יום שישי, 30 באוגוסט 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Israeli film disqualified from award - because ceremony is in Dubai

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 11:00 PM PDT

This is outrageous:

The creators of the Israeli documentary "Israel: A Home Movie" were recently informed that their film has been dropped from an international competition for films based on archival footage, because the awards ceremony is to be held in the Arab emirate of Dubai.

The competition is being sponsored by the International Federation of Television Archives. According to the film's producer, Arik Bernstein, the organization's chairman informed him that because the ceremony is taking place in Dubai (which has no diplomatic relations with Israel) and the film deals with the history of Israel, it will not be shown at the event. In addition, the film's creators cannot be hosted there and the film will be disqualified from winning a prize in the competition and not mentioned at the awards ceremony.

...Two months ago Bernstein was officially informed that the film, which is known as "Kach Ra'inu" in Hebrew and directed by Eliav Lilti, had made it to the finals. A jury chose it as one of the nine best movies and the film was in the running in the "Preservation and special use of archival material" category, against two competing movies. The notice invited the filmmakers to attend or send a representative to the October 26 award ceremony. The ceremony is held in a different country every year, and Dubai was chosen as this year's location.

However, two weeks ago Bernstein was informed that the invitation had been withdrawn and his film had been removed from the competition. "This is an international organization of which Israel [through the state broadcaster Channel 1] is a member," Bernstein said Thursday. "The total disqualification of the film followed pressure from the authorities in Dubai, which are hosting and funding this year's conference," he said.
The film is still listed as a nominee on the IFTA webpage:


How could IFTA cave so easily?

In 2009, under pressure, the UAE allowed an Israeli tennis player to enter the country. at the time, here was their statement:

The decision to issue the permit is in line with the UAE's commitment to a policy of permitting any individual to take part in international sports, cultural and economic events or activities being held in the country, without any limitation being placed on participation by citizens of any member country of the United Nations.

OK, we don't expect Dubai to keep its word. That's a given. But the UAE would have been shamed into allowing the Israeli film to be in the competition, and allow its director to come to the country - if IFTA had pushed back for what is right.

Instead, the International Federation of Television Archives has shown the world that is has no principles. And it is IFTA that must be shamed now.

I hope other directors who are nominated will now refuse to attend the ceremony. Perhaps someone who is a member of IFTA has some residual morality and cares about what is right.

Similarly, the sponsors of the awards - which includes such major companies as Oracle and EMC - should tell IFTA that their sponsorships will be pulled immediately unless this discrimination is reversed and condemned. Tweeting and posting on their Facebook pages asking if they support institutionalized discrimination in the arts might give them pause.

(h/t Zvi)

During WWII, Jews were imprisoned in camps in - Canada!

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 05:00 PM PDT

Here's something most people don't know:
As a 15-year-old facing the threat of Nazi Germany in Austria, Fred Kaufman could barely imagine that he would soon find himself separated from his family, peering through the barbed wire fence of an internment camp deep in the woods of New Brunswick.

Internment Camp B70, located in Ripples, N.B., housed more than 700 Jews in the early months of the Second World War. More than 70 years later, it is a piece of New Brunswick history rarely spoken of and little known by many.

As the situation for Jewish families in Austria worsened in the months leading up to the war, Kaufman's father decided to send his son to England — one of 10,000 Jewish boys taken to the United Kingdom as part of a relief effort known as the Kindertransport.
...
But then-British prime minister Winston Churchill was worried there could be spies among the Jews, and he asked Canada and Australia to house them as internees.

Kaufman was one of 711 men and boys who found themselves stepping off a train on Aug. 12, 1940, and led on foot to an internment camp in Ripples, an isolated community about 30 kilometres east of Fredericton.

"The camp was in the middle of the woods and we spent our days chopping down trees into heating-sized cords of wood," Kaufman said. "It was cold."

Kaufman said that at the age of 16, he was the second youngest boy at the camp; another boy was just a day younger.
...
The internees were housed in army barracks and spent their days cutting the 2,500 cords of wood required each year to keep the 100 wood stoves in the camp burning.

They wore denim pants with a red stripe on the leg, and denim jackets with a large red circle on the back.

"That's in case you ran away and you could be identified as an internee," Kaufman said.

"It would also make a good target if someone wanted to shoot you."

There were six machine-gun towers positioned around the perimeter of the camp.

After a year, Britain realized that many of the internees could contribute to the war effort and were given the choice to return to England and join the military or obtain a sponsor and stay in Canada. Kaufman chose the latter.
The Vancouver Holocaust Education Center fills in details:
As Nazi Germany drew the world into war, Canada's discriminatory immigration policies denied entry to those seeking refuge, particularly Jews. In 1940, when Canada agreed to Britain's request to aid the war effort by taking in "enemy aliens" and prisoners of war, it did not expect to also receive approximately 2,300 civilian refugees from Nazism, most of them Jews.

These men, many between the ages of 16 and 20, had found asylum in Britain only to be arrested under the suspicion that there were spies in their midst. After a brief period of internment in England, they were deported to Canada and imprisoned in New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec alongside political refugees and, in some camps, avowed Nazis.

Although the British soon admitted their mistake, Canada, saddled with refugees it did not want, settled into a policy of inertia regarding their welfare, their status, and their release. Antisemitic immigration policy and public sentiment precluded opening Canada's doors to Jews, and that included through the "back door" of internment.

The refugees faced the injustice of internment with remarkable resilience and strived to make the most of their time behind barbed wire. Meanwhile, Canada's Jewish community worked with other refugee advocates in an effort to secure freedom for the "camp boys."

8/29 Links Part 2: UN Agencies Prevent Peace in Israel, Ethiopian Wins Israeli Big Brother

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 03:00 PM PDT

From Ian:
UN Agencies Prevent Peace in Israel
As Palestinian "refugeeness" above all is synonymous with Palestinian national identity it has been worn as a "badge of honor" and an evergreen reminder of the Nakba – the supposed catastrophe of Israel's birth. In this story the Arabs of Palestinian are blameless and have no responsibility whatsoever for their unfortunate destiny; their own decisions and those of their leaders, go unmentioned.
In fact historically, the Arab world has a significant amount of responsibility for the situation, having encouraged and facilitated the refugees' flight – to a large degree. But in this narrative it is none other than the UN and UNRWA who are the toxic enablers who are now helping fuel this story for generations.Why UNRWA does this is evident: Its continued existence is at jeopardy. It has every reason to entangle itself into Palestinian society and to become more of an obstruction to a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
It is exactly for this very reason that if these renewed talks are going to have any chance of success both Washington and Jerusalem need to learn from past mistakes and leverage the significant amount of dollars we have poured into UNRWA which only perpetuates the problem and look for real solutions starting with ending the right of return.
Elliott Abrams: Mere state-building in Palestine
That is an extraordinary statement, and should not pass without notice. What he derides as "falling back into the comfort of an internationally subsidized state-building effort" is in fact the greatest challenge facing Palestinians now, and one they have not met. Nor have donors -- Arab, American, European -- met the challenge of providing adequate political and financial support for state-building, focusing instead for decades on repeated failed efforts at leaping to final status agreements. Those efforts have produced little for Palestinians, while state-building efforts can offer them pragmatic gains and real improvement in their lives -- and can show Israelis that their security needs can be met in an independent Palestine.
Put another way, Eide continues the failed policy of wanting to create a Palestine whose borders might be known, before we have any idea what will be within those borders: a failed state or a successful economy? A democracy or a terrorist base? This has not worked and will never work. To find that the chairman of the donors' committee now dismisses mere state-building as an activity not worth supporting in its own right suggests that nothing has been learned from the experience of recent decades.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Visits Israel
The Norwegian FM agreed with Elkin that "the fact that a large percentage of the PA budget goes towards the funding of salaries of Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails is problematical."
In response, the Deputy Foreign Minister said, "the educational message is troublesome, especially in the eyes of the young generation that understands that the most worthwhile job in the Palestinian Authority is that of terrorist," continuing that, in comparison, the salary of an employee in the security service is approximately one quarter of that of a terrorist residing in an Israeli prison.
Time for Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) to Change its Name
It is time for some truth in advertising. It's time for Churches for Middle East Peace to change its name.
CMEP, as the organization is often called, does not promote the cause of peace and human rights in the most troubled region on the planet.
It promotes the cause of Palestinian statehood and that's about it.
Abraham Cooper: The absence of outrage
Videos depicting the gruesome death of 1300 men, women and children by poison gas in Syria were posted online. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood torched several scores of churches, some dating back 1500 hundred years, while nuns were paraded in the streets like captured POWs.
Even as President Obama seems to finally doing something to degrade Assad's capabilities, it is hard to say if Americans were shocked more by the twin towers of evil spiraling out of control in the Middle East, or by Lady Gaga's latest outfit.
The World Treats Israel With a Double Standard
And finally, much as some may conveniently choose to forget, the Palestinians are not the first, last, and only refugee population in the history of the world, far from it.
But they are the first, last, and only refugee population deliberately kept in limbo for as long as 65 years in order to nurture hatred and revanchism.
Wouldn't it be nice if there were a bit more honesty, and less hypocrisy, coming from those who profess to care about the Palestinians' well-being?
For them, is it really all about the Palestinians, or is it rather about Israel, pure and simple? And if the latter, what does it, in fact, tell us about their underlying motives?
Ben Cohen: Roger Waters and BDS Movement are an Embarrassment
Here's the rub, though: 10 years ago, when the BDS movement was a relatively new phenomenon, statements like these would have set off a minor panic in the Jewish world. These days, we're far more sanguine, and we've learned that the State of Israel can survive and flourish no matter how many graying prog-rockers like Roger Waters dedicate their lives to removing the world's only Jewish state from the map.
A hashtag on Twitter that's popular with pro-Israel activists, #BDSFail, neatly encapsulates my point. Responding to Waters, the Israeli model and actress Bar Refaeli, who normally sets pulses racing for other reasons, demanded that the singer remove her picture from the multimedia show that accompanies his live set. "If you're boycotting," she teased, "go all the way."
PA promotes religious hatred against Jews
As part of its promotion of religious hatred against Jews, the Palestinian Authority disseminates the libel that Israel and Jews were behind the 1969 arson. Since the Al-Aqsa Mosque is an important holy site for Muslims, accusing "senior Jews of high position" of trying to destroy it is clearly an attempt by the PA to promote religious hatred against Jews. This particular accusation appeared in a documentary film about the arson, and was shown at an event under the auspices of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
Libel that Jews set fire to Al-Aqsa Mosque repeated at PA ceremony

PA cleric calls for genocide of Jews and killing of Americans VIDEO

'Collaborating' With Israel is Punishable by Death In Gaza
The man, who is only identified as B.H, was ordered to death by hanging by the Gazan court. A date for the execution has not been set. The court will also allow the defendant to appeal against the verdict.
The unidentified defendant was found guilty of "collaboration with the Zionist occupation against the Palestinian people." Under "Palestinian" law, collaboration with Israel is punishable by death.
Scandinavia: Jews Deserve Terror, Not Us
Whatever you may think about where Israel's borders should be drawn, by treating terror carried out by Palestinians against Jews as legitimate, Europeans are signaling not only that they approve of this cause but also that Jewish lives are less precious than their own. The families of the Utoya victims deserve our sympathy in their grief. But they, and other Europeans who are "seething" about any comparison between their children and dead Jews, have crossed the line into anti-Semitism.
S#!t debaters say about Israel and "the Jews"
It has become a tradition to hold a debate about Israel at Euros: this is the third in as many years. As such, the championship has become a fascinating place to see what the students of today – and the leaders of tomorrow – think and know about the Jewish state. Before you read on, you should know that the vast majority majority of debaters at Euros were conscientious, friendly and highly intelligent young people, who tackled the debate with knowledge and sensitivity. Others, however, were not, and did no such thing.
Biblically Based Classic Opera Twisted to Vilify Jewish Nation
This misuse of a classic artistic work, happening during an alarming rise in antisemitism in Europe, apparently is meant to indoctrinate people with the idea that Israel is the villain in its conflict with the Palestinian Arabs. Judging by audience reception, the attempt seems to have succeeded. All the music is from the great Italian opera composer Gioachino Rossini and the words sung are those of Rossini's librettist but everything else in this production of Rossini's nineteenth century masterpiece Mose in Egitto (Moses in Egypt) is from director/producer Graham Vick and set/costume designer Stuart Nunn.
NYPD Announces Measures to Protect Jewish Worshippers as High Holidays Approach
The New York Police Department plans to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the City's Jewish residents observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur next month, and will send extra police officers to synagogues and other potential targets, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Tuesday.
Sri Lankan-Born Student Wins HR Award Defending Israel
The winner of this year's $2000 Blankfeld Award for Media Critique has been chosen and comes from a most unlikely source. Sri Lankan-born Timon Dias was adopted in the Netherlands at the age of three months and is a Clinical Psychology Masters degree student at Leiden University.
His winning articles were all published in the Jerusalem Post and impressed the staff of HonestReporting above all of the other candidates.
Dr. Michael Belkin, an eye doctor with uncommon vision
One of his newest published studies shows that Israel is the only country to have reduced rates of preventable blindness by more than half in the past decade. It is likely that some of the methods and devices Belkin innovated helped to bring about that achievement.
The ExPRESS miniature glaucoma shunt implant, used by eye surgeons worldwide, was Belkin's idea and has dramatically advanced the way this condition is treated. "Before, we used to make uncontrolled holes in the eye to reduce the pressure and drain the fluid," he relates.
Ethiopian model is Big Brother champ
Hours before Israel completed the final phase of Falash Mura immigration from Gondar, the Ethiopian community had cause to celebrate after Ethiopian-born model Tahunia Rubel, 25, won Israel's Big Brother Tuesday night.
Rubel's win, coupled with the crowning of Ethiopian Yityish Titi Aynaw, 21, as Miss Israel earlier this year, can be seen as signs of growing acceptance of the community across Israel.

Mordechai Kedar video on why Arabs cannot make real peace today

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 01:00 PM PDT

I think this was during a Q&A at UC Irvine last May:



Here is his speech at that conference about the origins of Islam and the conflict (unfortunately, I cannot embed it here.)

(h/t Jean V)

Survey of Iranian media rhetoric today

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 11:45 AM PDT

PressTV:

The chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces has emphasized that a potential military attack against Syria by the US and its allies will have a ruinous impact on the Israeli regime.

"Any military measure against Syria will draw the Zionists deep in the fire [as well]," said Major General Hassan Firouzabadi in an address on the recent American military threats against the Syrian nation and government on Thursday.

Further elaborating on the ramifications of a potential new military move in the region, the top military commander said, "This will be a huge damage to the human community and its effects will not be merely limited to the Muslim community."

He stated, "The US, Britain and the rest of their allies will suffer greatly by deploying their military forces to the region and Syria."

FARS News Farsi says that a group of Iranian youths are volunteering to go to Syria to wage jihad against the Zionist regime.

PressTV:
President Assad made the remarks on Thursday while receiving a delegation of Yemeni politicians in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Syria's state television said.

"Syria will defend itself in the face of any aggression, and threats will only increase its commitment to its principles and its independence," Assad said.

The Syrian president also noted that Syria is determined to crush the Israeli-backed terrorists operating against his government.

"Syria, with its resistant people and valiant army, is determined to wipe out terrorism which is being backed by Israel and Western nations to serve their own purposes of sowing division in the region, fragmenting its people and forcing them into submission," he added.
Also PressTV:
Iran says Tehran, Moscow and Beijing have been assured by the Syrian government that it has not used chemical weapons in the fight against Takfiri groups in the Arab country.

On Thursday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the reassurance by the Syrian government has been relayed to the UN Under-Secretary-General Jeffery D. Feltman, who was recently on a visit to Iran.

Amir-Abdollahian further said Feltman was also told that the Islamic Republic, itself a "victim of chemical weapons," is opposed to the use of such weapons in any way.

The Iranian diplomat further described a potential military intervention in Syria as a "strategic mistake, which would not be limited in dimensions if it occurred."
IRNA:
Addressing his first meeting with members of the 11th government, Ayatollah Khamenei said the US threat of intervention in Syria would be a real catastrophe for the region.

Any intervention and war mongering will definitely be detrimental to the war mongers.
Also IRNA:
Addressing his weekly cabinet meeting, Rohani called recent regional developments worrying, and warned, Any adventurism in the Middle East would endanger regional and global stability.

He said people of the world, especially in the region, are not ready for a new war and warned that any adventurism in the region would only result in promotion of extremism and terrorism.
And this from the "moderate" foreign minister:
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the United States will fall into a trap laid in Syria by the Zionists if Washington launches a military strike on the Arab country.

"The Syria crisis is a trap set by Zionist pressure groups for this country (the United States)," said Zarif in a Tuesday TV interview.

Syria uses Shakespeare to identify as - a Jew?

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 10:32 AM PDT

From City AM:
The Syrian parliament appears to have dropped a reference to Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" in a letter to UK MPs.

In the second paragraph of a document obtained by Sky News, Mohammad Jihad al-Laham, speaker of the people's assembly of Syria, writes:

We write to you as fathers and mothers, as members of families and communities really not so different to yours. We write to you as fellow human beings for, if you bomb us, shall we not bleed?
That line is curiously similar to one delivered by the Jewish money lender Shylock in Shakespeare's classic:
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, arms, legs, senses, affections, desires? Are we not fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?
If the intention was to draw a comparison between Syria and Shylock, it may not be taken as a very wise one, for in the play Shylock is a cruel character.
Of course, Shylock was also a Jew.

The idea that Syria is trying to paint itself as a persecuted (and despised) Jew is strange, to say the least!

It also shows an interesting and sharp divergence between Syria's strident tone in the media and how it talks to diplomats.

8/29 Links Part 1: Why Chemical Weapons Matter More Than Bullets, Threatening Israel

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 09:00 AM PDT

From Ian:
TIME: Obama Can Strike Syria Unilaterally
Obama wrote congressional leaders two days after the war against Libya began in March 2011, saying U.S. military action was needed "to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and address the threat posed to international peace and security by the crisis in Libya." The U.S. strikes, he said, would be "limited in their nature, duration and scope" before the U.S. handed off command of the operation to NATO.
Actually, the initial U.S. strike involved launching 110 cruise missiles from U.S. warships and 45 bombs dropped from B-2 stealth bombers. Limited was a relative term.
Obama cited a U.N. resolution to justify the action, adding that the "United States military efforts are discrete and focused on employing unique U.S. military capabilities to set the conditions for our European allies and Arab partners to carry out the measures authorized by the U.N. Security Council resolution."
NYT Op Ed: Bomb Syria, Even if It Is Illegal
Of course ethics, not only laws, should guide policy decisions. Since the Rwandan genocide and the Balkan mass killings of the 1990s, a movement has emerged in support of adding humanitarian intervention as a third category of lawful war, under the concept of the "responsibility to protect." It is widely accepted by the United Nations and most governments. It is not, however, in the charter, and it lacks the force of law.
This was evident in Kosovo in 1999, when NATO bombed Yugoslavia without United Nations authorization. Then, as now, Russia and China were unwilling to grant Security Council approval. America and its allies went ahead with what the Independent International Commission on Kosovo later called an "illegal but legitimate" use of force. In that case, NATO accepted implicitly that its act was illegal. It defended it in moral and political language rather than legal terms.
Why chemical weapons matter more than bullets
It is easy to see why the argument has traction. Tens of millions of people have died in war and internal repression since the end of WWII and all but a few tens of thousands (brutal as such language may sound) have been victims of chemical or biological weapons. None have died due to a nuclear attack.
Yet this misses issues of enormous significance, the first of which is the following: the reason why even the most heinous of regimes have tended not to use WMD has either been because they did not have the technology to acquire them (Rwanda, for example) or because even if they did have them they were so aware of the reputational and existential consequences (see below) of using them that they imposed red lines upon themselves.
What Obama Can Learn From Netanyahu on Syria
Israel's own Syria policy should hearten the overwhelming majority of Americans who recoil at the idea of another foreign entanglement. Israel has proven that it's possible to prevent game-changing sophisticated weapons, including long range missiles, from flowing from Syria to the Hezbollah without putting boots on the ground. Furthermore, Israel's targeted military strikes have been conducted without the country being dragged into Syria's civil war.
Beyond this lesson, President Obama needs to demonstrate the fortitude required to make a complete, sudden change in principle and attitude. Indeed, Obama's realpolitik outlook treats unrest as more dangerous than injustice, and power as more important than human rights. Perhaps this explains the public's hesitance to get involved in Syria.
Peres: Situation in Syria a 'crime against humanity'
"The situation in Syria is not a local incident but a crime against humanity and a breach of international law," he said. "As such the responsible world is coming together to respond. Syria has crossed a moral boundary. The whole world was witness to the horrific pictures of Syrian children who lay dead on the floor. President Obama spoke on behalf of the whole of humanity when he said this breach of international law, this mass murder, could not go without an appropriate response."
He added: "We must understand that the response is global, not local. We are seeing a serious coalition coming together, both militarily and diplomatically.
Threatening Israel
The anti-Israel bluster from Damascus, Tehran and Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon appear to have disturbed none of the foreign statesmen or opinion-molders, whose alacrity to condemn Israel for any perceived transgression is nothing short of remarkable.
Moreover, the veiled hints from Moscow about dire repercussions for the entire region in the event of an American attack on the Assad regime might imply warnings of punishment for Israel.
All the while, Israeli commentators strive to outdo each other with educated guesses about whether we are vulnerable, whether it would serve Bashar Assad's interests to fire at us, whether we should retaliate and how.
On Syrian TV, Threats to Annihilate Israel, US Forces with Chemical Weapons


Former Egyptian Presidential Candidate Hamdeen Sabahi: An Attack on Syria is an Attack on Egypt VIDEO

Jordan: No attacks on Syria from our soil
A U.S.-led strike on Syria in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Assad's regime likely would involve cruise missile attacks from the sea, which would not need to cross or make use of Jordanian territory.
But the remarks underline the U.S. ally's efforts to avoid further friction with its larger neighbor for fear that Assad or his Iranian backers could retaliate.
Russia, France deploy warships to eastern Mediterranean
The Kremlin is to deploy a missile cruiser and an anti-submarine ship to the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days, amid rising tension over a possible US-led military response to Syria's alleged chemical weapons use.
"The well-known situation shaping up in the eastern Mediterranean called for certain corrections to the make-up of the naval forces," a Moscow military source told Russia's Interfax news agency.
Syria and Israel Lobby Conspiracy Theories
If anything, events of the last few years in which Arab Spring protests and rebellions have debunked the long-cherished view of Israel's critics that holds that the conflict with the Palestinians is the central issue around which all conflicts revolve in the Middle East. That's a concept that those heavily influenced by the Walt-Mearsheimer canard have a tough time wrapping their brains around. But those willing to subscribe to conspiracy theories in which Israel provides the explanation for every mystery and misery on the planet now find themselves searching for an Israel angle about Syria. But other than the fact that Israel will be blamed for the outcome no matter what happens, there is none. Conspiracy theorists and their journalistic enablers need to move on.
Orthodox Jewish Youth Pray for Syria
A group of youth involved in the religious-Zionist Bnei Akiva program have started organized prayers on behalf of Syrian civilians who are at risk due to the ongoing civil war in their country. The prayer initiative, which began in Petach Tikva, has now spread to Jewish communities around the world.
Bnei Akiva volunteers who are doing a year of national civilian service in Petach Tikva came up with the idea of coordinating prayers on behalf of innocent Syrians.
Guardian clashes with much of the Islamic world over U.S. military action in Syria
Anyone familiar with Guardian editorials on the Middle East would surely recognize the narrative – a template for opposing military action in the Middle East which is employed seemingly regardless of the particular circumstances.
Interestingly, however, especially in the context of the paper's political sympathies towards the Arab and Muslim world, if you were to visit the homepage of The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) – which defines their group as representing "the collective voice of the Muslim world" – you'd see the following:
The OIC General Secretariat calls for decisive action against the chemical attack in Syria
BBC presentation of Israeli view on Syria intervention replete with inaccuracies
The statement that "Iraq attacked Tel Aviv with Scud missiles" is of course inaccurate. As was reported by the BBC itself at the time, Scud missiles were also fired by Iraqi forces at Haifa and other locations in Israel, including the Dimona region in the Negev.
The statement "sales of gas masks in Israel have gone up.." is also inaccurate. Gas Masks are not sold to the Israeli public, but distributed by the Home Front Command, in part via the Postal Services.
Interestingly, in the section titled "Lebanon", this BBC article does not make any reference to Lebanon being "involved" in the conflict in Syria, despite the fact that Hizballah – which holds seats in the Lebanese parliament and government – is actively fighting there.
AP Returns Golan Heights to Syria
AP's online "interactive" item entitled "Syria's civil war" contains a map (below) placing the Golan Heights, in their entirety, within Syria.
In Egypt's Sinai, rising militancy threatens peacekeeping force
A dramatic rise in militancy and violence in the vast Sinai desert is increasingly threatening a peacekeeping force there that includes nearly 700 U.S. troops acting as guarantors of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, according to Western military officials.
Heavily armed locals have blockaded bases and convoys, and, in a few instances, launched attacks against the peacekeepers, raising concerns about not only their safety but also the long-term stability of their mission. That mission had become more challenging even before the most recent phase of Egypt's post-
revolution crisis, with regional volatility forcing members of the Multinational Force and Observers, many of whom operate out of remote bases, to bolster security and limit their movements.
Isi Leibler: The implications of Obama's failure
That Obama is considering abrogating economic aid to Egypt suggests that the US has not absorbed the lessons arising from Jimmy Carter's naïve and disastrous approach to Iran, which paved the way for the ayatollah's takeover. Without urgent, remedial aid to Egypt, which depends on imports for the bulk of its food and is rapidly running out of hard currency, total economic meltdown, hunger, riots and even civil war are likely.
In addition, ongoing US pressure to "democratize" Egypt could enable Russian President Vladimir Putin to restore the Russian-Egyptian nexus which prevailed prior to Sadat's break with the Soviet Union.
Instead of seeking to impose democracy from without, the US should support Egypt's military government as a mechanism for forestalling the transformation of Egypt into a breeding ground for jihadists and al-Qaida.
Reports of the killing of an Iranian Baha'i received
Reports have been received that a well-known member of the Iranian Baha'i community, Mr. Ataollah Rezvani, has been killed in or around the port city of Bandar Abbas in Southern Iran. The event is believed to have taken place on Saturday 24 August 2013. Available information indicates that Mr. Rezvani's life had been threatened by fanatical elements within the city's authorities.
US asks Tehran to free Jewish ex-FBI agent, two others
The State Department said in a statement that the US is "respectfully" requesting the assistance from Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani. Previous requests made to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used slightly harsher rhetoric.
Levinson, a husband and father of seven who is Jewish, went missing from Kish Island in Iran in March 2007. The former FBI agent was working as a private investigator at the time.
Nigeria: 2 Charged with Assisting Iranian Terror Cell
Berende is accused of travelling to Iran to help with "material assistance and terrorist training ... in the use of fire arms, explosives and other related weapons."
He is also accused of knowing about spying on two Israeli targets in Lagos - the Chabad Lubavitch Jewish centre and the Lagos branch of AA Consulting - but failing to alert police.
Iran's Cyber War: Hackers In Service Of The Regime
IRGC Claims Iran Can Hack Enemy's Advanced Weapons Systems; Iranian Army Official: 'The Cyber Arena Is Actually The Arena Of The Hidden Imam'

Anger at Israeli Arabic curriculum saying Solomon built a Temple

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 07:00 AM PDT

From Ma'an:

The director of education in Jerusalem has urged families with schoolchildren in Jerusalem to be aware that at least five Palestinian schools are switching to Israeli education materials.

Sameer Jibril said the Ebin Rushd and Abdulla bin Hussain schools were using Israeli education materials in the seventh and eighth grades. The Sour Baher school is using them for fourth, fifth and sixth grades, and the Ibin Khaldoun school uses it for seventh graders.

An education official told Ma'an that a meeting took place on Thursday in Herzliya near Tel Aviv for Palestinian and Israeli principals and teachers to discuss switching from Palestinian Authority to Israeli curricula.

The Israeli municipality in Jerusalem offered to increase salaries for teachers and principals who agree to implement the plans in their schools, the official said. The proposal would add about 2,000 shekels (about $550) per student enrolled in schools using Israeli curricula.

A teacher who identified himself as Jibril told Ma'an that using Israeli curricula was a "violation" of Palestinian culture and history.

"This step is very dangerous and touches the awareness of Palestinians in Jerusalem in an effort to brainwash them and control them, especially young generations."

Among the concerns Palestinian teachers have about the materials are maps purporting to depict the state of Israel which include the West Bank and identify Palestinian territory by Jewish Biblical names.

It also includes history lessons about the destruction of a Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which the texts separately identify as the capital of Israel despite an international consensus that the city is occupied.

Another section depicts a conversation between three Arab students who praise Israel's development of Palestinian cities and decide to sing the Israeli national anthem.

Other points of concern include a photograph of the separation wall along with a caption identifying it as Israel's "security fence," and another referring to Israel as a bastion of human rights and democracy.
Sure - much better to brainwash kids by claiming there was no Temple, that Israel is uniquely evil, and that Jerusalem has no importance to Jews.

I asked an Arabic speaker to translate the supposedly offensive passages for me, rather than relying on Ma'an.


"The occupation of Urushalim and the Destruction of the Temple ". It doesn't call Jerusalem "Al Quds" in this case, but it is referring to historic times.


This is the closest one to propaganda, although it is hardly different than one would find in any country's school textbooks:

Dina: The state (Israel) has built and embellished our Arab cities and villages a lot.
Ahmad: And it brought electricity to the schools and shops.
Khaled: And the elderly and the children benefit from Social Security.
Together: Then let's sing the [Israeli National anthem].

Under the section "King Solomon and his works/deeds", there is a sub-section titled "The Building of the Temple ". (See here for some interesting background on how Muslims always accepted that there was a Temple before Al Aqsa mosque.)


Jerusalem is shown on the mas as "Urushalim Al-Quds," something Arabs never call it. The Judean Mountains are referred to as "Judean Mountains " and not as "Jibal Al-Khalil" – "the Hebron Mountains", i.e. the Arab name.


The cover of an Israeli school book titled "Towards Democracy in Israel – Civic Studies" Terrible!



The caption reads: "In the Picture: The Security Fence. Israel built a fence along some parts of its border in order to separate it from its neighbors. This fence is known as the "Security Fence".


The title of the school book: "Living Together in Israel". Horrors!


Title of the section: "Al-Quds – the capital city of Israel "


The Jewish Population
Around 5.5 million Jews live in the State of Israel (2007). Jews lived in this country (The Land of Israel) many years ago, but most of them left after other nations/peoples conquered it, and for many years, the majority of the Jewish people lived in various countries around the world. In these countries they suffered a lot from hatred and discrimination against them and their religion. Throughout all these years, they longed for this country and wanted to return to it. The Jews who began to return to it wanted to establish a state for the Jewish people in it. In 1948, that is around 60 years ago, Israel was established as a Jewish and democratic state. Today, the majority of the people in the state of Israel are Jews, but still many Jews live abroad…


"Tiberias: An ancient Jewish city established around 2000 years ago at the time of the Roman rule. The city is on the shore of 'Buhayrat Tabariyya' (the Arabic name for the 'Sea of Galilee ')."

Seeing what the Palestinian Arabs regard as offensive tells us far more about their intolerance and their own desire to brainwash their kids than about any supposed Israeli hasbara towards schoolchildren.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

Conspiracy Theory of the Day: Israel caused Sandy and Katrina

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 05:05 AM PDT

A writer at Al Tagheer was evidently perusing anti-semitic websites in search for material when he stumbled onto an amazing find: Israel controls the weather, and regularly attacks the US with hurricanes!

While his version seems to be somewhat embellished, I found a conspiracy site that describes this theory in English so you can get the basics:
First of all, we need to establish, without ANY REASONABLE DOUBT – the very basic, foundational premise of the accusation – that a nation-state can indeed employ technology to create and then direct a massive "Frankenstorm' such as "Sandy". Let's begin there.

The average American is blissfully unaware that a man named Nicola Tesla successfully demonstrated a device and a process for precise "weather modification" to various world leaders back in the early 1920′s. For obvious reasons, Tesla's device and process was immediately stamped "Above Top Secret" – imagine the POWER such a technology could bring to the world's "Military-Industrialist Complex". Sadly, not only did Tesla share his device with American military brass, the Russian Bolshevik leaders also received the technology from their Wall Street compatriot "Zionist" agents – and they quickly began perfecting Tesla's science and technology during the 1930′s and 40′s.

Then came the "Cold War" years. The Soviet Bloc, ruled by Communist Jews, had established their satellite rogue nation-state called Israel in the Middle East in 1948. Aided by the French Zionists, Israel became a nuclear-armed nation 16 years later in 1963 as they successfully built their Dimona nuclear weapons facility against the vociferous objections of President John Kennedy. Aided by their Soviet Jew brethren, there is little doubt that Israel not only built nukes, but also became the epicenter of weather modification applications and international BLACKMAIL operations. It is also highly likely that Kennedy's position demanding Dimona international inspections was the primary factor leading to his assassination by joint MOSSAD and CIA hit men.

I know – I know – I can hear the cognitive dissonance at work in you, the reader's brain. "This is the WILDEST, CRAZIEST "Conspiracy Theory" I have ever heard." It's just plain "nuts". After all, Israel is "God's Chosen Nation" and the world's Jews are "God's Chosen People", right?
After discussing at length a (real) UN resolution to prohibit military use of climate change techniques, the writer continues:
Of course, the lying apologists for the Reprobate State (Israel) will declare, and want you to believe, that this treaty was merely a hypothetical exercise – an agreement to never develop such Dr. Strangelove weaponry. No, no, no, dear reader – the fact is that massively effective "weather control" technology was most definitely refined and available during the decade of the 60′s, and President Nixon's Joint Chiefs at the Pentagon clearly saw the real and present danger such weaponry posed to the entire planet. Do you really believe that the United Nations would spend such massive time, energy, and money on a treaty to outlaw a hypothetical, mere possibility? Of course not.
He's got us lying apologists pegged!

I saw a similar article at the antisemitic Rense site.

The Arabic article goes on to point out that every major storm to hit the US coincided with a  peace conference or some other major Middle East event like the withdrawal from Gaza.  Incredible!

It took a few months, but now the Arab media has picked up on it, saying that Israel is blackmailing the US by controlling the weather, I guess to get the US to do what Israel wants, or something. Since the US is already Israel's puppet according to these same people  I'm not sure why Israel unleashed Sandy, unless it was just to make sure that Obama knew who was the boss. Or something.

It all makes sense when you have spittle coming out of your mouth from righteous indignation against Jooooz.

What bothers me about the Vancouver transit story

Posted: 29 Aug 2013 03:00 AM PDT

In the coverage I've seen on the Israel-haters taking out a lying ad on Vancouver mass transit, the reaction of the organized Jewish community has been to ban the ads based on, pretty much, antisemitism:

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?"
Also:
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center in Toronto issued a statement saying the group is "disturbed to learn about TransLink's agreement to run historically distorted anti-Israel advertisements."

"While Israel and the Palestinian Authority are currently engaged in peace negotiations to resolve their differences and reach a two-state solution, TransLink will be running ads that are provocative and incite hatred and contempt," said group president Avi Benlolo.

The Jewish Federation of Vancouver webpage says pretty much the same thing.

The argument that it is antisemitism is one that has diminishing returns, and I believe that it should be used sparingly, only when it is clear and provable. This is not one of those cases. (Yes, deep under most anti-Israel initiatives is a current of antisemitism, but that is not so easily discernible to people who aren't Jewish.)

What bothers me most is that at no point do any of these Jewish leaders describe the ads as what they are - lies. It is almost like they are conceding that the maps are accurate if perhaps biased, but I really am starting to think that the organized Jewish community is thoroughly ignorant of basic Zionist history - and that they, deep down, believe the dominant anti-Israel narrative, since that is all they are exposed to!

This is a much bigger problem than just bus ads. It points to a fundamental gap in Jewish education in the West, even among its leaders. And this should bother everyone.

Here is my lecture from earlier this year on countering the top twenty anti-Israel arguments. Perhaps I should be giving this talk to Jewish Federations in North America.
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