יום שישי, 18 באוקטובר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Funny Israeli Shabbat video

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 08:16 PM PDT

If you aren't a religious Jew you might miss some jokes, but it is still funny. English transcript below.



Narrator: Givat Shmuel, a heavily populated concrete jungle located in the heart of Gush Dan. A National Geographic camera crew is observing a typical pack of the wild "Dati" [Orthodox] tribe. It's 5 o'clock on a Friday afternoon and the pack is preparing for its weekly gathering. The Sha–bat ceremony. The alpha male howls, apparently in order to signal that the time of the gathering is near.
Father to children: Tell me, are you normal?! Shabbat's in one hour! Go take showers, you and your spacey brother!
Father to wife: Nechama, do me a favor, boil the water already. Come on!
Narrator: The female, Necha–Ma, defends the family nest by marking her territory [close-up on her sponja mop].
Mother: Nobody enters the hall now, I just washed the floor!
Narrator: It's 8:30, and the pack gathers for the ceremony. Our crew must remain silent to hear the alpha male's deep gutteral sounds aimed to prepare the pack for the upcoming meal.
[Father uses hand motions and sounds to request that somebody bring salt to the table for the challah]
Narrator: What's that noise? Near the dati tribe lives a pack from a different tribe, the Chilonim [secular Jews]. This pack is also fascinating. Even though it's a completely different pack, it also celebrates the Sha–bat ceremony.
Father:Shabbat shalom, family.
Daughter: [Making video with her phone] My mommy and daddy at the Shabbat table.
Father: Also film the kiddush cup!
Narrator: It's 7 in the morning and the secular pack seeks grazing land to expand it's territory. This is a demanding process requiring the pack's approval.
[Mother suggests distant destinations around Israel for a family hike]
Mother: So, Chatzbani?
Children: Boring!
Mother: Yehudiya?
Children: Boring!
Mother: Ramon Crater?
Children: Boring!
Mother: OK, Nachal Amud?
Children: Boring!
Father: Honey, why don't we just get out a movie?
Narrator: Much like the dati tribe, the female of the chiloni tribe clearly has the final say [mother leads family out to go to the hike]
Narrator: Suddenly, an astonishing thing happens. The Dati pack encounters the Chiloni pack. Each pack is fascinated by the other, and approaches it with its own dialect.
Religious mother: Shabbat Shalom. What do you say? Maybe we could sit together to eat one Shabbat in the evening.
Secular mother: You mean a meal on Saturday night?
Religious father: No, Erev Shabbat, on Friday at night.
Secular father: You mean a Friday-night dinner?
Religious mother and father: No, a Shabbat meal.
Religious father: Never mind…why don't you come now?
Secular mother: With pleasure!
Religious father: Great! We live on the 13th floor.
Religious mother: Moti! The Shabbat elevator!
Religious father: The elevator! Run! Run! Come!
Narrator: These tribes share the same origin. And there's more to bring them together than to set them apart.
Secular mother: What's a Shabbat elevator?
[Both families crowd into small elevator]
Religious father: Only seven more flights to go!
Narrator: Our head researcher, Abba Kookoo, finds that they can even spend the Shabbat ceremony together.
[Around Shabbat table, religious father indicates for somebody to bring the salt for the Challah. Secular son starts drinking from the handwashing cup]
Secular mother: Yoni! What are you doing?! You don't drink from that!
Religious father: It's forbidden to talk right now…[they all start talking with hand motions and sounds]
Narrator: Nature is unpredictable and so are the animals trying to survive in it. It seems however that with tolerance and good will, the delicate balance of the circle of life is preserved.
This video is an advertisement for "Israeli shabbat"(October 25th) when religious families around Israel invite secular families to join them for a Shabbat meal.

(h/t Yerushalimey)

10/17 Links Pt2: Fearing anti-Semitism 22% of EU Jews hide identity, The Palestinian Grievance Industry

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 03:00 PM PDT

From Ian:
Fearful of anti-Semitism, 22% of European Jews hide identity
Almost a quarter of respondents in a major survey of Jews from nine European countries said they avoid visiting places and wearing symbols that identify them as Jews for fear of anti-Semitism.
Fear of wearing a kippah and other identifiably Jewish items was especially strong in Sweden, where 49 percent of 800 respondents said they refrained from such actions, in a survey conducted this year among more than 5,100 Jews by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
In France, 40 percent of approximately 1,200 Jews said they avoided wearing such items in public, followed by Belgium with 36 percent, according to preliminary results from the survey, obtained by JTA.
In total, 22 percent of respondents said they avoided "Jewish events or sites" because of safety concerns.
Rising Tide of Hate for European Jews
If Jews don't think it is worth it to report even physical assaults, it can only mean one thing: that they believe such behavior is no longer considered beyond the pale or even frowned upon by mainstream European opinion. Given the drumbeat of incitement against Israel, which serves as a thinly veiled excuse for traditional anti-Jewish attitudes, throughout Europe, it is little surprise to see that this is being reflected in such incidents.
After a period during which Jewish life revived there in the aftermath of the Holocaust, it is obvious that much of the continent is in the process of reverting to its pre-World War Two attitudes. At the very least, surveys like this call into question the future of Jews in Europe. At worst, it portends worse to come. But either way, the lack of security for Jews in supposedly enlightened Europe makes the defense of Israel all the more important.
The Palestinian Grievance Industry
History will record that the Palestinian Cause was the single most destructive political issue in Arab history. Instead of focusing on building Arab societies by pressuring 21 Arab rulers, tens of millions of Arabs funneled their attention to a lost Cause the Palestinian themselves have turned into an ATM machine. The Arab Spring, sparked by economic deprivation, killed the Palestinian Cause and it is about time. Who would believe Israel is the enemy after watching the Assad resistance gassing Syrian children and women? The message is if you do not resist, we will kill you. Assad did a great favor for Israel here.(h/t Norman F)
New Amazon shame: Holocaust denial
...even more shocking still is the revelation today, following a third Kernel investigation, that Amazon, along with its rival bookstore, Barnes & Noble, are selling vile works of Holocaust denial, even in countries where Holocaust denial is against the law, such as France, Germany and Austria.
To reduce the company's exposure to tax, Amazon's European headquarters are in Liechtenstein, where it is also illegal to deny genocide according to section 283 of that country's criminal code.
Jihad and terror: listen to what they're telling you
A recent Arabic article appearing in Egypt's Al Ahram newspaper titled "Is Terrorism Jihad?" written by Islamic law expert Dr. Abdul Fatah Idris offers important lessons -- from the fact that jihad does involve subjugating non-Muslims to why the Western mentality is still incapable of acknowledging it.
Idris, professor and chairman of Al Azhar University's Department of Comparative Jurisprudence at the Faculty of Sharia Law, is a well-reputed legal scholar. He begins his article by defining terrorism and quoting several international bodies that, in his words,
Ban Ki-Moon: Anti-Semitism Has No Place in the 21st Century
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the U.N. shares common goals with American Jewry in pursuit of "peace and human dignity for all" at the 50th anniversary tribute gala of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Tuesday in New York.
Ban praised American Jews for their efforts in fighting injustice and extremism.
Here's How the IDF Blows up a Terrorists' Tunnel (Video)
The latest tunnel that was discovered will be blown up because it was obviously a clear and present danger to Israelis, but no one the Defense Ministry has ever explained why there are no orders to the IDF to blow up all of the other tunnels that are known to exist. If the IDF were to be too aggressive, it might upset the United Nations. Gen. Edelstein tried to reassure Gaza Belt Jews by saying that the military considered the construction of the tunnel an "extreme violation" of the ceasefire following the Pillar of defense counter terrorist operation last year.


Ein Hashlosha: 'Calm Despite Discovery of Terror Tunnel'
Danni Cohen, Head of the Emergency Response team at the kibbutz told Arutz Sheva that kibbutz residents were calm after the discovery of the 2.5 kilometer tunnel.
"We weren't surprised by the discovery of the tunnel. Unfortunately, we have lived with a security problem for many years now because of the kassams and mortars, we know the Palestinian Arabs are constantly trying to dig tunnels." Cohen said.
The duplicity of the British Methodist Church
Instead of coming out publicly and saying that Israel shouldn't exist, as they do theologically behind closed doors, they try to wrap themselves with a cloak of public opinion support for their consumer questionnaire.
They think they are being clever by implementing such tactics, but they are not talking about rights, they are talking about destroying Israel. Their claim to be agnostic about Israel is a lie, told because they know their support would dwindle if they were to openly say that according to their religious beliefs, Israel has no right to exist.
England's Cooperative Wholesale Society and the Israel Boycott
Some Coop members have decided to fight back, which is exactly what happened at the North London meeting held on October 12. There were various placatory statements from the committee, but no intention has been displayed by the Cooperative movers and shakers to reverse the boycott policy. Again, the boycotters denied they are operating a boycott, and even claimed that they continue to trade with Israel in other fields.
Meanwhile, the Coop's trading figures go from bad to worse. Perhaps a curse (or some other Higher Power) has overtaken the Coop. Only the funeral service has done well, and the Cooperative Bank is about to go bust. In fact, to its utter shame, the Bank will not be honoring its full debt to its bond-holders and has been forced – against every tenet of the Cooperative Movement – to offer shares in the Bank on the Stock Exchange!
Is this bad luck, mismanagement –– or divine intervention?
SS officer's son: Bury my father in Israel
The son of a former SS officer provoked a storm of outrage by suggesting his father be buried in Israel, after a number of countries refused to inter the Nazi's remains.
"Where should my father be buried?" asked Jorge Priebke, whose father, Erich, died last week at the age of 100 after serving a life term for a 1944 massacre near Rome. "For me, even in Israel. That way they'd be happy,"
Muslims launch massive legal assault on free speech in France
The weekly satirical magazine is accused of "provocation to discrimination, hated or violence with regard to a person or a group of persons because of their origin or their belonging or not belonging to an ethnicity, a nation, a race or a given religion". In July 2013, Charlie Hebdo published on its front page a drawing supposed to represent a Muslim declaring: "The Koran, it's crap, it doesn't stop bullets."
DNA testing on your smartphone just a download away
Genetic sequencing is no longer for the uber-wealthy and uber-patient: If a decade ago it cost $3 billion and took 8 years to sequence the human genome, that option is available to anyone today who has $3,500 to spend and is willing to wait the 24 hours it takes to do the job. Pretty soon, experts say, the cost for sequencing is going to come down to about $1,000.
So what can you do with your genomic DNA sequence? Soon you will be able to whip out your smartphone and analyze it, using an app developed by researchers at Tel Aviv University.
Their app (and website) GeneG makes genetic analysis as simple as sending a text message or making a phone call.
Chinese Family Seeks Owner of Books Hidden During Holocaust
A Chinese family is seeking a former Jewish refugee in Shanghai to return 2,000 of his books they kept safe for 70 years, media reports said Thursday.
Shanghai was home to tens of thousands of Jewish refugees who fled Nazi persecution in Europe from the 1930s.
One of them, a Jewish schoolteacher, left books with Lin Daozhi for safekeeping when he left China in 1943, the China Daily newspaper reported.
Government Approves New Aliyah for Indian 'Lost Jews'
The cabinet has voted to allow nearly 900 "lost Jews" from India to make aliyah (immigrate) to Israel over the upcoming months.
The new immigrants-to-be are members of the Bnei Menashe, a group of Indian citizens who trace their roots to the Jewish tribe of Menashe (Manasseh) – one of the ten "lost tribes" exiled by the Assyrian regime over 2,700 years ago.
Report: 'Troubling Reactions' From Jewish, Christian Audiences to Test Screenings for Hollywood's Take on Noah's Ark
Hollywood is finally taking on the full tale of Noah's ark, but the film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, has not been received kindly in early previews, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
THR said "test screenings for key groups that might take a strong interest in the subject matter: in New York (for a largely Jewish audience), in Arizona (Christians)…have generated troubling reactions."
Facebook VP on Onavo Buy: 'Amazed' by Talent in Israel
Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook's vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the social media company was "amazed" by the talent resources in Israel, which is why it acquired Israel's Onavo on Monday for some $150 million and announced plans to build its first overseas research and development center in Tel Aviv.

Open thread time

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 01:25 PM PDT

Super busy at work, and no time for my usual new post at this time, especially since the last one took me a bit of time to write.

So here's a place where all you commenters can go at it.

By the way, an August blog post of mine was published in three Southwest Florida Jewish Federation papers. For example, see page 22 here.

If you need some more recent news, read about the foiled tractor terror attack today.

EU project lists indicate Israel is less liberal than any Arab country

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 11:00 AM PDT

The EU publishes a list of projects that it is implementing or funding in many countries.

Based on its priorities, it looks like the EU thinks that Israel really has major problems in conflict prevention, democracy, governance and human rights - compared to its Arab neighbors.

Here is a chart showing the number of projects the EU is funding, by their categories, in four Middle East nations:

Conflict Prevention
17
0
0
2
The environment /natural resources
1
0
0
1
Governance, democracy, human rights and support for economic and institutional reforms
38
6
2
5
Human development
7
3
2
1
Multi-sectors
2
2
26
21
Rural development, territorial planning, agriculture and food security
2
2
0
4
Social cohesion and employment
5
2
1
2
Infrastructure, communications and transport
0
2
0
2
Trade and regional integration
0
1
0
1
Water and energy
0
5
0
0

These webpages are truly mind-blowing. While the EU spends, for example, €149,914 to teach highly educated Russian immigrants in Israel to be more supportive of the "peace process," it does not spend a dime on specifically teaching Egyptian Muslims that Copts are human beings. (To be fair, there is a €17,000,000 program in Egypt simply called "Promotion and protection of human rights" which gives no details as to what exactly it does. Maybe it mentions Copts. Who knows?)

€247,668 goes to an Israeli NGO to promote women's rights " in accordance with international commitments made by the state of Israel." Jordan gets €200,000 for its women's rights program, Yemen gets €33,498 and Egypt - where essentially every woman is sexually harassed - gets nothing.

There is an EU project in Israel, costing €130,625 to promote freedom of expression. Because that is a major problem in Israel, apparently. There are no similar projects in the three Arab countries I looked at. In fact, not one of their projects included the word "freedom."

Another EU project in Israel is to support anti-racism education. The other countries? Nada. Racism among Arabs? Not a problem to the EU.

The list of EU projects in Israel goes on and on...two programs protecting rights for asylum seekers, four separate programs against alleged Israeli torture, and every single left wing NGO you can think of (Machsom Watch, Breaking the Silence, B'Tselem, Yesh Din, Gisha, Rabbis for Human Rights...)  is getting hundreds of thousands of euros.

Arab anti-Israel organizations get funded through the EU-Israel program as well, such as Shabab "to mainstream human rights to face racist trends in Israel."

Very little can be found to help poverty-stricken Jews in Israel, however.

Nothing is being spent in Egypt or Jordan about strengthening their peace treaties with Israel. Nothing that promotes normalization (with one tiny exception.) Nothing addressing Arab anti-semitism. Nothing about incitement in Arab media. These aren't problems, you see.

The EU is making clear that it believes that Israel is the Middle East country that needs its wisdom and influence the most. It is even clearer, based on these projects, that the EU considers Israel and only Israel to be the obstacle to peace in the Middle East, and that Israeli Jews are the most racist and intolerant group in the entire region.

I wonder if anyone audits these funds at all. What are the success criteria? Where is the transparency? Or do the anti-Zionist NGOs have a free annual income from the EU in perpetuity, as long as they put the right code words in their descriptions ("justice," "anti-racism," "rights"....)?

Well, that's not quite true. These NGOs also have to churn out reports that prove Israeli Jews are bigots. The smallest incidents must be magnified and exaggerate and documented in excruciating detail, in order to ensure that the EU money spigot flows forever.

(h/t Irene)

10/17 Links Pt1: Turkey blocking Israel-NATO cooperation, Who Let Iran Get So Close to a Nuke?

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

From Ian:
Palestinian Corruption -- Again
If the Palestinian movement believes it lives outside the laws of politics, nature and economics, it may be right.
The PA and Hamas occupy a split territory with two feuding governments -- both dictatorships with all the arbitrariness and lack of accountability implied by that; multiple armed services that fight each other and, occasionally, kill Israelis; a school system that teaches children that the IDF ate Mickey Mouse and Jews have no history in the land of the Bible; a civic culture that venerates suicide bombers and the mothers who seem to revel in their children's bloody demise; and an economy that produces nothing of export value. Yet it operates on the principle that it will be bailed out by European and American political support and international largesse. And that Israel will be blamed for the Palestinian failure to thrive.
Two stories this week, however, may challenge endlessly naïve European and American fealty to the Palestinian narrative.
Al-Qaida, Muslim Brotherhood hold secret meeting in Jordan
The meeting focused on the conflict in Egypt and Syria and an altercation broke out between a Brotherhood member and jihadist leader Mohammad al-Miqdad, and the latter asked the Brotherhood not to publicly denounce the actions of the jihadists.
The jihadists discussed their plans to start moving Syrian and Iraqi jihadists into Egypt in order to carry out terror operations there after the Eid al-Adha festival, which falls on Tuesday.
Experts Warn of Al Qaeda Biological Weapons Threat
Experts from the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) have issued a stark warning over what they say is the "clear and present danger" of Al Qaeda gaining possession of the Assad regime's stockpile of biological weapons, claiming to have substantial evidence that Al Qaeda-linked groups may already have possession of toxic agents.
Unlike chemical weapons, which utilize chemical agents to poison victims, biological weapons make use of diseases, toxins and other contagious agents. Biological weapons have the potential to kill far greater numbers, and are also far harder to detect or protect against.
Visualizing anti-Zionism: Site used by Guardian data blog calls Haifa "Palestinian"
Yesterday, we posted about an extraordinarily misleading Guardian data blog entry on the Palestinian economy – a piece by Mona Chalabi titled 'How does Palestine's economy work?', Oct. 14 – which assigned blame for Palestinian economic woes almost entirely on Israel, and never once so much as mentioned the injurious economic impact of Palestinian terrorism.
Many of the claims made by Chalabi were quite specious, including her reference to a report which purported to quantify the number of olive trees "uprooted by Israeli authorities since 1967″. To illustrate the number of olive trees allegedly destroyed by "Israeli Authorities" – which Palestinians have evidently methodically been counting over the past 46 years – she referred readers to a site called 'Visualizing Palestine'.
Following CiF Watch post, Guardian amends 'terrorist sperm' story
We demonstrated, per Israeli court records, that Za'anin not only belonged to a terror organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but volunteered for their military wing (Al-Quds Brigades), and was convicted after pleading guilty to four counts of being an accessory to attempted murder, a plea bargain in which he admitted his active participation in several terror attacks.
Today, we noticed that the article was amended (on October 15) to include details of Za'anin's criminal record.
CNN's Holocaust-revisionism: It isn't "piffle."
NPR knows it. NBC knows it. Even Iran's Fars News Agency knows it.
CNN seriously mistranslated its interview with new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, and it's turning into a scandal that won't go away.
Brighton University lecturer calls for abolition of Sussex University's Israel Studies course.
Tom Hickey, a Brighton University lecturer, speaking at the start of Sussex University's Palestine Awareness Week on Monday night called for the abolition of Sussex University's newly established Yossi Harel Chair in Modern Israel Studies until questions relating to its "external sources of funding" and the process that established it are "satisfactorily answered."
He also attacked already established Israel Studies courses at SOAS, Leeds University, Manchester University and Oxford University.
Hickey is a senior member of University and College Union's National Executive Committee and a member of BRICUP (British Committee for the Universities of Palestine).
World Bank Report on Palestinian Economy Full of Holes
Yet a close look at the report reveals that it makes numerous assumptions about Palestinian aspirations and behavior patterns, establishes a series of questionable multipliers, and downplays the significance of complex political factors and security realities, according to Steven Plaut, Professor of Economics at the University of Haifa.
"I think the World Bank doesn't fully understand the Israeli economy or the Palestinian economy. What's worse, they have a political agenda. They produce findings to match their political agenda," Plaut told JNS.org.
"I think they are making it up as it goes along," he said.
Is Hamas to mend ties with Assad?
Hamas' Deputy Politburo Chief Moussa Abu Marzouk interviewed for Assad affiliated channel Al Mayadeen on Monday, saying Khaled Mashal was wrong in raising the flag of Syrian opposition, and that Hamas had no official ties with any rebel organizations.
Last June a dramatically important meeting was held in Lebanon concerning the shaken relationship between Hamas and some of the Arab and Muslim world. Group senior Moussa Abu Marzouk conferred there with officials from Iran and from Hezbollah to work out differences that have occurred between Hamas and then in the past two years over the Syrian civil war.
Hamas TV Airs Cartoon Lauding its Military Wing, Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades


US says nuclear talks more substantive than ever; Israel mum
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the talks contained a "level of seriousness and substance that we have not seen before."
While cautioning not to expect a prompt breakthrough, Carney said the US "found the Iranian presentation very useful."
The sides released a statement at the end of two days of talks calling the meetings "substantive and forward looking."
Who Let Iran Get So Close to a Nuke?
So far, we have little indication as to whether the U.S. is willing to accept the sort of "bad deal" that Secretary of State John Kerry, let alone Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, has warned against. But there is one thing that we know. The reason why the negotiations are so critical is that over the past several years Iran has made so much progress toward the completion of a bomb that there isn't time for a long drawn out diplomatic process. As the New York Times reports:
On Monday, a senior American official said that the United States wanted Iran to take steps that were "transparent and verifiable" to constrain its program and to assure the West that it was not intending to produce a nuclear bomb.
Iran's nuclear efforts had advanced so much, the American official added, that Iran needed to take stops now to halt or even reverse its nuclear program so there was time to negotiate a comprehensive agreement.
John Bolton: With Iran, We Can't Verify or Trust
Tuesday's opening of yet another round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear-weapons program creates enormous risks for America's anti-proliferation efforts. Tehran's extensive propaganda campaign, stressing the "moderation" of its new president, Hassan Rouhani, seems to be working, softening up the gullible in the United States and Europe.
As in previous iterations of the charade now reopening in Geneva, Iran's bargaining position benefits from our own repeated mistakes. The ayatollahs need only take advantage of these unforced errors, and success may well fall into their undeserving hands. Consider the most blatant errors that Iran is eager to exploit.
Russia: Lift Iran sanctions in exchange for int'l control of nuke program
Speaking in Geneva, after the wrap of a 2-day meeting between the P5+1 and Iran, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov alleged that sanctions "undermine" attempts to solve the diplomatic crisis, reported Russia Today.
"The beacon, the main arrangement that we follow is the proposal by [President] Vladimir Putin that the recognition of Iran's right to [uranium] enrichment as part of its inseparable rights under the Non-proliferation Treaty should be accompanied by the introduction of full comprehensive international control over the Iranian nuclear program," Ryabkov told reporters.
Taliban Assassinate Afghan Governor With Exploding Koran…
When someone in America mishandles a Koran the Islamic world riots for days.
Via Khaama Press:
"Afghan intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Wednesday announced that militants had placed explosives inside the Holy Quran, which left Logar provincial governor Arsala Jamal dead."
Turkey and Israel: A 'what next?' mindset
As PM Netanyahu pointed out immediately after he initiated the US-brokered rapprochement, the most critical strategic priority would be Syria's prolonged civil war. Within this context, Turkey and Israel have to get ready to secure the Baathist tyranny's chemical and allegedly biological weapons arsenal along with other strategic weapons systems in case of an uncontrolled regime collapse. Furthermore, we also need to carefully watch for any mass transfer of game-changing weapon systems in asymmetric conflicts, such as man portable air defense systems (MANPADS), and antitank guided missiles (ATGM) into the hands of non-state groups that might target Turkey or Israel. In a moment of irrational shock, Assad or members of the elite surrounding him might attempt to ignite a regional war by provoking Turkish or Israeli administrations. In this case, the two nations need to be prepared to act in coordination, to nip the threat in the bud.
Erdogan's Turkey: Less nationalism, more Islam
An op-ed published in the New York Times last week by Turkish researcher Halil M. Karaveli, claimed that far from helping Turkey's minority, Erdogan was increasingly playing with sectarian fire.
"Erdogan is turning Turkey into a powder keg in an attempt to shore up his own political base," Karaveli wrote. "He is intentionally activating the longstanding fault lines separating religious and secular Turks — and most dangerously the divide between the country's Sunni majority and its Alevi minority. If he continues to do so, Turkish democracy itself could become a casualty of his confrontational policies."
Greek ambassador: Despite apology, Turkey blocking Israel-NATO cooperation
Lampridis said he was surprised by the continued Turkish opposition, especially since practical cooperation between Turkey and Israel was taking place on a daily basis, "like where Turkey has an advantage, of course, and Israel is demonstrating goodwill."
For example, since Turkish goods can no longer be transported overland through Syria to the Persian Gulf, every week hundreds of Turkish trucks arrive via ferry to the Haifa Port where they then proceed across the country to the Jordan border crossings, carrying millions of dollars worth of goods to Jordan and onward to the Gulf.
"If Israel behaved in the same negative way that Turkey was behaving, it could have said 'no' to Turkey, told them, 'This is your problem. I don't need these trucks blocking my highways.' But Israel is cooperating, and Turkey is deriving great benefit from this."

B'Tselem: If Arabs treat Gazans like dirt, blame Israel

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 07:00 AM PDT

B'Tselem has called for Israel to allow Gazans to travel abroad - going through Israel.

The reason? Well, Egypt is treating Gazans like potential terrorists, and is restricting their travel through Rafah. So, naturally, this is Israel's responsibility.

Really.

In early July 2013, with the onset of the events that led to the overthrowing of Muhammad Morsi, Egyptian authorities limited passage through Rafah Crossing, and the number of persons using it dropped radically. From July to September 2013, the crossing was open only intermittently. When open, Egyptian authorities only permitted the passage of limited groups, such as foreign nationals, the gravely ill, and students (the latter excepting those studying in Egypt, most of whom were allowed through only at the end of September). To date, people who had planned to travel abroad for meetings, family-related matters, professional courses or vacations, have been unable to do so.

...Data published by the World Health Organization indicate that, during the same period, Israel doubled the number of patients allowed to pass through Erez Crossing for medical treatment in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and in Israel. The objective was to grant access to medical treatment to patients who were to have been treated in Egypt. For example, in August, requests for passage through the Erez Crossing were submitted for 1,023 patients; 932 were granted permission. In contrast, only 585 such requests were made in August 2012, of which 543 were approved.

However many other Gazans scheduled to travel abroad for other purposes have been left with no recourse. Students studying outside of Gaza have had great difficulty getting through Rafah Crossing over the last three months.

...The closure of Rafah Crossing has had financial repercussions for merchants in the Gaza Strip. At present, only a limited number of merchants are permitted into Israel and the West Bank via the Erez Crossing, whereas many merchants had been traveling abroad through Rafah Crossing to buy goods for sale in Gaza. However, since July the Egyptians have not been permitting merchants through Rafah Crossing.

...At present, people who must travel abroad for professional seminars and work-related meetings are not allowed through Rafah Crossing.

...even when Rafah Crossing is functioning regularly, going through it is subject to arbitrary restrictions imposed by the Egyptian authorities, and travel abroad requires a long, dangerous journey through the Sinai desert. Therefore, the passage into Egypt cannot be considered an absolute solution for travel for Gaza residents to other countries.

Israel's policy prevents Gazans from fulfilling their right to freedom of movement. Even now, eight years after Israel completed its Disengagement Plan from the Gaza Strip, the extent of its control over access to Gaza means Israel is responsible for enabling residents to fulfill their right to freedom of movement and its attendant rights, including the right to earn a living, the right to an education and the right to sustain family ties.
You see? If Egypt restricts Gazans from travel, Israel must compromise its security to allow foreign Arabs to go through its territory!

Egyptian sovereignty and its right to police its borders is sacrosanct. Israeli sovereignty, however, is nonexistent to B'Tselem. Perhaps Israel should be a superhighway for Gazans to travel to Jordan, Syria, maybe even Iran if they so choose.

When Hamas stops Gazans from traveling, as it has done, maybe B'Tselem would insist that IDF helicopters grab the poor people whose freedom of movement is being restricted and take them out. If Israel is responsible for Egypt's border policies, then obviously it is responsible for Hamas' travel restrictions as well.

Obviously, Arabs cannot be held responsible for anything. I guess B'Tselem thinks of them as somehow less than human.

Do you think for a second that B'Tselem is in contact with Egyptian NGOs on opening Rafah for Gazans?

They cannot even find a negative word to say about Egypt's siege of Gaza - it is just a fact of life. Arabs screw Arabs all the time, no big deal. Israel is the one who must fix intra-Arab problems now.

Daily Mail idiocy: Israel poisoned Arafat's toothbrush with polonium!

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 05:00 AM PDT

The Daily Mail  looked at  the recycled "evidence" that the Lancet published that had already been revealed last year. The writer noticed  that elevated levels of polonium was found on the souvenir Arafat toothbrush that Suha kept all these years.

So the only logical conclusion is that Israel poisoned his toothbrush with polonium!

I admit, I first saw this patently ridiculous theory in Al Quds, and thought it was just another Arab conspiracy flight of fancy. Now I see it was originally published in The Daily Mail - in an article so dumb that it pretends that the Lancet piece reveals new information. (Of course, Arab media is enthusiastically republishing it.)

The Swiss scientists tested for polonium levels in a lot of objects, some that belonged to Arafat and some control items that didn't. Arafat's toothbrush had slightly higher concentrations of polonium than the urine stain in his underwear. But the sample that  had the third highest concentrations of polonium did not come from Arafat.

It came from a toothbrush of control subject.

As the scientists wrote then:
Bristles from toothbrush present another problem. They appeared clearly contaminated when sampled from Mr Louvet [Arafat] belongings (54 mBq/g). Nevertheless a control measurement carried out on a toothbrush from IRA collaborator 1 also shows a significant activity (21 mBq/g) while a second control measurement on a toothbrush from IRA collaborator 3 presents only a background value (1.0 mBq/g). Thus the measurement of Mr Louvet [Arafat] toothbrush is not conclusive and only the further determination of supported 210Po will give an answer concerning a possible contamination of the toothbrush by unsupported 210Po.
Even without this, the theory is beyond dumb. Wouldn't one expect significantly higher concentrations remaining on the item that was used for poisoning, versus the very much watered down bodily fluids? It is as if the "reporter" cannot see beyond a Hollywood version of events - "ooh, the camera focused on the toothbrush in an early scene, and I'm smart enough to have noticed it!"

No theory is too stupid as long as Israel can be blamed.

(Interestingly, the Lancet article appendix shows completely different concentrations of numbers than the original report, and the IRA toothbrush suddenly had almost no polonium. Not sure why. Were their methods flawed during the original Al Jazeera media blitz? Perhaps the science of detecting and measuring trace amounts of plutonium after 20 half-lives is not as advanced as they pretend?)

(corrected IRA ref, h/t Ian)

The week in #BDSFail

Posted: 17 Oct 2013 02:01 AM PDT

From Zvi:

"It is with satisfaction that we have signed an action plan with Israel, which is known for its world-class health service, and we will be collaborating with Israel on specialized cases like cancer treatment," the Prime Minister said.
...
Muscat is the first Maltese Prime Minister to visit Israel. Describing it as "well overdue", Muscat said he was very proud to be the first Maltese prime minister to visit Israel.
"We are deeply committed to strengthen Malta's relations with Israel and collaborate together on the key areas relating to both countries," he added.
"Israel is a steady anchor to quite a few countries who consider it as reliable and standing behind red lines it has set," the [Israeli] source said.
A quiet dig at Obama, there :-)
* The Nigerian president will lead 30,000 pilgrims to Israel, as noted by EOZ.
* Coach of Tunisian tennis player slams order to boycott match with Israel, as noted by EOZ.
* Israel, US profs win 1st Mathematical Neuroscience Prize)
And then there is this.
On Monday, speaking first in Hebrew, Hunter described his family background and identified himself as Israeli.
Galloway said he felt threatened.
Asking Hunter to back off, he said he was "causing a lot of harm."
This is so incredibly characteristic of Bigotry and Double Standards advocates like Galloway!
Hunter pulled an Israeli flag from his shirt and turned to the MP saying, "I think you did a lot of harm by not speaking to my friend Eylon [Aslan-Levy, the student who had debated with Galloway in February] and not having a constructive dialogue with him" before saying he did not have a question for him "because I don't debate with racists."
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, Hunter said that while he recognizes Galloway's right to free speech and supports constructive dialogue, the MP denies his very existence and is racist to the core.
"Mr. Galloway refuses to recognize my national and civic identity, he denies my cultural existence," Hunter said. "In essence, like his pals in Hamas, he seeks the destruction of the State of Israel. He is a vile racist of the worst kind.
This is an awesome response. Straight to the heart of the matter in language that the left understands.
I couldn't just allow him to return to Oxford and pretend as if nothing happened last time. By looking him in the eye, and speaking to him in Hebrew, I wanted to show my fellow students that Galloway's continuing behavior is completely inexcusable."
Hunter questioned why such a respected institution had invited Galloway to speak at all.
An excellent question!
"It is truly perverse that for its first event this term, a debating chamber internationally renowned for its love of free speech, invites a man who denies that right to others on the basis of their nationality. Not only is Galloway a racist, but he epitomizes everything the Oxford Union stands against," he said.
Yes!
Galloway declined to comment or respond to the accusation of racism.
In a visit to the Oxford Union last year, Galloway was confronted by feminist protestors following his comments that the charges brought against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Sweden do not amount to rape.
Galloway, who famously met with Saddam Hussein in 1994, was expelled from the Labor Party in 2003 for calling former UK prime minister Tony Blair a liar. He has paid homage to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and "the resistance," supported Syrian President Bashar Assad and donated money and vehicles to Hamas.

And that is the week so far in BDS Land.
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