יום שלישי, 25 בפברואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

BDS news from 1929

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 05:00 PM PST

02/24 Links Pt2: S.A. MP Meshoe -Israeli Apartheid Week is a Scam; Israel-EU Exports up 6.3%

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

From Ian:
Vicious and Deceptive anti-Israel Propaganda Hate Week starts
"Israel Apartheid Week" as part of the BDS movement is the direct by-product of the Durban anti-Jewish hatred — a history few of its participants probably realize.
In reality, Israel is nothing like South Africa under Apartheid.
First and foremost, Israel is a majority rule democracy. South African Apartheid was the subjugation of the majority by the minority based on racial classifications — the exact opposite of Israel.
Israel is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society in which the dividing lines, as in many countries and certainly all Mideast countries, is religion not race. In Israel the religious minority has full voting rights, members in the parliament and in the Supreme Court, and all the civil freedoms of the majority. Even the Jewish majority (about 80%) is multi-racial and multi-ethnic, including half the population being refugees and their descendants from Arab countries, Ethiopia, and other non-Western places.
South African MP Kenneth Meshoe: Discover the Scam Israeli Apartheid Week 2014

Palestinian Refugees Welcome Arab Apartheid; 'For Our Own Good' (satire)
In the Palestinian-administered territories themselves, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has made it clear that for their own good, refugees would not be granted citizenship in the eventual State of Palestine, because that might imply acceptance of Israel's refusal to be inundated with a population that would erase the Jewish identity of the world's only Jewish State. It would be better for everybody, explained Abbas, to create yet another Arab country instead of somehow absorbing Palestinian Arabs into the 22 Arab states in the region.
"I know the surveys say only a minority of refugees are actually interested in returning to their ancestral homes," concedes Abbas, "but do the refugees really know what's best for them? I mean, we're talking about people holding on to the house keys of places destroyed ages ago. Talk about unrealistic."



The threat of Israel boycotts more bark than bite
However, divestment moves by the likes of Danske Bank appear to be the exception rather than the norm.
Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank AG denied reports last week that it was set to boycott Israeli banks, while the giant Dutch pension fund ABP announced this month that after a review, it saw no need to cut ties with Israeli banks.
All the while, foreign firms continue to pour into Israel. According to the latest Bank of Israel data, direct investment was $10.51 billion in the first nine months of 2013, up from $9.5 billion for the whole of 2012. Exports to Europe rose 6.3 percent last year.
Global brands such as Google, Cisco, Microsoft, Twitter, Apple, AOL and Facebook have all invested in Israel, so, like it or not, users of computers, smartphones and apps could well be supporting Israeli engineering.
PFZW to review Israeli divestment after allegations of pro-Palestinian bias
Further, Cees Flinterman, who is a member of PFZW's ethical board, is also a board member of The Rights Forum, as well as a member of the Support Committee of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, organisations that have been accused of having an anti-Israel agenda.
Since then, Borgdorff has confirmed in his blog that pro-Palestinian organisations Cordaid, ICCO, IKV PaxChristi, Oxfam Novib, Watershed Working Group and the Dutch Palestine Komite, among others, had been actively lobbying the pension fund for "several years", and that it incidentally provided pension funds to "some of them".
IPE understands that PFZW was lobbied by pro-Palestinian NGOs only. (h/t Yenta Press)
NGO Monitor: German Funding for NGOs that Demonize Israel
German NGO funding is officially dedicated to "... establishing peace, freedom, democracy and human rights…," and many projects are devoted to these important goals.
However, the German government also funds organizations that contribute to the growing demonization of Israel and BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns, in direct contradiction to German foreign policy. These NGOs oppose peace and negotiations, and promote narratives that reject the legitimacy of a Jewish state.
BDS is all wet in California.
About two-thirds of California is facing "extreme" or "exceptional" drought with this years' cumulative rainfall at an historically low level. In troubled times like this, California water authorities have turned to the world's expert on water issues- Israel. In Israel, desalination provides about one-quarter of the country's water supply. 75 percent of the country's sewage is reclaimed, the highest percentage in the world, and over 50 percent of water used in agriculture comes from treated sewage.
An Israeli company is currently involved in building what is expected to be America's largest seawater desalination plant The $922 million plant is being developed by Israel's IDE Technologies working alongside a local company, Poseidon Resources Corp. By its completion in 2016, the plant in Carlsbad, California will be able to provide 50 million gallons of potable water a day. 15 additional plants have been proposed. Ultimately, desalinated water is expecting to provide about 10 percent of the county's supply.
Anti-Israel BDS Can't Get No Satisfaction
For promoters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement together with the clueless multitudes who are just along for the ride on the Hate the State of Israel bandwagon, time is not on their side—no, it isn't.
As public and political awareness of the BDS movement increases, the credibility of the BDS brigade and its proponents is falling flat. Bi-partisan voices in Congress and in state legislatures have discredited the effort as "anti-Semitism."
As for the entertainment industry, one would expect this bastion of Progressiveness to embrace the BDS movement with a hearty, 'bravo!' Yet, sounding a sour note for the BDS movement, calls for artists to refuse to perform in the Jewish state have in many cases fallen on deaf ears.
BDS Lie Week
The week is based on lies, twisted historicism, and deception. According to the declaration on the movement's website, Zionism is defined as "racism," Israel is considered Palestine, Arab Israelis are defined as Palestinians and as having fewer civil rights, and Israel is characterized as an apartheid state.
The demands of the apartheid week leaders are based on the Durban strategy and call for Israel to end its occupation of "Arab land," release what they characterize as "political prisoners" (that is, Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails), and promote the so-called "right of return" for Palestinian refugees and their millions of descendants.
It is time to acknowledge that an international PR campaign is being waged against Israel, one that is based on words, slogans, and mainly on lies. It is time to start an opposition campaign, called "BDS Movement Lie Week."
If BDS wins, the Jews are next
The odious BDS aims for the "euthanasia" of the Jewish state, in the words of founder Omar Barghouti. But it also directly threatens Jews worldwide who refuse to jump aboard the anti-Israel bandwagon: not just Zionists, but those who refuse to convert to anti-Zionism. Jews who believe they can afford to let a boycott of Israel become the norm, while still freely retaining personal ties to Israel, are embracing an illusion. It could soon be rudely shattered.
Israel's First-Ever Zombie Movie Kills It With Cholent Joke
How great is Cannon Fodder going to be? Here's all you need to know: when shooting a zombie early on in the film, one of the brave Israeli he-men looks at the creature's exposed entrails and quips what is probably the greatest line in any horror movie ever: "Looks like kishke. Cholent for Shabbat."
I don't need anything else, and I can't wait to see Cannon Fodder, which, hopefully, will find American distribution soon.
Israeli Cyber Exports Three Times Greater Than United Kingdom's
Exports by Israeli companies in the cyber field were estimated to be three times greater than the United Kingdom's totaling approximately $3 billion in 2013, the head of the Israel National Cyber Bureau (INCB) said Sunday.
Dr. Eviatar Matania told ministers at a Cabinet meeting that the Israeli exports constitute about 5 percent of the $60 billion global market.
Israeli companies also raised $165 million last year, which constitutes up to 11 percent of total funds raised worldwide in the cyber field. He added that 14.5 percent of companies that raise funds in the field are Israeli.
Israeli battery science expert wins prestigious IBA Yeager Award
An Israeli professor and battery science pioneer is the winner of this year's prestigious IBA Yeager Award for his work in advancing battery technology. The International Battery Association will present the award to Prof. Doron Aurbach, credited with developing the first rechargeable lithium and magnesium batteries, at its annual convention on March 3-7, 2014 in Australia.
Aurbach, of Bar Ilan University, runs a laboratory that specializes in novel devices for energy storage and conversion, rechargeable lithium and Li-ion batteries and super (EDL) capacitors as well as rechargeable magnesium batteries.
"The Awards recognize significant contributions to battery research and technology development that have impacted the advancement of energy storage systems," reads the IBA website.
As countdown looms, Israel's moon bid already a winner
Daniel Saat, business development manager for SpaceIL, is reasonably confident that the lunar lander the Israeli spaceship organization is working on will beat out the competition and reach the moon, winning the big $30 million prize being offered by Google in its LunarX challenge. "Our intelligence sources tell us that Israel's LunarX satellite is one of the two or three top contenders to win this contest," Saat told The Times of Israel on Sunday.
And he's also pretty certain the 140 kilogram spacecraft will actually land safely on the moon and perform the stunts Google requires to award the prize — move across the lunar surface, and beam back pictures of the event, instead of burn up in orbit over earth. "We're 90% sure this is going to work," said Saat. "Unfortunately it's impossible to fully test the propulsion system on earth, because you can't duplicate the conditions of space completely, and the amount of pollution released would be too high."
Defuse agriculture's ticking time bomb
Therein lies the conflict: the pesticide is helping but hurting us at the same time. "On one hand, we need the pesticides to get the yield but on the other hand, we are facing environmental threats," Nachshon points out. "If you take pesticides out, the yield will be decreased by 60 or 70 percent. It is not marginal. It is the heart of the matter, so we must use pesticides."
Catalyst Agtech does not affect the mechanism of the chemical in the field. "After the job is done and the problematic molecules start migrating down to the groundwater, the trigger that we added starts a chemical reaction that breaks down the problematic molecule to something that's harmless," explains Nachshon.
Israel, Kazakhstan to Strengthen Economic Ties
Former Defense Minister Ehud Barak visited Kazakhstan Thursday, according to Walla!, to strengthen Israel's economic ties with the Sunni Muslim-majority nation.
Barak met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the presidential palace in Astana, according to the daily. They reportedly sat for about an hour and discussed the possibility of further cooperation in regard to agriculture, health services, and industrial innovation.
India and Israel bond with technology, innovation
India will showcase its technology capabilities in Israel in May as relations between the two countries are getting redefined with enhanced cooperation based on innovation in high-tech, IT, biomed, energy and cyber security.
India will participate in the First Innovation Conference in Israel, MIXiii 2014, that will take place at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds May 20-22. The conference aims to introduce participants to the broad spectrum of activities and ecosystem that make Israel one of the largest global innovation hubs.
Lenny Kravitz's Jewish Uncle and Namesake Among New Minority Medal of Honor Recipients
A ceremony scheduled for March 18 will honor the veterans who are mostly of Hispanic or Jewish heritage and who have already received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest military award. They were originally passed over for Medals of Honor, the highest commendation for combat valor, because of their racial or ethnic backgrounds, the Associated Press reported.
Among them is Pfc. Leonard M. Kravitz, who was born in New York City in 1931, and was killed during U.S. combat operations in Yangpyong, South Korea, on March 6-7, 1951. His nephew, the famed singer-songwriter who was named in his honor, shares both a first and last name with his deceased uncle.
IDF Blog: IDF Diversity Week: the True Face of Israel
Today we begin IDF Diversity Week, a celebration of the differences that unite Israeli soldiers. Every year, thousands of minority recruits join the IDF. Israel's military makes tremendous efforts to integrate minorities into the army and society in general, resulting in vast diversity among the IDF's ranks.
Israel is a country known as "a nation of immigrants." Soldiers come from all over the world to live in Israel and serve in the IDF, bringing their unique culture and traditions from their countries of origin. Other soldiers come from racial, national, cultural and religious groups that have lived in Israel for generations, including Bedouin, Circassians, Druze, Arab Christians and Arab Muslims. The IDF acts to unite members of Israeli society, providing them with opportunities to serve their country.
Alice Herz-Sommer, oldest-known Holocaust survivor, dies at 110
Alice Herz-Sommer, believed to be the oldest-known survivor of the Holocaust, died Sunday morning in London at age 110, a family member said. Herz-Sommer's devotion to the piano and to her son sustained her through two years in a Nazi prison camp, and a film about her has been nominated for best short documentary at next week's Academy Awards.
She died in a hospital Sunday morning after being admitted Friday, daughter-in-law Genevieve Sommer said.
"We all came to believe that she would just never die," said Frederic Bohbot, producer of the documentary "The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life." "There was no question in my mind, 'would she ever see the Oscars.'"
Alice Herz-Sommer: A true Hero
Alice summed up her life in a few sentences, and a pause for reflection is very much a must for anyone who reads it.
"I have lived through many wars and have lost everything many times – including my husband, my mother and my beloved son. Yet, life is beautiful, and I have so much to learn and enjoy. I have no space nor time for pessimism and hate.
"Life is beautiful, love is beautiful, nature and music are beautiful. Everything we experience is a gift, a present we should cherish and pass on to those we love."
Thank you for your life, Alice. Baruch Dayan haEmet.

Influential Arab writer says "Jewish State" would expel all Arabs - from West Bank

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST

The usual stupid argument given by Arabs against accepting Israel as a Jewish state is that it would result in the expulsion of all Arab citizens of Israel.

But Abdel Bari Atwan, former editor of UK-based al Quds al-Arabi and now head of a HuffPo-style Arab outlet called Rai al-Youm, has upped the stupidity factor.

Speaking at a lecture in Jordan, Atwan said that if the PLO would recognize Israel as a Jewish state it would ultimately result in Arabs being shipped out of their homes in the West Bank as well, because Israel considers it to be part of Israel.

This is the state of Arab intelligentsia, where creating wild rumors out of thin air has more gravitas than serious political analysis.

Haaretz doing its part to push BDS from "settlements"

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST

Haaretz writes::

Boycott = anti-Semitism? Some Israelis avoid settlement products, too
There are no official figures, but probably thousands of Israeli consumers check the labels before they buy.
Long before Scarlett Johansson came under international fire for promoting the West Bank SodaStream factory, these Israelis were getting their seltzer elsewhere.

And long before world Jewish leaders pronounced the international boycott movement anti-Semitism in its latest manifestation , these Israelis steered clear of products sold by Jewish-owned businesses located beyond the country's internationally recognized borders. [sic]
It's hard to know their exact numbers, but they are boycotters too, many for as long as they can remember: These Israelis do not, as a matter of principle, buy goods or produce from Jewish settlements in the occupied territories.

Vardit Shalfy, a theater director from Tel Aviv, not only checks every label carefully when she does her own supermarket shopping, but she also makes a point of alerting other customers who might not be aware that what they're throwing into their carts was made in contested territory. "I'm absolutely shameless about it," she acknowledges, "and very often, I get people to return products to the shelves. They simply didn't know until I told them that what they were about to buy was made in the settlements and that by buying it they are supporting the occupation. Once, a woman almost smacked me, but more often than not, people listen."

If she's invited to an event where food is being served, says Shalfy, she has no qualms about calling over the chef to ascertain where exactly the ingredients in each dish came from. At the home of an acquaintance, she recounts, she once noticed her daughter innocently take a bite out of a cookie made by a factory in the East Jerusalem industrial park of Atarot. "I pulled it out of her mouth and reminded her that we don't eat such things," she says.

Netta Hazan, a facilitator for interfaith groups who lives in Jerusalem, admits she doesn't take things that far. "I'm not going to lie and say that I check every label, and it's not that I never drank something made with SodaStream, but if I know something's made in a Jewish settlement, I won't buy it," she says. "On the other hand, I do make a point of buying things in Bethlehem in order to support the Palestinian economy."

...Adam Keller, the spokesman of Gush Shalom, estimates that "tens of thousands" of Israelis who oppose the occupation boycott products from the settlements. "I'm basing that on the number of people who downloaded the list from our site when it was still up and the number who've signed up to receive our pamphlets," he said.

...Longtime peace activist Naftali Raz...puts the number of Israelis who boycott products from the settlements at "many thousands."
Here is a classic example where Haaretz is reporting what it sincerely hopes to be true rather than what is true.

When lists of "settlement" products are offered, I download them myself. Why? So I can make sure that I buy from them! And I'm sure that many other people do the same thing.

I'm also certain that many, if not most, of those who download such lists don't live in Israel to begin with.

In other words, while there are certainly some fanatics who go out of their way to ensure that not a crumb of Jewish-made food from across the Green Line passes their lips, saying that there are "probably thousands" is nothing but a myth that Haaretz believes (and that the people they interview want to promulgate) - because Haaretz still thinks that it represents more than a tiny minority of ultra leftists.

Just for fun, imagine one of these uber-liberal parties. Imagine what would happen if one of the guests badgered the chef about whether he bought kosher ingredients and prepared the food according to Jewish law. Imagine the reaction if the guest would loudly announce "I will never eat food that is not kosher!"

Just think how upset the guests would be, how embarrassed that one of their friends would dare embarrass them this way, with such an uncivil display of self-righteousness. How gauche!

That person would never be invited to another party, that's for sure.

Of course, Muslim guests who insist on eating Halal would be admired for being true to their culture.

(h/t Alex)

02/24 Links Pt1: Follow the blood money Banks Fund Bombers; Chloe Valdary In Defense Of Liberty

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
Follow the blood money: Exposing the secret US banking operations that help fund suicide bombers
Turner, who has taken part in negotiations with Arab Bank that were overseen by a mediator, has been asking for $2 billion to settle. The price could get a lot higher if it goes before a jury, he points out, since the Anti-Terrorism Act provides for a tripling of damages.
He doesn't mince words when characterizing Arab Bank executives. Turner calls them "criminals," "roaches" who "move around in the dark of night, inciting terrorism for profit. There's no lower form of humanity than a guy in a suit making money off a teenager detonating a bomb on a bus, then slithering home to watch CNN."
Arab Bank isn't the only bank in lawyers' crosshairs. Osen has levied lawsuits against Crédit Lyonnais, and NatWest, which he also accuses of maintaining accounts tied to Hamas, and others have filed suit against Bank of China and Lebanese Canadian Bank, which allegedly used an account in New York City to transfer millions to the financing arm of another terrorist group, Hezbollah.
"American Taxpayers Must Not Subsidize anti-Semitism ... Stop Funding the United Nations"
The Washington, DC-based American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), headed by Jay Sekulow, and with offices in several countries, concerns itself with constitutional and human rights law worldwide. Here is the text of a petition it has initiated, addressed to Barack Obama and John Kerry, requesting the United States government to cease funding the United Nations:
Chloe Valdary: In defense of liberty
On February 22, a gentleman by the name of Richard Silverstein took considerable issue with an article I wrote in the The Times of Israel about the contentions of one Judith Butler, professor at the University of California, Berkley. I find Butler's analysis regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict lamentably disagreeable.
Silverstein did not point out any possible faulty premises in my column. He did not question the evidence I presented. He did not find I was lacking in my analysis. Instead, to illustrate his (ahem) intellectual prowess, he shared a Facebook status linking to my column and in his commentary, wrote: "They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin' for joy!"



'I'm Ready To Accept Palestine, Why Not Israel?'
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday night, emphasizing that the Palestinian Authority's (PA) refusal to recognize Israel as the Jewish state is the fundamental factor preventing peace. "Recognition of the Jewish state is a necessary condition for peace," remarked Netanyahu.
Speaking to a German television channel in advance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Israel visit on Monday, Netanyahu praised US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to push through a peace deal between Israel and the PA.
Jordan won't be Palestine, king says
Jordan's King Abdullah II lashed out on Sunday against domestic opponents arguing for Jordan to become the "alternative homeland" for the Palestinians.
"Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine, and nothing else, not in the past or the future," Abdullah reportedly said, according to the official Jordanian news agency Petra.
Knesset Told: Settlements are Legal
Arnon went on to discuss the common misconception that in 1967, when Israel took control of Judea and Samaria, the Kingdom of Jordan had legal jurisdiction over the territory. This misconception led to the public perception the Jordanian territory later became, de facto, 'Palestinian territory.' In fact, he asserted, it was Jordan that contravened international law, when it had annexed the area. In any case, Israel took the land during a defensive war, which makes its own actions legal.
Arnon concluded with a statement that the settlements are not illegal, and all the injunctions and restrictions normally placed on an occupying nation are not relevant to Israel's connection to Judea and Samaria.
Report: Growing Movement Within Palestinian Authority Seeks Compromise on Recognition of Israel as Jewish State
While the Palestinian Authority continues to officially deny the possibility that it will ever recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a growing movement within the PA is actively seeking a compromise on the issue, Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported on Sunday.
The willingness of the PA to even consider changing its official party line is the result of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's insistence, according to the report. In a meeting he held last week with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, he stressed that the framework agreement between Jerusalem and Ramallah currently under discussion, must include official recognition of the Jewish character of the state of Israel.
Hamas: Recognizing Israel is a 'Death Sentence' to the PA
Lawmakers from Hamas on Sunday warned Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas against recognizing Israel as part of the ongoing peace process.
The lawmakers said that recognition of Israel as a Jewish state would be a "death sentence" against the PA.
Dahlan: Abbas pursuing negotiations with Israel for his own financial gain
Speaking in an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Dahlan, a long-time rival of Abbas and the former security commander in the Gaza Strip, said that he was not against the principle of negotiations, however the talks in their current form constitute "a crime against the people fighting for freedom."
Dahlan said that Abbas had put together a negotiating team that was ensuring him and a narrow circle around him Israeli and American support without any regard for the plight of the Palestinian people.
He accused the Palestinian negotiators of "filling their sacks."
Hundreds rally for spy Pollard outside US embassy
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv Sunday to demand the release of American-Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, who is currently incarcerated in an American prison.
Holding signs saying that 29 years in prison is enough and lofting pictures of US politicians who have called for Pollard's release, protesters led by Pollard's wife Esther called for him to be brought home.
The case of Jonathan Pollard: A legal analysis
Though he was neither charged with nor convicted of treason, there is no dispute that Jonathan Pollard committed serious offenses and that he deserved to be punished severely. However, it is doubtful that Pollard received a fair trial and whether the sentence imposed on him – life in prison without parole – was appropriate. Even if this were the case, it seems that at this stage Pollard's incarceration does not serve a rational purpose.
Knesset: 40 Diplomats to Discuss Incitement at UNRWA Schools
MK Yoni Chetboun (Jewish Home) is chairing a special discussion in the Knesset on Monday about the UNRWA schools in Palestinian Authority (PA) "refugee" neighborhoods.
Diplomats from dozens of countries that donate to UNRWA are to attend the session, which is to present them with the hard facts about illegal activities in the UNRWA schools.
Hamas Criticizes UNRWA Curricula in Gaza for Teaching Human Rights, Not Armed Resistance


Hamas seeks to privatize border crossing activities
Hamas is considering handing off control of the crossings along its borders with Egypt and Israel to private companies in Gaza, a Hamas official said Saturday.
The move is meant to combat a deepening economic crisis in the coastal enclave by creating more jobs and streamlining the transfer of goods through the crossings, according to Hamas Economy Minister Alaa Rafati.
Security and defense: Thwarting the Sinai terrorism threat
The bomb blast that tore through a tourist bus carrying South Korean nationals on Sunday, killing four civilians and wounding several more, was heard loudly in next-door Eilat. The senseless attack on innocent civilians is the latest reminder to both Egypt and Israel that the Salafi jihadi terror organizations, entrenched in the desert dunes of Egypt's semi-lawless province, are not going anywhere.
In the past two years, as Egypt deteriorated into anarchy (before making a partial recovery), and as radical warlords began setting up base in Sinai, posing a growing threat to Israel, the IDF's Southern Command took a number of steps to change its security arrangements along the Egyptian border.
Egyptian government resigns, paving way for military chief Sisi to run for president
Egypt's government has resigned, the prime minister said on Monday, a step likely to pave the way for army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president of a strategic US ally gripped by political strife.
"(The government) made every effort to get Egypt out of the narrow tunnel in terms of security, economic pressures and political confusion," Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said in a live nationwide speech.
Beblawi, who was tasked by interim President Adly Mansour with running the government's affairs until the election, did not give a clear reason for the decision.
Morsi Accused of Leaking Secrets to Iran
Prosecutors in Egypt on Sunday accused deposed president Mohammed Morsi of leaking state secrets to Iran's Revolutionary Guards as part of a plot to destabilize Egypt, AFP reported.
The accusations came at the second hearing of the former Islamist president's trial for espionage.
The trial, one of three that are under way against Morsi, is part of a relentless government crackdown targeting him and his Muslim Brotherhood movement since his ouster by the army in July.
Daniel Pipes: Washington is No Longer a Player in the Iran Game
In short, Washington is no longer a player in the Iran game. The views and actions of the U.S. government count about as much as those of the Belgian government – i.e., hardly at all.
In contrast, the one potential force that still might stop Iran is the Government of Israel; and the only way it can obstruct the Iranian program is through the use of force (as opposed to economic sanctions or computer viruses). Whether or not Netanyahu and his colleagues decide to deploy military force is the only question hanging over the mullahs' acquisition of a nuclear arsenal.
McCain: Obama Most Naive President In History
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) slammed US President Barack Obama on Sunday during an interview on CBS. According to McCain, Obama is the most "naive president in history."
McCain, who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential elections, criticized Obama's "Geneva farce," in reference to negotiations with Syria even as President Bashar Assad's regime has been accused of horrific war crimes. McCain also cited Obama's deal with Iran that has eased sanctions despite Tehran's ongoing threats and nuclear development.
Hezbollah channels European mercenaries to Syria
March 14 officials received security information about new Eastern European mercenaries arriving in batches at the Rafik Hariri International Airport on their way to Syria to fight alongside President Bashar Assad's regime. According to the one Eastern European country's intelligence unit, most of these fighters have professional military experience and have fought in Chechnya.

Yemenis upset at woman who said Jews should have equal rights

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 07:15 AM PST

Arabic media reports:
"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is applicable for Tawakkul Karman, a hijab-wearing Yemeni Muslim woman, who demanded (on video) that Yemeni Jews be given the right to be nominated to presidency, local councils and the parliament, in a step that Yemenis described as "outrageous".

Yemeni activists said: "It is not strange for someone who belongs to the (Muslim) Brotherhood to say this. After all, Issam Eryan also demanded that the Jews return to Egypt and that their possessions be given back to them. This video is the price that Tawakkul paid for getting the Nobel Peace Prize."
Karman did receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.

Here's the video, from a UN webcast, that is getting her these insults:



Kerman: Concerning the religious minorities: We stress the necessity of equality for Jewish Yemeni citizens to their fellow citizens in enjoying all political rights, including the right to be nominated to the parliament, to local councils and the presidency.
Kerman has been repeatedly accused  by her political opponents in Yemen and also Egypt of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. The political party she belongs to includes Muslim Brotherhood members and she has railed against the rule of Egypt's Sisi, but it is unclear if she supports the Muslim Brotherhood directly - and this statement does not sound like something that the Ikhwan would support.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

Who is the State Dept.'s Shaun Casey and why did he visit the West Bank?

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST

From the US State Department website:

The Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives is the State Department's portal for engagement with religious leaders and organizations around the world. Headed by Special Advisor Shaun Casey, the office reaches out to faith-based communities to ensure that their voices are heard in the policy process, and it works with those communities to advance U.S. diplomacy and development objectives. In accordance with the U.S. Strategy on Religious Leader and Faith Community Engagement, the office guarantees that engagement with faith-based communities is a priority for Department bureaus and for posts abroad, and helps equip our foreign and civil service officers with the skills necessary to engage faith-communities effectively and respectfully. The office collaborates regularly with other government officials and offices focused on religious issues, including the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, the Department's Office of International Religious Freedom, and the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Religion News Service has a little more about Casey:

Amid persistent criticism that the U.S. marginalizes religion and religious people in its foreign policy, Secretary of State John Kerry Wednesday (Aug. 7) tapped ethicist and campaign adviser Shaun Casey to lead the State Department's new Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives.

Casey is a professor of Christian ethics at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington and advised President Obama's campaign and other Democrats on outreach to religious voters.

Kerry praised Casey as someone who understands how the U.S. can engage religious communities around the world to foster peace and development.

"In a world where people of all faiths are migrating and mingling like never before," Kerry said, "we ignore the global impact of religion at our peril."
So what has Casey been doing?

The only press release at the website is the announcement of this new office's launch last August.

Yet he did pop up recently - in PA-controlled areas - to speak to Palestinian Christians:

Mr. Shaun Casey, head of the U.S. State Department's Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives, visited Bishop Munib Younan and the Lay Preachers Academy on Friday, February 14th, to discuss the peace process and the role of the Lutheran church in peace.

Mr. Casey met Bishop Munib Younan in Jerusalem and asked Bishop Younan to speak on how the church sees its role as peacemakers in the Middle East.

Mr. Casey then traveled to Abrahams Herberge in Beit Jala to speak with the members of the Lay Preachers Academy and ask for their candid opinions on the peace process and to ask how Palestinian Christians view themselves and their community. Mr. Casey spent 90 minutes listening to the Lutheran Christian voices of Palestine on their concerns about the current peace talks and their hopes for the future.
And:
During a meeting [Monday] with the Latin Patriarch, Mr. Casey revealed how John Kerry is aware of the power of faith in the peace process and how he has been attentive to the concerns of Christians in the Holy Land in the design of a peace agreement between the two parties. Kerry hopes even to put in place the framework of the agreement before the Pope's visit to the Holy Land. "What is certain however is that speaking to the Pope during his next visit to the Vatican will be important to help the two peoples to move in this direction," noted Shaun A. Casey.
There is nothing wrong with getting input from religious leaders on matters that are important to them involving negotiations.. What is worrisome is that this visit seems to have been done way under the radar; no press coverage and no State Department press releases. We don't know who else Casey visited or even what day he arrived and whether he is still in the region. Did he visit Muslim leaders - and if so, who? Did he visit Jewish religious leaders? Did he arrive via Israel or Jordan? Was there any discussion on matters such as the habitual Muslim usurping of Jewish holy places, as we saw yesterday? Were the Christian leaders he met with forthcoming about oppression by Muslims or did they spend the whole time talking about Israel? Is he in the region to buttress any ideas he already has or to actually learn something?

This lack of transparency from the State Department is troubling.

It is also troubling that Casey was originally hired by the Obama campaign to attract evangelical voters. I know that the tradition to reward people who help get presidents elected with cushy jobs (such as becoming ambassadors to friendly countries)  is a common practice, but what little we know of Casey indicates that he may not be the most qualified person to wade into Middle East politics. For example, in 2008 he was quoted to be politicizing the New Testament by saying that "Jesus was an illegal alien." 

There are a lot of unanswered questions here, and silently sending someone with unorthodox religious views into the Middle East as an amateur diplomat seems to be a recipe for disaster.

(h/t Donna)

Samantha Power: Getting your head hacked off teaches "individual accountability and reconciliation"

Posted: 24 Feb 2014 02:21 AM PST

This tweet from the US ambassador to the UN is mind boggling:


Excuse me? A man whose head was sawed off on video, specifically because he was a Jew, reminds us about how to break "cycles of violence?"

This incomprehensible leftist gobbledygook would be worthy of derision of it was spouted by some leftist professor at Berkeley. But for the US ambassador to the UN to publicly write this is breathtakingly naive and, really, offensive to Pearl's family. It is almost as if she is saying that Daniel Pearl would still be alive if he had only been more interested in "accountability and reconciliation" with Al Qaeda and Pakistani Islamists.

Is this what the US has become? Is the official position of the US government  that all that is needed for world peace is for Westerners to be more sensitive to the feelings of murderous Islamists?

If Jew-hatred is part of a "cycle of violence" then antisemitism must be partially Jews' fault.

This indicates that the official American position is no longer one of pride and leadership, but one of apologetics and beseeching to be loved by our enemies, who hate us because we just aren't working hard enough at reconciliation.

This is outrageous and scandalous, and in a sane world Power should be forced to resign by the end of the day. No one that says anything this sickening should represent the United States to the world.

UPDATE: See also Israellycool.
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