יום שבת, 18 בינואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

01/17 Links Pt2: Why can’t Arab armies be more humane like Israel’s? The Shame of Academia.

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

From Ian:
Al-Jazeera: Why can't Arab armies be more humane like Israel's?
Among the questions posed on air:
"Why don't they learn from the Israeli army which tries, through great efforts, to avoid shelling areas populated by civilians in Lebanon and Palestine? Didn't Hezbollah take shelter in areas populated by civilians because it knows that Israeli air force doesn't bomb those areas? Why doesn't the Syrian army respect premises of universities, schools or inhabited neighborhoods? Why does it shell even the areas of its supporters? …
Al Jazeera Arabic admits France, Israel better


Iron Dome: A new idea for a St James' Church Stunt (Satire)
This morning the peace-loving Palestinians fired numerous rockets into Israel - including five targeted at Ashkelon that were all intercepted by the Iron Dome system. Given how ugly the Iron dome system is - and how its only purpose is to save the lives of Israelis targeted by Palestinian terrorists, this surely is a perfect subject for the next Christmas stunt by the St James' Church Piccadilly: Build a life-size replica of the Iron dome and demand it be torn down.
In fact, to save much time and effort I have prepared the Press Release for the event



UN Watch: UNESCO reneges on Israel exhibit, surrenders to Arab pressure
Rather, the only surprises here — for an organization that up until several weeks ago grotesquely featured Bashar al-Assad's Syria on its human rights committee — are that Bokova ever gave her approval in the first place; and that it took this long for the Arab states to go ballistic, given that the Wiesenthal Center, back in 2012, had been loud and clear that the exhibit would counteract "malicious lies being spread, particularly in the Arab world," and would be shown "not in a synaogue or Jewish community center, but rather at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and the United Nations where this historic truth [the Jewish connection to Israel] is too often buried under an avalanche of lies."
United Nations launches biased "International Year of Palestinian Solidarity" campaign
When asked about the announcement for the Palestinian Solidarity Year, British Member of Parliament Robert Halfon told TrendingCentral.com, "One day the United Nations might even have an annual day to commemorate the many Israeli victims of terrorism, and actually stand up against fanaticism, dictatorship, Hamas and Islamic Jihad."
Last November, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2014 as the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and requested the Committee to organise activities around the observance.
General Assembly President John Ashe told today's meeting that he hoped the Year leads to "robust" support for the people of 'Palestine'. No mention was made in the UN press release of support for the State of Israel and its embattled people.
Prosor: UN a tool of Palestinian propaganda
"The UN is used as a tool in the service of Palestinian propaganda. Instead of trying to end the campaign of Palestinian incitement against Israel, the UN provides a stage for Palestinian productions for the media," Prosor said.
"While the Palestinians seek UN solidarity, they continue to educate an entire generation to hate Israel and deny the connection between the Jewish people to their homeland," he added. "It's time to stop the hypocrisy and ask, where is solidarity with the victims of terrorism in Israel and their families?"
Palestinian Film Demonizing Israelis Gets Oscar Nomination
Hollywood, replete with those whose leftism fuels their anger toward Israel, has honored the Palestinian film Omar with a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination.
The director, Hany Abu-Assad, previously helmed Paradise Now. That film, about two would-be suicide bombers, garnered a Best Foreign Language Film nomination in 2005 but did not win.
Italian Delegation Awards PA Leader for Supporting 'Resistance'
A group of left-wing delegates from Italy has caused upset by awarding the governor of the Hevron district, Kamel Hameid, for his commitment to "resistance."
The Italian delegation gave the award on behalf of the International Solidarity Movement and a Palestinian organization called Youth Against Settlements, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center reports.
"No force... can remove the weapon from my hand" - PA TV music video on Fatah's anniversary


"We replaced bracelets with weapons" and attacked the Zionists - PA TV


Demonizing Irish Times Columnist Crosses the Line
McCann has already distinguished himself with his particularly vicious writing on Israel, two articles of which have been critiqued by HonestReporting over the past several months.
In his latest screed, McCann compares Sharon to a controversial and also the former Northern Irish politician, Ian Paisley, whose policies were guided by his religious beliefs. However, claiming that Sharon's politics and principles were governed by biblical fundamentalism is wholly inaccurate. While Israel's former PM and military giant was certainly a Jewish nationalist who felt a deep connection and love of the land, Sharon was essentially a secular Zionist.
AIPAC root cause theory: 'CiF' again blames Israel lobby for…stuff they don't like
Indeed, if Kinzer would see past his characteristic Israel lobby obsession, he'd note recent polling data which shows that "lopsided majorities of Americans from both political parties" are distrustful of Iran's intentions during the nuclear talks, and "overwhelmingly favor deepening sanctions against the Iranian government, regardless of current negotiations." That is, the support in Congress for the proposed sanctions bill is thoroughly consistent with US public opinion on the issue.
But, of course, who needs empirical research and critical thinking when you can fall back on lazy, disproven arguments which assign blame to the usual suspects.
Arafat death conspiracy theory featured in BBC WS 'Newshour' live coverage of Sharon funeral
The most notable part of this programme, however, was the editorial decision to provide a platform for the head of the Fatah political committee Abdullah Abdullah during a live broadcast meters away from an ongoing funeral.
When asked by Doucet why the Palestinians do not give Sharon credit for the Gaza Strip disengagement, Abdullah said:
"Credit for what? Credit for the massacre of Qibya in 1953? Credit of the Sabra and Shatilla in 19…eh…82? Credit for ….eh…the continued…probably he is one of the top accused of the assassination of President Arafat. Credit for…" [emphasis added]
Brandeis, Al-Quds talk about re-establishing ties
The president of Brandeis University is in talks with officials at the Palestinian Al-Quds University to re-establish a partnership between the schools that was suspended over an Islamic Jihad rally.
Frederick Lawrence and Al-Quds leaders are discussing "next steps" with the "ultimate goal of re-establishing a partnership," the Brandeis student newspaper The Justice reported this week, citing an email from the university's senior vice president for communications, Ellen de Graffenreid.
Are only Israeli scholars complicit in the actions of their government?
Making academics responsible for—even complicit in—the machinations of the current government, and justifying a boycott as a result—as if Israeli academics, in this instance, even have the collective power to influence and change the status of the occupation and other aspects of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict—is normally an anathematic proposition for professors, just as it would have been for the patriotic Professor De Genova if Columbia University had been boycotted for the perceived excesses of the Bush White House during the invasion of Iraq.
Incoming ASA Chief Accuses Forbes Writer of Homophobia After Scathing Critique of Her Anti-Israel Stance
orbes magazine's Contributing Editor of Investigations, Richard Behar, who this week published a scathing 15,000-word indictment of the American Studies Association's vote to boycott Israeli universities, was accused of homophobia by Lisa Duggan, the NYU professor elected to head the ASA and a new voice demonizing Israel that he profiled in the article.
In an interview with The Algemeiner, Behar said that he found her accusations, in a back-and-forth email conversation, confounding and beside the point.
Propagandists with Ph.D's: Month One of the anti-Israel academic boycott
Researching the numerous articles I have written this past month has been an eye-opener — and that from someone whose eyes were already wide open as to the nature of the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement. The hatred of Israel among the academic boycotters is beyond anything you can imagine.
The hatred of Israel is visceral, and beyond reason. Everything good about Israel is turned into a negative.
The ASA, NYU, and the Shame of Academia
As Behar also notes, NYU bears a special responsibility for speaking about discrimination against Israel, because of its decision to open a campus in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. While that principality has welcomed business with the West and its leaders have been showering NYU and other American partners with generous donations, it has also been notorious for its discrimination against Israel, Israelis and Jews. Just this past a month a Dutch soccer team invited to play in the country was forced to leave one of its members at home because he was an Israeli citizen if the team was to be permitted to play in Abu Dhabi.
Polish Catholic Church Unveils Blood Libel Painting
The Catholic Church of Poland unveiled a painting on Thursday that had been kept hidden since 2006, after protests from both Catholics and Jews opposed the depiction of Jews murdering Christian children in the classic anti-Semitic blood libel trope.
The painting, an 18th century CE work by Italian painter Charles de Prevot called "Mord Rytualny (Ritual Murder)," has been mounted on a wall at the cathedral in Sandomierz but hidden behind a red curtain for the past 8 years due to its contents.
Poland dismisses soccer fans' anti-Semitic chants
The Poznan fans shouted to the Lodz fans: "You belong in Auschwitz," "Ride on, Jews" and "Into the ovens," according to Glos Wielkopolski. The daily also reported the Poznan fans shouted, "Go to the gas, RTS" — an acronym that refers to the Lodz squad.
The Poznan prosecutor's office decided to drop the charges because the chants were directed at fans rather than Jews, and therefore were not intended as incitement to racial hatred, according to Mazur-Prus.
Israeli Start-Up Solves Cut Fruit Going Bad
A new Israeli start-up company has decided to tackle the age-old problem: how do you stop cut fruit from going bad quickly? SPRESH's new all-natural spray does just that, preventing the deterioration of cut fruit's taste, color and texture for up to 24 hours.
On the start-up's Kickstarter campaign page, where the company is looking to build funds to expand their production, SPRESH founder Aviad Mozes writes he started the project to stop fruit discoloration after having to throw out left over browned fruit that his son wouldn't eat.
Israel's Tower Semiconductor Shares Jump on Jim Cramer Recommendation
Shares of Israel's Tower Semiconductor surged 6.1% on the Nasdaq and 10.7% on Tel Aviv's TASE on Wednesday, following similar steep gains on Tuesday, after TV stock pundit Jim Cramer advised tracking the stock in his "4 Under-$10 High Tech Stocks to Watch," online investment website Stockpickr reported.
Eight scientists awarded 'Pre-Nobel' Wolf Prize
On their way to the Nobels, many scientists and researchers take a detour to Israel in order to pick up a Wolf Prize, a $100,000 award given out for excellence in five areas — agriculture, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, and the arts. Originally endowed in 1978 by Dr. Ricardo Wolf, a German-born inventor and former Cuban ambassador to Israel, the Wolf Prize has gotten a reputation in the scientific community as a "pre-Nobel" award, second only in importance worldwide to the Swedish-awarded prizes.

Arabs expecting another Mabhouh-type hit in Dubai

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST

JPost reports:
Infrastructure Minister Silvan Shalom will lead an Israeli delegation to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, to attend a conference focused on renewable energy, his spokesman confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Shalom will attend the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Fourth Assembly, held at the St. Regis Hotel on Saadiyat Island from January 18 to 19, as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

He follows in the footsteps of then-energy and water minister Uzi Landau, who traveled to a similar Abu Dhabi conference on January 16, 2010, and became the first minister to visit the United Arab Emirates. Israeli is one of 123 member-states of IRENA, an intergovernmental organization focused on renewable energy development that is based in Abu Dhabi.

This is the first Israeli delegation visit to the UAE, with which Israel has no diplomatic ties, since the assassination of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on January 19, 2010.

While Israel never confirmed or denied involvement in the killing, the Dubai police chief afterward forbade all Israelis from entering the country, even those holding foreign passports.
Palestine Today says that Uzi Landau left Dubai only an hour or two before Mabhouh was killed, and it suspects that this is not a coincidence. Therefore, it believes, Israel is planning another killing in Dubai very soon.

(In fact, Landau returned to Israel two days before the Mabhouh killing.)

But this gives me the chance to ask again my question about the Dubai police investigation in the murder: where is the hotel footage of the hallway outside Mabhouh's room?

01/17 Links Pt1: Glick: Truth Hurts, Explosives found at PA Embassy in Prague, 2nd day of Rockets

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Caroline Glick: The truth hurts
In other words, the Obama administration is using Ya'alon's private remarks, leaked by an unidentified source to a newspaper with an anti-Netanyahu editorial agenda, as a means to neutralize the most powerful voice opposing Kerry's obsessive, messianic behavior in the Israeli government. They want to use American umbrage at the tone of Ya'alon's private statements to upend Israeli policy and force Israel to embrace the substance of the Obama administration's delusional and destructive actions. And to advance this goal, they are using anti-Semitic signals to castigate Israel and deny it the right to speak on its own behalf.
Israelis love America. And for that reason, it is compelled to do what anyone strapped into the back seat of a car driven by a drunk would do: try to convince him to stop driving. As a grateful ally of the United States, Israel should publicly tell the Obama administration that what Ya'alon said in private is the truth.
And yes, sometimes the truth hurts.
Belief Undeterred by the Facts
After the Israeli defense minister's undiplomatic skepticism about the peace process prompted a diplomatic flap earlier this week, Secretary of State John Kerry announced yesterday that he is "undeterred," explaining, "I believe strongly in the prospects for peace." In that, Kerry isn't alone: An entire industry has arisen around the belief that Israeli-Palestinian peace is imminently attainable, and it is consistently "undeterred" by the facts. For a classic example, consider the joint Israeli-Palestinian poll released in late December under the unequivocal headline, "The majority of Israelis (63%) and of Palestinians (53%) support the two states solution."
That sounds very promising, until you read the fine print. And then it turns out that most Palestinians don't support the two-state solution at all–or at least, not the one whose terms "everyone knows." In fact, when presented with the elements of that "everyone knows" package, defined by the researchers as based on the Clinton parameters and the Geneva Initiative, 53 percent of Palestinians opposed it, while only 46 percent supported it.(h/t Bob Knot)
Police find explosives at Palestinian embassy in Prague
Czech investigators have discovered explosives at the Palestinian Embassy complex in Prague where a possibly booby-trapped safe killed the ambassador on Jan. 1, police said Thursday.
Police discovered 12 illegal weapons following the explosion at the embassy that killed Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal, but this is the first time that authorities said explosives also were found in the new complex that includes the embassy and the ambassador's residence.
Police said experts are trying to determine whether those weapons were used in any criminal activity in the past. The ballistic testing might take weeks, police said.



Sarah Honig: Pernicious wishful thinking
Although the Arab realm deteriorates before our astonished eyes into medieval ethnic/tribal/clannish splinters, our inveterate know-it-alls hanker to establish another artificial Mideastern state for another synthetic Arab nation of recent manufacture.
With blinkered arrogance they natter about the two-state solution, as if the Arab side had ever at all accepted the legitimacy of a Jewish state.
Even if we submit to Livni's perceptions and grant that what the world now most urgently needs is another decomposing and dysfunctional Arab state, this won't further the two-state cause because the Arabs don't acknowledge Jewish rights to self-determination. Ramallah figurehead Mahmoud Abbas has just told us without any hesitation that "We won't recognize and accept the Jewishness of Israel." No ifs, ands or buts.
Under the two-state guise, both Ramallah and Gaza aim is to replace Israel with another Arab entity. Unfortunately Livni-brand noise-makers love the sound of their own voices but won't listen to authentic pronouncements by their supposed peace-partners. (h/t Norman F)
The Scoop: Netanyahu, King Abdullah Talks Aim at Neutralizing Kerry
The very fact that this urgent, unscheduled meeting had nothing new to say begs the question about what was really said.
The immediate outcome of the two neighboring leaders getting together, a Jordanian source told Makor Rishon, is another devaluation of the chances of Kerry coming up with a comprehensive plan.
"If, two weeks ago, there was a fifty-fifty chance that such a document be presented, now that chance is much lower," the source said. "For now, the Americans believe they'd be able to draft a paper, but they've been running into bigger and bigger difficulties. It's possible that in the end they'll put nothing on the table, or they'd put down something and say, 'Take it or leave it.' Maybe they'll degrade the document's contents, to enable both sides to accept it—but that would also mean that whatever achievement they reached over these past months will be lost, and that would also be problematic."
Sources: PM, Livni support Liberman population plan
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's plan to transfer jurisdiction of some Israeli Arab towns, with their approximately 300,000 residents, to a future Palestinian state has the support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, according to senior officials in Likud-Beytenu quoted by Maariv Friday. There was no confirmation of the report.
Unnamed official sources told the newspaper that Netanyahu has concluded that, in the event of an agreement with the Palestinians, the demographic factor must be taken into consideration, which would mean amending the borders to include some Israeli Arab towns in the new Palestinian state as Israel would include some West Bank Jewish settlements. The officials said that, during negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in recent months, Livni brought up the names of specific towns and villages to be included in the Palestinian state.
Netanyahu slams EU after Israel envoys censured over settlements
Calling the claim that settlements are an obstacle to a peace agreement "bogus," Netanyahu – speaking at an annual reception in Jerusalem for foreign journalists – blasted the EU move, and asked when was the last time the EU countries called in the PLO ambassadors to "complain about incitement to Israel's destruction," or to protest that security officers from the Palestinian Authority were participating in terrorist attacks against innocent Israelis.
"I think it's time stop the hypocrisy and inject some fairness in the discussion," he said, adding that the EU imbalance does not promote peace, but actually pushes it further away because "it tells the Palestinians that they can engage in incitement and terror and not be held accountable."
Liberman summons EU envoys over 'one-sided' policies
Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman ordered his ministry Friday morning to summon the ambassadors from the UK, France, Italy and Spain to Jerusalem, in order to protest what he called "one-sided" policies against Israel.
These policies, evidently relating to Israel's settlement-building, are "unacceptable, and give the sense that they are just looking for ways to blame Israel," read a statement released Friday by Liberman's office.
Officials: Gaza Ceasefire Is Dead
A barrage of at least 6 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Ashkelon on Wednesday, leading the defense establishment to reportedly reconsider the Pillar of Cloud ceasefire. The barrage also led Ashdod to cancel classes Friday at all schools that are not reinforced against rocket fire.
Five of the rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome defense system Wednesday, with the rest landing in open areas. The IAF responded with airstrikes on various terror sites in Gaza on Thursday.
IDF Spokesman to Hamas: We Won't Hesitate to Up the Ante
IDF Spokesman, Brigadier-General Moti Almoz, issued a direct warning to Hamas on Thursday, telling the terror group that the IDF was ready to up the ante and intensify its responses should the rocket attacks on southern Israel continue.
Early Thursday morning, Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft targeted a concealed rocket launcher, a weapons storage site and a center of terrorist activity in northern Gaza. The airstrikes came in retaliation for a rocket attack Wednesday night on the city of Ashkelon.
IDF Overnight Retaliation Following Gaza Rocket Attack


After rockets, Ashdod cancel classes in unprotected schools
Students in the southern city of Ashdod whose schools are unprotected from rockets will stay home Friday, in light of fears of continued rocket fire out of Gaza.
Officials in Ashdod made the decision late Thursday, hours after a rocket was fired for the second straight night, setting off sirens in the nearby Ashkelon region.
Israeli minister to visit Abu Dhabi
Shalom will head an Israeli delegation to the World Future Energy Summit that is set for January 20-22 in Abu Dhabi.
The delegation will include two of Shalom's advisors, several ministry officials, and some private sector representatives, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Israel and the UAE do not have formal diplomatic relations, and already strained ties were exacerbated after the UAE accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas military commander engaged in the importing of weaponry to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, in a Dubai hotel room in 2010.
Muslim group, PMO in war of words over rabbi's presence on PM trip
Korobkin declined to comment, but Jason MacDonald, the prime minister's director of communications, slammed the NCCM -- formerly known as the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR-CAN -- for even making the suggestion.
"We will not take seriously criticism from an organization with documented ties to a terrorist organization such as Hamas," MacDonald said.
"The delegation accompanying the prime minister to the Middle East includes a range of stakeholders from various business, religious and community organizations."
The Hariri trial and Lebanon's 'education'
Convoluted politics have made it difficult, if not impossible, for the trial to produce justice. Neither the Hariri camp, nor the Lebanese judiciary, nor even the international judiciary entrusted with the trial… is capable of producing real justice. It is unreasonable for four individuals to take responsibility for carrying out orders given from above," reads the editorial.
But Al-Hayat columnist Hossam Ayatani believes that the trial nevertheless has "educational value."
"This is the first time Lebanese and Arabs will hear the details of the assassination… from a judicial source that enjoys a minimum of competence and objectivity… no jokes, no puns and no fabrications."
Reporters' Distribution in The Hague Hotels Reflection of Political Affiliation, and Hariri's Guests Are the Most Fortunate
The positioning of journalists who flew to The Netherlands to cover the first session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon reflects the division and the rift in the Lebanese society towards the trial of the alleged assassins of former premier Rafik Hariri as representatives of local media outlets checked into different hotels in The Hague and the municipality of Leidschendam, each according to their political views and their opinions on the works of the STL.
Who gets what in the Iran nuke deal
Iran and six world powers — the US, Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China — have reached a technical understanding to begin implementing an agreement to rollback Iran's nuclear program.
The deal, coordinated by the European Union, aims to reassure the international community that Iran is not trying to develop a nuclear weapon. In exchange, Iran will see a six-month suspension in sanctions that have crippled its economy. During that period, negotiators will work to craft a comprehensive, final agreement.
Iran Hangs 40 People in Two Weeks
Iran has gone on an execution binge in the past two weeks, hanging some 40 people, including 19 in one day, according to international human rights groups inside and outside of Iran.
Iran hanged a total of 19 prisoners on Tuesday, including one who was executed publicly, according to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC), which tracks the Islamic Republic's flawed judicial system.
Walter Russell Mead: Critics of Israel Silent as Arabs Starve Palestinians
Radio silence reigns among Israel's critics as Palestinians suffer brutality at the hands of pro-Assad forces in Syria. In the Palestinian refugee camp known as Yarmouk, near Damascus, residents are undergoing a campaign of forced starvation, as pro-regime forces are blocking the flow of food and medicine to the camp and firing on PLO trucks carrying much needed emergency supplies. Innocent children and elderly people with no possible connection to the conflict tearing apart Syria are among those who have died of hunger. Yarmouk's population has dwindled from 160,000 to 18,000 since the civil war began.
Syria to Miss Another Deadline in Chemical Removal
The operation to remove Syria's chemical arsenal has suffered another setback, with the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) saying Thursday that the removal and destruction of the most dangerous agents in Syria's chemical arsenal will likely be delayed.
According to Reuters, OPCW head Ahmet Uzumcu explained that the delay is due to security and logistical problems. At the same, he stressed that the final deadline of the end of June for eliminating all chemicals remains.
Breaking: Syrian Rockets Land in Lebanon, Killing 7
Rockets - and possibly shells - were fired from Syria into Lebanon Friday, landing in the Lebanese border town of Arsal, according to official state news.
The rockets have reportedly killed 7 and wounded at least 15.

For Abbas, there's always "next year"

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST

Palestine Press reports that Mahmoud Abbas said in a speech that he hopes that 2014 will be the year of Palestinian independence.

Sound familiar?

Abbas says 2013 will be year of Palestinian independence

(2010) Abbas expresses hope for Palestinian state by next year

(2007) "We pray next year will be the year of independence for the Palestinian people," Abbas continued.

(2006) President Mahmoud Abbas wished Saturday that the next year will be a year of stability and peace for the entire world and the year of establishing the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital.

Maybe next year will be the year that Abbas actually makes concessions that could allow peace.

Oh, that's right - he signed a law to make that impossible.

PLO says Jews visiting Temple Mount is against international law!

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

Ma'an reports:
A PLO Executive Committee member spoke out against visits by rightist Israeli Jewish groups to the Al-Aqsa compound on Thursday.

Ahmad Qurie warned of "catastrophic" consequences if the Jewish groups continued to visit Al-Aqsa, saying the visits violated international law.
Yes, now Jews practicing their religion is a violation of international law, according to the PLO.

Soon the PLO will define being Jewish itself as a gross violation of human rights, and the UN will praise them for it.

By the way, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." The UN's (non-binding) "Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief" amplifies this:

Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

...[T]he right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief shall include, inter alia, the following freedoms:

(a)To worship or assemble in connexion with a religion or belief, and to establish and maintain places for these purposes;
The article continues:

Qurie said Israeli police arrested Palestinian youths who were attempting to stop the groups from entering the compound. He criticized the police for making such arrests.
Qurei believes that violating the Jewish right to exercise their beliefs is perfectly acceptable.

Then the article repeats an absurd rumor that has been going around:

Earlier, the director of the Al-Aqsa Mosque told Ma'an that the visits were a "provocative and dangerous intrusion by extremists."

Azzam al-Khatib said extremist lawyer Yehuda Glick, who chairs the Temple Mount Heritage Fund, entered the mosque compound through the Moroccan Gate and later "climbed to the roof of the Dome of the Rock and verbally assaulted the guards."

Also Saturday, Palestinian security spokesman Adnan al-Dumieri told Ma'an that Israeli rightists "ascending to the roof of the Dome of the Rock" was a provocative action that would have a negative impact on Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

But Israeli police spokesman Rosenfeld said he was unfamiliar with the roof-climbing incident.

He confirmed that there were "normal visits" to the Al-Aqsa compound, but said no arrests were made.
Climbing to the roof? Religious Jews generally don't go near the Dome of the Rock; it is probably where the Holy of Holies is and believing Jews can't visit there. The idea that they could climb it without the Israeli security guards who accompany them stopping them is absurd.

But no lie is too absurd for Palestinian Arab spokespeople.

Obscene editorial in U. of Calgary newspaper

Posted: 17 Jan 2014 02:00 AM PST

The National Post of Canada wrote last week:
A pro-Israel group says it has complained to Calgary police over Facebook comments made by a former university student group president who urged Palestinians to ''spill blood.''

"My body and soul are ready to fight and die," wrote Ala'a Hamdan, former president of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, a University of Calgary student group. "This land will be proud that Palestinian babies are born men and women ready to spill their blood."

In a battle hymn written to a son, Ms. Hamdan wrote: "I will soak a koffiah with your blood and save it to show to your siblings … I will be named the mother of the martyr."

Members of the Calgarians United With Israel (CUWI) advocacy group copied the comments and posted them to their website.

"It's extremely melodramatic and poorly written but beyond that, it's hate speech, I think," said Ryan Bellerose, who helped found CUWI. "This student group talks about justice and peace and she talks about blowing herself up and having her children blow themselves up. It's hypocritical."
It is difficult to interpret these writings as anything but advocating murder of Israeli Jews. Palestinian Arabs call suicide bombers and others who target civilians "martyrs." They also call anyone killed by the IDF to be martyrs as well, but this poem is talking about a mother pushing her son to become one, which means she wants him to actively attack Israeli Jews.

Advocating murder of a national group is pretty much the definition of incitement.

To publicize the disgusting writings of Hamdan and to denounce them is not an attack on free speech - it is free speech.

But look at this editorial in the university newspaper, the Gauntlet. They justify Hamdan's writings because they think she has a very good point. Why? Because the editors of this student newspaper don't know basic facts of history - they have been brainwashed with propaganda and aren't embarrassed to spout it themselves:

The conflict is complicated. Arguments on both sides are often fueled by emotion or religion, but the basic history is such.

Imagine it's the 1940s. Jewish people are uprooted in Europe by the Nazis because of the Holocaust. An obscene number of them are murdered. The Second World War ends and the concentration camps are closed, but Jewish communities remain broken, individuals still stripped of their property and the stink of anti-Semitism continues to hang over much of Europe.

Under the banner of Zionism, sectors of the Jewish community have long advocated for a return to their ancient homeland, which is then referred to as the British mandate for Palestine. After the Second World War, the United Nations decides that the Zionists will get their wish, and much of Palestine transforms into the Jewish state of Israel.

The problem is that people already live there. And they don't feel like leaving, so Israel colonizes them, violently.

A series of wars between Israel and the surrounding Arab states ensue. Arabs living in Israeli controlled territory — most of them identifying as Palestinians — are delegated to the status of second-class citizens, lacking the same political and civil rights as their Israelis elites. A flood of violence from both Palestinians and Israelis escalates every year.

These are only the basics.
These are the basics?

Zionism didn't start after World War II, as this implies. Jews had accepted partition plans twice and the Arabs rejected them. Zionists who had already built up much of Palestine over the previous decades always intended to live in peace with their Arab neighbors. The UN vote partition vote would have given Palestinian Arabs a state of their own and they rejected it because part was going to Jews. Most Palestinians would not have lived under Jewish rule under the plan. Within hours of the vote they started attacking Jews in buses and on the streets. When Israel finally declared independence, the Arabs were joined by the combined Arab armies from Transjordan, Egypt, Iraq and Syria. If the Jews would have lost they would have been slaughtered mercilessly, if you believe the rhetoric that Arab leaders said explicitly. Today, Arabs in Israel have the same rights as Jews, although there is unfortunately still some racism as there is everywhere else in the world. It pales next to the antisemitism of the Arab world that has remained constant for hundreds of years. And in no way, shape or form can Israeli actions be compared to the Holocaust, which seems to be an implication here, along with the idea that Jews are foreign colonizers when they are  in fact the indigenous people returning to their homeland.

The Gauntlet is not giving a basic history lesson. It is propagating a series of lies. It adds another lie, claiming that CUWI is calling for the student group to be disbanded, something they never did. They only asked that hate speech be denounced and that they be protected from incitement. (The exact request in their letter to the Student Union was "We are requesting the University of Calgary protect us from rhetoric and action on campus that exposes us to hatred, and we are asking to be provided with a safe environment that is conducive to our academic success. ")

Now, lies may be protected free speech, but there should be consequences for a newspaper - even a student newspaper - to have such reckless disregard for the truth.

Without any seeming knowledge of the terror war that Israel endured only a few years ago, the editorial assumes that Hamdan's poems refer to military actions, not attacks against women and children that characterize most historic Palestinian Arab attacks.

Naturally, given this false framework of the conflict, the newspaper understands Hamdan's anger and defends her right to call to murder people.

But if the media would start telling the truth about the Middle East, perhaps the next generation won't be so inclined to create pathetic poetic peaens to terrorism against Israeli Jews.
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