יום שלישי, 17 בספטמבר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

So what's Free Gaza been up to?

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 05:30 PM PDT

It's been a while since we heard from the "Free Gaza" movement. Their last new article on their website was posted on May 31. So what's been going on? Have they finally run out of lies?

Well, not quite.Things have mostly fizzled on their website. There is nothing on the site about Egypt's closure of Rafah, for example.

But on Twitter they do mention Egypt's siege, with a twist::
You see? Egypt is another Zionist pawn, doing Israel's bidding, according to these "human rights advocates."

Not surprisingly, they also happily tweeted Ian Lustick's rabidly anti-Israel piece in the NYT on Sunday.

9/16 Links Part 2: Ali Salim: Hatred of Jews, MKs-Tell Kerry Oslo is Dead, Bourdain in Jerusalem

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 03:30 PM PDT

From Ian:
Ali Salim: Hatred of Jews
The result is that we Muslims make the mistake of thinking Europeans really care about them, especially the Palestinians. We are wrong: Europeans simply hate the Jews more than they hate and fear us. The bitter truth is that the Europeans usually intervene in a crisis only if it gives them the opportunity for Jew-bashing. When hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Muslims are slaughtered – by other Muslims, such as the massacre in Syria and the recent upsurge of violence in Darfur – the apathetic European leadership does not lift a finger. At the same time, the European Union is obsessed with its need to condemn, sanction and boycott the Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. It does not even mention Syria, with its hundred thousand civilians murdered by the government and its millions of refugees, or the atrocities being committed in the Arab-Muslim world, the rapes of women and children, the beheadings and the wanton cruelty and murder, to say nothing of exploitation, discrimination, slavery and other crimes against humanity.
To my great sorrow, everywhere in the world where there are Muslims there is murder, mass bloodshed and terrorist attacks. We should leave the Jews alone, they are not responsible for our tragedies and hating them will not cure the nation of Islam or bring it successfully into the 21st century.
Jew Hatred Officially Backed by Belgium
Shockingly, in Belgium, history lessons about Nazism and the Holocaust are currently being used to infuse children with hatred against Israel.
The Belgian Ministry of Education funds an organization, the Special Committee for Remembrance Education (BCH), which provides teachers with ready-made templates for their history lessons. In its September issue, Joods Actueel, the largest Jewish magazine in Belgium, describes this educational material as "perverted." The so-called Remembrance Education, the magazine writes, "has degenerated into an instrument to infect youngsters with hatred of Israel and anti-Semitism."
One of the materials used is the cartoon "Never Again, Over Again." It equates the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis today with the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis in the 1930s and 40s.
Even amid Syrian crisis, Kerry makes clear his eye still on Palestinian track
One Israeli official said that the Israeli-Palestinian talks were continuing even amid the Syrian crisis.
Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom on Sunday night questioned whether Abbas was a legitimate partner for peace.
"The world tells us to talk to Abbas, because he's the best option. This is the Left's craziest argument," Shalom exclaimed at a Likud activists' event he co-hosted in Tel Aviv.
"It means that the people who come after him are worse. If we give him land, then the next round of Palestinian leaders will shoot rockets at us.
"Obviously, we can't do that," he said.
Oslo Accords Debated, Not Celebrated, in Israel on 20th Anniversary
Parliamentarians from both Israel's left and the right agree that the process has not yielded the results anyone would have hoped for, including the deaths of more than 1,000 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians, and agree that the Israelis and Palestinians are more skeptical than ever about the prospects for a negotiated settlement.
Where Knesset members disagree is on whether the process was flawed from the outset, and on whether the principles that led to the signing of the interim peace agreement should still be applied. Consequently, the 20-year anniversary of the Oslo Accords—signed Sept. 13, 1993—is not a celebration the agreement's outcome, but rather a debate on its merits.
"The main lesson is that the paradigm of the left, that land for peace will bring security to the region has failed, and this is the time to think clearly that we should not endorse a Palestinian state," Member of Knesset and Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon (Likud) told JNS org.
Member of Knesset Hilik (Yehiel) Bar, Secretary General of the Labo
MKs Urge PM: Tell Kerry Oslo is Dead
In order to ensure that Netanyahu understands what is at stake – and how members of his government feel about it – sixteen coalition MKs on Sunday handed Netanyahu a message saying that he needed to make clear to Kerry Israel's opposition to further withdrawals and concessions to the PA.
"Twenty years after the terrible Oslo Accords, we call on the Prime Minister to present to the U.S. Secretary of State our clear position: Israel will not return to the 'Oslo Formula' of concessions for 'peace,' handing over parts of our homeland to the PA in exchange for a piece of paper," the message said.
Livni 'Willing to Cede Control of Jordan Valley'
Daily newspaper Maariv quoted sources close to Netanyahu who said that Livni's positions differ from those of Netanyahu on the key issues of Jerusalem, eviction of Jewish communities and Israel's security arrangements in the Jordan Valley.
According to the report, Livni - who heads the left-wing Hatnua political party - is willing to pull out the IDF from the Jordan Valley which guards Israel's long eastern border, and let an international force take its place. Netanyahu vigorously opposes this, citing the region's crucial strategic importance.
Abbas: Meet Our Conditions, Then We Can Have Peace
In a speech on Sunday to graduates of a university in Jericho, Abbas also clarified that unless all of the PA's demands are met, there will not be a peace agreement with Israel.
Abbas told the graduates that the eastern border of the State of Palestine along the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley will be with Jordan, thus essentially rejecting an Israeli demand for a special security arrangement in the Jordan Valley, that would allow IDF soldiers to remain in the region after the establishment of a Palestinian state.
PMW Abbas admits sending terrorists to kill Israelis (2005)
Abbas:"I demand [the release of] prisoners because they are human beings, who did what we, we, ordered them to do.


How Well Has the U.S. Responded to 9/11?
In that sense, America's Islamist opponents in the Arab world are as implacable as the Palestinian groups opposed to Jews exercising the independence they demand for themselves. Disaster lies ahead for those who dignify imperial pretensions with a basis in justice.
We should note Palestinian statements of regret about events in New York and Washington, coupled with more ominous ones expressing the hope that the US (in the words of the local Palestinian mouthpiece) has "learnt its lesson" and will change course.
Winston Churchill once said there was no purpose in trying to sate a crocodile by feeding him on others. At the end, you face the crocodile compromised and friendless. That, however, is the "lesson" Westerners are again being invited to learn.
After 13 Years: Israel, PA Renew Agricultural Accords
Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to renew the agricultural accords that were in place prior to the outbreak of the "Second Intifada" terror war in 2000.
Agricultural officials from both sides met and agreed to establish a regional center for economic and agricultural cooperation.
The initiative aims to improve food quality for the PA population, and to assist both Israel and the PA in fighting crop disease and infestation, both of which can easily cross man-made borders.
Going into elections, Merkel says support for Israel's security 'part of Germany's raison d'etre'
In an interview for the September 13 edition of the publication Jewish Voice from Germany, Merkel – when asked about the Iranian nuclear weapons threat directed at Israel – said, "That means that we'll never be neutral and that Israel can be sure of our support when it comes to ensuring its security. That's why I also said that Germany's support for Israel's security is part of our national ethos, our raison d'etre."
She flatly rejected anti-Zionism as a legitimate position, saying, "For those who share my view that the Jews as a people have a right to self-determination, Zionism as a national movement of the Jewish people is the embodiment of this very right which its opponents want to deny."
German Publisher Shuts Down Nazi Glorifying Magazine, SWC Questions Motive
A German publisher said Friday it would cease publication of a pulp magazine notorious for its heroic portrayals of Germans in World War II, The New York Times reported.
Simon Wiesenthal Center dean and founder Rabbi Marvin Hier, whose organization was instrumental in pressuring the Bauer Media Group to make the decision, welcomed the news but expressed skepticism over the publisher's motives.
"The only reason that Bauer group made this decision is because if they didn't the authorities would have," he told The Algemeiner.
Monster Cartoon Violates German Press Council Code
In July, German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung's anti-Semitic cartoon portrayed Israel as a ravenous monster, causing outrage. Protests from HonestReporting subscribers and other organizations led to an apology from the newspaper.
The American Jewish Committee's Berlin office submitted an official complaint to the German Press Council that has now ruled on the issue. The AJC has announced that Süddeutsche Zeitung was in violation of the German Press Council's code.
Future Refuse Derived Fuel plant to transform half of Gush Dan's waste into fuel
Amid the aroma of garbage that still perfumes the air around the Hiriya Recycling Park, government officials and relevant executives laid the cornerstone for a refuse derived fuel plant that will eventually transform half of the Dan region's waste into usable fuel.
"This is a project that is going to generate a whole revolution in the treatment of waste in the Dan area and the whole of Israel," said Gila Oron, head of the Tel Aviv region at the Interior Ministry.
CAMERA: 10 Things CNN Needs to Fix in "10 Things To Know"
"10 things to know before visiting Israel, the West Bank and Gaza" is CNN's Sept. 12 article by Matthew Teller meant to promote a broadcast this weekend called "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown," featuring the acclaimed author and chef on location in Israel and the West Bank. It is unfortunate that the piece, intended to educate about basic information on the region, is chock full of factual errors and distortions. CAMERA, in turn, presents the 10 things that CNN needs to fix in Teller's piece and the accompanying graphics and captions.
TV chef Bourdain reveals Jewish heritage during show in Israel
The show closes with Bourdain talking to Natan Galkowicz, proprietor of Mides Brazilian Restaurant in the Negev kibbutz Bror Hayil near the Gaza border, whose daughter Dana was killed in 2005 outside her home, three months before her wedding, by a mortar fired by Hamas.
"I know that my daughter was killed for no reason, and I know that people on the other side have been killed for no reason," Galkowicz tells Bourdain. "Bottom line is, let's stop with the suffering." Trailer
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown Season 2 - Jerusalem

Video: Arab attacking Jew, unprovoked, at medical clinic

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 02:00 PM PDT

From Arutz-7:


A Jewish man who came to see a doctor at a health clinic in an Arab town last week was viciously attacked by a local Arab for no apparent reason.

Security camera footage from the incident, at a health clinic in the northern village of Ibillin, shows the Jew sitting in the waiting room, minding his own business and not even looking at the Arab man.

The Arab man gets up, walks toward the Jew and punches him hard in the side of the head. The Jew falls writhing to the floor. Men who were present in the clinic escort the attacker to a seat in the room, and then help the Jewish man out of the room. No one seems overly perturbed.

The Jewish man was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Obviously, the Jew was provoking the Arab by daring to enter the clinic, which is one of the Top 100 Muslim Holy Places the village of Ibillin. It is clear as day that the Zionist Jewish settler (they are all settlers, remember) is at fault and the Arab was exhibiting a natural reaction to Zionist aggression.

You have to understand the first rule of the Israel haters: It is always Israel's fault. Once you internalize that message, you cannot go wrong.

If you want to have fun, link to this video at some Mondoweiss message thread and see how this rule is implemented in real time. (The smarter ones will say "Of course I condemn the attack, BUT you must understand [how it is justified anyway.]")

(h/t OBOZ}

PA, Egypt in war of words with Hamas

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 12:15 PM PDT

From Al Ahram:
Hamas denied Sunday accusations made by the Egyptian army's spokesman who said hand grenades bearing the stamp of the Palestinian Islamist group's military wing were found in Sinai.

In a statement published on the information office website of the Islamic resistance movement, the group described the claims as "lies and fabrications."

Earlier Sunday, the army's spokesman, Colonel Ahmed Ali, said that the military confiscated a number of munitions, including hand grenades bearing the stamp of the Ezzeddin Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military arm.

He also said in a press conference there was "cooperation between armed and terrorist organisations and their counterpart in the Gaza Strip."
Similarly:
Palestinian Authority Ambassador to Egypt Barakat Al-Farra claimed on Sunday the Hamas Islamist group was "unable" to assess the Egyptian situation following president Mohamed Morsi's ouster.

"Hamas is unable to see the situation correctly and has to review its policies regarding Egypt," he said in an interview on Egyptian satellite channel Al-Hayat.

Al-Farra added that Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip since 2007, does not "represent the Palestinian people, it only represents itself."

Seeking to deflate tensions with the Egyptian authorities, the Gaza government released a statement on Sunday saying that "the Palestinian people, and their political factions, stand at equal distance from all the [people of] Egypt." The statement elaborated that out of respected for the "will and sovereignty" of Egypt, it had not interfered in its affairs, rejecting accusations to the contrary against the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has its own accusations against Egypt:
Egyptian authorities refuse to allow entry for dozens of Palestinians arriving from various countries en route to Gaza Strip.

Egyptian security sources told the PIC that the authorities did not show any concern with the condition of those Palestinians, some of whom have residence permits in Egypt.

They said that the airport authorities would not allow them to enter Cairo without giving any reason.

The sources noted that some of those Palestinian citizens had spent several days at the deportation room in the airport, adding that the trapped Palestinians were dismayed at the maltreatment.
Hamas also responded to the PA statement, saying that it was "silly" does not deserve a response - but that the ambassador speaks only for Fatah and not the Palestinian people.

All of this Arab disunity wouldn't t be happening if Israel would just dismantle those settlements, of course. Everyone knows that "the occupation" is the source of all Middle East troubles.

Tottenham football fans defiantly chant "Yid Army" for their team

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 11:00 AM PDT

From the Daily Mail:

Tottenham are planning to ask their fans if they think the time has come to stop chanting the Y-word.

For years Tottenham, who have a strong Jewish following, have been on the receiving end of cruel anti-Semitic abuse from opposition fans.

In an act of defiance, some fans of the north London club have coined the word "Yid" themselves, and chants of "Yids", "Yid Army" and "Yiddos" are regularly sung on the home terraces at White Hart Lane.

Last Monday the Football Association (FA) issued a statement warning supporters that use of such words could result in either a banning order or even criminal prosecution.

Tottenham responded by saying they would consult with their fans on the matter, and it has now emerged they will do so in the form of a questionnaire that will be sent out to all season-ticket holders.

'There is a document that Spurs will be sending out to season-ticket holders in due course,' Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust (THST) chairman Darren Alexander said.

'It's a questionnaire, and basically what the club want to ascertain is do the fans think now is the right time to be stop using this identity.

'If that comes back and a clear majority of fans think: yes, now is the time, then we move forward and we will work actively with the club if they want us to and we will think about how is best to do that.'

Tottenham fans reacted defiantly to the FA's statement on Saturday as they chanted "Yid Army" and "We'll sing what we want" throughout the 2-0 win over Norwich.

The same happened last season after Peter Herbert, the head of the Society of Black Lawyers, threatened to report anyone using the phrase to the police.
Here is JN1's coverage:



I can't say I keep track of nutty soccer fan chants, but if Israel and the IDF didn't exist, is there any chance that any football fans would so proudly identify themselves as "Yids"?

Now, if Tottenham fans really want to go all they way, they should start yelling insults at the other teams - in Yiddish! 

9/16 Links Part 1: Anti-Zionist Illusions, Col. Richard Kemp - Syria Plan ‘not realistic’

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 09:30 AM PDT

From Ian:
The Depravity of the Anti-Israeli Left
One is tempted to leave Ian Lustick's Sunday op-ed "Two-State Illusion," alone. Its stench is so overwhelming that one might expect it to harm Lustick's cause without the need for commentary. But because Lustick is a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, one of our most prestigious universities, and because the New York Times has chosen to amplify his view, it is worth considering as a symptom of the depravity of the anti-Israeli left, as what passes for sober commentary in that crowd.
Two States and the Anti-Zionist Illusion
They also understand just how dishonest Lustick's vision of a post-Zionist Middle East is. The professor claims Israel's collapse will lead to an alliance between secular Palestinians and post-Zionist Jews (those Haaretz columnists) and others to build a secular democracy. He thinks the large percentage of Israelis whose families fled or were thrown out of Arab and Muslim countries (a refugee population that no one thinks to compensate for their losses) will come to think of themselves as Arabs. He also posits an alliance between anti-Zionist Haredim and Islamists. He claims Jews who want to live in the West Bank can be accommodated in the post-Zionist world. All this is nonsense.
Israeli Jews know the fate of non-Muslim minorities in the Arab and Muslim world. If Israel acknowledges that all Jews would be evacuated from a putative Palestinian state it is not because they agree with the Arab vision of a Judenrein entity but because even those on the left know the Jews there would last as long as the greenhouses left behind in Gaza in 2005. Those "Arab Jews" that Lustick thinks will be at home in the Greater Palestine he envisages know exactly what fate awaits them in a world where they are not protected by a Jewish army.
British Airways apologises over 'Palestinian Territories' marker over Israel on in-flight map
British Airways has apologised for displaying an in-flight map with the words "Palestinian Territories" covering part of Israel.
The image appears on flights between Heathrow and Israel and was brought to the airline's attention by a Jewish passenger.
British Airways has contacted the manufacturer and requested that the reference be removed as soon as possible.
Jerusalem 'Sheshet HaYamim' Street in 'Palestine'?
While the representatives of Israel and the Palestinian Authority are negotiating intensely in order to draw the final borders, according to "Google Maps", it turns out that the map of Israel's permanent borders has already been plotted.
One user from Arutz Sheva was surprised to find the results on Google Maps for the Jerusalem street called "Sheshet HaYamim" (Six Day War) to be in "Palestine." The Jerusalem street, which is located near Ammunition Hill, was included in the liberated territories established during the Six Day War.
Below each mention of the street, including references as to the street intersections, the word "Palestine" appears prominently instead of Israel.
JPost Editorial: Israel and the Syria deal
It is too early to assess the implications for the Jewish state of an increasingly assertive Russia and a more hesitant US, particularly with regard to Iran.
Is the Russian-led agreement with the United States to do away with Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons good for the Jews?
Taken at face value, the deal appears to serve a major Israeli interest. Under the terms of the six-clause accord, Russia and the US will ensure that the tons of chemical weapons, meticulously gathered and stored by the late Syrian president Hafez Assad, will be located, dismantled and destroyed over the next eight months.
Ex-British army colonel to Post: Russian-US plan on Syria chemical weapons 'not realistic'
Speaking to the Post by phone, Kemp, who also served in the UK's Joint Intelligence Committee and Cabinet Office Briefing Room, said: "I think it's extremely difficult to do something like this during an active conflict, during a war. I think it'll take a very large amount of time, with a significant amount of military protection, so that the inspectors can be as safe as they can be. That aspect will present huge challenges. Which country, first of all, will provide the scientists who will take these risks and the military forces to back them up? It's a very dangerous situation."
Kemp observed that there is a wide variety of factions in Syria, including regime forces and jihadists, meaning that it would be difficult to send weapons inspectors to the country.
"Secondly, to get verification in this kind of situation, I would say, is impossible," he stated. "It would be very easy for President Assad to hide or remove out of the country significant quantities of chemical weapons.
'Netanyahu backed Russian chemical arms deal in call to Kerry'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Secretary of State John Kerry last week that he should try to reach a deal with Russia to confiscate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal as an alternative to a threatened US strike on the Assad regime, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
According to the report, Kerry called Netanyahu on September 11 and the Israeli leader told him that he didn't think that Russia was bluffing about its plan for Syria.
Kerry, in Israel, says Syria deal 'sets a marker' for Iran
In comments aimed at his hosts, Kerry said the deal, if successful, "will have set a marker for the standard of behavior with respect to Iran and with respect to North Korea and any rogue state, [or] group that tries to reach for these kind of weapons."...
Netanyahu thanked Kerry for his efforts to purge Syria of chemical weapons and linked the agreement with Syria to the ongoing campaign to curb Iran's controversial nuclear program.
"We have been closely following – and support – your ongoing efforts to rid Syria of its chemical weapons," Netanyahu said. "The Syrian regime must be stripped of all its chemical weapons, and that would make our entire region a lot safer.
Obama Says Iran 'Shouldn't Draw a Lesson' From U.S. Handling of Syria Chemical Weapons Crisis
U.S. President Barack Obama warned Sunday that his country's hesitation in carrying out a military strike against Syria has no bearing on how it will address Iran's push for nuclear weapons.
"My suspicion is that the Iranians recognize they shouldn't draw a lesson that we haven't struck– to think we won't strike Iran. On the other hand, what is– what– they should draw from this lesson is that there is the potential of resolving these issues diplomatically," he told ABC's George Stephanopoulos in an interview.
US-Russia deal a 'victory,' says Syrian minister
Syrian Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar was the first Syrian official to refer to the deal, telling Russian news agency Ria Novosti that "on the one hand, it helps Syria come out of the crisis and, on the other, it helps avoid the war against Syria by depriving those who wanted to launch it of arguments to do so."
He said it was "a victory for Syria, achieved thanks to our Russian friends."
Saudi Daily: 'Chemical Weapons Smuggled to Hezbollah'
President Bashar Al-Assad has smuggled part of his chemical weapons arsenal to Hezbollah in a bid to evade international inspection, the Saudi newspaper Al Watan reported Monday.
The report quoted Syrian National Coalition member Kamal al-Labwani as claiming that: "The Syrian regime has transferred some of its chemical weapons arsenal to its ally Hezbollah aboard trucks used to transport vegetables."
The article published Monday, also included a claim that the Assad regime had covertly moved significant parts of its chemical weapons aboard Russian ships docked along the Syrian coastline.
Taking down Hezbollah
The London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reports that the recommendations were made during a meeting of GCC interior ministers and their advisers in Riyadh yesterday. The recommendations are aimed at not only preventing any "terror-related activities, but also to shut down Hezbollah's sources of financing." The list is seen as a followup to a GCC proposal issued in July 2012 to address Hezbollah's actions.
Most notably, tiny Bahrain has been the main GCC member to take serious action against Hezbollah's interests in the country, partially due to Hezbollah's support of Bahraini Shiite dissidents. Other nations have grown increasingly upset by Hezbollah's participation in the Syrian civil war on the side of the government.
Roadside bomb in Sinai hurts nine police recruits
Suspected Islamic militants set off a roadside bomb in the Sinai Peninsula as a bus full of police conscripts was driving by, wounding nine of them, Egyptian security officials said.
Monday's ambush on the road outside the town of Rafah, on the border with the Gaza Strip, came amid a major counterinsurgency operation by Egypt's military in the lawless desert region.
Egypt Continues Crackdown on Sinai Militants Near Gaza Border, Finds Anti-Aircraft Missiles and Motorized Paragliders
The army has destroyed 152 smuggling tunnels running from the Sinai into Gaza since June 30, he added.
On Saturday the Egyptian army discovered explosives under a border guard post in Rafah and later found a detonator 800 meters away, Reuters quoted Ali as saying.
Ali also said that during its recent operations the army seized weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles and motorized paragliders, which indicated an effort to develop new methods of attack.
Egyptian Government Defends Al Jazeera Ban
Sherif Shawki told the Wall Street Journal that Al Jazeera Egypt had "violated the law" by operating without the necessary permits. Despite not having the correct permits, the channel had been broadcasting in Egypt since the 2011 popular uprising which ousted President Hosni Mubarak.
Under Mubarak's regime Al Jazeera had been forbidden from broadcasting in Egypt. But the Qatari channel found a friend in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, which rose to power in the aftermath of Mubarak's overthrow. Qatar is the leading sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood movement worldwide, and a key supporter of the administration of the Brotherhood's successful presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi.
MEMRI: Editor of Al-Ahram: US Plans Russia Revolution, Supports Iran's Nukes, Provoked Pearl Harbor Attack


Increasingly sectarian protests rock Turkey
The latest street unrest shows the grievances that prompted tens of thousands to protest Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government in June have not faded. And his government has been hurt by those protests — for instance, losing the chance last week to host the 2020 Summer Olympics partly due to Turkey's damaged international image.
But this round of demonstrations was sparked far from Istanbul and in a very different way — the death of 22-year-old Ahmet Atakan, who died under disputed circumstances following a protest Monday in the southern city of Antakya.

Quarterly appeal: Donate to EoZ!

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 07:17 AM PDT






Every three months, I ask for donations to the blog. (Doing this right after the Jewish holidays, when we are all inundated with requests for money, might not be too smart...)

This quarter was busy as usual.

Some of my articles started appearing in The Jewish Press giving the blog some more exposure.

I was mentioned or quoted in The Algemeiner, Arutz-7, The Jerusalem Post, The Blaze, FrontPage Mag, Commentary, Fox News and others mentioned or quoted me - some 55 times, by my count.

I spearheaded publicizing the dangers of the antisemitic "Khaybar" miniseries that was broadcast in the Arab world during Ramadan.  That battle still goes on as we are partnering with others in reaching out to contact Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to ask why they have never, once, condemned or even acknowledged Arab antisemitism.

Other big stories that I broke or added crucial information was the Roger Waters inflatable pig with the Jewish symbol on it, Hamas mourning Helen Thomas, a film festival that excluded Israelis from attending, Bashar Assad's grandfather's letter (my most popular post this quarter,) and a UNRWA employee quoting Hitler on his social media sites - which prompted an investigation by UNRWA.

In addition, I was featured in a lengthy article on pro-Israel blogs in the current issue of The Jerusalem Report. (Not to mention that last quarter, I forgot to note that I was listed as one of the top 100 people influencing Jewish life at The Algemeiner.

I also continued to make cartoons, posters and other multimedia posts.

Also, co-blogger Ian has been doing a Herculean job putting together the daily linkdumps. It is very rare that he misses a story, and you should read his posts every day to know literally everything that I am not covering that has to do with the situation in Israel. (I share some of the donations with him - something that is not done by HuffPo, BuzzFeed or any of the other major blog sites that benefit from others' postings.)

I'm not aware of any primarily single-person blog, on any topic, that includes the variety of original articles, original research, news scoops, digging up obscure news items, original graphics and videos as this one.

Since this takes a great deal of time - and  money - I am asking again for donations. You can click on one of the two PayPal buttons on the upper right of the blog page, or just click this button:




For those who don't like PayPal, I am always happy to accept Amazon(US) gift cards which can be emailed to me.

Thanks as always for your support, for being there and for publicizing my posts via Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and elsewhere. I really appreciate it!

Hizballah continues its takeover of Lebanon, targets Christians, says "We are the state"

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 05:00 AM PDT

A couple of troubling stories from Lebanon indicate that Hizballah, already under pressure because of its support for the Syrian regime, is acting to put more parts of Lebanon under its direct control - especially Christian areas.

Here is the story of a journalist who was assaulted and threatened by Hizballah forces:
A day after Hezbollah detained Journalist Hussein Shamas it assaulted at one of its a checkpoints near Galerie Samaan, a mostly Christian area bordering the Hezbollah stronghold of Dhahieh , Al Anwar newspaper journalist Maha al Rifai , who was beaten , cursed and insulted by the Hezbollah elements that were manning the the checkpoint .

This is all under the pretext of special security measures, that the Iranian backed militant group has been conducting in several parts of Lebanon.

Rifai , who was outraged later told her story to the Future TV. They reportedly demanded her car registration and drivers license but refused to give them back to her. When she asked about the reasons behind holding her documents and asked to contact a Lebanese Internal Security Officer she was told :" We are the state …get into your car you animal" and started cursing her .

When she insisted that a Lebanese internal police officer should attend to the matter one of the Hezbollah elements tried to hit her with an electric cane .

Minutes later a member of the Lebanese Internal security ( intelligence branch) arrived and when she threatened to report this to the media the intelligence officer gave her the car documents.

One of the Hezbollah elements then told her : "Don't you ever think you can come back to the Dhahieh area" and continued to curse her.

Rifai concluded that Hezbollah is undermining Lebanon's sovereignty and security, restricting freedom of speech and freedom of movement all under the pretext of special security measure following the bomb attacks in its Dhahieh stronghold

Back in 2008 it was revealed that Hizballah was wiretapping the telecommunications networks of Lebanon. Lebanese officials expressed alarm and denounced the action, but they were powerless to stop it.

Now, it appears that Hizballah's wiretapping is accelerating, especially in Christian areas:

Hezbollah is reportedly expanding its telecommunications network into the mostly Christian city Zahleh in the Beqaa region, Voice of Lebanon (100.5) radio reported on Sunday.

VOL noted that Zahleh "is witnessing an armed presence by Hezbollah members, notably in the industrial area [of the town]."

Hezbollah has been at the center of controversy over the years for the weapons it owns as well as its private communications network .

In another development Radio Free Lebanon reported that the Shiite militant party has established a wiretapping network in several towns along Lebanon's western mountain range. It added that part of the data Hezbollah collects from this network is immediately sent to Iran.

In 2011 Beqaa's Tarshish residents protested against the installation of Hezbollah's network in their town using the state's network infrastructure. MTV station reported back in October 2011 that Hezbollah threatened residents of Tarshish of a repeat of the May 2008 events after they prevented the party members from installing a telecommunications network in the town which is close to Zahle.
Of the three nominally equal Lebanese religious groups of Shiites, Sunnis and Christians, the Christians are by far the weakest. Their members have been fleeing the country for decades. It seems that Hizballah is now targeting any Christian areas near Shiite strongholds in its attempt to cement its hold on Lebanon itself.

Whatever happened to the Arafat polonium probe?

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 02:00 AM PDT

Remember last year when Yasir Arafat's bones were dug up to see if a Swiss laboratory could determine if
he died of polonium poisoning?

Remember how the amount of polonium found on his underwear would have indicated an amount that would have killed a normal person in less than a day, although he was sick for weeks?

Remember how the exhumation of Arafat's body was far from transparent, but only a PA pathologist was allowed to touch it and how the PA insisted that Russian experts be on the scene as well - even though Russia had nothing to do with it?

At the time, we were told that it would take about four months for the Swiss to come to a conclusion about the matter.

Then the Swiss said they'd be finished by late spring. The Spectator thought the report would be released by the first day of summer.

The latest word comes from Xinhua, on August 13:
Test results of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's corpse would be handed to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the middle of September, a PNA official said Tuesday.

A Swiss lab that examined samples from Arafat's remains would complete the results around the middle of September, said Tawfiq Al-Tirawi, head of the Palestinian committee that follows the investigation into Arafat's death in 2004.

"So far, the Swiss lab did not give us any initial indications or results on the deaths of Arafat's death," Al-Tirawi told Xinhua. However, he added that there were no obstacles preventing the results from being handed down and declared next month.
Well, its the middle of September, and we still haven't heard anything..

I am not a fan of conspiracy theories, but if the PLO asked the Russians for help in planting polonium on the samples while onsite, it might explain the delays. It would be very difficult to plant such tiny amounts in the tissue samples and keep them consistent with each other, as well as with making it look like a slow poisoning death. If the Swiss are seeing inconsistent results they might suspect something, but they are not criminal investigators and any theories about someone purposefully planting polonium would be outside their mandate.
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