Elder of Ziyon Daily News

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• Editors admit Arab media has no journalistic standards
• Friday Links Part 2
• Hamas celebrating Mavi Marmara deaths
• New movie pits IDF against....zombies.
• Friday Links Part 1
• Mass graves in Jaffa - but who killed them?
• Iranian liberalism: Judges can choose other death penalty for adultery than stoning
• US counterterrorism report is not bad, but downplays problems in PA-controlled areas

Editors admit Arab media has no journalistic standards Posted: 31 May 2013 03:15 PM PDT From Al Arabiya: The editor of the world's biggest pan-Arab newspaper has hit out against Middle Eastern journalists, saying they lack objectivity and are "more politicized than you would ever imagine". Adel al-Toraifi, the editor-in-chief of the London-based Asharq al-Awsat, slammed media standards in the Arab world, claiming that many journalists let their personal views get in the way of the story. "Journalists in the Middle East are political activists. They are not true journalists," said al-Toraifi. "Whenever you open a discussion, instead of it becoming a fact-checking debate about journalism, it somehow disintegrates into a political exchange. [It's] the extreme siding, or the extreme manipulation… either victimization of one group or demonization of another." Al-Toraifi called for "more professionalism" among regional journalists. "It's not a problem for any journalist to have views… You can respect human rights, but you should not transform into a political-rights activist, or a lobbying person, at the expense of your own journalism and reporting," he said. The problem is most severe among private media channels, compared with those under government control, al-Toraifi said. "I think some satellite [TV stations] and some newspapers in the past 10 years have done more damage than what government-sponsored media has done in the past six decades," he said. "When it was sponsored by the government it had, somehow, some red lines. When it wasn't sponsored [by the government] it indulged itself in demonizing schemes… You would be reading something which cannot stand in a court in Europe or America. It's a kind of reporting which is not reporting." Abdul Hamid Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of Gulf News, broadly agreed that some media outlets in the Arab world lack objectivity. "We must stick to standards of ethical journalism and apply them to our practice. Many outlets talk about ethical journalism but don't practice it… Some Lebanese TV channels are regularly highlighting figures that promote sectarianism rather than condemn it," he said. "I don't think it is ethical to shed light on figures promoting sectarianism. It is perfectly acceptable for sectarianism to be discussed in an analytical manner, but not to be promoted in a way that dangerously stirs public opinion". Standards have declined in the wake of the Arab Spring, Ahmad added. "Objective journalism is descending due to tightening rules on journalists, especially after the recent acceleration of events over the past five years, and the lack of clarity in attitudes," he said. "Instead of having a social dialogue about events and incidents, most opinions are rather eliminating or eradicating each other". Asharq al-Awsat isn't too bad as far as Arab media go, but Gulf News has no problem printing out-and-out lies.

Friday Links Part 2 Posted: 31 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT From Ian: Latma: Europe responds to its random violence and Shimon's World of Fun! Israel 'the most threatened state in the world,' says PM Facing the threat of thousands of enemy rockets, Israel's home front is more vulnerable than ever, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday at a meeting concluding this week's home front drill, which tested the country's readiness for chemical and conventional rocket attacks. "We are deep in the era of missiles that are aimed at civilian population areas," Netanyahu said during a meeting of the Emergency Economy Committee. "We must prepare defensively and offensively for the new era of warfare. The State of Israel is the most threatened state in the world. Around us are tens of thousands of missiles and rockets that could hit our home front." Muslims Combating Anti-Semitism A small, but increasingly vocal number of Muslims are rejecting radical hate speech and combating anti-Semitism in the Muslim world. In the recent Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism held this week in Jerusalem, Palestinian Media Watch director, Itamar Marcus and Dr. Boaz Ganor organized a panel discussion with Muslim activists actively rejecting hate rhetoric. Expert: Holocaust Denial is Prevalent and Dangerous Holocaust denial is another form of anti-Semitism which is prevalent today and must be fought, Dr. Mario Silva told Arutz Sheva. Dr. Silva, chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, took part in the 4th conference of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism which was held in Jerusalem this week. After state panel's Mohammed al-Dura report, France 2 hits back at Israeli government France 2 TV and its correspondent Charles Enderlin are threatening to take legal action if Israel does not hand over all information collected by government panel on Palestinian boy killed in intifada. Douglas Murray: After Woolwich, what will change? The decapitation of a British soldier on a street in London is the latest disgusting new low in this country's experience of Islamist terror. But everything else in the aftermath of the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby is hideously familiar. What the country has gone through since last Wednesday is the same endless turning over of clichés about terror which we have now heard for years. But one thing is clear. Nothing will be done. This country simply will not deal with the extremists. Not just because part of our political leadership does not want us to, but because those who do want to do something cannot. Memri: Inspire Praises Woolwich Beheading As 'Vengeance' In an article titled "The Dear Price and the Constant Turmoil", which appears in the 11th issue of Al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula's (AQAP) Inspire Magazine, a writer going by the nickname Muhammad Al-San'ani praises the perpetrators of the Woolwich attack and the Boston bombing, which he defines as vengeance for Muslims killed by Westerners. He encourages Muslims to emulate these attacks in order to drown the West in "turmoil." Australian Islamist justifies 9/11 and terrorist attacks VIDEO Muslim Blood More Dear than That of Western Victims Memorial to be Unveiled for Israeli Attack Victims in Burgas A memorial will be erected in the Bulgarian seaside town of Burgas, where a bus bombing at Sarafovo airport killed five Israeli tourists last year. The July 18, 2012 attack, which is widely blamed on the Hizbullah terror organization, resulted in the murder of five Israelis, including a pregnant woman, a Bulgarian bus driver, and the alleged perpetrator of the attack. Israeli scientists match Cairo Geniza fragments A team of computer scientists and programmers in Jerusalem, working in collaboration with Tel Aviv University, says it has achieved a breakthrough in piecing together the disparate fragments of the Cairo Geniza. Canada's oldest synagogue celebrates 150 A grand ceremony to dedicate British Columbia's first synagogue will be reenacted on June 2, exactly 150 years to the day following the establishment of Congregation Emanu-El in downtown Victoria, the picturesque capital of Canada's western-most province. 'Weeds' star forgoes suburbia for an unrecognized stint in the desert Just a year later, Alexander Gould, the actor who played Shane from the age of 10 through 18, was sitting in a bare bones kiosk in Yeruham, sipping a bottle of peach-flavored Fuze, his favored soft drink during the 10 months he spent living in Israel while on the Nativ College Leadership program. He was at the tail end of his stay, having spent the last four months living in the Negev desert town teaching English to local elementary school kids. Israeli scientists develop bionic eye for people born blind The bionic lens stimulates the corneal nerves in the eye's external part, which are connected in the brain to areas that process sensory information. The compressed information is transmitted, after being electrically amplified, from the minute camera by wireless technology to a bionic contact lens in the eye. The proposed lens will have some 10,000 tiny electrodes enabling cornea stimulation. "The cornea is the richest eye part in sensory nerves and has tens of thousands of sensory points to which the tiny electrodes on the lens can connect with," says Zalevsky. (h/t Zvi) 'Waze sale to Facebook crashes over relocation dispute' It appears that the Facebook-Waze deal — in which the world's largest social network would acquire the world's most popular social mapping app for drivers — is off. Reports on several tech websites Thursday said that talks between the two companies had broken down, apparently over the insistence by Facebook that Waze relocate its operations abroad, and Waze's insistence that it remain in Israel, the sources said. Your secret is safe with IBM Haifa When your bank outsources customer service to India, how can the financial institution ensure that your data won't fall into the wrong hands so far away from headquarters? And what if your HMO shares files with an outside pharmaceutical research firm and inadvertently reveals your chronic illness? Israeli-Developed 'Earthquake Proof Table' Added to MOMA Permanent Collection (VIDEO) The "Earthquake Proof Table," was a project conceived at Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem. MOMA's board recently inducted the "Earthquake Proof Table" into its permanent collection at the department of architecture and design. Israel, Cyprus in underwater electricity cable deal The so-called "Euro-Asia Interconnect," with a capacity to transfer 2,000 MW, is "a historic event -- no more Israel as an economic island," Israel Electric Corporation CEO Yiftach Ron Tal said at the signing. Additional underwater cables are to connect Cyprus and mainland Europe via Greece, which was also part of the agreement signed in the Jerusalem bureau of Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau. IDF Blog: Celebrating 65 Years of Defense May 31st, 1948: On this day, 65 years ago, Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, founded the Israel Defense Forces. It hasn't always been easy, but over the past six and a half decades, we IDF soldiers have never wavered: looking danger in the eyes, confronting fear with bravery, and making the impossible possible. We do not take our responsibility lightly. We have the sole duty of protecting the existence of the State of Israel, and we promise to pass this sense of duty and devotion on to future generations of soldiers. Happy Birthday, IDF

Hamas celebrating Mavi Marmara deaths Posted: 31 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT This is not much of an exaggeration. Hamas "Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Ghazi Hamad, spoke at an event today to mark the third anniversary of Israel's raid on a Gaza flotilla. He seemed to be very happy that nine IHH members were killed. Hamad said that as a result of the incident, Turkish relations with Hamas are the best they have ever been. he also said that the raid resulted in "a quantum leap for the expulsion and isolation of the Israeli occupation and Israel is more isolated than ever." Kemal Ataturk, a former adviser to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan who attended the ceremony, declared that "Turkey will not accept the Israeli apology, and there will be no normalization; we do not reconcile with the occupation, before lifting the siege on Gaza." He also lied when he said "The Turkish ship was a humanitarian initiative carrying aid, with the aim of ending the inhumane blockade of Gaza" - in fact, the Mavi Marmara had no aid. An Islamic Jihad spokesman at the ceremony said that the dead Turks achieved far more than they had hoped for - for they have achieved martyrdom. The Gaza speakers sure sound like they belong to a death cult.

New movie pits IDF against....zombies. Posted: 31 May 2013 10:45 AM PDT Warning: Graphic violence in this trailer. It's unclear which side Hezbollah is on. (h/t Tablet)

Friday Links Part 1 Posted: 31 May 2013 09:20 AM PDT From Ian: Palestinians Threaten Their Own Businessmen by Khaled Abu Toameh Many of those responsible for the "anti-normalization" campaign are, in fact, affiliated with Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah faction. The campaign of intimidation against Palestinian businessmen will not only foil Kerry's plan to boost the Palestinian economy, but also scare away potential investors from launching badly needed projects in the West Bank. The campaign has already resulted in the cancellation of scheduled meetings between Palestinian and Israeli businessmen. Once again, the biggest losers are the Palestinians. Those who are threatening businessmen do not want to see economic prosperity in the Palestinian territories. Instead, they want Palestinians to continue living in misery and frustration in order to keep alive the fight against Israel. Sarah Honig: Nasrallah's harangue For Hezbollah, Assad's fall would spell its own. Hezbollah stands to lose everything and this is why it is fully embroiled in Syria's civil war. Not only can Hezbollah act as Iran's proxy but it has no option but to do its utmost to tilt the scales in Assad's favor. Abbas' hit parade Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas has drawn up a list of 120 terrorists he wants Israel to release as a precondition for restarting talks The U.S. has urged Israel to consider the request But should Israel release a rogues' gallery of murderers in exchange for sitting at the negotiating table? MEMRI: Palestinian Authority TV Salutes Hamas Terrorist Mastermind Abbas Al-Sayyed on His Birthday Sayyed was responsible for the Netanya Park Hotel Passover bombing. IRS May Have Targeted at Least Five Pro-Israel Nonprofits, Investigation Reveals The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), already the subject on an ongoing national scandal due to its admission of targeting conservative groups, may have also targeted at least five pro-Israel organizations in the auditing process, an investigation by the Washington Free Beacon revealed. Some of the organizations, which clashed with the Obama administration's opposition to Israeli construction beyond the 1949 armistice lines (commonly known as the "Green Line"), allege that the administration purposefully coordinated the actions of the IRS. Pension Fund TIAA-CREF Declines to Vote for Israel Boycott The asset management giant, which manages $520 billion in pension funds, received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to "take no action" on a submission by the BDS activists. This followed a warning issued to the company by Shurat HaDin, an Israeli civil rights group, that passage of the resolution would violate New York and Federal law. Will Jordan be the Next Arab State to Fall? Bordering the attention-grabbing countries of Israel, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Jordan is sometimes overlooked by the media and by policy experts because of its peace with Israel, its close alliance with the United States, and its relatively liberal socio-economic system. Underneath this façade of stability, however, is a country plagued by a number of economic and social issues that threaten to plunge Jordan into the chaos of the "Arab Spring" upheavals. When Assad shells rebels, Israel goes on alert and learns Colonel Zvika Haimovich of the air defence corps said southward launches against Syrian insurgents by President Bashar al-Assad's forces gave Israel mere seconds in which to determine it was not the true target - a distinction that could prove crucial for warding off an unprecedented regional conflagration. Netanyahu to spend another $350 million so every Israeli has gas mask Amid heightened tensions with Syria, PM concludes nationwide chemical defense drill by ordering ministries to equip 100% of residents with protective kits McCain crosses paths with rebel kidnapper U.S. Senator John McCain was photographed with a known affiliate of the rebel group responsible for the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims one year ago, during a brief and highly publicized visit inside Syria this week. Italian models claim they were paid for pro-Assad demo Sixteen Italian models were allegedly hired to participate in a fake demonstration, in Rome, in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to The Times. The pro-government sit-in took place in Rome's Santi Apostoli square, on November 22, 2011, as the civil war in Syria was intensifying. Russian manufacturer to sell 10 MiGs to Syria A Russian arms manufacturer says it is signing a contract to deliver at least 10 fighter jets to Syria. Russia: S-300s to Syria – Only in 2014 Sources in Moscow have confirmed that Syrian President Bashar Assad was bluffing when he claimed that S-300 anti-aircraft missiles had already been delivered. The S-300s that Russia has promised Syria will be delivered only in 2014, they said. Netanyahu Tells Putin: We'll Destroy S-300s Israeli PM warns Russia that weapons to Syria will not be allowed to become operational. U.N. Investigators Say Most Syria Rebels Not Seeking Democracy Most Syrian rebel fighters do not want democracy and the country's civil war is producing ever worse atrocities and increasing radicalization, independent U.N. investigators said on Tuesday. State Dept. notes 'marked resurgence' in Iran-sponsored terror Iran-sponsored terrorism showed a "marked resurgence" last year, the State Department said in its annual report on terrorism. The report released Thursday named the al-Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, its ministry of intelligence and Hezbollah, its ally in Lebanon, as behind the resurgence. Iranian Assassin Sentenced The Iranian-American man who attempted to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador in a foiled terror plot was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday afternoon, the Drug Enforcement Agency announced. Hungarian Jews protest naming Budapest street after anti-Semite Amid a string of anti-Semitic incidents in Hungary, the umbrella organization of Hungarian Jews has protested the naming of a Budapest street after an anti-Semitic author. Norway's FM: We won't punish the PA for terrorist salaries Despite harsh criticism against the Palestinian Authority's support for terrorist convicted prisoners is not applicable for Norway to cut economic aid to the Palestinians.

Mass graves in Jaffa - but who killed them? Posted: 31 May 2013 07:25 AM PDT Over the past couple of days the Arab media have been reporting on the discovery of mass graves of Arabs in Jaffa. The Al Aqsa Foundation made the discovery and naturally they want the world to assume that these Arabs were killed by Jews: Six mass grave sites dating back to the 1936 Palestinian uprising and the 1948 Nakba were discovered around the Jaffa cemetery, the al-Aqsa Foundation for Endowment and Heritage reported Wednesday, revealing hundreds of bodies of Palestinians killed by Zionist forces. "During [the foundation's] repair and maintenance work on the [Kazkhana] cemetery, we discovered nozzles to dig into the ground where we found the mass graves...including hundreds of skeletons and human remains of rebels, martyrs and civilians who perished during the Nakba," head of the Islamic Movement in Jaffa, Sheikh Mohammed Najem, said in the report. The foundation has proved the remains date back to the victims killed in the 1948 war, whether from bombings and shelling of residential neighborhoods or snipers located around the city, the report said. "The Kazkhana cemetery has exposed the historical facts that Israel has tried to hide and erase for over 65 years relating to the massacres committed by Zionist gangs during the 1948 Palestinian Nakba," it read. Al-Monitor, however, shows that the source of the graves is not nearly as definitive as the virulently antisemitic Al Aqsa Foundation implies: Researcher and historian Mahmoud Obeid, a Jaffa resident, told As-Safir, "We discovered six mass graves, two of which we dug up. Our estimate is that they contain around 200 bodies, with an unknown additional number in the other graves. The remains belong to people of different ages, including women, children and the elderly, some of which bear signs of violence." But he indicated that "the bodies were buried following Muslim traditions, and were therefore probably victims of the nakba. But, in truth, we lack any other evidence [as to the nature of these deaths]." According to Obeid, the coming days will reveal more about the victims buried in these graves. He stated that Jaffa residents await a legal decision by the religious affairs court to open the rest of the graves in order to ascertain what their contents are. He pointed out that "upon opening them, we might discover documents that would indicate the identities of those buried in the graves." .... Eghbariyeh, on the other hand, preferred not to commit to a single explanation and said, "Further documentation and in-depth research is needed to find out what the truth is about these graves. We are certain, however, that the remains belong to our ancestors killed by occupation forces." The identity of those who buried them remains a mystery, as Eghbariyeh added, "We are not certain if all the remains were buried by our people, or if occupation forces secretly buried some of them, only to be later found out." Efforts are under way to uncover the true stories of the victims interred in the newly discovered mass graves. Eghbariyeh indicated that this task would take quite some time as the Al-Aqsa Association searches for Jaffa residents who lived through the nakba able of offering information pertaining to these graves and the circumstances surrounding their use. They don't know the date of death, they don't know who killed them. All they know is that they were buried Islamically. Instead of consulting historians or news accounts, the Al Aqsa Foundation will look for elderly residents who will recount fuzzy anti-Jewish rumors they heard when they were children. That will be all the "proof" they need. However, far more Palestinian Arabs were killed by the British during the 1936 riots than were killed by the Jews in the War of Independence! The history of British brutality against the Arabs of Palestine is not well known. I once excerpted an amazing paper that described the brutality in detail. I just found another paper, this one unpublished and in draft format, but equally amazing in what it reveals.This paper specifically talks about how the British used the RAF to help quell the riots. Some excerpts: Brigadier Evetts, the senior Army officer, deliberately tempted the armed bands to attack convoys in order that the RAF could respond, a vigorous approach more akin to Callwell's small wars than Gwynn's policing. The number of combined actions increased in July due to increasing rebel activity and better co-ordination. On 9 July a Hart answered a call to search an area. Finding four armed Arabs who then hid in a hut, the pilot informed the road patrol and pinned the men in a hut until the patrol arrived, rather than inflict a few casualties and let the gang disperse.59 On 19 July following an XX call, a Hart of 6 Squadron engaged fifteen rebels attacking a Jewish potash convoy on the Jericho-Jerusalem road. Another four aircraft joined the action, killing seven rebels, the aircraft being hit four times.60 On 29 July the Police warned of another ambush of a Jewish convoy on the same road. The first aircraft arrived within nine minutes of the XX call, and attacked and pinned the retreating enemy down, killing eleven of them. In July, 6 Squadron responded to thirteen XX calls and claimed to have inflicted thirty-seven enemy casualties, and reported a similar tempo for August and September. The armed bands grew in number and size, reinforced by sympathizers from Syria and Iraq. The bands totalled around 1500 to 2000 full-time partisans – often ex-soldiers, criminals or adventurers not tied to one place - and could call on perhaps five-times as many locals for specific actions. On 2 September the Cabinet decided on 'intensive measures, designed to crush Arab resistance'. Lieutenant-General Dill was dispatched with a second division, the Army calling-up all high readiness infantry reservists, and expecting to govern under martial law. ...Large actions continued as 1st Division arrived. At Nablus on 24 September, the Royal Scots Fusiliers engaged several bands led by Fawzi. Aircraft responding to XX calls claimed forty-one out of the fifty enemy killed, firing 332 rounds from machine guns and dropping 33 bombs, with one aircraft hit in the radiator and forced to land, and Flying Officer Ramplini wounded in the wrist. The 6 Squadron Operational Record Book (ORB) records the moral effect of using large bombs on the population of Nablus but unfortunately there is no further explanation. When the District Commissioner for Galilee was murdered in September 1937, the British response was immediate and aggressive, declaring the AHC illegal. The RAF flew six Arab leaders to exile in the Seychelles and removed the Mufti from his official posts. He fled to Damascus to form the Central Committee of Jihad. Rebel leadership fragmented, the urban effendi class being increasingly replaced by peasant terrorists who targeted fellow Arabs. Six peasant partisan commanders formed the titular Bureau of the Arab Revolt in Palestine. By October 1937 Arab armed bands established control over Samaria and Galilee. ... In another large action on 3 March 1938 a XX call from a column of the Border Regiment, under heavy fire from high ground near the Jenin-Haifa road, was answered within fifteen minutes by four aircraft. The rebel band split into two, and was pursued by other columns and numerous aircraft sorties until dark. The rebels' strength was estimated to be between 300 and 400 men. The British claimed to have killed sixty, over half by aircraft for the loss of one killed, and three wounded...Aircraft dropped forty-seven bombs and fired 5000 rounds. [September 1938] For RAF armoured car crews [Air Commodore Harris] wrote] 'as the civil-writ no longer runs, all the advice I can give them is that when in aid of the (non-existent) civil power, they should fire when they must and keep on firing as long as appears militarily essential'. He fitted his SSOs' unmarked cars 'with two Mauser sub-machine gangster-guns' to 'produce a terrific rate and spread of fire ahead to compete with the bandits dressed as Palestine police who now do much of the holdup work'. In that event of European war, Harris thought: We must (and under such circumstances can) make up for a lack of numbers by using rougher methods with the rebels than we dare do in peace. One 250lb or 500lb in each village that speaks out of turn within a few minutes or hours of having so spoken; or the complete blotting out of a few selected haunts, pour encourager les autres'. ...Wingate's SNS had more success inflicting casualties on Arab bands than Regular Army units whose 'chances of contact with an enemy, who is an enemy one moment and a peaceful villager the next, almost negligible', albeit using controversial techniques. Harris thought a gendarmerie made up of SNS-type groups, with the backing of air power, was the solution.Harris wanted more Gladiators: In this regard the Glosters [Gladiators] are an outstanding success. Not only are they killing oozlebarts [Arab bands - EoZ] wholesale with their four front guns, and many more than the Hardys and Hinds in equivalent situations, but they are doing it, in my opinion, with vastly less risk to the crews. No 6 Squadron losses, compared with the total number of fighting crews, have been so heavy lately that one wishes, if it is at all possible, to provide the safest as well as the most efficient aircraft for their highly dangerous task of ground strafing. He also thought 'the only thing the Arab understands is the heavy hand and, sooner or later, it will have to be applied'. ...There was brutality by British soldiers and police in this period [late 1938-Jan. 1939]. The GOC's explanation described the difficulty of combating a fragmented revolt, using intimidation and where the enemy hides amongst women and children. He defended the use of cordon and search operations, where those escaping were shot, and collective punishments when individuals could not be identified. The British were engaged in what would certainly be considered war crimes today. And the casualty rates of some of these actions were high enough to justify mass graves. There is also no doubt that many civilians were also killed, although the papers I've seen are reluctant to go down that path. Keep in mind also that (as this paper mentions in passing) Arabs were killing other Arabs during the revolt as well as in the months leading up to the 1948 war. We can expect that the Al Aqsa Foundation will continue to claim that the apparent Arab victims purportedly discovered in Jaffa could only have been killed by Jews. History shows that this is far from obvious, and when this story gets into the more mainstream media, lets hope that the reporters are smart enough not to swallow the lies from an organization that routinely lies to further its agenda.

Iranian liberalism: Judges can choose other death penalty for adultery than stoning Posted: 31 May 2013 05:06 AM PDT They are so progressive! Iran has amended its internationally condemned law on stoning convicted adulterers to death to allow judges to impose a different form of execution, according to the revision seen by AFP on Thursday. The controversial practice, in which stones are thrown at the partially buried offender, has provoked outcries from human rights organisations, international bodies and Western countries urging Iran to abandon it. An article of Iran's Islamic new penal code, published earlier this week, states that, "if the possibility of carrying out the (stoning) verdict does not exist," the sentencing judge may order another form of execution pending final approval by the judiciary chief. The article does not explain what is meant by the possibility of stoning not existing. In Iran, executions are normally carried out by hanging. Here's something I didn't know about stoning: Under Iran's interpretation of Islamic Sharia law in force since its 1979 revolution, adultery is punished by the stoning of convicted adulterers. Women are buried up to the their shoulders, but men only up to their waists. They are spared if they manage to free themselves before dying. Well, of course, women must start at a disadvantage. After all, they are ....women. Doesn't that sound like the ultimate reality TV show? "Escaping the Stone," with your host, Iran's biggest Western cheerleader, Juan Cole! If they answer Quran questions correctly, they can be buried in lighter materials before the stoning begins, moving from cinder blocks through sand and up to Styrofoam and confetti.

US counterterrorism report is not bad, but downplays problems in PA-controlled areas Posted: 31 May 2013 02:42 AM PDT The 2012 Counterterrorism Report from the US State Department is a very good resource to see the big picture of what the state of world terrorism is. Here are some highlights from the specific country sections. Iran is clearly recognized as a state sponsor of terror, and Hizballah's terror operations have accelerated: In 2012, there was a clear resurgence of Iran's state sponsorship of terrorism, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), its Ministry of Intelligence and Security, and Tehran's ally Hizballah, who remained a significant threat to the stability of Lebanon and the broader region. Attacks in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Far East were linked to the IRGC-QF or Hizballah. In fact, Hizballah's terrorist activity has reached a tempo unseen since the 1990s with attacks plotted in Southeast Asia, Europe, and Africa. ...A series of terrorist attacks and foiled plots against Israeli interests abroad that began in 2011 continued in 2012. Though most of these plots were disrupted, a July 18 suicide attack against Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria, killed five Israeli citizens and one Bulgarian and injured dozens, and a February 13 attack in New Delhi injured the wife of an Israeli Ministry of Defense employee. Terrorist plots were also uncovered against Israeli targets in Thailand, Azerbaijan, and Cyprus, and an attack was foiled in Georgia. Israeli officials publicly linked many of these plots and attacks to Hizballah and its Iranian sponsors. [On February 5, 2013, the Bulgarian government publically implicated Hizballah in the July 2012 Burgas bombing that killed five Israelis and one Bulgarian citizen, and injured 32 others. On March 21, 2013, a Cyprus court found a Hizballah operative guilty of charges stemming from his surveillance activities, carried out in 2012, of Israeli tourist targets, while Thailand was prosecuting a Hizballah member for his role in helping plan a possible terrorist attack in that country.] ...Hizballah-linked incidents [in Israel] included: • According to the ISA, in early June, Hizballah smuggled 20 kilograms of C-4 explosive and an IED detonation system into Israel from Lebanon, using a network of narcotics dealers. Weapons were also seized as part of a joint ISA-Israel National Police operation that exposed the scheme. Twelve suspects were detained and questioned, and charges were filed against eight. • On October 6, the IAF shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that entered Israeli airspace, and the IDF posted a video clip of the interception online. According to press, Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in televised remarks on October 11, acknowledged that the group had sent the drone, and claimed its parts were manufactured in Iran and assembled by Hizballah in Lebanon. ...Hizballah, with deep roots among Lebanon's Shia community and significant backing from the Iranian government, remained the most dangerous and prominent terrorist group in Lebanon. Israel's efforts to combat terrorism are praised: Israel continued to be a stalwart counterterrorism partner in 2012. It faced continued terrorist threats from Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), particularly from Gaza but also from the West Bank; and from Hizballah in Lebanon. Fourteen Israelis were killed as a result of terrorist attacks in 2012. Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist organizations continued rocket and mortar attacks into Israeli territory, and multiple terrorist attacks were launched along the Gaza security fence as well as the Israel-Egypt border. Gaza also remained a base of operations for several violent Islamist extremist splinter groups. The Government of Israel responded to these threats with operations directed at terrorist leaders, infrastructure, and activities such as rocket launching, most notably in Operation Pillar of Defense during the November 14-21 Gaza conflict. A Hamas and PIJ-linked terrorist cell based in the West Bank also carried out a bombing on a Tel Aviv city bus, the first such attack in years, and Israel faced a wave of plots and attacks against its interests abroad that Israeli officials linked to Iran and Hizballah. Arms smuggling continued from Iran through Egypt into Gaza to Palestinian terrorist organizations. Israeli officials also continued to be concerned about the smuggling of weapons from Libya via Sudan into Gaza. The State Department praises the PA's efforts to keep things calm, noting that there were no fatal terror attacks from the West Bank in 2012, the first time that has happened in many years. Unfortunately, it ignores the hundreds of Molotov cocktails being hurled at Jews in the West Bank, except in quoting Israeli statistics; it does not classify these as terrorist incidents on its own. Also, very important sentences are buried: . Limitations on PA counterterrorism efforts in the West Bank included restrictions on the movement and activities of PASF in and through areas of the West Bank for which the Israeli government retained responsibility for security under the terms of Oslo-era agreements. The limited capacity of the PA's civilian criminal justice system also hampered PA counterterrorism efforts. It would seem obvious that security in areas under Israeli military control is better than in Area A, but the report highlights it as if it is a problem for counterterrorism - and then barely notes that the PA's justice system remains severely underdeveloped, 20 years after Oslo. The worst paragraph in the Israel/West Bank-Gaza section is undoubtedly this one: According to the PA's Palestinian Broadcasting Company's code of conduct, no programming is allowed that encourages "violence against any person or institution on the basis of race, religion, political beliefs, or sex." The PA continued its efforts to monitor and control the content of Friday sermons delivered in over 1,800 West Bank mosques to ensure that they do not endorse or incite violence. The PA's ability to enforce these guidelines varies depending upon its location, and it has limited authority to control the context of sermons in Israeli-controlled Area C. It seems unfathomable that the State Department does not challenge the PBC's assertions with the scores of examples of antisemitic and anti-Israel incitement, and praise for terror, uncovered by Palestinian Media Watch, not to mention incitement in newspapers, schools and other venues. The last sentence is ridiculous, as over 95% of Palestinian Muslims live in areas A or B, meaning that focusing on incitement in sermons in Area C - if it even exists - is nothing more than a backhanded way to criticize Israel's presence in Judaism's traditional homeland (as was the earlier sentence about the PASF.) While this clear attempt to exaggerate the PA's counterterrorism efforts is problematic, there is a lot of very useful information in this report, and its sections on Gaza and Hamas, including weapons smuggling and terror attacks, are quite accurate. (h/t Gidon Shaviv)

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