יום שבת, 25 בינואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

01/24 Links Pt2: IRS Goes After Gaza Caravan 'Charity', Larry King Promotes Technion

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 01:00 PM PST

From Ian:
IRS Wants Gaza Caravan-Tied Charity's Status Stripped
An Internal Revenue Service audit recommends stripping a New York-based charity of its tax-exempt status after it served as a conduit for donations for a convoy that delivered cash and goods to Hamas officials in Gaza.
The investigation was prompted by a 2009 report by the Investigative Project on Terrorism that documented statements during a Viva Palestina fundraiser directing contributions to the charity, the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizations (IFCO)/Pastors for Peace. Viva Palestina is the brainchild of British MP George Galloway.
Caroline Glick: Canada takes its place at the table
For instance, for years, the false Arab claim that Israeli communities beyond the 1949 armistice lines are illegal under international law has gone unchallenged. But last week, Australian Foreign Minister Julia Bishop dropped a bombshell when, in an interview with The Times of Israel, she broke from the consensus of mendacity saying, "I would like to see which international law has declared them illegal."
Statements by Australian foreign ministers seldom receive global coverage. But Bishop's did.
And the more outspoken Australia is in its support for Israel and rejection of the discourse of lies that characterizes the discussion of Israel, the more attention Australia will get and the more influential it will become on the world stage.
Like Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Harper's decision to support Israel is rooted in his most deeply held convictions about right and wrong. There is nothing opportunistic about his policy.
It is therefore wonderful and empowering that by staying true to his beliefs, Harper is also transforming Canada into a force to be reckoned with on the global stage. Moreover, he is setting an example that will likely be followed by more and more countries, as the benefits of his embrace of Israel become widely recognized.
Canada's Prime Minister: A Display of Rare Courage
Stephen Harper's message to the Israelis, spoken in their parliament, did proud to all Canadians who expect their leaders to speak truthfully when it matters. In a world where the Jews have been treated appallingly just for beings Jews, where many states regularly berate Israel as a pariah state, and where the Holocaust still remains in the living memory of Jews, the appalling truth is how the denial of these truths grows and is expressed even within the UN that bears witness to it, and was responsible for the establishment of the Jewish state.
As the first Canadian prime minister to address the Knesset, Stephen Harper concluded his remarks by stating that in "the democratic family of nations, Israel represents values which our government takes as articles of faith and principles to drive our national life." This was not high praise and cheap politics, it was instead the summing up of the threads that bind the two democracies together in what rightly can be called a "special relationship." It is worth celebrating.



Irwin Cotler: Universal lessons of the Holocaust
Finally, we must remember – and celebrate – the survivors of the Holocaust, the true heroes of humanity. For they witnessed and endured the worst of inhumanity, but somehow found, in the depths of their own humanity, the courage to go on, to rebuild their lives as they helped build our communities.
And so, together with them we must remember – and pledge – that never again will we be indifferent to incitement and hate; never again will we be silent in the face of evil; never again will we indulge racism and anti-Semitism; never again will we ignore the plight of the vulnerable; and never again will we be indifferent in the face of mass atrocity and impunity.
The 'Homeland' is the Homeland History Exhibit's Rightful Home
Few realize that in 1948 modern Israel became the land's next native state after Jewish Judaea, which Rome finally vanquished in the year 135. Every intervening ruler was a foreign invader. And few realize that all through those long dark foreign rule centuries the Jews, as such, remained in the land.
Israeli premiers Begin, Sharon and Netanyahu referenced the Jews' continuous presence and its significance, but 20th century British historian James Parkes put it best: the "heroic endurance of those who had maintained a Jewish presence in The Land all through the centuries, and in spite of every discouragement," wrote the Zionists' "real title deeds." Yet, as Katz wrote in his Introduction to Battleground, even knowledgeable people are startled to learn of "the gap between what is generally known and the facts of the continuity of Jewish life in Palestine since the destruction of the Second Temple." Here's a quick look at those facts.
Zogby's "Myths" are Stubborn Facts
Zogby has nothing to say about Palestinian incitement against Israel, but instead focuses on the "myth" of former Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's rejection of a peace deal. In his telling of events, the offer made by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak at Camp David in 2000 "was never clear -- he wouldn't commit it to writing." Furthermore, it was "Barak who suspended the Taba talks because of looming elections. According to Zogby "Arafat didn't reject a 'deal;' negotiations were aborted before they could conclude with a 'deal.'"
Well, who are you going to believe, President Bill Clinton, the senior U.S. negotiators, the Israeli officials, all of whom were present at the negotiations and place the blame on Arafat, or James Zogby, who wasn't there?
Sky News: promoting an antisemite
I have just watched Sky News' 'exclusive interview' with Dieudonne M'bala M'bala - the antisemitic friend of Nicolas Anelka who was finally charged yesterday by the FA for his 'quenelle' gesture. This has been Sky News' leading story all evening, taking up nearly 10 minutes at the start of each news programme. The programme allowed Dieudonne a platform to present himself as the victim of injustice and to proclaim Anelka as a 'prince' - a great heroic figure standing like him against world injustice.
Anti-Semitic salute not all in fun
Interestingly, the same college students who are Mr. Stewart's prime demographic target and have been weaned to consume news as if it's a joke are also fed a steady diet of anti-Israel bias and BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) malarkey. (Members of the American Studies Association last month voted to endorse a misguided boycott of Israeli academic institutions to protest the Jewish state's treatment of Palestinians.) For Dieudonné and his ilk it only makes sense, when appealing to post adolescent minds, that the way into their supposed scholarly heads is through their funny bone. They can then post, share and make the evil viral.
But it's just a joke … right? No, the problem here is that there's a relation between the "out" that socio-political humorists, particularly on the political left, like Mr. Stewart and Bill Maher on his show, "Real Time" often use, and the antics of a Dieudonné.
Is anti-Semitism essentially envy?
During a documentary aired on Israel's Channel 2, on Holocaust Remembrance Day, a man was interviewed and said that the Jews are to blame for all the troubles of the world, and that "Hitler was too nice."
What was most shocking, as one commentator put it, was that this was not a swastika-tattooed, swivel-eyed, card-carrying member of the Agitprop brigade. It was a seemingly normal middle class American. Indeed, "this is the face of modern anti-Semitism: not criminals, but your next-door neighbour, your bus driver, your child's teacher…"
It is just one illustration of the nasty and insidious anti-Semitism that is creeping into normal discourse, skulking under a cloak of support for the Palestinian 'cause'. That cause is the annihilation of Israel from the face of the earth, although its Christian supporters and funders don't often mention that.
German State Flip-Flops, Allows Publication of Mein Kampf
Germany's Bavaria state signaled Wednesday it would not seek to prevent the publication of an annotated version of Adolf Hitler's manifesto "Mein Kampf" in an apparent about-face, according to AFP.
Amid a debate over academic freedom and a back and forth over whether to pursue the project, Bavaria indicated that it would not try to stop a historical institute from bringing out a version of the book with scholars' commentary.
After 250 Years at Touro Synagogue, Jewish History Alive and Well in Newport
Newport's importance stems not just from the 1763 Touro Synagogue, the oldest-standing synagogue in the United States and a designated national historic site, but also from the Ambassador John L. Loeb Jr. Visitors Center next to the synagogue, which tells the story of Touro and of religious tolerance. In May 2013, a 132-page book "A Genesis of Religious Freedom: The Story of the Jews of Newport, RI and Touro Synagogue," by Melvin Urofsky, was published by The George Washington Institute for Religious Freedom.
Canadian MP discovers picture of relative in Ghetto during Israel visit
Candian MP Mark Adler, who arrived in Israel as part of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's delegation, visited the Yad Ezer La'Haver (Helping Hand to a Friend) Holocaust survivor center, where he discovered a picture of his cousin distributing food in Ghetto Lodz. A deeply moved Adler gazed at the picture while shedding tears, and then proceeded to hear stories from survivors.
An exhibition held at the support center shows pictures from different camps and ghettos, including one picture that featured Adler's cousin, Helen Himmel.
Gadot lassos 3-picture deal
Gal Gadot fans need not worry that the Israeli ingénue won't have enough screen time in the upcoming Batman/Superman mega-flick. The model-turned-actress has signed on to play Wonder Woman in a three-picture deal with Warner Bros.
Gadot, who recently beat out a bevy of dark-haired actresses to be cast in the superhero caper as Diana Prince, AKA Wonder Woman, revealed her multi-picture contract on Wednesday night during an interview on Israeli television with entertainment host Guy Pines. She also disclosed her salary: a not-so-wondrous $300,000 per flick.
Russian Police to Get Counter-Terrorism Training in Israel
Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, who is on a three-day working visit to Israel, has met with his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Aharonovich and a number of senior police officials, including commander of the Israel Border Police, Maj. Gen. Amos Yaakov.
"We are interested in learning how your special units carry out anti-terrorist operations and hostage-release missions and ensure security and order at mass public events," Kolokoltsev said during the meeting with Yaakov at a border troop base.
Novel Israeli tech prevents aortic aneurysm progression
If aneurysms could be treated early to prevent worsening, the incidence of rupture and death would fall dramatically. And that is the aim of a patented technology from Israel.
"Our purpose is to intervene at a stage where the aneurysm is not at the point where an emergency procedure is necessary," says Dr. S. David Gertz, the Brandman Foundation Professor of Cardiac and Pulmonary Diseases at the Institute for Medical Research of The Hebrew University—Hadassah Medical School.
Peres honored at Davos World Economic Forum
President Shimon Peres was honored at a special plenary session of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday. Peres received the Spirit of Davos award from WEF founder and Chairman Klaus Schwab in recognition of his contribution to the cause of peace, to economics and technology and to the spirit of Davos.
Before receiving his award, Peres participated in a short question and answer session with Schwab, responding to inquiries about Iran, peace negotiations with the Palestinians, and Syria.
NASDAQ CEO Greifeld Tells Peres: 'Israeli Companies Are a Success Story'
Greifeld told Peres that "Israeli companies are a success story on the NASDAQ, a success which can be mathematically proven. There are no national boundaries when relating to Israeli science and innovation. Israeli companies are inventive in their initiatives, think globally and are very much like American Silicon Valley companies. All the world's companies wish to imitate the Israeli companies, and we recommend they do so."
President Peres explained that Israeli Chutzpah was the key to its success. "Israeli audacity and the desire to change, to improve life standards and to dare – they are the true drive of Israeli companies," he said. Peres believes Israel's success as a 'Start-Up Nation' is a result of it being surrounded by hostile countries, situated in a desert region with no natural resources. "Israel relies on science, technology, and its human resources. There is no question that today's Israeli hi-tech companies received a strong basis and a push by Israel's military industries," the President said.
Samsung, Flextronics pour $10m into 3D start-up
Israeli start-up Mantis Vision has some new partners — global giants Samsung and Flextronics, who are investing $10 million in the 3D technology company. In addition, the multinationals have also entered into a marketing agreement with the Israeli firm, which develops technology to convert 2D video into 3D models.
The technology consists of an active triangulation system, meaning that it uses software to "observe" a scene from different points of view, taking into account the dimensions, lighting, shadows, etc., via laser. The raw image is sent to a computer, where the 3D modeling takes place, allowing a viewer to see the scene from all angles, 3D style, by moving it around the screen with a mouse.
Larry King funds venture promoting Israeli high tech
Former CNN host Larry King and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have agreed to work together to promote Israeli high tech.
King and the Technion are establishing the Israel Silicon Valley Chambers of Commerce, the Israeli business daily Globes reported. They are set to be launched in Tel Aviv and at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
King is financing the project with a nearly $600,000 investment through a holding company, according to Globes.
Israeli Prof's 'Artificial Intelligence, Robots, and Art' Lecture at TEDx Goes Viral (VIDEO)
Professor Guy Hoffman, a lecturer and researcher at the Sammy Ofer School of Communications and co-director of the IDC Media Innovation Lab (miLAB) at the IDC Herzliya, gave a TEDx talk in October that has since become one of the 30 most viewed lectures in the TED Talks program, and, last week, was ranked by YouTube as one of the three most viewed videos in the world.
Guy Hoffman: Robots with "soul"

Joke of the day from Iran

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 11:00 AM PST

From Ya Libnan:
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Friday denied his country had sent Hezbollah militants to fight in Syria, saying the Tehran-backed Shiite extremist group was making its own decisions.

The usually smiling Iranian diplomat, who has been seen as the new face of the Islamic republic since coming to office in August, was unusually combative in a tense panel session held in the Swiss mountain town of Davos.

Under constant questioning about Iran's role in shoring up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Zarif said it was "preposterous" to suggest that Tehran was supporting extremist groups fighting in Syria.

"We are not sending people, Hezbollah has made its own decision," Zarif told the audience, adding that Iran had also suffered at the hands of Sunni Al-Qaeda extremists.
No wonder the West loves these new, moderate Iranians - they have such a great sense of humor!

01/24 Links Pt1: Abbas celebrates the 10th Year of Four Year Term!, IAF sends a message to Hezbollah

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Khaled Abu Toameh: Mabrouk to Abbas on Tenth Year of His Four Year Term!
The only way to find out what Palestinians really want is by allowing them to head to the ballot boxes. Palestinians representing all groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, should be allowed to run in such an election.
A victory for the radicals would mean that a majority of Palestinians do not want peace and continue to dream about the destruction of Israel. If Abbas and his political allies win, that would be great news for the peace process and Kerry's efforts to achieve a two-state solution.
Yet Kerry does not seem to care whether Abbas is a "rightful" president or not. He is so desperate for a diplomatic achievement that he is prepared to ignore fundamental facts.
How can Kerry expect Abbas to sign any document declaring the end of the conflict with Israel when many Palestinians are already pointing out that their president does not even have a mandate to act or speak on their behalf?
Sarah Honig: Patent-medicine Messiah
In truth, though, we Israelis are capable like no other to take care of ourselves if would-be messiahs like Kerry – be he a credulous dupe or a grandstanding megalomaniac – would only let us be.
However, we're often wary of using the force at our disposal. We're deterred by our reputation as the universal killjoy who provokes global displeasure. When the world courted Saddam, we destroyed his nuclear reactor and were roundly condemned for our good deed. Invariably, the international community delights in restraining us and rescuing villains.
Those who genuinely wish to secure peace need only abstain from coercing Israel to appease aggressors – not to beguile us with promises of foreign troops and messianic tidings.
Our unwavering message to the wannabe messiah must be that we have had our fill of officious earthly redeemers. The hardly beneficent blessings he seeks to force on us are unwelcome and unwanted here. His unsolicited magnanimity would render us helpless. We'd rather not be in his debt and retain the ability to help ourselves.
Lebanese TV invited to Israel Air Force base to film a message to Hezbollah
In unique use of public media, IAF allows Lebanese TV network to film inside secure base and interview Air Force commander in bid to send Hezbollah a clear, direct threat.
The air force unit commander – who like all IAF pilots and commanders must remain unnamed and masked – said in the rare interview that "We are closely following attempts to smuggle arms from Syria to Lebanon and attempting to prevent it from reaching Hezbollah." (h/t MtTB)



Netanyahu: We can't have a 'Palestine' run by Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday laid out the dilemma facing his administration when it comes to the Palestinian conflict — the imperative to avoid a binational state encompassing Israel and the Palestinians, but also to prevent a future Palestinian state from becoming an Iranian proxy. "Half of Palestinian society is dominated by Iran's proxy," he said in an apparent reference to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.
During a question-and-answer session after his speech, the prime minister portrayed the Iranian nuclear program as a shared concern for both Israel and Arab states, along with the spread of Islamist movements.
"Central Arab governments are preoccupied with the Iranian nuclear weapons and the Muslim brotherhood," he said. "The nations do not see Israel as an enemy but as a potential ally to combat these threats. They are not assured by the words spoke earlier by the president of Iran. They get it. We all wish there was a real change in Iran."
Prosor: Israel's Relations at the U.N. Improving 'Under the Radar'
While tactics have changed, Prosor said the biggest impact on the Israeli delegation in the future will be from the changing dynamic in the Middle East, with Iran's emergence leading delegations from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to think higher of their Israeli colleagues for standing up against the Iranian nuclear threat.
In the corridors of power at the UN, while other diplomats, always off the record, may be glad to see Israel standing taller at the institution "under the radar," one accredited representative of an NGO at the UN said, for publication, that it was great news.
'Protecting the security fence is a daily fight,' says commander of Tavor Battalion
Molotov cocktails, burning tires with exploding gas tanks hidden inside, slingshots that can break bones, shootings – these are the daily security challenges that the Home Front Command's Tavor Battalion has faced for the past five months, as it defended the West Bank security barrier.
The battalion was deployed in a sector west of Ramallah, covering areas such as the Maccabim checkpoint, Budrus, Bil'in, Ni'lin and Kibya.
State Dept. Designates Ziyad al-Nakhalah as a Global Terrorist
The State Department has designated Ziyad al-Nakhalah as a specially designated global terrorist.
Ziyad al-Nakhalah is the Deputy Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a group that was designated by the U.S. State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997. PIJ's openly stated goal is the destruction of Israel. Since its inception, PIJ has carried out numerous attacks, including large-scale suicide bombings against Israeli civilian and military targets. PIJ attacks have also killed Americans abroad. PIJ receives financial assistance and training primarily from Iran.
The Department of State strongly condemned the December 22, 2013 Tel Aviv bus bombing conducted by PIJ as a "deplorable violent act targeting civilians."
Former PLO negotiator calls on PA to endorse 'resistance' against Israel
The peace talks between the PLO and Israel are headed toward failure, Muhammad Shtayyeh, a former member of the Palestinian negotiating team, said.
He called on the Palestinian Authority to endorse "resistance" against Israel instead of providing services to Palestinians.
Shtayyeh, who recently resigned from the team in protest against lack of progress in the talks, said they would not be extended past the nine-month timeline, which expires in April.
Abbas calls for larger Russian role in peace talks
Russia supports "our struggle and our efforts to put an end to the occupation and to form an independent Palestinian state," Abbas said.
The two leaders also discussed several economic initiatives, including a $1 billion plan that would allow joint Palestinian-Russian exploitation of gas fields off the Gaza coast, which Abbas and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were expected to sign during Abbas's visit.
Hamas placing rockets near water reservoirs, digging dozens of 'terror tunnels'
Gaza's Islamist rulers have been placing rocket launching pads next to water reservoirs, and attaching reconnaissance cameras to mosque minarets and water towers, The Times of Israel was told, in a bid to avoid IAF airstrikes during an upcoming round of confrontation.
The IDF has noticed a recent shift in Hamas's strategy: While actively preventing rocket launches toward Israel by rogue groups in the Gaza Strip, the Islamist organization — which violently took control of the territory in 2007 and has ruled it ever since — is investing its limited resources digging tunnels leading into Israel for the purposes of a large-scale terror attack or a kidnapping modeled after that of Gilad Shalit in June 2006. At the same time, Hamas still maintains a large number of locally manufactured M-75 rockets, which can reach Tel Aviv and beyond.
Hamas may be fighting a losing battle to stop Gaza rocket fire
The next figure may surprise some senior political figures in Israel. According to the IDF, since Pillar of Defense ended 14 months ago, Hamas has not fired a single rocket at Israel.
Then how to explain the partial escalation in recent days? This probably isn't what Hamas would like to hear, but the organization may be turning into a sort of Palestinian Authority II in Gaza, for better or worse. The reasons for the recent launches are reminiscent of the PA's bad days in Gaza before it was violently thrown out by Hamas in 2007, when it tried repeatedly to stop rocket attacks on Israel, but Hamas and Islamic Jihad defied it. This has become Hamas's reality these days: It is trying to preserve the quiet, but is not entirely able to do so.
Hamas armed wing's Twitter account shelved
The account of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, @AlqassamBrigade, appeared to have been suspended several times over the past week, and was still inaccessible with a "suspended" notice on Thursday.
A spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, accused Twitter of suppressing freedom of speech and of pandering to the political agenda of Hamas's sworn enemy Israel.
Female Palestinian cartoonist threatened after critique of Islamic Jihad, Hamas
Palestinian cartoonist has come under fire because she published a cartoon that enraged Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
The controversial cartoon refers to Hamas efforts to rein in Islamic Jihad's military wing, Al-Quds Battalions, whose members are believed to have been behind recent rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip.
The cartoon by Majedah Shaheen depicts Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh asking his dog to "calm down." The dog represents the Al-Quds Battalions. (h/t NormanF)
Hook, line, and sinker
Then earlier this month, the pro-Hezbollah newspaper As-Safir quoted another unnamed US official making that point more explicitly. "If the obligatory gateway to forming a new government in Lebanon is partnership with Hezbollah, then the US does not object, especially since the reality and composition of Lebanon attest without a doubt that there is no possibility to form a government without Hezbollah."
It's tempting to dismiss these quotes as the pro-Hezbollah media's self-serving propaganda, even if the US embassy has not yet publicly denied them. At the same time, however, they reveal how US policy in the region is allowing Iran and its assets to leverage Washington's posture to press their advantage. The US considers Sunni Islamist groups to be the principal threat to stability in the region. The White House approach is to work with functioning governments to prevent extremists from emerging or growing. Accordingly, Tehran and its allies from Baghdad to Beirut have zeroed in on a single message, which they understand resonates well in Washington: fighting terrorism. Iran's regional assets understand that this brings the US onside to undercut their domestic, Sunni, adversaries. (h/t MtTB)
Cairo rocked by blasts on eve of protest annniversary
Three bombings hit high-profile areas around Cairo on Friday, including a suicide car bomber who struck the city's police headquarters, killing five people in the first major attack on the Egyptian capital as insurgents step up a campaign of violence following the ouster of the Islamist president.
An al-Qaeda-inspired group called Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or the Champions of Jerusalem, claimed responsibility for the first attack on its Twitter page. The attacks bore the hallmarks of the Islamic extremist group that has increasingly targeted police and the military since the July 3 coup against Mohammed Morsi and a fierce crackdown on his supporters led by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Amnesty: 1,400 dead in Egypt since Morsi's ouster
Most of those deaths were the result of excessive force used by security forces, the human rights watchdog said. It noted that at least 95 security personnel had also been killed in violent attacks since the summer's military coup.
Egyptian Journalist: We Should Teach Hamas a Lesson
Egypt should take a page from Israel's book and "teach Hamas a lesson," an Egyptian journalist recently said.
The comments by journalist Muhammad Hassan Al-Alfi were made in a January 9 interview on Faraeen TV. The comments were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Al-Alfi said in the interview that Egypt "should discipline [Hamas] just as Israel did... We must strike them so they learn to respect the Egyptian shoe."
"Only then will they kiss that shoe and learn what Egypt is worth," he declared. (h/t Bob Knot)
JPost: Rouhani in Davos
There is a tendency among moderates, particularly of the Western variety, to believe fundamentalist political leaders such as Rouhani when they say they want peace. The reason for this is simple: Moderates believe that everyone sees the world the same way they do. For moderates it is self-evident that at the most human level people yearn for peace. This, however, is not true for those motivated by an extremist ideology – in the case of Iran, by an apocalyptic and reactionary reading of Islam in which redemption is achieved through religious dominance and the spreading of God's word – by force if necessary – to non-believers.
The inability to understand such an irrational message is particularly pronounced at a venue such as Davos's World Economic Forum. Businessmen, entrepreneurs and technocrats tend to be a decidedly optimistic, rational, constructive and moderate bunch that believes people are, like themselves, interested in bettering the world through education and economic development. They are liable to be susceptible to Rouhani's charm defensive.
We hope they will have the sense to heed the warnings of Netanyahu and Peres.
Informal Obama adviser Fareed Zakaria: Iran deal 'a train wreck'
Zakaria, an author President Obama reportedly reads and consults with, made the comment during an appearance on CNN's "New Day" Thursday to promote his blockbuster interview.
"This strikes me as a train wreck," Zakaria said. "This strikes me as potentially a huge obstacle because the Iranian conception of what the deal is going to look like and the American conception now look like they are miles apart. The Iranian conception seems to be they produce as much nuclear energy as they want, but it is a civilian program and you can have as much monitoring and inspections as you want. The American position is that they have to very substantially scale back the enrichment of uranium and the production of centrifuges."
Turk parliamentary squabble gets violent
The scuffles erupted Thursday as parliament prepared to resume debate on a much-criticized draft bill that would tighten the government's control over the judiciary as it fights the corruption probe, which has become one of the most serious threats to its decade in power.
The opposition says the measure would allow Erdogan to quash corruption inquiries.
Hani And His Pet Rock Named Palistone (Updated With Video)
The article goes on about how he tended his fields in Qusin, and found a rock in the form of "historic Palestine" (that only ever existed for two years in the 40′s, between the Jordanian independence and the Israeli independence). Hani said he intends to keep it so that his grandchildren consolidate their love for Palestine.
I just hope noone from Hamas takes hold of it, as they will break off the Gaza Strip, and proceed to throw it on someone's windshield.

Swedish textbook asks "Why is the Arab girl going to blow herself and others up?"

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST

Expressen shows us a page from a textbook that is being used in a ninth grade class on religions:

Translation:
Student Worksheet:
Judaism - was the first but is the least.
Who has the right to the land?

Imagine you ask a Jew and an Arab about who has right to the land now called Israel. Write what you think they would answer and how they would justify their opinion.
Why is the girl going to blow herself and others in the air?
With pictures of a "Jewish man" and "Arab girl."

The textbook, which was published in 2004, is asking kids to justify terrorism which hit its peak around the time it was written.

The person who found this was an Arab Swedish girl named Sara Bessa when she saw her younger brother bring this home from school.

She's upset because it stereotypes Arabs as terrorists.

"There is such Islamophobia here. It's almost like she'll defend her exploding with a Qur'anic quote that does not exist.... At the same time, they chose to use a girl instead of an Arab man. It says 'check out how dangerous Arabs are, even their small children are dangerous and satanic.' There is no room to discuss about how this girl might want peace."

She has a point - the textbook was stereotyping Arabs, but it wasn't saying that Arab terrorism is wrong. It was sympathetic to their suicide bombings. It was not trying to demonize the Palestinian Arabs, but to understand and justify their hate!

I found what appears to be the textbook online, along with a similar section on Islam. That version does not appear to have this page in it, so maybe they took out the terrorism reference in newer editions.  (Any Swedish speakers that want to analyze this textbook, please do so.)

I do not know exactly what is meant by "Judaism was the first but is the least." My guess is that it was the first of the major monotheistic religion but it has the least adherents nowadays. Maybe I'm being charitable, but textbooks do try to be politically correct.

(h/t aaahconcept)

John Kerry's wishful thinking vs. Middle East reality

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

Both these videos were released in the past day.

One is John Kerry on Al Arabiya saying why he is optimistic about peace talks. Gosh, he just can't imagine why people wouldn't want to live in peace with each other.Everyone wants the same thing, right?

The other is a MEMRI video of a Hamas youth camp graduation. These are the thousands of Gaza high school kids that underwent paramilitary training and anti-Israel brainwashing over the past several months.

I thought the two videos complement each other.

New poet laureate of Belgium is an antisemite

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 02:00 AM PST

From Philosémitisme Blog, translated by Antisemitism in Europe:

Charles Ducal is Belgium's new 'national poet'. In this position, he will be expected to write poems which concern Belgium. Which might be new to him. Ducal has not written one poem on the atrocities committed by Belgians in their former colonies. However, he had time to dwell on the crimes of the Jews.

Together with Lucas Catherine, Ducal co-authored "Gaza - The History of the Palestinian tragedy". The book includes his poetry titled "After Auschwitz", a group of poems with names like "Tel Aviv 1948–2008", "Nakba" and "A Poet in Sderot". Lest you think he might actually be sympathizing with the Jews who are constantly being bombed by their Gazan neighbors, rest assured: the song has a little note that Sderot was "formerly Najd", and is all about how 'we' kicked out the rightful owners.

The poems do not mention Jews, Israel, Nazis or Holocaust, and yet they're full of accusations against the Jewish people.
His poems are reprehensible, and (like the antisemitic play Seven Jewish Children) they are written from a grotesque caricature of a "Jewish" point of view - how a twisted Jew-hater imagines that Jews think. So while the themes are the same lies that we are used to hearing from antisemites (Jews are bloodthirsty killers who use the Holocaust as an excuse to act as monsters, Jews are quite happy making Arabs suffer, Jews use the Torah to justify massacres and ethnic cleansing) - the faux first person perspective makes the poems that much more powerful, and that much more disgusting.

Here are some of them.

AFTER AUSCHWITZ
for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand;
and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
(Exodus 23:31)

THE WALL

One does not scrawl fate in the wind.
We seek sanctuary behind
the wall, full of words on our side,
stamped with the holy number, this

stubborn plurality of a faith, in search of a voice
that can unite us in a common song,
a hymn and history to which we belong,
from the ashes of a tongue we rejoice.

The other side of the wall is ours too,
though scarred by signs of enmity.
We simply wipe it clean, unread.
Those who find a hole are blown back

into the void.

LET US TALK
First, we will bury you in the sand,
with your head free to speak
about mutual understanding, about peace;

first, we will make your field our own,
station soldiers between mine and thine,
direct the camera from our side;

first, we will count our dead
from the past two thousand years
and justify the beating,

and wipe the spit from our hands
and declare – it's clear as day;
you want no peace in this land.

Most readers of poetry don't have the same filters they might have when reading or watching the news. Poems need to be interpreted and understood, and that extra effort makes it easier for the reader to trust that the poet - whom he learns to respect during the interpretation process - is being truthful.

Very few casual poetry readers would be able to distance themselves from these works enough to realize how bigoted it is for a man to put himself in the minds of people he hates and relay their supposedly disgusting thoughts. Ducal is an antisemite, and these works prove that beyond a doubt. Saying that Jews are religious fundamentalists who enjoy acting like Nazis is no less offensive and no less a lie when it is written as poetry.

 Like fiction and film, poetry can be a powerful tool for brainwashing, and that is Ducal's goal in these examples. Belgium should withdraw this honor; Ducal should be shamed, not feted.
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