יום חמישי, 29 באוגוסט 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Protesters shout "Shoot the Jew" outside concert at Wits University

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 07:00 PM PDT

I mentioned a few weeks ago that a concert by the Daniel Zamir Quartet was coming to Wits University in South Africa in order to make up for the concert by Yossi Reshef last March that was cut short by obnoxious protesters who crashed into the show.

The haters, of course, were going crazy that an Israeli jazz group would be playing. The sponsors, including the South Africa Jewish Board of Deputies, took some precautions to ensure that attendees would not disrupt the concert - an eminently reasonable move.

They used a ticket broker who asked all who wanted to purchase tickets for information like their student numbers. However, one ticket broker misunderstood the instructions and told some of the haters on the phone that "only Jews" would be allowed to attend.

This was of course not true, but the BDSers tried to spread the recording and then protested to the university that the event was a "Jews-only" event.

The concert went off today without a hitch and all races and religions were in the audience. As the Wits Vuvuzela reports:

A Wits PhD student, Serge Tshibangu, said the allegations made by BDS were false because he had ordered a ticket and had received confirmation of the order, even though he is "African": I totally disagree that it is a racist concert."

Tshibangu said he ordered his tickets on Monday. He had to give his full names and identification number to buy the ticket but he understood it was so his ID number could be checked by Campus Control officers when he arrived at the concert.

Krengel said he "applauded Wits University for upholding the democratic values and freedoms that have made it so fine an academic institution and for its forthright rejection of the intimidatory, bullying tactics of those who do not scruple to undermine those freedoms in order to push their own radical political agendas."
What has been so far unreported in the media is the bigoted actions of the protesters outside the concert. While the haters said they were going to hold a silent protest - and the Mail & Guardian claimed that they did - a reporter from the Vuvuzela, Emelia Motsai, a journalism student, tweeted otherwise:

Emelia Motsai
Some protesters have tapes on their mouths, some are singing softly. It was said that this would be a "silent protest" #Witsconcert

Protester are now in the corridors of the great hall shouting "down with zionism down" to those who are going into the #Witsconcert

There is no silence in this protest. The protesters are now singing loudly as #Witsconcert attendees arrive.

Some #Witsconcert attendees rolling their eyes as they pass the shouting protesters. another passed by holding up a scarf written 'israel'

"You have the blood of Palestine children on your jersey" shouted a protester to a lady attending #Witsconcert

Some protesters throwing papers at #Witsconcert attendees as they arrive.

'Dubula e Juda" shoot Judah, sings the protesters #Witsconcert

. A campus control officer just confirmed that the auditorium was full.
"Dubula e Juda" of course means "Shoot the Jew."

These lowlifes were claiming that the Jews were acting in a discriminatory way by their bogus charge that only Jews would be allowed. Yet they are the biggest bigots of all.

And news outlet SABC called the BDS movement "a human rights organization!"

Arabs freak out over video of IDF soldiers dancing at Druze wedding (UPDATE - Hebron party?)

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 04:00 PM PDT

A rumor was started (apparently on Facebook) that this video shows IDF soldiers dancing at a wedding near Hebron with Palestinian Arabs:



In fact, the YouTube caption says that this was a Druze wedding inside the Green Line. The Druze, of course, join the IDF so these may have been  Jewish or Druze soldiers. (It doesn't appear to be a Muslim wedding at all.)

But the rumors are out there that this was a Palestinian Arab event, with comments from the Arab world that "Arabs are killing each other and here Jews and Palestinians are dancing."

(h/t eliyahud)

UPDATE: Times of Israel reports that it really was a party in Hebron, and it gets worse:

The IDF may punish a group of soldiers for joining a Palestinian party in Hebron after a video emerged of the infantrymen in full gear dancing to PSY's Gangnam Style with their Palestinian hosts.

While on patrol in the city, according to a Channel 2 report aired Wednesday night, the Givati Brigade soldiers — armed and in uniform — entered the party and were greeted festively, even being hoisted on the shoulders of the party-goers as they all danced.

The party was attended by members of the Jaabari clan, whose male members are known to members of the terror group Hamas, according to the report.

"This is an incident of utmost severity," the IDF said in a statement. "The soldiers have been called in for questioning, and the commanders of the brigade and the battalion are investigating. The soldiers [in question] will be dealt with appropriately."
JPost has the story as well.

This is too bizarre. If this report is true and not a mangled version of reality, it is incomprehensibly stupid for IDF soldiers to expose themselves in a situation like that, and equally incomprehensible that an entire room full of young Arab men would cheer IDF soldiers under any circumstance.

There must be more to this story. At least, there had better be.

If true, the Arab reaction is still funny.

(h/t Brian)

8/28 Links Pt2: PA Violates Oslo Accords, PA Lying About Cancelled Talks, Raising Nemo in the Desert

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 02:30 PM PDT

From Ian:
Khaled Abu Toameh: The Palestinian Authority's "Israeli Affairs Committee"
Instead of preparing Palestinians for peace with Israel, the Palestinian Authority leadership has decided to focus its efforts on winning the support of the Israeli public for a peaceful settlement based on the two-state solution.
In the context of its efforts to "convince" Israelis to accept the two-state solution, the Palestinian Authority recently established a special "Israeli Affairs Committee" with the goal of promoting the idea among the Israeli public.
The committee's main task, in fact, is to scare Israelis that failure to accept all Palestinian demands would plunge the region into another cycle of violence and bloodshed. The Palestinian Authority is hoping that to avoid another intifada, intimidated Israelis would put pressure on their government to comply with Palestinian demands.
Opposition To 'Abbas Emerging Within Palestinian Authority
Senior Fatah Members Criticize Government For Anti-Democratic Methods, Corruption
Recently, several senior Fatah members have sharply and openly criticized the nature of the Palestinian Authority (PA) government, headed by President Mahmoud 'Abbas. Essentially, they accused 'Abbas of concentrating in his hands a great number of functions and powers; this, they say, constitutes an infringement of democratic rule. They also alleged that there is corruption in the PA and its security apparatuses, and that they are exceeding their authority and suppressing freedom of expression by intimidating anyone who dares to speak out against 'Abbas.
PA official Rajoub calls Israelis "bullies" and "you Nazis"


Prosor: Peace Depends on Next Generation Wanting Peace
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, said on Tuesday that peace in the Middle East would only be possible if the Palestinian Authority stops educating its children towards hatred of Israel and towards jihad against Jews.
In a post on his Facebook page, Prosor mentioned the UNRWA-sponsored children's camps which educate young PA Arab children to wage war against Israel.
"The next peace agreement depends on the next generation wanting peace," he wrote.
"This summer, Palestinian children as young as 5 attended camps where they were taught to hate Jews, glorify suicide bombers and fight a 'holy war' against the State of Israel," added Prosor.
Israeli Minister Tells Norway That Palestinians Are Violating Oslo Accords
Elkin asked the foreign minister of the country where the 1993 Oslo Accords were signed to discourage the Palestinian Authority from taking unilateral steps that violate the agreement.
"If the Oslo agreement said specifically that the Palestinian Authority will not take unilateral steps to establish an independent state, and after about 20 years it goes to the U.N. and asks for recognition of a Palestinian state, who will ensure that if we sign an agreement they will uphold its conditions?" Elkin said, according to Israel Hayom.
Palestinian Authority Accused of 'Lying' as Talks Continue
On Monday, a senior PA spokesperson declared that the talks had been cancelled, in response to events in Kalandia.
"The meeting that was to take place in Jericho... today was cancelled because of the Israeli crime committed in Kalandiya.
"What happened today in Kalandiya shows the real intentions of the Israeli government," said PA Chairman president Mahmoud Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina.
MK Tibi: Mob Attack on Soldiers was 'Legitimate Self-Defense'
MK Ahmed Tibi, who is no stranger to controversy, may have outdone himself with a new Facebook post justifying a violent attack on IDF soldiers – and calling the soldiers war criminals.
"Throwing rocks at a military jeep full of armed soldiers who came to kill in a refugee camp (Kalandia this time, Jenin two weeks ago) is legitimate and is a form of self-defense," Tibi wrote.
Foreign Ministry slams UNRWA for 'jumping to conclusions' in Kalandiya incident
In an unusually blunt attack on the United Nation's Relief and Works Agency, the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called on the organization to "return to its original humanitarian agenda" and refrain from "one-sided political advocacy."
Only in this way, the statement said, could UNRWA "hope to be taken seriously – both by Israel and the international donor community."
The Foreign Ministry was responding to a press release the organization issued Monday condemning Israel for the death of UN worker Rubin Zayed, a 34-year-old father of four. The agency said this occurred during the IDF operation Monday in Kalandiya where three Palestinians were killed after security forces came under attack while carrying out an arrest.
The 'hate fest' of the year coming to a university near you!!
On Wednesday 11th September and Thursday 12th September, our National University in Canberra is hosting a conference for "Human rights in Palestine".
This conference/hate fest is associated with a project on 'Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories' funded by the British Academy and the Australian National University. The British Academy has provided funding for the project with the aim of encouraging debate and understanding.
The Australian: Peace body promotes conflict
One of the many benefits of the rule of law is that everybody is entitled to their day in court. Faced with a complaint of breaching the Race Discrimination Act, two Sydney academics have decided to stage a protest rally instead.
It means that peaceful, law-abiding scholars at the University of Sydney will have their day disrupted by another arrogant display by the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Sydney Peace Foundation director Stuart Rees and Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies director Jake Lynch would do better to start preparing their defence for the Australian Human Rights Commission hearing they are due to face this week. The Tel Aviv-based Israel Law Centre, Shurat HaDin, has lodged a complaint that the academics' support for the BDS movement breaches race discrimination laws.
BDS groups protest Israel Philharmonic in Buenos Aires
Pro-Palestinian groups held an anti-Israel demonstration outside a Buenos Aires theater during a charity concert by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Some 50 demonstrators outside the Colon Theatre on Monday called for a boycott, disinvestment and sanctions against Israel.
A statement from the Federation of Palestine-Argentinian institutions and the Association for Human Rights in Palestine — the groups that organized the protest — said Israel "kills one Palestinian child every three days" and that Israel is carrying out a policy of "ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people."
Indy legitimises ludicrous charge that Israel is 'ethnically cleansing' Jerusalem
As you can see, whatever your views on Israel's decision to build homes in communities in "east" Jerusalem (parts of the city previously controlled by Jordan), the charge that such construction, on lands which are currently uninhabited, constitutes the "ethnic cleansing" of either Muslims or Arabs is nothing but a lie.
If the toxic influence of pro-Palestinian propaganda wasn't so severe, the charge that Israelis are engaged in anything resembling the ethnic cleansing of Muslims or Arabs would be regarded with the suspicion and contempt that typically greets other discredited anti-Zionist and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
BBC R2 promotes and mainstreams anti-Israel Greenbelt Festival
Near the beginning of the programme Clare Balding remarks on the "lovely feel" to the festival and her interviewee, the festival's creative director Paul Northup, describes the event as "inclusive" and engaging". However, any stray Israelis who happened to stumble upon it would probably find the event decidedly less than inclusive.
Balding makes no mention of the fact that one of the festival's 'attractions' was a "giant interactive floor game for all ages" titled "Occupation".
The Truth about the Siege of Gaza Strip
The Gaza Strip is under a cruel siege which takes no account of the basic needs of the population, Yet the world is silent. Already under the role of now-deposed President Morsi, the Egyptian Army began an operation to destroy and flood the smuggling tunnels. Now, in addition to the fishing areas, the border has been sealed, with no indication of plans to re-open it. At the other end, the State of Israel allows the transfer of people and goods to the Gaza Strip, providing both electricity and water to a territory it itself defines as a "hostile entity"
US student says racist campus postings a 'joke'
A college student acknowledged posting anti-Islam fliers and racist cards around the campus of the historically liberal Oberlin College earlier this year, saying he meant them as a "joke" to provoke a reaction, according to statements he made after being detained by campus security. The student also took credit for the display of a large Nazi flag, which he also said he meant as a joke, and posting the face of Oberlin's president onto a picture of Adolf Hitler, according to the statements contained in an Oberlin city police report.
Adjudicator Rules Against BDS-Infected Academia
An Israeli student won a significant victory against Britain's BDS-infected academia.
The background: Smadar Bakovic had repeatedly complained to Warwick University that she wasn't comfortable with pro-BDS professor Nicola Pratt supervising her Master's degree dissertation on Israeli Arab identity. Eventually, Pratt gave a low mark to Bakovic's dissertation, Bakovic had it re-evaluated on appeal, and received a substantially better mark.
Man charged with threatening Fargo synagogue
A man is facing federal civil rights and threats charges after officials at the Department of Justice said he called the synagogue here and left a message suggesting he was affiliated with Hamas and claiming Islamic Jihad against the head of the synagogue.
Dominique Jason Flanigan, 41, of Fargo, also known as Kadafi Al Sadar, was arraigned Monday on two counts of transmitting threatening communications and one count of interference with a federally protected activity, the highest count of which is a felony, according to court documents.
Book Sounds Alarm on Modern Anti-Israelism and Anti-Semitism (REVIEW)
Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld sounds the alarm. His new book, "Demonizing Israel and the Jews," consults a diverse selection of prominent authors, bloggers, politicians, psychiatrists, historians and other expert professionals, gauging the current climate.
This survey is extensive, and it is important. By highlighting his colleagues' research, Gerstenfeld examines the roots of persistent old-world anti-Semitism and demonstrates how new, hate-fueled, uncompromising, and even genocidal ideologies propagate rapidly.
Israel and China agreement takes direct flights to new heights
Under new deal, Israel and China can operate 14 regular weekly flights and seven cargo flights between the two countries • Until now, El Al has operated just three weekly flights from Tel Aviv to Beijing, while Air China does not operate any.
PrePex chosen to circumcise 20 million men in Africa
Fourteen African nations with high rates of new HIV infections are hoping an Israeli medical device for non-surgical voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) can curb the epidemic and save lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) has prequalified the PrePax method as part of its widespread HIV prevention programs on the continent.
PrePex is the only adult circumcision method, other than conventional surgery, to gain WHO accreditation. The method requires no sutures, no injected anesthesia and sees no blood. Moreover, PrePex can be used by both trained physicians and mid-level providers, such as nurses.
Raising Nemo in the desert
Desert fishing seems like an absurd notion. Yet the lucrative tropical fish-growing industry in Israel's Negev desert is one of the best, and most environmentally friendly, in the world.
Click on the video to see Arava Research and Development Center Director Alon Gadiel explain why this arid region has become a world leader in the fancy fish industry.
Growing fish in Israel's desert

Vancouver transit ads show "the map that lies"

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 12:00 PM PDT

From The Province:
Jewish groups in Vancouver say they are considering suing Trans-Link for accepting controversial political advertisements showing the "disappearance of Palestine due to Israeli occupation over the past 66 years."

On Tuesday, a group called the Palestine Awareness Coalition announced the launch of 15 bus posters and a large mural in a central Vancouver SkyTrain station, that depict the territory of Palestine steadily shrinking into the state of Israel in a succession of dated maps.

Marty Roth - a 79-year-old member of the coalition group behind the ad campaign - said they have already won a victory over groups that tried to "suppress" the ads.

"This will be controversial with a number of traditional Jewish organizations that have tried to suppress the ads," Roth claimed. "But Trans-Link has refused to agree with them,

because these are educational ads that are well within national advertising guidelines and the Canadian Charter (of Rights and Freedoms)."

Roth said, as a Canadian Jewish man, he believes Israel is unjustly oppressing the people of Palestine and his group wants to educate the Canadian public about the conflict.

But Jewish leaders including Mitchell Gropper, chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, called the ads a provocative attack on Jewish people that will incite hatred. "This is of grave concern to our community at large, because the ads make the use of the buses unwelcome and unsafe," Gropper said, noting that terrorist attacks in Israel often target buses.

"I don't think I've ever seen ads on our TransLink system that attack a section of our society. If the transit system will be used to attack Israel and the Jewish people, who is next?" Gropper, a Vancouver lawyer, said his group went to the "highest levels" of TransLink and argued that the Palestine ads should be rejected, but they were told TransLink must accept the ads for legal reasons.

The Province sought interviews with TransLink officials but were referred to a prepared statement, which says TransLink sought a "third-party legal opinion" which said the Supreme Court of Canada decided TransLink must run ads such as "Disappearing Palestine" under the Canadian Charter.
The ads are even less accurate than the popular four-panel maps that I have shown in the past to be absolute lies.

Here is a photo of the full ad, plus a close-up:


The first panel is is a lie. The entire area was called "Palestine" including the white parts (that symbolize private Jewish ownership.) As I have explained, most of the land was owned by the British Mandate, and was not privately owned by either Jew or Arab.

The second panel is a lie. The UN partition plan, which the Arabs rejected, called the two states simply "The Jewish state" and "The Arab state."  At no time was there any attempt by Arabs to allow a Palestinian Arab state to be created.

The third panel is a lie. During that time period, no one was calling for a Palestinian Arab state in the territories occupied by Jordan and Egypt - least of all, Jordan and Egypt, but Palestinian Arab leaders didn't demand one either. The PLO, founded in 1964, explicitly excluded the green areas from its desired state in its charter!

The fourth panel is a lie. Israel has not annexed all the white areas and has offered far more than the green areas for any future peace plan.

However, I am not sure if the Vancouver Jewish community's arguments, based on the ads making Jews feel insecure and unwelcome as they use the transit system, are the correct arguments to make.

I value free speech and those arguments make me uncomfortable. Seeing a message I passionately disagree with is not automatically an attack on me.

However, there is a very good reason why the ads should be taken down.  The problem isn't offensiveness - it is truth in advertising. 

 According to the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards:

(a) Advertisements must not contain inaccurate, deceptive or otherwise misleading claims, statements, illustrations or representations, either direct or implied, with regard to any identified or identifiable product(s) or service(s).

(b) Advertisements must not omit relevant information in a manner that, in the result, is deceptive.
[...]

(e) Both in principle and practice, all advertising claims and representations must be supportable.
This ad clearly and provably fails each of these clauses.

This is why the ads must be pulled, and the people who place such lying and deceptive ads must be exposed not as advocates, but as liars and haters to whom truth is less important than demonizing the Jewish state.

I hope that the Zionist community in Vancouver goes after the ads on that basis. It should be a slam-dunk. Here is the webpage where one can file a complaint with Canadian Advertising Standards.

8/28 Links Pt1: Syria- ‘A pity they both can’t lose’, Bernard-Henri Levy- 'Erdogan is out of his mind'

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 10:30 AM PDT

From Ian:
'A pity they both can't lose'
The US is in a similar situation. It needs to rush, while the outrage over Assad's alleged chemical attack remains fresh, but it needs time to assemble itself. Once the obligatory moves to the UN have been made and the machinery of war is in place, the US should offer Bashar Assad an ultimatum. It could even be sugar-coated. Everyone detests the usage of chemical weapons, President Barack Obama could say. They are a heinous weapon. You claim the rebels have used them against your forces. We have evidence of your forces using them against civilians. In the interest of world security we offer you three days to surrender all chemical weapons materials to a UN team. So that they do not fall into the wrong hands. So that the weapons are safe. If you do not comply, we will be left with no alternative but to strike.
Iran's role
As a US-led strike on Syria appears increasingly likely, Israel will be watching closely too. Not wanting to become embroiled in the conflict of its hostile northern neighbor, Israel can only hope that the international community punishes Assad for ordering the use of chemical weapons against his own people, and stops him from using them again.
Only swift action will send a clear message, not only to Syria, but also to Iran. Perhaps just as important is the moral message the civilized world is sending itself.
It is bad enough that the international community has been silent for so long about the civil war in Syria, which has claimed the lives of well over 100,000 people.
Syria strikes imminent, and right
The reason why this effectively guarantees military action, and why military action is right, is that the West simply cannot allow a precedent to be set in which the use of chemical weapons is brushed over and ignored. This does not, and must not, mean boots on the ground. Ultimately, the Arab world should sort this out, not us.
But we can do something. Extensive cruise missile strikes against Assad's military infrastructure (plus a nice little one on his presidential palace) should be sufficient to make a very necessary point.
Analysis: Syria should not be equated with Libya nor Iraq
Samore says that Kosovo, not Libya or Iraq, provides the best template for comparison to the Syrian crisis. And indeed, the US administration has been studying NATO's 1999 intervention in the Yugoslav conflict closely in recent days.
"The big differences with Libya and Iraq are the facts on the ground," Samore said. "But it's based fundamentally on the principle that outside actors can intervene in a local conflict against a government, if that government has failed to protect its people."
Syria said to clear out security installations ahead of attack
According to activists quoted in a report in the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya media channel, Syria was abandoning command centers and government security offices — sites that it suspects will be targeted in a possible Western strike. New facilities were being set up in secret locations, some of which were reportedly within walking distance of the former centers, and in alternative sites, such as in schools. Trucks were deployed to vacate some of the regime's main security centers.
Report: Assad is in Iran
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and members of his family are in Tehran, after they arrived at Homeini Airport in the presidential plane Tuesday night, sources in Iran's foreign ministry told the website of Lebanese newsaper a-Nahar. The news did not receive confirmation from other official sources.
Arab League: Syrian Government Responsible for Chemical Attack
In a statement issued after a meeting in Cairo, the 22-member organization said it held the Syrian government, led by President Bashar Al-Assad, fully responsible for last week's gas attack in which hundreds were killed.
The League said it "demands that all the perpetrators of this heinous crime be presented for international trials," reported Reuters.
Syria: Was Chemical Weapons Massacre a Mistake?
"It's quite likely that there was a kind of operational mistake here," the unnamed senior Israeli source told the New York Times. "I don't think they wanted to kill so many people, especially so many children. Maybe they were trying to hit one place or to get one effect and they got a much greater effect than they thought."
Israeli experts who were briefed on the attack reportedly said they believe the chemical used was a "cocktail" that included sarin gas. The mix of several components may have been far more deadly than Assad's troops realized.
Netanyahu: Israel Will 'Respond in Strength' to Any Attack
"The State of Israel is ready for any scenario," Netanyahu said in a statement. "We are not part of the civil war in Syria but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond and we will respond in strength."
Jittery Israelis overrun gas mask distribution points
Thousands of Israelis failed in their attempts to obtain gas masks on Wednesday as growing numbers of citizens flooded post offices and IDF Home Front Command distribution centers ahead of an expected US strike on Syria.
Human Rights Lawyer: Syrian Atrocities Due to Cuddling [sic - JPress meant "coddling"]
International attorney Richard D. Heideman said that massacres in Syria, including the recent use of deadly gas by the government against its own citizens, are a result of the constant and consistent protection from responsibility which the Syrian regime has enjoyed in the international community.
"The Syrian state violence, not just of recent days, but stretching back two years, are the direct result and byproduct of the ongoing impunity enjoyed by the Syrian Arab republic while conducting terrorist activities stretching back decades," said Heideman, the lead counsel on behalf of American victims of Syrian terrorism, who has received on behalf of his clients the highest judgments awarded by US Federal Courts against the Syrian Arab Republic as a state sponsor of terror. "The world didn't care when it assisted in the hijacking of planes, when it helped and assisted terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and acted as a conduit for Iran to smuggle weapons to Lebanon to be used against Israel, and it still doesn't seem to care when it kills 100,000 of its own people."
NGO Monitor: HRW Hedges on Syrian Atrocities; Accuses Israel of War Crimes
In each of these four examples, HRW accuses Israel conclusively of "war crimes" without any qualifications or disclaimers. And, in each of these four examples, as well as dozens of others over the past decade, HRW levels the harsh accusations despite lacking factual and evidentiary basis for its claims, and without the expertise necessary to draw its speculative conclusions. In fact, later research by NGO Monitor and others showed that, in each of these examples and in almost every case, HRW was wrong about the facts, about the technology and science, and about the legal interpretations.
Iran Threatens War That Will "Engulf the Whole Region" if Syria Attacked
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Araqchi, indicated it was equally resolved to defend Assad.
"We want to strongly warn against any military attack in Syria. There will definitely be perilous consequences for the region," Araqchi told a news conference. "These complications and consequences will not be restricted to Syria. It will engulf the whole region."
UN, Iran agree to restart talks in September
Iran and the UN nuclear agency have agreed to restart talks focused on the agency's attempts to probe suspicions that Tehran worked on atomic weapons, diplomats said Wednesday, in the first such meeting since Iran's hard-line president was replaced by a more moderate successor.
The diplomats told The Associated Press that the negotiations will resume September 27, with the main focus on gaining access to a section of a military site that the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has long tried to access.
Hezbollah Places Beirut Stronghold Under Security Lockdown
Following two major bombings in Hezbollah's largest stronghold in Beirut in less than two months, the group has decided to place the area under security lockdown, Al-Monitor reported Tuesday.
According to the report, the group has set up checkpoints, with explosives detection devices and bomb-sniffing dogs at all entrances linking it to Beirut.
Under these procedures, an unnamed correspondent in Beirut reported, every car entering the southern suburbs has to spend nearly two hours before being able to cross the checkpoints set up by Hezbollah.
Five Hamas members arrested over Egyptian police massacre
Five members of Hamas were arrested in northern Sinai recently for involvement in the killing of 25 Egyptian policemen, Arab media reported on Wednesday.
Quoting "a knowledgeable source" in the city of El-Arish, the Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that 11 suspects were arrested four days ago near the border city of Rafah. Three of the suspect are local residents, three carry foreign passports, and five are Hamas members, the daily claimed.
Don't count on Turkey
Considering Turkey's interest in seeing an end to the violence in Syria, its membership in NATO, and the reported friendship between Obama and Erdogan, it seems logical to expect that Turkey will play a major role in the coming operation. The American-built Incirlik Air Base on Turkey's southern coast was designed for a moment like this.
But there are number of reasons why Erdogan's fervent saber rattling will not likely not be matched by his country's participation:
Israel-Turkey relations sink to new low
The breakdown in once-close military ties could be critical if the international community, led by the US, decides to attack in response to the alleged Syrian use of chemical weapons last week. A US strike could trigger a retaliatory response by Syria against either of its neighbors, both close US allies.
But officials in both countries confirm that political and military contacts are now limited. They say reconciliation talks meant to repair diplomatic ties have collapsed quietly, and military ties, once the centerpiece of the alliance, are minimal at best. The dire state of affairs was reflected last week when Turkey's Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claimed that Israel was behind the recent military coup in Egypt, prompting condemnations from Israel and the US.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: My Response to the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Why do you think that Erdogan mentioned you by name and held you responsible for the overthrow of the government in Egypt?
He's out of his mind. He's come unhinged, flipped out. Sorry, but in France, in the United States, people can't stop laughing.

Idiot's Guide to the Middle East (chart) (updated)

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 08:30 AM PDT

A couple of days ago, Egyptian blogger Big Pharaoh had a fantastic idea to graphically explain the Middle East:


I loved the idea but wasn't happy with the execution. I thought maybe I could make it easier to follow, streamlined and even add more detail. I admire good graphic design and it seemed like it was do-able.

Well, I don't think I succeeded in making it simpler.

Adding a few more vertices and nodes made it even more spectacularly complicated than before.

Maybe we can turn it into a board game.



My original intent was to add Copts, Kurds and (Lebanese) Druze to the chart, but things would have really gotten out of hand.

UPDATE: Some fixes; I put the wrong color for Turkey-Assad and added PA-Israel, some other stuff as people mention it.

(h/t Gidon)

"Rightist" "settlers" "break in" to Temple Mount - according to Ma'an English

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 07:00 AM PDT

Ma'an, whose English edition pretends to adhere to basic journalistic standards, writes:

Jews visiting Mount on Monday
Settlers escorted into Aqsa mosque compound

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) – Dozens of Israeli rightists broke into al-Aqsa Mosque compound through the Old City's Moroccan Gate Wednesday morning heavily escorted with Israeli police officers, Palestinian officials said.

Officials in the Palestinian ministry of endowments told Ma'an that more than 60 settlers entered the compound in groups and toured its squares.
Once again:

  • There is nothing "rightist" about wanting to pray in your faith's holiest site.
  • Walking through a door that thousands pass through every month is not "breaking in."
  • Jews who visit the Temple Mount are not necessarily "settlers." 

Then again, perhaps Ma'an is adhering to today's journalistic standards, since Reuters has the exact same bias in its reporting.

Notice also that the source for this absurd report is not the Al Aqsa Foundation that usually feeds lies to the Arab media to be parroted, but the PA's own Ministry of Awqaf. The official PA government that receives hundreds of millions of Western dollars is once again promulgating lies, and no one really calls them on it.

The Arabic statement from the Awqaf also says that the "settlers "engaged in "provocative Talmudic rituals." Manyeb Ma'an will include that line next time.

Report that Hamas arrested PFLP terrorists who shot mortars

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 05:00 AM PDT

Palestine Press Agency reports that Hamas arrested five members of the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, after they fired mortar shells at Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip.

Sources told the agency that Hamas security arrested a number of PFLP members in northern Gaza in their homes after they fired shells to commemorate the twelfth anniversary of "martyrdom" of Abu Ali Mustafa, PFLP secretary general who was killed by the IDF on August 27, 2001.

The sources further said that the Hamas security forces raided about 12 houses belonging to Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades members.

The Mustafa Brigades web page confirms the raids.

The Gaza NGO Safety Office reports "27 AUG: Overnight, Pal. ops. fired 2 rockets from GC and MA toward the Green Line; 1 rocket exploded prematurely."

Free Beacon reports on Pepsi sponsorship of Hamas soccer

Posted: 28 Aug 2013 02:00 AM PDT

Adam Kredo at the Washington Free Beacon has followed up on my scoops from this year and last about how Pepsi's Gaza bottler is using the Pepsi name and logo to sponsor Hamas-approved soccer games and to make anti-Israel political statements in Pepsi's name.

Excerpts:
A controversy is brewing in the Gaza Strip over the Pepsi Company's controversial ties to Palestinian sports teams and a stadium that likely doubled as a launching pad for terrorist rockets.

...Bottling company Yazegi told the Washington Free Beacon that PepsiCo has no problem with its sponsorship of Al Yarmouk and the Beit Lahiya stadium where Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has been seen playing soccer with Pepsi-backed players.

...While Yazegi claims that it holds no political views, the group has written about the so-called "Israeli occupation" on its Facebook page.

In a July 13 post on its Facebook page, Yazegi discussed the Pepsi advertisements displayed at Yarmouk, which was recently rebuilt by Hamas after Israeli airstrikes caused widespread damage.

"With this creative manner from the advertisement department in PepsiCo, the company was able to defy the Israeli occupation by embellishing the field which the occupation had destroyed with beautifully placed Pepsi advertisements on all sides of Al Yarmouk playground," Yazegi wrote, according to a translation of the post.

PepsiCo spokesman Jeff Dahncke said Yazegi is given latitude in its promotional activities.

"PepsiCo does not sponsor any soccer teams in Gaza," Dahncke told the Free Beacon when asked about Hamas' Haniyeh playing soccer with players sporting a Pepsi logo.

"The photos depict a soccer league involving local community teams, and the local independent bottler producing Pepsi has a relationship with the league that allows for promotional activities to take place at the soccer venues," Dahncke said. "Soccer is a global marketing platform for Pepsi and the brand is associated with the sport around the world."

When asked if Pepsi objected to the use of its logo in a stadium where official Hamas activities are taking place, Dahncke did not respond.

Middle East experts and some on Capitol Hill have questioned Pepsi's hands-off approach, warning that even the perception of sponsorship and use of the soda company's logo harms its reputation.

"This is really outrageous," said one senior Senate aide. "Pepsi should take immediate steps to disavow any further connection with Hamas.

"Can you imagine the next Coke-Pepsi challenge?" the source asked. "Hmmm, that one tastes like terror rocket fumes so that must be the Pepsi."

Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Treasury Department, said, "It sounds like Pepsi needs to clarify its relationship with the local Gaza bottler."

A senior House GOP aide also expressed alarm.

"The fact that the Pepsi logo is at this facility is clearly concerning," said the aide.
Read the whole thing.
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