Elder of Ziyon Daily News |  |
- Female Saudi human rights activist can't renew her passport without a male guardian
- 7/26 Links Part 1: Kerry's Promises, Morsi Detained For Murder, PFLP-GC Attacks Pal Camp in Syria
- Hamas, spurned by Egypt, tries to get cozy with Iran again
- 7/26 Links Part 2: A New Latma, Retaliation Against the EU and Like IDF Soldiers On FaceBook.
- A withering takedown of academic BDS - by a Muslim woman
- Karl Vick's anti-Israel bias shines through again
- Israeli "spy bird" caught in Turkey
- Hezbollah admits its "military" and "political" wings are the same
| Female Saudi human rights activist can't renew her passport without a male guardian Posted: 26 Jul 2013 03:00 PM PDT UPI Arabic reports that a member of the National Society for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, Dr. Suhaila Zine El Abidine, was not allowed to renew her passport, unless her male guardian would give his approval for her to travel abroad. Abidine said that while women can now seek offices that were unavailable to them only a couple of years ago, they still have to go through this humiliating prerequisite before getting to do basic things. She said that she was told even if a woman is 100 years old, she needs consent from a male guardian before getting approval to do many things.           |
| 7/26 Links Part 1: Kerry's Promises, Morsi Detained For Murder, PFLP-GC Attacks Pal Camp in Syria Posted: 26 Jul 2013 01:30 PM PDT From Ian: Legal group to Kerry: Pre-1967 lines as basis for talks contravenes US commitments Any US guarantee to the Palestinians that the upcoming negotiations with Israel will be based on the pre-1967 lines would be a violation of written US commitments given to then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, former Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker wrote in a letter sent this week to Secretary of State John Kerry.Kerry refers to country of Palestine "It's my hope that that will be able to happen as procedures are put in place by both countries in order to empower that," Kerry told reporters.Kerry promised all pre-Oslo prisoners will go free, claims Arab MK US Secretary of State John Kerry has promised Palestinian officials that peace negotiations will not resume before Israel agrees to release all 100-plus pre-Oslo prisoners, an Arab member of Knesset told The Times of Israel on Thursday. He said this group included 21 prisoners who are either Israeli citizens or Jerusalem residents and whom Israel has reportedly steadfastly refused to free as a goodwill measure to boost negotiations.Ashrawi calls for release of jailed Fatah, PFLP leaders PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi on Thursday demanded European intervention to secure the release of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Sa'dat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.Jeffrey Goldberg: Want Peace? Get Rid of Hamas Of course, the collapse of Hamas wouldn't mean instantaneous Palestinian Authority rule. But nothing at all will happen with Hamas in power.Hevron: Israelis "Fight Back" Against Anarchist, Arab Extremists Anarchists frequently enter Israeli towns on the Jewish Sabbath along with local Arabs, they say, and engage in loud demonstrations which regularly escalate into verbal and physical abuse of Jewish residents.Road Terror in Jerusalem's Old City; Baby Hurt More terror attacks are being reported at the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, with Palestinian Authority Arabs attacking buses with Israeli license plates.Egypt's Morsi ordered held over Hamas contacts, murder The case against Morsi is rooted in the mass jailbreak of more than 30 Muslim Brotherhood leaders from a prison northwest of Cairo during the 2011 popular uprising that toppled Morsi's predecessor, autocrat Hosni Mubarak. There have been many reports in the Egyptian media that the Brotherhood collaborated with Hamas, its Palestinian wing, and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon to arrange the breakout.Israel Security Officials: Weapons Smuggled Into Gaza to Attack Israel, Now Used Against Egypt Security officials in Israel believe anti-aircraft missiles originally smuggled into Gaza from Syria have since made their way into Egypt's Sinai via Hamas operatives supporting Muslim Brotherhood or Al Qaeda forces, which have been using the desert as a base to attack the caretaker Egyptian regime that ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, Israel's Channel 2 reported, citing security sources.Egypt Warns: Sinai Terrorists Planning Friday Attacks Terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula are planning to attempt attacks on Friday, Egyptian military sources have warned. The attacks would be timed to take place parallel to protests in Cairo.Egypt braces for day of rival rallies Political allies of Egypt's military lined up behind its call for huge rallies Friday to show support for the country's top general, pushing toward a collision with Islamist opponents demanding the return of the nation's ousted president.Egyptian Army Gives Brotherhood a 48 Hour Ultimatum The Egyptian army on Thursday gave the Muslim Brotherhood until Saturday afternoon to sign up for political reconciliation, according to a military-linked website.Al-Qaida family festival celebrates jihad with ice cream, tug-o-war Bread and jihadist propaganda were distributed at the fair, but those were far from the only attractions. Video from the event shows children participating in an ice cream eating contest, with one boy wearing a Jabhat al-Nusra headband. There was even a tug-of-war contest between the two al-Qaida groups hosting the jihadist block party: Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.Syrian Christian Describes Religious Cleansing by Islamic Extremists Eventually, the local Sunni extremists were joined by foreign Islamic jihadists and cleansed the town of Christians, according to Fadul.Syrian forces launch offensive on Palestinian camp Pro-government gunmen advanced in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus on Friday, officials said.      |
| Hamas, spurned by Egypt, tries to get cozy with Iran again Posted: 26 Jul 2013 11:30 AM PDT  Bardawil said that relations between Hamas and Iran "had not been interrupted at all" but he admitted that "they have become frosty since the crisis in Syria ... but we emphasize that Hamas does not want to drop relations with any Arab or Muslim party that supports the Palestinian cause." On Tuesday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran and Mahas we resolving issues that caused "misunderstandings" between them. This comes after the Egyptian public, and army, have come out strongly against the Gaza-based Islamist group that enjoyed close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas needs a new patron that can help it pay its bills, and tacitly backing Assad is apparently a price it is willing to pay - a move that will, if made public explicitly, cause some serious damage to Hamas' reputation in the larger Arab world. On the flip side, Iran has been having a hard time to position itself as the leader of the Muslim world when every major Sunni group bitterly opposes it. Hamas helps Iran as well. It will be interesting to see if Khaled Meshal, Hamas "political" head who has been moving from country to country in search of a new permanent Hamas headquarters to replace Syria, will be on board with this.      |
| 7/26 Links Part 2: A New Latma, Retaliation Against the EU and Like IDF Soldiers On FaceBook. Posted: 26 Jul 2013 10:00 AM PDT From Ian: Latma: Palestinian prisoners are concerned and Bibi's plan B For Europe, Greed and Cowardice Trump Security and Justice The EU's willful blindness towards jihadist organizations, be they Sunni or Shia, is nothing new and seems to be motivated largely by greed. Buying Iranian oil and gas and selling Iran "dual use" products, which are sanctioned by the U.S., has always taken a priority over security. The Europeans accepted Hezbollah for more than 30 years. Only after last year's bombing in Bulgaria, and a plot to assassinate Israeli and other diplomats in Cyprus, when the danger seemed closer to home, have they decided to send a message to the Iranian sponsored jihadi organization by designating Hezbollah's "military wing" as terrorists.'Ya'alon orders freeze in permits for EU projects in West Bank' Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon ordered the IDF's civil administration to cease cooperation in joint projects with the EU, The Jerusalem Post has learned.Israel announces plans for West Bank train network Since the planned routes of the network extend throughout the West Bank, including into areas A and B, which are governed by the Palestinian Authority, construction cannot begin without Palestinian cooperation, a Transportation Ministry official told The Times of Israel Thursday.Telegraph reporter lazily asserts that "settler" Jews violate Geneva Convention Jews have lived in Judea and Samaria—the West Bank—since ancient times, and, in fact, the only time Jews have been prohibited from living in these territories in recent decades was during Jordanian rule from 1948 to 1967.800,000 missing Jews: Guardian 'refugee' history includes glaring omission. It's one thing to parrot the Palestinian narrative of the "Nakba", but what the Guardian did was to completely erase from the historical record the well-documented (and completely undisputed) forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of innocent Jews.Shot Dagestan rabbi in stable condition after flight to Israel A Chabad rabbi shot by a suspected terrorist in Russia Thursday was in serious but stable condition after being flown to Israel for treatment.Christian Students Without 'Obvious Self-Interest,' Seek to Legitimize Israel on Campus Founded in 2009, CUFI on Campus has 120 chapters and has trained 2,000 students to advocate for Israel, officials say. Some chapters, such as Mukha's, draw only a handful of members, if that many. "What you want them to do is try to do events that are well attended," Brog said.Report: Al Jazeera Reporter in Violent Confrontation with D.C. Police A reporter claiming to work for Al Jazeera was involved in a violent confrontation with Washington, D.C., police on Tuesday evening after he was ejected from a pro-Israel conference for surreptitiously videotaping attendees and events, according to eyewitnesses.Global startups vie to learn in Tel Aviv High-tech companies from 14 countries are taking part in the Start Tel Aviv international competition whose top prize includes learning the secrets of Israel's startup ecosystem.Bynet Expo: Israel's best high-tech secret For the past 10 years, Israeli high-tech icons and brothers Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel have brought their family of companies together for a showcase: the Bynet Expo in Tel Aviv.Stand With Us: UN Turns to Israel for Advice on Including People With Disabilities in Society Representatives from across the world including Estonia, Colombia, New Zealand, the Vatican - and even from countries that don't have diplomatic relations with Israel - approached Judes to learn more from Beit Issie Shapiro and for cooperation in the field of disabilities. "Israel is a country with a wealth of talent and a big heart," says Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor. "Beit Issie Shapiro shows all that can be accomplished with Israeli innovation, professionalism and leadership. We are very happy to have them as a partner at the United Nations, sharing their expertise to improve life for the 780 million people who live with disabilities around the world."IDF Blog: Looking Back: IDF's First Operation Against Hezbollah In late June 1993, after an escalation in Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel's north, the IDF launched Operation Accountability. Although the IDF initially reacted with restraint, Hezbollah's relentless attacks forced the military to act to protect Israel's civilians.Increasing number of Israeli Arabs signing up for national service In recent weeks the activity of the forum to recruit Israeli Christians to the Israel Defense Forces has made headlines. Israeli Arab public figures, both Muslim and Christian, have spoken out against the increasing numbers of young Christians who are interested in enlisting and want to share the burden along with other minorities such as the Bedouin and Druze.IDF Officer Makes Sure Muslims Can Get To Jerusalem for Ramadan During holidays such as Ramadan and Christmas, the crossing becomes much busier. Open hours at the crossings are extended and many people are able to cross without a permit.IDF Soldiers Invite You to "Like" us on Facebook      |
| A withering takedown of academic BDS - by a Muslim woman Posted: 26 Jul 2013 08:00 AM PDT Haaretz (behind paywall) has an amazing article by Qanta Ahmed. It is so good I found very little to edit out: As a woman, a Muslim and as a physician of Pakistani descent, I can attest personally to the inordinate importance of academic freedom in Britain and the United States. This freedom was extended to me even during the time I was practicing medicine in Saudi Arabia, where - like all women – I was subject to gender apartheid. Because of this experience, I can only see the closing of the academic mind in the form of the 'academic boycott' of Israeli citizens and institutions as the act of invertebrate hypocrites. Boycotting Israel, whether academic or cultural is not an act of moral indignation, but an act of moral turpitude. Academic freedom builds relationships, tolerance, and opportunity. When I moved to Riyadh 15 years ago, I had no doubts about maintaining my professional relationship with my own Jewish American mentor who had guided me throughout my then early career. While I lived and worked in a country where as a Muslim I could worship but my mentor and his coreligionists could not, I was given every opportunity to develop in the American academic space because of his intellectual generosity. While I was subject to legislated male supremacy and relegated to being a legal minor, no Western academic suggested boycotting the medical academe hosting me in the Kingdom. Academic freedom was in fact my only freedom at the time and I was determined to share it. I connected my Saudi colleagues - leading Saudi Muslim academics - with my mentor which led to the publication of jointly-authored papers on patient care in the Arab Gulf, benefiting primarily Muslim patients. This work sowed the seeds for subsequent conferences where both my Saudi Muslim and American Jewish colleagues met and developed their own relationships. In contrast, boycotting Israeli entities penalizes apolitical individuals, their institutions, their innovations and ultimately, stymies a global market of ideas which benefits humanity. Perhaps it's possible to make a more generous assessment of why the various scholars, writers and entertainers who call for a boycott of 'apartheid Israel' claim to act in the interests of Palestinians: That it's based on simple ignorance. They would certainly be wiser if they had had the same opportunity that I recently enjoyed when I visited Israel to meet Israeli academia, and – critically – examined how such a boycott, whether overt or covert, particularly damages Israeli Arabs, or Palestinian citizens of Israel. I spoke to Arab Muslim undergraduates at Haifa's Technion University during my visit in May this year. Arab undergraduates (most of whom are Muslim with a smaller Christian representation) lead a program to remove barriers to success of fellow Arab undergraduates there. Professor Daoud Bshouty, Dean of Undergraduate Studies (and both Israel's and Technion's first Christian Arab faculty member) and Sara Katzir, former Israeli Airforce officer and head of the Beatrice Weston Unit for the Advancement of Students, explained the origin of the program, joined by Assistant Professor Youseff Jabareen, an Arab Israeli Muslim graduate, and the Muslim undergraduate Maysoun Hindawi, who related their own experiences as minorities. When, eight years ago, the Technion examined their own data, they were dismayed to find a high drop-out rate amongst Arab undergraduates, even though they had met the rigorous entry criteria to a university consistently rated amongst the top three science institutes in the world. This was an untenable loss of intellectual talent for the university and in their mind, for Israel. Since then, the Beatrice Weston Unit for the Advancement of Students has developed one-on-one peer mentorship by and for Israeli Arab undergraduates, with men mentoring men and women mentoring women in view of the cultural sensitivities. The program was funded by Jewish American philanthropists intent on serving all sectors of Technion's students, majority and minority alike. ... In less than a decade, the Weston Advancement Unit has improved the Technion's Israeli Arab undergraduate retention rate by over 50 percent, with more gains likely. But The Technion's support extends beyond their undergraduates. Many Israeli Arabs attend Arabic medium schools, so the move to the Hebrew-language university is a significant challenge. In response, candidates identified as Technion material are given intense year-long programs preparing them (and their Hebrew) – developed by the university itself. ... "We have a moral obligation to develop everyone who enters the Technion, because we must nurture scientific ability. It is our responsibility," Katzir told me. The advancement program has been so effective at closing disparity gaps that it has now been rolled out across the institute and offered to every Technion undergrad who needs it, minority or not. After winning national awards, this program is being emulated at other Israeli institutions at government request. There are also life experience and leadership gaps that need to be overcome for minority students. At the Technion, Maysoun explained, Arab Muslim students are often the first in their families -sometimes in generations - to enter higher education, and, in the case of women, may be breaking stereotypical gender roles in conservative families who may not approve of a female student living on campus. Arab Muslim students must also overcome a leadership gap created by the military service that their Jewish peers have gone through. The program develops the leadership skills of its Israeli Arab Muslim undergraduates who direct many activities themselves, based on merit, not 'quota'. My Technion experience clarified for me how calls for academic boycott would particularly imperil the future of these Arab Israeli students and the progressive opportunities they are offered. The shockingly ignorant acquiescence to the widespread braying for boycott, now a socially acceptable sport eclipsing the spirit of academe, whether led by Stephen Hawking or others, reveals the depth to which anti-Israel bias is now entrenched in our ivory towers. The reality is simple: Calling for an Israeli boycott invites no reprisals. It is more than socially acceptable; it is a badge of honor brandished by those claiming to defend 'minorities'. Yet ironically, while the costs of boycott will be shouldered by every Israeli, the major costs will be born by Israel's own minority population, including Israeli Muslims of Palestinian heritage. This is a population which is for the first time becoming highly educated, advancing in the workplace, collaborating with their fellow Israeli Jewish citizens and eager to enter the global marketplace of ideas. These Israeli Muslim Arabs are the keystones to lasting peace in the region. No one else is better positioned to bridge conflicts and cultures and yet no one else will be more penalized by boycott. Academic freedom means the freedom to collaborate, the freedom to cooperate, the freedom to communicate, the freedom to investigate, and the freedom to know the other. Isolating Israelis imposes upon all of us outside of Israel the worst kind of self-isolation, one which denies our engagement not only with the richly intellectual and extraordinarily productive Israeli academic community but access to those minorities facing the greatest challenges in Israel. The boycott flattens the painstakingly earned, inch-by-inch progress towards coexistence within and outside Israel; and coexistence is surely the primary step towards regional peace. At this discouraging time of increasing academic and cultural siege, every thoughtful academic should join me in lending their name and their reputation to fighting the boycott. Qanta Ahmed MD is the author of In the Land of Invisible Women (2008), a Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellow in Science and Religion and Associate Professor of Medicine, State University of New York. Follow her on Twitter @MissDiagnosis. (h/t Zvi)      |
| Karl Vick's anti-Israel bias shines through again Posted: 26 Jul 2013 06:00 AM PDT Time magazine's Karl Vick lists nine reasons to be skeptical about the chances for a peace agreement - and not one of them blames Palestinian Arabs or the PLO. However, his first reason is enough to show how Vick will selectively choose or even twist facts to fit his anti-Israel mindset: 1. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow to submit any agreement to a referendum. Bibi's promise, made Sunday at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting, brought cries that he was shirking the leadership role required of a statesman, though acting consistent with his reputation for governing by poll. In any event, an Israeli plebiscite would likely sound the death knell for an agreement based – as any to emerge from Kerry's planned talks would have to be – upon the Oslo Accords, the 1994 framework for a Palestinian state that, as a candidate, Netanyahu used to burn in effigy, marching beside a coffin labeled "Oslo." Polls consistently show most Israelis want a peace agreement but do not believe one will come, one reason surely being that most Israelis reject the specific concessions a deal almost certainly would entail. To take only one issue: Two out of three centrist Israelis in one recent poll refuse to divide Jerusalem, the city Palestinians insist must also serve as their capital. And this week, even in the absence of any specifics at all, only 55 percent of Israelis said they were inclined to support an agreement Netanyahu might present. So Bibi's promise to hold a referendum is a bad thing, according to Vick, because forcing Israelis to accept something they don't want or believe in is the correct action for a democracy. and he knows that the public will reject such a peace agreement. How? Because a poll shows that only 55% of the Israeli public would support a plan that Netanyahu recommends! And we all know that 55% is, in Karl Vick's mind, a minority. How's that for pretzel logic? But it gets better. Because Mahmoud Abbas said the exact same thing, that he would hold a referendum. Vick doesn't see this as a problem (if he is even aware of it.) There is no doubt that the Palestinian Arabs would overwhelmingly reject any deal that does not include the "right to return" and destroy Israel demographically, or that would allow Israel to keep Jewish neighborhoods around Jerusalem, things that are non-starters for Israel. Poll after poll prove that Palestinian Arabs aren't interested in real peace, and Vick has read the polls. But Vick has nothing negative to say about Abbas' call for a referendum, while slamming Bibi for the exact same thing.. No, according to this faux-Middle East "expert," Netanyahu and Israelis are the only stubborn, intransigent parties. The Palestinian Arabs who are fed a steady diet of antisemitism and rejectionism in their media, their classrooms and their popular culture are given a free pass by Vick. Even Hamas is considered moderate by Vick, who stated nearly two years ago that it was on the verge of recognizing Israel. How did that prediction pan out, Karl? This is only one of the many examples of bias in this article alone. Fisking the whole thing isn't necessary when it is so easy to prove bias, but just another tiny example: Vick states that Israel approves "very few" Arab structures in the territories. In fact it mainly is concerned with Area C. Arabs can build all they want in Area A and Ramallah is filled with new buildings. I showed recently how a French-backed industrial park in Bethlehem, adding potentially thousands of jobs, is about to open with full Israeli cooperation. But Karl Vick will never report on that - because it contradicts the web of anti-Israel lies he has spun over the years, and his concern over being proven a fraud is far more important than reporting the truth. Vick has been proven not just wrong, but consistently wrong over the years. Why he is still respected? Mostly because he writes to confirm the biases that he and his fellow reporters helped create, rather than report reality. Israel and Israelis Jews are intransigent, Abbas and the Palestinian Arabs are moderate, Hamas is moving towards moderation, and everything is always Israel's fault. How do we know? Because the Karl Vicks of the world keep saying it, without the slightest shred of proof, or the tiniest bit of embarrassment at being proven wrong! (h/t Zvi)      |
| Israeli "spy bird" caught in Turkey Posted: 26 Jul 2013 04:00 AM PDT From Hurriyet Daily News: Turkish authorities have cleared a renegade bird captured in the Ağın district of the eastern province of Elazığ of suspicions of working for Israel's state-of-the-art intelligence agency.   Saudi Arabia caught an Israeli "spy" vulture in 2011, and Sudan caught another one in late 2012. Iran accused Israel of sending pigeons with "invisible strings" to spy on the Natanz nuclear plant. The definitive list of Zionist animal spies is in this article I wrote for NewsRealBlog. I also once made a comic strip about this evergreen example of Arab and Muslim paranoia. (h/t Gidon Shaviv)      |
| Hezbollah admits its "military" and "political" wings are the same Posted: 26 Jul 2013 02:00 AM PDT From Ya Libnan, a nice adjunct to my most recent cartoon: Hezbollah international relations official Ammar Moussawi admitted on Thursday that Hezbollah's political and military wings are one and the same and slammed the European Union's decision to blacklist his party, describing it as an insult to Lebanon, its people and the resistance.      |
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