יום חמישי, 30 בינואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Hasby Award: Best Blog

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 09:30 PM PST

Perhaps the category that generates the most interest.

The nominees for Best Pro-Israel Blog are:



And the winner is...




Israellycool has always been a tremendous blog, with great analysis and a wonderful sense of humor. This year, though, it has outdone itself by adding more and more writers, turning it into more of a magazine than a blog. Judge Dan, Brian of London, Zionist Shark, Real Jerusalem Streets and all the others have made Israellycool a must read daily. (I find myself having to check if Israellycool covered a topic before I tackle it, because if it did...why bother?)

The other nominees are great, but no one deserves this award more than Aussie Dave. (Who happens to be a super nice guy in real life as well!)

Congratulations, Israellycool gang!

01/29 Links Pt2: Confronting European funding for BDS; Man charged over Toulouse school 'quenelle'

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 04:00 PM PST

From Ian:
NGO Monitor: Confronting European funding for BDS
The first step in confronting European governments that provide most of the funds for these organizations is to demand the implementation of democratic transparency principles in Europe. This would expose the sources of influence behind this NGO funding to independent analysis, and highlight the systematic abuse of European "soft power" for boycotts and demonization against Israeli democracy. On this basis, Israeli and European officials can negotiate mutually acceptable guidelines for funding political advocacy NGOs, which would prevent grants to groups that promote double standards, the discriminatory singling out of Israel, lawfare based on "war crimes" and similar false allegations, and the denial of the right of the Jewish people to sovereign equality.
While these measures will not bring an immediate end to BDS and political warfare, they constitute the essential first steps towards a viable counter-strategy.
Scarlett Johansson Applauded for Standing Up to BDS Movement, Invited to Visit Israel
Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson was lauded by Jewish groups for her support of SodaStream, an Israeli company that has come under fire from anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) groups that aim to harm Israeli companies.
"We salute Scarlett Johansson's statement explaining clearly and directly the reasons for her association with SodaStream, and commend her principled opposition to those who have sought to use her relationship as a celebrity spokesperson for SodaStream to promote a divisive and highly politicized campaign designed to cause economic harm to the company and its hundreds of employees," said Anti-Defamation League National Director, Abraham Foxman, in a statement.
SodaStream wins boycott case in France
Israeli drink manufacturer SodaStream won a legal battle in France against an organization seeking to impose a boycott on its products. The court's verdict ruled that the "origin of the product," in this case an Israeli settlement, does not justify the call to boycott.
The group calling for the boycott, the Association France Palestine Solidarité, was told to cease and desist its activities against SodaStream and take down its digital media equating SodaStream with fraud. (h/t Herb Glatter)



Anti-Israel group to Oxfam: Dump Scarlett Johansson over SodaStream
The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement's national committee called on Oxfam to end its relationship with actress Scarlett Johansson over her role as spokesperson for SodaStream.
A statement published Tuesday on the Alternative Information Center website called on Oxfam to "immediately sever ties with Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson over her vocal support for illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory."
VOTE NO! Guardian Poll: Should Oxfam Sever Ties with Scarlett Johansson?
Our good friends at the Guardian are besides themselves trying to cover Israel-related issues in a balanced and unbiased way. And if you like their neutral headline, which doesn't ask "what should Oxfam do" but rather offers option one from column A as the given, you'll love their depiction of the events so far:
"It seems [Oxfam's] celebrity ambassador, Scarlett Johansson, has signed an advertising deal with SodaStream International Ltd, an Isreali company operating in the West Bank… [and the] move has caused an 'internal revolt' at Oxfam."
New York Senate bill ends funding to schools linked to Israel boycott group
The New York Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would prohibit private or public state colleges and universities from spending taxpayers funds on academic groups that support boycotting Israel, Capitol Confidential reported.
The legislation, introduced earlier this month by Democratic Senator Jeff Klien, passed by a vote of 51-4.
This is the first time a legislative body has managed to pass a bill targeting the American Studies Association over its decision to boycott Israel.
Phase 2 of the pushback against the anti-Israel academic boycott
The boycott is discrimination on the basis of national origin. While they don't boycott all Israeli academics, they only boycott Israeli academics, and that's national origin discrimination.
And we're going to be, you know it hasn't really been publicly announced 'till now, but we're going to be going around the country, and wherever they meet, we're going to insist that universities and that municipalities apply their local anti-discrimination laws to these events. That if they're going to hold an event that's going to discriminate on the basis of national origin, we want the laws enforced as to them just as they would be to any other group.
Netanyahu calls ministerial meeting on European boycotts
This is the first time Netanyahu's government has sat down to seriously debate strategies to counter European boycotts. A senior government source told Haaretz that the meeting was spurred by the announcement earlier this month from the Dutch firm PGGM, one of the 20 largest pension asset managers globally, that it had divested from five Israeli banks because they are involved in financing the construction of Jewish settlements in occupied territories.
Honest Reporting: UK National Union of Journalists To Support BDS?
The NUJ and its 38,000 members have been down this road before. In 2007, members voted to boycott Israeli products, ostensibly to protest Israel's war in Lebanon. Less than three months later, the union scrapped the boycott. The timing raised questions that the NUJ's move was a pandering ploy to help free abducted BBC reporter Alan Johnston.
Bottom line, you can't call yourself an objective journalist if you support the boycott of the country you cover. Journalism has to be outside the realm of politics.
If this motion does come to a vote, NUJ members should disclose their votes. It's in the public's interest to know.
And if the motion passes, the journalism of its members working in Israel will have zero credibility.
ADL Rips Al Jazeera for Attempt to 'Exploit and Diminish the Holocaust'
Leading Jewish human rights group, the Anti-Defamation League, slammed Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera for posting an online poll which asks viewers to compare the crimes of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad with those of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
"Shame on Al Jazeera. Even when people are dying on the streets of Syria the network cannot help but to inject their own warped views toward Jews and the Holocaust," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor. "This is part of the network's dangerous obsession with Jews and Israel, and this poll is a blatant attempt to exploit and diminish the Holocaust while having the unintended effect of demeaning all of the people who died in Syria."
Russia's leading state television company fires ENTIRE department after its Facebook page lauds top Nazi Joseph Goebbels as a 'great'
Russia's leading state television company fired an entire department today after its facebook page lauded Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels as a 'great' figure alongside Winston Churchill.
'We apologise to our readers for the unethical publication,' said VGTRK media group after a public outcry.
Chile's Palestine soccer club leaves map on uniform
"The fact that the Palestinian Soccer Club chose to keep the map of Israel on their shirt, claiming all of it as Palestinian Territory, provides further proof that the ideology of the leaders of the Palestinian community of Chile is very extremist, and it is based on the denial of all connection of the Jewish People with the land of Israel," Maximiliano Grass, director of the Chile-Israel Council, the Zionist Federation of Chile, told JTA. "As a matter of fact, even when they cannot use the previous shirt any more, they've taken advantage of media coverage to sell more than 7,000 of them around the globe. With this kind of attitude, it is very unlikely that we are able to reestablish constructive dialogue with the local Palestinian community any time soon," he added.
Frenchman charged over antisemitic photos
French authorities have filed preliminary charges against a man over photos posted online appearing to glorify a deadly attack on a Jewish school.
Toulouse Prosecutor Michel Valet told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the administrator of the website showing the photos was charged late Tuesday with inciting racial hatred.
Valet said the website included two photos of a man performing an arm gesture known as the "quenelle." One photo shows a man wearing a Yasser Arafat T-shirt doing the quenelle in front of the Toulouse school where gunman Mohamed Merah killed three children and a rabbi in 2012. In another, the man is in front of Merah's apartment building. (h/t Bob Knot)
France Dieudonne: Fraud police raid comic's properties
He is suspected of a fraudulent declaration of bankruptcy, money-laundering and abuse of company assets.
The government has vowed to make him pay fines for hate speech.
According to French media, he has transferred 400,000 euros (£331,000; $547,000) to Cameroon since 2009 while failing to pay fines totalling 65,000 euros.
Anti-Semitism is an international threat once again
What do a major Palestinian political organisation, a French comedian of partly African descent, large sections of the Iranian elite and a rightwing Hungarian leader have in common? They all believe that the world is run by an international Jewish conspiracy.
Hamas, which currently runs the Gaza Strip, put an approving reference to the paranoid anti-Semitic forgery, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, in its founding charter. Dieudonné M'bala M'bala, whose comic shows are particularly popular among young and disadvantaged Frenchmen from immigrant backgrounds, invented the now notorious "quenelle", a disguised Hitler salute. It hit the mainstream news when West Bromwich Albion striker Nicolas Anelka gave the quenelle after scoring against West Ham in December of last year. The Iranian leadership and press routinely refer to the dominance of Jewish and Zionist forces — the two terms are used more or less interchangeably — in the world.
Israel, Georgia Sign Economic Cooperation Agreement
At the start of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said, "These intensified bilateral ties and enhanced people-to-people contacts are based on a logical continuation of our 26 centuries of exemplary friendship between the Jewish and Georgian people. I remember our history. The Jewish people first came to Georgia after the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BC. Since then Georgia has become your second home, where they were accepted, loved, respected and made part of the Georgian world. And this will continue and we'll make sure that we strengthen this relationship."
Beamr me up from Israel
Data compression company Beamr is not able to send an actual person through cyberspace, but their technology does promise to deliver us humanoids "life" quality video at warp speed.
The company's made-in-Israel core technology works to compress imagery and video, without comprising quality. Beamr's tuned algorithms manage to make compression adjustments to visual data, essentially optimizing a file size, while the naked eye notices nothing.
Portman's hubby adopts Judaism
Benjamin Millepied, the choreographer husband of A-list actress Natalie Portman, is working on converting to Judaism, Millepied told an Israeli daily on Wednesday.
The couple, along with their son Aleph, are in Israel for a multi-week visit while Portman works on her directorial debut, a film adaptation of Amos Oz's classic "A Tale of Love and Darkness."
For some dying Syrian children, Israel is the only hope
KURDISTAN REGION, Iraq — A grandmother steps out warily into the muddy street. The sun setting behind the jagged mountains to the west casts a pink hue over the tents of the refugee camp. She wraps her blue scarf around her face, sizing up the unannounced visitors who are asking to see her granddaughter.
The seven-month-old child lies motionless in her arms, eyes barely open, breath slow and shallow.
The baby is fighting ventricular septal defect, a hole in the wall that divides the left and right ventricles of the heart. She weighs only three kilograms, and doctors here in Iraq won't operate on her until she gets much bigger. But the same hole in her heart keeps her from growing.
IDF Blog: An Inside Look into the Israeli Hospital that Saves Syrian Lives
For the past three years, death has become a way of life for Syrian civilians, who are caught in the throes of a brutal civil war. Last year, the IDF set up a field hospital to treat wounded Syrian civilians near the northern border. Regardless of the tense relations between Israel and Syria, who are still officially at war, IDF soldiers have continued to apply a core Jewish value: "Whoever saves one life, saves the entire world."
On February 16, 2013, seven wounded civilians from Syria approached Israel's border in urgent need of help. Colonel Tariff Bader, a Druze officer, heads an Israeli field hospital near the border. He began his IDF service in 1993, and after completing his medical studies, rose the IDF's ranks to become a senior medical officer in the IDF's Northern Command.

How Israel-haters use interview bias in SodaStream stories

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 02:02 PM PST

The SodaStream story brings up an interesting point about journalism itself.

So far, since last year, we have seen four different media outlets interview workers at the SodaStream plant in Mishor Adumin.

First, JTA last February:
"Everyone works together: Palestinians, Russians, Jews," a Palestinian employee named Rasim at the Maale Adumim site told JTA. Rasim has worked at the plant for four months and asked that his last name not be published. "Everything is OK. I always work with Jews. Everyone works together, so of course we're friends."
This was followed by the Electronic Intifada hate site, referring to the video that Sodastream put out about its Arab workers:
"I feel humiliated and I am also disgraced as a Palestinian, as the claims in this video are all lies. We Palestinian workers in this factory always feel like we are enslaved," M. said.

...When asked if there was discrimination between black and white Jews, M. replied, "Yes, for sure. You will not [find] white Jews wearing yarmulke [a skull cap] doing the hard work or 'hand work.' The supervisors who run the factory are mainly Russian and they are managed mainly by the white Jews, and we are 'Palestinians,' only workers."
Then came the article from The Forward that I referred to previously:
During discussions between a Forward reporter and about a half-dozen of these Palestinian employees, conducted out of earshot of Israeli managers, none complained of labor abuses, or of receiving pay below the Israeli minimum wage. Asked about the calls by anti-occupation activists to boycott SodaStream, one spoke about the dearth of jobs in the Palestinian Authority economy.
That was followed by a new Reuters piece written by Noah Browning:
One mid-level Palestinian employee who spoke to Reuters outside the plant, away from the bosses, painted a far less perfect picture, however.

"There's a lot of racism here," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Most of the managers are Israeli, and West Bank employees feel they can't ask for pay rises or more benefits because they can be fired and easily replaced."
I have pointed out in the past that Noah Browning is a very poor reporter with a definite anti-Israel bias.

So we have a case study here. Four reports, two contradicting the other two. Which is accurate?

Obviously, Electronic Intifada has no journalistic integrity whatsoever. It is literally impossible to believe that their reporter would ever admit that some Arab employees are happy. If she interviewed ten workers and only one was critical, that would be the one quoted.

I've shown that Noah Browning is biased. I would not be surprised if he called up EI and asked for the name of the person they interviewed last year to save himself some effort of finding a disgruntled employee himself.

JTA and the Forward are both Jewish publications. But both are very left wing and anti-settlement. They are both highly critical of the Israeli government. The Forward just published an op-ed from Peace Now advocating boycotting SodaStream. It would be difficult to say that they are biased towards finding workers who would sing the praises of SodaStream. Yet - that's who they found.

So who is more credible? The answer is obvious.

If SodaStream was treating its workers like slaves, they would be leaving and finding other jobs. That does not seem to be the case here.

I'm not saying that the person (or people) interviewed by Browning and EI is lying. Every company has disgruntled employees. Any reporter can, and often does, play the game of finding just the right person to support the reporter's pre-existing bias. This is how journalists can lie with facts.

And this is almost certainly what we are seeing here from Reuters and Electronic Intifada.

PA foreign ministry condemns Holocaust - and then says Israel must be punished

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 12:00 PM PST

Arabic media is reporting that the PA foreign ministry issued a statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying that "The Holocaust was the greatest sin committed by the hand of man against all of humanity, and in an unendurable manner that is inconceivable, with ethnic cleansing, and genocide."

Like Catherine Ashton, the statement (as published in the media)  didn't mention Jews.

However, the PA went further, saying "the journey of mankind since has resulted in a number of evil and disastrous situations, which must be addressed, violating justice, humanity and international law and international humanitarian law, including the apartheid system, which prevailed prominently in South Africa, and the system of the Israeli occupation and control over the Palestinian people and their land and who deported them by force, and usurped their homeland, freedom and dignity." and it called on the United Nations and its organizations, and all nations of the world, to "take action to protect humanity from the recurrence of such crimes, and removing them immediately, and to go after the perpetrators."

Do you think that their comparison of Israel to Nazi Germany was too subtle?

Hamas media was critical that the PA condemned the Holocaust in the first place.

That might be the reason why I couldn't find this statement on the PA foreign ministry website. 

Hasby Award: Best Pro-Israel Tweeter

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 10:30 AM PST

A much-anticipated category!

The nominees for Best Pro-Israel Tweeters are:



And the winner is:





All of the nominees are fantastic and worth following. But while most of them tweet and retweet articles from the same places, No Camels is dedicated to good news from Israel, especially in covering high tech. Many but not all of their tweets point to their great website. Since hasbara is not only countering the lies about Israel but also proactively  telling the truth about this amazing nation, No Camels was chosen as this year's winner.

Congratulations!

01/29 Links Pt1: Obama Treats Ally Israel Worse Than Enemy Dictatorships; Kerry's Plan Leaks

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Obama Treats Ally Israel Worse Than Enemy Dictatorships
Israel is expected to do things neither the U.S. nor its other allies would do. This month, the Obama Administration was critical of Afghanistan's Karzai releasing of scores of Islamist "dangerous criminals against whom there is strong evidence linking them to terror-related crimes." But last year, the Administration pressured Israel into releasing scores of convicted Palestinian killers of Israeli civilians – although it did express concern when one of those released, Al Haj Othman Amar Mustafa, turned out have also murdered an American. Actions unacceptable elsewhere were positively demanded of Israel.
The Obama pattern is clear. The respect for sovereign decisions and deference to security concerns that apply to other U.S. allies are absent when it comes to Israel. Israel is expected to bow to the Administration's policy without demur, run security risks the U.S. itself would not abide, and ignore the extremism, non-acceptance, and bad faith of its Palestinian partner, just as the Obama Administration does. This is just the unseemly underside of the disconnect between the Administration's public words of support for Israel and the reality of its coolness and indifference to the realities it faces.
The 'Kerry Plan': Palestinian capital in east Jerusalem, recognition of Jewish state
The "Kerry Plan" is likely to be unveiled soon, Thomas Friedman of The New York Times wrote on Tuesday in a column titled "Why Kerry is Scary."
The "Kerry Plan," writes Friedman, is expected to "call for an end to the conflict and all claims, following a phased Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank (based on the 1967 lines)."
Friedman also said that there will be "unprecedented security arrangements in the strategic Jordan Valley."
According to Friedman, some settlements will remain under Israeli control and Israel will "compensate" Palestinians for the land.
Obama Refers to 'Jewish State' of Israel Hours After Netanyahu Calls for PA to do Same
Stating America's objectives in the ongoing U.S. sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Obama called for "an independent state for Palestinians, and lasting peace and security for the State of Israel—a Jewish state that knows America will always be at their side."
At a security conference earlier on Tuesday, Israel's Netanyahu said that of two basic principles required of the PA, "The first is recognition of the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people."
"This is the root of the conflict. The conflict is not about the settlements, its not about the settlers, and it's not about a Palestinian state. The Zionist movement agreed to recognize a Palestinian state. The conflict is over the Jewish state… We are asked to recognize a national Palestinian state, so can we not also demand [that they] recognize a national Jewish state?" the Premier said.



Netanyahu: Israel not obligated by US peace plan
"The Americans are working to solidify American positions," he said at the Institute for National Security Studies conference. "Israel does not have to accept every American position." He said the American proposal would be presented soon.
Netanyahu also reiterated his position that he does not "want a bi-national state and… this reflects the desires of most Israelis." However, he qualified, neither does he want another "state sponsored by Iran" next door to Israel — a reference to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and Lebanon — so "the Palestinian state must be demilitarized, and therefore some symbols of [its] sovereignty must be limited."
Abbas: Transition period after deal can't pass 3 years
The comments, taped in December and screened at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) annual conference in Tel Aviv, stand in contrast to Israel's stated position, which is that a withdrawal will be staged over a long period of time, anywhere from 10 to even 50 years.
"Whoever proposes 10-15 years for a transition period does not want to withdraw," Abbas said. "We said that a transitional period cannot exceed three years, during which Israel can withdraw gradually. We are willing to allow a third party take Israel's place during and after withdrawal to soothe our concerns and Israel's, and ensure both sides that things will continue as normal."
PLO Official: Israelis welcome to apply for immigration to 'Palestine'
Israeli officials use these statements as proof that the Palestinians have not really accepted the idea of peace with Israel.
"Nothing shows the Palestinian Authority's unwillingness to reach an accord with Israel more than their extreme and reckless reaction to an unofficial report," Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "(A peace accord) will only be reached when the Palestinians recognize the Jewish state and when the essential interests of the security of Israeli citizens are guaranteed." (h/t Bob Knot)
Bennett: Jews in 'Palestine' would be killed
"Do you know why? Why Jews cannot live under Palestinian rule? Do you know why? Why Palestinians can't rule over Jews?" Bennett said in an address at the Institute for National Security Studies Conference, reiterating a point he'd made on Facebook earlier in the day. "Because they will kill them. And do you know how I know this? Because it has already happened."
Bennett went on to recount in gory detail some of the events of the 1929 massacre in Hebron, in which 67 Jews were killed during Arab riots, and of the year 2000 lynching in Ramallah of two off-duty IDF soldiers who had sought refuge in a Palestinian police station.
Three arrested attempting to enter Temple Mount
Police said the suspects were attempting to smuggle Israeli flags onto the Mount with the intention of displaying them, an act prohibited at the sensitive site.
The three suspects were arrested at the Mughrabi Gate, next to the Western Wall Plaza, Walla News reported.
The Mughrabi Gate is the only entrance through which non-Muslims are allowed to enter the site under Israel's agreement with the Wakf, the Jordanian Islamic religious authority responsible for operations on the Temple Mount.
Palestinian said killed after opening fire on troops
A Palestinian man opened fire on an IDF post near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, north of Ramallah, on Wednesday.
One soldier returned fire and confirmed that the shooter was hit, the IDF said. According to Palestinian sources, the shooter was killed.
The soldiers "acted swiftly and professionally to prevent casualties. We will continue to stand guard and protect Israeli civilians from terror acts such as this one," IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.
Shin Bet: Hamas seeks to boost presence in Jerusalem
Over the past several weeks the Shin Bet security service has arrested 16 men on suspicion of running a Hamas headquarters in Jerusalem, the internal security organization said Tuesday.
Shin Bet said the Hamas members, who sought to increase the organization's influence in and around the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Temple Mount, represented both a potential security threat and part of an ongoing Hamas effort to expand its sphere of influence beyond the Gaza Strip.
Muslim group threatens Canada PM with libel suit
A Muslim organization said Tuesday it will sue Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his spokesman for libel unless they retract and apologize for a statement linking the group to Hamas.
Canada lists Hamas as a banned terrorist organization.
Fatah: Hamas yet to reply to reconciliation proposal
The head of Fatah's reconciliation team Azzam al-Ahmad said earlier this month that he would visit the Gaza Strip and meet with Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh.
However, spokesman Hassan Ahmad told Ma'an that "al-Ahmad's visit to Gaza is linked to Hamas' approval to hold elections and form a unity government. But Hamas has yet to reply to the proposal given by al-Ahmad to Haniyeh in the latest phone call." (h/t Bob Knot)
'Refugees' Suffer, PA Still Cozy with Iran
Reports continue to come in of mass starvation in the Yarmouk neighborhood in Damascus, which has been under siege for months as fighting continues in Syria.
The neighborhood is populated by descendants of Arabs who fled pre-state Israel, who identify as "Palestinian Arab refugees" and are recognized as such by the Palestinian Authority (PA).
However, despite that connection, the PA continues to side with Iran, which is backing Bashar Assad's army – the same army imposing the siege on Yarmouk. Senior PA official Jibril Rajoub, a member of the Central Committee of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, recently made a trip to Tehran, where he voiced support for the position shared by Iran and Assad.
IDF chief: No matter who wins in Syria, Israel loses
"Heads or tails," Gantz said, describing the almost three-year war in terms of a coin toss, "the result is negative either way."
"If [Syrian President Bashar] Assad survives he is beholden to the radical axis, to Iran and Hezbollah which bolster him," he elaborated. "If Assad falls, he will be replaced by global jihadists or other organizations."
Even if Assad does emerge from the conflict on top, Gantz asserted, he will not regain full control of Syria, leaving the door open for other extremist elements.
Syria Jihadists Say Liberation of 'Palestine,' Golan Will Follow Fall of Assad (VIDEO)
In recent footage from a Syrian Jihadist training camp in Aleppo, Mohammed Hussein, founder of Bin Laden Front, told a camera crew from VICE News that the militants's goal was to topple the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, then its "aim is to liberate greater Syria."
Hassan Abu Ali, a 15-year old fighter profiled in the report, told VICE, "Once Syria is liberated, our next mission is to liberate Palestine and Golan and continue our conquests. Thanks be to Allah."
Australian jihad recruits fighting in Syria may bring their terror skills home
UP to 120 Australians fighting in the Syrian civil war and learning deadly skills which could be used on their return are being funded by Muslim communities here collecting money for humanitarian aid.
Federal Attorney-General George Brandis also warned yesterday that some fighters could commit terrorist acts in Australia.
"These individuals not only potentially breach Australian laws and commit offences offshore, but upon their return to Australia pose a significant national security risk," he said.
Returning Terrorists 'a Serious Threat' to Canada
If these traveling Canadians "participate in a foreign conflict or train with a terrorist group, they might return with certain operational skills that can be deployed themselves or taught to fellow Canadian extremists. Either way, this is a serious security threat to Canada," notes the report.
Michel Coulombe, Director of CSIS, reported that in the recent years the intelligence agency has dealt with a rising number of attempts by foreign intelligence agents to obtain sensitive information concerning fields such as aviation, biotechnology, chemicals, communications, nuclear energy and oil.
Jennifer Rubin: Ex-Obama adviser: Interim deal is a sham
Contrary to the administration's representations, it does not alter Iran's timeline, the authors report, because Western negotiators "needed to secure a final settlement with a clear short-term timeframe for Iran to uphold its commitments. Instead, the JPA is a longer-term, multi-stage agreement with moveable deadlines and ultimately no permanent limits on Iran's ability to pursue nuclear weapons. By doing nothing to prevent a nuclear Iran, this lax timeline could encourage further regional instability, including a stronger Israeli sense of urgency to launch a preventive military strike."
Iran's nuclear bid 'only a matter of time,' says PM's former top adviser
"From Israel's perspective, the result [of the interim nuclear deal] is disappointing compared to what we had hoped for," Arad told The Times of Israel on the sidelines of a first annual lecture series in memory his former history teacher, Tel Aviv University founder professor Zvi Yavetz, who passed away last year.
"Most experts doubt whether a [final] deal can be reached, so we should treat the current situation as one which will continue. They [the Iranians] will continue enriching [uranium] to a level they regard as permissible, until the opportunity arises when they decide to catch up easily. It's only a matter of time. Meanwhile, they achieve sanctions relief and the sense of [Western] laxness. The threat of military intervention is dissipating in the air," he said.
Ex-CIA head: US would use force to stop Iran
Israelis should have faith that the United States is willing to use force to stop the Iranian nuclear program, former Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus said Tuesday.
"Take yes for an answer. This is not an off the cuff comment. He [US President Barack Obama] has articulated his approach on the Iranian nuclear program many times," Patraeus said at the Institute for National Security Studies' (INSS) annual conference in Tel Aviv.
Iran President Promises "Prudent, Moderate" Annihilation of Israel (Satire)
Similarly, what he called "improved relations with all the world" can only be achieved by continuing to arm and train Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militant organization whose involvement in Syria's internal conflict has spilled over violently into Lebanon.
Rouhani insisted on Iran's right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful uses such as electricity production, medical isotope manufacture, and Jew immolation. "The Iranian people are not willing to give up their peaceful technology," he stated. (h/t Mightier than the Pen)

Arab SodaStream workers applaud their CEO

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 07:00 AM PST

The Forward went to the SodaStream factory in Mishor Adumim and spoke to the CEO, Daniel Birnbaum.

Birnbaum is not at all a right wing fanatic. Far from it. He is as liberal a person as you can find. He does not support Israel's claim to Judea and Samaria. He would not have set up the factory in Mishor Adumim, but it was there when he took over the company. And he shows that he is far more pro-Palestinian than all of the "pro-Palestinian activists" combined.
[T]hough he wouldn't have opened the factory at its current site, Birnbaum said that its presence here is now a reality, and he won't bow to political pressure to close it — even though the company is about to open a huge new plant in the Negev, within Israel's internationally-recognized boundaries, which will replicate all functions of the West Bank plant, and dwarf it.

The reason for staying is loyalty to approximately 500 Palestinians who are among the plant's 1,300 employees, Birnbaum claimed. While other employees could relocate on the other side of the Green Line if the plant moved, the West Bank Palestinian workers could not, and would suffer financially, he argued.

"We will not throw our employees under the bus to promote anyone's political agenda," he said, adding that he "just can't see how it would help the cause of the Palestinians if we fired them."

...Birnbaum's advisor, Maurice Silber, said that within the company "everybody is against the occupation." But it does not follow, he said, that because SodaStream operates in an occupied area, it violates human rights. Eventually, he said, SodaStream could become the "seed of the future Palestinian economy."

The Arab workers clearly support Birnbaum - showing that claims to the contrary from Israel haters are a lie.

At the plant's cafeteria, awareness of the current international controversy over Scarlett Johannson's new role at the company was clearly widespread among employees. During the Forward's visit, Birnbaum took to the cafeteria floor to give some 250 Palestinian workers a kind of pep talk about the issue, urging them to ignore the political attacks. "We are making history for the Palestinian people and the Israeli people," he told them in Hebrew, followed by a translator who rendered his comments into Arabic. Birnbaum reassured the workers about their jobs and said he wanted to bring "more and more hands" into the factory as SodaStream grows.

The Palestinians applauded these comments. But then Birnbaum added with a flourish: "Scarlett Johannson would be proud of you!" And at the sound of Johannson's name — even before the translation — applause among the assembly of mostly male, 30-something Palestinian workers burst out again, palpably louder.

During discussions between a Forward reporter and about a half-dozen of these Palestinian employees, conducted out of earshot of Israeli managers, none complained of labor abuses, or of receiving pay below the Israeli minimum wage. Asked about the calls by anti-occupation activists to boycott SodaStream, one spoke about the dearth of jobs in the Palestinian Authority economy.
So who cares more about Palestinian Arabs - SodaStream or the Israel haters?

With each passing day, the answer becomes more and more obvious.

This SodaStream "controversy" was manufactured out of whole cloth by people with an anti-Israel, not a pro-Palestinian, agenda.

It is backfiring on them, as the world sees that the people obsessed over SodaStream don't care one bit about real live Palestinians.

The Arabs who work for SodaStream make it clear whose side they are on. And their actions and words show just how much the anti-Israel crowd lies.

The world is waking up to these lies.

Expect to see some furious logical obfuscation in the hate sites as they try to pretend that they know better than Palestinians what Palestinians want.

10 more Palestinian Arabs die of starvation in Syria. Must be ScarJo's fault.

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 05:00 AM PST

On Monday, it was reported that 9 Palestinian Arabs died in the Yarmouk camp in Syria on Sunday - 7 of them from starvation and lack of medicine and the others were killed. One was killed by a sniper while searching for food.

On Tuesday evening, 6 more died, four from starvation, including a four-month old baby girl.

Syria's siege of Yarmouk is now 179 days old. Thousands more are at risk of starvation. Residents are eatign stray animals to survive, and women are turning to prostitution in exchange for a cup of rice.

Pro-Palestinian activists have been busy. Not about starving Palestinian Arabs, of course. No, they've been furiously protesting an actress making a commercial for a fizzy drink appliance.

Priorities.

Congress and White House agree: occupation is the best solution

Posted: 29 Jan 2014 02:30 AM PST

Did you know that the US wholeheartedly supports the occupation?
Often forgotten among the current crises in the Middle East and North Africa, the unresolved territorial dispute over the Western Sahara has continued to impede closer cooperation among the countries of North Africa for more than 35 years. Approximately the size of Colorado, the territory is administered by the Government of Morocco and contested by a group known as the Polisario Front that operates refugee camps of between 35,000 and 90,000 people near Tindouf, Algeria. For years, bipartisan majorities of Congress and the last three Presidents have advocated for a solution to this issue based on a formula of Moroccan sovereignty and local autonomy. This compromise recognizes our ally Morocco's historic claims and guarantees local autonomy; and it is based in the reality that an independent state with such few people would fail, contributing further instability in an already volatile region.

Less than two months after the White House meeting where President Obama and King Mohammed VI stressed their "shared commitment" to improve the lives of the people in the Western Sahara, the 2014 Appropriations Bill mandates for the first time that US assistance to Morocco be extended to Western Sahara. This Congressional action helps President Obama put solid deeds behind the commitment he made to the US's oldest friend, a strategic partner in a region of the world where we need our friends more than ever. With so much turmoil throughout the region – from Syria to Libya to Mali to Iran -- the US is fortunate to have such a partnership with a country noted for its continuing stability and progress toward democracy. Taking these steps to reaffirm our commitment to that partnership provides tangible US support where we can actually make a difference in the Arab world.
...
This is especially important given that the Western Sahara conflict has stood in the way of regional political and economic cooperation sorely needed to bring peace, security, and development to North Africa. As the UN has warned, the desolate conditions in the Polisario refugee camps have created a "tinderbox" ready to explode into extremism and provide recruits for a growing terrorist threat. Congress's tangible action together with President Obama's recent expression of support, demonstrate America's resolve to firmly address this issue. The sooner and more clearly the surrounding countries of North Africa recognize this new US support, the more likely it is that the United Nations negotiator charged with formulating a political compromise will find a solution that provides autonomy for the people of the Sahara under the stable and friendly country of Morocco.

Morocco has invested billions of dollars in the southern provinces in the consolidation of the road infrastructure, the construction of schools, hospitals, and other development projects, the constant goal is the improvement of living conditions of people in this part of the Kingdom and pave the way to autonomy.
Edward M. Gabriel is the former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, 1997 to 2001, and currently advises the government of Morocco.
A state that is occupying a territory, in which it has claims that most of the world doesn't recognize, is being supported unconditionally by the White House and Congress. US funds are being given to that country to annex the area and provide limited autonomy for the people who live there, but no one wants to see a state there. There is a danger of terrorism if the situation would be left alone so this country, America's good friend, will be trusted to secure the area and develop the occupied territory in an intelligent and fair manner. Many people from this country have moved into the disputed area, even changing the demographic nature of the occupied areas, but this is not considered a problem and no one is demanding that these settlers be forced to leave. The ally has already built an infrastructure in that region where none existed before. No one wants to create a state that will undoubtedly fail, because that will add to instability in the region and the larger Arab world.

But for some reason the logic does not apply elsewhere, where US policy is the exact opposite - to deny a stable friend of the US rights to its own historic areas, to create a state that is sure to fail and that will destabilize the region, to ignore and downplay the existing terrorists in the area who swear daily to destroy the friendly country.

It isn't only the US, of course - Europe also has no problem with this occupation.

Why there is such inconsistency?
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