American-Israeli backers.

So what is going on?

A YouTube commenter, Mossesle, explains:
This vehicle is an old vehicle, probably from ~2000 when Israel left Southern Lebanon and left some equipment. as all know ... Hizbolla took this equipment back then and probably is using it today for propaganda .... . the Hizbula are killing Syrians and want to show a picture that Israel is involved
Another tweeter says that the IDF does not use Jeeps like this at this time.

(h/t David Ha'Ivri)

UPDATE: The IDF says that the Jeep was being tested for use by the South Lebanese Army back in the 1990s, and clearly Hezbollah took it to use for propaganda purposes now.  (h/t Judge Dan)

40 Hezbollah members, including a major leader, reportedly killed

Posted: 20 May 2013 07:00 AM PDT

From Al Arabiya:
At least 40 Hezbollah fighters have been reportedly killed in the Syrian town of Qusayr late on Sunday, sources told Al Arabiya, following clashes between Syrian rebels and regime forces who attempted to enter the town earlier in the day.

Sources also told Al Arabiya that tens of Hezbollah members were wounded during the fight and had been taken to hospitals in Beirut, Lebanon for treatment.

The assault on Qusayr appeared to be part of a campaign by President Bashar al-Assad's forces to consolidate their grip on Damascus and secure links between the capital and the government strongholds on the coast via the contested central city of Homs.

State news agency SANA said the army had "restored security and stability to most Qusayr neighborhoods" and was "chasing the remnants of the terrorists in the northern district".

Meanwhile, sources said that Hezbollah official Fady al-Jazzar was reportedly among those killed. Al-Jazzar is considered to be a high ranking Hezbollah officer and was imprisoned in Israel until he returned to Lebanon in a prisoner-exchange deal.
News on his death came after contact was lost with the group that was under his command, Al Arabiya said.
Other sources in Syria confirm some 23 Hezbollah terrorists killed.

Apparently, though, the town of Quseir came back under Syrian regime control, as they fired huge numbers of rockets into the town.

While Hezbollah moves from Lebanon to Syria to fight, the Syrian civil war made more inroads to Lebanon, with several reportedly killed in Tripoli in Sunni-Shi'ite clashes.

Meanwhile, Syrian gunfire hit the Israeli part of the Golan.

The number of people killed and refugees in Syria over the past two years now exceeds the number killed and of refugees on both sides of the past 100 years of conflict between Zionists and Arabs. So, naturally, this cognitive dissonance causes some people to find ways to blame Israel for Arabs slaughtering each other:


(h/t Israel Muse)

"Israeli bride performs Talmudic rituals" near Cotton Gate of Temple Mount

Posted: 20 May 2013 05:00 AM PDT

A Jewish bride, apparently on her wedding day, decided to go as close as possible to the Temple Mount to say Psalms.

Along with some friends, she walked down the Cotton Market in Jerusalem during a Muslim prayer time when the market is nearly empty. She was stopped, and protected, at the entrance to the Cotton Gate by Israeli police.



Arabic media is reporting that she performed "Talmudic rituals" and that this was an "extreme provocation." (They also called the bride and her small entourage "settlers.")

Apparently, Muslims can whip out their prayer rugs and worship wherever they want, but Jews don't share that right.

A Christian-Jewish group condemned the peaceful event as well.

In fact, according to Sheikh Nageh Pkarat, any prayers in the area of the holiest spot in Judaism is a "violation of international law" since it is a place for Muslim prayers only.

Pkarat also said that Jewish prayers in the area are against the Jewish religion as well.

It is always nice to have an expert on Judaism around to be authoritatively quoted in the Arab media.

Nazi flag flown near West Bank mosque

Posted: 20 May 2013 02:09 AM PDT

From Tazpit News Agency:


Hundreds of residents of Gush Etzion were astounded to find a Nazi flag flying right near the mosque in the Palestinian town of Beit Omar. The IDF was notified.

Uri Arnon told Tazpit News Agency: "I felt we were going back 75 years, losing our hold on the land. The Arabs no longer feel the need to hide their murderous tendencies, announcing out loud that they wish to destroy us."

An IDF spokesman said that the flag was hung on an electrical line, and that they were waiting to professionals to come and remove it.
Apparently, no Arabs were offended enough by this flag to want to take it down themselves.

But remember - according to Columbia University professor Joseph Massad, Zionists are the Nazis and Palestinian Arabs are the ones  fighting antisemitism.

(h/t Avi Mayer)
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