יום חמישי, 6 בפברואר 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

A Gaza businessman hugs an Israeli colleague - and Arabs freak out

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 06:26 PM PST

Once in a while private Gaza businessmen meet Israelis . Some of them need to import goods to Gaza; sometimes COGAT arranges for them to attend trade shows or training.

A couple of days ago, at one of these meetings, an apparent Israeli soldier hugged and effusively greeted many of the Arabs from Gaza that he knew.


Arabs could not stand the idea of an Arab hugging an Israeli.

The video spread on Arab social media, "causing great resentment among activists who said this is normalization that should not happen."

Some activists - and journalists - called for the businessmen to be put on trial, and for the Gaza government to make these sorts of meetings illegal.

The PA Ministry of Civil Affairs, which helped organize the meeting, was caught on the defensive. They confirmed the meeting, which was held at the Erez crossing, saying that it was a business meeting to debate the problems of the Gaza Strip and the issues of the blockade of the introduction of construction materials and oil and gas and food, and that this video misrepresents the atmosphere.

Maher Abu Alouf, Director General of the Ministry of Civil Affairs said that these meetings are publicly known but are not friendly nor are they a form of normalization, and he expressed disapproval of the misrepresentations by some activists and the media.

Ali Al-Hayek is the person seen hugging the uniformed Israeli. He is one of Gaza's most prominent representatives of the Palestinian private sector. Hayek claimed that the person he embraced was retired from the army, and that it was strange that the media showed footage of them being civil to each other but did not show footage of the arguments by Palestinians for the introduction of the materials to the Gaza Strip, in full coordination between the private sector and governments in Ramallah and Gaza.

"Normalization" is one of the worst things Arabs can accuse each other of.

Think about that for a while.

02/05 Link Pt2: The Darker Side Of Oxfam; Boycotts Are Driven By Hate; 9 Narrow Miles

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 03:00 PM PST

From Ian:
The darker side of Oxfam
But lurking behind this carefully-crafted website, and indeed the spokesman's carefully-worded statement, is a rather different reality.
In truth, Oxfam channels charity funds to political groups which follow deeply partisan agendas, and support the boycott of Israel.
Over the last few years, Oxfam GB and the Dutch branch of the charity, Oxfam Novib, have granted many tens of thousands pounds to Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP).
This group is linked to whoprofits.org, a website that publicly identifies boycott targets, including Israeli banks, utility providers and companies like SodaStream.
Divest This!: A Panic-Driven Response to Omar Barghouti
As the leader of a "movement" that has accomplished next to nothing in close to fifteen years, Omar Barghouti seems to have developed special vision powers (perhaps learned while studying at an Israeli school he insists everyone in the world but he should boycott). These powers allow him to see panic-stricken Israeli supporters on all sides that quiver in perpetual fear of BDS's explosive growth that always seems to arrive in the form of a damp squib.
Barghouti's latest New York Times piece (paired with a "rebuttal" by Hirsh Goodman which declares Israel to be guilty, but urges something other than boycotting as a punishment – great diversity of opinion Grey Lady!) demonstrates all the rhetoric ticks that give BDS staying power despite lack of concrete victory (incidental or otherwise).
Thus 16% of the American Studies Association's membership voting for an academic boycott is a "landslide vote" while the stunning backlash against the boycott from across the academy goes unmentioned. Or perhaps that is just part of the panicked response of Israeli supporters? (Keep in mind that in the heads-I-win-tails-you-lose world of BDS, both the BDSers own activity and the overwhelmingly negative response it generates counts as a victories for them.) (h/t Yenta Press)
Answering Roger's questions
The other day you posted an open letter to Neil Young and Scarlett Johansson on your Facebook page. This letter was primarily made up of a series of questions regarding the Palestinian employees of SodaStream's factory in Ma'ale Adumim, addressed to Ms Johansson.
I see that neither Neil Young or Scarlett Johansson has offered you any answers to these questions, so I thought I might have a go.
There are several hundred Palestinians employed at this particular factory, I don't know each of their particular circumstances, so I have taken my lead from the people interviewed in this recent article, and this video.



Starving, Besieged Palestinian Refugees In Syria Thrilled That Pro-Palestinian Activists Focusing On Scarlett Johansson (satire)
UNWRA, the United Nations agency that oversees the basic health, education, and nutritional needs of registered Palestinian refugees, has been unable to function effectively in Yarmuk, but called the kerfuffle about Johansson a breath of fresh air. "It's about time people around the world began noticing what we've been doing, day in and day out, for the last sixty years," said UNWRA spokesman Redd Herring.
"Companies that offer actual employment to Palestinians are a threat to our work, which is creating a population that's dependent on handouts and nursed on entitlement. Organizations such as Oxfam come dangerously close to creating initiative among dependent populations to empower themselves economically to end their own hunger," he added. "We're glad that Johansson and Oxfam have parted ways, for that reason."
Charities accused of giving millions to left-wing campaigns as watchdog refuses to name causes under investigation
[UK] Charities are using millions of pounds of public money to subsidise fashionable political campaigns, a report warns today.
A study by the Institute for Economic Affairs says many well-known charities are using taxpayers' cash to push for causes, such as increased foreign aid spending, which 'are not priorities for the electorate and are often unpopular'.
It comes as MPs condemn the Charity Commission as feeble and 'not fit for purpose' as the watchdog refuses to name charities which are under investigation.
Byline With Brian Lilley: SodaStream Cda CEO Marta Mikita-Wilson discusses the real story behind SodaStream VIDEO
SodaStream Canada CEO Marta Mikita-Wilson discusses the real story behind SodaStream, the company facing boycott campaigns by anti-Israel groups
IsraellyCool: "Anti-Racism" Palestinian Students President Mohammad Hammad Slurs All Israelis
Remember Mohammad Hammad, the San Francisco State University General Union of Palestinian Students president who expressed genocidal views against Israelis? He subsequently defended his posts, claiming, among other things, that he stands "firmly against racism, regardless who the target is."
Well, here he is posting on Facebook about Scarlett Johannson.
Boycotts Driven By Hate, Not Settlements
Since Israel has just agreed to Kerry's framework for negotiations—the ultimate goal of which is a peace deal with the Palestinians that will grant them a state in much of the West Bank—the existence of the settlements can't logically be represented as an obstacle to peace. That's a point that should have been made clear to the Europeans when the Palestinians rejected offers of statehood including a share of Jerusalem in 2000, 2001, and 2008. Nor need one support the existence of all the settlements to understand that most of them—located in blocs near the 1967 lines—will remain within Israel in the event of a peace treaty.
So if the existence of the settlements doesn't explain the recent upsurge in support for boycotting Israel, what does? The simple answer was supplied by the State Department when it described in its report on religious persecution a "rising tide of anti-Semitism" that was sweeping the continent. (h/t Norman F)
Homophobic, Racist, Sexist, 'Take Xanax': Reactions To My Open Letter To NYU's President On ASA's Israel Boycott
If you can't rebut the facts, smear.
That's how I'd sum up the reaction of the American Studies Association and the Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions (BDS) movement to my Open Letter to New York University president John Sexton.
NYU didn't care for my letter either, but its views were measured and responsible.
NY Times condemns anti-academic boycott legislation, but not academic boycott
An editorial in the NY Times condemns anti-academic boycott legislation, but not the anti-Israel academic boycotts themselves. That legislation was passed by the NY State Senate and is pending in the Assembly (although the status in the Assembly is unclear – see update below). Similar legislation has been introduced in Maryland.
In response, the NY State legislature is working on legislation to protect academic freedom by denying state funding to groups that engage in academic boycotts. The legislation does not punish thought, it protects academic freedom. It may not be a perfect tool, and the wording needs to be extremely careful since it involves the state, but there is no right to state funding for any group.
UN Group Compares Boycott of Israeli Academics to Nazi Practice
Whether intentional or not, says a UNESCO body, the boycott of Israeli academics bears a similarity to the practice of German doctors, who were leaders in the Nazi party, of segregating out their Jewish colleagues
In many of Israel's academies, Israeli and Palestinian students of all ages continue to learn and study together. Rather than promoting peace, the ASA's action promotes further isolation for all peoples in the region and negates the importance and vitality of academic discourse. Their action is to be condemned by all those advocating for stabilization and peace in the Middle East. While ASA may make the misleading claim that its actions are an exercise of academic freedom, in singling out Israeli academics for such a boycott, our Unit's work indicated that this immoral boycott, though not intended, is far more akin to actions of prominent Nazi academics in the early 1930′s, such as those German physicians who took leadership positions in the Nazi party and singled out their Jewish colleagues for boycott and expulsion from academic life and professional societies.
Tantura, a Fictional Play and a Real News Report
Contrary to Rotem's suggestion, the Tantura story is not an unresolvable "he said/she said" argument between two equally credible sides. Rotem fails to inform readers that Teddy Katz, a then PhD candidate at the University of Haifa, lost a libel suit against the brigade that he had accused of the 1948 Tantura massacre, and was forced to apologize.
The apology had stated:
After checking and re-checking the evidence, I am now certain beyond any doubt that there is no basis at all for the allegation that after Tantura surrendered, there was any killing of residents by the Alexandroni Brigade, or any other fighting unit of the IDF. I would like to clarify that what I wrote was misunderstood, and that I did not mean to suggest that there had been a massacre in Tantura, nor do I believe that there ever was a massacre at Tantura. (h/t Yenta Press)
Planting water in Israel
Exciting fact about Israel's land use, as the world experiences massive deforestation: Israel is the only country in the world to have a net gain of trees in the last 100 years.
This is thanks to a non-profit and visionary non-governmental organization, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) –– or Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael –– set up in 1901 in Israel to develop the land.
Under Ottoman rule at the time, Israel was neglected and considered a backwater state infested with malaria. There was a genuine need for a long-term plan to turn things around.
Using donations from generations of Jews in the Diaspora, some 240 million trees have been planted in Israel by JNF over the last 11 decades, including a few by the Kennedys.
Israeli scientists offer new hope for Gaucher patients
Israeli scientists have discovered a new cellular pathway implicated in Gaucher disease — a genetic disorder most prevalent among the Ashkenazi Jewish population. The Weizmann Institute of Science researchers believe their findings, published recently in Nature Medicine, may lead to new treatments and management of this cruel disease.
Gaucher disease is a genetic disorder caused by a defect in a particular enzyme needed to break down a fatty substance, or lipid, called glucocerebroside. This results in the accumulation of glucocerebroside in various cells and organs, which prevents them from working properly.
CosyFlex named leading innovative technology
The unique CosyFlex fabric is the flagship product of Tamicare, a privately owned engineering company founded in 2001 in Manchester, UK, by the Israeli couple Tamar and Ehud Giloh.
Tamar Giloh previously told ISRAEL21c that she originally set out to devise a panty-and-pad solution for feminine hygiene, but soon realized there was much greater potential.
Eventually the Gilohs developed a unique three-dimensional printer that churns out Cosyflex from layered cellulose fibers and Vytex natural rubber latex on a moving surface. Thanks to 3D printing, it can be made into any kind of garment without sewing.
Israel Aircraft Industries To Unveil Unmanned Fast Patrol Boat At New Delhi Defense Expo
IAI will be unveiling their new concept for the "Katana" unmanned ship, which is designed to protect critical marine infrastructures, such as oil and gas rigs, gas terminals, undersea pipelines, perhaps even LNG carriers and of course the approaches to ports.
To do so the Katana will be equipped with the latest in automated navigations and fast propulsion systems and its own specialized arrays of weaponry.
Israeli defense companies are well known for their success in unmanned aerial vehicles, which they have sold in the billions, including to a number of Asian countries. IAI will clearly be hoping to replicate the exercise with the Katana as well.
Online Dead Sea archive upgraded
The Israeli Antiquities Authority has launched an upgraded version of an online archive of the Dead Sea scrolls, enabling web users to view thousands of high-quality images of the ancient texts along with explanations and translations into various languages.
The new website, officially opened on Tuesday, is the second incarnation of the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library and has over 10,000 photographs of the ancient texts that were found in a series of caves at Qumran in the Judean Desert.
Marbles that belonged to Anne Frank rediscovered
Shortly before Anne Frank and her family went into hiding from the Nazis, she gave some of her toys to a non-Jewish girlfriend who lived in the building next door.
The Anne Frank House Museum says the toys have now been recovered and Anne's tin of marbles will go on display Wednesday at the Kunsthal art gallery in Rotterdam.
The neighbor, Toosje Kupers, kept the marbles along with a tea set and a book. It was only when Kupers, 83, was moving last year that she thought to mention the marbles to the museum.
New workshop promotes Israeli-Arab voice in foreign policy
The initial discussion was held last week with Jewish and Arab experts at the Nazareth Academic Institute – a joint initiative by the think tank Mitvim - The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, the Abraham Fund Initiatives for the integration and equality of Arab citizens and the Nazareth Academic Institute.
The workshop looked at opportunities for increased Israeli-Arab involvement in Israeli foreign policy in light of the changes occurring in the region.
"In the last three years, we have witnessed drastic changes in the Arab world, including increased interest in Israel in general, and in the lives of Israel's Arab-Palestinian citizens, in particular. Arab intellectuals are showing increased interest in conducting a dialogue with us, and we should use the opportunity," said Kamal Hassan, a policy fellow at Mitvim and a lecturer at the Open University.
Old-School Israeli PR Makes the Case for Judea and Samaria
A public relations video produced by the IDF Spokesperson's Unit more than 30 years ago makes the case for Israel to retain the Judea and Samaria region, from a purely military perspective, and offers a unique glimpse into a very different age, in which official Israeli government bodies were not shy of articulating the need for the Jewish state to maintain control over its Biblical heartland.
Entitled "9 Narrow Miles" - a reference to the perilously slim waistline of the Jewish state without Judea and Samaria - the video was released in 1980, in the days before the Oslo Accords, which saw Israel effectively cede parts of the region to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and its Palestinian Authority (PA). After accepting the Accords as a pillar of government policy, much of the Israeli establishment became fixated on the idea of an independent Arab state in the Biblical heartland. At the time of the recording, however, while Israel's political establishment prevaricated over what to do with the region - which, as the cradle of Jewish civilization, includes ancient Jewish sites such as Hevron, Shechem and of course the Temple Mount - the country's security experts had little doubt as to the existential strategic importance of retaining Judea and Samaria.

Iranian women need written permission from their husbands before traveling abroad

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 01:00 PM PST

From Al Monitor:
Mahboubeh, a 62-year-old Iranian schoolteacher, was forbidden from traveling outside the country a couple of weeks ago. She has been separated from her husband for three years, after what she describes as over three decades of constant fighting. Since her husband has not agreed to divorce her, he has taken revenge by preventing her from leaving the country, even for a short trip to the United Arab Emirates with a couple of her old friends. Mahboubeh told Al-Monitor she's fed up with the system that hands over so much authority to men, allowing them to rule women's lives, even when they are no longer living under the same roof.

Married Iranian women, even if they hold a valid passport, require their husband's permission to depart the country, regardless of age. For obtaining or renewing a passport, a notarized permit from the spouse is required. Husbands can easily refrain from allowing their wives to obtain or renew their passport.
But this is an improvement over a recently rescinded law that gave the same restrictions on single women.

...Mehdi Davatgari, an Iranian MP and member of the Majles' National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told ISNA news agency, "It is an achievement of the Majles that single Iranian women over the age of 18 can obtain a passport with their father or grandfather's official permission. Thus, contrary to the previous requirement, once a woman has her passport, she is cleared to exit the country, and there is no need for male permission to be obtained for every departure."

According to Davatgari, this measure would save a considerable amount of red tape. However, if the male supervisor feels strongly about the woman's travel and is against it, predicting "wrong-doing or misconduct," he could submit a request to the government to prevent her from leaving the country.

Fatemeh Rahbar, head of the Majles' Women and Family Affairs Committee, also gave her two cents on the matter, saying that the number of women who have misbehaved while traveling outside Iranian borders is too small to restrict every woman's travels: "Around 76 women who have traveled outside the country have behaved inappropriately, and therefore are forbidden from departure without an eligible male's notarized permission for each individual trip. Passports are equal to international birth certificates and cannot be denied to women, unless there is hard evidence proving a woman's misbehavior outside the country, which we obviously take quite seriously."

Shahla Mirgalou-Bayat, a physician and member of the Majles' Women and Family Affairs Committee, said passing and implementing these regulations are vital to protecting women and ensuring their safety while traveling.

In a recent interview, Mirgalou-Bayat said that since men could easily tend to their sexual needs through concubines and women cannot, it is safer for women to travel only if they must, and only if cleared by their male guardian. Mirgalou-Bayat added, "Women have different desires and needs than men, and implementing further restrictions for women is actually beneficial to women themselves. I approach this fact as a physician, from a physiological standpoint and considering the difference between male and female bodies."
(h/t Anne)

Fun with imaginary numbers: Israel released almost 12,000 prisoners last 3 years!

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST

Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades translates and publishes some new "statistics" from the PA Ministry of Prisoner Affairs (also at IMEMC):

Head of the Census Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Detainees, Abdul-Nasser Ferwana, said that Israeli occupation is currently holding captive around 4800 Palestinians in seventeen prisons, detention and interrogation centers.

Ferwana said that around 11034 Palestinians, including 2500 children, have been taken prisoner by the Israeli army over the last three years, during ongoing Israeli military invasions and violations in occupied Palestine.
According to B'Tselem, at the end of 2010 there were 5,705 prisoners. At the end of 2013 there were 4,768. If Israel imprisoned "around" 11,034 Palestinian Arabs in the past three years, that means that they have released an astonishing 11,971 prisoners in that time period!

It also means that the Israeli prisons must have especially fast revolving doors.

The lies don't end there, of course:
Ferwana also stated that Israeli occupation continues to deny ailing detainees the right to professional and specialized medical treatment, and said that there are 1500 detainees suffering with various conditions, including cancer, while others completely lost their mobility and various bodily functions.
Wow - 1500 of the 4800 prisoners are seriously ill? Then the mortality rate among prisoners must be super high, right?
As for detainees who died after their arrest, Ferwana stated that 205 detainees died since 1967, the causes of death range between excessive torture during interrogation, the lack of adequate medical treatment, and the excessive use of force.
Um...in 46 years, 205 prisoners died. That's less than five a year. How can it be that over 30% have serious medical conditions, but only 0.1% die every year?

This means (assuming roughly 5000 prisoners on the average since 1967, even though the numbers before 2001 were significantly lower) that the mortality rate among Arabs in Israeli prisons is at least four times better than they are outside of prison.
Dozens of Palestinians died shortly after their release from prison due to health complications resulting from the lack, and in many cases, the absence of medical attention in Israeli prisons, among them are detainees Morad Abu Sakout, Hayel Abu Zeid, Ashraf Abu Threi, Fayez Zeidat and Zakariyya Issa.
They don't die in Israeli prisons, but as soon as they can access professional medical facilities in the territories, then they drop dead?

Ferwana called on media outlets to provide further coverage on the issue of the detainees, their suffering and the ongoing violations, mental and physical abuse they face in Israeli prisons.
I think that is a great idea. The media really should report on these numbers. And they should bring in a statistician to do the analysis to see if they add up or if Ferwana is blowing smoke.

02/05 Link Pt1: Rogues’ gallery vying to replace Falk; Iran's Missile Program Continues Under Deal

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 09:00 AM PST

From Ian:
UN Watch: The rogues' gallery to replace Richard Falk
The 47-nation council, which just welcomed China, Cuba, Russia and Saudi Arabia to its ranks, will be replacing Falk — an open supporter of Hamas and of 9/11 conspiracy theories — at the end of its upcoming March session.
And so like moths to a flame, a rogues' gallery of anti-Israel activists and academics are clamoring to take over a position that, even according to Amnesty International, is inherently biased against the Jewish state.
While the title of the post is "Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights on Palestinian territories occupied since 1967," implying a regional jurisdiction, in fact the mandate – unchanged since February 1993 — is unique in the UN system for its exclusive focus on alleged abuses committed by one side, Israel; and by the presumption, in contempt of basic due process, that Israel will always be found guilty.
Mr. Kerry, the Israeli economy is no illusion
In recent weeks several emerging markets have seen their currencies come crashing down with a bang. One after the other they dropped, among them the Turkish lira, which led Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to raise the interest rate to an especially high 11 percent. In Argentina, the local currency has plummeted. And in Israel? Bank of Israel Governor Karnit Flug is taking an aggressive hands-on approach, selling shekels to all buyers. In other words -- she is buying dollars in large quantities. These are problems you want to have. Israel has an enormous cash reserve of some $80 billion. If we were really being boycotted the foreign investors would be the first to smell it and the shekel would collapse. The interest rates on Israel government bonds would skyrocket due to the hazardous risk. We would not be able to exist in conditions of a 1% interest rate on the shekel.
Four Palestinians 'planned shooting attack at wedding party'
Four East Jerusalem Palestinians were indicted Wednesday for planning to carry out a large-scale shooting attack at a popular event hall in the city. All four suspects, aged 19-21, were charged with conspiracy to aid an enemy in wartime.
According to the indictment, filed with the Jerusalem District Court and made public Wednesday, two of the four suspects, residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, planned to dress as ultra-Orthodox Jews, enter a wedding or other event at Jerusalem's "Nof" hall in the Bait Vagan neighborhood concealing firearms beneath their clothes, then open fire at the guests.



Honest Reporting: NY Times' Friedman Calls BDS Third Intifada
So if BDS is fighting for the "right of return" of 5 million Palestinians, that would be a direct assault on the Jewish character of the democratic Israel. In other words, Mr. Friedman, BDS may be non-violent but it still aims for the destruction of Israel as we know it, just like the armed struggles before it. That's not exactly an expression of "making Israelis feel strategically secure but morally insecure."
There may well be a Third Intifada underway, but it's not the one Friedman thinks it is. Just because it's not bombing buses in Jerusalem does not mean BDS occupies the moral high ground. And that may be why it's had no effect until the European banks and other more moderate players got involved.
As George Kennan Inspired Truman's Foreign Policy, Now Stephen Walt Inspires Obama's
Unlike Kennan, a career diplomat, or Baker, a former secretary of state, Walt doesn't have a formal role in government, or even any privileged access to this White House. But his ideas have nevertheless emerged at the core of a major shift in U.S. Middle East policy, which may come as a surprise to those who dismissed him as a fringe academic. The idea certainly isn't pleasant for this columnist, who's documented Walt's dog-whistling blog posts meant to draw anti-Semites and anti-anti-Semites to his FP.com column, but it's hard to dismiss his influence now. So, I tip my hat to the new George Kennan, for whether you love him or hate him, Stephen Walt has won the X sweepstakes.
World should punish 'racist' Israel, PA official says
Speaking about a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference last week with his Israeli counterpart, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Erekat said, "Livni accused us of not wanting peace, and I told her that Israel is racist against Palestinians in ways that did not happen in South Africa. The world should rise against this racist regime, hold it accountable and punish it."
"I told her in front of the whole world that we will not change our history, our religion or our civilization. We are the lawful sons of Palestine, [and] we will not accept Israel as a Jewish state," Erekat said, according to the Ma'an news agency.
Hamas: Peace talks with Israel aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause
The Palestinians will not accept any agreement that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signs with Israel, Hamas official Salah Bardaweel said. Bardaweel claimed that the current peace talks were aimed at "liquidating" the Palestinian cause.
He criticized Abbas for telling The New York Times earlier this week that he would agree to the establishment of a demilitarized state.
"Such statements are a preface for liquidating the Palestinian cause and preventing the right of return for Palestinian refugees," Bardaweel said. "The biggest disaster would be to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. This would pave the way for the expulsion of more Palestinians from their historic land." (h/t Bob Knot)
Ministers barred from 'dangerous' Route 443
The Shin Bet's Protective Security Department, which is charged with guarding Israeli dignitaries, issued the directive on Tuesday. Unnamed government officials told Yedioth Ahronoth that the road had recently become "very dangerous."
The highway, sections of which pass through West Bank territory, has recently seen an increase in violent events. These included rock-throwing incidents, Molotov cocktail attacks and an improvised explosive device planted on the road — all since the beginning of the year.
Samaria: Arrests, Injuries as Security Forces Clash with Rioters
At least two Palestinian Arab rioters were injured in clashes with security forces in Al-Fara, in northern Samaria (Shomron), during an early-morning raid Wednesday.
Security forces arrested four suspected terrorists and seized a machine gun and ammunition, but came under attack by dozens of rioters, forcing them to fire in self-defense. Palestinian Maan News claimed two attackers - which it identified as 27-year-old Saed al-Ghoul and 23-year-old Hamza Mousa Ulayyan - suffered gunshot wounds.
Iranian Ballistic Missile Program Can Continue Under Deal
Under pressure from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), U.S. negotiator Wendy Sherman conceded that the U.S. failed to "shut down" Iran's ongoing development of ballistic missiles, which have long range capabilities and are the preferred weapon for delivering a nuclear payload.
"It is true that in these first six months we've not shut down all of their production of any ballistic missile that could have anything to do with delivery of a nuclear weapon," Sherman told lawmakers during a hearing on the nuclear deal. "But that is indeed something that has to be addressed as part of a comprehensive agreement."
This comprehensive agreement will not be agreed upon for at least six months, Sherman admitted, giving Tehran a lengthy window in which to perfect its weapons systems.
Iranian FM in hot water for taking softer tone on Israel
Senior Iranian lawmakers denounced Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif's statements to the effect that the Islamic Republic would consider recognizing Israel, and possibly restore diplomatic ties, if a peace agreement with Palestinians was reached, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Tuesday.
The foreign minister will be questioned by parliament for his remarks, according to Iran's Mehr News website.
During his 45-minute German TV interview, Zarif also acknowledged the Holocaust. "A horrifying tragedy occurred, and it should never occur again," he said. Still, he added, the Jews' suffering did not justify their actions against the Palestinians.
European Scramble Into Iran Threatens to Undermine White House Credibility
European companies are scrambling to rush back into Iran's newly reopened markets despite Obama administration statements insisting that the Islamic republic "is not open for business," threatening to undermine confidence in the White House's management of the diplomatic battlefield as the West and Tehran head into comprehensive nuclear negotiations scheduled for mid-February. Benjamin Weinthal, a research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, last week described the dynamic as one in which Germany's "European rivals are scrambling to catch up" to the "over 100 German companies… currently doing business in Iran," with the new capital flooding into Iran worth as much as $20 billion.
Kerry scolds France: Iran not open for business as usual
The relaxation in penalties has triggered a race among Western firms to explore lucrative business opportunities. On Monday Iran welcomed more than 100 executives from France's biggest firms - Paris's most senior trade delegation in years.
"Secretary Kerry has talked directly to Foreign Minister (Laurent) Fabius about the trade delegation ... about how this is not helpful in this regard to ensure that in fact it is not business as usual," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman told a hearing of US lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday.
"Tehran is not open for business because our sanctions relief is quite temporary, quite limited and quite targeted," she added.
Experts: Iran Exerting Troubling Influence in Latin America
Iran and its terrorist proxy groups' influence in Latin America remains a troubling security threat to the region and world, experts said at a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Hezbollah, a Shiite terrorist group based in Lebanon and sponsored by Iran, has established illicit networks in Latin America in the last few decades to provide millions annually for its global operations, experts on the region told the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
Those networks involve money laundering, counterfeiting, piracy, and drug trafficking in cooperation with local criminal groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Syrian Forces Hit Mosque with Barrel Bomb, Kill 5
Activist Hassoun Abu Faisal of the Aleppo Media Center says the mosque in the Masaken Hanano area was also used as a school and that children were inside when it was hit on Tuesday with a barrel bomb — a crude device packed with fuel and scraps of metal.
The Local Coordinating Committees, another activist group, says five people were killed. It wasn't immediately clear how many were children.
Jordanian lawyers sue Google over anti-Islam video
Lawyers have appeared for the first time in months at a court hearing in Jordan against Internet company Google over an anti-Islamic film posted on video-sharing website YouTube, which sparked widespread violent protests across the Muslim world in 2012.
Three lawyers from Jordan Bar Association's Freedom Committee are suing Google as the parent company of YouTube, which published a trailer of the film "Innocence of Muslims" in September 2012.
Foreign press in Egypt running scared from gov't
Al Jazeera condemned the arrest of its journalists and charged the Egyptian government with trying to demonize them. It is the latest fight between the Qatar-based channel, which is seen as close to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt's interim government, which has launched an all-out campaign against the now-illegal group since it overthrew president Mohamed Morsi in July. Hundreds of Morsi supporters have been killed and thousands arrested since then.
Analysis: International law has nothing to do with an Israel-Turkey deal
A Turkish official has reportedly repeated a similar statement by his government that the millions of dollars in compensation that Israel may pay Turkey to end the dispute over the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident are based on international law and precedent.
The official appears to be ignoring most of the legal opinion on the incident and clearly has not studied the history of ex gratia payments. These are payments which countries sometimes make to smooth over an incident without taking formal responsibility, when innocents are killed by an alleged mistake.
Turkey-Cyprus Clash Shows Israel 'Defender of NATO'
A recent altercation in Cyprus has raised questions about NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) member Turkey. On Saturday, a Norwegian ship exploring for gas in the southern part of Cyprus was forced to leave the area by a Turkish warship.
The Norwegian vessel, MV Princess, was conducting its search for oil and gas on behalf of internationally-recognized Greek Cyprus, located in the southern part of the island. Turkey has refused to recognize Cyprus, forbidding it to search for oil and gas in waters that it claims belong to Turkish Cyprus, which is located in the north of the island and is only recognized by Turkey.
On Saturday evening, Turkey claimed the MV Princess entered a Turkish naval zone, where it was warned by the Turkish warship TCG Giresun and then forced out of the area, reports the Turkish news source Today's Zaman.
Turkish MP: Erdogan's anti-Semitism difficult to reverse
The effects of the Turkish prime minister's ongoing anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic agitation have permeated society there and will not be easily reversed, a Turkish member of parliament said this week, amid reports of an imminent deal between Ankara and Jerusalem that would end a four-year long diplomatic crisis between the two governments.
While Israel and Turkey could easily repair bilateral ties on a political level, hostility toward Jews — deliberately fomented by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's fiery rhetoric — is likely to persist, even if a different government takes power in Ankara, said Aykan Erdemir, a freshman lawmaker from the center-left Republican People's Party, or CHP, Turkey's largest opposition party.
New Saudi Law: 20 Years for Belonging to Terrorist Groups
Saudi King Abdullah on Monday decreed jail terms of up to 20 years for belonging to "terrorist groups" and fighting abroad, AFP reported.
The new law comes as part of Saudi Arabia's struggles to deter Islamist Saudis from becoming jihadists.
"Taking part in combat outside the kingdom, in any form" will be punished by jail terms of between three and 20 years, said the decree published by state news agency SPA.

Lies about Israel vs. the truth about Fatah

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST

A few years ago there was an antisemitic play that received some publicity from the usual idiotic crowd. The BBC called it "brilliant." It was called Seven Jewish Children, by Caryl Churchill.

The entire format of the play was supposedly how Jews think, in terms of what they teach their children. A small sample:

Tell her about the family of dead girls, tell her their names why
not, tell her the whole world knows why shouldn't she know? tell
her there's dead babies, did she see babies? tell her she's got
nothing to be ashamed of. Tell her they did it to themselves. Tell
her they want their children killed to make people sorry for them,
tell her I'm not sorry for them, tell her not to be sorry for them,
tell her we're the ones to be sorry for, tell her they can't talk
suffering to us. Tell her we're the iron fist now, tell her it's the fog
of war, tell her we won't stop killing them till we're safe, tell her I
laughed when I saw the dead policemen, tell her they're animals
living in rubble now, tell her I wouldn't care if we wiped them out,
the world would hate us is the only thing, tell her I don't care if
the world hates us, tell her we're better haters, tell her we're
chosen people, tell her I look at one of their children covered in
blood and what do I feel? tell her all I feel is happy it's not her.
Don't tell her that.

Today, Palestinian Media Watch translates something on the Fatah Facebook page also about what they want to teach their children. But this isn't a fictionalized, racist account of the mindset of Arabs - this is what the "moderate" Fatah party, led by Mahmoud Abbas, really thinks:

Teach your children to love the soil.
Teach them that we live in misery.
Teach them that there is a seed in the soil;
if you water it with blood,
it will sprout a revolution.

Will anyone write a play based on reality rather than the fevered dreams of Israel-haters?

Saeb Erekat's "Canaanite" lies - the video

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 05:00 AM PST

Based on this post:





(h/t Yoel)

Infighting in Hamas

Posted: 05 Feb 2014 03:18 AM PST

YNet reports:

For several days, Hamas forces stationed near the security fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel to prevent rocket fire on Israel were gone from their posts; behind the scenes, a drama unfolded in the strip.

Last weekend, the rocket prevention forces – deployed to deter the numerous factions in Gaza from undoing the relative calm between Israel and Hamas – withdrew from their positions, returning to their posts on Tuesday morning.

Palestinian sources said that the matter was not one of tactical indecision, but internal disagreements regarding the proper response to IDF operations. A document obtained by Ynet confirmed that in the end, the moderate elements prevailed.

The affair began Thursday night, when the Israeli Air Force attacked three Gaza Strip targets belonging to the military wing of Hamas. Some of the targets held large reserves of rockets, which were destroyed in the attack.

The following day, the military wing of Hamas announced a withdrawal of the forces along the security barrier. The forces, numbering around 900 soldiers, were posted two weeks ago to search passing vehicles in order to prevent additional rockets being fired on Israel.

The forces' withdrawal could only have one meaning: Hamas was preparing to launch rockets in response to the IDF attack – despite the decision of the political wing of Hamas. These insights were published Tuesday morning in the Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat; Palestinian sources confirmed the events to Ynet.

A security source said that the leadership of the military wing felt that it was losing its popular support in the public, especially given the criticism received by Islamic Jihad, who had called for shooting rockets towards Israel in response to IDF attacks.

He noted that the military leadership of Hamas did not want to be seen as a moderate entity that supports restraint and prevents a military response against Israel – fearing that such a position would weaken their standing next to Islamic Jihad.

However the intention of the military wing to attack caused a conflict between it and the political wing that required the involvement of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and the movement's political chief Khaled Meshaal.

The Palestinian sources said that Haniyeh sided with Meshaal and the two worked together to coax the military leadership away from its decision to respond with rocket fire. The two leaders worried that such a rocket barrage could lead to the collapse of the relative calm, and maybe even to IDF operations within the Gaza Strip.

The quick involvement of the political echelon bore fruit, and on Tuesday Hamas' Interior Ministry announced, that the forces were redeployed along the security barrier to maintain the peace.

The document was written on Saturday, less than a day after the first withdrawal. The letter is written to Abu Ubaidah al-Jarrah, the commander of the national security forces of Hamas, and emphasizes that aggressive action must be taken against anyone who attempts to launch rockets.

Hamas has already clarified that it is not interested in an escalation on the border. The terrorist organization sent such a message to Israel through Egypt after five rockets were fired at Ashkelon in January. That particular barrage led to a conference meeting of the numerous Palestinian factions, in which participants were told they must maintain restrain to prevent further Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The meeting ended with the understanding that all factions were committed to the restraint tactic, though that very night a rocket was fired from the Strip. Hamas was furious with the launchers, who most likely belonged to Islamic Jihad, and the movement announced that it will aggressively operate against anyone who tries to launch rockets towards Israel.
Ask any clueless "Middle East expert" what Israel needs to do to minimize rocket and other terror attacks:

1) Withdraw from territory
2) Negotiate a peace agreement
3) Maintain an uncompromising military posture that the Palestinian Arabs respect

The gap between the truth and the conventional wisdom is more like a canyon.
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