12/01 Links: Israel, the Pilgrims and the Maccabees, The truth about Christians in Bethlehem

From Ian:

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Caroline Glick: Israel, the Pilgrims and the Maccabees

So too today, Israel is castigated by Obama and his supporters in Washington, Europe and the media as a warmonger for realistically foreseeing the consequences of last weekend’s nuclear deal with Iran. Even worse, they are portraying Israel as a rogue state that will be subject to punishment if it dares to militarily strike Iran’s nuclear installations. In other words, rather than threatening Iran – the leading state sponsor of terrorism, led by a regime that is pursuing an illicit nuclear weapons program while threatening Israel with annihilation – with military strikes if it refuses to cease and desist from building nuclear weapons, the world powers are threatening Israel.
British Foreign Minister William Hague made this projection of Iranian criminality onto its intended victim the explicit policy of the world powers on Monday during his appearance before the British Parliament.
Promising that Britain will be “on its guard” to prevent any state from threatening the agreement with Iran, Hague said, “We would discourage anybody in the world, including Israel, from taking any steps that would undermine this agreement and we will make that very clear to all concerned.” In other words, as Hague, Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry see things, Iran needs to be protected from Israel.

Iran is happy. Next up: The Palestinians

I think the expectation that Obama will give Israel time to salve its wounds is misguided. This is a president who came to office determined to weaken the influence of the pro-Israel community, and "rebalance" Israel's relationship with its neighbors, Iran and the Palestinians. Rebalancing of course, can be defined here as weakening Israel's strategic position, since Israel's relative strength is perceived to be unfair and some of its power (and wealth) needs to be redistributed.
The president, a narcissist to the end, may think he is on a roll in the Middle East. His press clippings are certainly better these days on this front than for his health care reform. So with a bit of momentum, he may well think now is the time for him to slam down the hammer on the so-called "peace process," or rather, slam it down once again on Israel. And if he needs a workman to do the job, he can count on John Kerry, who, once again, will be "reporting for duty."

Examining the BBC’s track record on Jewish refugees from Arab lands

On November 30th 2013 the BBC News website’s home page and Middle East page both promoted a feature titled “In pictures: Early years of Palestinian refugees” which showcases images from the newly digitised archives of UNRWA – currently being promoted by that organization within the framework of its permanent public relations campaign.
Quite how the promotion of campaigning material produced by politically motivated organisations can be considered part of the BBC’s remit or in adherence to its editorial guidelines on impartiality is a (big) question in itself, but it is notable that the captions to the photographs showcased by the BBC adhere diligently to the UNRWA script, with the text accompanying the final photograph, for example, reading:

“There are now four generations of Palestinian refugees. The “right of return” to their former homes in what is now Israel remains one of the thorniest issues in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.”

But of course the issue of Palestinian refugees is only half the story. The other half – that of Jewish refugees from Arab lands – has no dedicated UN refugee agency to document its history, no hereditary refugee status, no UN sponsored ‘Solidarity Day’ and no UN funded committee to champion its ‘inalienable rights’.

The Israeli Left and the Myth of ‘Palestinian’ Susiya

A legal battle over a historic site in the Hevron Hills continues, with Israeli far-left groups joining the Palestinian Authority in accusing Israel of “forced displacement” of Arab villagers in Susiya. They have won support from several international left-wing groups and media outlets as well.
The problem: the “Palestinian village” that Israel is supposedly uprooting never existed.
Tzviki Bar-Hai, the head of the Har Hevron regional council, explained the issue in an interview with Arutz Sheva. Bar-Hai has seen the development of the archaeological site at Susiya – which is home to the remains of an ancient Jewish village - from day one.
Not only did “Palestinian Susiya” not exist in the 1800s, as has been claimed by the far-left group B’Tselem, but it did not even exist in the 1980s, he reported.

Bereaved Father’s Disgust: ‘Just Free all Terrorists Now’

If the government is planning to release dozens more convicted terrorist killers, it should simply free them now rather than dragging out the process, bereaved father and anti-terrorism activist Ron Kerman has argued.
“Why wait nine months? Just release all the terrorists today already,” Kerman told Arutz Sheva.
Kerman’s suggestion came in response to reports that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is planning to end negotiations with Israel as soon as the terrorist release is complete. Abbas has openly declared that his goal is to free all PA terrorists from Israeli prisons, and that he does not plan to compromise on a single issue in negotiations.

Israeli officials: Obama gave Iran right to enrich, destroying sanctions

Unnamed Israeli officials denounced US President Barack Obama on Friday night for presiding over failed negotiations with Iran under which, they said, the sanctions pressure on Tehran is collapsing and the Islamic Republic has been granted the right to enrich uranium. The entire wall of sanctions, painstakingly constructed over years, is already crumbling and “will collapse within months,” the officials were quoted as saying.
In comments reported by Israel’s Channel 2 news and attributed to unnamed senior Israeli officials and official sources in Jerusalem, Obama was castigated for ostensibly showing he “will do anything to avoid a situation in which he will have to resort to force” against Iran.

Netanyahu orders Mossad to expose Iranian breaches of interim deal

Mossad, as well as the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate, have been told to dig up evidence of Iranian duplicity ahead of Obama’s push to win support for the deal in Congress and thus head off legislators’ demands for further sanctions against Iran, the Sunday Times reported, citing Israeli defense sources.
“Everyone has his own view regarding the Geneva agreement,” an Israeli intelligence source was quoted as saying. “But it is clear that if a smoking gun is produced, it will tumble like a house of cards.”
If Israel does produce evidence that Iran is flouting its deal with the world powers, the agreement could prove a tough sell for Obama in Congress.

Rouhani says Iran will intensify nuclear work

Not only is Iran not going to dismantle any of its nuclear facilities as part of an effort to reach a long-term agreement to limit its nuclear development, it will also construct a second nuclear reactor at Bushehr, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in comments over the weekend.
Addressing provincial managers and officials of Bushehr province on Saturday night, Rouhani said "Based on our estimates, the second nuclear power plant will be built in the same province and I hope that we can use the facilities of this province," Fars News reported. According to the report, Iran has identified 34 locations throughout the country where new nuclear facilities could be built.

Obama has accepted a nuclear Iran

The more facts that come to light from the negotiations in Geneva, the more the agreement appears to resemble Swiss cheese. There are many holes in the agreement as well as some serious vagueness. Barack Obama and John Kerry are not persuading the average American that this was any kind of achievement. They simply assume that most of the American public are willing to have their leaders deceive them. This is what the fight is about on Capitol Hill. In the present round, Israel is not holding back its criticism of the agreement, but neither is it taking steps against the While House.
Analyzing the administration's conduct leads to the conclusion -- for which there is yet no proof -- that Obama has made a decision to reconcile himself to Iran's nuclearization. Perhaps full nuclearization, perhaps stopping at a point where Iran is a threshold country that can assemble four nuclear bombs in a very short period of time. There is no "smoking gun" to prove this circumstantial belief, but the evidence is getting stronger by the day.

Iranian, Turkish spy services working in 'close collaboration'

Ambassador Alireza Bikdeli, speaking at a conference in Ankara, said the Iranian Intelligence service MOIS was working in "close collaboration" with Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
Speaking to the Turkish daily Hürriyet, Bigdeli said the intelligence cooperation between the two countries were at a level that should be between strong neighbors, which bothered Western powers as well as Israeli authorities.

Erdogan's problems with his neighbors

What went wrong? Dubbed “neo-Ottomanism” by various analysts, the AKP Party’s foreign policy sought to establish Turkey as a model state for the Arab world, at a time when the Arab Spring continues to reshape the political landscape. A romantic in nature, Erdogan envisaged a renaissance of Turkey’s soft power – with him at the helm – that would push the ideas of democracy, modernism and peaceful reconciliation in a troubled region.
As a non-Arab actor, however, Erdogan found religion, rather than national identity, to be the common value to appeal to the Arab masses. As a selfdeclared “conservative democrat,” he guided his party members to voice support for free elections in all Arab states, while allying themselves with the Islamist-leaning and populist political movements, with whom they share common ideological roots.

Find your way around the mall with Mally

The idea was developed by Issa, a Christian Arab woman from the Haifa area, with a Spanish partner. The new app is already installed in a mall in Toledo, Spain, and two more malls are coming on board next. It is currently available in English, Hebrew, Spanish and Catalan.
“We are closing a deal with a shopping center’s administration agency, which is holding 47 malls in Spain. They all have Google Indoor [Google Maps on Android devices] already, but are totally unsatisfied with it,” she says.
“To map the malls around the world isn’t easy,” she continues. “We give the whole experience. When you enter, we not only help you navigate but also give you content and information — what offers are being made right now.“

‘Like sending back art Nazis looted’: Iraqi Jews who fled persecution fight to stop U.S. from returning stolen artifacts to Baghdad

Set against the historical backdrop, the impending return of the Iraqi Jewish archive to Iraq has angered an ex-patriot community scattered by tragic circumstance. American and Iraqi Jews worldwide are urging the U.S. government to return the Jewish items to the Iraqi Jews. A petition signed by 47 members of Congress was delivered to Secretary of State John Kerry on Nov. 13, asserting that the “Government of Iraq has no legitimate claim to these artifacts,” echoing earlier statements from New York Senator Chuck Schumer.
Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, added his voice to his American counterparts in an email to the National Post Friday. “It is unfortunate that Iraq is simply not prepared to openly chronicle this tragic history as a monument for the people of Iraq, towards a meaningful reconciliation, or towards the historical preservation of archives and other items that document the ancient heritage of Iraqi Jewry,” the minister wrote. (h/t AlexandreM)

Netanyahu heads for Rome to meet Pope, Italian PM

Netanyahu is expected to invite the pope to Israel.
The meeting will be the prime minister’s first with the current pope, who met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in October at the Vatican and with President Shimon Peres in April. Netanyahu met with the previous pope, Benedict XVI, in 2009, as well as with Pope John Paul II in 1997.
Six government ministers are joining Netanyahu on the trip and will meet with the Italian government.

With song and remorse, an unlikely Amish group comes to Israel

The group, which flew out of Israel early Sunday morning, is unique in the traditional Amish world. Brought to the country by Keshet, an Israeli educational tourism company, its members were on their third Reconciliation Mission to Israel to Israel to build bridges with the Jewish people and show remorse for what they called the Amish community’s apathy at generations of Jewish suffering.
“We, the Amish and Anabaptist people turned away from the Jewish nation, while they were in their darkest hour of need,” reads the group’s mission statement. “We hardened our hearts against them, we left them — never lifting our voices in protest against the atrocities that were committed against them. We want to publicly repent of this and acknowledge our support of Israel.”

Repressing Christians through an Islamised Jesus

Time and again, Muslims, especially those in Egypt, project Islamic thinking onto Christians: thus the Coptic church has been accused of smuggling and storing weapons in its churches to take over the nation (when in fact mosques are regularly exposed housing illegal weapons for the jihad).
It has been acused of kidnapping and torturing Coptic girls who convert to Islam (when in fact Muslim converts to Christianity -- apostates -- are regularly beaten, imprisoned, and sometimes killed); and even of supporting suicide-attacks when the church speaks of Copts being martyred (because in Islam being “martyred” so often means actively sacrificing one’s life in “holy war”).

The truth about Christians in Bethlehem (a repost from 2012)

Facts overlaid in top of a propaganda video made by the Palestinian Authority for Christmas 2012. They don't want you to know that Christians are fleeing Palestinian-ruled areas because of harassment and discrimination.

Israel Defense Forces assemble in ‘menorah formation’

How do members of the Israel Defense Forces wish a Happy Hanukkah? By assuming “menorah formation,” of course. (h/t MtTB)