| 02/14 Links Pt2: Dr. King’s pro-Israel legacy; BDS Fail at UC Riverside; Viber sold for $900m Posted: 14 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST From Ian:
Dr. King's pro-Israel legacy: His prophetic voice still speaks, part 1Since his death, many groups have attempted to use the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as champion of their cause. His timeless quotes are applied to all things related to social justice, equality and political freedom. Of course, in addition to being a beacon for all of the above, Dr. King was also a staunch supporter of the State of Israel, and loyal friend to the Jewish people. Yet this historical, indisputable fact does not seem to phase anti-Zionists who also claim Dr. King's posthumous blessing on their agenda. How do they reconcile such a blatant discrepancy? They simply label the Palestinians as victims and the Israelis as perpetrators, and voila: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, becomes an obvious condemnation of the Jewish State.
The problem is, we have Dr. King's unambiguous words supporting Israel, and none of his words to the contrary. In fact, his most full-throated endorsement of Israel may surprise you, not just because of its content, but its context. Leftist figures did not set Schulz straight on factsOn Tuesday, European Union Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen hosted a dinner in honor of Schulz at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Among those in attendance was Naomi Chazan, a former Meretz MK and deputy Knesset speaker who is now a director in the left-wing NGO New Israel Fund; Yossi Beilin, former Meretz leader and cabinet minister and one of the architects of the Geneva Initiative; Ron Pundak, who helped draft the Oslo Accords in 1993 and is a former director-general of the Peres Center for Peace; Akiva Eldar, former Haaretz correspondent, and Professor Manuel Trajtenberg, chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee at the Council for Higher Education. Labor MK Hilik Bar was the only politician at the event. No government or right-wing representatives were invited.
At the event, Schulz said that he had just visited the Palestinian Authority, where he had been told that Israel did not distribute water fairly. He also said he was told of infringements on Palestinian freedom of movement. No one in the audience challenged Schulz on the facts or tried to set the record straight. Some of the people at the dinner said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be able to make better decisions if he faced more outside pressure. Roving Sea Peoples may have settled Transjordan, archaeologist saysNew evidence unearthed at an ancient site in the Jordan Valley suggests that the Sea Peoples — a group which includes the ancient Israelites' nemeses, the Philistines — settled as far inland as the Transjordan, a Swedish archaeologist argues. Not everyone in the archaeological community, however, is convinced by the finds.
The find, made by a team digging at Tell Abu al-Kharaz, also strengthens the ties connecting the Sea Peoples and the Aegean — reinforcing the theory that the Philistines were among a number of tribes of non-Semitic peoples who migrated across the Mediterranean and settled in Canaan in the early Iron Age alongside the emergent Israelites. Media Maven Dangles Boycott Over Israel's Head While Israel's Economy BoomsSince the founding of the Jewish state, Israel and its supporters have contended with an unrelenting effort to isolate and delegitimize it. Economic boycotts figure prominently as a non-violent form of coercion to squeeze concessions from Israel. Yet boycotts have historically yielded poor results. The Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment campaign, now in its tenth year, makes a lot noise, but has little to show for its efforts.
Many of Israel's foes in the West seem caught in a time warp, imagining the Israeli economy as it was decades ago, relatively undeveloped, struggling under a mountain of debt with runaway inflation and hampered by an intrusive state and union monopoly.
The mass immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s heralded a technological flowering and entrepreneurial boom that opened up and transformed Israel's economy. JCPA: Future EU Sanctions Against Israel? Real, Imagined, and Somewhere in BetweenThere are some senior Israeli officials who join in predicting that the measures taken by the European Union recently against cooperation with any Israeli economic activity over the pre-1967 lines could get worse, predicting that the boycott against settlements might be applied to all of Israel. Even Secretary of State John Kerry has warned that international action might be taken against Israel if progress in the peace process is not achieved.
While Israel has had difficulties making its case in Europe in recent years, especially after military clashes like Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2008-9 or its interception of the lead ship in the Gaza Flotilla in 2010, is this scenario of a full-scale EU boycott of Israel at all realistic in the context of a diplomatic scenario? Let's say Israeli-Palestinian negotiations reach an impasse; might EU economic sanctions be applied? Much of the discourse about this scenario is being conducted with little awareness about how the EU actually makes decisions in foreign policy. How Isolated is Israel?1. A record of 5.3 million tourists in Israel in 2013.
2. A record of $83.2BN foreign exchange reserves reflects the strength of Israel's Shekel, at a time when the currencies of the emerging markets plummet.
3. A record of $2.3BN invested in 662 Israeli startups in 2013 (21% above 2012), according to KPMG and IVC (Globes, January 23, 2014). Answering Casual Anti-Israel LibelsMany Israelis and their friends abroad have focused in recent years on efforts to "rebrand" their country as an attractive tourist destination or a source of high-tech innovation. Others have insisted that Israel's image will never be improved until peace with the Palestinians has been reached. These strategies have helped instill a certain degree of complacency, if not apathy in a pro-Israel community that has come to accept slanders and false information about the Jewish state as something that is bad but about which nothing can be done.
It is true that much of the anti-Israeli invective coming out of Europe has its roots in anti-Semitism, whether imported from the Middle East by immigrants or the product of anti-Zionist incitement from intellectual and academic elites. But the offhand nature of Schulz's utterances should tell us that there is no substitute for an energetic effort on the part of Israelis and their foreign friends to answer any and all such libels. By assuming that intelligent people won't believe slanders, they let lies like the water statistics become a form of conventional wisdom that is difficult to correct once accepted by the public. (h/t Norman F) UC Riverside defeats Divestment resolutionThe University of California at Riverside Student government voted last night to defeat a BDS resolution aimed at companies doing business in Israel. This is the second year in a row that BDS has lost at UC Riverside.
After the vote, pro divestment students left the room claiming they had been "silenced". On the contrary- they had spoken, made their arguments and had their say. Their arguments had been found deficient by their elected student council.
The UC Regents issued a firm statement opposing divestment in 2005, so any student council vote on the issue is purely symbolic. The commitment to oppose divestment from Israel was reiterated in 2010 Israel thanks US for fighting academic boycottThe presidents of universities in Israel sent a letter Thursday to their colleagues in the United States thanking them for fighting against the academic boycott against Israel.
The letter was sent to 150 leading universities and colleges, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia and Duke.
"We are honored that you stand beside us in this unacceptable situation," Hebrew University of Jerusalem President Professor Menachem Ben-Sasson wrote. The big boycott bluffSecond, the menace of BDS is being overstated for political purposes. The Left, and, perversely, part of the hard Right, is deliberately prophesying doom and gloom. For differing reasons, each camp is playing a foul and perilous game.
As I say, there is no real boycott threat, because money goes where the business is good, and Israel is very good business. BDS Group Opposing Rolling Stones Concert in Tel Aviv Says Syria's Assad 'Owned by the Jews'The comment thread, since removed by the group, showed a conversation with a Jewish poster named Stephen Ackerman, who wrote to say, "I suggest a flotilla to Save the Syrians. But you don't really care about true victims," to which he later added, "130,000 dead Syrians and you don't care," then taunting them with, but "If Assad were a Jew, you would care."
The group responded, "Assad is owned by the Jews and we do care. Two genocides don't make a right," to which Ackerman responded, "Really? Owned by the Jews? Are you sure you don't mean Israel?" SWC Blasts British Photographer Rankin for 'Ludicrously Uninformed' and 'Downright Anti-Semitic' CommentsJewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) had harsh words for celebrity photographer Rankin on Thursday in response to anti-Jewish comments he made in an interview with Britain's Independent.
"Rankin's PC anti-Israel talking points range from ludicrously uninformed to downright anti-Semitic," SWC Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper, told The Algemeiner. Film reveals anti-Zionist threat faced by studentsAnti-Zionism and antisemitism are still too often conflated on university campuses, and Jewish students are paying the price.
That's the view advanced in Crossing The Line: Exploring Israel On Campus, a new documentary which raises concerns about the safety of students targeted by anti-Israel activists.
The film was launched in the UK this week by Jerusalem U's executive vice-president, Eli Ovits. He said that the film, which is being screened on campuses and in community centres across the country and will soon be available online, would help encourage a more objective view of Israel. Ilan Halimi's killer attacks prison guard in FranceFofana was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for his role in the murder of Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old Jewish phone salesman.
A gang of at least 16 people led by Fofana abducted Halimi and tortured and starved him for 24 days while they negotiated with his family to obtain ransom. Fofana assured his gang that they would be paid because Halimi was Jewish. Russian Lawmaker: 'Jews Destroyed Russia'A Russian Member of Parliament (MP) burst out in an anti-Semitic tirade last Thursday, attacking other Russian lawmakers as "Jews" responsible for the 1917 Communist revolution and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Oleg Bolychev, an MP from the ruling United Russia party, called his opponents "Jews, mired in opposition," during a debate at the regional parliament in Kaliningrad, reports AFP. Israel summons Hungarian envoy to express concern over rising anti-SemitismThe Foreign Ministry summoned the Hungarian ambassador to Jerusalem on Thursday, in a rare move to voice Israel's "deep concern" over growing anti-Semitic incidents in the country.
Rafi Schutz, the ministry's deputy director-general for Europe, told Ambassador Andor Nagy that Israel was also worried about anti-Semitic statements in the political arena that call into question Hungary's willingness to deal truthfully and courageously with its past.
He said there were worrying trends toward re-writing the history of the Holocaust and the role that Hungary's anti-Semitic wartime leader Miklos Horthy played in it, as well as a forgiving attitude by some government officials toward anti-Semitic trends. Netanyahu Offers Cameron Assistance with FloodsPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday evening with British Prime Minister David Cameron and offered assistance in dealing with the storms affecting Great Britain.
The two agreed to coordinate a new date for Cameron's visit to Israel, which was due to take place next week but has been postponed because of the aforesaid storms. Star Wars-style laser shield aims to protect all of Israel from short-range rocketsAn Israeli state-owned arms company developing a laser-based missile shield that evokes "Star Wars" style technology says its deployment over the country is closer to becoming a reality.
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said development of the system was advanced enough for the company to be comfortable with publicizing it at this week's Singapore Airshow, which is Asia's largest aerospace and defense exhibition.
The laser technology behind the missile shield called Iron Beam is not that far removed from fiction. Japanese Internet giant snags Viber for $900mViber, the Israeli-founded video and voice communications app, has been acquired by Japanese Internet services company Rakuten for $900 million. Rakuten, an electronic commerce and Internet company, is the largest e-commerce site in Japan, and one of the largest in the world.
The app, that allows users to make free phone and video calls within its network, has over 200 million users all over the world, including many in Arab countries – exceptional for an app that was created in Israel. Although the company is currently based in Cyprus, its R&D center remains in Israel. Viber was released about three years ago and positioned by company CEO Talmon Marco as an alternative to Skype. World's Oldest Holocaust Survivor Stars in Oscar-Nominated FilmIn her 110 years, Alice Herz-Sommer has been an accomplished concert pianist and teacher, a wife and mother — and a prisoner in Theresienstadt.
Now she is the star of an Oscar-nominated documentary showing her indomitable optimism, cheerfulness and vitality despite all the upheavals and horrors she faced in the 20th century.
"The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life," a 38-minute film up for best short documentary at the Academy Awards to be handed out next month, begins in her native Prague. Alice — everyone from presidents on down calls her Alice — was born on Nov. 26, 1903 into an upper-class Jewish family steeped in literature and classical music.  |
| 114 year old Kurdish rabbi in Jerusalem Posted: 14 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST From Rudaw.net:In a humble apartment in Jerusalem's Baka neighborhood, about a mile south of the walls of the Old City, the world's oldest living Jew goes about his daily ritual. As he has for over a century, the rabbi rises in the morning, puts on his tefillin, or prayer phylacteries, with the help of one of his students, and says his morning prayers. Then, he sits to learn the Torah, Talmud, or kabbalah, examining it with the same fervor and passion he did when he started learning as a teenager.
In addition to being the world's oldest Jew, Rabbi Zechariah Barashi, 114, is also the world's oldest Kurd.
Barashi, still sharp and gregarious in his old age, remembers details from events 80 years ago with surprising clarity. He gives exact dates, names, and even prices of bus rides as he recounts his time growing up in the Badinan region of Kurdistan, and his journey to the British-controlled territory that would soon become Israel.
...Barashi remembers a man named Mirza as the Agha of Meriba, the town his family was living in. He was as "an important man, one of the greatest governors in the mountains of Kurdistan."
Mirza's wife saved Barashi's life at the age of 11. It was after the Passover holidays, and not one speck of food remained in the house. For two days, the family did not eat, and Zechariah fell sick. His father was away trying to buy meat on the black market. After having lost so many children, his mother was determined to save him. She went to the Agha's wife, and begged her for food. The wife hesitated at first, saying she was afraid her husband would find out, and be angry that he would now be forced to give to everyone who asked. Barashi's mother persisted, her only son's life was at stake, and assured her that she would hide the food under her dress, and no one would know. The Agha's wife agreed, and the boy recovered.
The Agha was very committed to the Jews in his region, Barashi remembered. His family used to visit the Agha on Friday nights. But when his sons got older, they began to smoke while Barashi's family visited. Eventually, Barashi's father told the Agha that his family can no longer come by, as smoking is forbidden on the Sabbath, and they wished not to be around it. The Agha's decision was swift. "You are forbidden from smoking in this house on the Sabbath," he told his sons, thus ensuring that his Jewish guests would feel comfortable during their visits.
...At the age of 18, Barashi met the woman who would become his wife.
"I met her the same way people meet their wives today," he said with a smile. "On the dance floor. On Friday night, after the festive meal, all the youths would go to the big plaza in the middle of the village and we would perform Kurdish dances until one o'clock in the morning. The next day, after the meal, we would meet again and dance until the third Sabbath meal. Her older brother was my friend, and her grandfather, Yosef Arbaya, and I asked my father to talk to him and ask for her hand in marriage."
They got married two years later.
He still speaks of his wife, long since deceased, as if they were both teenagers in love on that dance floor in the middle of Sindor.
"You can't buy love, and no one except God knows what draws a man to a certain woman and not another one. In the village, there were dozens of beautiful and good girls, but I fell in love with her, and good that it turned out this way. There was no bad in this woman that became my wife. Modest and quiet and determined and pretty."
...Last year, a Kurdish journalist came to Barashi's apartment to film an interview with him for a Kurdish TV. The reporter, stunned by the purity of Barashi's Kurdish, stayed for hours. He wrote down words that he had never heard before, and looked them up when he got home, discovering that they were old Kurmanji words that had fallen out of use.
Barashi is happy to share a blessing with his visitors, and is always ready to share his secret to a long life. "There are three things," he says. "Always be happy, never jealous. Stay active. And never overeat, always leave the table a little hungry."
But does he ever wish he could go back to the old villages in Kurdistan?
"No," he says, smiling. "I have had the fortune of living in Jerusalem for 75 years. I'm in heaven." (h/t Ellen)  |
| 02/14 Links Pt1: PA tells Kerry NO to framework deal; The obstinancy of Abbas Posted: 14 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST From Ian:
PA tells Kerry no to framework deal in current formThe Palestinian Authority has informed US Secretary of State John Kerry that it will not accept his framework peace proposal as it currently stands, PA officials told The Times of Israel.
The officials claimed that the Obama administration's current proposal, which is intended to serve as the basis for continued talks on a two-state solution, includes pretty much everything Israel demanded — almost down to the last detail — but does not address vital requirements from the Palestinian side.
The Palestinian officials detailed to The Times of Israel what they said were the main clauses of the framework proposal. The obstinancy of AbbasIf anyone out there believes that Abbas is a realistic partner (following in the footsteps of Yasser Arafat), they should listen to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who came out last week and explained what happened behind closed doors in the negotiating room. In an interview with Channel 2, Olmert said that in the 36 meetings he held with Abbas, everything was agreed The only thing that was missing was a signature.
Olmert gave up the Jordan Valley, divided Jerusalem, handed over control of the Temple Mount, returned to the 1967 lines, retreated to the settlement blocs, made territorial swaps, agreed in principle to the right of return, accepted the symbolic resettlement of 5,000 refugees, and invited Abbas to fly with him to the U.N. General Assembly, where they would jointly declare the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. He even held out a pen for Abbas to take so that he could initial the deal.
How surprising -- Abbas refused. Today, there is widespread consensus. Since Abbas didn't sign then, he won't sign ever. Sarah Honig: A page from Barker's playbookThe long and the short of it is that nobody will compensate the Arab realm's Jewish refugees. Obama knows it. Kerry knows it. So why make promises that can't possibly be kept? Well, of course Kerry's entire misnamed peace framework is a promise that can't be kept.
But the specific attempt to tempt Jewish refugees borrows a page from Barker's playbook. Its premise is that the Jew will sell his soul for money. Hence, the promise of a windfall can magically transform Sephardi hawks into Ashkenazi doves – that is if you at all buy into the blanket generalization of facile (and inherently offensive) stereotypes. (h/t Norman F) Caroline Glick: Why Turkey is gone for goodIt isn't simply that Erdogan cannot reconcile with Israel because he hates Jews. As is almost always the case with anti-Semites, Erdogan's anti-Semitism is part of his general authoritarian outlook informed by a paranoid mindset.
Erdogan sees a Jewish conspiracy behind every independent power base in Turkey. And his rejection of Israel is an integral part of his rejection of all forces in Turkey that are not dependent on his good offices.
Over the past 10 years, and with ever increasing brutality, paranoia and intensity, Erdogan has sought to destroy all independent power bases in the country. He purged the military by placing hundreds of generals in prison in his delusional Ergenekon conspiracy in which they were accused of seeking to overthrow his Islamist government. IPT Video Report: NYC Pro-Morsi Rally Blasts Saudis as "Dirtier Than Jews"Egyptian Americans for Democracy and Human Rights (EADHR) has organized rallies throughout the country since last summer, demanding Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed Morsi be reinstated as Egypt's president. Those rallies normally showed a degree of discipline, with chants calling for democracy and expressing love of Morsi himself, with the Muslim Brotherhood going unmentioned.
A Feb. 8 rally outside the Saudi Arabian consulate in New York City didn't focus on the Islamist group, either. But chants and speeches in Arabic blamed the Saudis for Egypt's political situation, with some calling on God to destroy the Saudi regime, and allegations they are trying to "sell Egypt to the Jews." Elliott Abrams: The cost of the 'peace process'So, the question again arises: do we care, or are we indifferent to what goes on within the borders Kerry is trying to negotiate? Has the U.S. reverted to the position we had in the 1990s, when Arafat visited the White House 13 times and our policy goal was to hand him a state, no questions asked? How can it possibly contribute to the building of a decent, peaceful, democratic Palestine for the U.S. to appear -- or worse yet, to be -- indifferent to the actual conduct of the Palestinian Authority?
Kerry and other U.S. officials have spoken often about the negotiations and their goals, but I do not recall any honest discussion of the problem of growing corruption and lawlessness in the Palestinian Authority. State Department spokesmen issue statement after statement about Israeli settlement activity, seemingly whenever one brick is laid atop another, yet ignore these serious issues. What kind of Palestine is it that the United States is seeking to create? Kerry expected to meet victims of terrorism In an apparent attempt to reach out to Israelis who are opposed to the US-brokered talks between Israel and the Palestinians, US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to meet with victims of Arab terrorism from the Almagor organization on one of his upcoming trips to Israel.
According to Almagor head Meir Indor, US officials this week promised the meeting would take place. Indor said he wanted Kerry to see the victims of terrorism and their families so he would understand their plight. Thousands march to demand more settlement constructionSeveral leading right-wing politicians addressed the gathering, including Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) and Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home).
A pamphlet handed out to the protesters called on the government to "withstand pressure from foreign entities" — a reference to US Secretary of State John Kerry's peace efforts — and to assert Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank by promoting widespread settlement construction. 'Israel is not an Occupier'Turning to the Israel-PA negotiations themselves, Franks maintained that a fundamental shift in paradigm was needed in US foreign policy towards the Arab-Israeli conflict, and said that in his opinion Israel should not be forced to give up any more territory.
"If US focuses on truth and justice we'll realize that Israel has been there for 3,000 years - the same language, the same people, the same culture for 3,000 years - and it's always astonishing to me that we somehow now think that they're the occupiers." Tensions In Jordan: Deal Must 'Return Palestinians'As noted, Abdullah's hold over Jordan is put in doubt by the country's $25 billion plus in public debt. The US is propping up Jordan with $1 billion a year, which has yet to alleviate the kingdom's economic crisis.
Apparently Jordan's government is hoping to be spared by a popular uprising by having the repressed "Palestinians" removed and sent to Israel as part of the deal. Mother of injured toddler faces assailants in courtEleven months after a rock-throwing attack left her four-year-old daughter critically injured, Adva Bitton testified against the Palestinian assailants on Thursday in the Megiddo military court and pledged to take the case to international courts as well.
Adele, Adva's daughter, has laid unconscious in the Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center in Ra'anana since the March 2013 attack. Bitton was driving near the settlement of Ariel when stones were hurled at her car, resulting in a collision between her car and a truck. Five suspects were arrested in connection to the attack and are presently standing trial. Khaled Abu Toameh: Al-Qaeda-linked New Terrorists, DAESH, in Gaza StripHamas has not hesitated in the past to confront tiny jihadi groups whose members had openly challenged its rule. Like DAESH, these groups believe that Hamas is too "moderate" and is no longer committed to the "armed struggle" against Israel.
In one of the deadliest confrontations, Hamas security forces killed and arrested a number of jihadi terrorists who found shelter in a mosque in the town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. At least 28 jihadi terrorists were killed and 120 wounded during the 2009 raid on members of a group called Jund Allah [Soldiers of God].
It now remains to be seen whether Hamas will be able to crush the new Al-Qaeda-affiliated group, whose members are also operating in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula. Palestinian killed by IDF near Gaza borderA Palestinian man who approached the Gaza Strip border fence was shot dead by IDF soldiers Thursday near the Shuja'iyya neighborhood in east Gaza City. Another Palestinian was injured by Israeli fire as well, the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency reported.
According to the IDF spokesman's office, the two Palestinians had entered a restricted zone near the Gaza border and had attempted to sabotage the Israeli security fence. Palestinian Authority, Hamas Cited for Widespread Human Rights AbusesThe report issued by Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) calls out the PA and Hamas for many instances of torture and oppression, according to Mosaic Magazine.
"Evidently, most Western governments, journalists and human rights organizations have chosen to endorse the Palestinian Authority's stance that the only evil-doers are the Israelis," Mosaic reported. "And that is precisely why the ICHR report on the anarchy, lawlessness, and human rights violations by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas will be completely ignored in the West." Against the Kerry Framework, PA turns to UNESCOThe Palestinian Authority (PA) has gone over the heads of Israel and the US, according to Walla!, by unilaterally turning to UNESCO, despite terms against such a move in the US framework laid out by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The PA reportedly turned to the international body over two weeks ago and requested the Palestinian Arab village of Batir be recognized as a "world heritage site" at risk, according to the Israeli daily. Offical PA TV: Jews can live on Mars Think tank finds education in Arab countries is falling shortMore than half of Arab youth are not learning while in school, concluded a new report released by the Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education.
The report, titled "The Arab World Learning Barometer," found that 56 percent of primary level children and 48% in lower secondary schools are not learning. Syria talks looking bad, very badPessimism seems to prevail in the talks between Syrian government and opposition negotiations held in Geneva this week, with Arab media focusing on statements by special UN envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi expressing little hope of a breakthrough.
"Brahimi: We are looking for a glimmer of light in a dark tunnel and failure is always before our eyes," reads the headline of Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat, featuring a photo of the Syrian envoy at the negotiating table in Geneva on Thursday surrounded by Russians and Americans. Human Rights Group: More Than 230 Killed in Syria Daily Since Peace Talks BeganReuters on Wednesday conveyed statements from the UK-based Observatory for Human Rights assessing – per the outlet – that 'more Syrians have been killed in the three weeks since peace talks began than at any other time in the civil war,' amid an ongoing offensive that has seen Hezbollah-backed Syrian troops consolidating control over critical border towns. Islamic Judge Orders Syrian Girl Stoned to Death for Facebook AccountFatoum Al-Jassem, a Syrian girl in the city of Rakka, apparently ran afoul of Islamic law and Al Qaeda in Iraq (known as ISIS or ISIL). Taken to a Sharia court, the judge ruled that having a Facebook account was Zina or immoral behavior and penalized the same way as adultery. (In Islam, many acts of immorality are referred to by a word that translates as adultery.)
The Facebook account was described as an act of great wickedness that merited severe punishment. Hypocritically the Al Nusra Front has a Facebook page and ISIS probably does too. But Muslim men tend to have different standards for women. Israel Calls for Iran to be Held Accountable for 2012 Attack on Diplomat in IndiaTwo years ago, Tal Yehoshua Koren, an Israeli diplomat, was on her way to pick up her two children from school when, "in the heart of New Delhi, she was targeted by agents of the Government of Iran who attempted to assassinate her," according to a statement from the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi.
"Immediately after the attack in Delhi, the external affairs minister of India assured the Israeli leadership that the culprits will be brought to justice at the earliest, that the law of land will take its course and that India will continue with the investigation." Iranian official: Hezbollah's arsenal has deemed Israel's Iron Dome a jokeA senior Iranian official said Monday that Hezbollah's arsenal of weapons in Lebanon has deemed Israel's Iron Dome rocket defense system "a theoretical joke."
Iran's Fars News Agency quoted the Iranian Parliament Speaker's top adviser for international affairs, Hossein Sheikholeslam as saying, "Now Hezbollah has tens of thousands of missiles ready to be fired at Israel."
Sheikholeslam said that Hezobollah has been able to build its "deterrence power" with the help of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and his late father Hafez Assad, Syria's former president. Israel to Preemptively Strike Iran with Gay-Bomb (satire)Logistical moves in Israel's military point to preparations for a "gay" assault on Iran, according to reports obtained by PreOccupied Territory. The preparations come amid heightened tension over Iran's nuclear capabilities and intentions, as well as its call for destruction of the Jewish State.
The reports, citing unnamed officials in Israel's Ministry of Defense, said Israel is preparing an attack in several waves to ensure that in its aftermath, Iran would no longer be a nuclear threat. But while previous analyses have all agreed that Israel lacks to firepower to permanently disable Iran's nuclear facilities, the "gay" attack is aimed at transforming Iranian society into a firestorm of homosexual desire and activity. As an anticipated result, say the officials, Iran would no longer focus on developing weapons of mass destruction, instead pursuing ever-more-fabulous and flamboyant military uniforms.  |
| Saudi Vice episode 36: Don't give birth without your guardian! Posted: 14 Feb 2014 07:20 AM PST It is time for another episode of: Where we follow our heroes from the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice as they protect and serve the Saudi public, guarding them from evil forces! From Arab News: The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) has officially prevented women from visiting medical clinics without male guardians.
This came after a member of the Council of Senior Scholars issued a "fatwa" (edict) prohibiting women from visiting male doctors without having male guardians present.
"Islamic law does not permit women to visit their doctors without male guardians," said Qais Al-Mubarak, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars. "Women are prohibited from exposing body parts to male doctors in Islamic law, especially during childbirth. This does not include medical emergencies. Islamic jurisprudence makes exceptions," he added. If childbirth isn't an emergency, it is unclear what is. But,hey, you can understand how Saudi male obstetricians can get uncontrollably turned on at the sight of a sweaty, screaming woman exposing her private parts. It's only natural, and Islamic jurisprudence must guard against it.
Male guardians can only be the next of kin in Islam. They are sons, grandsons, husbands, brothers, fathers or uncles.
Al-Mubarak said male doctors could conduct medical examinations on female patients only if female physicians are unavailable and only if male guardians accompany them.
"Unaccompanied visits to male doctors can have negative implications," he said. I wonder if Saudi medical school textbooks censor gynecological diagrams. Maybe the students practice delivering babies with camels.
Other Saudi Vice news: Of course, the annual Saudi war against Valentine's Day.Also, if you are a woman in Saudi Arabia, don't try to go to the main library in the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The good news? The Saudi king overturned a death penalty for an Indonesian housemaid who has been in jail for a while awaiting her execution. Her crime? Sorcery.  |
| UNRWA again shows its lack of transparency Posted: 14 Feb 2014 05:45 AM PST Over the past two days I reported about how Hamas complained about UNRWA's "human rights curriculum," and about how UNRWA caved in to Hamas demands and agreed to suspend teaching about "human rights" in Gaza, also mentioning how this curriculum is in fact not about respecting others' human rights so much as it is about how to demand human rights from others. As usual when a news story makes UNRWA look bad, they do not mention this on their website. On the contrary, exposure of their less savory aspects cause them to perform cover-ups rather than leading to full disclosure. Given that UNRWA depends on international donors, shouldn't the agency be completely transparent? Not only should it report about Hamas' bullying (if it cared about this so-called "human rights" agenda then publicizing the issue would help,) but all school materials created by UNRWA should be on their website so everyone can see exactly what UNRWA is teaching hundreds of thousands of students. By contrast, the other UN refugee organization, UNHCR, seems to bend over backwards to provide transparency for researchers. UNRWA won't become transparent until the donors themselves start to demand answers about where their hundreds of millions of dollars is going. Our taxes ultimately pay for UNRWA's activities, so it is past time for everyone to contact their elected representatives and ask them to demand UNRWA less like a corrupt agency that is trying to hide something.  |
| A small modification to J-Street's 2 State Valentine Posted: 14 Feb 2014 02:00 AM PST J-Street came up with a cute gimmick to push their version of a "2-state solution" as a Valentine's Day card: Here's one of their cards: It is funny, sure. But it seems to be missing a little context, which would (in my humble opinion) make it even funnier.
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