יום חמישי, 7 בנובמבר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Video: Muslim women in Montreal attack Jewish man in coffee shop

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 04:30 PM PST



I suppose he should have asked permission, but their reaction shows volumes.

(h/t Tarek Fatah/Judge Dan)

11/06 Links Pt2: Racism in Gaza, UK MP 'Israel should never have been created'

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 03:00 PM PST

From Ian:
Black Palestinians shrug off racism
"Hey, chocolate," "Hey, cappuccino," "Hey, Galaxy [brand of chocolate]," "Hey, brown one" and "Hey, black one," are jocular expressions used by some in Gaza when a man, woman or child of African descent passes by. Sometimes the racism is expressed nonverbally through looks. Gazans, however, seem unaware of this racism.
He said that they are originally from Sudan. His ancestors came at the beginning of the 20th century and lived in Palestine — in a village called Roubin, neighboring Jaffa — until 1948, when they were forced to migrate to the Gaza Strip. "But I never felt that I did not belong here. Palestine is the homeland I have always known, and is a homeland to about 10,000 other dark-skinned people in the Gaza Strip."
Ahmad remembers when he was a teacher in the late 1950s, and one of his colleagues invited everyone, except him, to a wedding. "That day, I felt embarrassed, and I decided that no one in my family would go through such an experience," he said. (h/t BCF)
Inclusion of anti-Israel speaker at Berlin conference on ways to tackle anti-Semitism sparks uproar
The Jewish Museum – and a British professor accused of rejecting Zionism – faced withering criticism for their role in a slated event to mark the 75th remembrance of Kristallnacht later this week.
A who's who of academic and human rights critics on Tuesday blasted Berlin's Jewish Museum for hosting a conference with Oxford philosophy professor Brian Klug because he contends that Zionism, the founding philosophy of Israel, "prevents Jews from having a normal conception of their own life."
German political scientist Dr. Clemens Heni told The Jerusalem Post, "Brian Klug is a bad choice as a keynote speaker at a conference on anti- Semitism because he denies that there is a new anti-Semitism. In his view this is a 'myth,' as he wrote in [New York-based magazine] The Nation."
Barry Rubin: Why Most of the Mass Media Can't Report Honestly on Israel—or Other Middle East Issues
To report truthfully would require comprehending and communicating the following two paragraphs:
–Most Israelis believe, on the basis of their experience during the 1990s' Oslo era and with the "peace process" generally, that Palestinian leaders cannot and will not make peace, and that most Arabs and Muslims still want to destroy Israel. As a result, they explain, past Israeli concessions have made Israel's situation worse, risks to show that Israel wants peace have not persuaded onlookers, withdrawals from territory have only led to that territory being used to launch attacks on Israel. (h/t Norman F)
Honest Reporting: Razing a Racket
You're the mayor of Jerusalem. And it all comes down to you.
You're dealing with 11 illegally built Palestinian apartment buildings on your city's northern outskirts. They're within the municipal boundaries alright, but they're outside the security barrier.
You rub your head at another only-in-Israel moment no other mayor in the world deals with. The apartments were illegally built. Heck, the cops even arrested a few Palestinians for fraud involving the land some of those buildings were built on. But it ain't safe for building inspectors to travel outside the security barrier to neighborhoods like Ras Hamis and Ras Shehada, which is why the Palestinians managed to brazenly build nine and ten-story buildings now occupied by hundreds of people.
NYT Part II: Telling Readers How to Think About Palestinians
This passage follows the newspaper's overall pattern of downplaying Palestinian hate speech in what is already minimal coverage of the issue, by casting it as a debatable Israeli accusation in a longstanding fight. The last time the newspaper ran an article about the topic, in December 2011, it was headlined and framed as Israelis "finding fault" with Palestinians. That article focused more on attacking the credibility of and motives behind Israeli charges of incitement than it did on providing examples of Palestinian incitement.
It is telling that in this article, as well, The New York Times places the word "incitement" in quotation marks, qualifying it as a claim by Israel. In this way, the newspaper continues to avoid presenting the issue as straight, unvarnished fact. Nor does it accept the concept that Palestinians are guilty of terrorism. In sharp contrast to their qualification of the use of the word "incitement," reporters adopt Hamas' justifying parlance as their own to describe terrorist attacks, notably without the use of quotation marks.
David Ward MP says, "Israel… should never have been created"
But last night Ward bemoaned his party again, stating, "Actually I never said that [Israel shouldn't exist] but that it should never have been created." His criticisms reportedly lay with the fact that he sees a difference between calling for the end of the Jewish State, and stating that it should never have been brought to existence in the first place.
Jenny Tonge attacks Israel for not obeying the Ten Commandments
Last night in Parliament (ex-Liberal Democrat) Baroness Jenny Tonge said "If they had only obeyed their own Ten Commandments and half the stuff in the Old Testament…Israel could have been a force for good in the world" (see clip here from 8 mins. 35 secs.)
Tonge was speaking at the Palestine Return Centre event Britain, It's Time To Apologize for the Balfour Declaration.
Ireland: Israeli products marked with yellow sticker
A pro-Israeli activist residing in Dublin, Ireland, was shocked this week when he discovered that a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) organization had taped yellow stickers on Israeli products reading "For justice in Palestine, Boycott Israel".
Sources in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said that the phenomenon is severe and it is not by chance that the BDS organization chose to express its protest with a yellow sticker – which is reminiscent of dark days of racism and incitement.(h/t Yenta Press)
NGO Monitor: NGOs and the Negev Bedouin Issue in the Context of Political Warfare
The conflict over Bedouin citizens of Israel and land claims in the Negev has become a major point of focus for many Israeli and international NGOs. The involvement of political advocacy NGOs in this complex issue has increased significantly, particularly after 2010, including reports, calls for action, media visibility and lobbying in frameworks such as the European Union and the United Nations. This activity contributes significantly to the demonization and delegitimization of Israel.
The UN's hypocritical Human Rights Council: Bercovici
Israel's group — Asia — is dominated by Arab and Muslim members which block its inclusion.
"This hobbled and undignified position in which … Israel uniquely finds itself is without doubt morally shocking; but it is also manifestly unlawful and constitutes a breach of both the letter and the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations … Israel's continuing exclusion from the regional group system is both unlawful and strikes at the roots of the principles on which the United Nations exists."
So declared Sir Robert Jennings, eminent Cambridge law professor and judge of the International Court of Justice, in a legal opinion in 1999.
UN Watch: Human Rights Politicized at UN: Hillel Neuer on CTV
Sounding the alarm: in an interview on Canada's CTV, UN Watch's Hillel Neuer calls on the U.S. and the EU to end their silence over the UN's planned election next week of the world's worst abusers to its highest human rights body.
Germany
Seized Nazi loot includes previously unknown Chagall
A hoard of more than 1,400 artworks found by tax investigators in a German apartment includes a previously unknown piece by Marc Chagall and works by some of the masters of the 20th century, authorities said Tuesday. Some of the works are believed to have been missing since they were seized by the Nazis.
Investigators searched the apartment in an upscale Munich district in February 2012, as part of a tax investigation that started with a routine check on a Zurich-Munich train in late 2010.
German spa withdraws 'romantic Kristallnacht' ad
In a statement issued Monday, the hotel owners apologized for their "insensitive naming of this event," which was "extremely inappropriate." They explained that they frequently tag part of their name, "Kristall," onto their events.
"We are extraordinarily regretful and of course this was unintentional; believe us, we are quite ashamed about our mistake," the statement said.
Israel's NightSense Medical Device Start-Up to Protect Diabetics From Hypoglycemia When Asleep
Israeli medical device start-up NightSense has developed an application to alert sleeping diabetics if their blood sugar suddenly falls at night, a medical emergency called hypoglycemia, Israeli business daily Globes reported on Tuesday.
The company estimates that each day there are 200,000 severe hypoglycemic attacks, when insulin flushes sugar from the body faster than the patient can produce it, with 5 per cent of juvenile diabetes sufferers dying from it.
More women soldiers seeking to serve in combat units, IDF says
As of last year, 58.9% of the Caracal infantry unit, stationed on the border with Egypt, was made up of women, and 10% of Artillery Corps soldiers were women. The Border Police consisted of 6.3% women members.
Tavat-Vizel said that female soldiers serving in units such as those operating Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries and in Caracal have all expressed high satisfaction with their service.
Israel preps for massive air drill with US, Greece, Italy
The two-week exercise will take place at the Uvda air base, near the southern resort city of Eilat, and will include air crews from the United States, Italy and Greece, the IAF announced Tuesday.
The drill, which has been dubbed "Blue Flag," will be modeled after the US Air Force's annual Red Flag desert exercise. More than 100 aircraft will be on hand to participate in simulated dogfights and surface-to-air exercises.
Five years after near death, Israeli runs NYC marathon
As a commander in Operation Cast Lead, newlywed Aharon Karov almost died. Now he's raising money for the organization that helped him get back on his feet
Crossing the finish line at Sunday's New York City Marathon, the scarring on the left side of his head was barely noticeable. Aharon Karov, 27, completed the race in 4:14:31, an impressive feat for anyone. Especially someone who was critically injured five years ago and thought dead.
But his story begins even earlier, at a wedding.

OIC warns of "religious war" if Jews pray on Temple Mount (ElderToons)

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 01:00 PM PST


From Al Ahram:
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation warned Israel, the occupying power, of igniting a religious conflict that it would bear the full responsibility for, if it goes too far in their attempts to divide the Al-Aqsa mosque and to allow Jews to pray inside the walls.

At their meeting the OIC adopted a draft ministerial decree that warns Israel, the occupying Power against acts that provoke the feelings of Muslims around the world through the dangerous escalation of its policies and sinful actions aimed at Judaizing and the division of Al-Aqsa Mosque and to allow Jews to pray inside the walls and in its areas. Legalizing such acts are serious and ...could ignite religious conflict that Israel bears full responsibility for. The OIC calls for the international community to rein in Israel, the occupying power, and force them to stop these attacks and serious disregard for peace and security in the region.
Either the OIC is saying that it supports starting a war over the Temple Mount, or they are saying that Muslims have no self control and cannot help their own violent tendencies.

Report: Qatari cement still going to Gaza, but Hamas is playing games with it

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 11:30 AM PST

Palestine Press Agency - which is very anti-Hamas - publishes a scoop that cement is getting into Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

This seems to be the cement that Qatar had promised Hamas over a year ago, which had started entering Gaza via Rafah. 

The article implies that the projects that Hamas is using the cement for are not necessarily the ones that Qatar earmarked it for.  Qatar intended for the building materials to help build a new village and also for some infrastructure projects like repaving roads. Hamas seems to be using it for its own purposed (kidnappng tunnels, anyone?)

Hamas also appears to be selling the cement in order to gain some much needed cash.

Incidentally, the ability for Egypt to send any commercial materials through Rafah is in itself enough to prove that Gaza is not "occupied" by Israel, since Israel has no control over that border.

11/06 Links Pt1: Fatah to Israel - "Die in your rage", Does the US stand for anything at all?

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 10:10 AM PST

From Ian:
Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: We Do Not Trust The Americans
"We want the Americans to be involved in the peace process. But the U.S. should focus its pressure on the Israelis and not on us. We want the Americans to force Israel to accept the two-state solution and dismantle all the illegal settlements." — Senior aide to Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas
The Palestinians' biggest fear is that the U.S. will try to impose a solution. That is why Abbas and his top aides have begun moves in the international community to persuade as many countries as possible to get involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially the European Union, United Nations and Russia. The last time the Americans tried to extract concessions from the Palestinians, within a few weeks the Palestinians launched the Second Intifada against Israel; Abbas has already threatened as much.
Elliott Abrams: Does the US stand for anything at all?
Does the United States stand for anything at all? Do we have a view about, say, slavery, or child prostitution, or the stoning of gays?
What should be a ridiculous question is raised by Secretary of State John Kerry's offensive obeisance to the Saudis yesterday when visiting Riyadh. Here is the AP story: "On the move for Saudi women to be allowed to drive, Kerry was careful not to appear to take sides. Noting that while the United States embraces gender equality, 'it is up to Saudi Arabia to make its own decisions about its own social structure and choices and the timing of whatever events.'"
Despite rifts, Kerry remains upbeat on peace talks
"I am very confident of our ability to work through them," Kerry told reporters as he opened a meeting in a Jerusalem hotel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "That is why I am here."
"This can be achieved with good faith and a serious effort on both sides," he said, urging both Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who he set to see later in the day, to make "real compromises and hard decisions."
ADL finds Americans support Israel, but oppose US involvement in peace talks
The majority of Americans consider Israel a trusted ally but believe the US should play only a "minimal" role in peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, according to a public opinion survey released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Tuesday.
The announcement that 62 percent of Americans believe "it is up to the Palestinians and the Israelis to solve their own problems" in pursuit of lasting peace came only hours before US Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Israel in an attempt to jump start stalled peace negotiations.
The data provide a stark reminder that while Americans support Israel and distrust Iran, they are ambivalent and often reluctant about intervention in the Middle East.
Min. Ariel: Abbas's Protests are for Show
Abbas "knew in advance about the construction in Judea and Samaria," Ariel told a delegation of French parliamentarians from the UMP party. "The Americans coordinated it with him, and so his protest is really a coordinated protest, too."
Lapid: Palestinians Must Recognize Jerusalem Will Never be Divided
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said it is a "founding ethos" of Israel that Jerusalem will never again be divided, and that the city is not up for negotiation.
"If the Palestinians want a state, then they must know that this has a price and they will not get everything they want," Lapid told Israel Radio.
Terror Victims' Org Urges Kerry to Meet With Victims' Families
The anti-terror and victim advocacy group Almagor - who recently launched a massive last-ditch effort to prevent last week's release of 26 convicted Palestinian Arab terrorists to Judea, Samaria, and Gaza - is reportedly appealing to US Secretary General John Kerry this week to stop pushing for terrorist releases as preconditions for negotiations. The group will also protest Kerry's refusal to meet with terror victims' families, who have been most affected by last week's release.
Freed Terrorists get Guaranteed Work in PA
The Palestinian Authority has decided to grant more benefits to freed terrorists. The PA will now guarantee a place of work to "freed prisoners" – the PA's term for Arabs who have served time in Israeli prison for terrorism-related offenses.
Under the new law, any person who served more than five years in prison for an offense related to terrorism against Israel will be eligible for a job in the public sector if they do not have an alternative source of income.
Abbas says Israel wants to strip Israeli-Arab terrorists of citizenship
PA president warns move would put an end to peace talks; Israel says no decision yet on freeing Arab citizens in future phases of prisoner releases
Hamas is Trying to Destroy the 'Peace Process'
The process on the Palestinian side appears to be a fraud, designed to produce failure because the Palestinian Authority (PA) cannot afford a success with Israel in the absence of an agreement with Hamas. The PA fears exposing the fact that it does not have functional control of the Gaza Strip and 1.66 million people it claims to represent. And not only does it NOT represent them, the government of Gaza – Hamas – explicitly rejects rule by the PA.
Young Israel Pres.: America Hypocritical on Pollard
Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, spoke out Tuesday calling for Jonathan Pollard's release, citing the hypocrisy of his imprisonment in America after revelations of spying against US allies by the country's intelligence agencies.
In two weeks Pollard, who was accused of spying on the US for Israel, will enter his 29th year in an American jail cell.
Fatah leader to Israel: "Die in your rage"
At a Fatah event celebrating Israel's release of three murderers from among the 26 terrorist prisoners released last week, Abbas Zaki, speaking for Fatah, mocked Israel for agreeing to release Palestinian murderers. He said that Israel gave them life sentences and categorized them as having "blood on their hands," yet, "here they are... fighters, knights, free men":
"No one expected that Israel, which hands down life sentences and decided that they [the prisoners] would go from prison to the grave, [would release them]... We say to Israel: Die in your rage. Go to your cemeteries and recite over your dead whatever you recite. Here they are [who Israel said] 'have blood on their hands' (i.e., murderers); here they are [back] among their own people: fighters, knights, free men!"
Fatah official mocks Israel for releasing murderers from prison



Year after IDF op, Hamas deterred, tactics altered, official says
Nearly one year after Israel's eight-day offensive in Gaza, during which Palestinians fired over 1,500 rockets at Israel, a senior government official hailed the enduring nature of the relative quiet. He asserted that Hamas — hemmed in by Egypt and Israel and partially estranged from Iran — has not managed to build up its stockpiles to 2012 levels and has shifted its focus from sheer quantity and continuity of attacks to the ability to carry out strategic rocket strikes and raids.
"Of course it is not like it was last year, because they were not able to replenish everything that they lost. And they lost a lot," Brig. Gen. (res) Yossi Kuperwasser, director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, said at a briefing arranged by The Israel Project in Jerusalem.
Would the world blame Israel if Iranian nuclear talks fail?
This is why Israel's dilemma is so complicated. If Netanyahu is absolutely sure that Tehran wants a nuclear weapon, his challenge is how to stop that from happening -- including perhaps by opposing the nuclear talks he sees as enabling Iran -- without drawing so much of the blame that European sanctions weaken. That's why it's so important for the Obama administration to convince Netanyahu that they share his skepticism: If they convince him that they will oppose any deal likely to enable Iranian enrichment, that reassures Netanyahu and makes him less likely to oppose it himself. This may help explain why the White House is going so far out of its way to work with the Israelis on negotiations.
Netanyahu's Hypothetical Rouhani Conversation: Stop Threatening Israel
If Iranian President Hassan Rouhani were to call him on the phone, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would tell him to stop threatening his country, he told Israel's i24 News.
"I'd tell him to stop calling for the eradication of Israel, stop calling Israel the cancer of the world and stop building nuclear weapons to destroy the state of Israel and coincidentally to threaten Europe," he said.
Netanyahu also rejected Iran's claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Analysis: Saudis unconvinced by Kerry's show of US goodwill
King Abdullah, who is 90 this year and rarely meets visiting officials, mustered a full complement of senior princes to sit in on Monday's talks with Kerry. Such a lineup marked both his high regard for the old alliance with the United States, and his ire at Washington's recent actions.
Saudi leaders fear President Barack Obama's administration has stopped listening to its Arab ally, particularly on Syria's civil war and the nuclear dispute with Iran. This risks handing regional supremacy to their chief rival, Tehran, they believe.
US official: Syria may try to hide chemical weapons
Syria submitted the lengthy declaration of its chemical weapons program on October 27 and must agree a plan with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) by mid-November that explains in detail how and where to destroy the poisons, including mustard gas, sarin and possibly VX.
"We are still reviewing that document. We obviously bring skepticism born of years of dealing with this regime, years of obfuscation in other contexts, and of course a lot of broken promises in the context of this current war," Power said.
Syrian chemical weapons mission funded only until end of month
The international body tasked with ensuring Syria's chemical weapons are eliminated has enough money to fund its mission only until the end of this month, and needs more funds soon for the destruction of poison gas stocks next year.
An official at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which won the Nobel Peace Prize last month, expressed confidence that governments would find more money to ensure the process does not lose momentum.
NYT: Qatar Must Halt 2022 World Cup Abuses
Human rights exposes about horrific working conditions for migrant workers have spread globally, and the story has bounced between the substantive allegations and Doha's efforts to block journalists and human rights workers from discovering the extent to which those allegations are accurate.
Qatar's large population of migrant workers – roughly 88% of its total population – makes the country's labor issues particularly tangled. A New York Times editorial published over the weekend knit the various issues together and called for major reforms:

"Swiss report concludes Arafat was poisoned with polonium" (UPDATE X5)

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 08:47 AM PST

Al Jazeera reports:
Swiss scientists who conducted tests on samples taken from Yasser Arafat's body have found at least 18 times the normal levels of radioactive polonium in his remains. The scientists said that they were confident up to an 83 percent level that the late Palestinian leader was poisoned with it, which they said "moderately supports" polonium as the cause of his death.

A 108-page report (PDF) by the University Centre of Legal Medicine in Lausanne, which was obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera, found unnaturally high levels of polonium in Arafat's ribs and pelvis, and in soil stained with his decaying organs.

The Swiss scientists, along with French and Russian teams, obtained the samples last November after his body was exhumed from a mausoleum in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Dave Barclay, a renowned U.K. forensic scientist and retired detective, told Al Jazeera that with these results he was wholly convinced that Arafat was murdered.

"Yasser Arafat died of polonium poisoning," he said. "We found the smoking gun that caused his death. What we don't know is who's holding the gun at the time."

"The level of polonium in Yasser Arafat's rib…is about 900 milibecquerels," Barclay said. "That is either 18 or 36 times the average, depending on the literature."
Details coming.

UPDATE: I just glanced at the Swiss report. It is not the slam dunk that Al Jazeera pretends, although the conclusion is that "the results moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-210."

Arguments against it include the fact that polonium was itself not found on Arafat's remains, but lead-210 was, which is assumed to be masking the polonium. (I don't understand this because other charts show Po210 on the remains.) The existence of the lead-210 could not be adequately explained by other factors (like smoking or the high levels of radon in the grave.)  The report also points out that the lead concentrations were not uniform on his body, and they assume that if it had a different source it would be.

The report is relying on both the toxicology reports and the previous report of polonium on his underwear and other personal effects. If those were tainted, the conclusions might be different.

There is very little forensics literature about the effects of ingesting polonium so anything that the report says about the month delay between Arafat's meal that got him sick and his death is pure guesswork.

While there are valid issues brought up in the report, it is not definitive.

UPDATE 2: Also relevant:

Framework of our investigations

In examining the toxicological and radio-toxicological investigations, four particular critical problems must be pointed out:

• There was a lack of adequate biological specimens, thus limiting the possibility to perform further analyses. This was partly due to the fact that the blood, urine, fecal and cerebrospinal fluid samples taken during the patient's hospitalization at Percy were subsequently destroyed. In addition, there were no samples taken at an early stage when the initial symptoms developed.

• As a result, our initial investigations were performed on very small specimens, such as a single hair shaft, or on atypical specimens, such as the sweat in the patient's clothing or traces of blood and urine found on his personal effects in the travel bag. The same investigations were performed on biological specimens (hair, bone, scalp) and on non-biological specimens (soil, shroud fragments) collected after exhumation of the deceased in Ramallah. In any event, all of these specimens proved problematic in terms of their analysis, as well as for the interpretation of the results. We have limited experience working with such specimens and very little has been published in the scientific literature. 

• In addition, the fact that eight years passed between the death of the patient and the implementation of toxicological and radio-toxicological investigations contributes to the uncertainty of the analytical results and their interpretation. After such a long delay, especially under less than optimal conservation conditions (ambient temperature of the travel bag, burial), one cannot exclude the possibility of chemical degradation or redistribution with the surrounding environment. When considering radio-toxicological elements, one must keep in mind that they have a very short half-life (138 days for 210Po), rendering their detection eight years after a possible administration very difficult and subject to large uncertainties. Furthermore, the elapsed 8 years prevented us from directly measuring the soft tissues (i.e. liver or kidneys) that would have been more suited to confirm the presence or absence of artificial polonium, as was found in the clothing of President Arafat.

• Finally, the "chain of custody" of the specimens contained in the bag cannot be documented between the death in November 2004 and their reception in Lausanne in February 2012. This was not the case for the specimens collected during the exhumation.

UPDATE 2.5: I don't want to pretend that I understand everything in the Swiss report, most of it is beyond me, so any mistakes are my own.

UPDATE 3: Under the "Security Measures" section, the report says "The access to the grave was highly restricted and controlled by the Palestinian Authority." Not exactly a "chain of custody."

UPDATE 4: Dave Barclay, quoted here, is being paid by Al Jazeera to spin the results. Reuters says:
Professor David Barclay, a British forensic scientist retained by Al Jazeera to interpret the results of the Swiss tests, said the findings from Arafat's body confirmed the earlier results from traces of bodily fluids on his underwear, toothbrush and clothing.

"In my opinion, it is absolutely certain that the cause of his illness was polonium poisoning," Barclay told Reuters. "The levels present in him are sufficient to have caused death.
Reuters doesn't mention that Al Jazeera is financially and poliically invested in finding that Arafat was murdered, for example, by producing TV specials.

UPDATE 5: So where is the Russian report that supposedly didn't detect any polonium? Al Jazeera doesn't seem to want to release that one so quick.

How HRW and Amnesty twist international law against Israel: The Nottebohm Case

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 06:45 AM PST

One of the most bizarre claims made by anti-Israel activists is that the fictional "right to return" applies not only to Arabs who fled their homes in 1948, but also to their descendants, forever.

But it is not only the explicit Israel-haters who make this argument. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch claim that such a right exists - and they further claim that it is a right under international law.

Amnesty's policy statement on the matter was written in 2001; HRW's in 2002.

Both use similar arguments.

First they quote the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which says "'No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country."

They then quote the UN Human Rights Committee to interpret the statement as meaning that "his own country" does not necessarily mean a state.
The scope of 'his own country' is broader than the concept 'country of his nationality'. It is not limited to nationality in a formal sense, that is, nationality acquired at birth or by conferral; it embraces, at the very least, an individual who, because of his or her special ties to or claims in relation to a given country, cannot be considered to be a mere alien....Since other factors may in certain circumstances result in the establishment of close and enduring connections between a person and a country, States parties should include in their reports information on the rights of permanent residents to return to their country of residence.
How does one define "special ties" and "close and enduring connections"?

Both HRW and Amnesty pretend that the definition can be determined from the Nottebohm Case, a 1955 ruling by the International Court of Justice that changed the definition of nationality in certain cases. By using Nottebohm, the organizations are claiming that international law supports the "right to return" - not only for refugees but also for descendants.

Amnesty quotes this part of Nottebohm as their definition of "close and enduring connections":

"...a social fact of attachment, a genuine connection of existence, interests and sentiments..."

Both Amnesty and HRW also quote this section:

"Different factors are taken into consideration, and their importance will vary from one case to the next: there is the habitual residence of the individual concerned but also the centre of his interests, his family ties, his participation in public life, attachment shown by him for a given country and inculcated in his children, etc."

Both HRW and Amnesty are misrepresenting Nottebohm. In fact, an unbiased reading of the Nottebohm case would indicate the exact opposite to what they are claiming.

Let's look at the full context of the first Amnesty quote, italicizing the specific part quoted:
According to the practice of States, to arbitral and judicial decisions and to the opinions of writers, nationality is a legal bond having as its basis a social fact of attachment, a genuine connection of existence, interests and sentiments, together with the existence of reciprocal rights and duties. It may be said to constitute the juridical expression of the fact that the individual upon whom it is conferred, either directly by the law or as the result of an act of the authorities, is in fact more closely connected with the population of the State conferring nationality than with that of any other State. . Conferred by a State, it only entitles that State to exercise protection vis-a-vis another State, if it constitutes a
translation into juridical terms of the individual's connection with the State which has made him its national.
Amnesty took the quote out of context, and in context it shows that Nottebohm is specifically speaking about legal citizenship, not a tenuous link with an area that one's ancestors lived. It is talking about the reciprocal relationship between a state and its nationals.

Here's the full context of the other quote:
International arbitrators have decided in the same way numerous casés of dual nationality, where the question arose with regard to the exercise of protection. They have given their preference to the real and effective nationality, that which accorded with the facts, that based on stronger factual ties between the person concerned and one of the States whose nationality is involved. Different factors are taken into consideration, and their importance will vary from one case to the next: the habitua1 residence of the individual concerned is an important factor, but there are other factors such as the centre of his interests, his family ties, his participation in public life, attachment shown by him for a given country and inculcated in his children, etc.
The ICJ is very clear that it is talking about the relationship between an individual and the State, not between him and the place his grandfather may have lived.

In the case of Israel, it is clear that the Arabs wishing to "return" are not interested in any "reciprocal rights and duties" that citizenship demands. They don't identify with Israel, so the demand that they can become Israeli citizens based on Nottebohm is exactly the opposite of reality. Unlike the ICCPR's use of the word "country," Nottebohm uses the unambiguous word "State" to determine whether one's ties are genuine and effective. There is no indication that Nottebohm would consider Palestinian refugees and their descendants to have any links to Israel, which has a completely different culture than the Levant of a hundred years ago.

Other parts of the ICJ ruling make Israel's rights even more explicit:
The character thus recognized on the international level as pertaining to nationality is in no way inconsistent with the fact that international law leaves it to each State to lay down the rules governing the grant of its own nationality. The reason for this is that the diversity of demographic conditions has thus far made it impossible for any general agreement to be reached on the rules relating to nationality, although the latter by its very nature affects international relations. It has been considered that the best way of making such rules accord with the varying demographic conditions in different countries is to leave the fixing of such rules to the competence of each State.
Nottebohm shows that Israel has the sole right to determine who can be a citizen and who cannot.

To apply Nottebohm as an interpretation of the UNHRC's comment is knowingly deceptive. And both HRW and Amnesty extend the deception by pretending that their misinterpretation of the ICJ would also apply to descendants, who supposedly also maintain "genuine and effective links" to a state that never existed.

Beyond that, both HRW and Amnesty - by insisting that Israel give citizenship to a population that is by and large hostile to Israel - are ignoring the Hague definition as well as the European Convention on Nationality, which states

"Each State shall determine under its own law who are its nationals. This law shall be accepted by other States in so far as it is consistent with applicable international conventions, customary international law and the principles of law generally recognised with regard to nationality."

Thsi is fully consistent with Nottebohm, and completely inconsistent with Amnesty and HRW - unless they are arguing that Israel itself is illegitimate.

Furthermore, the entire point of Nottebohm's "genuine and effective ties" test was not to force a state to grant citizenship based on those criteria, as Amnesty and HRW insist, but to allow a state not to accept the citizenship of a person in another state if he doesn't have such ties. (Briefly, Nottebohm lived in Guatemala but had German citizenship; at the outbreak of WWII he changed his citizenship to Lichtenstein, but Guatemala didn't accept that quickie conversion and regarded him as an enemy alien when he tried to return in 1943.) To generalize from Nottebohm to the "right to return" is more than a stretch - it is a completely novel interpretation.

In fact, the ICJ ruled that the only country that Nottebohm truly had genuine ties to was - Guatemala! Yet it did not insist that Guatemala accept him as a citizen, while - if the case supported the "right to return" - it would have forced Guatemala to do exactly that. Indeed, the ICJ accepted that Lichtenstein had the right to apply its own laws of citizenship domestically - it was only ruling whether other countries must accept that citizenship if it appeared to be a sham.

In short, on a number of levels, the Nottebohm case proves that there is no "right to return," that Israel has the full right to determine who its citizens are, and that the "genuine and effective ties" test is meant for ties to a state, not to a land.

Beyond this, HRW - while acknowledging how badly Arab states have treated their Palestinian "guests" - does not call on Arab states to abide by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which states in Article 34: "The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees." Neither, apparently, does Amnesty, as its report on discrimination against Palestinians in Lebanon never urges naturalization for those who want to become Lebanese citizens.

The only conclusion that can be drawn is that HRW and Amnesty are purposefully twisting international law in two separate but related ways. On the one hand, they are misinterpreting international law to destroy Israel demographically, creating a standard that they demand of no other country. On the other hand, they  are ignoring international conventions and simple morality by placing no obligations on Arab states to end their discrimination against Palestinian Arabs and their right to citizenship if they so desire. (As we have shown countless times, Palestinian Arabs who are given the rare opportunity to become citizens of Arab countries will not hesitate to take advantage of it.)

Instead of caring about human rights, these organizations are denying the rights of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs who desire to integrate into the countries that they were born into and raised in, and they insist that Israel - and only Israel - doesn't have the right to determine who is allowed to become a citizen.

This is a travesty of both international law and human rights.

Major #BDSFail: APHA overwhelmingly votes against BDS

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 04:59 AM PST

From BDS Global Digest:
Last night on November 5th 2013, the American Public Health Association (APHA) dealt a huge loss to the BDS campaign after it had extensively propagandized the committee members on Israel's medical practices towards the Palestinians in occupied territories. For months, BDS activists had gone after members on the APHA committee to convince them to vote in favor of their prestigious organization to boycott Israel and it's medical practices. The committee held its vote last night, and was overwhelmingly voted against boycotting Israel by 74% compared to 3% [sic, should be 26%] voting in favor of boycott. This loss deals a huge blow to the BDS campaign which has been desperate in searching for wins lately in the campaign to boycott Israel.

I understand that the BDSers brought out Noam Chomsky to speak and push BDS.

Last year they managed to get Angela Davis to give a keynote speech where she made baldfaced lies about Israel.

It is nice to see that professionals can see through the lies.

(h/t DM)

Arafat polonium report delivered to the PA

Posted: 06 Nov 2013 02:30 AM PST

From Gulf News:
Palestinian authorities have received the reports of Swiss and Russian forensic investigations into the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat, an official said Tuesday, without disclosing the findings.

"The report was delivered" by the Swiss laboratory, said Tawfiq Tirawi, who heads the Palestinian investigation into Arafat's death.

Official Palestinian news agency WAFA said a Russian team appointed by the Palestinian Authority also handed in its report on November 2 and that its conclusions would be made public in due course.

Some 60 samples were taken from the remains of the late Palestinian leader in November last year for a probe into whether he was poisoned by polonium.
The French report is not ready yet.

A Russian official has already been quoted as saying that no polonium was found on their tissue samples.

So the PA, which has officially and repeatedly said Israel murdered Arafat from the beginning, is now the sole party that can decide what to do with the reports?

The PA has officially described Tirawi's group as the "Inquiry Commission of the late President Arafat's assassination." You just know that if any parts of the reports don't support the PA's predetermined conclusion, they will be buried.

The PA will have a press conference saying that Arafat was murdered, the media will trumpet the headlines,  and when the actual report leaks out a few months that casts doubt on their announcement the lie will already have been entrenched.
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