יום שלישי, 18 בפברואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

The Arab definition of "peace," 1948

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 08:00 PM PST

This comes from a July 8, 1948 memo from the Arab League to UN mediator Count Bernadotte rejecting the extension of the truce during Israel's War of Independence. (I found this in a 1962 book of Arab League documents.)

The Arab States, however, were again disappointed when they received the proposals of the Count which he had based on partition, on the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, and on recognition of what has been called the "accomplished" fact brought about by the Zionist gangs. We do not think that the Mediator is unaware that the present struggle is directed against the idea of partition and against the establishment of a Jewish state. Yet he soon took this as a basis for his proposals, (thus) disregarding the rights of the Arabs.

The Zionists are going ahead with the establishment of their so-called "state". There is nothing in this to encourage the prolongation of the cease-fire and the finding of a peaceful solution. The Mediator himself is fully convinced, as he has said on one occasion, that there is no hope of convincing the Jews to give up their state.

This means that the cease-fire will not enable us to find a peaceful solution.
Even then, the Arabs would use Western concepts of "peace" when talking to the West - but as they made clear, their definition of peace means no Jewish state.

02/17 Links Pt2: Oxfam’s Middle East blinders; Responding to the J Street Challenge

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

From Ian:
Gerald M. Steinberg: Oxfam's Middle East blinders
Oxfam also distorts economic analyses of the West Bank and Gaza, repeatedly arguing that that the sole impediment to Palestinian development is Israeli policy, ignoring intra-Palestinian limitations and factors, as well as immoral mass-terror attacks. Similarly, Oxfam uses its power and access to lobby the European Union to sanction Israel. In 2009, four years after the last Israelis left Gaza, Oxfam International's director, Jeremy Hobbs, demonized the Jewish state for creating "the world's largest prison" and erasing geography (Gaza shares a border with Egypt), and blamed it for Hamas' policy of diverting humanitarian resources to fund terrorism.
For all of these reasons, the criticism of Oxfam's role in the anti-Israel boycott industry is clearly justified. An organization based on promoting moral principles cannot support and enable one-sided boycotts and double standards that demonize and single out Israel. To go beyond the rhetoric of "reducing poverty and addressing injustice," and put these words into action, Oxfam must end its involvement in all forms of demonization, and win back Scarlett Johansson's heart.
Responding to the J Street Challenge
This reality is implicitly acknowledged in "The J Street Challenge," a critical documentary film about the organization that has just been released by Americans for Peace and Tolerance, a Boston-based group run by the well-known anti-slavery activist Charles Jacobs. And it is a reality that, Jacobs and his co-producers insist, needs to be grappled with through honest debate and discussion.
The key question raised by the film is what it means to be "pro-Israel" not on a personal level, but within the context of the political lobbying and advocacy that swirls around American policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (or, as Harvard Professor Ruth Wisse more accurately terms it in her interview in the film, "the Arab conflict with Israel"). And when you examine J Street's record, it becomes very hard to dispute Professor Alan Dershowitz's assertion that the organization—despite its much-vaunted tagline—is "neither pro-Israel nor pro-peace." Trailer
Orthodox Jew? Hate Israel? The New York Times Wants To Interview You
In "A Conflict of Faith: Devoted to Jewish Observance, but at Odds With Israel," the New York Times wants to disabuse readers of the minority-antiZionist-380x252notion that observant Jews are all pro-Israel. So they highlight four who oppose not only Israel's policies, but even favor the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
Of course, the article does reference the fact that their views are at odds with family and friends. But it begs the question: Why would the New York Times publish a feature piece — in the "beliefs" section no less — about people whose views are in an extreme minority?
Why Anti-Zionist Jews Are a Minority
What the overwhelming majority of Jews know that these five people and their adoring audience at the Times don't is that opposition to Israel's existence—as opposed to criticism of it—is taking a stand against the right of the Jewish people to life. While there is a portion of the ultra-Orthodox community that also holds to anti-Zionism because of their own bizarre interpretation of Judaism (which strangely goes unmentioned in the article), non-Haredim who do so are fighting common sense, history, and the basic principles of fairness. If those who adopt such positions are a minority, it is not due to any resistance on the part of the majority to ethics or concern for others but because of the implausibility of their beliefs. (h/t NormanF)



In the shadow of death
For any self-respecting person, and especially for Israelis such as myself, the endorsement of terror by association, at a Christian conference, is obscene. Yet it is also a spurn for Palestinian Christians such as the Bethlehem Baptist minister, Naim Khoury. Khoury has been shot three times and his church has been bombed fourteen times because he advocates Zionism based on his understanding of the Bible. Khoury is too busy to care. He is exerting his energy pastoring a vibrant and unexpectedly, flourishing congregation, even though the PA has informed Khoury that his church now lacks the authority to function as a religious institution – announcing this decision the week following CATC. Unlike Khoury, a Christian minister who is always welcome at conference is the Reverend Stephen Sizer.
Sizer, an Anglican priest who oversees an English congregation, has been accused of anti-Semitism – a charge that he vigorously denies. The allegations arose in part due to links that he posted on his numerous blogs that directed people to anti-Semitic sites. Sizer, insistent that he "loves Jews" and "loves Israel," agreed to remove the links, although he still has photos of himself standing alongside those who advocate the murder of the very Jews and Israelis whom he loves; people such as Yassir Arafat, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Raed Salach and Nabil Kaouk the senior commander of Hezbollah forces in Southern Lebanon.
Christians against BDS in the heart of London
Representatives of Israel-supporting Christian groups held a bold event on Wednesday afternoon to counter the efforts of the boycotts, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign in Britain to recruit churches to join its cause.
Following the efforts of a London church to hijack Christmas in support of the anti-Israel BDS movement, Christian pastor Mike Fryer held a counter event yesterday in the very same building.
His aim was to educate Christians on how to oppose the deceptive BDS campaign with solid facts. The event drew about Christian and Jewish supporters of Israel, impressive for a soaking wet Wednesday afternoon.
Israel Boycotters Attempt to Hijack Another Meeting
The recent California State University (CSU) Trustees bimonthly meeting took an odd turn.
Amid pressing discussions about budgets, improving student success, and other education issues, anti-Israel boycott activists at the Jan. 29 meeting interjected the subject of Jews and Israel. They made up almost a third of the speakers (seven out of 22) who had requested time to address the trustees during the allotted 30-minute public comments session.
Soros Makes Drugmaker Teva Biggest Stake as Shares Climb
Soros Fund Management LLC, the family office of billionaire George Soros, boosted its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA), making the Israeli drugmaker its largest holding in the fourth quarter.
The New York-based firm added 5.7 million shares to its stake in Teva during the last three months of 2013, boosting its holding to $373 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Feb. 14. Petach Tikva, Israel-based Teva was the fund's largest increase by market value during the period and represents 4 percent of the $9.2 billion fund, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Teva, the world's largest maker of generic drugs, has gained 10.3 percent this year after its board appointed Erez Vigodman as its new chief executive officer, replacing Jeremy Levin, who resigned in October. The company has pledged to overhaul its board and cut costs as it faces competition from cheaper generic versions for its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone, which analysts say contributes to more than 50 percent of profit.
Palestine's Winchester Mystery House
The home is located on over 30 dunams of land. According to the blog Mohamed Abdel-Hadi made his fortune in the construction industry, and helped oversee the design and the construction.
There is tremendous wealth in the Palestinian territories, and there is tremendous poverty. It is the same in Israel, and in America, and all over the world. The Palestinians are not "special" in this regard. The lie that must be disputed over and over is that the Palestinians somehow have a monopoly on victimhood and suffering, and that it is solely the fault of the "occupation" . Perhaps a day will come when activists remove their blinders and see the role of the Palestinian leadership in perpetuating the misery of their own people
How Palestinian propaganda beats Israeli hasbara
Politicians like Schultz however, should check the facts before they form and express their opinions. As I have pointed out before Palestinian propaganda has its influence even up to the highest echelons. The EU is perhaps the best example of how this propaganda has influenced public opinion and policy making.
But I also think Israel is not doing enough to counter the Palestinian propaganda. Instead of walking out of the Knesset during Shultz' speech (Jewish Home) or condemning his remarks (Netanyahu), Israel should have released a statement with the exact data about this water issue.
Amira Hass, Ha'aretz Publish False Water Charges
In a front page article in Ha'aretz (Feb. 13, 2014; click here for the cached version), Amira Hass claims that "Israelis – including those in the settlements – use three times more water a day in their households as West Bank Palestinians do," and goes on to charge, among other things, that this is: "just one aspect of the large discrepancy between Israelis and Palestinians in access, development and use of water resources ..."
Hass is dead wrong about the relative usage of water by Israelis and Palestinians, but before getting into details and numbers, it's important to illustrate a deeper distortion in her claims.
Senior IDF Official Slams Australian Report on Palestinian Minors
"Simply fictitious," responded a senior Israel Defense Forces official when asked about allegations leveled in a Feb. 10, 2014 Australia Broadcasting Corporation "Four Corners" report concerning brutal torture of Palestinian children during interrogations.
In contravention of journalistic codes of ethics, reporter John Lyons never gave Israeli officials the opportunity to respond specifically to the alleged instances of extreme abuse described. CAMERA, therefore, checked with Israeli authorities, reaching a high-level official intimately knowledgeable about the minors interviewed in the "Stone Cold Justice" broadcast.
Latest Sinai-based terror attack on tourism targets comes as a revelation to the BBC
Of course attacks on tourism-related targets are actually already part of the "strategy" of what the BBC insists upon euphemistically terming "militant groups" operating in Sinai. Just last month there were two separate incidents of missile fire by Global Jihad terrorists on the city of Eilat – which has an economy primarily based on tourism. However, both those attacks were ignored by the BBC meaning that its audiences – and apparently also its staff – lack the context necessary to appreciate the inaccuracy of Orla Guerin's statement.
Neo-Nazis march in support of anti-Semitic WWII Bulgarian general
As many as 300 right-wing extremists marched on Saturday in Bulgaria's capital Sofia to honor a pro-Nazi Bulgarian general who propagated anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish repression during World War II.
Speaking from Sofia with The Jerusalem Post, Robert Djerassi, the president of the Central Israelite Religious Council, said Mayor Yordanka Fandakova had outlawed the march. However, the marchers changed their route and proceeded with the rally honoring Gen. Hristo Lukov, according to the media reports.
Anti-fascists assassinated Lukov in 1943. He remains a hero for neo-Nazi and right-wing extremists in Bulgaria. One of his assassins was a female Jewish partisan resistance fighter.
Far-right Hungarian party holds rally in former synagogue
The rally by the party, whose ultra-nationalist platform is laced with anti-Semitism and anti-Roma policy, was held Saturday night in the former synagogue in the town of Esztergom, located 29 miles north of Budapest.
The building currently is operated by the local government as a cultural and meeting center.
Several hundred demonstrators protested the meeting. They stood outside the former synagogue during the Jobbik rally reading the names of the 500 Holocaust victims who were deported to Auschwitz from the town in 1944.
Israel Helping India Clean Polluted Wetlands
A team of Israel scientists arrived in Bhubaneswar, Hubaneswar, India, this week to test a pilot program to use plants to remove pollutants from contaminated soil and water, the Times of India reported on Wednesday.
Eli Cohen, one of the Israeli team members, said, "The technology can be used by municipalities, multi-dwellings units, industries and wetlands for holistic waste-water management."
German program to restore 2nd Moroccan synagogue
A historic synagogue in Morocco will be refurbished in a joint project with the German Foreign Ministry.
The synagogue in Essaouira will be the second to be restored under a special German government program.
Tuesday's announcement came as the Moroccan ambassador in Berlin, Omar Zniber, launched an exhibit at the embassy's cultural center of photographs of Moroccan Jews from the 1960s as well as new photos of synagogues in the country, both pre- and post-renovation.
Jewish 'Monuments Man' honored by German hometown
Harry Ettlinger, 88, who had already attended a red-carpet screening of George Clooney's new "The Monuments Men" movie about the group at the Berlin film festival last week, received the so-called Staufer Medal at an art museum in Karlsruhe, southwestern Germany.
The prize is awarded for service to the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg and was presented by the region's top culture official, Juergen Walter.
"I never expected such a big honor," Ettlinger said as he accepted the medal, according to German news agency DPA.
When Beijing Met Jerusalem: Chinese Activity in Israel Expands Dramatically
Over the past year, Chinese activity in Israel has expanded dramatically, Israel's Channel 10 reported on Saturday.
Beyond business ventures, Chinese fingerprints are increasingly appearing across a variety of disciplines including national infrastructure projects, commerce, finance, real estate, hi tech, and even academia, Channel 10 said.
Mountain gazelle makes Golan comeback after tough times
The mountain gazelle, a symbol of Israel long on the endangered species list, has made an impressive comeback on the Golan Heights as, for the third straight year, its population has increased.
After a laborious process involving dozens of volunteer inspectors armed with binoculars and maps trudging across the rocky Golan in search of gazelles, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority officially declared that 328 specimens now live on the Heights — a 25% increase.

UK Aid denies funding Ma'an TV (updated)

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST

Commenter "Rabbi Burns" wrote to UK Aid concerning a story I covered last month about a TV show on the Ma'an network that celebrates murderers of Jews.  UK-Aid is one of the funders listed by Ma'an.

Their reply:
Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email of 28 January 2014 about funding for Ma'an Network TV. I have been asked to reply as I work in the Department for International Development (DFID).

The UK Government deplores any anti-Semitic discourse – whether in speech or writing – along with any other form of racist expression. DFID does not currently provide funding to the Ma'an network.

We deplore incitement on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including any comments that could stir up hatred and prejudice in a region that needs a culture of peace and mutual respect.

Yours sincerely

[Name]

Department for International Development
"Rabbi Burns" responded:
Many thanks for your very helpful reply.

Might I also suggest that it would be in the interests of everyone who seeks a peaceful solution to the Israeli/Arab conflict if you were to request of Ma'an Network TV that it remove the UK Aid logo from its list of "Partners and Donors" (see link below). I fear that the continued presence of the logo may reflect badly on the UK government's involvement in the region.

http://www.maannet.org/modules/publisher/item.php?itemid=7

Yours sincerely,

R. Burns
So is Ma'an lying?

Has anyone contacted any of the other funders listed?

UPDATE: Yenta Press found the UK government site that dealt with the funding of Ma'an. It was a three year project:

Ma'an Network
GTF Number 095

Empowering transparency through effective secular media

Key facts:

Start date: 1 September 2008
End date: 31 August 2011
Amount of DFID funding £2,110,233
In this 3-year project, Ma'an Network aims to strengthen independent secular media as a catalyst for governmental accountability and responsiveness in Palestine.

Using media to amplify public demands for accountability and facilitate citizen input in governance processes in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, we hope to contribute to building a culture of demand for good governance.

The project will focus on investigative and participatory journalism, utilising television, radio, and online reporting to increase access to information, institutionalise dialogue between Palestinian citizens and decision-makers, and give voice to marginalised groups.

The project will also establish a research unit at Ma'an to survey public needs and attitudes on media and governance, monitor public reaction to our media productions, and evaluate our programming quality and impact.

Key outputs include providing Palestinians with more independent information and detailed reporting on governance issues, and increasing the possibility for citizens to hold government officials accountable.

Saeb Erekat admits he is a Jordanian Bedouin, not a "Canaanite"

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST

On February 2, after Saeb Erekat claimed to be descended from 10,000 year old Canaanites, I was the first to show that his family actually came from the Huwaitat tribe which was on the Arabian peninsula, between what is now Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Apparently, an Israeli columnist at Israel Hayom mentioned this as well a week later, and the Arab media picked up on it.  (Here is a case where Arab media was more aggressive than Western media in confronting Erekat on his lies.)

So Erekat responded that, sure, he is a Jordanian and a Bedouin and he is proud of it.
The head of the PLO's negotiations department, Saeb Erekat said: "It is an honor for me to be a Bedouin and to be a Jordanian."

This was said in an interview he gave to the Dunya Al-Watan newspaper, answering rumors spread by Hebrew newspapers. He (Erekat) added: "The Israelis said that my mother was Jewish, and they accused me of having a relationship with Livni."

The top Palestinian negotiator said: "It is an honor for me to be a Bedouin, an Arab and a Jordanian. I have a special feeling that Allah bestowed an honor upon me and gave me a gift for which I thank him, namely that I was born a Palestinian. I was born a Palestinian only as a gift from Allah".

He added: "We were born Palestinian so we can regain Palestine with Eastern Jerusalem as its capital city."

Reuven Berko, the political analyst at the "Israel Hayom" newspaper said: "Erekat is a Jordanian Bedouin from the Huweytat tribe, and not a Palestinian."
He's a Jordanian/Bedouin/Canaanite/Palestinian/Arab, so he can pick and choose whichever self-definition he finds more appropriate at any point in time. There is nothing "Palestinian" about him except an accident of where he was born.

What a liar.

What a "negotiating partner."

(h't Ibn Boutros)

02/17 Links Pt1: Renowned scientists debunk myth Arafat was poisoned; Egypt rejects Israeli Medics

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Renowned scientists debunk myth Arafat was poisoned
What was this blood disorder mentioned by Palestinian officials?
Arafat's personal physician, Dr. Ashraf al-Kurdi, had already answered this question in 2007. Arafat's blood contained the HIV virus, he said while insisting that the virus had been injected into Arafat's body close to his death.
When al-Kurdi claimed this in an interview with Al-Jazeerah, the network cut short the live interview. Al-Kurdi was kept away from Arafat when his situation began to deteriorate and was refused entrance to the French hospital where Arafat died.
Roth may have laid to rest the claim that Arafat was poisoned by Israel once and for all. But it seems we are likely to see the myth continue to live on in the Arab world and poison the minds of Palestinians.
Palestinians: The Invented People
"The history of the Palestinian people goes back as far as"… This is where Arab "historians" disagree.
Some say the "Palestinian people" have a proud 4000-year history; others say 10,000 years, 30,000 years, and even –don't laugh- 200,000 years, which makes the Neanderthals pretty young people compared to the "mysterious Palestinians". But although Arab historians do not agree on the "insignificant" details like the age of the "Palestinian people", they do agree that this people is incredibly ancient-far more ancient than Jews, Romans or Greeks.
In the glorious history of the "Palestinian people", there is only one "small" problem; nobody in history ever found them. (h/t Bob Knot)
David Singer: Kerry Confronts Ghosts In State Of Confusion
US Secretary of State John Kerry and the US State Department apparently missed – or deliberately ignored – the demise of the Palestinian Authority.
Kerry obviously believes he has been involved in negotiations under the agreed negotiating framework with a Palestinian Authority President, a Palestinian Authority negotiator and a Palestinian Authority – that clearly no longer exist.
The War of the Letterheads should serve as a clear signal to Kerry that he is negotiating with ghosts – not a legally constituted and accountable entity under the agreed negotiating framework.
Kerry – in preparing his own eagerly awaited framework agreement – needs to take notice of this fundamental change wrought by Abbas – who no longer wears a hat or name tag designated "Palestinian Authority".



Khaled Abu Toameh: PA and Hamas ring alarm bells over Israeli plans to 'impose sovereignty' on Temple Mount
PA Minister for Religious Affairs Mahmoud al-Habbash said that there would be no sovereignty over the Aqsa Mosque and Islamic and Christian holy sites other than Palestinian sovereignty. "This is the full right of the Arab, including Muslims and Christians," he said.
Al-Habbash claimed that Israel has plans to "divide" the Aqsa Mosque. "These efforts won't succeed," he added.
He was referring to routine visits by Jews to the Temple Mount and calls by some Israelis to impose Israeli sovereignty over the compound.
The PA minister said that only Muslims were entitled to pray at the holy site.
Danon: We Don't Need Permission to Pray at Kotel
Speaking Sunday night, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Danon sarcastically said that the Jewish people "are grateful" to Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas for "recognizing the Jewish right to pray at the Kotel." Abbas made the comments earlier Sunday, speaking to Israeli students in Ramallah.
"We do not need the permission of anyone to pray at the Kotel, certainly not from the Palestinian leadership," Danon said. "Jews have prayed, Jews pray, and Jews will pray at the Kotel forever."
Jordanian Palestinian who writes for 'Post' sentenced in Jordan to life with hard labor
Mudar Zahran, a Palestinian writer and academic from Jordan who has written op-eds for The Jerusalem Post, was sentenced in absentia last week in the Hashemite Kingdom to life in prison with hard labor.
He says he has learned that the Jordanian government may seek to have him extradited to Jordan to serve his sentence.
Zahran told the Post in an interview from the UK, where he has sought refuge, that a source inside the palace told him that King Abdullah, on his visit to the US, pushed for control of east Jerusalem, and for an upgrade in status to key US ally in the region, even bypassing Israel in importance.
He said that Jordan sees itself as being able to help US interests in the region by handling refugees from Syria and aiding peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, partly by handling cities in the West Bank.
Hamas will endorse 2-state deal, Fatah leaders assert
That position was reiterated by Fatah officials present in the hall during Abbas's speech. Asked whether Hamas would endorse an agreement with Israel, Azzam Al-Ahmad, Fatah's chief negotiator with Hamas, was unhesitating.
"Of course they'll join, why wouldn't they?" he said. "They will be obligated by the decisions of the Palestinian leadership. I am confident of this. In my opinion, the real impediment to peace is not Hamas but [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the extremist right-wing government in Israel."
Hamas blasts Abbas's meeting with Israeli students
Meetings such as the one Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's held with Israeli students on Sunday merely serve Israeli interests and must be stopped immediately, the Palestinian terror group Hamas said on Sunday.
"These meetings are a normalization of relations with Israeli citizens and serve their image in the world," read a statement from the organization, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and vehemently opposes normalization or peace talks with Israel. "It is necessary to stop these meetings, which point to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority's positions," the group added, according to Maariv.
Mahmoud Abbas Incites Against 'Settlers'
Turning to the largely left-wing audience at one point, he urged them directly to "stop the settlers", accusing Jews in Judea and Samaria of committing "murders".
"The settlers are cutting down trees, and wreaking destruction," he said. " They are not just settling our land, they are also killing us - you must stop them!" he urged.
It was not clear what instances of "murder" Abbas was referring to, though his comments mirror regular PA incitement against Jews living in Judea and Samaria, in which "the settlers" are portrayed in crudely anti-Semitic terms, and deserving of violent treatment.
Cabinet Approves Stripping Terrorists of Benefits
The Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted Sunday in favor of the bill to prevent Israeli Arab terrorists released in deals or "gestures" to the Palestinian Authority from receiving the "acclimation stipends" that are paid to newly released prisoners, and make them ineligible for basic social security stipends.
"The situation whereby a terrorist who has not served the full term of his sentence and is released receives full social security and benefits from the government is absurd and unacceptable," MK Levin stated Saturday night. "Denial of benefits can make up for, on the smallest level, the pain of their early release."
Egypt refused Israeli medical help for Taba bus blast
Although Israeli-Egyptian security cooperation has never been closer, Egypt refused Israeli offers of medical assistance for the tourists wounded when their bus was blown up by Islamic extremists Sunday afternoon, just inside Egyptian territory at the Taba border crossing.
More than two dozen Israeli ambulances were despatched to the crossing immediately after the bombing — which took place just across the border and was audible inside Israel — but the Egyptian authorities refused Israel's offers of assistance. Israeli "emergency forces were ready within minutes," the local Israeli Magen David Adom emergency chief said.
Taba terror attack sends dual murderous message
The attack, which killed three South Korean tourists and an Egyptian bus driver, was carried out, apparently with a remote-control explosive device, only 100 yards from the border with Israel. The blast, as intended, reverberated across the territorial divide. It was a symbolic reminder to Israelis that the global jihad, once relegated to far flung corners of Somalia, Yemen, and Afghanistan, has taken root in the heart of the Levant, half a day's drive from the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
"It is very hard for them to penetrate into Israel," said Maj. (res.) Aviv Oreg, formerly the head of Al Qaeda and Global Jihad desk at the IDF's military intelligence directorate. But for jihadist organizations in the Sinai Peninsula, this sort of attack is "very sufficient in order to pinpoint that Israel is their target in their aspirations."


Muslim Brotherhood says Taba victims were 'Zionists'
The Muslim Brotherhood's official Arabic Twitter feed reported Sunday, however, on "the killing of 3 Zionists and injuring of 14 others in a bus explosion in Taba in Sinai." The @ikhwantawasol Twitter handle has over 98,000 followers on the microblogging site.
Although the 31 South Koreans aboard the bus were on a church trip to Egypt, Israel, and Turkey, their political affiliation is unknown. The term "Zionists" is often used in Arabic to refer to Israelis.
Al-Qaeda-linked group claims Sunday's Taba bombing
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis took responsibility for Sunday's bus bombing in the Egyptian town of Taba that left 4 dead and 13 injured.
On its Twitter account, the organization promised to continue to attack Egypt's economy, tourism, and military, Israel Radio reported.
Hamas Forced to Ditch Live Ammunition Terror Exercises for Laser Tag Simulation
Egypt's recent targeting of Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels has cut off the terrorist organization Hamas from much needed revenue streams, forcing the rulers of Gaza to switch to simulated military exercises since there is no budget for live ammunition, Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported on Sunday.
Recently, Hamas's Interior Ministry conducted a week-long series of war games that used laser beams instead of bullets, Ma'ariv said. The simulation software used during the drills was developed by Hamas itself and the military maneuvers were part of a broader plan to establish a permanent training facility in Gaza that's based on the use of simulation technology.
Netanyahu Says Iran Gained 'Without Giving Anything Significant'
Speaking at the start of his government's weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, "Until now, it must be said, it is Iran which has gained without giving anything significant. It has received a major easing of sanctions and the Iranian economy is already responding appropriately."
"Iran is also continuing its aggressive policy both inside Iran and outside Iran" he said, according to a statement. "Inside Iran, it is executing innocent people. Outside Iran, it supports the continued killings by the Syrian regime, which would be unable to act without it, without its support. Iran is also continuing to arm terrorist organizations with advanced, deadly weapons and, of course, it is continuing to call for the destruction of the State of Israel."
"At the same time, Iran is continuing with advanced research and development of centrifuges. Iran is not prepared to concede even one centrifuge."
Ayatollah Strangelove and drone porn
This video raises serious doubts, though. Peddling drone porn like this on national TV suggests there's something other than rational calculation at work in Tehran. A few months ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned NBC's Andrea Mitchell that the leaders of Iran are a "messianic, apocalyptic, radical regime" and a cult "wild in its ambitions and its aggression." Like most leftists I dismissed these statements as unfounded hyperbole. Such immoderate criticism, I thought, caused more harm than good, damaging Israel's credibility and destroying whatever small chance we had of indirect dialogue that might allow us to settle with the Iranians using words instead of bombs.
But this video makes me realize that Netanyahu may have been more right, and his point more important, than I gave him credit for. People who made the film, aired it, and enjoyed it, may well be wild in their ambitions and their aggression.
So this short video accomplished what hours of Netanyahu's speeches at home and abroad failed to do. It made me to see the world, for once, as he sees it, alive with peril that rational discourse alone cannot eliminate. And allowing me to see the world through Netanyahu's eyes; that is yet another disconcerting aspect of Iranian drone porn
Revealed: how Syrian rebels seek medical help from an unlikely source in Israel
When a rebel was shot and severely wounded during a new offensive on Syria's southern front, his colleagues knew the only hope of saving his life was to get him to Israel.
The rebels called their contact on the Syrian side of the frontier, a man known as Abu Nidal, who had a phone given to him by the Israelis to facilitate emergency border crossings.
Abu Nidal called Israeli forces, which put an ambulance on standby and the rebels took the injured fighter to a crossing point and left him there.
After the rebels pulled back, Israeli soldiers checked the patient for booby-traps and weapons, and then whisked him over the border and rushed him to hospital.
US Boldly Almost Considering Maybe Weighing Possibility of Mulling Syria Involvement (satire)
Fresh from a trip to the Middle East and eager to showcase American decisiveness and will, US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters today that the Obama administration is seriously considering leaning in the direction of talking seriously about examining the ways in which the US might convey its possible intent to get involved in the Syrian conflict.
Obesity rates are soaring in Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Gulf states
Now Daifailluh is 3, and at 61 pounds he is nearly double the typical weight of a child his age. So the Bugamis are planning the once unthinkable: To have their toddler undergo bariatric surgery to permanently remove part of his stomach in hopes of reducing his appetite and staving off a lifetime of health problems.
That such a young child would be considered for weight-loss surgery—something U.S. surgeons generally won't do—underscores the growing health crisis here and elsewhere in the Middle East. Widespread access to unhealthy foods, coupled with sedentary behavior brought on by wealth and the absence of a dieting and exercise culture, have caused obesity levels in Saudi Arabia and many other Gulf states to approach or even exceed those in Western countries.

Could Israeli water expertise bring Mideast peace? Of course not!

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST

Wishful thinking in a NYT op-ed by Seth M. Siegel:

Nuclear proliferation, religious militancy and income inequality are all major threats to Middle East stability. Sadly, a new one is brewing: water scarcity.

The human causes are clear: rapid population growth, antiquated infrastructure, the over-pumping of aquifers, inefficient crop practices and pollution from fertilizer and pesticides. Then there are the factors that climate change is accelerating, like evaporation of lakes and rivers and diminished rainfall.

One country in the region might have a solution to these water woes: Israel. It shares the same problems of climate and desertification as its neighbors, but it has mastered the management of water resources, such that it can endure periodic droughts while supporting a growing population. Its water management can not only be a model but can even reduce regional tensions.

Wasteful farming practices — in particular, flooding a field to irrigate it — are the biggest factor behind the regional water shortage. Starting in the 1960s, Israeli farmers abandoned this technique in favor of drip irrigation, which reduces the loss of water to evaporation, gets water to roots more efficiently and, critically, produces crop yields vastly greater than those with conventional irrigation. Israel also treats household sewage as a precious resource, reusing more than 80 percent of it for agriculture. In Iran and many Arab countries, sewage is dumped, which can threaten public health by contaminating wells and aquifers.

...No one should wish for a water crisis anywhere. But as water problems grow, one hopes that ideology will give way to pragmatism and may open a door to an Arab and Islamic outreach to Israel. A partnership that starts with engineers and extends to farmers could contribute to deal making, even reconciliation, among leaders. Rather than seeing Israel as a problem, Israel's antagonists would be wise to see it as a solution.
When are people going to wake up?

Arabs don't just hate Israel - they are emotionally invested in maintaining hate for Israel. This includes Israel's "peace partners" in Egypt and Jordan. There may be some tactical cooperation, and some under-the-table relationships blooming based on common interests, but they can never translate into real peace the way normal people define peace.

Every Arab country has organizations dedicated to fighting "normalization" with Israel. Every Arab country routinely insults Israel in international bodies. Practically no Arab media will publicly oppose antisemitism or Holocaust denial (there was a very rare exception last week.)

The atmosphere is toxic, and three generations so far have been raised with this insane hate. Occasionally, some Arabs will notice that Arabs treat each other worse than Jews treat Arabs, but those are not exactly meant as compliments.

Just this morning an idiotic tweeter responded to my pointing out that Arab nations planned to persecute their Jewish population before the UN partition vote in November 1947 by claiming that it was a reaction to Jews kicking Arabs out of their homes. (The only people kicked out of their homes in Palestine before the partition vote were in fact Jews.)

Arab lies about Israel are not only meant to demonize Israel and Jews. They are meant to assuage Arab shame at losing wars to the Jews. Westerners simply cannot understand the centrality of honor/shame in Arab culture. Israel's very existence is shameful and a reminder of Arab impotence (which is why they use over-the-top words like "Naqba" and "Naqsa" to refer to wars lost to Jews, but never for far deadlier intra-Arab wars or wars fought by Western powers in the Arab world.)

This is a problem that cannot be solved short of Israel's destruction.

All Israel can do is to ensure that it offers such technologies to its neighbors where they can relabel them as if they came from Europe  - and keep up their public stance of hating Israel.

Arab governments will privately be happy that Israel exists, because the alternative is another Libya or Syria and no one wants that at their borders. Countries like Morocco will continue to quietly trade with Israel. treaties about specific common topics - including water - will sometimes be drafted under the auspices of third parties.  But Arab nations will not and cannot accept Israel as a permanent nation in their midst.

The only proof you need is that Israel can and does offer, today, far more than water technology, and the Arab world refuses to take advantage of it, even though it would help them immensely. Nothing would thrill Israel more than sending professors to Arab universities to teach or to Arab governments to advise about technical issues like farming and medicine and disaster preparation. To Arabs, publicly accepting help from Israel would be another instance of Arab shame.

Peace is impossible. Détente is the ideal, and to a large extent, is already here. And the only thing that can make it more ideal is Israeli strength where its existence is accepted as a fait accompli, not Israeli concessions that give Arabs hope that they can reverse the "naqba" and avenge their shame.

(h/t Ronald)

Erekat: If negotiations fail, the PA will collapse

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:03 AM PST

Saeb Erekat spoke at the Oxford Union on Friday night, although for some reason his statements do not seem to have been reported in English.

Arabic media reports that he resorted to his usual threats unless Israel caves to the demands of the people they supposedly oppress. (It is remarkable how the "oppressed" act like they have the upper hand, isn't it?)

This time, Erekat said that at the stroke of midnight on April 29, the PLO "will resort to international courts, and United Nations bodies and we will join calls for an economic boycott" of Israel.

He added that the Palestinian Authority is preparing an "attack" of lawsuits against Israel in The Hague, where the PLO has prepared 50 petitions to be ready in the event of the likely failure of the negotiations.

Then he said that after April 29, "You can not maintain the [PA] government at its current status. If Kerry's negotiations fail, the government will collapse and Netanyahu will be forced to take control of the West Bank, and this will be very ugly."

Of course, if the PA/PLO/"State of Palestine" collapses, then who will bring all of these lawsuits to the Hague?

If Israel is so hell-bent on expansionist policies, then why is threatening to dissolve the PA a threat - wouldn't Israel want to re-occupy the entire Judea and Samaria?

But consistency is not something to expect from a liar like Erekat. The chances that Abbas will willingly give up his power base is exactly as low as it was the many previous times that he threatened to do that.

Commemorating when the Arab countries decided to persecute their Jews

Posted: 17 Feb 2014 02:49 AM PST

From JPost last July:
February 17 will be the national day of commemoration for Jewish refugees of Arab countries, according to a bill authorized on Sunday by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.

The bill, proposed by MK Shimon Ohayon (Likud Beytenu), states that an official date will be held to honor the 850,000 Jews who were forced out of or fled homes in Arab countries in the mid-20th century.

Ohayon chose February 17 because it was the day in 1948 when the Arab League approved a law for member states to place sanctions against their Jewish population.

The MK also sent a letter to Arab League Secretary-General Dr. Nabil el-Araby Sunday, saying his organization should "accept historic accountability for the humiliation, the suffering and the losses incurred by innocent Jewish victims of the Arab world's declared war on the State of Israel."

"As a matter of law and equity, the Arab League must assume full responsibility for ensuring rights and redress for Jewish refugees, the direct result of the collusive actions," he added. "This is an important element of any future peace and reconciliation between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East."
I cannot find direct reference to this decision in the February 17, 1948 meeting of the Arab League. They did decide on "political, military, and economic measures to be taken in response to the Palestine crisis, including withholding petroleum concessions and other possible sanctions against countries aiding the Zionists."

However, it does appear that this was when a draft plan to persecute Jews did get realized. This draft plan was written in 1947 and was approved by Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia by January:


The Arabs made no secret that they were threatening Jews in Arab countries during the debates before the UN partition vote in 1947. Heykal Pasha, the Egyptian delegate, said, "The United Nations ... should not lose sight of the fact that the proposed solution might endanger a million Jews living in the Moslem countries. ... If the United Nations decided to partition Palestine they might be responsible for very grave disorders and for the massacre of a large number of Jews."



The New York Times reported on the dangers faced by Jews in Arab countries in May, 1948:


It is clear that this was a coordinated effort by Arab countries, using the excuse that it would be a popular uprising against local Jews.

In the end, 99.5% of Jews were ethnically cleansed from their homes in Arab states.

Lots more information in this publication by Justice for Jews in Arab Countries.

(h/t Rudi)
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