יום שישי, 14 במרץ 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Purim music video: "The Haman Remembrance"

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 05:30 PM PDT

Probably a bunch of copyright violations here, but for a local synagogue video, this is surprisingly good.

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03/13 Links Pt2: UNRWA Only Blames Israel; PM Cameron- 1/6 of NHS Medicines are Israeli

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PDT

From Ian:
Raheem Kassam: Cameron Talks a Good Talk on Israel, But do his Promises Stack Up?
While Cameron said Britain opposes boycotts of Israel, a number of UK universities still target the Jewish State, and Britain has not once spoken out against the United Nations' bias against Israel.
Furthermore, Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) still routinely works with organisations that are overtly hostile to Israel, and advocate one-state solution as well as boycotts. This needs to be stamped out if Cameron can truly stake a claim to his comment that "delegitimising the State of Israel is wrong. It is abhorrent, and together we will defeat it."
The mainstay of anti-Israel sentiment within the British government comes not from Left-wing MPs either, but mainly the FCO. Previously, FCO staffers have been found to be overtly pro-Palestinian, and even the Foreign Minister, Alistair Burt, was set to speak at an anti-Israel Friends of Al-Asqa event at the Conservative Party Conference last year.
Cameron's Knesset Speech: Closer to Australia and Canada than Obama
Whereas Obama has threatened Israel that it will become more internationally isolated, Cameron asserted, "No more excuses for the 32 countries who refuse to recognize Israel," and described as "outrageous" and "ridiculous" the lectures Israel receives at the UN. And Cameron also broke with Obama doctrine, and no doubt the thinking of his own diplomatic service, by refuting the notion that Israel and the absence of an agreement with the Palestinians is causing the problems in the region. Rather, Cameron spoke at considerable length about the "poison" of Islamism. A peace agreement would not stop Iran, noted Cameron, and he stressed that he was not "starry-eyed about the new regime" and shared Israel's "skepticism" on that front.
If the attitude expressed in this speech were implemented as British policy, then Cameron would rightfully earn himself a place alongside Stephen Harper, Australia's Tony Abbott and Julie Bishop, and the English speaking leaders of the West. Meanwhile Obama is earning himself a place alongside Martin Shulz and the Europeans.
Cameron wants to do business with Israel. No one cares what the 'boycott Israel' fanatics think
I doubt if David Cameron had time to scroll through Twitter before he left for Israel this morning. But if he had been on the lookout for Israel-related tweets, he couldn't have failed to notice the hashtag #BDS.
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel makes a lot of noise. Twitter is awash with #BDS tweets, implying that the extremists who demand that the West stop buying goods produced by Jews are in the ascendancy.
The reality is rather different.
Bilateral trade between the UK and Israel is booming to an extent never before imagined. Last year it was estimated by the FCO at £5.1 billion. Growth is accelerating every year.
BDSers: here's your chance for martyrdom
Speaking today to the Knesset in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Cameron denounced the anti-Israel BDS movement and noted:
"[Israeli technology] is providing Britain's National Health Service with one in six of its prescription medicines through Teva and it has produced the world's first commercially available upright walking technology which enabled a British paraplegic woman to walk the 2012 London Marathon. And together British and Israeli technical expertise can achieve so much more."



In Knesset, Cameron pans 'abhorrent' attacks on Israel
British Prime Minister David Cameron, in an address to the Knesset Wednesday afternoon, stressed his country's backing for Israeli efforts to achieve peace and security, and promised his support in combating international attempts to boycott and sanction the Jewish state.
"Delegitimizing the State of Israel is wrong," he said. "It's abhorrent. And together we will defeat it."
"You have a British prime minister whose belief in Israel is unbreakable and whose commitment to Israel's security will always be rock-solid," Cameron pledged.
NGO Monitor: UK Funds Attempt to Sabotage Israel's Judicial System: Norwegian Refugee Council's $20 Million project initiates 677 cases
Jerusalem - Coinciding with UK Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to Israel this week, NGO Monitor is releasing its new report on how the UK, with the EU and other governments, is funding a major anti-Israel lawfare project of an NGO (non-governmental organization) known as the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), whose activities seek to sabotage the integrity of legal processes in Israel.
"While some UK funding for NGOs supports efforts to achieve a two-state solution, a number of NGO grants are highly damaging and unjustifiable. From 2011-2015, the UK provided £6 million to NRC, one of the largest single grants to any NGO in the region, used to pursue legal cases aimed at influencing Israeli policies, lobby for international sanctions against Israel, and support international campaigns of demonization" stated Prof. Gerald Steinberg, President of NGO Monitor. "With this UK funding, the NRC also launched an international campaign targeting the Canadian judiciary." (h/t Bob Knot)
It's a Miracle, Says IDF General: Middle Eastern Hatred Towards Israel is Declining
Israel Defense Forces Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amos Gilad said this week that a major geopolitical realignment is taking place in the Middle East, with countries that have traditionally displayed the greatest hostility towards Israel moderating their hard-line stance, Israel's Channel 2 reported.
"As far as I'm concerned, a miracle has occurred," said Gilad, currently the Director of Policy and Political-Military Affairs at Israel's Ministry of Defense.
Speaking recently at IDC Herzliya's Institute for Policy and Strategy, Gilad noted that most of the dramatic changes of late have taken place in Egypt and Turkey.
Only Israel to Blame In UNRWA's Eyes
UNRWA's deputy commissioner-general Margot Ellis writes on The Guardian's Comment is Free how the greater media focus on Syria has impacted UNRWA's fundraising ability for emergency projects for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank:
Aid money follows the cameras. Cameras follow conflict. Syria is no exception. …
Gaza hit the headlines during the upsurge in fighting in the winter of 2008-2009 and then again in November 2012. For a brief few days the cameras were there to capture the Israeli attack and the rockets that flew towards Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The West Bank is even more severely "news fatigued". The occupation, now more than 45 years old, is hardly a news story, some would say.
Ellis is effectively acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and aid agencies and the media. If UNRWA can only raise money on the back of media coverage of the conflict, is it any wonder that NGOs make so much effort to supply the media with one-sided reports bashing Israel?
Alan Dershowitz: Some hard questions about the Western European double standard against Israel
Why are so many of the grandchildren of Nazis and Nazi collaborators who brought us the Holocaust once again declaring war on the Jews?
Why have we seen such an increase in anti-Semitism and irrationally virulent anti-Zionism in western Europe?
To answer these questions, a myth must first be exposed. That myth is the one perpetrated by the French, the Dutch, the Norwegians, the Swiss, the Belgians, the Austrians, and many other western Europeans: namely that the Holocaust was solely the work of German Nazis aided perhaps by some Polish, Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Estonian collaborators.
EU Report Demonizes Israel as Threatening Regional Security
More to the point, the report's underlying claim about the blockade of such essential items is simply untrue. Not only have the restrictions on goods allowed into Gaza been greatly relaxed in recent years, there was never any blockade on such humanitarian items as medical supplies in the first place. Even during the intensity of the fighting of the 2009 war in Gaza, Israel held daily ceasefires for bringing such supplies into Gaza.
When flowers and fruits grown in Gaza are on sale in Europe, it is the height of European hypocrisy to claim that there is a "pressing humanitarian situation" and "increased food insecurity" in the Gaza Strip. Goods and people are allowed to cross between Israel and Gaza all the time. Weapons are not permitted into Gaza, nor are dual-use items that could be used for military purposes, which includes certain building materials—although Israel does permit building materials for internationally approved projects. But with little else to focus on, the report makes misleading claims about fuel supplies and bemoans Gaza's ailing construction industry.
Pink Floyd Co-Founder Roger Waters: I Can't Be an Anti-Semite, My Father Fought Nazis
In a strongly-worded open letter published Tuesday by The Telegraph, Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters once again denied being an anti-Semite, this time invoking his Nazi-fighting father.
The communique was addressed to British philanthropist Gerald Ronson, chairman of the Jewish Community Security Trust charity, in response to a speech Ronson gave last week in which he singled out Waters as being anti-Israel.
Artists Rock and Roll for Israel
Last year it was R&B singer Alicia Keys. This summer, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and rock band the Pixies all plan to perform in Israel.
Yet what much of the world doesn't know or realize, is that these and other performers who publicize their upcoming gigs in the holy land, are met with the wrath and scorn of the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) mob immediately upon doing so. The hate Israel crowd has been successful in dissuading the likes of many musicians over the past few years including big names like Carlos Santana, Elvis Costello, and Annie Lennox.
Yet with news of more and more performers boycotting the boycotters and standing up against the haters of Israel, the tide is turning.
Palestinians fire 90 rockets from Gaza in one hour into Israel during Cameron's visit ... not considered newsworthy in the UK
And so it starts again. Between 55 and 90 rockets were fired by Islamic Jihad against Israeli towns. But even though this was shortly after David Cameron addressed the Knesset today** the story of this barrage is apparently not important enough to be reported on any of the 24-hours news channels in the UK. That will, of course, change as soon as Israel responds*** and we will get the usual condemnation of Israel
**Rather ironically Cameron actually said in his speech that Israel "has already seen 38 missiles from Gaza this year alone" So that number was more than trebled within hours.
BBC News amplifies Palestinian Islamic Jihad's PR line on attacks against Israeli civilians
The report opens with more use of the euphemistic term "militants" to describe terrorists deliberately targeting civilians with military-grade weapons and – perhaps through force of habit – it is liberally peppered with the standard BBC caveat "Israel says", despite the fact that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was both quick and eager to take responsibility for the missile fire. Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade also put out statements, including one claiming four missile attacks on Sderot.
Iran weapons ship causes greater stir in Arab world than West
It was actually the Arab media that elaborated on the display of weaponry. Al-Jazeera placed the event on its front page, under the headline "Israel attacks the hypocrisy surrounding the weapon seizure". It also quoted Netanyahu's speech and provided a detailed list of the weapons on the ship.
The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya posted a wires story about the ship, while its correspondent Ziad Halabi attended the event in Eilat. According to Halabi, "the press conference doesn't change anything, as most of the Arab world is aware of the Iranian support for terror, and opposes it."
Walk-in tunnels to boost vegetable produce in Gujarat
Having tasted success with poly houses and net houses, the Gujarat government is now going ahead with promoting protected vegetable cultivation through walk-in tunnels.
These tunnels will be promoted by a centre of excellence for vegetable cultivation being established under the second Indo-Israel Working Project near Prantij in Sabarkantha district of north Gujarat. Two other such centres are also being established with technical assistance from Israel at Talala and Kutch for mango and date palm cultivation. These centres are being set up to help farmers take to applied research, something missing in the Gujarat scenario. The centre in Prantij is spread over 20 hectares and 11 of these are being used for vegetable cultivation.
Masters of the child animation universe
What's bouncy, candy-colored, and has over 1 billion views on YouTube? An Israeli-made animation series for kids, that's what.
When Yossi Dahan's first-born child was born, he did what most new parents do: dive head-first into the color-soaked, baby-talk loaded world of children's video and television programs. What he found was dizzying, and not in a good way.
Auschwitz metal stamps used by Nazis for tattooing discovered in Poland
Metal stamps with embedded needles that the SS once used to tattoo inmates at the notorious Nazi death camp at Auschwitz have been discovered in Poland.
The find has been hailed by the Auschwitz museum, which now stands on the site of the camp, as one "of the most significant in years" as it was thought no original tattooing equipment survived the war.
SS soldiers used the small stamps, consisting of a two, two threes and a six or a nine, to tattoo inmates as they were processed on their arrival at the camp in German-occupied Poland. (h/t Elder of Lobby)
New Anne Frank theater to open in Amsterdam
A new theater dedicated to the story of Anne Frank is slated to open in the Dutch capital ahead of the 70th anniversary of the teenage diarist's deportation and death.
The new theater, which is in the final stages of construction, was first shown to media on Wednesday and will feature a permanent show titled ANNE that was developed at the request of the Basel-based Anne Frank Foundation — a not-for-profit organization founded in 1963 by Anne Frank's father, Otto Frank. The Anne Frank Foundation is the sole owner of copyrights of writings of the Frank family including the hugely famous diary of Anne Frank from her days in hiding in Amsterdam.
US Holocaust Museum gets $10 million for Shoah studies
The museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies will be renamed the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies and will concentrate on Holocaust studies throughout the world. The center sponsors new Holocaust scholarships, training new scholars in the discipline.
"The Mandel family generously helped establish the museum in its early years, and now through this campaign gift they are helping us lay the foundation for the institution's future, ensuring the permanence of Holocaust memory, relevance, and understanding," said Museum Director Sara Bloomfield.
Fighting for the Right to Serve: Israeli Christians Brave Arab Opposition to Enlist
It's not a good time to be a Christian in the Middle East: a church was recently defaced in Gaza, Syrian Christians are fighting a war of survival against Jihadi groups, the Egyptian Coptic community is at an historic low point, and Nigerian Jihadists have killed over 200 in a vicious series of attacks – including schoolchildren murdered in their beds.
The Jewish State is the one bright spot, where the Christian community is experiencing the beginnings of a renaissance. Christians are increasingly enlisting in the IDF and National Service and fighting for appropriate government representation and equal rights. Among the pioneering voices in the Christian community is head of the Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum (ICRF), Father Gabriel Nadaf, whose movement can no longer be ignored.
Shadi Halul, a reserve paratroop officer and the movement's spokesman, told 'Mida' about the recent change in attitude among Israeli Christians:

The surprisingly pro-Israel Saudi media

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 01:00 PM PDT

From Mida:
It's a known fact that there is no free Arab press – only official or semi-official government newspapers. Of these, the London-based and Saudi-owned al-Sharq al-Awsat is known as a paper expressing the Saudi royal house's political line. There's been an interesting trend in the past few weeks in the pages of this important Arab daily: a series of articles with surprising attitudes towards Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The articles discuss various aspects of the conflict, but they share a common approach. Even if the articles were not come directly by the Saudi royal house, they were nevertheless published with their consent and do not contradict their political attitude.

Bakir Oweida is a Palestinian publicist based in London. Oweida writes regularly for al-Sharq al-Awsat on a variety of issues. He has been consistently moderate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; his criticism of the Palestinian leadership is authentic and not just a Saudi diktat. For instance, on the anniversary of Arafat's death he wrote an article against Abu-Ammar's legacy.

Now, in a far-reaching article entitled "Palestinian Recognition of Israel's 'Jewishness' – Why Not?", Oweida calls for nothing less than recognition of Israel as a Jewish State:

Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that there is official Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish State. Well, what will happen afterwards? What will happen the next day? Will an uproar break out in the Arab world, and after them the Muslim world? Or worse, will the 'Mother of all wars' break out and Planet Earth burn after atomic bombs are launched from the Dimona warehouses and the Pakistani safehouses?

The political uproar which will break out in the Arab world…if it breaks out, in response to official Palestinian recognition of one of the inventions of Israel's extremist rulers, that is 'Israel as a Jewish state', will not go beyond verbal activity and demonstrations which will fill the streets, and throats going hoarse from shouting.

According to Oweida, recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would actually benefit the Palestinians in negotiations. According to him, from its founding until Benyamin Netanyahu ("the deceiver"), the State of Israel has relied on Palestinian rejectionism to "save it from embarrassment before the countries of the world." Oweida argues that Israel has greatly benefited from Palestinian rejectionism and their fear of dealing with challenges.

He dismisses the argument that recognition of Israel as Jewish would "open the door to expulsion of Palestinians in Israel to Jordan," and explains that he doesn't understand why there is such a great fear of change:

After all, the PLO already recognized Israel in its pre-'67 borders. Therefore, if the Palestinian side agrees to the Israeli demand, thus showing the demanding side (Israel) in a negative light, such a decision would not change what is seen as Palestine, that is the territorial framework, in which all members of the monotheistic faiths will live peacefully.

...

If we're already on the subject of criticism of the Palestinian leadership, we can't help but mention the fierce critique of another al-Sharq al-Awsat writer, Huda al-Husseini. Al-Husseini, a professional journalist and commentator, specializes in Iranian and European affairs and also apparently has ties with Saudi intelligence.

In the opening of an article analyzing John Kerry's involvement in negotiations, she wonders aloud why the world and the Palestinians are silent in light of the horrific hunger in the al-Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria ("there has been no protest or demand to lift the siege by the PA or Hamas"). Palestinian leaders, al-Husseini sarcastically notes, are dealing with bigger problems and believe the al-Yarmouk problem will be solved with the fulfillment of the Right of Return.

As for the negotiations themselves, al-Husseini notes the statements of Saeb Erekat in 2009, in which he admitted that Israel offered it 100% of the territories and that Israel's position is constantly weakening. Who, then, is not interested in an agreement?, she wonders. After all, most Israelis are interested in the two-state solution.

Then she attacks the rejectionism of the Palestinian leadership, blaming it for the present impasse:

What is taking place in the region after the 'Arab Spring' refutes the argument that stability in the Middle East will come through a solution to the Palestinian problem. This problem does not have priority, and there are those who believe the Syrian situation is more serious and important than the Palestinians' situation.

...At the end of the article, al-Husseini quotes a senior Western official who also expressed his opinion on the Palestinian leadership:

The Palestinians need leaders who live their lives and tribulations and are interested to rescue it in some way. Now on the other hand we see one of their leaders who insists on playing chess every day at 4 PM.

...

As was already mentioned, there is no media outlet in the Arab world that does not serve some political master, and it is therefore no coincidence that no less than four columnists in a leading Arab paper were allowed to express such unconventional opinions. It's hard to ignore the feeling one gets upon reading the articles: this is a clear Saudi signal to Israel and the West.

We can try and complete the puzzle by looking at Saudi interests in the region...Any way you look at it, everything Saudi Arabian officials see as a threat are also a threat to Israel, and thus both sides' interests are aligned. This alignment is particularly strong, precisely because there are a number of basic interests and not just the Iranian issue. This is a new situation and there is of course no guarantee that it will last for long, but meanwhile Saudi decision makers have decided to act based on immediate critical interests. This is not a surprise as Saudi Arabia is a master of realpolitik in the fullest sense of the term.

None of this means that the Wahhabi Kingdom is pro-Zionist: it is consistent and clear in its ultimate goal of survival first and foremost. But as such, the Saudi Kingdom is not, and has never been, a radical state. Indeed, we have before us a number of major publicists employed by the Saudis who are very far from radical and who express opinions supporting peace and not the standard anti-Israel vilification common to the Arab media.

Between the lines, the Saudis are sending a clear message of pragmatic conciliation. The appropriate authorities in Israel would do well to heed its call.
Read the whole thing.

Hamas starts to blame Egypt for dead babies (UPDATE)

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:00 AM PDT

The Hamas-oriented Felesteen news site reports on Ahmed Amar Abu Nahale, a three year old boy with an enlarged liver and heart who was supposed to be treated in Turkey, but who died waiting for the Rafah crossing with Egypt to open.

This is, according to the article, the second death during the current closure. Rafah was open for two days this week for pilgrims but possibly not for patients.

There is an interesting dynamic going on. Most so-called "pro-Palestinian" groups, and NGOs, downplay Egypt's closure of Gaza and emphasize Israel's "blockade" on travel and goods. Of course, Hamas and the other terror groups would lend their support for the cause of inciting against Israel.

Now, Hamas - stung by Egypt's treatment of the terror group - has made a decision to treat Egypt the same way it treats Israel, as an antagonist. It is  trying to use the same tactics Palestinian Arabs traditionally used against Israel.

The result is that Israel's perceived evil is becoming diluted, as the fact that Arabs treat Palestinians worse that Israel does becomes more common knowledge.

The people caught in the middle are the so called "pro-Palestinian" activists, who reluctant to blame Lebanon and Egypt and Jordan for how badly those countries treat PalArabs. They want to keep Israel as the only bogeyman who is responsible for the deaths of cute innocent babies, because if the truth comes out, the entire house of cards falls - people will start to place the proper blame on Arab leaders as well as Palestinian Arab leaders who have used millions of people as pawns for 65 years.

No child has died waiting to get a permit to cross into Israel, as far as I know, even when Hamas was shooting rockets Two deaths of children in only a few weeks because of Egypt is the sort of story that would hurt the Israel haters' cause.

Which is one reason why even the Arab media will not be publishing these sorts of stories in English anytime soon.

The cracks in the anti-Israel narrative - which always depended on never, ever placing things in context or comparison with any other country - are starting to show, even among the most die-hard Israel haters.

UPDATE: There is actually video of the baby while he is dying, and a professionally made video of the family mourning him.

The episode was planned ahead of time. Not that the baby wasn't dying anyway, but someone in Gaza saw an opportunity to make news with the dying baby and his family as props.

03/13 Links Pt1: The Palestinians' Real Enemies; Gaza Missiles are Palestinian State in Practice

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

From Ian:
Efraim Karsh: The Palestinians' Real Enemies
Had Israel lost the war, its territory would have been divided among the invading Arab forces. The name Palestine would have vanished into the dustbin of history. By surviving the pan-Arab assault, Israel has paradoxically saved the Palestinian national movement from complete oblivion.
Manipulating the Palestinian Cause Having helped drive the Palestinians to national ruin, the Arab states continued to manipulate the Palestinian national cause to their own ends. Neither Egypt nor Jordan allowed Palestinian self-determination in the parts of Palestine they occupied during the 1948 war. Upon occupying the biblical lands of Judea and Samaria, Abdullah moved to erase all traces of corporate Palestinian Arab identity.
On April 4, 1950, the territory was formally annexed to Jordan to be subsequently known as the "West Bank" of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. Its residents became Jordanian citizens, and they were increasingly integrated into the kingdom's economic, political, and social structures. And while Egypt showed no desire to annex the occupied Gaza Strip, this did not imply support of Palestinian nationalism or of any sort of collective political awareness among the Palestinians. The refugees were kept under oppressive military rule, were denied Egyptian citizenship, and were subjected to severe restrictions on travel. "The Palestinians are useful to the Arab states as they are," President Gamal Abdel Nasser candidly responded to an enquiring Western reporter. "We will always see that they do not become too powerful. Can you imagine yet another nation on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean!" Had these territories not come under Israel's control during the June 1967 war, their populations would have lost whatever vestiges of Palestinian identity they retained since 1948. For the second time in two decades, Israel unwittingly salvaged the Palestinian national cause.
CAMERA: Where's the Coverage? "Jews Have Not Taken Anything by Force"
In 1936, a national leader wrote a letter. This is an excerpt:
…The situation of the Jews in Palestine being the strongest and most concrete proof of the importance of the religious problem among the Muslim Arabs toward anyone who does not belong to Islam. Those good Jews, who have brought to the Muslim Arabs civilization and peace, and have spread wealth and prosperity to the land of Palestine, have not hurt anyone and have not taken anything by force, and nevertheless the Muslims have declared holy war against them and have not hesitated to slaughter their children and their women despite the fact that England is in Palestine and France is in Syria. Therefore a black future awaits the Jews and the other minorities if the Mandate is cancelled and Muslim Syria is unified with Muslim Palestine. This union is the ultimate goal of the Muslim Arabs…
Who wrote this?
Suleiman Assad, the grandfather of Syria's dictator Bashir al Assad, father of the previous dictator Hafez al Assad.
The Palestinian narrative: The missing link in the 'peace process'
It is essential to understand how Palestinian Arabs think and what they believe. The Palestinian Arab national identity is almost exclusively defined by negating the Israeli narrative, including Israel's legitimate right to exist as a Jewish state, with precious few positive Palestinian nationalistic qualities.
Palestinian Arabs mark their historical time by memorializing what others perpetrated upon them. The quintessential narrative marked in time is the "Nakba," the catastrophe of the creation of the State of Israel.
Delegitimizing Jewish historical connections to the land extends from mosques to school textbooks, from the PA press to the PA leadership.
They view the Jewish historical narrative as at best exaggerated, but more likely fabricated.



Jeffrey Goldberg, Jackson Diehl and Obama's Targeting of Israel
Abbas has said that he would never recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a recognition that Obama has himself acknowledged is necessary for any meaningful peace. Abbas has said he will not give up the so-called "right of return" of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Israel, a formula for the dissolution of the Jewish state. He has denied any Jewish connection to the land and insisted the Jews are mere colonial interlopers whose state is illegitimate. He has praised murderers of Israeli civilians as heroes who should be emulated and has overseen the naming of schools, sports teams, and other public entities in their honor. He has presided over an education system that teaches all of "Palestine" – meaning the West Bank, Gaza and Israel – properly belongs to the Palestinians and that Palestinian children must dedicate themselves to liberating it from the Jews and eradicating the Jewish state.
Yet when Obama declared, "I believe that President Abbas is sincere about his willingness to recognize Israel and its right to exist," and offered other comments in the same vein, Goldberg mustered no question invoking the counter-evidence. On the contrary, he essentially endorsed the president's ludicrous assessment and only raised the question of whether Abbas could deliver, despite his good intentions: "Abu Mazen [Abbas] – all these things you say are true, but he is also the leader of a weak, corrupt and divided Palestinian entity… Do you think he can deliver more than a framework agreement?" (h/t Bob Knot)
What lies behind PA refusal to recognize Jewish state?
Peter Beinart, one of Israel's most hateful critics in the radical Jewish Left in the US, admitted recently that "every Palestinian I know considers political Zionism itself a racist ideology built upon ethnic cleansing. In that sense, when Jewish hawks say Palestinians oppose not only Israeli control over Hebron, but Israeli control over Tel Aviv, they're absolutely right."
Even if this bitter truth interests the majority of the Israeli Left like yesterday's news, the more realistic public in Israel realizes that behind the Palestinian insistence lies an organized ideology of refusing to accept Israel, even in the 1948 borders, and to the same extent – a hidden intention to flood it with refugees. Therefore, binding the Palestinians in a public and contractual recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is a minimum, elementary and justified demand.
Knesset passes first Basic Law in 22 years: Referendum on land concessions
The referendum law, which passed in the previous Knesset and is now a Basic Law, requires a referendum on any treaty that entails giving up land to which Israeli law applies, including the Golan Heights and east Jerusalem but not the West Bank.
However, if more than 80 MKs support the treaty, it can be ratified without a referendum, and if fewer than 61 MKs back the treaty, it will be rejected without the nation voting on it.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed unequivocal support for the law.
'If talks not extended, there may not be another prisoner release'
"If [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] does not agree to extend negotiations with Israel for an additional year, it's possible that the fourth round of prisoner releases will not be carried out," Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri (Yesh Atid) told Israel Hayom, in a special interview to be published in full on Friday.
"If a crisis in the talks emerges and the Americans and Israelis reach the conclusion at the end of nine months that an extension is unanticipated, it will mean the talks have failed," he said. "Then, it is certainly possible that there won't be any more prisoner releases."
Gaza Missiles: Palestinian State in Practice
Even more to the point, the theoretical arguments about a Palestinian state tend to ignore the fact that one currently exists in all but name in Gaza. There, a Hamas government continues its tyrannical Islamist rule over more than a million people with no interference from Israel other than the imposition of a loose blockade on the strip (food, medicine, and other essential items enter it daily from Israel). But as today's barrage of missile fire aimed at southern Israel from Gaza shows, this Palestinian state presents a clear and present danger to both the Jewish state and regional stability. While no casualties resulted from the 50 rockets fired from Gaza, the incident not only terrorized southern Israel. It also demonstrated the inherent danger that an irredentist Palestinian state where armed terrorists are free to plan mayhem poses to Israel's security. While peace activists claim all problems will be solved by Israeli territorial withdrawals, the example of Gaza, where every single settlement, soldier, and individual Jew was pulled out in 2005, continues to operate as a powerful argument against repeating the experiment in the West Bank as much of the world insists Israel must do.
Southern Israel Residents Describe Trauma and Fear of Day Under Rocket Fire
Residents of southern Israel described their trauma and fear on Wednesday when at least 60 rockets were fired into their neighborhoods from the Gaza Strip, Israel's Walla reported.
"We ran like crazy to reinforced rooms at the supermarket – and then we heard some booms, one after another," said Meira, a high school teacher from Sha'ar HaNegev who was shopping at the time of the onslaught. "It brought me back to times of constant firing in Operation Pillar of Defense [2012]. I was hit in 2007 by a Qassam that fell at school… Even if I want to stay calm, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder responds to this situation… It is impossible not to worry."
Islamic Jihad tries to drag Hamas, and Israel, into escalation
For Islamic Jihad, the rockets fired Wednesday were an excellent means to embarrass Hamas, in order to prove that it sets the agenda in Gaza, while Hamas has neglected jihad and resistance in favor of power.
Islamic Jihad had immediately recognized the public unrest across the territories following the killing this week of five Palestinians (the Gaza trio, as well as two in the West Bank — a Jordanian-Palestinian judge at the Allenby Bridge crossing, and a teen who was shot while throwing stones). The organization, apparently backed by Iran, wishes to establish itself as the new face of the resistance. Statements it issued hours after the rocket onslaught indicate that it is now focused on fashioning itself as the Palestinians' new protectors.
Islamic Jihad in Hebrew - 'Get out of our country'
In a Youtube video posted on Wednesday night after a barrage of more than 40 rockets from Gaza fell in Israel, a member of the Islamic Jihad threatened the IDF against invading Gaza.
"Al-Quds Brigades is ready for your invasion and if you come there will be no other option than for you to die or become prisoners," the anonymous jihadist, laden in head-to-toe black, read from a piece of paper.
"You wont ever have security in 'our' country. Don't sacrifice your life for your leaders. We are inviting you to get out of our country and search for a new country," he added.
Islamic Jihad announces ceasefire with Israel
The Islamic Jihad movement said on Thursday that a truce had gone into effect to halt a spiraling confrontation with Israel. "An Egyptian-brokered truce went into effect at 2:00 pm," Islamic Jihad spokesman Daud Shihab told AFP.
There was no immediate confirmation from Israel, and an Israeli official said he was "not familiar" with any ceasefire arrangement.
Islamic Jihad's announcement came shortly after the IDF said it had launched another airstrike on Gaza in response to several rockets fired from the Strip earlier in the day toward the coastal cities of Ashkelon and Ashdod.
In Gaza, a host of bad options for Israel
There is no martial solution to the situation in Gaza. The army could, albeit with a small but painful price in blood, effectively topple the Hamas government in a matter of hours and seize control of the Gaza Strip in a matter of days. But then what? As Maj. Gen. (res) Avi Mizrachi said on Army Radio on Thursday morning, "Who would we give the keys to?" Who would rule? And does anarchy serve Israel's interests more than a
Professor Uzi Rabi, the director of Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, perceives Gaza as a microcosm of the Middle East – a place where central control is dwindling and small terror squads have the ability to dictate the outbreak of war.
PM to Cameron: Israel waiting to hear Abbas condemnation of rocket fire
Netanyahu, who was visiting the pharmaceutical giant Teva's headquarters in Jerusalem with his British counterpart, said that at a time when Teva's plant in Ashdod was manufacturing medicine that is transferred to the Gaza Strip, "they are firing rockets from there on innocent Israelis."
"You are going to visit President Abbas shortly," Netanyahu said to Cameron. "He has not condemned the firing of rockets on our citizens. How can you not condemn the firing of rockets on innocent civilians. He did, however, condemn Israel for responding and shooting three terrorists who fired mortars at us. That he did condemn."
Abbas Blames Israel for Gaza Escalation
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday blamed Israel for the latest escalation in Gaza.
In a statement issued by his spokesman and quoted by Reuters, Abbas urged to put an end to what he called "Israeli military escalation in the Gaza Strip."
The statement did not condemn the Islamic Jihad and the other Gaza-based terrorists that have been firing rockets at southern Israel for years. The Islamic Jihad earlier on Wednesday fired a barrage of 60 rockets at southern Israel.
Cameron: Rocket attacks 'barbaric'
Cameron noted that this most recent spate of rocket fire was an important reminder of the security threats confronting Israel. Declaring his complete condemnation of the attacks, Cameron added that they were completely indiscriminate, "which demonstrates how barbaric they are."
US Condemns 'Reprehensible' Rocket Attacks
"The United States condemns in the strongest terms today's rocket attacks into Israel by terrorists from the Gaza Strip," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. "It is reprehensible that dozens of rockets have been fired today alone. There is no justification for such attacks."
"We call for these terrorist attacks to cease immediately. Israel, like any nation, has a right to defend itself," Psaki added.
Video Shows How Terrorists Fired From Civilian Areas
The footage, which was posted on a Hamas-linked Facebook page, shows the challenges often faced by the Israeli military in responding to such attacks whilst avoiding civilian casualties.
It illustrates what Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, have often referred to as a "double war-crime": the firing of rockets against Israeli civilians, whilst using the Palestinian Arab civilian population in Gaza as cover, and in the hope that any Israeli response will draw condemnation for striking a civilian area.
Palestinians Upset IDF Gaza Action Caused No Civilian Casualties (satire)
Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders made similar statements. "We are not interested in escalation if we will be unable to showcase our injured and decry the Zionist monster's immoral behavior," said Hamas spokesman Ziad Abu Ramzi.
"The Islamic Resistance cannot accept a Zionist attack that does not result in multiple women and children killed or bloodily injured," echoed cell commander Ahmad Jbaili. He said his organization would redouble its efforts to engineer the deaths of Palestinian civilians, a feat that their own technology cannot accomplish as efficiently as they desire. "The Zionist blockade is unfortunately effective," he noted, referring to Israeli efforts to cut off arms smuggling to militant groups.
In Israel, military planners were discussing nefarious ways of continuing to deprive their opponents of dead children.
Rockets Evidently Desperate To Escape Gaza Strip (satire)
An unknown number of rockets have failed to launch properly; analysts put the figure at anywhere from 30 to 80 percent. Those that fail are condemned to remain within the confines of the Gaza Strip in perpetuity, but the attempt to leave by air is the only available avenue out.
Last week Israel's navy rescued a shipment of Syrian-manufactured missiles being sent by Iran to the Gaza Strip via Sudan. The hundreds of missiles and other armaments were taken to Israel's southern port of Eilat, where Israeli officials arranged for foreign military attaches and dignitaries to meet the missiles and to discuss the tens of thousands of others desperate to escape the regimes of Iran, Syria, Hamas, and Hezbollah.
Israel slams Ashton's silence over Iranian arms smuggling
Although Netanyahu did not mention her name in Eilat, from earlier statements it has become clear that his criticism was meant for EU commissioner Catherine Ashton who was in Iran on the same day Netanyahu made his statements. Ashton who is always the first to criticize Israel over building in settlements and Jerusalem, kept mum on the latest Iranian attempt to smuggle weapons to Gaza.
During the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said he would like to ask Ashton "if she asked her Iranian hosts about this shipment of weapons for terrorist organizations". Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz was even blunter in his criticism of Ashton. He told reporters that he would have expected the EU commissioner to either cancel or postpone her first trip to Iran since 2008.
He said that 'the Iranian government was caught here in the very grave act of smuggling heavy missiles to terrorist organizations in Gaza, while abrogating all the UN resolutions that clamp an arms embargo to and from Iran'. He said that in this situation Ashton should have refrained from going to talk to the Iranians.
IRGC Deputy Commander: We Are Ready for to Annihilate Israel in the Future


Jordanian parliament threatens to topple government if it doesn't expel Israeli ambassador
The Jordanian House of Representatives has issued an ultimatum: comply with demands to punish Israel over the killing of Raed Za'eiter at the Allenby Bridge by Tuesday or else it will vote to topple the government.
The lower house of parliament demanded on Wednesday that Jordan expel Israel's ambassador; withdraw Jordan's envoy in Israel; and release former army soldier Ahmed Daqamseh, who murdered seven Israeli schoolgirls in 1997 at the Island of Peace (Naharayim) on the border.
Members of parliament also called for the release of all Jordanians and Palestinians in Israeli jails as well as bringing Za'eiter's killers to the International Criminal Court. In addition, they called for Jordanian- Palestinian control of the Palestinian side of the Jordan River border crossing.
If the demands are not met by Tuesday, there will be a vote of no-confidence in the government in Amman, according to the threats.
PMW: Song on PA TV: "With the rifle we will impose our new life"



PA TV celebration of released murderer's wedding VIDEO

PA minister sings song: "Palestine" includes Haifa, Safed, Tiberias, and other Israeli cities VIDEO

UN experts say Libyan arms fueling conflicts
Since civil war ousted longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the experts said "Libya has become a primary source of illicit weapons."
In a report to the UN Security Council obtained Wednesday, the panel of experts said it is investigating the alleged transfer of weapons to 14 countries in violation of a UN arms embargo.
The experts said they have documented the transfer of Libyan shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles to terrorist groups in Mali and Tunisia, and to others in Chad, Lebanon and "potentially" the Central African Republic.

Invasion of the Zionist persimmons

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 07:00 AM PDT

From Saudi Gazette:
The Qurayyat Municipality is on alert after its team confiscated from the local fruit market 140 kg of kakis (the Japanese persimmons) that had Israeli stickers, a section of the Arabic press reported on Tuesday.

The head of the municipality's environment health department, Abdulaziz Al-Musaed, said the municipality acted on information that the Israeli-produced fruit was being sold in the market.

"The municipality team conducted a surprise inspection after the closing hours of the fruit market and confiscated the fruit boxes that originated from Israel," he said. He added the municipality has notified the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

"The Saudi Food and Drug Authority was also notified. It inspected the fruit and confirmed that such fruit is not allowed in the Kingdom," he added.

Al-Musaed noted that all shops were warned against dealing with fruit vendors who do not know the origin of the produce.

The head of Qurayyat Municipality, Ali Al-Shammari, said the local authority does not know how such fruit entered the country, especially as it carried a sticker stating its origin. A source at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said communications are ongoing with concerned bodies to find out how the fruit entered the country and whether it was a single shipment or several.
The sticker indeed says "Product of Israel."

It is true that Israel exports persimmons - usually under the Sharon name, which is what one would expect to see on a sticker. And not in Arabic.

In all probability, this is  a prank. Everyone knows that any Israeli product that supposedly makes it to a Gulf country causes headlines, so any mischievous Saudi teenager with an inkjet printer can print these off and stick them on random fruit.

Alternatively, this could be a deliberate attempt by another fruit store to close down a competitor.

Either way, seeing Saudis freak out over supposed Israeli fruit is almost as much fun as watching Electronic Intifada writers freak out over a cargo service that may or may not handle settlement produce.

It is like five year olds running away at the thought of getting cooties.

(h/t Ibn Boutros, plus correction in translation)

Video of Arafat accepting Israel as a Jewish state

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 05:00 AM PDT

Last month I mentioned Haaretz had an interview of Arafat where he accepted Israel as a Jewish state.

It turns out that Arafat said it on video as well. In English.

)

Unfortunately I don't know when or where this was taken, but combined with the Haaretz report, it is undeniable.

So who will be the one to ask Abbas about this?

(h/t IPT via MargieinTelAviv)

Terror rocket update: Iran's fingerprints, Hamas' ambivalence, Fatah's support, video of rockets shot from populated areas

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:02 AM PDT

Where is Islamic Jihad's leader while his group is shooting scores of rockets to Israel?

Iran.

Ramadan Shallah was already in Iran discussing ways to strengthen Islamic Jihad's ties with the regime. Interestingly, there were reports before this escalation that Hamas leader Khaled Meshal was snubbed in his attempt to meet Iranian leaders while Shallah was already there and being feted. (The article was in the anti-Hamas Palestine Press Agency, and I cannot find it today.)

From all indications, IDF responses to the rocket attacks have been aimed exclusively at Islamic Jihad, not at Hamas targets. Even so, Hamas leaders have abandoned their headquarters.

But what is remarkable is Hamas' ambivalent response to the Israeli attacks.In Palestine Times, one of their media outlets, they do a "survey" of Gazans' reactions to the Islamic Jihad rocket barrage, and they find that some people think that a military response at this time is unwise! Moreover, at the Qassam Brigades website, a Hamas MP is quoted as saying that a "limited resistance does not mean weakness."

In the past, Hamas and Islamic Jihad worked hard to paper over their differences and when one decided to shoot rockets at Israel the other would join in. This is the first time I have seen such a large split between the two, although no one has started insulting the other one yet. It is also the first time I have ever seen Hamas publicly speaking against "resistance" while Israel is targeting sites in Gaza.

It is clear that Iran is fomenting this split, trying to increase Islamic Jihad's importance in Gaza at the expense of Hamas. It also proves that even those (like the EU)  who pretend that Hamas will ever unite with Fatah don't have a plan for how to handle other terror groups in Gaza dedicated to destroying Israel, especially state-backed terror groups like Islamic Jihad.

Three other groups have decided to join with Islamic Jihad, including Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades announced that they shot 8 rockets towards Israel, and they were joined by the National Resistance Brigades of the DFLP and the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades. Fatah's joining shows yet again that Fatah is not the "moderate" party that Westerners pretend it is. For years, Abbas has refused to dismantle that group, and yet clueless Wetsern diplomats still consider Abbas a moderate.

Finally, all those people who pretend to care about "international law" when discussing Israel never seem to want to apply that standard to Israel's sworn enemies.



Which shows that they never cared about international law to begin with.
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