יום שישי, 17 בינואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

UNESCO drops Jewish themed exhibit because Arabs objected. And the US agrees with their reasons!

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 05:28 PM PST

The Simon Wiesenthal Center last week invited everyone to UNESCO's headquarters in Paris to see an exhibit:

"People, Book, Land - The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People
and the Land of Israel", co-organized by UNESCO and our Centre, will be
launched on Monday 20 January and displayed at UNESCO headquarters in
Paris from Tuesday 21 until Thursday 30 January from 9am to 5:30pm (closed weekends)


Don't bother calling the number to attend. 

From The Algemeiner:

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, has pulled a Jewish exhibit two years in the making, entitled "People, Book, Land – The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel," after a zero hour protest from the Arab League, The Algemeiner has learned.

The exhibit, which was created by Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) together with UNESCO, was scheduled to open on January 20th, 2014, at UNESCO's Paris headquarters. The invitations had already gone out, and the fully prepared exhibition material was already in place. The display was co-sponsored by Israel, Canada and Montenegro.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean of the SWC, told The Algemeiner that the move was an "absolute outrage." "The Arabs," he said, "don't want the world to know that the Jews have a 3,500-year relationship to the Land of Israel."

Hier said that his organization, which is accredited by UNESCO as an NGO, worked in intimate co-operation with the international body on the project, which his center initiated after the Palestinian Authority was unilaterally accepted as a UNESCO member state in 2011.

"We made a clear attempt to work with them and the system, they can't say they were blindsided, they commented on every sentence (in the exhibit's materials) and still, in the end, the Arabs protested and they kicked us out," he said.

"It is not supposed to be a place of censorship," Hier said, "It is not supposed to deny one nation the right to their history."

UNESCO informed the SWC of the change on January 14th in a letter to the Center's Shimon Samuels, asserting the Arab League's claim that going ahead with the show "could create potential obstacles related to the peace process in the Middle East."

In a letter to Irina Bokova, president of UNESCO, President of the Arab group within UNESCO, Abdulla al Neaimi, from the United Arab Emirates, expressed "deep worry and great disapproval" over the program showing the age old connection between Israel and the Jewish people.

"The subject of this exhibition is highly political though the appearance of the title seems to be trivial. Most serious is the defense of this theme which is one of the reasons used by the opponents of peace within Israel," the Arab League wrote. "The publicity that will accompany… the exhibit can only cause damage to the peace negotiations presently occurring, and the constant effort of Secretary of State John Kerry, and the neutrality and objectivity of UNESCO."

"For all these reasons, for the major worry not to damage UNESCO in its… mission of support for peace, the Arab group within UNESCO is asking you to make the decision to cancel this exhibition," Al Neaimi concluded.
So, UNESCO immediately bowed to the wishes of its Muslim masters. Sure enough, mention of the exhibit was scrubbed from the UNESCO site - it was there two days ago according to Google's cache.

But it gets much worse:
Interestingly, 10 days prior to the suspension of the exhibit, the United States declined co-sponsorship on remarkably similar grounds.

"At this sensitive juncture in the ongoing Middle East peace process, and after thoughtful consideration with review at the highest levels, we have made the decision that the United States will not be able to co-sponsor the current exhibit during its display at UNESCO headquarters," wrote Kelly O. Siekman, Director at the Office of UNESCO Affairs of the State Department, in an email seen by The Algemeiner.

SWC's Hier told The Algemeiner that he was disappointed in the U.S. position on the issue, and said that he was sure the exhibition would not have been suspended has the U.S. aligned itself as a formal co-sponsor. "This is not the end of this story," he said.

Let this sink in for a moment: The official United States position is that publicly acknowledging that Jews have deep historic ties to Israel is a threat to the "peace process."

Maybe the White House will ban publicly  mentioning the Bible next, because of all those irritating references to "Children of Israel" and "the Kingdom of David" and "Judah" and "Jerusalem." We can't upset the Arabs at this sensitive time, can we? Better hide the Bible that new appointees swear on.

This is beyond disgusting. If the truth must be hidden then you end up with lies, and peace cannot be built on lies. If the US cannot publicly acknowledge that Jews have a deep relationship with their land, then there is no reason for Israel to trust the US. Talking about the "special relationship" rings hollow when basic truths become censored.

Meanwhile, the UN today launched the "Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People" - an event that absolutely no one says is a threat to the peace process.
General Assembly President John Ashe told today's meeting that he hoped the Year leads to "robust" support for the people of Palestine. "I am sure I speak for many when I say that I hope the Year helps foster an atmosphere of dialogue and mutual understanding between the two sides of this decades-long conflict," he said.
Dialogue? Mutual understanding? UNESCO's decision doesn't seem quite consistent with those lofty words, does it?

Oh, that's right. When the UN says "dialogue" they mean "monologue" and when they say "mutual understanding" they mean "one way propaganda." You just have to understand the lingo off the hypocrites and moral midgets that work for the United Nations.

It is scary that the US has been moving in that exact same direction over the past five years.

01/16 Links Pt2: BHL: French Were Right to Ban Dieudonné, Israel Joins CERN, Israeli Chromebook

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 03:00 PM PST

From Ian:
PA state-sponsored hate speech must stop, human rights expert says
Cotler later returned to Abbas and tried to convince him to end hate speech against Israel for domestic reasons, regardless of negotiations with Israel.
"Leaving aside the Israeli-Palestinian component, I told Abbas: 'You should do away with hate speech because it is not only a threat to Israeli-Palestinian peace but it's a threat to your own society. You want to bring up children not in a culture of hate but in a culture of respect for the other, for the inherent dignity of all people'."
Non-democracies where free speech is prohibited, such as Iran or the Palestinian Authority, have an even greater obligation to prevent hate speech than free societies such as the US where all speech is protected, Cotler said.
"If it's a non-democracy where there's no opportunity for democratic free speech, then the state has a particular responsibility to ensure that hate speech does not fester. What's happening in the Palestinian Authority is exactly the opposite; that hate speech is not only being permitted, it's being encouraged."
Bernard-Henri Lévy: The French Were Right to Ban Dieudonné's Offensive 'Performance Art'
Anti-Semitism has a history. Over the ages it has taken different forms, but on every occasion that form corresponded to what the spirit of the times could or would permit. And I believe that, for reasons that it would be impossible to get into here, the only form of anti-Semitism with legs today, the only form capable of taking in and galvanizing large numbers of people, is one that accomplishes the trifecta of anti-Zionism (Jews as supporters of an allegedly murderous state), Holocaust denial (an unscrupulous people who, in pursuit of their purposes, are capable of inventing or staging the slaughter of their own), and competitive victimhood (memory of the Holocaust as a screen to hide other massacres on the planet). Well, Dieudonné was in the process of tying these strands together. With his accomplice, French right-wing extremist Alain Soral, he was a sapper assembling his explosive device and preparing to set it off. And for that reason, too, because he was weaving together three themes that individually are incendiary enough but that, joined together in mutual reinforcement, would provoke a new wave of anti-Semitism, it was urgent to stop him.
Turkey reassured that NATO shield will not protect Israel
Turkey has accepted assurances a planned NATO missile defense system in which it is playing a part is not designed to protect Israel as well, the alliance's deputy secretary-general said on Wednesday.
Alexander Vershbow said objections by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government had resulted in part from confusion about a Turkish-hosted NATO radar. Ankara had been further assuaged by alliance Patriot anti-missile batteries assigned to protect its territory from Syria.
A leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from 2010 described the Islamist-rooted Erdogan, under whom Turkey's once-solid ties with the Jewish state have deteriorated, as worrying that the NATO shield might provide cover for a threatened Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites.



Death of an anti-Israel lie? CiF Watch prompts 2nd revision to Indy torture story
This past Friday, the Indy finally removed all references to the word "Palestinians", and included an addendum at the bottom of Withnall's article noting that the change was prompted by their acknowledgement that the PDO never mentioned anything about Palestinians.
While the Indy correction represents a significant improvement over the original, what remains is still extremely misleading, as it suggests that a "human rights group" (PCATI) accused Israel of 'torturing' children, when the PCATI page in question does NOT characterize the ceased practice of keeping some prisoners in open-air cells for several hours (while in transit to court) as "torture".
Jeremy Bowen promotes Sabra & Shatila lies on BBC Radio 4′s 'Broadcasting House'
Of course Sharon did not enter Sabra and Shatila and did not carry out the massacre, but neither Bowen nor O'Connell make any subsequent effort throughout the whole of the rest of the item to correct the misleading impression created by the interviewee Jeremy Bowen deliberately chose to showcase.
Notably, given Bowen's introduction to the interview with Srour, we can apparently conclude that the latter's call for the murder of Ariel Sharon "by the hand of a Palestinian child or a Palestinian woman" is what Bowen regards as 'punishment'.
The BBC's coverage of Ariel Sharon's death has included considerable quantities of misleading, inaccurate and defamatory statements by assorted interviewees. The BBC cannot, however, hide behind the claim that these are not the words of its own employees as all BBC produced content is subject to its editorial guidelines.
BBC smothers reports of Iran's "moderate" president rubbishing Geneva nuclear deal
For the entire internet -- minus the UK media -- appears to be running something much more up to date about Rouhani which might well get in the way of that nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize that the BBC plainly believes he will be in the running for.
It's everywhere, at least in the United States: "The Superpowers Have Surrendered To Iran", reported the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). What?
It transpires that "moderate" Rouhani has the well known habit in his part of the world of saying one thing in English and another in his native tongue.
Forbes Investigative Journalist Rips NYU President Over 'Vanilla' Response to ASA Boycott
In a 20,000 word tour-de-force, Forbes Contributing Editor Richard Behar on Tuesday slammed the president of New York University, where he graduated from, in 1982, saying he was ashamed of his alma mater for its tepid response to the American Studies Association boycott of Israeli universities.
While 190 university presidents have condemned the boycott as flying in the face of the goals of academia, Behar accused NYU President John Sexton of not going far enough, with a "short, terse and quite vanilla" response, suggesting that he was trying "to have his cake and eat it too," because of the three NYU academics and one PhD student serving on the ASA's 18-member executive committee, led by NYU Professor Lisa Duggan, its newly-elected president.
New German film could be called, 'Just Following Orders: The Movie'
Therein lies the difficulty of watching "Generation War," particularly as a Jew. Can we forgive Charlotte for turning Lilja over to the SS? Should we forgive her? Is she even asking for forgiveness? What purpose does it serve to create a sympathetic face amidst the cogs of Nazi atrocities. Or has enough time passed that we must do this to hope to survive as a species?
While "Generation War" is propulsive and determined to stay juicy (there's plenty of shooting and schtupping) it offers some surprising restraint when it comes to telling you how exactly to feel. By the end of the picture, the surviving characters are numb and so, to an extent, are we in the audience.
'We Will Not Tolerate Hate Against Any Religion'
Hollande hailed as a "victory" a ban on Dieudonne's sketches initiated by Interior Minister Manuel Valls. The controversial comic has since been forced to cancel a nationwide tour after his attempts to challenge the ban in court failed.
The French leader added that all forms of religious hatred would be treated in the same way.
"There are acts, there are anti-Semitic words, there are anti-Muslim actions which all must be denounced," he said, also evoking "anti-Christian acts."
New Show Green-Lit For Anti-Semitic Comic
Branded a "peddler of hate" by the French government, Dieudonne has been at the heart of a furor over sketches widely viewed as anti-Semitic that prompted local authorities to block shows in his nationwide "The Wall" tour at the request of Interior Minister Manuel Valls. The ban was also backed by French President Francois Hollande.
He tried to challenge the individual bans in court last week but failed, deciding instead to circumvent the ban by presenting an alternate performance called "Asu Zoa" focused on Africa.
Thieves try to steal Sigmund Freud's ashes
Police searched for burglars who tried to steal the ashes of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud from a London crematorium.
The Metropolitan Police force says a 2,300-year-old Greek urn containing the remains of Freud and his wife Martha was severely damaged in a break-in at Golders Green Crematorium on December 31 or January 1.
Detective Constable Daniel Candler said Wednesday that the attempted theft was "a despicable act."
Let there be lights, camera, action!
Major studio films currently in the works include "Mary, Mother of Christ," starring Israeli-born Odeya Rush in the title role and featuring Ben Kingsley as King Herod and Julia Ormond as Mary's cousin Elizabeth; "Noah," a CGI-packed bonanza of a blockbuster with Russell Crowe as the title role and an estimated budget of $150 million (Emma Watson and Anthony Hopkins will also get top billing); and "Exodus," a titanic retelling of the Passover story from Sir Ridley Scott with none other than Christian Bale splitting the Red Sea. Sigourney Weaver and "Breaking Bad" badboy Aaron Paul will also get plenty of screen time.
Add to that mix a biblical saga called "Gods and Kings," helmed by "Life of Pi" director and Oscar-winner Ang Lee; "Son of God," a feature-length epic about the Nazareth carpenter with Portuguese heartthrob Diogo Morgado donning the crown of thorns; and "Resurrection," a Kevin Reynolds-helmed look at the 40 days following crucifixion. Will Smith has been given the green light by Sony Pictures to make a Cain and Abel film, with — get this — the not-so-biblically-accurate addition of Canaanite vampires; and Warner Bros. has taken on a project focused on the character of Pontius Pilate, with rumors swirling that Brad Pitt is attached to the title role.
Docu-reality show 'Connected' headed to Emerald Isle
Producers of the Israeli docu-reality television program "Mehubarim" (Connected) are seeing green as their program is headed for an Irish adaptation.
RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster, has picked up the long-running program, from Israel's Armoza Formats, for a local version aired on Irish station RTÉ Two.
It's another big sell for "Mehubarim," which each season puts its cameras in the hands of its five participants and allows them to film their own lives for the audiences.
HP, Google select Altair's chip for LTE-only Chromebook
Israel's Altair Semiconductor, a developer of chips for fourth- generation (4G) mobile technology known as LTE, said its chips will connect the new Hewlett Packard Chromebook to Verizon Wireless' LTE network.
The ultra-portable device, developed by HP in collaboration with Google, is based on the WiFi-only Chromebook 11, launched in October. It is the only LTE-only Chromebook available, Altair said on Wednesday.
Israel's Rafael and Raytheon to co-produce Iron Dome
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel's second-largest state-owned defense company, is reported ready to start co-producing its Iron Dome anti-missile defense system with the Raytheon Co. of the United States, consolidating an alliance that's already developing the Stunner interceptor missile of Rafael's David's Sling system designed by Rafael.
Defense News, a U.S. weekly, says Rafael is expected to sign on to a new deal with Raytheon, the world's biggest missile manufacturer, on the Tamir, Iron Dome's maneuverable, radar-guided interceptor.
US plans to sell V-22 Osprey exclusively to Israel
Israel will become the first country allowed to purchase the aircraft, which can take off like a helicopter and fly like a regular airplane, as part of a long-term deal reportedly worth $1.13 billion (NIS 3.94 billion).
Plans to sell the V-22 Osprey to Israel were first announced late last year, but the details of the proposed arms package were given to lawmakers only on Tuesday. Congress will have 15 days to raise any objections to the sale, reported AFP.
New weapon in the war against superbugs?
One of the leading causes of preventable death in the developed world is too small to see with the naked eye. This potent threat comes from "superbugs" – strains of bacteria that have morphed into a state of resistance against manmade antibiotics. No sooner is a new drug released than the cunning little microbes find a way to defeat it.
Scientists the world over are searching for the ultimate weapon in this battle that the World Health Organization named one of the three greatest threats to public health. New research out of Israel has revealed a protein made by a bacteriophage, a virus programmed naturally to kill bacteria.
New international alliance could spur neuroscience discoveries
Temple has entered into a new international research alliance with strategic partners—including Penn Medicine, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and Israel Brain Technologies—to develop important neuroscientific discoveries for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. The new alliance also will play a key role in moving those discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace.
The alliance was formed by Reps. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania and Steve Israel of New York, leaders in Congress in the area of neuroscience and Alzheimer's research. The alliance's members signed an historic Memorandum of Understanding at a ceremony in Manhasset, N.Y., last month.
Nuclear research giant inducts Israel as full member
Israel officially entered the European Organization for Nuclear Research on Wednesday, marking the occasion with an induction ceremony at the Globe of Science and Innovation near the France-Switzerland border.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman represented Israel and gave the first speech at the ceremony, where the flag of Israel was raised alongside those of the 20 other members of CERN.

Netanyahu saying Israel will keep Bet El, Hebron, Shiloh?

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

Arutz-7 reports:
While nothing is official yet, the settlement framework being developed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is likely to include a mechanism for Israeli retention of the so-called "settlement blocs," the areas where the large majority of Jewish communities are located in Judea and Samaria....

In most discussions of the blocs, there are three that are generally mentioned – the Ariel bloc, which includes most of the towns of central Samaria; Maale Adumim bloc, encompassing eastern suburbs of Jerusalem; and the Gush Etzion bloc. But a report on Army Radio Thursday said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was demanding that Israel retain a fourth bloc – the area around Beit El, north of Jerusalem.

According to the report, Netanyahu told Kerry that Israel could not give up these areas, which played a major role in Jewish history. Shilo, for example, was the home of the temporary Sanctuary (mishkan) before the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, Nabi Samuel is the burial place of the Prophet Samuel, and Beit El itself was the site of the famous dream of the Biblical Jacob, in which he saw angels ascending and descending from heaven.
Haaretz reported this last week as well:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Likud Knesset faction on Monday that he opposes evacuating settlements like Hebron and Beit El, which are outside the major settlement blocs but are "important to the Jewish people," MKs present at the meeting said.
Interestingly, two years ago I asked Danny Ayalon whether Bet El would be one of Netanyahu's "painful concessions for peace" that he always spoke about, and Ayalon denied that Israel would ever give it up. (It is hard to hear, starting at around 0:25:)



To be honest, I didn't believe him. It's not like he could answer any other way at a dinner for Bet El!

Arutz-7 continues:
In addition to demanding the fourth bloc, the report said, Netanyahu has nixed the idea of a "centimeter for centimeter" land swap, as the PA has demanded. At least part of the swap would come in the form of cash, or in the value of the land, cities, and industrial base that Israel would be surrendering to make the plan work.

The report said that PA negotiators have rejected both demands out of hand.
Let's hope that Netanyahu's government is as adamant about "red lines" as the PA has been.

I would have helped if the governments of Israel would have been saying this since Oslo, rather than first mentioning it, privately, at the eleventh hour.

Abbas hasn't gone a day since he's been in office without saying "Jerusalem, 1967 lines, right of return" to whoever is in earshot. Israeli leaders instead say defensive, nearly useless things like "the settlements aren't the problem." After a decade or two, along with Israeli governments that have offered to give away these sacred areas, who is the world going to side with?

Jew chosen to be Minister of Tourism - in Tunisia

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST

French and Arabic media are reporting that a Jew named Rene Trabelsi is being tapped to be the Minister of Tourism in the new Tunisian government.

Trabelsi is Jewish, and is the CEO of a successful Tunisian travel agency. He is tasked with resuscitating Tunisia's tourist industry.

He has been a major player behind the annual Jewish pilgrimage to Djerba, which attracts tens of thousands of Jews every year.

Naturally, some Islamist parties are mounting opposition to this appointment. It doesn't look like they will get much traction, especially since the previous Islamist government destroyed the tourism sector and Trabelsi seems to be very competent from what I am seeing.

Tunisia seems to be doing the best of all Arab Spring countries.

01/16 Links Pt1: Kerry’s Moral Inversion on Terrorism, Aust. FM: settlements aren't illegal

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 09:30 AM PST

From Ian:
Khaled Abu Toameh: Kerry's Peace Process Double Standards
But while the U.S. Administration has been quick in issuing a response to the Israeli minister's statements, it continues to ignore remarks and demonstrations against Kerry made by Palestinians and other Arabs.
Palestinian officials representing various organizations, including the Palestinian Authority, have been denouncing Kerry almost on a daily basis over the past few weeks. But these condemnations do not seem to bother the State Department.
Among the officials who have been extremely critical of Kerry's role in the current Israeli-Palestinian peace talks is Yasser Abed Rabbo, the PLO's Secretary-General and one of the closest advisors to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Just last month, Abed Rabbo launched a scathing attack on Kerry, denouncing his latest proposals as unacceptable. "Kerry does not have the right to decide where our borders will be," the top PLO official said. "If the U.S. wants, it can give parts of California or Washington to Israel. Kerry's framework agreement is very dangerous."
Kerry's Moral Inversion on Terrorism
Speaking yesterday at the Vatican, Secretary of State John Kerry let slip a comment so ludicrous that one has to wonder how much wider the gap between reality and Kerry's worldview can yet grow. Following his meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, in which the two discussed the violence in Syria and prospects for Middle East peace, Kerry delivered a public statement in which he remarked, "And so we have a huge common interest in dealing with this issue of poverty, which in many cases is the root cause of terrorism or even the root cause of the disenfranchisement of millions of people on this planet."
In making such a claim, America's Secretary of State commits a terrible moral inversion, one in which the terrorists are cast as the victims, driven to such desperate acts by poverty, while the people they murder, particularly when Westerners, are really the ones who are guilty–guilty of having allowed the great injustice of poverty in the first place.
Australia FM: Don't call settlements illegal under international law
"I don't want to prejudge the fundamental issues in the peace negotiations," Bishop said. "The issue of settlements is absolutely and utterly fundamental to the negotiations that are under way and I think it's appropriate that we give those negotiations every chance of succeeding."
Asked whether she agrees or disagrees with the near-universal view that Israeli settlements anywhere beyond the 1967 lines are illegal under international law, she replied: "I would like to see which international law has declared them illegal."
"Israel has to be ever vigilant against such tendencies on the part of the international community," the minister said. While private organizations were free to boycott whomever they wanted, any Australian body that received state funding should be barred from calling for boycotts, she continued.
She also strongly condemned the global anti-Israel BDS movement: "It's anti-Semitic. It identifies Israel out of all other nations as being worthy of a boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign? Hypocritical beyond belief."



Netanyahu on Palestinian 'right of return': There is no room for maneuver
According to government officials, Netanyahu has said the Palestinian demand of a "so-called right of return" is "not right, not justified, and not legitimate."
Netanyahu has said in meetings that an expectation that Israel has to deal with Arab refugees that were created by the war in 1948 that the Arabs started against Israel was preposterous, according to government officials.
If Palestinians want to return to a Palestinian state, they can go there, Netanyahu said.
One official, referring to Abbas's speech on Saturday, said this was a reiteration of a "whole series of maximalist claims that everyone understands will make a negotiated peace impossible."
Netanyahu: Jew Free Palestinian State Would Be Ethnic Cleansing
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a "Jew-free" Palestinian state, now being contemplated in peace talks, would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing, in a trailer for an hour-long interview with Canada's CTV to be broadcast this week.
When the interviewer, CTV's Lisa LaFlamme, said that 1 in 5 Israelis are Arab, Netanyahu responded, "Sure. We're not asking them to change their religion, they have full civic rights. Now in the Palestinian state, the way its being contemplated, no Jew can live there, it has to be Jew free, ethnic cleansing. Well, what is that? There are Arabs who live here, but they can't contemplate Jews living there."
Loss of the Jordan Valley equals loss of security
Without an Israeli grip on the Jordan Valley, Jordan would be exposed to a Palestinian takeover; in certain circumstances, guerrilla forces could enter Jordan to help bring down the king. Moreover, since Hamas today holds a majority of the Palestinian Authority, one can predict that following a coup in Jordan, the new government will be influenced by Hamas, perhaps by Iran – but certainly not by King Abdullah.
Thus I believe that King Abdullah, in his heart of hearts, prefers that Israel retain control over the Jordan Valley.
Some experts are resolved that the eastern front has "expired" forever. To which I say that recently, we have seen that the Middle East is the most fluid place in the world, geopolitically speaking. Al-Qaida forces are positioned in Iraq and Syria, as well as Iran. Indeed, Syria and Iraq may ultimately be dominated by either of these two entities. Should this happen, King Abdullah's rule will be compromised, and Jordan may join the "axis" countries – Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Netanyahu meets with King Abdullah in Jordan
According to a report Thursday on Army Radio, Netanyahu has been seeking to define a fourth bloc of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in the vicinity of Beit El, that Israel would retain in any future agreement with the Palestinians.
The report, which cited an unnamed senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations, harked back to previous reports that the Israeli negotiating team has brought up the option of renting or purchasing land from the Palestinian Authority. The older reports did not specify which swaths of land Israel would seek to retain. (h/t Bob Knot)
Iron Dome downs five rockets headed for Ashkelon
In response to the late-night barrage, the Israeli Air Force conducted airstrikes on four sites in northern Gaza, including a hidden rocket launcher, a weapons storage site and a weapons manufacturing facility. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit reported direct hits on all targets.
"The IDF response was precise, swift and efficient in eliminating terror capabilities that only exist in order to terrorize, kill and maim Israelis," read a statement by Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, who later linked to footage of Iron Dome intercepting the rockets:
Shin Bet foils Palestinian plan to kidnap Israeli
The Shin Bet security service, in a joint operation with the Israel Prison Service, thwarted efforts by Palestinian prisoners held in Israel to coordinate the kidnapping of Israelis in the West Bank last month, the domestic security agency announced on Wednesday.
In December, three prisoners planned to carry out a kidnapping with the assistance of the Holy Warriors Brigade, a Hamas affiliate based in the Gaza Strip. The attacks were thwarted in the preliminary planning stages, the Shin Bet said in a press release.
Arab Youths Attack Rabbi Visiting his Murdered Son's Grave
Rabbi Yitzhak Cohen, whose son Neria Cohen was murdered in the Mercaz HaRav attack in 2008, was violently attacked by Arab youths as he visited his son's grave on the Mount of Olives yesterday.
"Yesterday I went with my wife and children to my son's gravesite," the Rabbi recounted, in an interview with Arutz Sheva. "At the end of the road on Mount of Olives, I saw a group of Arab youths - they immediately began throwing stones at our car."
Twitter Suspends Second Hamas Account; IDF Says Because of Terrorist Designation
Twitter suspended a second online social media account believed to be associated with terror group Hamas on Wednesday, taking its Al Qassam Brigades feed offline, after removing its primary account on Tuesday.
While Hamas blamed "Jewish-Christian incitation against the Qassam active account," the Israel Defense Forces cited chapter and verse of the U.S. law, by which San Francisco-based Twitter must abide, that prohibits Hamas from using the service.
Study warns of growing threat to Israel from Al-Qaeda
In all, al-Qaeda and jihadist groups have tallied more than 85 percent of the total suicide attacks worldwide, but in 2013 that figure rose to nearly 95%, the INSS study found.
Despite the relatively low number of suicide bombings compared to other tactics employed by terror groups, they resonate strongly thanks to both the number of lives they claim and their attack on public morale.
In the past year, terrorist groups launched 291 suicide attacks in 18 countries, killing around 3,100 people — a 25% rise in attacks compared to the year prior.
Feinstein: 'We Cannot Let Israel Determine When and Where the United States Goes to War'
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) triggered controversy with a fiery floor speech in the Senate on Tuesday night, accusing supporters of the bipartisan Kirk-Menendez bill on Iran sanctions of wanting "regime change" and declaring that "we cannot let Israel determine when and where the United States goes to war." The bill includes a provision offering support to Israel in the event of an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran.
Feinstein chairs the Select Committee on Intelligence and is considered pro-Israel, but her remarks, which echo those of anti-Israel critics, have provoked outrage. The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) called on her to apologize, noting that the bill includes a proviso that: "Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed as a declaration of war or an authorization of the use of force against Iran." (h/t Jewess)
Obama urges Jewish leaders not to back Iran sanctions
Two top Obama administration officials urged Jewish groups not to back new Iran sanctions, calling them "dangerous."
The officials — from the White House national security team and the Treasury Department — spoke Wednesday with Jewish leaders in a call convened by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
UCLA Prof Urges Those With 'a Jewish Sounding Name' to Lobby Against Iran Bill
UCLA professor of public policy Mark Kleiman took to his Washington Monthly blog on Wednesday to urge his readers "to yell at Senate Democrats who support the Iran sanctions bill," which he characterized as a "lunatic piece of warmongering legislation."
Kleiman, a frequent contributor to Washington Monthly, said Jewish voters hold the key to convincing Democrats to reverse their support of the bill.
"Please consider making your voice heard especially strongly if you're Jewish, or have a Jewish-sounding name," wrote Kleiman, author of the book Marijuana.
Where's the Coverage? Iran's Supreme Leader Hates America
Today, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei called America an "arrogant power," tweeting "Americans, Zionists and global arrogant powers are interested in neither the #Shia nor the #Sunni. 20/3/08". The other day, he accused the U.S. and U.K. of fomenting ethnic hatred, "The British r specialists on creating sectarian conflicts among religious sects;they taught the Americans how 2 do so."
Special Lebanon tribunal trial opens against Hezbollah defendants for assassinating Rafik Hariri
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on Thursday opened the trial in absentia on Thursday against the Hezbollah defendants alleged to have assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and killed 21 others on February 14, 2005.
To date, the case has riled, divided and inflamed already hot disputes between Lebanon's Sunni and Shi'ite population, with Sunnis demanding justice and Hezbollah claiming the case was pushed forward by Western countries trying to reduce and besmirch its name (even though the court was formed with Lebanon's consent.)
Lebanon: Al Qaeda Group Vows to Continue Attacks on Iran, Israel
A Lebanese group loyal to Al Qaeda vowed Tuesday to keep up its attacks against Iran, Hezbollah and Israel, less than a fortnight after the death of its leader, Majid al-Majid.
The Saudi-born Majid, whose group claimed responsibility for a November attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut, died in the custody of Lebanese authorities, who said he was ill before his arrest.
Egypt voters overwhelmingly back constitution
Egyptians who voted in a referendum overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, official sources said, citing early results of a ballot that could set the stage for army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president.
About 90 percent of voters approved the constitution, the state news agency and a government official said.
Erdogan's Russia Problem (and Vice-Versa)
While Erdogan's support of the Muslim Brotherhood's Palestinian branch – Hamas, of Morsi in Egypt, and of al Qaeda fighters in Syria did not seem to upset the Obama Administration, it has made the Russians nervous. With good reason: The large Chechen community in Turkey that supports the separatist and Islamist terrorists in Russia's Caucasus.
Indeed, Erdogan's current crisis began with a 2011 Russian crack-down on a drug-money-laundering ring in this area, which laundered revenues from trading Afghan opium with the Taliban. The investigation also revealed illegal gold transactions in Russian banks, which the Chechens shared with their Turkish counterparts. This probe led to the December 17, 2013, arrests of the sons of a Turkish minister and 34 other suspects, and to mass demonstrations against the government.

Palestinian Authority fakes a Golda Meir quote

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 07:15 AM PST

The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Information has released the first of a series of reports on what they call "Israeli Incitement to Racism against Palestinians." This one concentrates on Israeli media.

The report's sloppiness and brevity shows that it is clearly a slapdash response to the extremely well documented examples of Palestinian incitement that have been in the news. The PA apparently believes - with justification - that if they issue a press release proclaiming lies and point to a report that no one will read, then it will blunt the effects of Israel's actual facts.

After all, who would assume that a government is lying so blatantly?

Even though the report covers over a decade of supposed quotes from Israeli media that they say proves racism and incitement, it gives only a handful of examples. It's biggest quote comes from Haaretz describing Israelis as racist, commenting on a story that they badly misreported to begin with (saying that there were Jews-only bus lines in the West Bank, which is not at all true.)

In other words, their main proof of racism in Israeli media comes from Israeli media condemning supposed racism - which contradicts their entire thesis.

That, however, is nothing compared to this quote from this official PA report:
Golda Meir, the fourth Prime Minister of Israel said: "Every morning I hope I wake up without finding any single Palestinian child alive"... 

This quote is a complete fabrication. It doesn't even exist on other anti-Israel or antisemitic websites - it was made up by the Palestinian Authority.  (They link to an Arabic PA webpage which doesn't even have that quote.)

Their history of lying has not caused them any serious negative consequences so far - indeed, it helped them tremendously - so they've kept it up. But this is a conscious deception on their part, made of whole cloth. They didn't find the quote - it did not exist on the Internet before this report.
...she also said:"I will not forgive Palestinians as they force our soldiers for killing them".
The second quote is a purposeful mangling of a real Golda Meir quote: "When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons."

This quote is the opposite of racism. It says Jews can forgive Arabs for killing them (when peace comes) but Jews have a natural aversion to killing and it is a terrible (but necessary) thing to be forced to kill to defend your land and family.

If you want to see a people who are enthusiastic about killing their enemies, you don't have to look far.

When the official Palestinian Authority government lies so egregiously in their official reports, how can anyone trust them for anything else?

Indeed, the only real examples of incitement, stereotyping and bigotry in the report are those against Israel. for example:

Israeli incitement isn't limited to school curricula and further deteriorates into brainwashing that continues at different levels for all ages, beginning with kindergartens through primary schools and then high schools through college. When students come out of the circle of influence of the educational institution the role of the media comes, which completes the circle of hatred and incitement in a planned and systematic structure, which has its means and goals, to get at the end a brainwashed Israeli soldier who doesn't hesitate to kill a Palestinian child and doesn't care about a Palestinian woman when she is made to give birth while stranded at an Israeli roadblock without allowing her to proceed in her ambulance to hospital.
The official Palestinian Authority position is that all Israelis are raised from birth to become bloodthirsty killers of Palestinian children.

If that isn't incitement, what is?

I didn't check the veracity of their few other examples of anti-Arab racism in Israeli newspapers over the past decade,  but even if they are true and in context - which is doubtful -  it does not prove Israel is a racist state.

This one report does prove, irrefutably, that the Palestinian Authority itself lies, fabricates facts, and incites against Israelis.

Their conclusion is a picture perfect example of Palestinian projection:

Israeli incitement machine is still going forward due to the lack of Israeli desire to stop it. Besides the lack of an effective international mechanism is leading to the establishing an entire extreme society under the control of the Israeli incitement and this goes on generation after generation.
In the end, this explains the lack of readiness of Israel so far for a lasting peace despite the passage of 25 years since the start of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
Wow...who does that sound like?

Arab discrimination and abuse against Palestinians since 1948

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

I have never seen a comprehensive list of examples of how Arabs have abused, mistreated and discriminated against their Palestinian brethren. Here is my attempt.

 Please send me any other major examples I missed (anything affecting hundreds of people or more) so this can become a reference post.

All Arab countries except Jordan:

 Palestinians are not allowed to become citizens of Arab countries, in accordance with Arab League Decree 1547 for 1959, "in order to preserve the Palestinian entity and Palestinian identity." Even in Jordan they can no longer become citizens. (There have been some exceptions: Palestinian Christians in Lebanon in the 1950s, Palestinians born from Egyptian mothers in 2011.)

Palestinians face severe travel restrictions throughout the Arab world. They do not receive passports and their travel documents are only accepted by a few countries.

Palestinians cannot vote or run for office in national elections.

Children born to Palestinians do not get citizenship in their host countries, violating Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Jordan:

1967: Jordan refused to allow Gazans who came after the Six Day War to become Jordanian citizens. Today some 165,000 Palestinians in Jordan cannot become citizens and get no government services.

1970: 3500-5000 Palestinians killed and 20,000 Palestinians expelled, their camps demolished, in the Black September events.

1988: Jordan revoked citizenship for millions of West Bank Palestinians as they declared "independence." As usual, this move was justified as being for their own good.

2010: Jordan continued to revoke citizenship for thousands more Palestinians

2012: Jordan passed an electoral law that effectively limits the number of Palestinian members of Parliament to less than 10%

2013: Jordan places Palestinian refugees from Syria in special camps that they cannot leave, separate from other refugees, and turns hundreds or thousands back to a dangerous future in Syria.

2014: Palestinians who are citizens are still denied equal rights in the military, and on getting college scholarships and being admitted to some public universities, among other areas.

Egypt:

1948: Placed all Palestine refugees that reached Egypt into camps, forced men to go back to Palestine to fight.

1949: Expelled all Palestinian from Egyptian camps into Gaza. Very few Palestinian Arabs were left in Egypt.

1950: Egypt refused any UNRWA presence on its territory, relegating it to Gaza.

1949 - 1956: Any Palestinians in Egypt were barred from schooling and employment.

2013: Hundreds of Palestinian refugees from Syria placed into jail as they try to enter Egypt

2013-now: Egypt has effectively closed the Rafah border with Gaza, even limiting hospital patients from traveling, effectively imprisoning 1.7 million Gazans.

Lebanon:

1950-58: Would only issue one-way travel documents for Palestinians to leave the country

1962: Palestinians classified as "foreigners":
73 job categories banned for Palestinians until 2010; now there are "only" 50 jobs off limits
They are still banned from working as physicians, journalists, pharmacists or lawyers.
They are not permitted to build new houses or own property, or even to repair their homes
Martial law imposed on refugee camps. Army stops people from entering and exiting.
Limitations on schools for Palestinian "foreigners"
Not allowed to live outside refugee camps, which in turn are not allowed to grow. Population of camps is now triple capacity.
Palestinians not allowed to create organizations.

1975-78: At least 5000 Palestinians killed in Lebanese civil war

1985-88: Thousands killed in "War of the Camps"

1995: Law prohibiting Palestinians from entering country without a visa; and visas weren't issued. Those expelled from Gulf states could not return to Lebanon. (Law repealed in 1999.)

2005: Specific laws prohibiting foreigners who are not "nationals of a recognized state" - Palestinians - from owning property. Those who owned it previously cannot pass it to their children.

2007: 31,000 Palestinians homeless because while Lebanese Army destroyed Nahr el Balad camp

2013: Some 50,000 refugees from Syria treated differently from other Syrian refugees; expensive temporary short-term visas effectively make them criminals

2013: Lebanon starts turning some Palestinian Syrian refugees away at the border

Kuwait:

 1991: 400,000 Palestinians were harassed and forced out of the country.

Libya:

1994-5: Expelled 30,000 Palestinians, dismissed many from their jobs and confiscated their houses
Arab countries refused to take in the new refugees. Hundreds were stranded in the desert or the sea. Eventually Libya allowed some to stay but kept threatening to expel them again. In the end about 15,000 were forced to go to Arab countries they had documents for, Gulf countries, and Western nations.

2011: Palestinians were forced to pay a special tax of $1550.

2012: Many Palestinians lost their homes as properties were claimed by others in the wake of the revolution and the collapse of the judicial system.


Iraq:

 Early 1950s: Expelled striking Palestinian workers, along with Saudi Arabia and Libya..

2005: After Saddam Hussein lost power, Palestinians in Iraq were subjected to abduction, hostage-taking, killing and torture from armed groups. Politicians derided them. About 15,000 were forced to leave Iraq. Thousands were stranded in camps in the desert between Iraq and Syria, where no Arab country would allow them to enter.

Qatar:

1994: Refused to grant Palestinians work visas.

Syria:

 1970:  Palestinians cannot vote, cannot run for office, cannot own farmland, cannot own more than one property..

2005-2008: Syria did not allow thousands of Palestinian Arab refugees fleeing from Iraq to enter the country.

2012-today: Some 2000 Palestinians killed so far in Syria's war. About 50 have starved to death as forces cut off all food and water to the Yarmouk camp.

MSNBC's Chris Hayes spins a Jewish lobby conspiracy theory

Posted: 16 Jan 2014 02:00 AM PST

From Chris Hayes at MSNBC, especially from 3:05 on:



Hayes' arguments are naive and his description of the opposing viewpoint borders on the stupid.

But beyond that, his entire thesis that any Democrats only support the bill because of pressure from AIPAC is provably wrong. In fact, AIPAC has not put any pressure on the Democratic lawmakers Hayes is upset at.

Politico reports:

Despite growing support in the Senate for Iran sanctions legislation, Democratic leaders have yet to feel insurmountable pressure to bring the measure to the floor.

One major reason: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee is mostly keeping quiet.

The powerful pro-Israel lobby has not engaged in a shoe-leather lobbying campaign to woo wayward senators and push Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to schedule a vote on the bill, according to several key senators and aides. While the group supports the bill — authored by Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) — it is not yet putting its political muscle behind a push for an immediate vote.

"I don't know where AIPAC is. I haven't talked to anybody," said Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who opposes any vote for additional sanctions at this time.

As of now, the Menendez-Kirk bill has 59 public supporters, including 43 of 45 Senate Republicans. But dozens of Democrats remain publicly undecided on the bill and seem unlikely to cross the Obama administration and openly back the legislation at this time. And AIPAC isn't yet twisting Democratic arms.

A number of senators on both sides of the sanctions debate said they'd heard little from AIPAC on the issue, suggesting that wavering lawmakers are feeling little pressure from the group. With its clout on Capitol Hill and ties to deep-pocketed Jewish donors, the group's muscle could be enough to change the political calculation over how to proceed on the contentious issue.

"I don't know what they're doing," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a leading defense hawk and strong supporter of getting a vote on the bill.

...California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Jewish Democrat, said she's met with AIPAC "many times" on the issue of Iran. But asked if the group had been pressing her to support the Iran sanctions measure, she replied "not at all."

"They respect my position, which is that sanctions are totally appropriate if this fails," she said, referring to the diplomatic talks.

But other senators have not yet heard from the group and indicated they were entirely unaware of AIPAC's activities on the Hill.

"I really have not talked to AIPAC about it," said Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, a Jewish liberal and one of the few Senate Democrats publicly backing the Kirk-Menendez legislation.
Hayes is, at best, a fool. And he is now proven to not have done a modicum of research before spouting his idiocy. He simply assumed that it must be AIPAC acting as a puppeteer for his fellow Democrats.

At worst - well, what can you call someone who assumes that any Democrats who disagree with him are being controlled by a Jewish group?

(I don't watch MSNBC much, but it amazes me that Fox News gets slammed [correctly] for being partisan, but MSNBC gets far less criticism for their obvious partisanship, which this clip reveals quite obviously.)

(h/t CC)
פורסם על ידי zoom ב- 0:04

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