יום שבת, 22 בפברואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

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02/21 Links Pt2: Oxfam Exec in '67 “Now The Jews Are Going To Get It!”; SodaStream aikido

Posted: 21 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST

From Ian:
CLAIM: Oxfam Exec delighted: "Now The Jews Are Going To Get It!" On Eve Of '67 War
But my Oxfam Moment came one summer's evening when a senior Oxfam executive invited me to dinner at his sumptuous home in the rolling Oxfordshire countryside. He was cultured, brilliant and cool. Every inch the top Foreign Office diplomat, which had indeed been his previous calling. Before dinner, he suggested we take drinks on the lawn. As an afterthought, he asked the butler to bring out his portable radio so that we could listen to the news. It was, after all, the first day of the Six Day War.
The BBC faithfully reported claims by the Israelis that they had destroyed the air forces of Egypt and Syria on the ground. Then, the newsreader intoned the Arab claims that they had inflicted extensive damage on the Israeli army; that Egyptian tanks were advancing; that they were now 25 kilometres from Tel Aviv.
My urbane host lost his cultivated cool. His elderly body shot into the air, fists pumping at the skies: 'Now the Jews are going to get it... Now they're going to get it.' Remember, Israel occupied no territories, nor had it constructed a single settlement. There could be only one explanation for his jubilation: the prospect of Israel's imminent destruction. When he recovered his composure, he raised his glass and beamed at me: 'Wonderful news. Simply wonderful.' I stared back, shocked, not knowing how to respond. To my shame, I said nothing.
Official PA daily crossword: Haifa is "a port in occupied Palestine"
Palestinian Media Watch has documented numerous examples of the official PA daily's use of crossword puzzles to deny Israel's existence. Cities such as Acre, Safed, Lod and even Tel Aviv have been presented as "Palestinian" or "occupied."
The PA uses the many infrastructures of communication at its disposal to promote the message that there is no Israel, but only "occupied Palestine," and that it is only a matter of time and planning before Israel disappears and "Palestine" returns.
Dutch firm says Israel boycott not factor in port tender (paywall soz.)
A report in TheMarker on Monday stating that at least two foreign companies dropped out of the Israeli government tender to develop private seaports due to anti-Israel boycotts has been disputed by two of the companies involved. (h/t Yenta Press)



Free Speech and Antisemitism: Max Blumenthal's Goliath
James Fallows may think all this is worthy of debate, but as Twitter user Sol Robinson demonstrated with his reply to Blumenthal, there isn't really all that much to debate when someone "cannot understand the difference between Jews wanting to get away from racists, and racists wanting jews gone."
Assuming that Blumenthal really "cannot understand" this difference is arguably the most charitable take, particularly in view of the fact that Blumenthal himself? advocated a "Juden raus" policy for those Israeli Jews who would refuse to "become indigenized" in the Arab state that Blumenthal hopes will replace the Jewish state in the not too distant future. To put it bluntly: there is precious little difference between what Stormfront members would like to see happen in Europe and the U.S. and what Max Blumenthal would like to see happen in the Middle East.
Report: Anti-Zionism Integral to European Left-Wing Thought
Anti-Zionism is an "integral part" of left-wing ideology in Europe and serves as a replacement for anti-Semitism, according to a report on global anti-Semitic trends in 2013 released by Israel's Information and Diaspora Ministry in January.
"The anti-Zionism prevalent mainly on the left, which has already become an integral part of the permanent worldview of individuals and groups of the left, can today be defined as a cultural code replacing anti-Semitism and enabling its disseminators to deny all connection to anti-Semitism," said the report.
The ministry said anti-Zionism has become a major component of anti-Semitic expressions in Western Europe.
While the report said anti-Zionism in Eastern Europe remains a "minor component in public discourse," in Western Europe it "represents a significant component of anti-Semitic manifestations and discourse."
NGO Monitor: Exploiting Justice: How the UK, EU, & Norway Fund NGO Lawfare vs. Israel
NRC's [Norwegian Refugee Council] "Information, counselling, and legal assistance (ICLA)" project exploits judicial frameworks to control and manipulate Israeli policy outside any democratic framework, and to promote international delegitimization campaigns. The evidence suggests that NRC is carrying out a strategy of trying "every possible legal measure to disrupt the Israeli judicial system… to increase the workload of the courts and the Supreme Court to such an extent that there will be a blockage."
Anti-Israel NGOs spark call for reform from MEPs
Speaking from Brussels, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO monitor, told The Jerusalem Post that a "highly disproportionate number of NGOs are focused on the Israel-Palestinian conflict... more so than any other part of the world."
He added "some [EU] money goes to BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] and other ways to sabotage Israel's judicial system."
NGO Monitor issued the analysis of EU funding on Tuesday.
The report is titled "Evaluating Funding for Political Advocacy NGOs in the Arab-Israeli conflict."
Presbyterian Org Says Agenda of Group Within Church is 'End of the Jewish State of Israel'
The battle over Israel within the Presbyterian church turned a corner on Thursday, when a pro-Israel faction, called Presbyterians for Middle East Peace, said it would fight the church agenda, as described in its 'Zionism Unsettled' monograph. The document on Zionism, praised this week by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and Iranian media, was described by PFMEP as seeking the "end of the Jewish State of Israel."
In a statement to supporters, entitled, "The True Agenda: the End of the Jewish State of Israel," PFMEP described itself "as a grassroots group of Presbyterian lay and clergy volunteers who want the Presbyterian Church USA to be an effective peacemaker in the Middle East." It said the group came together after the church's 2004 General Assembly and was established prior to the 2008 Presbyterian General Assembly.
SodaStream, aikido, or how to outsmart BDS
As soon as the news about ScarJo's involvement got out, BDS militants embarked on a vociferous campaign; which of course triggered a counter-campaign; which led to Johansson's and Oxfam's reactions; which in turn generated a frenzy of media activity. Press releases were sent; statements were read; countless news items and op-eds were written; media correspondents were sent out to investigate and report – they even went to visit SodaStream's 'settlement' factory; the row figured prominently in TV and radio news and commentary, etc. The social media, too, buzzed with activity. All this created an amount of publicity that Ms. Johansson's clip could never on its own have hoped to generate.
Sure, some would argue that this was negative publicity – and hence detrimental. But that's misunderstanding how things work in advertising. Messages that are indisputably negative may indeed be detrimental. But that was not SodaStream's case at all. Oxfam and the BDS'ers argued their case; but so did Sodastream and Israel's supporters. The company (and ScarJo) argued that the SodaStream offers employment to both Jews and Arabs, on equal terms; that it thus helps combat Palestinian poverty; that it turns nominal enemies into actual work colleagues. Oxfam and the BDS crowd argued that the company was… well, guilty of the crime of 'being there'. SodaStream's CEO Birnbaum got interviewed and came across as a reasonable, caring man; the BDS'ers came across as fanatics sticking to 'principles' even at the cost of people getting the sack. Crucially, SodaStream's Palestinian employees supported their employer's narrative.
Which Israeli will Europe and Arabs Target Next?
The fact remains that a Dutch soccer player was excluded from a training camp on the sole basis that he is Jew with an Israeli passport.
Not only is the Dutch Foreign Ministry's advice to "keep sports and politics separated as much as possible" bankrupt of any enforceable meaning; it conflicts with the Dutch Constitution, which states: "Discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief, political opinion, race or sex or any other grounds whatsoever shall not be permitted."
The hypocritical -- and, bluntly, racist -- restrictions of these countries become even more conspicuous when contrasted to the double-standards they practice when events happen to suit some other interest.
When doing business or cooperating on security with Israel or Israelis, these same EU and UAE rules do not apply.
When added to the new calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions, it seems appropriate to ask, is it not actually many Europeans, Arabs and Muslims who are the new Nazis?
Banging your head against the (Apartheid) Wall
So as the Apartheid Wall is about to roll out into London, I've been thinking: what can you do to demonstrate the importance of the West Bank Barrier to protecting Israeli civilians from terrorism, and thereby underscore the absurdity of the whole Apartheid Wall campaign?
Here are some ideas.
1. Dress up as a suicide bomber. Throw on an explosive belt, wrap your face in a keffiyeh and grab an AK-47. Run towards the Wall at full speed, shouting, "Allahu Akbar!" When you hit the Wall, fall over and rub your head, muttering "D'oh!" in the style of Homer Simpson. Protest loudly about how the racist Zionist regime is impeding your freedom of movement.
Watchdog: FBI, San Francisco Police Investigating Student Leader After Violent Posts About IDF, Hillel
The FBI and a Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating a San Francisco student leader who published violent comments about the Israel Defense Forces and Jewish student group Hillel, campus anti-Semitism watchdog AMCHA said in a message to supporters on Thursday.
Mohammed Hammad, 22, who until recently was the president of San Francisco State University's General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS), made the troubling statements on the social network Tumblr. They were subsequently brought to the attention of campus officials and the local police department by AMCHA.
Eager Arab Students Learn From Scientist at Technion
While in the U.S. and Great Britain academic organizations crusade against Israeli universities, promoting boycotts, divestment and sanctions, some eager students in Arab countries apparently have different ideas.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman writes about the interest generated among students of surrounding Arab states in an on-line course on nanotechnology by Professor Hossam Haick, an Israeli-Arab scientist at Israel's Technion Institute. According to Friedman
So far, there are about 4,800 registrations for the Arabic version, including students from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and the West Bank. Iranians are signing up for the English version.
Friedman Praises Israel's Academic Freedom, then Urges Its Termination
Today's NY Times Columnist Tom Friedman's "Breakfast Before the MOOC" praises a Technion pan-Arabic MOOC (massive online open course), yet another example of Israel's inclusive approach to Arab students everywhere, and then, on the same page, calls for curtailing that success story in Judea and Samaria, which would mean the end of those freedoms for local Palestinians.
It's sinister stuff.
Rowan Williams Hails the Khomeinist IHRC
Tomorrow the IHRC will hold its "Islamophobia Awards" rally in London. Apparently Theresa May is a favourite to win. Other nominees include Maajid Nawaz of the Quilliam Foundation.
It is no surprise to see some of the names on the list of supporters of the event. They include weird peer Lord Avebury, disgraced former Labour peer Lord Ahmed, fanatical Israel hater Lauren Booth, and creepy Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather.
But this one does stand out: Dr Rowan Williams
Hungary backpedals on disputed Holocaust monument
The Hungarian government said Wednesday it had postponed the inauguration of a controversial monument which Jewish critics say glosses over Budapest's active role in the Holocaust.
The monument, to be unveiled as Hungary marks the 70th anniversary of the start of mass deportations of Jews when the Nazis took power in 1944, will also be renamed, according to a cabinet statement.
It will no longer be "dedicated to the memory of the German occupation" but to the "victims of the German occupation," and will be inaugurated on May 31 instead of March 19.
German police arrest 9 suspected former Auschwitz camp guards
The Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi-hunter Dr. Efraim Zuroff praised the arrests.
"We congratulate the Zentrale Stelle [the German government's arm for investigating war crimes] and the German prosecutors involved and urge that these efforts be fully expedited so that as many as possible Holocaust perpetrators can be brought to justice," said Zuroff, who is the director of the center's Jerusalem office.
Map Shows Every French Child Deported During the Holocaust
Of the 76,000 Jews deported from France and sent to Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust, 11,400 of them were children. Now, France is trying to trace those small footprints.
A new online interactive map shows the origin of every child deported from France between July 1942 and August 1944. The map was created by French historian Jean-Luc Pinol, and uses data collected by former Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld.
Oskar Schindler's Czech Factory for Sale; Could Become Holocaust Museum
The factory, in Brnenec — population 1,300 — in eastern Czech Republic, 120 miles from Prague, once belonged to the "Czech-German industrialist, spy and a member of the Nazi party who sheltered about 1,200 Jews there in the final months of the Second World War," Bloomberg wrote. Schindler was the subject of Steven Spielberg's Academy award-winning 1993 film 'Schindler's List.'
Blahoslav Kaspar, the city's mayor, told Bloomberg that the dilapidated complex "has real potential," though "it looks like Dresden after the bombing," and he suggested that it could be a good spot for a Holocaust museum.
Room at Bar-Ilan U. to be Dedicated to Muslim Prayer
A room on the Bar-Ilan University campus will be dedicated as a prayer facility for Muslim students in the coming days to meet the needs of the 500 Muslim students who are strict about observing their religion, including five appointed times for prayer each day. The move is a result of an initiative by the school's Gilda student organization, which started at the request of a student. Until now, Muslim students have had to pray on the grass or in classrooms. (h/t Bob Knot)
Former NZ PM Helen Clark 'blown away' by Israeli ingenuity
The innovations of tomorrow are borne of the ideas of today. And to get the idea juices flowing, 70 carefully selected entrepreneurs, academics, and students got away from it all this week — heading out to Caesarea — to discuss what the future will look like, and how they and others will help it get that way.
That ideas were flying at the Israeli Designed International Development conference (more familiarly known as ID2) was evident in the reaction of a special guest at the event — Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and former New Zealand Prime Minister. She visited ID2 on Wednesday, the second day of the three-day event.
Ravens Linebacker Terrell Suggs Speaks Hebrew When Asked If He's the Greatest Jewish NFL Athlete (VIDEO)
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs spoke in Hebrew to a TMZ reporter when asked if he considered himself the greatest Jewish football player of all time, upon arriving at LAX airport Tuesday.
The Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowler considers himself to be half Jewish, according to the publication. He has a Jewish star tattooed on his right arm and wears a Star of David necklace around town.
IDF Blog: Fghting For Israel at Every Step: Golani Infantry Brigade Celebrates 66 Years
66 years ago, in the lead-up to the 1948 War of Independence, the leadership of the Haganah formed the Golani Infantry Brigade. Three months later, the State of Israel was established. Golani's soldiers were called on to defend the fledgling state from what seemed like almost certain destruction. This week, a new generation of Golani soldiers graduated from their basic training. Their mission: to continue Golani's proud tradition of protecting Israel.

Systematic vandalism of hundreds of Anne Frank books at Japanese libraries

Posted: 21 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST



From MSN News (via Press Association):

Japanese police are investigating after dozens of copies of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl and scores of books about the young Holocaust victim were vandalised in Tokyo public libraries.

The damage was mostly in the form of dozens of ripped pages in the books. Librarians have counted at least 265 damaged books at 31 municipal libraries since the end of January.

Japan and Nazi Germany were allies in the Second World War, and though Holocaust denial has occurred in Japan at times, the motive for damaging the Anne Frank books is unclear. Police are investigating.

In the Nakano district libraries, the vandals apparently damaged the books while unnoticed inside reading rooms, according to city official Mitsujiro Ikeda.

"Books related to Ms Anne Frank are clearly targeted, and it's happening across Tokyo," he said. "It's outrageous."

At least one library has moved Anne Frank-related books behind the counter for protection, though they can still be checked out.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the vandalism "shameful" and said Japan would not tolerate such acts.

(h/t Angela)

02/21 Links Pt1: Abbas’s intransigence and insolence; Hamas Tests AA Missiles Against Israel

Posted: 21 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Caroline Glick: Rousing the Americans from their slumber
In several key cases, supporting US allies will require fewer, rather than more, US oversees deployments.
For instance, as Israel's leaders have stated since the founding of the state, Israel has no interest in having anyone else fight its wars for it. All it requires is the strength – military, economic, territorial and political – to defend itself by itself.
Rather than seek to weaken Israel by coercing it to recede to indefensible borders in order to make room for a Palestinian terrorist state in its historic heartland, the US should abandon its support for Palestinian terrorists and ensure that Israel has the power to defend itself in a region marked by unprecedented instability and danger.
A strong Israel will be a force for regional stability and so advance US security while forming the firm foundation of a renewed US alliance structure in the region.
Sarah Honig: Happy days are (almost) here
We have news for Abbas. Jordan and Egypt, unlike the Palestinians, never sought to replace the Jewish state and the UN already granted us recognition, back on November 29, 1947 – when it divided this tiny land into two entities – one Jewish and one Arab.
The Jews rejoiced. The Arabs declared genocidal war to prevent the birth of a Jewish state. All that has transpired since is the continuation of that war and the ongoing conflict still stems from the refusal to abide a Jewish state.
In 1947 the Arab world didn't want a Palestinian state – it wanted to destroy the Jewish state. It still does. A nondescript state, temporarily called Israel, will forever remain a candidate for Arabization – one way or another. As long as the legitimacy of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people is not accepted, the Arabs will continue to wage their war to do away with what they cannot accept.
That's why Abbas's honeyed blandishments and professions of peaceful intent are as convincing as were Hitler's when he inveigled Neville Chamberlain to choose appeasement at Munich. The "painful sacrifices" of September 29, 1938 – all Germany claimed to be after – hardly sated Hitler's appetites. On March 16 1939, he invaded the remainder of Czechoslovakia. (h/t NormanF)
US: Peace framework will recognize Israel as Jewish state
US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro asserted on Friday that the framework peace deal currently being negotiated by US Secretary of State of John Kerry will include Palestinian recognition of Israel as "the nation state of the Jewish people."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recognize Israel's Jewishness has been a sticking point in negotiations, with the Palestinians refusing to accede to a demand that would tacitly do away with Palestinian hopes for a "right of return" for refugees and their descendants.



Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: Eight Million Refugees Must Return to Israel
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is facing criticism from Palestinian refugees for saying that he does not want to "flood" Israel with millions of refugees.
Abbas made his statement during a meeting in his Ramallah office earlier this week with dozens of Israeli students – the first direct encounter of its kind between the Palestinian Authority president and Israeli youths.
Abbas has also come under criticism for breaking a ban by Palestinian activists on meetings with Israelis. The ban has been imposed over the past few years by "anti-normalization" activists who oppose such meetings between Israelis and Palestinians.
Abbas's intransigence and insolence
The world judges Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his government by truly meek standards. How else can you explain the rot with which the Palestinians get away with, while supposedly engaged in a peace process with Israel? Abbas's minions can savage US Secretary of State John Kerry, cast ugly aspersions on his motivations, organize demonstrations againvst him, brutally mock his proposals, intransigently reject any moves toward Israel, threaten renewed warfare against Israel, cozy up to Iranian officials in preparation for such future battle, and glorify terrorism against Israel – yet the Obama administration and European leaders remain mum.
The State Department doesn't get offended when Yasser Abed Rabbo, the PLO's secretary-general and one of the closest advisers to Abbas, accuses Kerry of seeking to "appease Israel." No apologies were demanded by the State Department when Jamal Muhaissen, a senior Fatah official, called for Kerry to be indicted in the International Criminal Court (for supposedly spelling out to Abbas, in private of course, the implications of diplomatic failure).
Fatah Insists: Interim Agreement Only On Our Terms
The Palestinian Authority (PA) declared Thursday that it would gladly accept the US framework for peace with Israel -- but only if it was outlined on the PA's own terms.
"The strong and consistent position of the Palestinian Authority is the same as the position of President Mahmoud Abbas, that there will not be a (Palestinian) state without East Jerusalem as the capital city, that we will never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, that settlements are illegal, that the Palestinian state will be along 1967 lines, that we must find a just solution to the refugee problem and that Israel must release the prisoners."
PLO's Ashrawi: Israel is Sabotaging Peace Efforts
"The Jewish American community, particularly as represented by J Street, faces the dual challenge of influencing both the U.S. administration and the hardline and extremist Israeli government; for there to be peace and stability, we must move rapidly," she added.
J Street prides itself as being "pro-Israel" and "pro-peace" but many Jewish Americans believe that the organization actually undermines the interests of the State of Israel and Jewish people. Numerous Jewish leaders and organizations have publicly disassociated themselves, altogether, from J Street's rhetoric and policies.
J Street has endorsed terror groups and one of its co-founders has even claimed that Israel's creation was "an act that was wrong."
Hamas: US Framework a 'Conspiracy' Against Palestinian Arabs
Hamas's propaganda campaign against ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) continued Thursday, after the government insisted that the talks are a "conspiracy" against the Palestinian Arab people.
Taher Al-Nunu, Hamas's PR consultant, stated vehemently Thursday that the US's framework for an agreement between the two sides in talks "would not pass" and claimed that "the plot to destroy the 'Palestinian problem' would not succeed."
King David's Tomb to Remain in Israel's Hands
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Office (PMO) released a statement Thursday affirming that Israel will not, despite earlier reports, give away Mount Zion -- including King David's tomb -- to the Vatican.
"All publications claiming that Israel was considering giving away all or part of Mount Zion to the Catholic Church are not true and are fundamental lies," the PMO stated. "The Israeli government does not have and has never had any intention of doing so."
Police arrest Waqf employees at Temple Mount
Israeli police arrested on Thursday two members of the Islamic Waqf, which oversees Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount, after they refused to halt unauthorized construction work, according to police.
According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Waqf said that three men were arrested after Bassam Hallaq, the engineer in charge of restoration and renovation of al-Aqsa Mosque, told his two workers to ignore the police order because Israeli authorities had no permission to interrupt work on a water pipe.
Canada: Anti-Israel Groups Attempt to Prevent Ehud Barak Visit
Pro-Palestinian and leftist Jewish groups are spearheading a campaign to prevent former Defense Minister Ehud Barak from visiting Canada, according to Shalom Toronto.
Barak is currently set to visit Surrey, British Columbia, on February 27. However, the groups sent a strongly worded letter to the mayor and members of the city council asking that the visit be cancelled - on grounds of him being "a war criminal" and a "terrorist."
Largest tourism project in West Bank gets underway
The ambitious plan will include the establishment of a series of hotels that will include hundreds of rooms, swimming pools, water slides, restaurants and cafes.
The Gate of Jericho project will stretch across a huge area, about 740 acres wide, south of Jericho, toward the Dead Sea, over a swath of land in the Palestinian-controlled Area A. In recent years, the land was covered in palm trees belonging to Padico.
The holding company's new plan was approved by Israel, partly because the construction in its entirety is taking place in Palestinian-controlled area. Padico, the largest Palestinian company in the West Bank, is owned by the billionaire Munib al-Masri, who lives in Nablus. The company oversees dozens of projects throughout the Middle East.
Fatah: Israel and Hamas Holding High Level Contacts
A Fatah spokesperson said Wednesday that it was clear to the terror organization that Israel was in contact with Hamas terrorists. In an interview with the Palestinian Authority-controlled Ma'an news service, Ahmad Assaf, commenting on reports that "messages" had been exchanged between Israel and Hamas, said that the contacts were actually more extensive than previously reported, with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu himself in contact with top Hamas terrorists.
Palestinian Unity Talks Break Down Again, as Hamas Recommits to Destroying Israel
Unity talks between the Palestinian Fatah and Hamas factions have reportedly stalled amid Fatah demands – and Hamas refusals – that new elections be held to provide Palestinian lawmakers with a mandate to rule over some of the areas that they claim for a future Palestinian state.
The deadlock is a symptom of a fundamental dynamic that has consistently blocked reconciliation efforts: Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and Fatah controls portions of the West Bank, and elections that unified the two territories would by definition require one faction to yield its power. Meanwhile Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reiterated the terror group's commitment to the eradication of Israel, with a Hamas outlet conveying further comments from him declaring that 'the Palestinian people have elements of strength including faith, fortitude and weaponry.'
Hamas Tests Missiles Against Israel
Hamas has tested anti-aircraft missiles against Israel, Al-Monitor reports.
Israel said in 2012 that 10 shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles had targeted its warplanes, marking an enhancement of Hamas' military capabilities.
Al-Monitor found that Palestinian fighters conducted a field test of anti-aircraft missile in January 2014. The missile missed its target, but the test went unreported in Israeli papers.
Iran Has the Bomb
The Congressional EMP Commission warned that Iran has several times detonated its Shahab III missile at high altitudes, apparently simulating a nuclear EMP attack. Iran has also demonstrated the capability to launch a ballistic missile from a freighter and make a nuclear EMP strike anonymously, and so perhaps escape retaliation. Iran has also orbited several satellites on trajectories consistent with practicing a surprise nuclear EMP attack against the United States.
Iran has not conducted a nuclear test because its theocracy is not interested in diplomatic "signaling" or Western theories of nuclear deterrence and arms control bargaining. When the mullahs are ready, they will make a surprise nuclear attack. The vaporization of New York City and an EMP attack that crashes American society will be their nuclear tests.
The bottom line is that Iran is a nuclear truck bomb headed our way.
Propping up Assad: Iran increases military support to Syria
Assad is now benefiting from the deployment by Tehran of hundreds more military specialists to Syria, according to Iranian sources familiar with deployments of military personnel, Syrian opposition sources, and security experts.
These include senior commanders from the elite Quds Force, the external and secretive arm of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as IRGC members.
Their function is not to fight, but to direct and train Syrian forces and to assist in the gathering of intelligence, according to sources in Iran and outside.
State Dept. Pressed on Snubs Toward Egypt Amid Boost in Cairo-Moscow Relations
The State Department last week put itself on the defensive over the Obama administration's policy toward Egypt's army-backed government – which has ranged from a controversial aid freeze last October to a pointed diplomatic snub as recently as two weeks ago – with State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf being pressed for the second day in a row to account for what very much seems to be an Egyptian pivot away from the U.S. and toward Russia.
Is another Mideast democratic experiment over?
Discussions of democracy in the Middle East were the fad among many commentators at the onset of the Arab Spring, only to give way to more measured analyses calling for stability as Islamists filled the power vacuum.
Before Turkey's ruling Islamist AKP party came to power by winning elections in 2002, the country was under the rule of the more secular nationalist Republican People's Party, which Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded in 1924. While appearing to be an Islamist who showed tolerance for democracy in his early years of rule, the AKP's leader, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, slowly Islamized society and became more authoritative.
Now it seems that Erdogan is having difficulty staying disciplined and is moving to take control of the state at a pace that recalls similar actions by former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
Analysts, Journalists Now Openly Worrying About Functional End of Turkish Democracy
Arabic, American, and Israeli outlets have all in recent days published pointed analysis questioning the degree to which Turkey can still be called a genuine democracy, as the country's government moved to consolidate recently-passed measures that severely censor Internet use and empower Ankara to conduct broad online surveillance. Writing in Al-Arabiya, Istanbul-based journalist Mahir Zeynalov blasted the "authoritarian rule" of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, citing among other things a "storm of blatant lies" targeting Erdogan's political opponents and efforts by the Islamist leader to "speed up the process of burying Turkey's hard-won democracy."

Arafat accepted Israel as a Jewish State

Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST



From Haaretz:
One of the interviewers was Haaretz's editor in chief, the other the paper's senior diplomatic reporter. Both were first-class professionals with vast experience, and both were lily-white doves. Nevertheless, the two peace-seeking interviewers dared to ask the high-level interviewee a question that's currently considered beyond the pale in these parts: Should Israel continue to be a Jewish state?

Surprisingly, the evasive interviewee gave a decisive answer: "Definitely." The two experienced interviewers doubled-checked: Definitely? "Definitely," confirmed the interviewee, giving an expansive interpretation of the historic decision made by the Palestine National Council 16 years earlier.

Thus it's no surprise that Haaretz's lead headline on June 18, 2004 trumpeted his statement: "Arafat: Israel is Jewish." On the basis of what the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization told David Landau and Akiva Eldar in Ramallah 10 years ago, the paper declared unambiguously that "Yasser Arafat 'definitely' understands that Israel must preserve its character as a Jewish state."

Veteran journalist Amnon Abramovich says the Israeli media lives by the 90-day rule. Under this rule, any article published in the past can be republished as a fresh scoop as long as it hasn't been published in the past 90 days. So in line with the Abramovich rule, I hereby seek to revive Haaretz's dramatic scoop: Arafat recognized Israel as a Jewish state. The leader of the Palestinian revolution, president of the Palestinian Authority and commander of the armed struggle accepted the fact that Israel is a Jewish state, and must continue to be one.
This is sort of amazing.

There have been scores of articles official statements and articles in the Palestinian Arab press, in English and Arabic, explaining why recognizing Israel as a Jewish state is a non-starter, is unacceptable and is even racist.

Yet none of these people would ever disagree with Arafat.

Obviously, Arafat was a terrorist, a murderer, and a liar. The full interview is no longer on Haaretz' website; the synopsis says that Arafat said that the PLO "accepted that openly and officially in 1988 at our Palestine National Council." That is more than a stretch; the UN record of the PLO communique at the time certainly doesn't say that. The closest it says is this:

Despite the historical injustice done to the Palestinian Arab people in its displacement and in being deprived of the right to self-determination following the adoption of General Assembly resolution 181 (II) of 1947, which partitioned Palestine into an Arab and a Jewish State, that resolution nevertheless continues to attach conditions to international legitimacy that guarantee the Palestinian Arab people the right to sovereignty and national independence.
If they are attaching their legitimacy to a non-binding UN resolution that they rejected - which is the very reason it has no legal validity - then perhaps one can say that in 1988  they accepted the concept of a Jewish state on the partition lines. Again, he was a master of deception and this seems more than tenuous.

Nevertheless, his wording in this interview is quite definitive and it did not cause any major firestorm within the PLO as far as I can tell. Indeed, the statement has been wholly forgotten.

Notice also that the liberal Haaretz interviewers are mentioning this as a major issue in 2004 - before Netanyahu was re-elected, before Livni made the same demand in negotiations to be rebuffed by the PLO negotiating team in 2007. It is not a new issue.

It will be most interesting to see how Abbas, Erekat and the gang of liars in charge of the PLO will react to this.

New Danny Ayalon video: "The Truth About the UN"

Posted: 21 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST

Worth watching, as always:

Two honor killings in Gaza

Posted: 21 Feb 2014 02:43 AM PST

Arabic media are reporting that a man in northern Gaza beat his 16-year old daughter to death.

The family had buried her on Wednesday claiming she died of natural causes but police exhumed her body a day later and saw that she was beaten.

The reason given was "family problems." The father is divorced.

Also on Thursday, a man stabbed his 19-year old sister to death while she was praying. The reason given was "family honor."

Some 27 women were murdered, apparently for "honor" reasons, in the West  Bank and Gaza in 2013, double the number killed in 2012.
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