יום חמישי, 5 בספטמבר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

!Shana Tova u'Metuka שנה טובה ומתוקה!

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:30 PM PDT

I would like to wish all my readers a happy and sweet New Year. May this be a year of health, a year of prosperity, a year of joy, a year of peace, and a year of security - and a better year than last year.



I will not be blogging until Saturday night.  Luckily, apples dipped in honey are an excellent antidote for web withdrawal symptoms.

9/04 Links Part 2: 9 Challenges for the IDF, Peter Beinart’s illiberal mission, PA Demands Gas Masks

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 03:00 PM PDT

From Ian:
Areas of anxiety: 9 New Year challenges for the IDF
Israelis, facing external threats from every point of the compass, would like to believe that Obama is correct, notwithstanding his last-minute decision Saturday to delay a strike on neighboring Syria's WMD-using President Bashar Assad.
But the IDF, however closely it coordinates with its American colleagues, functions on the assumption that its task is to protect Israel without outside assistance.
The IDF has never been stronger, its commanders say. But as they take stock this Rosh Hashanah, the challenges have rarely been as acute and varied, in a region that has seldom been so unstable. These are nine of the more immediate areas of concern.
Poll: Israeli Jews not worried by security situation
The US is expected to go to war as early as next week against Syria, which has vowed to "set Israel on fire" in retaliation. Lebanon could get embroiled, which could lead to Hezbollah unleashing its stockpile of 60,000 missiles and rockets. And an International Atomic Energy Association's report last week indicated that Iran has escalated its nuclear program.
Nevertheless, only 16.4 percent of Israeli Jews believe their security situation will worsen in the new year of 5774 that starts on Wednesday evening, according to the Peace Index, an Israel Democracy Institute/Tel Aviv University poll released on Tuesday.
The surveyors found that 46.1% of Israeli Jews believe their security will remain the same, while 28.3% think it will improve.
Oren: US becoming more isolationist, but support for Israel higher than ever
During his term as Israel's Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren found himself faced with a rapidly changing America, a Middle East on fire, and an Israel that had to deftly navigate between the seismic changes taking place in both locations. But looking at the polls, which continuously show high support for Israel among Americans, Oren is satisfied, saying they show that support for Israel in American public opinion is "the highest it's ever been."
"At a time when the Middle East is turbulent, Israel is an island of stability," Oren says.
Bennett: International peace guarantees are meaningless
"When you see everything that's going on around us, I can't even comprehend signing an agreement that's based on international guarantees, UN or other, and to trust anyone that is not the IDF, which is the only one that can protect us," Bennett said in an interview with Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, published Wednesday.
Commenting on the ongoing Syrian civil war, Bennett assessed that the West seems disinclined to enter the conflict, and suggested that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan deterred US and European citizens from stomaching military action in the Middle East.
Senior PA official: Peace talks with Israel are going nowhere
In the most damning Palestinian assessment to date, Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the negotiations, which kicked off in late July after a three year hiatus, had made no progress.
"These negotiations are futile and won't lead to any results," Abed Rabbo told Voice of Palestine radio.
"I don't expect any progress at all unless there is huge and powerful American pressure, such as the one we are seeing from America to deal with the Syrian issue," added Abed Rabbo, one of just two officials authorized by Abbas to discuss the talks.
An Israeli official in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office declined to comment on the remarks, saying the two sides had agreed that only the United States should speak about the talks. "We are abiding by that agreement," the official said.
Saudi Arabia donating $200 million for Palestinian cities to prevent Judaization
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has decided to grant $200 million for the development of Palestinian cities, and for protecting their Arab and Islamic character against "Judaization."
Municipal and Rural Affairs Minister Prince Mansour bin Miteb announced the news on Sunday while opening a conference of the Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities in Saudi Arabia, Saudi newspaper Arab News reported on Monday.
Palestinian Authority Demands Israel Provide it with Gas Masks
A Palestinian Authority official has demanded that Israel provide civilians living in PA-controlled areas with gas masks in the event of a spillover of violence from Syria.
Israel has been distributing gas masks to its citizens over the last two weeks amid fears of reprisals against the Jewish state, following anticipated US military intervention in neighboring Syria.
Islamic Jihad Issues Call to Abduct IDF Soldiers
Hader Habib, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, called on fellow terrorists to abduct an IDF soldier, in a speech Sunday at a protest tent for identification with Palestinian Authority (PA) prisoners that was erected next to the Red Cross Headquarters in Gaza.
Hader called for the abduction of soldiers so that they can be exchanged for PA prisoners.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday in his speech at the Fatah convention that releasing Fatah Tanzim commander Marwan Barghouti, who was sentenced to five life sentences, and Ahmed Saadat, the PFLP commander who ordered the assassination of Minister Rechavam Ze'evi, as well as other senior terrorists, are on his political agenda.
Peter Beinart's illiberal mission: To subvert Jewish & non-Jewish support for Israel
I can assure Beinart that the more American Jews get to know the truth – not the liberal-tinted glasses view, nor the propaganda view – they will be even more pro-Yesha, pro-Jewish retention of Judea and Samaria and more anti-Palestinianism.
They will learn of the "Temple Denial" phenomenon. They will become acquainted with the anti-Semitism at the root of Islamist ideology which drives (and, with the Grand Mufti El-Husseini's pro-Nazism beginning in 1933, drove) their bloodthirsty opposition to Zionism. They will know that the dispute is not territorial nor where a boundary line will be drawn but it is existential. They will come to acknowledge the deeply rooted fanaticism and extremism that guides their anti-Zionism thinking and actions. They will recognize the lies and half-truths that form the basis of Palestinianism, the inventivity model of nationalism.
I publish their words. Many other bloggers and web sites do as well. With Google Translate, even the Arab-language sites are open to us all. There is no shortage of getting to know "the enemy". In fact, we are commanded to, in a sense, to "know thy enemy" which, in Jewish thought was expressed in the Ethics of the Fathers, 2:14, by Rabbi Elazar who would say: 'Be diligent in the study of Torah. Know what to answer a heretic'.
Legitimizing Israel's Destruction
What do a Norwegian government employee, a director of a "co-existence" program and several academics from the University of Exeter have in common? They are all happily colluding with a front group of the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas.
On September 7, the Palestine Return Centre (PRC) will be hosting an "International Conference on the Oslo Accords," which it has planned with the support of the Exeter Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, part of the University of Exeter.
Intelligence agencies regard the PRC as one of the leading lobby groups in Britain for Hamas, and claim that three of the PRC's trustees are "Hamas activists who found refuge in Britain" during the 1990s. Hamas leaders also regularly address the PRC's conferences.
The London-based Palestine Return Centre (PRC), it turns out, was originally established on the basis of opposition to the Oslo peace process. The conference is therefore unlikely to reach any positive conclusions about the Oslo Accords, or to recommend its revival.
The Cold War's Arab Spring: How the Soviets Created Today's Middle East
Russian exile Pavel Stroilov argues just this in his forthcoming book, Behind the Desert Storm. "Not a word of it is true," he writes. "It was the Soviet Empire—not the British Empire—that was responsible for the instability in the Middle East."
Stroilov, a historian now living in London, fled Russia in 2003 after stealing 50,000 top-secret Kremlin documents from the Gorbachev Foundation archives, where he was working as a researcher. He was given access to the archive in 1999, but Gorbachev refused him permission to copy its most significant documents. Having observed the network administrator entering the password into the system, Stroilov reproduced the archive and sent it to secure locations around the world.
Why Literally Everyone in the World Hates the Jews, and What To Do About It
Two new scholarly books show how even the most neutral academic can feel bound to answer anti-Semites' demonic vigor in kind
In many parts of the world, Jews are increasingly unwelcome in the 21st century. The number of countries in which wearing visibly Jewish clothing such as a kippa means risking physical violence has hit an all-time high. On both the individual and the national level, Jews are targeted with extraordinary ferocity: We hear Israelis (but no one else) being compared to Nazis; we are told that Jewish nationalism is oppressive and archaic; that Israel is a uniquely racist country; that Israel's terrible misdeeds explain why people hate Jews. Instead of being seen as ordinary or all too human, Jews are seen as carriers of a uniquely transcendent evil. No other group of people on the planet is accused so much and of such fantastic wrongs. For a few decades after the Holocaust, it seemed that anti-Semitism might wane or even die out. That hope has now been defeated. Could anything we do or say stem the tide, or will Jew-hatred persist as long as there are Jews to hate?
Druze Village's Character Shaped by Education, Sport, and Loyalty to Israel
The enclaves of one of Israel's most loyal and ardently Zionist indigenous populations lie not far from the coastal city of Acre. This community is no historical remnant—it is a modern group of Israelis whose service and sacrifice for the Jewish state is legendary. Residents are lawyers and doctors, entrepreneurs and merchants, teachers and engineers, and political activists. The community's young men serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with great honor, and its young women are beginning to enter national service.
That description applies not to one of Israel's Jewish communities, but rather to the Druze village of Julis, one of the smallest of the Druze communities in northern Israel.
Recalling the 1943 Rosh Hashanah Holocaust Escape of Danish Jews
In the late summer of 1943, amid rising tensions between the occupation regime and the Danish government, the Nazis declared martial law and decided the time had come to deport Danish Jews to the death camps. But Georg Duckwitz, a German diplomat in Denmark, leaked the information to Danish friends. Duckwitz was later honored by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations. As word of the Germans' plans spread, the Danish public responded with a spontaneous nationwide grassroots effort to help the Jews.
Daphne Anson: Simon's Story Upsets The Israel Bashers
And what a wonderful series Schama's BBC2 documentary series "The Story of the Jews" promises to be, as the first episode, screened on 1st September, shows:
And a gang of well-known Israel-bashers (Sarah Colborne, Palestine Solidarity Campaign; Daud Abdullah, Middle East Monitor; Professor Jonathan Rosenhead, British Committee for the Universities of Palestine; Abe Hayeem, Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine; Ismail Patel, Friends of Al Aqsa; Diana Neslen, Jews for Justice for Palestinians) have written an Open Letter of protest to the Controller of BBC2, Janice Hadlow, dated 3rd September, that says in part:
".... In an interview in the Radio Times (31 August-6 September), Schama describes himself as an 'historian-Zionist' and says he will be making 'the moral case for Israel' in the final episode of this five part series.
We find it alarming that the BBC is giving a platform to an openly pro-Israeli commentator to make the 'moral case' for Israel. Schama's views will go unopposed, unchallenged and unanalysed. This is a far cry from the balanced and impartial broadcasting that the BBC claims to champion...."
15-year-old Syrian Girl Released from Ziv Medical Center
Israel Defense Forces transferred the young girl to Israel from a field hospital in Syria where she underwent surgery for abdominal wounds and shrapnel injuries on both of her legs. The Syrian medics decided to amputate one of her legs, while the Israeli medical team was able to save the girl's other leg from being amputated.
"I wish the people of Israel a happy new year and wish that we will be able to meet again in a saner Middle East, as we are all human beings," said the victim's mother, who accompanied her throughout the six weeks of her hospitalization.
Her mother then thanked the medical team for their devoted treatment and for saving her other leg from amputation. Additionally, she was grateful the Ziv Medical Center facilitated the donation of an artificial leg from a generous private donor.
Israel Daily Picture: New Year's Greeting to Our Jewish Readers
Israel Daily Picture normally focuses on pictures of the Holy Land in the Library of Congress archives' American Colony collection.
In honor of Rosh Hashanna, we present pictures of the holiday in New York City, taken in the early 1900s by George Bain and also housed in the Library of Congress archives.

Rosh Hashanah video greeting reviews: Bibi, Peres, Obama, Cameron, IDF

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 12:20 PM PDT

Netanyahu seems uncharacteristically tired. He does a nice job talking about Israel's accomplishments, peace, Syria, and Iran.



Grade: B+

Peres' message is muddled. He implies Yom Kippur is before Rosh Hashanah and that Yom Kippur is meant to forget our mistakes. This is not a great greeting.



Grade: C-


President Obama's is pretty generic. He loses points for having a jarring edit in the middle.



Grade: B-

David Cameron's is only fair, with usual stuff about the peace process, but his ending about the British Jewish community is nice.



Grade: B

The IDF's message has stunning video clips and shows off the diversity of the army and navy. Pure hasbara - and that's a good thing.



Grade: A

(h/t Yerushalimey, Jean)

Video of stone throwers on Temple Mount today

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 10:35 AM PDT



Here is how the official PA "news" agency WAFA reported the event:

Jewish fanatics who have declared openly their intention to turn al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City into a Jewish shrine Wednesday provoked Muslim worshippers at the mosque when they entered the walled compound in large numbers and under police protection, according to Muslim officials.
I count at least four lies in that one sentence alone.

9/04 Links Part 1: Bibi - We Have an Iron Dome and an Iron Will, Shape-Shifting on Syria

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 09:10 AM PDT

From Ian:
Shape-Shifting on Syria
In 2009, the current administration flattered and cajoled Bashar Assad, returning the U.S. Ambassador to Damascus and partially lifting sanctions on the regime (including on aircraft engines, which had major implications later as the war intensified). For the next two years, a stream of American politicos visited and chatted up Assad; this was the period of the famous "Rose in the Desert" paean to Asma Assad in Vogue magazine and dinner with the Kerrys. They called Bashar Assad a "reformer"and hoped for change.
There was no change, and in August 2011 the Administration demanded that Assad resign, shifting America's desired outcome from an "improved Assad" to "no Assad."
FLASHBACK: Harvard Group Honored Bashar al-Assad's Wife in 2011
According to The New York Times, the Harvard Arab Alumni Association (HAAA) honored Mrs. Assad at a dinner in Damascus two years ago.
Prior to the dinner the group posted this announcement on its website:
We are greatly honored to hold our Arab World Conference under the esteemed patronage of Her Excellency Mrs. Asma al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria, and are privileged that Her Excellency will deliver the conference's keynote address. A thought-provoking, inspiring and tireless leader and advocate, the First Lady's address will certainly be the highlight of our event.
The Democrats' 'Smart Power' Lies in Ruins
Democrats Suddenly Realize What They Miscalculated About the World: Everything
As we await Congress's decision on authorizing the use of U.S. military force in Syria, Democrats are suddenly realizing that their foreign-policy brain-trust completely misjudged the world.
Being nicer to countries like Russia will not make them nicer to you. The United Nations is not an effective tool for resolving crises. Some foreign leaders are beyond persuasion and diplomacy. There is no "international community" ready to work together to solve problems, and there probably never will be.
Barry Rubin: Turning Point: Obama and Israel, The Next Three Years
It is not every day that one can announce a shift in world history, but this day is today. And we are now in a new era in the Middle East and the world. This is not a joke--definitely not a joke--and as you will see, it is not an exaggeration.
Let me explain. For the last seven weeks I have been in the United States, mostly in Washington D.C. I have spoken and listened to many people. As a result, I am in a position to describe for you with a high degree of accuracy what the policy will be for the next 3.5 years, and perhaps for many more.
The administration has crossed a line to, in simple terms, backing the "'bad guys."
Syria Debate Shows America's Moral Collapse
Why are we so determined to remain indifferent in the face of men, women and children convulsing to death from Sarin gas? I have no satisfactory answer, but during this period of the High Holy Days, we are obliged, in my view, to confront this question as we reflect on our moral health. After all, we Jews have spent the last seven decades asking whether more could have been done to avert the Holocaust. Could we not have bombed the railway lines to the concentration camps? Could we not have smuggled more weapons to resistance fighters, both Jewish and non-Jewish? Well, yes, we could have done much more, but we also could have done a lot less. Imagine if the current crop of politicians currently dominating the Syrian debate, from U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to the leader of the British Labor Party, Ed Miliband, had been in office instead of Roosevelt and Churchill. (On second thought, don't.)
Jewish Groups Support 'Strong Response' to Syria's Use of Chemical Weapons
The umbrella organization representing more than 50 Jewish groups on Tuesday issued a statement saying that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's use of chemical weapons against his people requires a "strong response."
Prior to the statement by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the White House held a conference call to brief Jewish leaders on the situation in Syria.
"The use of such indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction represents moral challenges that require a strong response," the Conference of Presidents said.
Netanyahu: We Have an Iron Dome – and an Iron Will
"We need to see to [our] security. This is our first obligation, as well as mine as Prime Minister, and this is a challenge for us because the reality around is challenging," Netanyahu began.
"In the end, our lives depend on an iron wall. We are building an iron wall, an Iron Dome, and we have an iron will," he declared.
"These are the things that give us the strength to defend ourselves and also to tell those who would attack us: it is not worth your while. These are the fundamentals that protect the State of Israel. Everything else is happening here now."
Peres: Assad will Disappear – One Way or the Other
However, he continued, intervention may not be the right path. "War is a very serious business and I would suggest to every leader to think as much as they can before rather than afterwards," he said, adding, "I admire President Obama's attempt to examine every possibility to bring this horrible situation to an end."
Peres echoed other Israeli leaders in saying that Israel has no plans to intervene in Syria, but is prepared for any attack. An attack is unlikely, he added, explaining, "If Syria attacks us we will overcome them and that is why I believe it won't happen… We have one of the best security infrastructures and one of the best militaries in the modern world."
Report: Syrian Forensic Chief Defects with Evidence of Chemical Weapon Use
The Syrian opposition has stated today (Tuesday) that Abdul Tawwab Shahrour, head of the forensic medicine committee in Aleppo, has defected to Turkey.
According to Syrian opposition representatives, Shahrour is in possession of evidence pointing to the use of chemical weapons by the Bashar al-Assad regime in an attack that occurred earlier this year. More than 20 people were killed in an attack at the Khan al-Assal district near Aleppo on March 19. The Assad regime has previously denied allegations that it used chemical weapons during the attack.
According to the Syrian opposition, Shahrour has both documents and eyewitness accounts proving the use of chemical weapons during the events and contradicting the Assad regime's version of the events, which he intends to reveal at a news conference.
Former Iranian President: Assad Attacked His Own People with Gas
"The Syrian people are experiencing harsh conditions. On the one hand, they are bombed with chemicals by their own government, and on the other hand, they can expect American bombs," concluded the former Iranian president.
Not only has Iran defended Assad throughout the civil war in Syria, the Islamic Republic has provided him with military support during his fight against rebels trying to topple his regime.
Obama garners bipartisan support for Syria strike
Republican House Speaker John Boehner emerged from a White House meeting and told reporters: "This is something that the United States, as a country, needs to do. I'm going to support the president's call for action. I believe that my colleagues should support this call for action."
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi also said they will support Obama because the U.S. has a compelling national security interest to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Senate resolution sets deadline, bars ground forces in Syria
The Associated Press obtained a copy of the draft resolution that the Foreign Relations Committee will vote on Wednesday.
The measure would set a time limit of 60 days for any mission, and it says the president can extend that for 30 days more unless Congress has a vote of disapproval.
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the committee, and Sen. Bob Corker, the top Republican, agreed on the measure late Tuesday. The White House had no immediate reaction to the draft resolution before Obama departed for Sweden and then Russia, to attend the G-20 summit.
U.S. Air Force Lacks Preparedness for Syria Strike
General Mark Welsh has said recent cutbacks to the U.S. Air Force have limited it's readiness to carry out a major offensive.
Welsh was quoted by the Journal of the U.S. Air Force on August 28.
Emphasizing cuts including the grounding of tactical combat squadrons earlier this year, Welsh said the Air Force would carry out any mission assigned to it but added, "We are not going to be as ready as we would like."
Iran will not tolerate fall of Assad, establishes joint 'war room' with Syria, Hezbollah
The trio aim to provide a coordinated response to any American aggression against Syria or Iran, which Mashregh News said would include counterattacking with missiles aimed at Israel and American assets in the region.
According to the Fars News Agency, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a warning recently during his recent meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "The Islamic Republic will defend Syria," FNA reported that message read, "because of its support for the resistance front against the Zionist regime [Israel], and is vehemently opposed to any intervention by foreign forces in Syrian internal affairs."
'The fire is approaching': Syria and its allies threaten regional war
The Wall Street Journal reports that Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia fighting side-by-side with Assad against the rebels, will strike back at American ships if an attack takes place.
"The resistance [Hezbollah] and the armed forces are now one body," said a senior Syrian official on Monday. "In my assessment, Hezbollah will side with Syria in certain operations targeting warships in the Mediterranean."
The threat is not an idle one. During the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, a land-based missile launched by Hezbollah struck an Israeli warship off the Lebanese coast, killing four sailors and severely damaging the vessel.
Hamas dismisses talk of strike by Egypt against Gaza
Hamas officials on Tuesday urged Palestinians to ignore rumors to the effect that the Egyptian army is preparing a military offensive against the Gaza Strip.
"The talk about a possible Egyptian military operation in the Gaza Strip is baseless," a Hamas official said. "We urge our people not to pay attention to the rumors flying around."
A Palestinian journalist in Gaza City said that there was "increased talk" about a possible Egyptian military strike in the Gaza Strip.
Five Reporters Killed, 80 Detained Since Morsi's Ouster
Reporters Without Borders has issued a scathing report on the treatment of reporters in Egypt since the removal of President Mohamed Morsi in early July:
Since 3 July, a total of five journalists have been killed, 80 journalists have been arbitrarily detained (with seven still held) and at least 40 news providers have been physically attacked by the police or by pro-Morsi or pro-army demonstrators.
11 Brotherhood members sentenced to life in prison
A Suez military court has given 11 Muslim Brotherhood supporters life sentences relating to charges of violence following the dispersal of pro-Mohamed Morsi sit-ins in Cairo and Giza last month.
The 11 defendants were given 25-year sentences.
Forty-five others were given five years each, while eight defendants were acquitted of charges of assualting army troops, burning military vehicles, throwing Molotov cocktails and attacking churches in Suez governorate.
Iran Is *Really* Good at Evading Sanctions
What is obvious is that sanctions have forced Iran's efforts to go underground, adapt, and become more intricate as time goes by. Sanctions are successful in the specific sense that the more strict they become and consistently they are enforced, the harder it is for Iran to achieve its goals. It is not enough, however, to simply add companies to the sanctions list. Authorities must rigorously enforce sanctions by going after the individuals and companies who help evade them, seizing their assets, and even arresting and extraditing those involved. They must also constantly update their lists to reflect the ever-changing corporate structure of Iran's overseas procurement networks.
Nothing is straightforward in these operations, except the Iranian leaders' dedication to their goal of acquiring nuclear weapons. And whether sanctions will successfully deter them or it will require different measures to do so is still very much an open question.

If Peter Beinart were around in 1929...

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT



(A followup to my essay yesterday.)

FIAT/IFTA-Dubai anti-Israel discrimination update

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 06:00 AM PDT

Here are a few updates on the FIAT/IFTA fiasco where the organization allowed Dubai to ban an Israeli nominee from the awards ceremony.
The FIAT/IFTA website has added some information justifying their refusal to push back against the discrimination:

Everyone travelling to attend the FIAT/IFTA World Conference, no matter if the conference is held in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland, Beijing or the United Arab Emirates, must make sure to get a valid visa before entering the country. This is the sole responsibility of the attendee of the conference, and FIAT/IFTA does not have any influence on diplomatic relations between the country of a visitor from anywhere in the World and the country in which the World Conference takes place.
Yes, they do. They have a lot of influence; by exercising the right to cancel the conference and to embarrass the host country into doing the right thing, just like tennis officials did in 2009 after Shahar Peer was denied a visa. Their pressure ensured that Israeli Andy Ram was able to play shortly thereafter:
Tennis governing officials warned that holding future tennis events in Dubai could be in doubt if the Emirates - which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel - continued to ban Israelis. The ATP, which runs next week's men's tournament, gave the UAE a Friday evening deadline to decide whether to grant Ram a visa.

"No player, who qualifies to play an ATP World Tour event, should be denied their right to compete on the basis of ethnicity, nationality or religion and we are happy that the Dubai Tennis Championships and the UAE have shown that they share that view," ATP president, Adam Helfant, said in a statement.
Also after Shahar Peer was denied a visa, the Women's Tennis Association threatened to no longer go to Dubai, and the Tennis Channel refused to broadcast the tournament.

That is what FIAT/IFTA should have done if it had any sense of morality.
Algemeiner received an email from the Israeli nominee, Arik Bernstein, where he was taking the high road:

"I hope that this affair is finally coming to a satisfactory resolution. Meaning that our film 'Israel: A Home Movie' will be shown during the conference in Dubai. This for me was the most important element," The filmmaker, Arik Bernstein, told The Algemeiner in an email.

The President of IFTA, Jan Müller, confirmed to The Algemeiner in an email that Bernstein would indeed not be attending the conference, but rejected any responsibility for his ban.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Bernstein, holding an Israeli passport, is not allowed to enter Dubai, due to political reasons. Neither IFTA, nor me as chairman and any other member of this federation of television archives. (sic) And neither the host of this conference, television company MBC, can be hold responsible for this sad issue," he wrote.
I also saw from private communication that at least one other nominee is not flying to Dubai for his own reasons, but he expressed disgust at the discrimination against the Israeli filmmaker.

The Creative Community for Peace condemned FIAT/IFTA:

The recent decision by the organizers of the 'International Federation of Television Archives' competition to disqualify an Israeli film is a ridicule of artistic freedom and a clear case of institutionalized bigotry.

It is time to stop the politicization of art. "The festival organizers," says David Lonner, CCFP advisory member and CEO of Oasis Media Group, "substituted artistic and professional considerations with one-sided political ones." We, Creative Community For Peace, a coalition of entertainment industry executives [CCFP] and fans worldwide who have signed our petition [Petition], reject this injustice. We believe art and must be embraced as a tool to transcend political tensions.

Brian of London wrote in the Times of Israel about the fiasco as well.

So here's the deal. If you hold a major event in Dubai you, your sponsors and your other participants are excluding Israelis (and by Israelis we mostly mean Israeli Jews).If your organisation is based in Australia, as a forthcoming case may well prove, you might even be committing an actual crime!

(h/t David, Jonathan)

Arabs throw stones at peaceful Jewish visitors to Temple Mount

Posted: 04 Sep 2013 02:06 AM PDT

Ma'an reports with characteristic bias:

Clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israeli forces after Jewish rightists entered the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Wednesday, locals said.

Local youths threw stones at a group of around 40 Israeli rightists who entered the compound, witnesses said.

Israeli forces responded by storming the mosque compound and spraying protestors with pepper spray, lightly injuring three women.
Arabic media has been warning for days that Jews will be visiting the Temple Mount today, Rosh Hashanah Eve. Of course, Jews visited yesterday as well, and the day before.

Sheikh Raed Salah had instigated a lot of the incitement and he was arrested a couple of days ago.

The Muslims tried to form a human shield to prevent Jews from entering via the Moroccan gate to visit Judaism's holiest spot.

Luckily, instead of barring the Jews from their ascent, the Israeli police instead closed the compound to the troublemakers:

Israeli police closed all gates leading to the mosque and prevented worshipers under 50 from entering. They also stopped dozens of buses in Jerusalem carrying Palestinian worshipers to the mosque and told them to turn around, Israeli media reported.
The area was reopened to all in the afternoon.

Here's a video of Muslim women chanting "Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews, the army of Mohammed will return"  on the Mount as Israeli police very respectfully move them along:



Here is a video from yesterday of a Muslim preacher, speaking English, where he tries to say that international law should leave the Mount (and indeed the entire Old City) Judenrein. He also says that since the existence of Jews in the area angers Muslims, they are threatening the peace. Which just goes to show how many Muslims will happily call to massacre Jews in Arabic but try to put on a peaceful face to the West.
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