יום שני, 18 בנובמבר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

How many times can Ma'an use the word "extremist"?

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 08:00 PM PST

From Ma'an:
Extremist Israeli group enters Al-Aqsa compound under police escort

Over 100 Israeli Jews accompanied by police entered Al-Aqsa compound through the Moroccan gate on Sunday afternoon.

The 104 Israeli Jews were described by witnesses as "settlers," and they included 33 Israeli intelligence officers led by extremist lawyer Yehuda Glick.

Glick called on all Jews to visit the compound, and proposed an initiative to schedule daily visits by extremists to the Jerusalem holy site.

Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Jerusalem office of the PA ministry of endowment said "it is obvious that Israeli police are being pressured by extremists to allow Glick to return to Al-Aqsa."

"Glick is a provocative man, and it is obvious that he is trying to create chaos at Al-Aqsa," al-Khatib added.

Yehuda Glick is an American-born Israeli and the chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund, an extremist Jewish organization focused on "strengthening the relationship between Israel and the Temple Mount."
Ready to see the video of these "extremists" creating chaos? Here they are, from the Al Aqsa Heritage Foundation website.



They seem to be extremely polite. Extremely quiet. Extremely reverent.

Hey, maybe they are extremists!

Iran launches slick nuclear energy propaganda site

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 04:00 PM PST

Iran has created a very professional English language website, NuclearEnergy.ir, that was launched right before the Geneva nuclear talks.


Based on its Twitter feed, it looks like the site is associated with Iran's Foreign Ministry.

It pretends to be a transparent description of Iran's nuclear program, answering questions in the FAQ such as:

Has Iran allowed IAEA inspections of the Parchin complex?

Yes, Iran allowed IAEA inspectors to visit several buildings at the site during two visits in 2005. It also allowed the inspectors to take a number of soil and environmental samples. In its February 2006 report, the IAEA said it "did not observe any unusual activities in the buildings visited, and the results of the analysis of the environmental samples did not indicate the presence of nuclear material at those locations." Since then, however, Tehran has denied access to the site, insisting that the IAEA must first come up with a step-by-step roadmap for resolving all outstanding issues.
and
The IAEA has in the past raised several concerns about Iran's nuclear activities. How cooperative has Iran been in addressing these concerns?

Tehran has addressed every concern raised by the IAEA. It has also allowed inspections of its sites when needed and provided explanations to clarify ambiguities.
These are all half-truths and 100% propaganda.

This, for example, comes from the latest IAEA report on Iran, from August, about Parchin:

[I]t is worth recalling that the Agency's request for access to a specific location at the Parchin site was followed by Iran undertaking extensive activities at this location that have seriously undermined the Agency's ability to conduct effective verification.

And about Iran's supposed cooperation with the IAEA:
In November 2011, the Board of Governors adopted resolution GOV/2011/69, in which, inter alia, it stressed that it was essential for Iran and the Agency to intensify their dialogue aimed at the urgent resolution of all outstanding substantive issues for the purpose of providing clarifications regarding those issues, including access to all relevant information, documentation, sites, material and personnel in Iran. In September 2012, the Board of Governors adopted resolution GOV/2012/50, in which, inter alia, it decided that Iranian cooperation with Agency requests aimed at the resolution of all outstanding issues was essential and urgent in order to restore international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme. The Board of Governors also stressed that it was essential for Iran to immediately conclude and implement a structured approach for resolving outstanding issues related to possible military dimensions to its nuclear programme, including, as a first step, providing the Agency with the access it had requested to relevant sites. In light of these resolutions, between January 2012 and May 2013, Agency and Iranian officials held ten rounds of talks in Vienna and Tehran, including during a visit by the Director General to Tehran in May 2012, aimed at reaching agreement on a structured approach document. However, no concrete results were achieved.

The Agency has not been able to begin substantive work with Iran on resolving the outstanding issues, including those related to possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme. Since the Director General's previous report, no further talks aimed at concluding the structured approach document have been held. However, another round of talks is planned for 27 September 2013 in Vienna.
Doesn't sound exactly the same as the Iranian answers, do they?

Iran's "charm offensive" is not charming. But it is quite offensive.

(h/t Irene)

When Muslim Brotherhood uses BDS methods against lectures sponsored by PalArabs

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:00 PM PST

Yesterday's linkdump mentioned this:

A guest lecture at a London university was abandoned when protesters backing Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood chased the speaker from the stage.

Speaker Mohamed El-Nabawy had to be ushered off stage by security guards when around 30 demonstrators stormed a lecture theatre at Bloomsbury's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), which is part of the University of London.

They were said to have targeted the public discussion, focusing on the challenges facing Egypt, because of Mr El-Nabawy's ties to the Tamarod group which opposed ex President Mohammed Morsi.

Footage which has emerged online shows the chaotic scenes as chanting demonstrators take control of the lecture theatre and guests are led to safety by security guards.



The scene is eerily familiar. It is exactly what the BDSers do when Israelis try to speak on campuses.

Yet here was the reaction from the sponsor:
A spokesman for the university's Palestinian Society, which organised the event, said: "While we fully respect, and understand, the highly-charged context of any discussion on contemporary Egyptian politics, we believe that the disruptions pre-empted any possibility of fruitful exchange.
Do you think that the Palestine Society minds when Israelis or Zionists are interrupted and barred from speaking, or even playing music, at universities worldwide? Do you think that SOAS PalSoc ever said a word against that?

Zvi writes in the comments:

We have seen many times that terrorism has no "off switch" - that if a society condones terrorism as long as it is against unpopular people (Israel, Jews) or "in a just cause" (against Israel, Jews), then it itself becomes the victim of terrorism.

BDS and Academic Boycott proponents be warned!!!

The same is true of the soft terrorism - threats of violence - practiced by BDS supporters who regularly attempt to threaten and intimidate university speakers, artists and others who are related to Israel in some way. Society as a whole failed to oppose such tactics, even condoning them at the highest levels - and now they have metastasized, like the evil cancer that they are.

To university BDS advocates: YOU introduced tactics of violent violent intimidation into British universities in your war against the Jewish state. You created a climate of fear for Jews on campus. You created a climate that cheered the censorship of Israeli voices, and the intimidation of voices that dared to sing in Israel. And now those same tactics are being used elsewhere on your campuses, against someone else. Those same tactics will be used more and more frequently, targeting more and more people.

You should feel terror when you read about this event; it is a sign that you have created your own hell.

Jordan holds a beauty pageant. For goats.

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 12:00 PM PST

From Ammon News:
Jordan hosted its second Levantine Goat Beauty Pageant on Friday, in which breeders from the Kingdom and Gulf States took part.

Levantine goats are distinguished from other breeds for their curved noses and soft hair. A levantine goat can sell for $25,000 in the Gulf States.

Yahia Abu Jaber, the organiser of the pageant, said 'the levantine goat represents old traditions for Arabs… the levantine goat has has many beautiful characteristics, and this goat differs from other goats in terms of body shape, height, the incline of its head and its wide-open eyes. This makes it more expensive, he noted.

The prices of levantine goats in the Gulf states can range between 100,000 and 200,000 Riyals, equal to between $25,000 and $2,000 US dollars.

The pageant was attended by Saudi, Emirati, Kuwaiti, Syrian and Palestinian breeders.

Don't get too smug. New York City hosted a goat beauty contest once, too.

11/17 Links: Joint Israel + Saudi strike on Iran?, NBC Reporter 'in Awe' of IDF Medics

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST

From Ian:
'Hot Mic' Catches UN Disbelief at Anti-Israel Stance
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the mishap on Sunday at a cabinet meeting. "I hope nothing happens to the translator as a result, but I can assure her of a job here in the State of Israel, should it come to that," he stated.
"Sometimes someone can rip away at the veil of hypocrisy that exists in the ever-present attacks against us, and this interpreter had the courage to do just that." (h/t Kramerica)
Honest Reporting: Vote for the Dishonest Reporter of 2013
Now's the time to vote for the Dishonest Reporter of 2013. It's our annual recognition of the year's most skewed and biased coverage of Israel and the Mideast conflict. Make your voice heard and we'll announce the ignoble winners by the end of the year.
Canadian parliamentary c'tee calls to recognize Jewish refugees of 1948
A Canadian parliamentary committee has called upon Ottawa to recognize the Jewish refugees of the Arab-Israeli conflict, eliciting praise from the country's Jewish community.
The committee's report cited a correlation between spikes in anti-Jewish measures and "crisis moments" in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and said Middle Eastern Jews had faced discrimination, the revocation of citizenship, pogroms and expulsions, resulting in a mass exodus from countries where they had lived for millennia.
Abbas pleads with Erekat to stay on as top peace negotiator
Diplomatic sources in Ramallah told Israel Radio that unless Erekat changes his mind, Abbas will name a new team to head up talks with Jerusalem.
Nimr Hamad, a top political adviser to Abbas, told Israel Radio that both sides could begin discussions on the refugee issue after the nine-month period originally allotted for negotiations if the parties could come to agreement on the issues of borders and security arrangements.
Hamad told Israel Radio that the PA believes no breakthrough is possible in the negotiations so long as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu avoids altering the composition of his ruling coalition.
MK Shaked in DC: Judea Samaria Arabs will be Jordanian Citizens
Instead of the "failed two state solution," Shaked promoted a different solution of pushing economic growth in Judea and Samaria which supports local Arabs as well.
She further proposed that "in the distant future most of the Arabs who now live in Judea and Samaria will become citizens of Jordan, and the Gaza strip will be an independent entity or annexed to Egypt." (h/t Yoel)
A year after Pillar of Defense, it's all gone dark in Gaza
Though it may be hard to believe, 1.5 million Palestinians have lived without electricity throughout most of the day in 2013. For the past two weeks, residents of the Gaza Strip have endured a cycle of six hours of electricity followed by a 12-hour power outage. Last Wednesday, the power went out at 6:00 am and was finally restored only late that evening.
This current crisis is not the result of a tighter "Israeli siege" or anything of the sort; it is caused by disputes between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority over the price of fuel since the tunnels connecting Gaza and Egypt were shut down or destroyed.
Hamas Tunnels 'Change the Balance of Power'
In an interview with Al-Jazeera, Ubaidah claimed that Hamas continues to dig terror tunnels from Gaza to Israel, and that the weapon would be a "strategic" move which could possibly "change the balance of power" in the event of another war.
According to Ubaidah, Palestinian Arabs under Hamas's tutelage are working 24/7 to extend the tunnels in advance of the next Hamas-Israel clash, and that they would present a formidable tactical advantage. He also warned Israel not to "do anything stupid" against the Palestinian Arabs.
Israel said to be working with Saudi Arabia on Iran strike plan
According to the Sunday Times, Riyadh has agreed to let Israel use its airspace in a military strike on Iran and cooperate over the use of rescue helicopters, tanker planes and drones.
"The Saudis are furious and are willing to give Israel all the help it needs," an unnamed diplomatic source told the paper. (h/t Bob Knot)
PMO denies report of Obama-Netanyahu rift
The Kuwaiti paper al-Jarida reported Sunday that the rift between Israel and the US has deepened recently, nearly leading to a disconnect between the two governments. Quoting a "knowledgeable source," the daily reported the Obama has stopped taking Netanyahu's calls over the past two days, and instead directed him to speak with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
US-Iran Ties Bolstered over Cooperation in Syria
The United States and Iran appear likely to come together in an effort, sponsored by the UN, to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Syria, The Cable reported Saturday. It will be the most visible signal sent by the Obama Administration of its willingness to change radically the tone and manner of its relations with the Islamic Republic.
'NY Times' and Jerusalem battle over Iran policy
The Times editorial board has long championed an editorial line at great odds with Netanyahu's policies.
This situation was not helped when the prime minister, during his speech on Iran to the UN in September, quoted from a 2005 Times editorial that applauded a diplomatic deal that it said would lead North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
"A year later, North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapons device," Netanyahu said.
Senior Hezbollah Commander Dies in Syria
A senior Hezbollah commander died on Saturday after he was wounded in Syria several days ago, Al Arabiya reported, citing a pro-Hezbollah website.
"The Islamic resistance in Hezbollah proudly weds a new Knight...Ali Shabeeb (Abu Trab al-Rweis) who died as he was performing his sacred religious duty," the website was quoted as having said. (h/t MtTB)
Syria: Islamists Seize Kurdish Village
An Islamist Syrian rebel brigade has uploaded a video to Youtube documenting the conquest of a Kurdish village, and demanding that Kurdish Muslims participate in "jihad".
The documentary captures the seizure of Kurdish village al-Mursifeh by the Islamist "Champions Brigade", and reveals some of the military tactics used by rebels in the fight for control of the country.
Thousands of Syrians flee fighting for Lebanon
Thousands of Syrians are fleeing from border towns where a high-stakes battle is raging, walking across valleys and ridges to reach safety in neighboring Lebanon, witnesses and the UN said on Sunday.
Libya Making Its Laws 'More Islamic'
The new 16 member committee will be nominated by the supreme court and the Mufti (Sharia legal expert) to make sure existing and new laws do not contradict Sharia law, reports Al Arabiya.
The move comes as Libya is embroiled in ongoing clashes between rival militia factions and government security forces, with some anticipating that the committee is meant to satisfy Islamist demands.
Possible anti-Semitism in Boston Area Schools; ADL Silent?
APT also provides evidence that the Newton, MA school district is being influenced by the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, which seeks to delegitimize Israel and use a variety of means to exert pressure on Israel to acquiesce to pro-Palestinian pressures from the international community.
BDS involvement with Newton, MA is through Paul Beran, the director of the Harvard Center for Middle East Studies Outreach Center (CMESOC), a noted BDS supporter. In 2010, Beran instructed 80 history teachers from the Newton school district on how to teach their K-12 students about the Middle East.
Brooklyn: Anti-Semitic Attacks Continue in 'Game' to Hurt Jews
Anti-semitic violence has been rising in Brooklyn, NY since the middle of September, a Brooklyn rabbi reported to CBS News. The culprit: a systemic "game", by local gangs, to "knock out" Jews.
Brooklyn police say that over 8 attacks against local Jews have been reported within the past 2.5 months. Many of them appear to be similar to the September 29th attack of Tzvika Tzuker: a barrage of punches to the face and torso.
NBC's Dr. Snyderman Visits IDF Medics in Philippines, Leaves 'in Awe' (VIDEO)
The base was set up in Bogo, a small village on the northern island of Mactan, a location the Israelis selected because the locals "were poor and their needs were great", according to the IDF Surgeon General in charge.
"As I left, I walked away in awe of this group of doctors: physician humanitarians, and medicine at its very best," Dr. Snyderman wrote for NBC. (h/t MtTB)
The Opening of the IDF Field Hospital in the Philippines


IDF aid mission treats 370 patients in Philippines field hospital
The IDF announced Saturday evening that its aid mission to the Philippines has so far treated some 370 Filipinos, including 150 children, in the field hospital set up in the country on Friday morning.
The IDF humanitarian mission completed the set up of the hospital early Friday, after departing for the storm-ravaged city of Daanbantayan, in the northern province of Cebu, late Wednesday with about 100 tons of supplies.
Israeli Ambucycles In New York City (h/t Israellycool)

Trafficking in Syrian girls reaches Lebanon - and cyberspace

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 07:30 AM PST

We knew it happens in Jordan.

Now it is happening in Lebanon as well.

Some people make a business out of trafficking women for rich foreigners, says Ayman Hariri, a Syrian activist who settled in Akkar in 2011 when he had to flee Daraa fearing arrest. He used to run an NGO that provided aid for Syrian refugees, but he decided to close it down. Trying to provide aid is difficult, with some aid organizations using their small NGOs to sell 16-year-old girls to their Gulf sponsors in exchange for money.

"I can tell you about someone I know, I met him in person and he offered to bribe me. He posed as a sheikh with a Saudi benefactor. People soon found out his organization was actually what you call a whorehouse: He was getting girls for the Saudi sheikh. If he liked the girl, he would offer $10,000, he would marry her for a week, and then she would go back home with $1,000. The rest was given to the so-called Lebanese sheikh, who now owns a building and has several cars," Hariri explains.

He says that Akkar is not like the Zaatari camp in Jordan, and the arranged marriages and cloaked prostitution aren't nearly as frequent. "Jordan is closer to the Gulf, where girl-brides and early marriage are more common. Lebanon is farther away."

But international organizations and NGOs in Lebanon say early marriage happens among the Syrian refugees as well as host communities. Stopping it is almost impossible, because Lebanese law allows child marriage, sociologist Rafif Rida Sidawi told NOW. "The Lebanese family code allows marriage for girls as young as 13-14. In some confessions, even as young as 9." (Lebanon has 15 different family codes, almost one for each sect. Many of them allow child marriage.)

A Lebanese sheikh who requested to remain anonymous told NOW that he would never marry a girl under 13, although the law tells him that the minimum age is 9. "I need to see the girl, to see if she's ready. I also need a medical certificate, and the father's permission," he explained.
But the Internet is also allowing rich Arab perverts to find and "marry" Syrian girls:
It is common to see on Arabic online forums requests by men "seeking marriage from Syrian girls". At a price ranging from 500 to 1,000 Saudi riyals (Dh490 to Dh980), girls are reportedly being taken from refugee camps in Jordan. Saudi Arabia is most often named as the destination, but a similar trend is reported in other countries including Iraq and Turkey.

The Saudi columnist Mohammed Al Osaimi, who first highlighted the online posts, wrote that parents feel compelled to marry their daughters off to strangers because they see that as a better option than staying in a refugee camp.

The trend was also triggered by clerics such as Sheikh Adnan Arour, a hardline Syrian cleric, who has issued fatwas to encourage men to marry victims of sexual assault and "cover their shame" through marriage. But the fatwas ironically have led to further sexual exploitation.

In these classified ads, men post brief requests on different websites, often leaving only their first names and email addresses. "I am looking for a Syrian wife," a man identifying himself as Asa'ad wrote on a website. "I am a man of means and I fear God. My Syrian sisters are decent and honourable."

Many other comments are far more demeaning. A man, who identified himself only as "Jordanian", sardonically wrote "no woman deserves sympathy these days", in reference to dishonesty. Another man who called himself Abdulsamad wrote a longer post explaining that his desire to marry a Syrian woman had preceded the conflict, apparently to present a better case.

Another man wrote: "This is not a question of exploitation. It is a question of supply and demand." He suggested a reduction in dowries to 100 dinars [Dh520] because of the increasing number of refugees.

Maher Abu Tair, a Jordanian columnist, wrote: "All we hear these days is talk about a Syrian wife who can be bought with 100 dinars. One could go to any of the areas of Al Mafraq, Amman, Ramtha, Irbid or Karak to pick for himself a Levantine houriya." (A Levantine houriya, or virgin, is a reference to women from the Levant known in Arab cultures for their beauty). He added that people are encouraged by the speedy, cheap and conditions-free marriages.

Amnesty falsely blames Israel for Gaza fuel woes

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 05:00 AM PST

On November 1, I wrote:

Get ready for more heartbreaking photos of Gaza children using candlelight and riding donkeys and blaming Israel for the "siege".

The truth is, Israel has been providing all the fuel needed both for petroleum and for the Gaza power plant - but Gazans haven't been paying for it.
Right on schedule, Ma'an has both published the photos I predicted and blamed Israel:




The lack of diesel fuel is a result of the tightening of a 7-year-long blockade imposed on the territory by Israel with Egyptian support.
No, it is because Hamas - which finds money for building terror tunnels - refuses to pay market prices for fuel (and the PA tacks on taxes Hamas doesn't want to pay).

But it is not only a second-rate Palestinian Arab newssite that is pushing the lie that Israel's blockade is responsible for Gaza's fuel shortage.

Amnesty International is, also, albeit a bit more subtly.

Yonatan Gher, Director of Amnesty International Israel, writes in (where else?) +972 magazine:

[I]f the fear of more deadly attacks wasn't bad enough, those living in Gaza have to contend with the disastrous effects of Israel's continuing land, sea and air blockade of the territory, together with restrictions imposed by Egypt. Gazans lack safe drinking water, face 12-hour power outages on a daily basis, and many struggle to access basic necessities such as adequate food and medicines.

These hardships were compounded on November 1 of this year when Gaza's sole power plant was forced to shut down due to lack of fuel, further jeopardizing vital health and sanitation services.

"The world has forgotten Gaza, its women and children. The blockade is as bad as the war; it's like a slow death for everyone in Gaza..."

The world continues to look the other way when it comes to the blockade on Gaza, which collectively punishes 1.7 million civilians. This stark violation of international law has been allowed to continue for more than six years. Unless Israeli and Palestinian leaders demonstrate political will to protect civilians –on both sides – the cycle of violations will become a recurring nightmare.
Let's recap the recent history of Gaza's power plant:

Israel was providing fuel up through at least the beginning of 2011. Hamas decided it wanted cheaper fuel so it stopped the shipments from Israel and converted the power plant to use cheaper, subsidized, smuggled fuel from Egypt. (It also restricted cooking gas from Israel.) Egypt offered to provide fuel but insisted that Hamas import it through Israel's Kerem Shalom, Hamas refused. It created an artificial "crisis" when Egypt started cracking down on fuel smuggling (even under the Morsi government, in 2012), and as a result Qatar provided free fuel for a while. After Egypt started destroying smuggling tunnels, some private Gazans started purchasing fuel from Israel again in August.

There have been no Israeli restrictions on fuel to Gaza for years. Kerem Shalom's pipelines into Gaza have not been operating close to capacity.

Similarly, there are no restrictions from Israel on food or medicines into Gaza. There were never restrictions on medicines and there have been no food restrictions since 2009.

Gaza's water treatment problems are, again,  directly because of Hamas refusing to pay the higher prices for fuel and hoping, yet again, that Qatar or Egypt or someone else will be shamed into giving them free or subsidized fuel.

Yet Amnesty is placing the bulk of the blame on Israel. (It is not blaming Hamas here for its cynical part of the fuel crisis, but for rockets to Israel in order to appear even-handed.)

To Amnesty, Hamas has no culpability in creating an artificial fuel crisis for Gaza. Hamas has money for kidnap tunnels, and even shows them off on Al Jazeera, but "human rights organization" Amnesty is mum about that.

Egypt's role in shutting Gaza off completely is drastically downplayed, and is barely mentioned by Amnesty. (The Rafah crossing has now been closed for ten consecutive days, and Amnesty doesn't have a word to say about that either.)

Even Hamas doesn't blame Israel as much for the fuel shortage as Amnesty does!

From this article, Amnesty is showing that it isn't interested in solving the problems of Gaza nearly as much as it simply wants to reflexively blame Israel for all of Gaza's problems.

This isn't about human rights. This is pure anti-Israel advocacy.

Palestinian ambassador brags that PA security forces carried out most 2nd intifada terror attacks

Posted: 17 Nov 2013 02:00 AM PST

From MEMRI:




Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Mutawakkil Tahah, Palestinian ambassador to Libya, which aired on the Al-Jazeera network on September 27, 2013:

Mutawakkil Taha: Israel decided to gather the youth who had fought it in the first Intifada, and to organize them into security forces, showering them [with money], so that they would defend it, rather than Israel having to defend itself. But what really happened? When the 2000-2001 Intifada broke out, it turned out that 70% of the martyrs, and of the people who carried out attacks against the occupation, were members of the Palestinian security forces.

[applause]

In other words, even when [Israel] establishes [our] security forces, these security forces remain patriotic and continue to fight the occupation. They will continue to serve as a wall defending the Palestinian spirit and the Palestinian interests.
I don't know whether the statistic is true, but the fact that a PLO ambassador today is bragging about his people being behind terror attacks then is really the story.

It shows that no amount of negotiations or goodwill gestures could change the fact that, to the Palestinian Arabs, the existence of Israel is the issue, not the "occupation."

(h/t Josh K)
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