יום שישי, 31 בינואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Hasby Award: Best Individual Example of Hasbara

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 09:30 PM PST

The nominees for Best Individual Example of Hasbara are:





IDF Girls Gone Wild (parts 1, 2, 3) 


And the winner is....






ED KLINGER'S NOTE ON A BDS MACBOOK 

For those who forgot, here it is:


What I like about this is that it was out of the blue. The writer of the note posted it on his Facebook page and it struck a chord in thousands of ordinary people, seeing how hypocritical the Israel-haters are. The story was all over the place in only two days.

Congratulations!

First photos of Jerusalem (1844)

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 05:30 PM PST

These were in Smithsonian Magazine this month. They were taken by French photographer Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey.

I found very high resolution images for most of these from a Russian site. Click to enlarge.

Enjoy:








(h/t Yerushalimey)

01/30 Links Pt2: Mrs. Ashton and the invisible Jews; Scarlett Johansson's advert hits 5 Million views.

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 03:30 PM PST

From Ian:
Elliott Abrams: The EU's Mrs. Ashton and the invisible Jews
It's becoming a habit. The EU's "foreign minister," High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, cannot seem to see Jews or anti-Semitism or to pronounce the word "Jew."
In 2012 a terrorist murdered three Jewish children at a Jewish day school in Toulouse, France. Mrs. Ashton issued a statement saying that "when we think of what happened in Toulouse today, when we remember what happened in Norway a year ago, when we know what is happening in Syria, when we see what is happening in Gaza and Sderot and in different parts of the world, we remember young people and children who lose their lives." It was beyond her to acknowledge what had just happened: the murder of Jewish children in Europe for the crime of being Jewish.
She has, amazingly enough, just done it again. Her statement this week on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day did not mention Jews. That's worth repeating: She puts out a statement to honor Holocaust Remembrance Day that does not mention Jews -- thereby advancing the project of forgetting the Holocaust and robbing it of meaning.
Sarah Honig: Moral Obtuseness
It's highly doubtful that Ashton's lapse is inadvertent.
Not everything can be plausibly ascribed to unintentional slip-ups. The bizarre homage Europe's spokesperson paid to "every one of those brutally murdered in the darkest period of European history," without even minimal reference to their identity, constitutes too great a strain on the commonsense.
Perhaps Europe in general and Ashton in particular find Holocaust Remembrance Day a troublesome, even a disagreeable onus. Hence Ashton obscured the Jewish context with a short collection of hackneyed platitudes on tolerance and human rights.
This is a cogent example of how Holocaust history is increasingly watered down, especially in Europe. Yesteryear's physical destruction is followed up by today's distortion of remembrance. (h/t Bob Knot)
Sorry to burst your bubble, BDS. Scarlett Johansson has parted ways with Oxfam
In response, social media erupted with the inevitable "Even when we lose, we win" announcements.
Her Sodastream debut will be during Super Bowl -Sunday Feb. 2.
Its been out for two days, and its been viewed over 4[now 5] million times. I'd call that a BDS fail.



Candidly speaking: Pollard, American Jewish leaders and anti-Semitism
For the first time, Jewish leaders are now being called upon to confront the painful anti-Semitic motivations of those engaged in the ongoing incarceration of Pollard. Admittedly, the pressures confronting the American Jewish establishment are intensifying. Presenting the case for Israel and opposing the nuclearization of Iran has already created major tensions with the Obama administration.
As the insinuations of dual loyalty become ever shriller, Jewish leaders need to review the situation and develop a strategy which will be consistent with justice and retaining their Jewish way of life in conformity with the multi-pluralism of American society.
The Pollard case goes far beyond the issue of commuting an excessive sentence meted against a Jewish spy. Its outcome will impact on the essence of the relationship between the American-Jewish community and broader American society.
MK Rotem: Christians can't be Palestinians
Citing the Christian exodus from Bethlehem in the years since the city's transfer to Palestinian Authority control, Rotem said Christians should not kid themselves that "in a Palestinian state you will have a good time." He added that the State of Israel was letting them down by not drafting them into the IDF and thus accepting them "as partners in everything."
"Your brothers are not sitting in Jordan or Lebanon. Your brothers are more here than anywhere else," he continued. "Christians have to be a part of the State of Israel. They are citizens and so they have to be partners in everything that happens in the state. We have to encourage and adore you."
Qanta Ahmed: Persecution of Christians in the Muslim world: We are what we tolerate
Christian persecution in the Muslim World goes unremarked upon in the Muslim world. Yet Christian existence in the Middle East, the very region where Christianity first arrived to world, is today imperiled to a degree formerly unseen in its history.
The erosion of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa region daily escalates. Rabid political Islamism, which both calls for the elimination of Christians from formerly pluralistic societies and seeds a climate ripe for sectarian violence, drives the exodus of Christians from the region.
UN body in charge of NGO-accreditation fails to dismiss application from major Bin Laden, Hamas supporter
At a 2013 UN NGO Committee session, the US representative said that the IARA was designated as a terrorist organization by the US Treasury Department in 2004 "for providing support to Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, Hamas and other terrorist groups. They were involved in terrorist financing ... and have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars" to terrorist organizations. The UN press release, on the other hand, described this terrorist patron as an organization "focused on humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and development".
On January 27, 2014 at the UN Committee the US delegate questioned Sudan-based IARA regarding its classification as a terrorist organization by the United States government. The representative of Sudan - a member of the UN NGO Committee - stepped in to defend the IARA on the grounds that "there was no evidence that this organization supported terrorist activities" and asked that the application "move forward". The representative of Pakistan also objected to the questions posed by the United States.
Consideration of the application will continue.
Guardian whitewashes Nathan Filer's support for pro-terror group, ISM
Yet, in an over 1700 word story, the Guardian journalist never once mentions ISM's terror-supporting activities nor noted the seeming contradiction of Filer's alleged support for "peace" and "human rights" with his active participation with a group which aids and abets antisemitic extremists who intentionally murder innocent Israelis.
Indeed, one of the biggest scandals of the Guardian's coverage of Israel and the Palestinians is the dishonest manner in which they frame the debate – the way they automatically impute good will and progressivism to nearly anyone claiming to advocate on behalf of Palestinians, even those compromised by their support for violence against innocent civilians. Such moral blind spots regarding the human rights of Israelis continue to define the ideological territory occupied by the Guardian Left.
More on Harriet Sherwood's love letter to the "miraculous" people of Gaza
Beyond the misleading nature of Sherwood's specific claims, the decision (presumably by Guardian editors) to use the word "miraculous" to describe Gaza's survival is a great illustration of the fetishization of Palestinians continually on display in their reports and commentaries, most which lack the critical scrutiny that Israelis are typically subjected to. A more sober assessment of Gaza since Israel's withdrawal in 2005 would surely evoke Abba Ebban's dismay over Palestinians' tendency to "never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity".
BBC ties itself in Neturei Karta knots
It would appear that Neturei Karta presents something of a conundrum for the BBC. Its description of the London demonstrators as "members of the Jewish community" clearly indicates that it does not adequately comprehend the fact that Neturei Karta has a negligible number of followers who have no contact with mainstream Jewish communities. On the other hand, the temptation to amplify the views of a handful of anti-Zionist Jews – and thereby downplay the antisemitic aspects of many an anti-Israel demonstration, meeting or conference – is apparently irresistible.
Now that members of Neturei Karta have made their support for European fascists (rather than 'just' Middle East ones) known directly to the BBC, perhaps the penny will finally drop.
The Economist Finally Apologizes for Anti-Semitic Cartoon
Perhaps we have an answer as the Editor's note has now been updated to the following:
This story was originally illustrated by a cartoon that combined the Star of David with the Congressional seal. Some readers felt that the cartoon implied that Jews controlled Congress. That is not what we intended to imply, nor what we believe, so we removed the cartoon. We apologise for any offence that was caused.
We are pleased that The Economist has finally apologized and stated, for the record, that the magazine does not believe that Jews control Congress.
Having taken this step forward, will John Mickelthwait acknowledge our petition and the call to adopt the EU Working Definition of Anti-Semitism?
Anti-Normalization Absurdities
Fadi Arouri, a Ramallah photojournalist and one of the anti-normalization movement's big names (honored by readers as one of the Dishonest Reporters of 2013), obtained a permit to enter Israel. He even showed it off on Facebook. The District Coordination Office permit is dated January 16, and Arouri can go anywhere in Israel except for Eilat.
I hope Arouri has a normal time in Israel, meeting the normal Israelis he normally chases out of Ramallah.
MEMRI: Article On Jordanian Website: The Lessons Of The Holocaust Are International; All Peoples Must Combat Racism And Extremism
On January 28, 2014, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the Jordanian news website almamlakahnews.com posted an article stating that the Holocaust is the most heinous crime in human history and that all peoples must learn a lesson from it. The article added that, even though the German Nazi regime has ceased to exist, antisemitism has not passed from the world, and even today we witness attacks on Jews. Hence, antisemitism must be fought, along with all other racist and extremist ideologies that ultimately lead only to bloodshed.
Young Koreans learn from Start-Up Nation
Some 100 people gathered for the Korea-Israel Entrepreneurship Forum (KIEF) Monday evening at Tel Aviv University in a program that seeks to grow economic partnerships between the two countries. Attending the event were young Korean entrepreneurs, Israeli students, Korean diplomats, Israeli tech and start-up veterans, as well as several seeking to build business ties.
The event was the closing one for KIEF, a 6-month program in Israel for 15 Korean aspiring entrepreneurs that was run together by StarTAU and Small and Medium Business Corporation (SBC). The participants were paired up with Israelis mentors, and worked at internships with companies like Wix, Ginger, Giza Venture Capital and others. Of course, they toured through Israel as well.
Hebrew U program gives foreign students Start-Up 'taste
For English-speaking students from abroad who want to experience the Start-Up Nation firsthand, Hebrew University has started a one-year MBA program, emphasizing entrepreneurship and innovation. Beginning this fall, the program, stretching over three semesters — offered jointly by Hebrew University's Jerusalem School of Business Administration and the Rothberg International School — will offer internships as well.
'Girlfri3nds' gets around
Keshet International, the global distribution and production arm of Israel's titan Keshet Media Group, announced Tuesday that it has sold its popular British dating format "Girlfri3nds" to both Canadian and Australian networks.
The UK version of "Girlfri3nds" was spawned from the original Hebrew-language show, which premiered in Israel in 2011 and at the time broke records for non-live reality programming. The program follows three female friends searching together for long-term love, and is known for avoiding the schlock and clichés that mark so many other reality dating programs.
The Waze of agriculture
Which way will the wind blow or the crop-munching pests flow? Cosmologists, meteorologists and agronomists have tried to answer these questions since the beginning of time.
The Israeli company ScanTask is crowdsourcing data from the farm to answer these questions better, taking the guesswork and risks out of farming.
This is exactly the kind of technology that massive companies like PepsiCo, Syngenta, and Monsanto said that they needed at the recent Agrivest conference in Israel.
Israel's Cyber-Security Prowess Is Attracting Foreign Firms
Israel's cyber-security industry has grown from a few dozen companies to more than 200 in just the past three years amid a flood of hacks targeted at the country. As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomes more outsiders to invest in or collaborate with the country's cyber-defense industry, a Big Four professional-services firm, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, is stepping up to the plate.
Deloitte plans to open a cyber-security operations center in Israel and is looking to partner, acquire or license technologies developed by Israeli startups, executives for the firm said in interviews yesterday at the Cybertech conference in Tel Aviv. Deloitte has similar centers setup in Chile, Costa Rica, South Africa, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.
The company that makes instructions easy
When crime-scene investigators need to check a procedure manual, or when airplane mechanics need a repair reference guide, they require clearly organized information at the touch of a button on whatever kind of device they're holding in their hands.
Because it's no simple task to keep updated documentation and instruction manuals at the fingertips of employees and customers, hundreds of businesses, manufacturers and government agencies – including HTC, Plantronics, Dell, Cisco, EMC, McAfee, Emerson, Hitachi, Israel Aerospace Industries and the Police Academy of the Netherlands – have purchased software and training from the small Israeli company Suite Solutions.

1980 UK SodaStream commercial plus more

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 02:00 PM PST

Far out, man.

This is actually a YouTube playlist so there are some other bizarre SodaStream commercials that just keep on coming if you choose "Play All."

A "Law of Return" for Muslim Nazi sympathizers (1948)

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 12:15 PM PST

This short JTA article from 1948 is just begging for a researcher to write a book or two:

ROME (Feb. 20)

Arab agents are today recruiting mercenaries to fight against the Jews in Palestine from among the Yugoslav Ustashi and Chetniks and the Ukrainians, Albanians, Circassians (former inhabitants of the northwestern area of the Caucasus) and other groups here who were on Hitler's side during the war, and are now under the care of the International Refugee Organization.

Able-bodied men, both inside and outside the I.R.O. camps, who are between 22 and 32 years of age, and who accept the Arab terms of payment–their fares to the Middle East and maintenance of their families in exchange for their pledge to serve in the Arab forces for at least one year–are being given visas by the governments of Egypt, Syria and Transjordan. Where the mercenaries are of Moslem origin they are being officially resettled by formal negotiations between the governments concerned and the I.R.O. which, however, disclaims any knowledge of what use the individuals are put to on arriving in the Middle East.
So the Arab nations did once want to accept and naturalize refugees - as long as they shared Hitler's goals for the Jews.

Hasby Award: Best Article

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 10:30 AM PST

The nominees for Best Article are:



And the winner is...




AN ISRAELI SOLDIER TO AMERICAN JEWS: WAKE UP!
Hen Mazzig

There were only three nominees for this category, but that didn't make the decision any easier. The Jaconson article is destined to be a classic and the Brendan O'Neill article is a must read.

In the end, I went with Hen Mazzig's article because it is the best example of hasbara in the classic sense: explaining things to  readers they might not know about, heightened by the first person account of his experiences.

Congratulations!

By the way, I wish I had thought of nominating this article, which is also about a peacenik getting slapped with reality. It probably wouldn't have won but it would have been a very good addition to the nominee list.

01/30 Links Pt1: The UNRWA Reform Initiative; Abbas world’s No.1 purveyor of anti-Semitism

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
The UNRWA Reform Initiative
It is universally understood that current talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority will not lead to an end of the protracted Arab-Israeli war. However, there is no reason why at least one aspect of that war cannot be resolved: the continuing humanitarian crisis facing descendants of Arab refugees from 1948, who wallow in UNRWA refugee facilities under the notion they will "return" to villages from 1948 – which no longer exist.
In that context, the Center for Near East Policy Research, which has conducted news investigations and produced films on UNRWA for the past 25 years, has launched the UNRWA Reform Initiative (URI) to facilitate a policy change at UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
While UNRWA long ago adopted the slogan "Peace Starts Here," UNRWA's working mantra could easily be described as "War Starts Here." UNRWA's schools educate half a million students with the notion that they must prepare to take back their homes in what is now Israel – by force of arms.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Hamas, Islamic Jihad Gunmen Now in West Bank
The participation of Fatah gunmen in a Hamas and Islamic Jihad rally shows that the PA and Abbas continue to face a serious challenge from their own loyalists. Moreover, it shows that there is coordination between Abbas's Fatah gunmen and Hamas and Islamic Jihad militiamen in the West Bank.
If anything, the rally that saw Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah join forces in a rare show of power means that Abbas's claim that he is fully in control of the situation in the West Bank is baseless.
Yasser Arafat allowed Hamas to operate freely in the Gaza Strip until Hamas drove the Palestinian Authority out of the area. Abbas is now committing the same mistake and could lose the West Bank to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The question is whether this will happen before or after the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Prosor calls on Security Council to recognize the signs of genocide
Prosor noted that this pattern of "defamation, degradation, and bloodshed" visibly repeated itself in Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia and Darfur, and despite the warning signs, nothing was done.
"We cannot tolerate governments brutalizing their people," he said. "We cannot rest while barrel bombs are falling on Syrian citizens, executions are on the rise in Iran, and sexual violence is rampant in the Central African Republic."
He went on to speak about the growing anti-Semitism throughout the Middle East, including in textbooks and on state-sanctioned TV channels.
"War is not inevitable. It is not a force of nature, nor is it part of human nature. It can be prevented. But only if we stand together to denounce indifference and defend peace," he said.



Abbas world's No. 1 purveyor of anti-Semitism, minister says
Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas espoused more "anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli venom" than any other world leader.
Speaking at the Institute for National Security Studies on Wednesday, Steinitz said that "while Abu Mazen (Abbas) doesn't fund terrorism, he who was a Holocaust denier in his youth now denies the very existence of the Jewish people and their right to a state."
He was likely referring to Abbas's 1982 doctoral dissertation, which was titled "The Other Side: the Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism."
Efraim Karsh: Michael Oren misunderstands the obstacle to peace
For an accomplished historian, Michael Oren seems to have an extraordinarily short memory.
In a recent article on CNN's website, the former Israeli ambassador to the United States argued that in the absence of a two-state solution, "One solution could be a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian population centers in the West Bank." This, he reasoned, would allow Israel to "end the occupation of the Palestinians, preserve its security, and perhaps lay new foundations for peace."
But this precisely what Israel did some 20 years ago.
The Importance of the Jordan Valley Corridor
Abbas says that he will control security in the Jordan River corridor, but what he more likely will do is give a free pass to terrorists and weapons on their way to the Palestinian Authority targeting Israeli civilians and territories. There is an old Arab saying, hamiha harmiha, "The guard and the thief are one and the same." The "miracle of peace" Abbas is trying to market to an unfortunately gullible international community is nothing but fraud and slight-of-hand. He continues to harp – endlessly – on the so-called "right of return" of the Palestinians to the territory of the State of Israel, refuses out of hand to recognize the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, and has added a snag to the already twisted Gordion Knot of negotiations by demanding control of the Jordan River corridor.
He doesn't intend to end the conflict and he is not planning to establish peace and coexistence with the State of Israel. He is planning to inundate it with a tidal wave of terrorism.
In-Your-Faces-Obama Bill Upgrading Israel Status Above Entire World
My favorite Congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL 27), along with Rep Ted Deutch (D-Fla. 21), who are the top two members on the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Middle East subcommittee, have introduced a bill on Wednesday naming Israel a "major strategic partner" of the United States, a title enjoyed by no one else on the planet, and encouraging enhanced cooperation on water, energy, homeland security, and missile development.
The bill also waives visa requirements for Israelis who visit the U.S., adding Israel to the list of countries whose citizens can visit the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, provided they registered electronically before boarding a flight.
Some other provisions: the bill expands authority for forward-deployed U.S. weapons stockpiles in Israel, providing important military equipment for either to use in a crisis. It also encourages the president to transfer essential military equipment to Israel to meet current and projected strategic threats.
Report: Europe Warns Palestinian Authority Against Rejecting Kerry Framework Peace Plan
European diplomats passed this message on to senior Palestinian Authority officials during closed-door conversations that were recently held in Ramallah, Walla said.
An evolution in the European attitude towards the Palestinian Authority could be detected in remarks made over the weekend by Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, according to the report. The leader of the Israeli delegation that's currently negotiating with the Palestinian Authority said that PA President Mahmoud Abbas's continued intransigence at the negotiating table will result in "the Palestinians paying the price."
Livni's statement was widely interpreted as her belief that the international community will blame the Palestinian Authority for the failure of peace talks, Walla said.
"Today I will die, today I will fight" - PA TV music video


170,000 rockets are aimed at Israel's cities, says IDF intel head
The head of Israel's most powerful intelligence agency depicted Wednesday a changing battlefield in which offensive cyber capabilities will, in the near future, represent the greatest shift in combat doctrine in over 1,000 years. For now, though, he said, the 170,000 rockets and missiles pointed by enemy states at Israel represented the most pressing threat, a danger he placed even above Iran's rogue nuclear program.
"Cyber, in my humble opinion, and you don't have to agree with me, will be revealed in a not very long time as a revolution greater than the creation of gunpowder or the usage of the aerial space at the start of the past century," said Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the head of the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate. Kochavi, a former infantry officer, called the possibilities inherent in cyber warfare "nearly limitless, and that is not a metaphor."
IAF chief: Israel will destroy Hezbollah bases in Lebanon, even ones in residential areas
The unusually explicit threat by air force chief Major-General Amir Eshel appeared to be part of an effort by Israeli officials to prepare world opinion for high civilian casualties in any new confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel says Iran and Syria have supplied improved missiles to Hezbollah, which fought the technologically superior Israeli military to a standstill in a 2006 war in Lebanon.
"We will have to deal aggressively with thousands of Hezbollah bases which threaten the State of Israel and mainly our interior," Eshel said in a speech, citing Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon among the locations of the bases.
Other Israeli officials have alleged that Hezbollah uses Lebanese civilian homes as missile silos or gun nests. Eshel said the guerrillas sometimes had entire floors of residential buildings ready, under lock and key, to be used in combat.
Murderer of Israeli Students Given Cash Prize, Employed, Promoted
MURDERER'S REWARD
Rabbo was a special case – he had been imprisoned the longest of any of the murderers who will be released for this round of "peace talks." Rabbo, now 49 years old, granted freedom instead of his two life sentences, was given $110,000. And his upcoming wedding will cost him nothing. In addition, PA leader Abbas "promoted" Rabbo to the position of Major General in the "Palestinian Army."
So, two barely twenty-something Jewish Israeli college students were slaughtered for the crime of being Jewish. They are dead, and their blood has not been avenged.
Abbas' advisor who praised murderer now calls shooting terrorist "heroic Martyr"
Abbas' advisor who once praised a murderer as "heroic fighter" now praises another as "heroic Martyr" "who ascended to Heaven... in the battlefield while challenging the Zionist enemy."
Today, a Palestinian named Muhammad Mubarak shot at an Israeli checkpoint north-east of Ramallah. He was consequently killed in the ensuing exchange of fire with Israeli forces.
Shortly after the shooting, Abbas' advisor Sultan Abu Al-Einein praised the terrorist on his Facebook page, calling him "our heroic Martyr":
Hamas to allow 120 Fatah leaders back into Gaza
Hamas will allow more than 120 Fatah officials banished from the Gaza Strip during the Islamist group's violent takeover in 2007 to return to the Palestinian enclave in a bid to advance reconciliation efforts with its Ramallah-based rival.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told satellite news channel Al-Kitab Monday evening that Hamas would soon let some Fatah leaders return to the Strip, and release a number of Fatah political prisoners from Hamas prisons, in a bid to push forward the reconciliation process.
Egypt military offensive kills 8 militants in Sinai Peninsula
Egyptian military officials say that troops backed by helicopters and armored vehicles have killed eight militants in the northern Sinai Peninsula, part of a continued offensive against rising militancy in the volatile region.
The officials say that the dead included a senior member of an al-Qaida-inspired militant group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which has claimed responsibility for a wave of bombings and suicide attacks since the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
The Wednesday air raids and assaults in the Sheikh Zuweid border town come less than a week after militants in the area shot down a military helicopter with a shoulder-fired missile, killing all its crew and alarming authorities about the use of sophisticated weaponry.
Iran can now build and deliver nukes, US intel reports
In the "US Intelligence Worldwide Threat Assessment," delivered to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Clapper reported that Tehran has made significant advances recently in its nuclear program to the point where it could produce and deliver nuclear bombs should it be so inclined.
"Tehran has made technical progress in a number of areas — including uranium enrichment, nuclear reactors, and ballistic missiles — from which it could draw if it decided to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons," Clapper wrote. "These technical advancements strengthen our assessment that Iran has the scientific, technical, and industrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons. This makes the central issue its political will to do so."
New Statements, Published Memoirs Trigger Analyst Concerns Over Iran FM's Ideological Extremism
Analysts are expressing increasingly pointed concerns that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif may lack either the ability or the willingness to help secure a comprehensive deal between Iran and the West that would put Tehran's nuclear program verifiably beyond use for weaponization, with his recently published memoirs and multiple recent interviews all being marked by intransigent rhetoric and maximalist negotiating positions. Ali Alfoneh and Reuel Marc Gerecht, both senior fellows at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, reviewed Zarif's Mr. Ambassador: A Conversation with Mohammad-Javad Zarif and flatly assessed that "the affable foreign minister turns out to be every bit as religiously ideological as the radicalized student activist he was in the late 1970s." Zarif emerges as a dogged ideologue who remains committed to exporting the Islamic Revolution beyond Iran's borders, even as he lacks the domestic power base that would allow him to deliver concessions being promised to the West.
IRGC Brig.-Gen. Panah: We Can Hit Any American or Israeli Target with Our Long-Range Missiles


U.S. Treasury Officials Warn Turkey Over Economic, Diplomatic Rush Back Into Iran
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erodgan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) had for the better part of a decade cultivated close ties with the Iranian regime, providing valuable economic and diplomatic lifelines to Tehran in the face of Western efforts to isolate the Iranians. Bilateral relations between the two countries were severely strained during the opening years of the Syrian conflict, though Turkey's role as a sanctions-busting pipeline for Iranian assets remained. Turkey's rush to fully reenter Iran's markets since the announcement of the Joint Plan of Action (JPA) has come at such a pace that it has wholesale threatened the White House's insistence that the relief provided to Iran was "limited, temporary, targeted, and reversible." Turkey has pursued diplomatic rapprochement at a similar pace, and Turkish media announced Tuesday that Iran and Turkey will establish a high-level cooperation council during a Tehran visit that Erdogan will leave for Wednesday.
Hackers attack European Jewish Press website
Turkish hackers breached the European Jewish Press's news website Wednesday night, paralyzing the site and replacing the homepage with a picture of a Turkish flag shaped like a mushroom cloud, according to the EJP.
"This is not the first time a Jewish site is hacked by hackers on the Internet," EJP editor-in-chief Yossi Lempkowicz said. "This is clearly an attempt to silence a Jewish information site."
Why has US not designated IHH as a terror group?
It has been implicated in the millennium bomb plot targeting Los Angeles International Airport. It openly led a campaign to break Israel's blockade on Gaza -- meant to block supplies and weapons from reaching Hamas terrorists. It has also been implicated in a Libyan gunrunning operation aimed at supplying Syrian rebels that allegedly involved an al-Qaida linked figure.
And now, six of its offices were raided Jan. 14 by Turkish authorities in connection with an investigation of al-Qaida.
The Turkey-based IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has been designated as a terrorist group by U.S. allies Israel, Germany and the Netherlands.

Does anyone seriously think the PLO would allow Jews to visit holy places?

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST

When people talk about how a peace plan would look, "everyone knows" that Bethlehem and Hebron and much of Jeruslaem would be under Arab control, and the Jewish holy places there - the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb - would be freely accessible because, well, there would be peace!

Isn't that obvious?

Sure, Jordan promised that Jews would be able to visit their holy place when they illegally annexed Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria in 1949 - and they lied.

But now is different, right? The PLO will promise free access to holy places, and that's good enough, right?

Ma'an reports:
Israeli forces escorted seven buses carrying Israeli settlers to the tomb to perform Jewish rites, witnesses said.

Youths began to throw stones and empty bottles at the military forces, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades at the demonstrators and nearby houses.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control. But the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 shortly after the start of the second intifada, or uprising, and it was immediately destroyed and burnt by the Palestinians.

The restoration of the tomb was completed recently, and following improved security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, the army allows Jewish worshipers to make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the site.
The IDF has to protect Jews - who are forced to visit only once a month, in the middle of the night - on their visit to Joseph's Tomb.

What would the Palestinian Arab security forces do when Jews wanted to visit their holy spots and Arab "youths" decide to shoot guns and throw stones and Molotov cocktails?

If they don't join in the attack themselves, they would solemnly announce that - for the Jews' own safety, of course - all future visits must be banned. The mere sight of Jews on holy Muslim land hurts Arab feelings and their delicate psyches must be protected from this assault. You understand, right? I mean, they are holy Muslim sites as well, we cannot just allow Jews to visit anytime they want and cause disturbances, right?

And, just like in 1949, the world will shrug. Because, for "peace," everyone knows that Jews must be tolerant of Arabs but Arabs cannot be expected to be tolerant of Jews.

PalArabs threaten shop owner for not closing - just like 1947

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

Palestinian Arabs keep shooting themselves in the foot - and blaming Israel. Here's a new example:
Dozens of shops in al-Jalazun refugee camp closed in mourning after a 22-year-old from the camp, Muhammad Mubarak, was shot dead by Israeli forces.

When one man refused to close his restaurant, enraged Palestinian youths threatened to burn it down.

PA security forces intervened and clashed with the youths.
Mubarak was killed while engaged in a shooting attack against Jews, a small detail that Ma'an refuses to mention.

These shops weren't closed "in mourning" - like many other times, it was a strike. Using a mentality that has been around since at least the 1930s, some self-appointed Arab leaders think that by closing shops they somehow make a statement that would hurt the Jews. And the people who don't go along with their plans become their enemies, too.

This incident is reminiscent of the "boycott bombs" before the rebirth of Israel. In 1946, the Arab League declared a boycott of Jewish (not "Zionist") products. Normal Arabs of Palestine were not happy since this move was hurting them far more than it hurt the Jews, and many of them ignored the boycott.

So these wonderful Palestinian Arab "leaders" decided to start bombing any Arab shop that sold Jewish items!

October 1947
This self-destructive mentality remains, today. Arabs are hurt far more than Jews by the decisions being made for them by self-appointed "leaders."

Today, it is not only Arab leaders who have no problem throwing Palestinian Arabs under the bus to further their anti-Israel agendas - it is another group of self-appointed leaders, the BDSers.

This editorial from the Palestine Post in 1946 about the boycott against Jews could have been written today:


Notice  that the current BDSers are following the playbook of the 1946 Arab boycott perfectly - they claim victories that don't exist,  they don't care about who they hurt for their cause, the cause itself turns into a sort of religion for these fanatics where nuance and logic are thoroughly ignored,, they will attack innocents who don't agree with them - and the boycotts are utterly ineffective.

The World Bank spends a lot of time and effort trying to quantify how Israeli policies hurt the PA economy. Do you think they ever spent a minute on how BDSers, Arab boycotters, strikers and thugs are hurting that same economy?

Nah - no one is interested in that.

Scarlett Johansson dumps immoral Oxfam

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 02:29 AM PST

From AP:

Scarlett Johansson is ending her relationship with a humanitarian group after being criticized over her support for an Israeli company that operates in the West Bank.

A statement released by Johansson's spokesman Wednesday said the 29-year-old actress has "a fundamental difference of opinion" with Oxfam International because the humanitarian group opposes all trade from Israeli settlements, saying they are illegal and deny Palestinian rights.

"Scarlett Johansson has respectfully decided to end her ambassador role with Oxfam after eight years," the statement said. "She and Oxfam have a fundamental difference of opinion in regards to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. She is very proud of her accomplishments and fundraising efforts during her tenure with Oxfam."
Johansson is clearly more moral than Oxfam is.

While Oxfam never officially said it supports boycotting all Israeli products - like all humanitarian NGOs, it has to put up a pretense of objectivity - Oxfam has no problem with one of their other ambassadors pushing for the destruction of Israel via BDS. That ambassador is the hateful Desmond Tutu, who happily associates with members of Hamas.

There was never any hand-wringing at Oxfam over Tutu.

Similarly, Oxfam lies about Israel all the time. In a bizarre press release in 2012, Oxfam said "Israeli restrictions on fuel supplies via the overland crossings, imposed in 2007, caused massive shortages, leading the authority in Gaza to seek alternate solutions in fuel supplied through the tunnels." No, Hamas didn't want to pay Israel market prices for fuel nor taxes to the PA so it decided on its own to illegally smuggle fuel instead. Oxfam, simply, lied to protect Hamas and blame Israel even though Israel was not restricting fuel at all.

Another example of how immoral Oxfam is comes from a comparison between how it publicly disagreed with ScarJo regarding SodaStream - but it did everything it could to cover for Palestinian NGO Miftah when it published an article saying that Jews drink the blood of Christians and supported suicide bombers. Yeah, a factory employing hundreds of Arabs is much worse than a blood libel, right?

Johansson is right and it is brilliant that she decided to end her relationship with Oxfam. After all, she has a reputation as a humanitarian that was in danger from associating with an organization that is obsessively against Israel and tolerant towards terrorists and antisemites.
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