יום רביעי, 19 במרץ 2014

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Boston Jewish organizations sponsor student trip to Arafat's grave

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 04:37 PM PDT

The Boston Jewish community sponsored a tour of Israel for Harvard University students called Israel Trek:
The inaugural Harvard College Israel Trek (Spring Break, March 14th- 23rd) will bring 50 Harvard undergraduate students to Israel in hopes of facilitating a nuanced first encounter with the country, its history, narratives, culture, politics and people. Student participants represent diverse religious, national, and cultural backgrounds, and are all leaders in various capacities on campus.

The Trek is being led by a dynamic team of Israeli undergraduates, and will draw on the narratives of its participants and leaders, placing a special emphasis on fostering meaningful personal relationships. This component will add a unique and personal dimension to this particular Israel experience.

Students will learn about Israeli history, culture, and politics. Some of the topics explored will include the hi-tech industry, the emerging cultural landscape, questions regarding religion and state, the peace process and Israel's geopolitical position in the region.

Israel Trek is made possible by the generous contributions of a number of family foundations and Boston's Combined Jewish Philanthropies. The Trek is supported by Harvard Hillel.
Sounds great, right? It is wonderful to give students the opportunity to see the side of Israel that they wouldn't otherwise be exposed to. The students are led by Israelis - Arabs and Jews - who know the country. The students who are on the trip are a very diverse group of undergraduates.

So why the hell did this trip, sponsored by Jewish organizations and Harvard Hillel, take the students to pose at the grave of a mass murderer of Jews?


Its wonderful to expose people to both sides of the story, but it is stupid to embrace the side of the story that wants to see you gone.  Israel Trek could have arranged for a few hours with an Arab tour guide in Judea and Samaria, or they could have given students a free day, or any number of other options. But to have supposed Jewish organizations arrange for a visit to a terrorist who was responsible, directly or indirectly, for the gruesome murder of thousands - and to take a photo of students smiling in the presence of such disgusting filth - is beyond belief.

News bulletin: People respect you more when you have some self respect. Telling the students that they are free to do what they want, but that the leaders of the trip find the idea of  paying respects to a terrorist is repugnant, is far preferable to promulgating the "all narratives are equally valid" idiocy that passes for enlightened opinion nowadays.

This is a sickness.

(h/t Daniel Mael at TruthRevolt)

03/18 Links Pt2: Israeli Arabs debunk apartheid myths; Purim Obama hoax fools Dutch media

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PDT

From Ian:
Israeli Arabs help to debunk apartheid myths
Bader, a 23-year-old Tel Aviv University student studying for his bachelor's in computer science and economics, said he met a number of people at U of T who were shocked to learn that Arabs live in Israel.
"I said, 'I'm living proof,'" he said, going so far as to converse with them in Arabic to convince them further.
"I've travelled a lot, and I've been called [names] when they learn that I'm from Israel," said Bader, a member of Israel's 125,000-strong Druze community.
"I see how Israel is misrepresented in the media… They're accusing Israel of apartheid… and you know it's not true, but if you don't stand up and say it's not true, a lot of people are going to believe these lies."
Heeb and his fellow WordSwap participants attended an IAW event last week at U of T, where he said he witnessed first hand that IAW organizers aren't interested in dialogue.
"I asked them a lot of questions, but they didn't answer any of them. They wanted to boycott Ben-Gurion University, so I said, 'Listen guys, Ben-Gurion University has the most Arab girls, Bedouin girls, studying there, more than [schools in] Arab countries.' I told them I was from the University of Haifa. I'm Arab. I'm doing my master's, and my faculty would not be able to exchange the knowledge that we have. But they didn't answer [me]," Heeb said.
Judy Feld Carr: If Jews Hadn't Left Syria it Would Have Been a Slaughter
Canadian humanitarian Judy Feld Carr, recognized last year in The Algemeiner's 'Jewish 100′ list for her work in rescuing Syria's Jewish community, told the Daily Beast that if Jews were stuck in Syria today, they would have been slaughtered.
"If they were there now, what would have happened? I know what would have happened. It would have been the slaughter of the Syrian Jewish community, that is for sure," Feld Carr said in an interview published on Monday.
For 28 years, Feld Carr worked secretly to smuggle some 3,228 Syrians out of the country to freedom. In addition to her operation, there was an airlift in 1992 organized by New York's Syrian Jewish community, with as many as 5,000 Syrian Jews flown out of Syria secretly. Feld Carr said that by 2001, when she concluded her work, there were only about 30 Syrian Jews left in the country; today that number is believed to be 11.
Former Lebanese President: Mideast Christian Exodus 'Approaching Biblical Proportions'
Gemayel, a Maronite Christian who served as president from 1982-1988 after taking over for his brother Bashir, who was assassinated during the bloody Lebanese Civil War—said at a speech sponsored by Christian Solidarity International that Middle East Christians in particular are fleeing the region "in an exodus approaching biblical proportions."
Specifically, Gemayel highlighted "church burnings, physical assaults and killings" in Egypt, "an onslaught of murder" in Iraq, and "a bloody-minded reign of terror" from "ultra-radical Islamists in regions of Syria where they have imposed their rule."



The Answer to BDS Bullies and 'Open Hillel'
Let there be no ambiguity about this: The BDS movement is rapidly reaching a point where its violent, anti-democratic rhetoric could easily transition to physical violence. Many BDS supporters look like vegan hipsters, but don't be deceived by appearances.
That is one of the many reasons why I was glad to learn of the emergence of a new Jewish student movement named "Safe Hillel." Founded by Boston University student Rafael Fils and Brandeis University student Daniel Mael, the group is a counterweight to the so-called "Open Hillel" movement—a group of leftwing Jewish students, including many anti-Zionists, who want campus Hillels to violate their established guidelines by hosting speakers who advocate BDS and other strategies that seek the destruction of Israel.
"The BDSers are bullies," Mael told me, in a refreshingly accurate and pithy summary of the nature of the boycott movement. "Why," he asked, "do they have to go after the one place where Jews feel comfortable, given the prevalence of anti-Zionism on campus?"
Supporting Neil Young and others against anti-Israel boycotters
There is a reason why Israel's tourism industry is booming – more people visited Israel last year than any other year – and why Facebook, Google and other big time companies keep buying up Israeli companies.
It's because Israel actually has something to offer that goes beyond sloganeering and absurdly false representations.
You go to the BDS page and what do you see?
"Allah Akbar" – "Down with Israel" – and a lot of hidden or deleted comments. Who wants to be a part of that? I expected some nastiness on our Facebook pages, but was committed to let the comments play themselves out.
Fighting BDS – Salon Sides with Roger Waters
Salon, one of the first magazines to appear exclusively on the Internet, has never been a friend of Israel, and its recent output on the Jewish state is decidedly pro-BDS. This week alone, the magazine published two pieces revolving around the two most prominent celebrities on either side of the BDS debate – pro-BDS Roger Waters and anti-BDS Scarlett Johansson.
Not surprisingly, Waters gets free space to promote BDS without comment while Johansson's support for SodaStream is referred to as "awful" by the magazine.
Guardian interviewer is incredulous at ScarJo's refusal to cave to BDS bullies
In a 2700 word March 16 cover story about Scarlett Johansson – titled "In Alien Territory" – published at The Observer (sister publication of the Guardian), roughly 600 words deal with the row involving the actress's decision to step down as Oxfam ambassador after the NGO criticized her for becoming global brand ambassador for SodaStream.
While Johansson acquitted herself quite well in the interview, conducted by Carole Cadwalladr, what most stands out is how even their media group's culture critics automatically become experts on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and adopt the Guardian narrative about the conflict.
Cadwalladr is a features writer for The Observer, and though it doesn't seem she's ever weighed in on the issues of BDS and Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria previously, she wasn't shy about boldly making it known which party is in the wrong.
Opinion: Thomas Friedman Never Knows When to Quit
New York Times writer Thomas Friedman has been an apologist for and defender of the Left since he wrote his magnum opus, "From Beirut to Jerusalem." He has constantly called for Israeli concessions, despite suicide bombings and showers upon showers of Hamas rockets.
Now, in an attempt to prop up one of America's weakest presidents, Friedman is at it again in his op-ed on Sunday, March 16, entitled, "The Three Faces of President Obama." The article does little to boost the President's sagging ratings and does even less to buff up his foreign policy escapades.
Only Israel is "Hard-Line" According to AP
While members of Israel's government have certainly questioned Abbas' readiness to make peace, does this make them "hard-line"? Does this make the entire government "hard-line"?
Granted, the coalition contains some members of parties such as Bayit Hayehudi and parts of the Likud who are adamantly opposed to making concessions to the Palestinians. However, the coalition's second largest party is the centrist Yesh Atid, which supports peace negotiations which are led by the Hatnua party's Tzipi Livni. Not to mention the Israeli PM Netanyahu who has publicly committed to a two-state solution.
So why then does the Associated Press use such lazy and inaccurate terminology? And why is Israel, which has repeatedly committed to making peace, portrayed as "hard-line" even when the Palestinian side has not moved one inch from its own zero-sum demands?
An evening with Dieudonne
The Quenelle, the fake graffiti, the Holocaust Pineapple, the support of Hezbollah (which I doubt 80% of the audience knew anything about), and the "I stick it in your eye" attitude, all from the safety of the 11th Arrondisement, all point to this general desire which underlies the latest casual forms of anti-Semitism: why or what we hate is unimportant, and we are ready to mix the icons of resistance with our own total lack of any meaning to create a feeling that we are against something, but never letting you know what: except that it has something to do with Jews, always useful for the purpose. The image that keeps returning to me is the bald door-guard in the Lavender Nation of Islam costume: he'll evoke the Nation of Islam but the Lavender colour of his bow tie and suit lets you know that he certainly doesn't believe that Elijah Mohammed is the messenger of God…
Europe Running Out Of Jewish Tombstones To Deface (satire)
Antisemitic vandals spray-painted swastikas and slogans all over the Jewish cemetery here last week, stoking worries among Europe's far-right leadership that they face a looming shortage of such sites to deface.
The desecration highlights the need to produce more Jewish graves as soon as possible, and maintain a steady supply, according to Gábor Vona, leader of Hungary's ultranationalist Jobbik party. "A favorite Hungarian pastime – and, I would say, one that has become popular all over the continent – is the desecration of Jewish graves. This crucial component of our culture is threatened by dwindling numbers of such tombs that remain unvandalized. The only solution is to provide more Jewish tombs, which unfortunately Europe has not been very good at doing in large numbers in recent decades." He promised that his party, which currently sits in the parliamentary opposition, would do all it can to ensure more Jewish graves.
Anti-Semitic Elmo Inspires 'Good Wife' Cameo
Well, not anti-Semitic Elmo himself—he was sentenced to a year in jail for trying to extort the Girl Scouts—but a fuzzy life-sized Times Square costumed bear based on him.
In the clip below, attorney Elsbeth Tascioni is visiting New York and excitedly takes a photo with the happy-looking bear when, to her surprise, he snarls that she's a "dirty stinking Jew."
Workmen's Circle Restores Defaced L.A. Mural
Hershl Hartman squinted in the late Friday afternoon sunlight at the south wall of the SoCal Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring building, a tired structure bravely holding down a corner of Los Angeles along the Jewish stretch of South Robertson Boulevard. A few weeks ago, someone spray-painted "Free Palestine" on this wall, defacing a mural commemorating the Jewish activist organization's 114-year history. Opposition spray-painters then replaced "Free" with a more aggressive four-letter word.
The dueling acts of vandalism have officially been classified as a hate crime and are now under investigation by the LAPD—but the members of the Workmen's Circle weren't going to wait for resolution before fixing the mess, and hired the original artist, Eliseo Art Silva, to restore the mural, which he originally painted in the 1990s.
US seeks to keep access open to Iraqi Jewish Archive
The US State Department is seeking avenues to make the Iraqi Jewish Archive continually accessible to Iraqi Jews living outside the country.
Until now, the State Department had been adamant that the archive, transferred to the United States for expert restoration, be returned to Iraq in June.
Netanyahu set to visit Australia in June
According to political blogger Tal Schneider, Netanyahu will visit Colombia and Mexico in April, and, two months later, head to Australia for an official visit, accompanied by a large delegation.
It will be Netanyahu's first official visit to Australia, a 24-hour flight away from Israel. Economics and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) has already visited the continent.
A government source would only confirm to The Times of Israel that Netanyahu and Abbott had met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, with both leaders expressing interest in visiting each-others' countries.
Israel Signs Digital Agreement With UK
Under the agreement, signed by Prime Minister's Office Director General Harel Locker and UK Chief Technology Officer Liam Maxwell, Israel will join a new British initiative, becoming one of the "D8" group of advanced digital countries.
Member nations are to enjoy an exchange of knowledge and cooperation in digital programs. Those who have already joined include South Korea, New Zealand, Estonia and Singapore.
Russian Internet Giant Buys Israeli 'Location-Finder' Startup
Leading Russian internet company Yandex has become the latest technology giant to invest in Israel's "Silicon Wadi", purchasing Israeli geolocation startup KitLocate.
KitLocate provides an energy-efficient alternative to other mapping and navigation software by only requesting users' locations when absolutely necessary, as opposed to on a consistent basis, thus saving battery-power.
Leave it to Israelis to reinvent the wheel
When a broken pelvis put Israeli farmer and inventor Gilad Woolf into a wheelchair for a few weeks, the bumpy ride wreaked havoc on his back, and he determined to improve wheelchair design with a suspension system to absorb shock.
After his initial idea – a hydraulic air cushion in the seat, like those in tractors – proved unsuccessful, he made the audacious decision to reinvent the wheel.
The result of his efforts, with encouragement and financing from Israel's RAD BioMed Accelerator and a team of experts, is called SoftWheel
Purim Obama hoax fools Dutch media
Holocaust survivors, widows, people with disabilities — they are all regulars at the Amsterdam office of the Dutch Jewish welfare organization JMW.
But a 20-minute visit to JWM by President Obama and his army of secret service agents?
Now that's news.
The prank fooled not only the Amsterdam television station AT5 and the Amsterdam FM radio station, but even the highbrow NRC Handelsblad daily, which, after reporting on it, issued a retraction and detailed explanation about the prank to readers of its online edition.
Negev river's rebirth caught on film
The dramatic rebirth of a Negev river was captured on video and posted online this week, giving people across the world the chance to witness an Israeli desert natural wonder.
In the footage, published March 14 and reported by Examiner.com, dozens of spectators stand by the dry bed of the Zin River waiting for the first wave to rush through after significant rainfall in nearby mountains.

Comparing Israel's and "Palestine's" national anthems (Zvi)

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 01:00 PM PDT

From Zvi, as a comment to this post:

It's very easy to see the difference between how Israelis / Jews and Palestinian Arabs feel about Israel, Jerusalem, the holy sites, freedom, democracy, humanity, hope and hatred.

Simply consider the two national anthems.

Israel's national anthem is Hatikva, The Hope. It contains the words (rough translation),

As long as in the heart,
a Jewish soul still yearns,
and on toward the east
an eye still looks toward Zion,
our hope is not lost,
the hope of 2000 years,
to be a free people in our land,
the land of Zion and Jerusalem.
…
Go, my people, return in peace to your land.
The balm in Gilead, your healer in Jerusalem,
your healer is God, the wisdom of His heart.
Go, my people, in peace; healing comes.
This song expresses the factual - historical and modern - personal, national, and spiritual relationship between Jews and the Land. It expresses this deep relationship, almost as a love song, rather than expressing a desire to harm others. It enshrines the desire to be "a free people in our land", to come in peace, to heal. It says nothing about preventing others - Druze, Arabs or others - from standing with Jews as free people in the land. It says nothing about weapons, and is not about war.

The Palestinian "national anthem" is entirely different. It is called "Fida'i", or "My Redemption". It contains a lot of violent nonsense. For example:

With my determination, my fire and the volcano of my vendetta
[a vendetta is "a very long and violent fight between two families or groups" or "a series of acts done by someone over a long period of time to cause harm to a disliked person or group"]
With the longing in my blood for my land and my home
[Actually, a huge flood of Arabs came as illegal immigrants during the British mandate, after the influx of Jews had begun to revive the local economy. They became squatters on land to which they did not have real titles, regardless of whether they have found a key somewhere. Many who claim "my land" and "my home" have little or no association with either.]
I have climbed the mountains and fought the wars
I have conquered the impossible, and crossed the frontiers
[This is silly, murderous nonsense. What mountains did the Palestinian Arabs ever climb? What have they conquered? The Palestinians have been on the losing side in ever single war that they fomented and in every single war in which they joined as junior partners. The only frontiers that Palestinian gunmen have ever crossed have been frontiers of morality: airplane hijacking, suicide bombing, bare-faced baby murdering and so on. ]
With the resolve of the winds and the fire of the weapons
[More violent nonsense. Notice that again, it's all about killing other people. The land itself means nothing, except as a prize to be gained. It is simply an endless battlefield, not a place to live in as free people, not a place to love, to heal, to bring to life.]
And the determination of my nation in the land of struggle
Palestine is my home, Palestine is my fire,
[Palestine is your delusion, your suicide bombing, your work accident. It is the altar on which you hysterically worship death. It is the place where you shoot Grad rockets at Israeli hospitals, even as these hospitals are working hard to heal Syrian, Jordanian and Palestinian Arabs. It is the place where you send men to murder babies, where you throw rocks at ambulances as they speed to save Arab lives, where you commit every sin in every holy book of every people on earth and then try to blame it on the Jews.]
Palestine is my vendetta and the land of withstanding.[Again with the vendetta. And withstanding? ]

The Palestinian national anthem is not about loving the land, not about building a state, not about olives growing or waters flowing or craftsmen working or builders building. It is about destroying the Jews because you hate the Jews. Without the Jews, the land has no value to you.

Why do you hate the Jews so much? Because the Jews - with love of life, with love of land, with an ancient lineage and modern skills, with a democratic government and a flourishing country, with a strong arm and a strong sense of ethics, with a love of healing and a love of truth, with real honor built from the ground up and respect long-earned among the wise - the Jews hold up a mirror to the worthless, violent, twisted, death-worshipping, terror-loving, libelous, corrupt, kleptocratic, ineffectual, hate-mongering, bigoted, vendetta-based, dishonorable society that you have built, step by step, over the last few decades under the leadership of some of the worst and most disgusting terrorists in the modern world. It's no wonder you, the Palestinians, prefer puffed-up fiction; you don't like to face the reality that every one of your travails stems from your vendetta, the fact that instead of loving the land and seeking ways to heal it, you hate the Jews and seek ways to murder us.

Your obsession is evil, and everything that grows from it will be evil, and any society founded upon this obsession will become more and more evil, from one generation to the next. Stop this madness, before it rips you apart. The Jews cannot rescue you from yourselves.

"Madonna flirting with the Jews from the toilet" - Arab media

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 11:00 AM PDT

For Purim, Madonna had dressed up as the Mother of Dragons from 'Game of Thrones" on Instagram with the message "Happy Purim!!!!! All Hail All Queens! ##certainty".

'

It seems to have gone over the heads of some people.

From Erem News:

A Picture of Madonna Flirting with the Jews from the Toilet

The American singer dresses up in strange clothes on the Jewish festival of Purim and published her picture on Instagram.

The global(ly famous) American singer Madonna flirted with her Jewish and Israeli fans with a picture on her personal account on Instagram, dressed up in strange clothes while sitting on the toilet.

...Strangely enough, that image impressed the media, especially the Jewish media, considering it a new idea that reflects the significance of their festival, as she offered her thanks to congratulate them on their holiday.


No, "toilet" was not a mistranslation of "throne."

Other Arab media copied the story as well.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

03/18 Links Pt1: Obama’s M.E. fallacy; Obama: Abbas Has ‘Consistently Renounced Violence’

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT

From Ian:
Caroline Glick: Why Obama will not change gears
Since its inception, the Iranian regime has been at war with the US. It has carried out one act of aggression after another. These have run the gamut from the storming of the US Embassy in Tehran and holding hostage US diplomats for 444 days, to the use of Lebanese and Palestinian proxies to murder US officials, citizens and soldiers in countless attacks over the intervening 35 years, to building a military presence in Latin America, to developing nuclear weapons.
And from its earliest days, the same Iranian regime has been courted by one US administration after another seeking to accommodate Tehran.
A similar situation obtains with the Palestinians. Like the Iranians, the PLO has carried out countless acts of terrorism that have killed US officials and citizens.
From the 1970 Fatah execution of the US ambassador and deputy chief of mission in Khartoum to the 2003 bombing of the US embassy convoy in Gaza, the PLO has never abandoned terrorism against the US.
No less importantly, the PLO is the architect of modern terrorism. From airline hijackings, to the massacre of schoolchildren, from bus bombings to the destabilization of nation states, the PLO is the original author of much of the mayhem and global terrorism the US has led the fight against since the 1980s.
Obama's Middle East fallacy
In short, Netanyahu has resigned himself to the likelihood that the U.S. framework will include provisions he's not ready to endorse. Abbas has not. "There is no way. We will not accept," the Palestinian news agency quoted him as saying of the Jewish-state principle on March 7. Two days later, Abbas persuaded the moribund Arab League to adopt a resolution backing him up. He's said much the same about Israeli troops on the border.
Why does Abbas dare to publicly campaign against the U.S. and Israeli position even before arriving in Washington? Simple: "Abbas believes he can say no to Obama because the U.S. administration will not take any retaliatory measures against the Palestinian Authority," writes the veteran Israeli-Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh. Instead, Abbas expects to sit back if the talks fail, submit petitions to the United Nations and watch the anti-Israel boycotts mushroom, while paying no price of his own.
Perhaps Obama will disabuse him of that notion at their meeting Monday. If not, another "peace process" breakdown is surely coming.
Obama: Abbas Has 'Consistently Renounced Violence'
Obama omitted all references to Palestinian terrorism and last week's rocket attacks, many of which were claimed to have been launched by a militant branch of Abbas' own Fatah political party.
Obama also did not mention Abbas' efforts to honor Palestinian terrorists and more recent remarks by his senior adviser calling on Allah to kill the Israelis.
The meeting comes at a critical time in the Middle East peace process, a priority for Secretary of State John Kerry.



Gaza's Hamas government critical as Abbas meets Obama
As on previous occasions, Mr Abbas has said he has a mandate to conduct the negotiations on behalf of all the Palestinian factions, including Hamas.
He traces this back to a national agreement document that was reached by all Palestinian factions, with the exception of Islamic Jihad, signed in June 2006.
This states that "administration of the negotiations falls within the jurisdiction of the PLO and the President of the PNA (Palestinian National Authority)" and sets the condition that any final agreement must be ratified by the Palestine National Council – the highest decision making body in the PLO – or a general referendum.
However, there are questions over whether this document is still relevant. The rift between Hamas and Fatah means general elections have been delayed and Mr Abbas's presidential term technically ended in 2009 . . .
Analysts point out that other aspects of the 2006 agreement have not been implemented.
Obama to Abbas: Palestinians must take risks for peace
US President Barack Obama on Monday told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that he would have to make tough political decisions and take "risks" for peace, as would Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Abbas, for his part, reiterated his rejection of Israel's demand that its status as a Jewish state be enshrined in a future peace accord, asserting that previous Palestinian recognition of Israel was sufficient.
"Everyone understands the outlines of what a peace deal would look like," Obama said, describing an agreement that reflected the pre-1967 lines with agreed land swaps. He said that he would continue to emphasize "the importance of rule of law, transparency, and effective reform so that not only do the Palestinians ultimately have a state on paper, but, more importantly, they have one that actually delivers on behalf of their people."
Abbas Suggests Obama Promised '67 Lines, E. Jerusalem Capital
Obama uttered his standard "everybody understands the outlines of what a peace deal would look like, involving a territorial compromise on both sides based on '67 lines with mutually agreed upon swaps," and never said a word about Jerusalem.
In Abbas's responsive remarks, he transformed what Obama said into something quite different. Abbas made it sound as though Obama said that there would be a Palestinian State with the "'67 lines" (actually, the 1949 Armistice Lines) as its western border, and with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.
Abbas also managed to shoehorn in a reference to the refugee issue, as if Obama had acknowledged a connection between eastern Jerusalem and the refugees. And Abbas also created a link to the "promise" of the release of still more convicted murderers as part of the "peace process."
Lying About Abbas Won't Bring Peace
In short, peace process advocates believe the only way to plow ahead to an agreement is to keep the pressure up on Netanyahu to give the maximum while treating Abbas with kid gloves, all the while fearing to offend him or to give his enemies within Fatah, not to mention Hamas and Islamic Jihad rivals, any ammunition with which to attack him as soft on the Israelis. Anything else, they tell us, risks blowing up the process leaving no hope for peace.
But the problem here isn't so much the double standard for Netanyahu or even the blatant dishonesty involved in American and Israeli officials attesting to the sincerity and good intentions of the Palestinian leader. It's that this theory of peace negotiating has already been tried and failed with disastrous results.
Ashton: The EU is Against Boycotts of Israel
At the same time, she also reiterated the EU's objection to Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria.
''The European Union opposes a boycott of Israeli companies and businesses. We don't want to see Israel isolated," Ashton said at a press conference after a meeting of the 28 EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels, according to the European Jewish Press (EJP).
"The EU fully supports U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts as well as the Israeli and Palestinian engagement in the current negotiations," she added, reiterating that the EU is ''determined'' to offer Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) with an "unprecedented" package of support measures for both parties if an agreement is reached.
Bennett: Fourth Palestinian prisoner release uncertain to happen
In an interview with Israel Radio, Bennett slammed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as having acted only in accordance with the policies that the Palestinians have accepted.
Bennett cited Abbas's firm refusal of Israel's demand for a public declaration that Israel is a Jewish state.
"Whoever is unwilling to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people is not a partner in dialogue," he said.
Does Abbas See Arch-Terrorist as a Successor?
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas revealed a new demand this week: the release of arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti, who is serving multiple life sentences in an Israeli prison for his role in several deadly terrorist attacks.
Abbas is reportedly defending the demand as a step that will be popular with the "Palestinian street," thus reducing opposition to talks with Israel.
In a conversation with Arutz Sheva, analyst Baruch Yadid revealed a deeper reason behind Abbas' request: the aging Fatah leader is seeking to replace himself, and sees the highly popular Barghouti as a likely candidate.
Senior PA Negotiator Reiterates: We Will Never Recognize Israel as a Jewish State
Nabil Sha'ath, known to be a confidant of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, brushed aside allegations that the PA's intransigence on the issue of recognition is the reason for the current impasse between Ramallah and Jerusalem.
The Palestinian official said, "Due to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's fixation on us recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, none of the other unresolved questions have been addressed."
Dahlan: Mahmoud Abbas is a Catastrophe; Negotiations Are "One Big Lie"
Mahmoud Abbas was against the Clinton document. I supported it. Today, Mahmoud Abbas wants a third war, in order to achieve the same Clinton document. What he is negotiating about today does not amount to 50% of the Clinton document.
Why did they prevent Yasser Arafat from signing the Clinton document? In order to present him as if he did not want a peace agreement. Today, half of them say that they supported the Clinton document, but that Yasser Arafat refused. That's not true. You were all against the Clinton document. Yasser Arafat wanted it, but you instilled fear in him. We would have gotten 100% of the land, East Jerusalem as the capital, and a reasonable solution for the problem of the refugees, 200,000 of whom would have returned, in keeping with understandings.
What Mahmoud Abbas is negotiating about today does not amount to 50% of the Clinton document that we rejected. Does that not constitute a political corruption and political crime?


3 soldiers injured in explosion near Syrian border
Three Israel Defense Forces soldiers were lightly to moderately injured on Tuesday when their patrol jeep apparently ran over a bomb near the Israel-Syria border.
The incident occurred near Majdal Shams, and the soldiers were evacuated to Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
Light arms fire was also apparently directed at the patrol, according to a report on Israeli news site NRG.
The military reportedly returned artillery fire into Syria, hitting two sites on the nearby city of Quneitra, including a Syrian army base.
Fighters penetrated into Israel in Friday attack
Militants carrying out an attack on an Israeli jeep last week penetrated hundreds of meters into Israel from Lebanon, military authorities now believe.
The terrorists managed to bypass border security and infiltrate deep into Israeli territory before they planted two small IED bombs in front of the jeep in the Friday attack, news site Walla reported Tuesday, citing military sources.
The Friday blasts, which took place in the Har Dov area in the north, damaged the jeep and caused light injuries to its occupants. Three soldiers were taken to a hospital to rule out any internal injuries from the blast, according to Israel Radio.
Study: Civil defenses cut 86% of deaths from Gaza rockets
The thousands of Palestinian rockets fired at southern Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip over the years would have caused an average of seven times more casualties had Israel not developed a set of effective, life-saving civil defenses, a new study has found.
The study's authors, Prof. Edward H. Kaplan, a specialist in engineering and public health from the Yale School of Management, and his former student Lian Zucker, began the research after encountering several instances in which international media dismissed the threat of Gazan rockets.
"Many critics of Israel point out that while there have been thousands of Kassams fired into Israel, the resulting number of casualties is very small," Kaplan told The Jerusalem Post this week. "There has been a concerted attempt by many to portray Kassam rockets as essentially harmless, symbolic weapons.
Terrorist Released in Shalit Deal Caught with Knife
The terrorist, in his 20s, was caught at the Qalandiya checkpoint and was taken in for questioning. During interrogation he admitted that he had planned a stabbing attack.
The terrorist had been in an Israeli prison for three years after being convicted of opening fire towards a Jewish community in Judea and Samaria. He was one of over 1,000 terrorists who were released in October of 2011 in exchange for kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
PA Blames Debt on 'Area C' of Judea, Samaria
The Palestinian Authority (PA) announced Monday that their total debts had topped a staggering 4.8 billion dollars, and that the current year's budgetary deficit was 1.5 billion dollars, according to PA "Finance Minister" Shukri Bishara.
Bishara noted that the deficit amounts to 13% of the PA's GDP and grows by 125 million dollars per month. To combat this, the PA is working on "a strategy" to increase revenues by 550 million dollars annually over the next two years, according to the official.
The main task: accruing extra income tax - which, according to Bishara, could mean hundreds of millions to the PA every year based on each percentage point added to the current income tax rate.
Documenting Palestinian Violations Of Human Rights is Just Too Darn Complicated (satire)
If a mysterious explosion rocks a Palestinian home and children are killed because a militant's bomb went off as he was trying to assemble it, our policy is silence; Palestinian rights are only important vis-à-vis Israel. Behaving otherwise would require us to have principles, and principles have no place in this arena. International donors aren't interested in principles; our continued funding rests on providing donors what they want, which most assuredly does not involve good guys who aren't really good.
We do always have the fallback of attributing all the problems in the Gaza Strip to the Israeli blockade. Except for the ones stemming from the Egyptian blockade, which we try as hard a we can to ignore, because Egyptians are Arabs, not Jews, and placing blame on Arabs would be too complex. Better to adhere to the Israel-bad/Palestinians-good narrative.
You asked about starving Palestinians in Syria? Well, can Israel be directly blamed? No? Then why are you bringing it up?
State Dept. Slaps Iran, Says Tehran "Very Actively" Evading Sanctions, Developing Nukes & Ballistic Missiles
With unusual candor and stark language, a top State Department official is accusing Iran of ongoing illicit nuclear-related activity in violation of international obligations. The shift in tone suggests an early beginning to establishing blame for a failure of international talks designed to remove the nuclear threat posed by Iran.
Release of this startling information is especially explosive given its timing — on the eve of ongoing nuclear talks with the P5+1 resuming in Vienna today — and in the face of Tehran's claims it is engaged in those negotiations in good faith, despite its long record of using talks as a cover for precisely the kind of nuclear deception being exposed.
Israel can't rely on 'weak' US to deal with Iran, Ya'alon warns
Israel's Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon issued a scathing critique of the Obama administration, an Israeli newspaper reported Monday, declaring that Israel cannot rely on the US to thwart Iran's nuclear program, accusing the administration of broadcasting weakness throughout the world, and warning that its perceived weakness was inviting further terrorism against US targets.
Speaking at a Tel Aviv University event on Sunday reported by the Haaretz daily, Ya'alon said Israel could not afford to rely on the Obama administration to lead an action against Iran's nuclear program, and that Israel could only rely on itself. Israel had believed that "the one who should lead the campaign against Iran is the US," but instead, "the US at a certain stage began negotiating with them, and unfortunately in the Persian bazaar the Iranians were better," he said. Therefore, "we (Israelis) have to look out for ourselves."
Congressman Pete Hoekstra: Iran Bent on Sponsoring Terrorism During Nuclear Talks
Iran's support of Islamist terror groups, its role in Syria, its cyber warfare capabilities, and a closer relationship with Russia will radically change the national security calculus for the U.S. and its allies.
We always need to keep in mind that Iran is a ruthless killing machine that flagrantly and routinely mocks international laws and norms.
Can we really expect Iran to fulfill any of its unenforceable commitments reached during the ongoing negotiations over its nuclear program, especially keeping in mind that to this day it has never really been held accountable for its actions?
Iran doesn't expect deal in coming nuclear talks
Mohammad Javad Zarif spoke to reporters after meeting his visiting Belorussian counterpart, Vladimir Makei.
"We don't expect to reach a deal in this round of talks. Nor was a deal on the agenda for this round of talks. We have agreed to discuss a number of issues in this round," Zarif said.
US official: Iran buying nuclear parts on black market
Vann Van Diepen, who oversees non-proliferation issues for the State Department, told Reuters that while the parts are not expressly forbidden by the nuclear deal, a UN embargo on selling nuclear military or nuclear materials to Iran remains in place.
"They still continue very actively trying to procure items for their nuclear program and missile program," said Van Diepen, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for international security and non-proliferation.
Iranian exile to 'Post': Israel, Iran should become allies after regime falls
Asked if Iranians really cared so much about the Palestinians, Parham said that aside from government-sponsored protests and those organized by pro-Palestinian activists, "have you ever seen any public Iranian protests" on the issue? He said that during the anti-government unrest in 2009 there had been two slogans: One called for a non-Islamic "Iranian republic," and the other said: "Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, I give my life for Iran."
"Despite all the propaganda and money, there has never been in 35 years outside the revolutionary chaos of February 1979 a genuine, spontaneous demonstration by the Iranian people in the streets for Palestine or some Arab cause," Parham claimed.
Turkish Treachery Exposed As Iran Sanctions-Busting "Gas-for-Gold" Scandal Engulfs Erdogan, AKP
The Hamas supporting Prime Minister of Turkey and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) continue to find themselves on the uncomfortable end of a growing anti-government backlash. Street protests have swelled in recent weeks as the Islamist-Authoritarian regime has brutally jailed critics and political rivals, and continued to deploy force against peaceful demonstrators.
Now, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his cronies find themselves rocked by a scandal analysts describe as "the most damaging" of the corruption charges yet, exposing not only their financial corruption, but Erdogan's betrayal of NATO allies, and the Islamist AKP leader's deep collusion with the nuclear weapons seeking Mullah regime in Iran.
Turkish doctors question PM Erdogan's mental state
In a written statement, the association, which includes a majority of the country's doctors, said Erdogan's use of "polarizing, excluding and 'otherifying' language" suggested the premier was unwell.
The association noted Erdogan's recent comments about 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who died last week after a nine-month coma cause by being hit in the head by a tear gas canister shot by a police officer last summer. (h/t Yenta Press)

The Fatah intrafada heats up

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 07:00 AM PDT

Internal divisions within Fatah, always simmering beneath the surface, came out in the open last week. From Al Monitor:

On March 5, most of the 77,000 Palestinian Authority (PA) employees located in Gaza received their February salaries, but about a hundred returned from their banks empty-handed. They weren't paid because of an official decision by the PA against supporters of Mohammed Dahlan, a member of the Legislative Council and a dismissed leader from Fatah, who differs with the PA's general policy. The decision to stop payment on the salaries has worsened the crisis between Dahlan and President Mahmoud Abbas.

The reactions to the decision came quickly. On March 8, those who didn't receive their salaries held a sit-in in Gaza, which Al-Monitor attended, and strongly criticized the decision. They demanded that Abbas immediately reverse the decision in light of the difficult economic conditions in Gaza and threatened to set up a protest tent in front of the homes of Fatah's higher leadership in Gaza.

Al-Monitor received a copy of the letter sent from the unpaid workers to Fatah. They said that they are not against Abbas and don't follow a particular person, but that they support Dahlan's idea of regulatory reform. They accused the Fatah leadership in the West Bank of marginalizing Gaza and its people at all organizational levels of the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council.

Sufian Abu Ziyade, a high-level Fatah leader in Gaza and one of Dahlan's most prominent allies, described the decision as a "heinous crime" committed against Fatah members, demanding that Abbas rescind the decision in his capacity as president of all the Palestinian people.

The toughest response came from Rashid Abu Shabak, the former commander of Preventive Security and Dahlan's right arm, who called for taking up arms against the PA, a call that drew sharp criticism from Fatah as it may lead to bloodshed and will have serious repercussions that will complicate the problem further.

Al-Monitor learned from a Fatah figure from Gaza who currently lives in the West Bank that not paying salaries has caused a number of Dahlan supporters to leave Ramallah for fear of punishment from Abbas. The figure said that they went to Jordan, Dubai and other places abroad, and that their departure reflected a state of extreme tension between the two Fatah camps.
Then Abbas publicly accused Dahlan essentially of collaborating with Israel in assassinating his rivals:
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hinted that a former top Fatah official and several of his cohorts had assisted Israel against the Palestinians over a decade ago, igniting a storm among Palestinians.

Abbas's hour-long laundry list of accusations, including the charge of spying, against former aide Mohammed Dahlan — delivered to a closed-door meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council Monday but released publicly on Wednesday — signaled that the battle over who will succeed the 79-year-old Palestinian president is heating up.


Abbas also claimed that complaints had been filed to the president's office that Dahlan, a former security head for Fatah in Gaza, was mixed up in the Gaza assassination of Salah Shahadeh, the leader of Hamas' military wing who killed by an Israeli airstrike in 2002.

In response, Dahlan and senior Hamas figures slammed Abbas and demanded that he open an inquiry into the issue.

Today, Dahlan's supporters seem to have hit back, as gunshots were reportedly fired at the home of Fatah's Jibril Rajoub in Ramallah.

At the same time, Fatah official Nabil Shaath claimed that Dahlan had destroyed Yasir Arafat's medicine bottles when he was flown to Paris for treatment. He also accused Dahlan of being behind other assassinations of Fatah officials, including Kamal Medhat in Beirut in 2009.

During yesterday's Fatah rallies, photos of Dahlan were burned.

For his part, Dahlan gave an interview to Egyptian TV where he accused Abbas of nepotism, hiring his nephew for a job to do nothing. He also implied that Abbas has taken over $1.4 billion for an investment fund that no one knows anything about. He added a litany of charges and implications, even saying that Arafat refused to meet with Abbas when he was sick.

An Arab woman was killed by a Gaza rocket last week

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 05:00 AM PDT

I briefly mentioned that there was a "mysterious explosion" that killed an older woman and injured several others last week in Beit Hanoun. There were reports when it happened and then scattered reports when the women died. But no news report mentioned the cause of the blast.

PCHR finally issued a press release, and the cause of the explosion was a (probable) Islamic Jihad rocket falling on their house.

At approximately 19:10 on Thursday, 13 March 2014, a home-made rocket landed on a house belonging to the family of Isma'il Abdul Fattah Mohammedin (35) on al-Wadi Street in Beit Hanoun town in the north of the Gaza Strip. The rocket made a hole whose diameter was one meter in the southeastern wall of the house and exploded inside. As a result, Aisha Atiya Mohammedin (52) sustained shrapnel injuries and amputation to the right hand, and she died because of the serious injuries at approximately 00:30 on Friday, 14 March 2014, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Additionally, another 5 civilians, including 3 children, living in the house were injured.
Remember that Islamic Jihad claimed to shoot 130 rockets at Israel (and other terror groups, mostly Fatah, about 20 more) but Israeli officials only counted 60 rockets reaching Israel. In other words, some 60% of the rockets fired apparently exploded on the ground or fell short.

In a two week period in January, 37% of rockets fell short. I counted an 83% failure rate for two weeks from February 20-March 5.

Even though more Gazans than Israelis have been killed by Gaza rocket fire, no one is protesting how dangerous Gaza rockets are - to Gazans.

Mavi Marmara updates

Posted: 18 Mar 2014 02:30 AM PDT

The Free Gaza mailing list sent out a curious message claiming that there were major anti-Israel moves afoot in Turkey to prosecute Israel and Israelis for defending themselves from Turkish terrorists on the Mavi Marmara in 2010.

On March 7, 2014, the Turkish NGO, Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH) joined the referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting the ICC Prosecutor initiate an investigation into the crimes committed by Israeli commandos and officials into Israel's raid on Freedom Flotilla I bound for Gaza.

Eight Turks and one Turkish-American were murdered on the Mavi Marmara, some of them assassinated at close range. Several other pro-Palestinian human rights defenders/passengers were also wounded when Israeli commandos stormed all six boats in the early morning on May 31, 2010.

Two important proceedings are taking place in Istanbul, 1. a criminal proceeding on March 27 against four Israeli officials (in absentia) who ordered the attack on the Flotilla. Free Gaza board members, Audrey Bomse and Greta Berlin, along with several FG passengers, will attend that proceeding, and 2. a legal conference on the search for justice in both international and domestic forums on March 25.
I don't see any media coverage of either of these events.
However, I do see media that makes the pro-terrorist Hamas fans of Free Gaza seem to be on the losing side of thing.

Hezbollah's Al Manar reported in February:
Lawyers representing the victims of a fatal 2010 Zionist raid on an aid flotilla said they have been denied visas to the Netherlands on their way to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"They are not issuing us visas although we have made it clear that we are lawyers and we represent the victims of the flotilla raid," Cihat Gokdemir told Turkish Anadolu news agency.

Two members of the legal team, Gokdemir and Ramazan Ariturk, were not granted extensions to their three-year visas, which expired in November, despite informing Dutch officials that the ICC Prosecutor's Office - based in The Hague – had invited them for a meeting on legal action against high-ranking Zionist officials.
Trend.az reported last week:
Israel wishes to restore the diplomatic relations with Turkey, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, Turkey's Anadolu agency reported on March 11.

Israel wants the relations between the two countries to return to the level of early 2010, according to Netanyahu.
And Turkish news outlet Milliyet reported on Monday that negotiations between Israel and Turkey on compensation for the (Turkish) victims are almost finalized. Compensation is only one of Turkey's demands, so it is unclear how the other negotiating tracks are faring.

What's really going on is anybody's guess.

Meanwhile, Free Gaza called Scarlett Johansson a "dumb blond" on Twitter. For that usage of the term, they spelled "blonde" wrong.

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