יום שישי, 21 בפברואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Survey of the situation of Jews in Arab states before Israel was reborn

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:00 PM PST

From JTA, reproduced in various Jewish newspapers in August 1947:

Amazing blog post from a Syrian refugee in Istanbul

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:25 PM PST

Yesterday, Israel's prime minister visited the field hospital where Syrian patients are being treated. Here's what he said:



The Syrian opposition condemned Netanyahu!

Khalid Saleh, head of the Media Office, said that "the visit paid by Prime Minister of the Israeli occupation to one of the hospitals where injured Syrians are being hospitalized is nothing more than a publicity gimmick and a deliberate move to hint that there is a certain relationship between the Syrian revolution and the Zionist entity. Israel's Prime Minister aims at whitewashing his tarnished image in the minds of the Arab and Islamic peoples." Saleh denounces "Israel's investment in the plight of the Syrian people and using them as tools to spruce up his besmirched image. Saleh stresses that "the Israeli entity stood against the Syrian uprising from the start when they repeatedly warned of the danger of the weapons falling in the hands of what they described as terrorists. These "terrorists" - wounded civilians who were forcedly taken to Israeli hospitals and are being employed today for marketing their political agenda." Saleh points out that "forcing some of the wounded civilians to receive treatment in the hospitals of the Israeli occupation as a result of the crippling siege imposed by the Assad regime lays bare Assad's claims about resisting the Israeli occupation."
This bizarre response did not go unnoticed by real Syrian refugees.

Aboud Dandachi, a Syrian from Homs, has a blog describing his experiences. Here's what he has to say about this episode:

This one press release by the SNC may very well prove to be one of the most self-damaging statements ever released by a political organization. Not only did the SNC fall into a trap by reacting hastily to goading from its opponents, but by denouncing an act of charity that has saved so many Syrian lives, even from a country that has historically been an adversary to Syria, the SNC has very much called into question the Syrian political opposition's ability to engage in any post-conflict reconciliation with those communities that stood with the regime during the war. If you can't even bring yourself to say thank you to medical aid from Israel, how on earth are you ever going to bring yourself to meet the greater challenge of living and let live with those Syrians who fought for the regime over the years. To say nothing of the vindication of those parties very much against any sort of help to the Syrian opposition, whom those parties see as potential adversaries in the future.
Alas, the SNC's position is by no means an isolated one among the Syrian opposition. Indeed, the coalition probably felt compelled to make a denunciation along these lines to maintain its credibility among the rank and file activists. This one statement is going to have some very far reaching repercussions, especially with respect to any further aid the opposition can expect to receive. Who in their right mind is going to provide MANPADs and advanced anti-tank missiles to an opposition that can't even reconcile itself to medical aid from a perceived adversary. Frankly, this regrettable episode has demonstrated that the Syrian political opposition still has alot of growing up to do.

The idea that any Syrian should feel apologetic for seeking medical aid from an Israeli hospital is yet one more morally bankrupt notion in a conflict that has already laid bare the moral shortcomings of many formerly esteemed parties and movements. ...This is a regime that has targeted Red Crescent volunteers and murdered a British surgeon for giving the exact same aid the Israelis are providing wounded Syrians. Dr Abbas Khan was rightly hailed as a hero, and Israel's contribution to treating hundreds of needy Syrians deserves no less praise and appreciation. The pro-regimists have no moral standing or high ground on this issue whatsoever. Far from condemning Benjamin Netanyahu for visiting wounded Syrians, the Assad supporters' time would be better spent asking where their beloved leader has been hiding out these past months. It is shameful that Angelina Jolie has made more visits to Syrian camps and refugee hospitals than Assad and Asma have combined.
...
Maybe Barack Obama and the naysayers were right after all, maybe they knew us better than we knew ourselves. There are some Israelis and in the West who want nothing whatsoever to do with Syria and its problems, and statements like the SNC's have validated their worse suspicions, that any Syrian opposition group the West helps are only going to be adversaries after the war. It is an unfortunate fact, that Israeli medical teams have done more for Syrians in the south of the country than all the opposition groups put together, to say nothing of the murderous regime that caused them to seek help in the first place.
...
Of course, nothing happens in the Middle East in a vacuum, and alot of other issues intrude to make any conflict that much more complicated. Some Syrians, and indeed Arabs, are of the opinion that one cannot reconcile even to the slightest degree with Israel and hope to remain loyal to our Palestinian brethren and their aspirations. Frankly, it would not be unfair to say that this sort of hardline stance is most popular among those who have in reality done crap-all in a practical sense for our Palestinian brethren. By all means, go and jump on the BDS bandwagon if it assuages your guilt, and I'm sure the fact that the BDSers have a very flexible and self-serving idea of who is worthy of a boycott makes it that much easier. 
...When the war in Syria is over, one of the things that I as a (hopefully) former refugee would want to see addressed, is the disgraceful treatment of our Palestinian brothers and sisters in the Arab world. If it is solidarity with Palestinians that certain Arabs seek, then nothing can improve the Palestinians' situation more quickly than by granting them the right to work, study, travel and private property ownership in the Arab countries they currently reside in. Because frankly, I doubt there is a single Palestinian in the Levant or North Africa who wouldn't swap places with an Arab-Israeli in a heart beat.
....Personally, Israel's kindness to Syrian refugees has demonstrated to me that Syrians and Israelis need not be adversaries in the future, that there is space and possibility for an accommodation on even the most seemingly intractable of issues. There is goodwill and humanity on the Israeli side, despite everything I have been taught to believe during my life.
I hope that in the future, those of the Syrian opposition who currently regard anything Israel does with hostility and suspicion, ask themselves what is to be gained by pandering to morally bankrupt pro-Assadists, whose beloved leader's family could not, in forty years, regain the Golan Heights either through war or through negotiations. The whole point of an opposition is to give the country a different way of thinking. Knowing who our true friends are would be a good place to start.

(h/t Sarah)

02/20 Links Pt2: The ugly history of the Apartheid Smear; Lawsuit Threat to Oxfam over Terror links

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

From Ian:
The ugly history of the Apartheid Smear
Here, I want to say something about the revealing historical background to the apartheid smear. There have been three key moments. Each – whatever the sincere hopes of many of its supporters – was a cynical attempt to demonise Israel as a pariah state in order to prepare the ground for its eventual destruction.
The smear originated in "anti-Zionist" campaigns that were waged without let up by the Communist states during the Cold War. Seeking Arab allies, these campaigns frequently descended into antisemitism, the word "Zionist" understood by all as a fig-leaf for "Jew". Many ideas that have since spread around the world, especially amongst "progressives", began here: Zionism equals racism, Zionism equals imperialism. Israel is the USA's "watchdog" in the Middle East, Zionism is complicit with, or even promotes, antisemitism, and, of course, Zionism equals South African apartheid.
Following Scarlett Johansson Furor, Oxfam Threatened With Lawsuit for Providing Aid to Branches of Terror Group
Global charity Oxfam has been threatened with criminal and civil lawsuits for its funding of branches of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an internationally designated terror organization, Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center said in a statement on Thursday. The move comes just weeks after actress Scarlett Johansson ended ties with the charity over a difference of opinion regarding her role as an ambassador for Israeli company SodaStream.
Shurat HaDin, which "represents victims of Palestinian and Islamic terrorism in courtrooms around the world," demanded that Oxfam sever its ties with the Union of Health Workers Committees ("UHWC") and the Union of Agricultural Worker's Committee ("UAWC"), two agencies of the terror organization which it said "were created by the PFLP" and "operate under the direct patronage and in close cooperation with the PFLP."
Study: Arab-Israeli Conflict Source Of 85% Of World's Bull$#!@ (satire)
The BS finds its way into the environment through such media as major news outlets that use the term "militant" instead of "terrorist," for example, or "resistance to the occupation" instead of the more fact-based "attempts to destroy Israel."
By far the most common type of this pollution involves the term "Palestinian," a made-up nation with no discrete national history before the 1960′s except as derivative of Syrian, Jordanian, and Egyptian tribal loyalties. But other common types of BS can often outnumber those stool samples on any given day, such as the manifest misnomer "peace process" and an assumed "right" of return for Arab refugees. Still other common examples include "Israel's blockade of Gaza," which ignores the coastal strip's border with Egypt; "1967 borders" as a reference to boundaries that were actually only a messily-defined ceasefire line from 1949, not a recognized national frontier; and anything that comes from a source that supports the BDS movement.



IDF, Watchdog Group Criticize Australian Media Report on Palestinian Children
"John Lyons's documentary, replete with distortions, misrepresentations and outright falsehoods, is one of the most extreme instances of anti-Israel propaganda to appear in a mainstream television outlet in recent memory," Tamar Sternthal, director of CAMERA's Israel office, told JNS.org.
Sternthal added, "Had the reporter upheld his journalistic obligation to fact-check specific charges of brutal torture of Palestinian minors, he would have learned that the accusations were unfounded."
Anti-Israel Professor Judith Butler to Speak at NYC Jewish Museum
Jewish anti-Israel professor Judith Butler will be featured by New York's Jewish Museum in an event about existentialist Jewish writer Franz Kafka, and her critics on Wednesday were quick to call out the institution and its chief curator for their "Kafka-esque" move.
Israeli artist, playwright and professor, Dahn Hiuni, who pilloried Butler last week, in an interview in The Algemeiner, on Wednesday said he was "speechless" and that the news of the Jewish Museum event was "horrible, but upon reflection, I'm not surprised."
After walkout, Bennett makes amends with EU president Schulz
During their conversation Wednesday, Schulz guaranteed Bennett that he will always stand with Israel. Bennett presented the German politician with a 2,000-year-old coin unearthed in Jerusalem, and thanked him for his firm stance against boycotts of Israel. He explained the Knesset walkout as "a parliamentary move," Channel 2 reported.
The two also discussed expanding ties between Europe and Israel.
"Europe is Israel's number one trade partner and we need to work to advance our ties," Bennett said, according to a spokesperson.
During 'nadir' in ties, Merkel to bring entire cabinet to Israel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her entire cabinet are due in Israel next week for a high-profile visit that will include the largest bilateral government consultations in Israel's history. However, the trip, which officially kicks off the preparations for next year's celebration of 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, is being overshadowed by reports of the worst crisis in diplomatic ties since Merkel took office nearly 10 years ago.
War and Peace and SodaStream
Not only are the anti-SodaStream campaigners barking up the wrong tree, they're not even in the right forest. Apart from posing no threat to Palestinian nationhood and employing said Palestinians in large numbers, the reality of life in Ma'ale Adudim blows the case for BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) to smithereens.
That 80% isn't just geographically entwined with Israel, but economically too. Contrary to the assertions of many activists, boycotting just the West Bank and not Israel itself simply isn't feasible. Beyond that, it's morally wrong. The people who live in places like this aren't criminals or fanatics, but Israeli citizens. As our visit demonstrated, they are quietly, and independently of the politicians, learning to co-exist with their Palestinian neighbours. This process will take a very long time and may yet fail, but it is palpably happening.
The BDSers' studied ignorance of all this is why so many of us suspect – more than suspect – that the movement isn't about helping the Palestinians at all. Some of its advocates may sincerely believe it is, I can't see into their hearts. But the inescapable implication of boycotting Israel is that the state itself is illegitimate.
BDS'er, get off those drugs!
One of the major players in the worldwide drug industry is Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., an Israeli company. According to its website, Teva fills 1 out of every 6 generic prescriptions in the US and Canada. Generic drugs, in 2012, made up 84% of all prescriptions filled in the US. So in the US, 14% of all prescriptions were filled by an Israeli company. If you live in the US and you bought 7 prescription drugs over the course of the year, chances are that one of them was made by Teva. If you live in Europe, you very well could have bought prescription medications made by Teva. Teva Europe has supplied over 1000 doses of medicine per second (!) to European customers.
How Do You Solve a Problem Like J Street?
As the documentary wears on, exposed to this rather unforgiving dissection, the J Streeters almost begin to appear amusingly tragic. One J Street activist pleads that she supports J Street because she likes "creating good things in the world." No match for Professor Wisse: "because they are so sensitive, and because they are so good-hearted … and wicked Israel is not as good hearted as I am. The stupidity of this kind of innocence in a world that is so complicated, when you belong to a people with such a tortured history of trying to arrive at the good in the midst of being persecuted and prosecuted falsely over so many centuries, I mean, its almost intolerable."
What The J Street Challenge certainly exposes is the concerning way in which the J Street message risks having real traction with students. What this documentary does in response is to equip a broad public with the arguments by which to counter the supposedly sophisticated and morally superior arguments of liberals claiming to support Israel, while in reality only ever going out of their way to condemn it.
J Street: Building the Great Constituency of Naivety
By ignoring and twisting key facts on the ground, J Street is building a constituency that stands clueless on some of the most important issues in the Middle East. Furthermore, as a result of this, J Street's clueless constituency is pushing for solutions to conflicts based off false realities, which can lead to dangerous results.
Extremely UNnecessary: Falk's big fat waste of time
Basically, Falk was a colonizer, in that he felt he knew what is best for the Palestinians.
Ironically, his whole presence in recent years has been an unmitigated disaster for them. The leaked report illustrates the lack of accomplishment and the fact that no western power will take it seriously reveals his self-destructive role. Palestinians often do not see this. There is a perception that the Falks and other foreign "pro-Palestinian" radicals such as George Galloway, Baronness Jenny Tonge and Gretta Duisenberg benefit the Palestinian cause. But these radicals – Galloway was a supporter of Bashar Assad, and Duisenberg claimed that "the Jews... always seek to dominate the information flow" – don't do them any service.
Falk is a twisted circus clown who should never be hosted by respectable institutions and should be put in his place for the disservice he did Israelis and Palestinians (rather than applauded for "helping" them); hopefully the international community will learn from this six-year waste of time and resources.
Exposing the boycott
Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, shows signs of mild embarrassment in the wake of reports it consigned Israel's largest bank, Bank Hapoalim, to a list of firms deemed too "ethically questionable" for investment by ostensibly ethically minded investors.
Bank Hapoalim indeed featured on the list, but Deutsche Bank later averred this was merely a recommendation by an outside consultant from Denmark.
It needs be stressed that the actual damage to Bank Hapoalim is likely to be minimal at most. If anything, the impact on Deutsche Bank's image will be greater. It goes beyond the specter of a German financial giant boycotting a Jewish concern. Deutsche Bank has a particularly dark past, even for a veteran German corporation.
Cinematic Strings: "BDS Movement Extreme And Counterproductive"
Last night Alex from Cinematic Strings left the following comment on yesterday's second post:
Hi Yael,
Just an update. We realised that our own stance had been discriminatory, and that was not something we meant to do. We have given the discount to the artist concerned and in fact we have emailed him today and he is happy to work with us. We have agreed to provide the discount to every student regardless of their location, and after several discussions and further research, we have withdrawn our support of the BDS. We have done this because, while we still support open dialogue aimed at achieving peace and equality, we now consider the aims of the BDS movement to be extreme and counterproductive.
This was also featured Andrew Bolt's blog, Australia's most popular political blog.
After Soda Stream Factory Visit, Church Leaders Reject Boycotts
The Presbyterian delegates told representatives from Soda Stream that the visit to the factory strengthened their belief that the location of the factory enhances the business as well as the interpersonal relations between the Israelis and Palestinians and that they will express their support of Israel to the church administration and followers.
Ruby Shamir, Executive Director of AIFL Israel, stated, "These days when there are many voices calling to boycott Israel both in the business and academia regions, it is crucial to bring leaders and influential figures to change these ideas and to help form a positive and supportive opinion about Israel. This is yet another step towards the mission of the AIFL which is to strengthen the relationships between the American and Israeli people."
Channel 4 News' Jonathan Miller doesn't mention the 1948 war, and gets away with it.
In a cunning twist to that famous Fawlty Towers scene when Basil Fawlty tries to not mention the war when serving German guests but fails, Channel 4 News journalist Jonathan Miller does his best to not mention the war and succeeds!
The war that would not pass Miller's lips was the one of 1948 when Israel beat five Arab armies and more to establish its legal state. Whereas the putative Israelis accepted UN Resolution 181 (the Partition resolution) the Arab world rejected it hoping to inflict on Israel's Jews a second Holocaust instead.
To add to the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust another 6,000 Jews needlessly lost their lives in that 1947-49 war.
Not that such history seems to be of much concern to Jonathan Miller.
ADL Calls for 'Sincere Apology' From Photographer Rankin for Anti-Semitic Comments; Blasts Independent for 'Lapse of Editorial Judgment'
Jewish human rights group, the Anti-Defamation League, said an apology issued by British photographer Rankin for anti-Semitic remarks he made didn't go far enough, and blasted the UK's The Independent newspaper for publishing the offensive comments.
"Rankin made a feeble attempt to justify his remarks when what is called for here is an acknowledgement from him that the views he expressed are anti-Semitic," Michael A. Salberg, ADL Director of International Affairs, said in an email to The Algemeiner. "It is not too late for Rankin to offer a sincere apology."
In Rawabi, the brand-new Palestinian city, both sides win
The city slopes down a hill 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) north of Ramallah, directly between Nablus and Jerusalem, and the Israeli coastline is clearly visible from the balconies of its higher apartments. Rawabi, which is Arabic for hills, is entirely funded by private investment — a joint venture of Palestinian company Massar International and Qatari real estate developer Diar — estimated to surpass $1 billion. When phase A is done, it will be home to more than 25,000 residents seeking to escape the disarray of traditional Palestinian cities.
While the prospects of a positive outcome to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians seem iffy, Rawabi is a towering certainty. But the shiny new city on the hill is not only a model of Palestinian entrepreneurship, it is also a little-known exemplar of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.
Israeli Invention Helps Wheelchair Users Go Down Stairs (VIDEO)
An new product created by an Israeli start up will allow the severely disabled to descend staircases without harming themselves, Israel's Channel 2 reported on Wednesday.
Technology developed by the Softwheel company will, according to CEO Daniel Bar-El, "Do away with the need to find a ramp," when someone using a wheelchair wants to go down a flight of stairs.
Lady Gaga to play Tel Aviv in September
Gaga is the latest high-profile act heading to Israel this year.
Reports in the Israeli media last week said the Rolling Stones were near a deal to play in Israel for the first time, on June 10 at the Ramat Gan Stadium near Tel Aviv. Stones bassist Darryl Jones performed in Israel in December.
Also set to play are Deep Purple (February 22 and 33), Foreigner (March 25 and 25), Steve Vai (March 26), the Pixies (June 17), Soundgarden (June 18) and Neil Young & Crazy Horse (July 17).
Jordan-born Yitzhak Rabin to join IDF
Once again, Yitzhak Rabin is being drafted into the Israeli army.
Eighteen-year-old Yitzhak Rabin Namsy, born in Jordan and named following his namesake's assassination on November 4, 1995, was granted citizenship after 16 years in Israel, Maariv reported Wednesday.
Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar flew down to Namsy's Eilat home to deliver his ID card in person earlier this week, the paper reported. (h/t Bob Knot)

Hezbollah TV: Superman is a Jewish plot to take over the world!

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST

From MEMRI:



According to an Al-Manar TV report, titled "Jews, Movies, Hollywoodism, and the American Dream" and broadcast on February 10, 2014, Hollywood was a Jewish invention, the goals of which were "to take over the greatest superpower in the world, to control all aspects of its daily life, and to harness it in the service of Jewish goals worldwide."
Following are excerpts:
Reporter: [The American Jews] felt rejected by real American society. Therefore, they tried to change society's opinion of them by inventing cinematic characters that would serve as role models. That's when it all began. Everybody wanted to be like Superman, the hero from outer space, who could not fit in society as Superman, so he invented a character that was better suited for American society – the feeble, bespectacled Clark Kent.
Farroukh Majidi, university professor and international photographer: If you hit the heart of somebody, the result is short term, but if you hit his brain, then the result is long term.
Reporter: Incidentally, Superman was invented by the Jew, Joe Schuster.
Farroukh Majidi: They try to make you believe that what you think comes out of yourself.
Reporter: Hollywood is a Jewish invention that changed the way Americans view America, and created dreams, rather than reality. They managed to make the Americans live the dream, divorced from reality. Undoubtedly, the goal was to take over the greatest superpower in the world, to control all aspects of its daily life, and to harness it in the service of Jewish goals worldwide. Whenever someone challenges this, Superman is ready to deal with him.
Farroukh Majidi: What is most dangerous is if you believe their culture. You should focus on that – not about a movie about a Jewish person who was the best, who was a savior, or a hero, or whatever. This is not going to touch us. What is touching us, what is ruining us, ruining our culture, is the penetration of their culture through mass media, through their movies, through this television. This is what we have to be aware of.
[…]
Reporter: The Jews consider [Carl] Laemmle to have saved hundreds of people from the so-called "Holocaust." "Schindler's List" is perhaps one move that implies this. This film was produced and distributed by Universal Studios.
Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Studios, renounced his German identity for the sake of his Jewishness. He made money and used it for the Jewish enterprise. He worked to keep Hollywood in Jewish hands only. This influence continues to this day.
[…]
Farroukh Majidi: I think we should think completely in another direction – to fight against what they want to do. Of course, this is their country, this is their culture, and they want to conquer all the world. As we want. But they know how to do it, and we don't.
[…]
With this technology, with this equipment, with this skillfulness of the people… In this way, you believe that they are different. They know exactly how to use it because they have a lot of specialists, who surround them for making a movie, and we don't have it. Just we think about the subject from a political point of view.
[…]

Now Jews accused of "storming" and "usurping" Rachel's Tomb

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST

Jew-hating Arabs have managed to make a big deal over Jews peacefully visiting and praying in their holiest sites on the Temple Mount, the Kotel, the Tomb of Joseph and the Maarat HaMachpela. In each case the Muslims claim that these holy sites are really Islamic, and that the Jews are "usurping" them.

No human rights NGO has ever pushed back and said that Jews have the right to worship in their holy spots.

So this article in Egyptian daily Mesryoon - and at least five other Arabic newspapers - was inevitable.

Dozens of Israeli settlers on Thursday morning stormed the Bilal bin Rabah mosque north of the city of Bethlehem, claiming it is the site of "Rachel's Tomb", and they performed Talmudic rituals inside.

Local sources said that the settlers broke into the area near the Aida refugee camp, and performed provocative religious rituals inside, and that the settlers arrived by bus and were accompanied by patrols of the Israeli occupation.

They were there for several hours during which voices were heard screaming inside the mosque, while performing Talmudic rituals.

Sources reported that the mosque is located inside the wall of apartheid.

The settlers, under the pretext of performing Talmudic rituals, repeatedly desecrate the mosque.
There is no record of Rachel's Tomb being called the Bilal bin Rabah mosque before the 1990s. It is complete fiction. Muslims freely acknowledged that this was Rachel's Tomb, and called it Khirbet Rahil and other names with the word "Rachel" in Arabic.

The simultaneous publication of this news item - when Jews have been visiting Rachel's Tomb virtually every day for centuries except between 1948-1967 - indicates that Arab Muslims are preparing to expand their campaign of lies and slander against Jews and Judaism.

And yet, you will be hard pressed to find any "human rights" organization, or mainstream media fact checker, bothering to point out the obvious lies and antisemitism. Because Muslims are expected to lie, to make up history, to get their fiction to be labeled simply "their narrative" as if the truth and lies are interchangeable, and to usurp Jewish holy places.

Since Muslims are expected to act in reprehensible ways, why should anyone outside Jewish "fanatics" be bothered when they live up to expectations? In the twisted world we live in, only Jews are expected to act like human beings and to care about small matters like being honest with history.

02/20 Links Pt1: Jerusalem’s 90-Year-Old ‘Settlement’; State Dept. criticizes Erekat

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Jerusalem's Neve Yaakov: 90-Year-Old 'Settlement'
Most of these neighborhoods were built and populated after Israel liberated them from largely unrecognized Jordanian control in the Six-Day War of 1967. Of course, they are all built upon the remains of ancient Jewish settlements, or have signs of Jewish life from the First or Second Temple periods. During the construction of Gilo, for instance, archaeologists discovered a fortress and other remains from the times of the first Beit HaMikdash, and a biblical town of Gilo, slightly further south, is mentioned in the Books of Joshua and Samuel II. In Talpiyot there have been discoveries of Second Temple-era graves, and winepresses, graves and more have been found under Pisgat Ze'ev.
But one of these neighborhoods stands out in this respect: The northernmost one, a fascinating area named Neve Yaakov – a full-fledged Jewish community up until 1948. Today it is once again a thriving neighborhood many times larger than it was several decades ago, with a population close to 30,000. Despite this, the Arabs claim that this old-new village is "illegal.
Modern-day Neve Yaakov was first established in 1924 on a 16-acre plot of land purchased by members of the American Mizrachi movement from the Arabs of Beit Hanina. First called Kfar Ivri, its name was soon changed to commemorate Mizrachi leader Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov Reines, who had died a decade earlier.
State Department Takes Issue with Erekat
The United States on Wednesday expressed concern over comments against Israel by the chief Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator, Saeb Erekat.
"We are of course concerned about the recent comments by Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters, hinting that Secretary of State John Kerry would raise the issue during his meeting in Paris with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
"We've said all along that it's important to create a positive atmosphere around these discussions. The personal attacks, quite frankly, are unhelpful, and the secretary will make clear that these kinds of comments are disappointing, that they are unhelpful, especially coming from someone involved in the negotiations, indeed the lead negotiator," said Harf.
Yes Mr. Erekat, Jesus was a Jew
The kindest thing one can say about Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian "negotiator," is that he suffers, or pretends to suffer, from delusions or fantasies. How else can one explain his statement on January 31, 2014 at a conference in Munich when he specified the reason for the Palestinian refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state? To do so, he said would be "asking me to change my narrative."
That fabricated Palestinian narrative of victimhood has concocted hyperbolical and inaccurate commentaries about Middle East history and Israeli policies. Erekat has employed it, as so many other critics and boycotters of Israel have done, for political ends.



Robert Malley and the Shift to Appeasement
In the years since then, Malley has remained a virulent critic of Israel and an advocate for recognition and acceptance of the Hamas terrorists who rule Gaza as well as engagement with Iran and other rejectionist states.
All this should have been enough to keep him out of any administration that professed friendship for Israel. But by putting him in charge of relations with the Gulf states, President Obama is also demonstrating that he is determined to continue a policy of downgrading relations with traditional allies in favor of better relations with Iran and other radicals. As much as Israel has cause for concern about the headlong rush to embrace Iran, the Saudis have just as much reason to worry, especially because of the administration's failure to act in Syria, where Iran's ally Bashar Assad appears to be winning his war to hold on to power. The Saudis are right to dismiss the president's attempts to reassure them on Iran. Now that he has appointed a longtime advocate of embracing America's foes, it's not likely they will feel any better about U.S. policy.
The return to a position of influence of an Arafat apologist like Malley is one more sign of just how far the president has strayed from his campaign pledges on the Middle East. The U.S. drift toward appeasement of radical Islamists is no longer a matter of speculation but a fact. Any constraints on administration policies based in concern about alienating America's allies are now a thing of the past.
US framework draft is too vague, says top PLO official
Ahmed Qurei, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee and a former prime minister, said that current American positions on a number of core negotiating issues including borders, Jerusalem and the settlements do not satisfy the Palestinian need for clarity.
"Trying to put ambiguity in the text will not help the parties. I don't want to continue discussing what this or that [phrase] means … this would be a waste of time, and the Israelis on the other side will continue their projects on the ground to change the status of the West Bank and maintain the separation of Gaza from the West Bank," Qurei, known more commonly by the nom de guerre Abu Alaa, told journalists at his office in Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem.
PA Official: Abbas Ready for Israel as a Jewish State
A senior PLO official was quoted as saying that Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas was prepared to recognize Israel – this time, for real. A story in Maariv Thursday quoted Nabil Amaro as saying on PA television that Abbas would agree to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, as part of the negotiations being conducted by US Secretary of State John Kerry.
The road to Jerusalem that's off limits to Israel's leaders
Behind the Paratroopers' red-and-white flags at the entrance to the base, in a warm, airless caravan lit by fluorescent lights and lined with IDF code maps, a dozen female soldiers worked a four-hour shift, their eyes fixed on the screens in front of them.
In a corner of the room, a soldier with coral-pink nail polish monitored what the IDF has deemed a "strategic route" – the West Bank section of Route 443, a 16-kilometer stretch of road linking Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The route, one of the two main roads into the capital, runs east of the security barrier. After months of near total quiet, it has witnessed a flare-up of violence, including 20 Molotov-cocktail attacks during the first two months of the year. In early February, the Israel Police unit Magen, concerned by the unpredictability of the attacks, ruled the road off limits to Israeli government ministers under its protection.
'We Heard a Boom, and the Windshield Shattered'
Palestinian Arab teenagers hurled rocks at an Israeli car just outside the Samaria community of Eli Wednesday afternoon. While the victims of the attack are shaken, no one was hurt.
"We were in a full car - two women and several children - traveling from Jerusalem to Elon Moreh," Alona, the driver, recounted to Arutz Sheva. "Right after we passed Eli we heard a loud 'boom' that shook the car. We saw glass shattered in our car and realized that the Palestinian Arab teenagers we saw earlier had thrown stones at us as we passed."
It took a few moments - but, thankfully, the victims of the attack managed to find help.
Bulgaria identifies third suspect in Burgas bus bombing
"Two individuals were previously established. They are now three," chief prosecutor Sotir Tsatsarov told reporters on Thursday.
"The identification of the new suspect will extend the investigation and there will be new requests for legal help from abroad... It means we will need just a little more time," Tsatsarov said. He did not give any more details.
Bill legally distinguishing between Christian and Muslim Arabs advances
Coalition chairman Yariv Levin's proposal to legally differentiate between Christian and Muslim Arabs passed its second and third readings in the Knesset Labor, Health, and Welfare Committee on Wednesday.
Levin's proposals would identify Christians as a minority group separate from Arabs, most of whom are Muslim, and give them their own, unique representation on the Advisory Committee for Equal Opportunity in Employment Commission.
The bill calls for more representatives on the commission for Christians, Druse and Circassians, as well as for haredim, new immigrants, reserve soldiers, senior citizens, and women
Arab MK Pleads with Pope to Stop Christians Enlisting in IDF
MK Basel Ghattas (Balad) appealed to Pope Francis Wednesday, asking him to personally intervene to stop Christian Arabs from recruiting into the IDF, according to Ha'aretz.
Ghattas submitted the request to Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, the Vatican's representative in Jerusalem, at the Holy See's office on the Mount of Olives. The MK linked the timing of the request with the Pope's upcoming visit to Israel, scheduled for May 24, 2014. Rumors circulated earlier this month that the Pope's visit will be marked by a show of support for the Palestinian Arabs.
IDF Blog: 8 years, 8 Quotes by Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh
Eight years ago, Ismail Haniyeh became the Prime Minister of Hamas. He has followed well in the footsteps of former Hamas leaders, holding strong to the terror group's commitment to violence, radicalism, and hateful rhetoric. To mark Haniyeh's eighth year in power, we bring to you eight quotes that characterize his time as Prime Minister.
Hamas and UNRWA Try to Manipulate the Media
Manipulating Hamas to attack UNRWA is a method that UNRWA successfully engineered four years ago.
At the time, UNRWA spokespeople spread a false rumor that UNRWA had initiated curriculum to teach the Holocaust, but that Hamas had stopped them from doing so.
We asked the UNRWA administrative office in New York whether there was indeed a plan to teach the Holocaust in UNRWA schools.
We received an immediate, clear, and definitive response that there had never even been any plan to teach the Holocaust through UNRWA in Hamas schools. However, UNRWA accomplished its mission of distorting the truth about its relationship with Hamas.
Hezbollah Chief's Speech Reignites Concerns Iran-Backed Group Manufacturing Conflict with Israel Over Underwater Energy Resources
A Sunday speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is fueling concerns that the Iran-backed terror group intends to use Lebanon's off-shore energy resources to provoke a conflict with Israel, with the terror group chief reportedly insisting at least three times that Israel is engaged in a plot to plunder Lebanese oil. Lebanese media noted that Nasrallah began his extended speech by invoking Israel as a threat to Lebanon.
Hezbollah flinches in the face of its Sunni counterpart
The double suicide bombing that rocked Beirut's Shiite neighborhood, al-Dahiyah, on Wednesday — killing at least six and injuring dozens near an Iranian cultural institute — illustrated Hezbollah's near-helplessness in the face of radical Sunni terrorism.
Time and again, Sunni terrorists have succeeded in striking at Hezbollah and carrying out serious attacks in the Shiite group's most sensitive site, despite unprecedented security arrangements taken by Hezbollah to prevent attacks of this sort. Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army deployed dozens of checkpoints across the southern Beirut Shiite stronghold in recent weeks, checking suspicious cars and people. And yet, Wednesday's attack claimed by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades — the Lebanese branch of al-Qaeda — succeeded in overcoming these obstacles.
Iranian President Wants Jerusalem Liberated 'From the Yoke of Israel'
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani "wishes" for Jerusalem to be liberated "from the yoke of Israel," according to state-run media reports.
Rouhani expressed his desire during a meeting with Palestinian Parliament Speaker Salim Zanoun, who has been in Tehran for meetings with top officials.
Israel's UN Envoy: Lift the Mask Off Iran
Speaking to the UN Security Council, Prosor launched a scathing attack against Iran and its violations of human rights.
"In what country in the Middle East would you like to be judged?" he asked the 15-member body during a debate on the rule of law. "The answer is categorical - Israel - which has an independent, ethical and fair legal system."
"The Iranian regime may be displaying a smiling face to the West but behind the mask this is a murderous and cruel regime," continued Prosor.
Obama Weapons Expert: No Chance of Success With Iran
One of the many reasons for this, he believes, is that the West has given the Iranian regime insufficient cause to feel as if it must give up its nuclear dreams. The negotiations might drag on for two or three years. And then? "And then the Iranians could decide they're strong enough to walk away," he says.
This analysis does not make him a new pessimist or a harsh critic of the administration's approach. Samore has never believed that the U.S., alone or in combination with other like-minded powers, could do anything but delay Iran's nuclear program. A full-scale ground invasion could bring about the end of the Iranian nuclear program, but that is quite obviously not happening, and short of that, he says, there is no permanent fix. What we have now is, essentially, a truce for a truce.
Two Israelis arrested in Iran arms sales case
Weinstein and Cohen have both been investigated multiple times for allegedly trying to sell and ship military equipment to the Islamic Republic in violation of international sanctions.
The two had previously tried to ship the arms to Iran via intermediary states such as the United States, Germany, Thailand and Portugal, Channel 2 reported. According to the report, Cohen has been investigated six times on such charges in the past 12 years.
Douglas Murray: Blow People Up? What a Surprise!
It is purely and solely about the extremist religious ideology which they have inhaled -- so predictable, so by rote, one could have written the career trajectory of Abdul Waheed Majeed on a napkin ten years ago. Yet we continue to express surprise. And in that is a problem not just for the world at large, and any particular battle-ground of jihad, but a problem for us. When you continue to be surprised by the obvious, it is clear that the obvious must be a problem for you. If we cannot see what is happening, it seems likely that we simply do not want it to be happening. But apparently not enough to try to stop it from happening. "Oh my, have you heard, another suicide bomber from West Sussex." Now why would that be?
'Save the Boy – He's All I Have'
Six-year-old "K" was brought to Israel by his father six weeks ago after suffering life-threatening injuries in an explosion. The same blast killed his mother and sister and also wounded his older brother, who later died of his injuries.
His father begged the Israeli medical team, "Save him – he's all I have left."
Immediately after arriving at Rambam Hospital in Haifa, K underwent an hours-long surgery in which doctors worked to reduce pressure on his brain. Doctors were forced to remove parts of his skull.
Muslim Martians beware: UAE clerics issue fatwa against settling Mars
Muslims dreaming about living on Mars better think again, for they might be violating a religious edict.
According to the Daily Mail, clerics in the United Arab Emirates have issued a fatwa banning Muslims from settling the red planet, which has yet to be inhabited by humans.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment ruled that settling Mars would be so dangerous that it would be tantamount to suicide, an act which is not permitted by Islam. (h/t Bob Knot)

Q: What's the difference between BDS and terrorism? A: Nothing. (update)

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST

While there is no single accepted definition of terrorism, the dictionary definition of terrorism is:
The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.
Terrorism's main purpose is to terrorize, to instill fear in a large population by attacking a relatively small number of people. That's why the threat of a "dirty bomb" is a perfect example of terror - in general, it wouldn't hurt very many people but it would cause panic, which would affect people's behavior.

When Palestinian Arab terrorist groups shoot rockets or send suicide bombers, the number of casualties is relatively small. But if you look at their media afterwards they exult on the larger effects that such actions cause even more than the direct damage. Every time the schools in Ashkelon are closed because of rocket threats, it is reported in the terrorist-leaning Arabic media as a victory. They love making videos showing Israelis running to shelter during Code Red alerts.

To terrorists, fear is the goal - causing panic among a large population by attacking a small number of people.

This story, which may or may not be true given its source*, gives a perfect example of how the goals of BDS are identical to the goals of terrorist groups:
Leading international companies bidding to build private seaports dropped out of the Israeli government's tender due to concerns over the political repercussions, a report said on Tuesday.

The Israeli daily Haaretz said that Royal Boskalis Westminster, a Dutch operator of ports that had submitted a proposal under the name Holland Terminal in the prequalification stage last December, dropped out shortly thereafter. More recently, Italy's Condote

Haaretz said that the companies that had initially expressed their interest in the PQ stage last April made their decisions to drop out in recent months as boycott pressure on Israel has grown. The deadline for submitting bids was Monday, the report said.
Notice the reasons given for this alleged dropping of bids. The companies didn't do it because of Israel's policies; they didn't do it for "moral" reasons, they didn't announce that they would never want to work with a country such as Israel because of its supposed mistreatment of Palestinian Arabs..

The story says that they dropped out because of fear that the boycott movement might attack them.

In other words - they were intimidated. They were coerced.

They were terrorized.

The same thing happens with the vast majority of the small number of popular music stars that have decided to cancel concerts in Israel. Except for a couple of hardcore haters like Roger Waters, the stars calculated that any controversy is toxic to their careers and therefore the effort is not worth it.

They, too, were terrorized.

The tactics of Palestinian terrorists are meant to create an environment of fear where Israelis must worry about possibly being attacked by a tiny number of people whose importance gets magnified by their methods. Ultimately, they want to create an environment where Jews would flee Israel because the fear outweighs the benefits of living there.

The tactics of the BDS supporters are also meant to create an environment of fear, where companies and public individuals will be afraid of a backlash from a similarly tiny number of noisy people who can create an impression of being much larger by targeted, noisy use of social media and protests. Ultimately, they want to create an environment where companies and entertainers and governments would abandon Israel because the fear of controversy outweighs the benefits of working with the most liberal and successful country in the region.

Neither side spends too much time trying to actually convince a larger audience of the righteousness of their cause, although they both try to pretend that they have the moral high ground. Both sides are obviously hypocritical. In both cases, the bulk of their time is spent trying to figure out how to cause the most fear in the people they are threatening. In both cases, they celebrate when the targets cave to their threats and change their behavior. Likewise, in both cases, they will make up fake "victories" and celebrate them, because when the goal is to terrorize innocents, perception is more important than truth.

BDSers and terrorists are identical in strategy, in their intent, and in their definitions of victory. The only difference are specific tactics (and the BDSers generally have no problem with terrorism as well, as their leaders have admitted.)

BDS is a terror movement. Its economic impact is negligible but that isn't what they are after - they want to terrorize companies and individuals by creating an atmosphere of coercion and fear.  Their victims need to understand that they are being intimidated and coerced by people whose morality and goals are virtually indistinguishable from that of jihadists.

UPDATE: *Israel's Presspectiva proved my skepticism about Haaretz' reliability on stories like these. It is really a shame that their lying about stories they want to be true is so utterly predictable. (h/t Yenta)

Saudi Arabia confiscates dangerous soccer balls (with Israeli flag)

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST

Arabic media are reporting that a soccer ball has been confiscated by Saudi authorities from a shop in Dammam.

The reason? Well, it's obvious:


The Saudi Ministry of Trade and Industry responded quickly on Sunday to a citizen complaint via Twitter about the sale of balls bearing the six-pointed star that symbolizes the flag of Israel.

Teams of of the Inspection and Control division at the Ministry confiscated the balls from the store located in Dammam.

"Activists' thanked the ministry for responding so quickly to what must apparently have been considered a threat to public mental health.

They are continuing their investigation of how such a horrendous thing could have happened.

A few years back, Muslims complained about a flag on soccer balls as well - but not the Israeli flag:


A demonstration has been held in south- east Afghanistan accusing US troops of insulting Islam after they distributed footballs bearing the name of Allah.

The balls showed the Saudi Arabian flag which features the Koranic declaration of faith.

The US military said the idea had been to give something for Afghan children to enjoy and they did not realise it would cause offence.

So kicking the Saudi flag is offensive, but kicking the Israeli flag - a flag that is routinely stepped on in Arab countries - is offensive too.

Then again, the entire sport of soccer is a Zionist plot anyway. 

Zarif blames "Zionists" for Lebanon bombing

Posted: 20 Feb 2014 02:00 AM PST

Earlier Wednesday, UPI and others reported:
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday there is "no doubt" its rivals in Israel were behind twin bombings near the Iranian Cultural Center in Beirut.
At least five people were killed and another 80 wounded when twin explosions struck a Beirut neighborhood housing Iranian government entities, the Daily Star newspaper in Lebanon reported.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said mercenaries used by the Israeli government were behind the attack.

"There is no doubt that the agents behind the terrorist action in Beirut are enemies of Lebanon's stability, security and unity and are the hirelings of the Zionist regime who have been disappointed by the formation of a new government in the country," she said in a statement published by Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency.
It turns out that the "moderate" Iranian foreign Minister also blamed Israel for the bombings:
Zarif said that the terrorists involved in bombing are against stability, security and solidarity of the Lebanese nation and are puppets of the Zionist regime which has been disappointed by formation of the new Lebanese government with participation of all political parties.
As is often the case, the media waters down the news to maintain a false narrative. In this case, since Zarif has been heralded in the mainstream media as a moderate, intelligent, Westernized politician, editors are reluctant to ascribe insane Iranian statements to Zarif. When they mention them at all, they quote lower level officials or spokespeople.

Because the idea that the US negotiating partner is a hateful lunatic must not be publicized.
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