Nasrallah says he'll go to Syria to fight if necessary. Let's hope so!

Hizballah's leader Sayyed Nasrallah made another of his ramblling Friday speeches where he spouted about Israel, America, "Takfiris" and other groups that he is upset at this week, all the while pretending that he is defedning his beloved people of Lebanon that he is dragging into the Syrian war.

In reference to the massive car bomb in the Hezbollah-controlled section of Beirut last week, he said:

One of our responses to such explosions is: If we had 1000 fighters in Syria, they will become 2000, and if we had 5000, they will become 10 000, and if the battle with those terrorists required that I go with all Hezbollah to Syria, we will all go for the sake of Syria and its people, Lebanon and its people, Palestine and Al-Quds, and the central cause.

We put an end to the battle, and we set a time for this battle to end, and as we triumphed in all our wars with Israel, if you wanted us to enter a fierce battle with you, I assure to everyone that we will triumph against Takfiri terror. The cost of the battle will be high, but the least cost is being slaughtered like ewes and waiting for the murderers to come into our house.

Throughout the speech, as in this section, he tries to pretend that he is fighting Israel and defending Lebanon against Israel, claiming that all of the attacks against Hizballah are controlled by the "Zionists."

Meanwhile, Lebanese politicians are increasingly critical of Hizballah's adventurism:

Former Prime Minister and Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri blasted on Saturday Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s recent speech and said it threatened to further involve Lebanon in the Syria war.

“Nasrallah’s speech did not contribute to defusing tension in Lebanon on the contrary it served as an escalation of Lebanon’s involvement in the Syrian fire.” Hariri said adding: “Sedition is the essence of terrorism, and the most dangerous kind.”

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said Hezbollah’s participation in the Syrian war is not part of his agreement with the militant group and stressed that he is against any intervention outside the Lebanese territory.

“This is a private initiative for Hezbollah, there is no agreement between us and them in that matter. We are against any intervention outside the Lebanese territory,” Aoun said in an interview with Al-Hayat newspaper which was published on Saturday.

Hezbollah has been widely criticized by Lebanese and Arab leaders for supporting the Alawite-dominated Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad against the mostly Sunni Syrian rebels who are trying to overthrow the 40 year old dictatorship.

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Hizballah revealing an alleged military drone today

Arab media are reporting that Hizballah will unveil today the "Mersad-1" aircraft, on the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the 2006 Lebanon war. I'm not sure if they are saying that this is a new aircrapft or revealing that it was used in 2006, as Hassan Nasrallah said this week he will reveal secrets about that war.

Ababil UAV, circa 2004

According to the reports, The aircraft - which Hizballah claims to have manufactured itself - has the "ability to execute multiple tasks, including reconnaissance, and hitting targets with high accuracy, and stealth capabilities, and the ability to fly higher than 5,000 meters above sea level, and it is also able carry warheads of up to 30 kg."

This Lebanese website mentions the Mersad-1 in 2010, saying it is an Iranian UAV known as Ababil. Wikipedia has an article about it, saying it is probably the Iranian Mohajer 4.

Israel shot down 3 of the Ababils during the 2006 war.

All of this seems well known, so it is unclear what is being announced today. In fact, as early as 2004, Nasrallah mentioned the UAV, claiming then that it could hold 40 or 50 kg.

Sounds like Nasrallah is trying to misdirect the Arab world from his own problems much closer to home.

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Was the Lebanon incident injuring 4 IDF soldiers an ambush?

From AFP:

Two blasts that wounded four Israeli soldiers on the border with Lebanon were in fact an "ambush" set by Hezbollah, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar reported on Thursday.

The explosions hit the patrol on Wednesday when the troops ventured 400 meters into south Lebanon, parts of which are controlled by the powerful Shiite movement.

"The enemy blundered when they violated the border with Lebanon, and fell into a trap that only the resistance could set," said the newspaper, which has links to Hezbollah.

"Only Hezbollah can make bombs that blow up Israelis" when they pass by, it said.

Hezbollah, which has close ties to Iran and the regime in Syria, is considered Israel's arch-foe, and the two fought a brief but bloody summer war in 2006.

"The Israeli unit fell into a well-set ambush and the enemy found itself faced with a difficult question: 'How did Hezbollah know we were there?'" the daily wrote.

"The ambush is a dangerous failure for the enemy because it shows that Hezbollah has an intelligence structure that allows it to know when a patrol arrives, its route and to set a trap for it," it added.

"That means the resistance is prepared for every eventuality, in case of confrontation on a wider scale or in case of a general conflict."

The Lebanese army said four Israeli soldiers were wounded by explosions 400 meters inside Lebanese territory.

Israel's military confirmed the toll without specifying what side of the border the soldiers were on as they were "carrying out nocturnal activities in the Lebanese border area when the explosion occurred".

The soldiers were members of an elite unit, Israeli public radio reported.

A UN officer in the area said the 10-strong Israeli unit withdrew taking their wounded with them, as troops on the Israeli side of the border fired flares to aid their exit.

The barbed wire marking the border had been cut, an AFP correspondent reported, and the two blasts occurred in a pine forest several hundred meters into Lebanon.

I read this as Hezbollah observed under what circumstances the IDF troops would enter Lebanon and it created those same circumstances to ambush them.

If so, even though troops were injured, the operation must be regarded as a failure, because the usual goal is to take soldiers hostage. Even if the goal was to start an incident to anger Lebanese citizens and redirect their anger from Hezbollah to Israel, it didn't work, based on what I am reading in Lebanese papers..

Lebanese media report that it was an ordinary  mine explosion. If so, then perhaps Hezbollah is simply trying to take credit for dumb luck, although it seems unlikely the IDF would have soldiers walking in a minefield without adequate protection.

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Nasrallah: "Call us terrorists"

Hezbollah's Al Manar translated parts of Hassan Nasrallah's Quds Day speech last Friday. It is worth watching for those who mightily try to find "moderation" in the worst terrorists.

There is nothing moderate in his words. (There was no audio for some reason.)



He thanks Syria and Iran for their help in funding terrorist groups, and says that Hezbollah will continue to help all terror groups that fight against Israel.

Some more of the speech:

Palestine which we are talking about is the whole of Palestine from the sea to the river, which should return fully to its people no one of the world's Sheikh or Sayyed or Prince nor King or President or a government to give up or abandon one grain of sand from the soil of Palestine, or a drop of its water, oil, or a piece of its land and does not have a mandate to do so....

Imam Khomeini had described Israel accurately when he called it a cancerous tumor, and it is really a tumor that kills, the only solution is to eradicate it without giving it any opportunity or surrender and eradicate. ...Israel represents a constant and enormous threat not only on Palestine and the Palestinians, this is an illusion and misinformation and ignorance. Israel is a threat to all peoples and countries of the region, with its security and sovereignty and he who denies this is arrogant.

...Some might think that the demise of Israel is a Palestinian interest, it’s rather a national interest of each country of the region, and [Israel] is a threat to Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon, thus the disappearance of Israel is a national Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian and Lebanese interest....

...On al-Quds Day, which is the last Friday of Holy Ramadan, we the twelver Shiites will not abandon Palestine, the Palestinian people and sanctities.

Hezbollah, the Islamic Shiite party, will not abandon Palestine, al-Quds, and the holy sites of the nation. We were born and arisen on bearing the responsibility of defending Palestine and Al-Quds. We - the Shiites- won't abandon this cause never ever. Call us rejectionists, call us terrorists, call us criminals, say whatever you want and keep killing us at every front, at the door of every mosque, we the Shiites of Ali bin Abi Taleb will not abandon Palestine.

Now, does Nasrallah represent the "political" or the "military" wing of Hezbollah?

This speech was also notable for being performed live, rather than via closed circuit TV as Nasrallah usually does.

Which means it is a real shame that at the moment he said "keep killing us at every front" the IDF didn't do exactly that.

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8/05 Links Part 2: UN accredits NGO whose head is ‘glad to be labeled anti-Semitic’

From Ian:

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UN accredits NGO whose head is ‘glad to be labeled anti-Semitic’

At a session in New York last week, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People officially granted accreditation to five civil society organizations, among them the Perdana Global Peace Foundation, which was founded by Mahathir Mohamad.
Mohamad, who served as Malaysia’s prime minister from 1981 until 2003, has repeatedly sparked controversy with his anti-Western and anti-Semitic comments. In a 2003 speech, he said that “the Jews rule the world by proxy” and get “others to fight and die for them.” During the same speech, he further stated, “They invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong so they may enjoy equal rights with others. With these, they have now gained control of the most powerful countries.”

Australian ex-deputy PM slams ‘Jewish lobby’ over Pius criticism

A former deputy prime minister of Australia attacked the “Jewish lobby” for what he considers unfair treatment of pope Pius XII, prompting Jewish groups to accuse him of anti-Semitism.
In an interview with Australian media, Tim Fischer suggested that a “Jewish lobby” controlled by Israel silences attempts to defend the wartime pope’s record. This lobby needed “momentum and profile” and had become “increasingly shrill” in its criticism of the pope, he said.

Sunnis Boycott Al-Quds Day in Ontario

Expert and blogger Jonathan Dahoah Halevi, who witnessed the event, wrote afterward that “Besides the regular and expected manifestation of hatred towards Israel (“From the river to the sea Palestine will be free”, “IsraelHell” etc.) and Zionism (“Down with Zionism”) demonstrators proudly carried and waved the flags of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Palestine, the flag of the Mahdi (Muslim Messiah) as well as pictures of Ayatollah Khomeini.”
The staunch support for Iran, Syria and Hizbullah was not dampened by the fact that all three parties are accomplices in the horrendous genocide of the Sunni Muslim community in Syria, Halevi noted.

Lunatic At Toronto Al Quds Day Rally Says Israelis Should Be Given 2 Minute Warning To Get Out Or They Start Shooting

"Elias Hazineh, Former President of Palestine House, attended the annual Quds Day rally that took place on August 3, 2013 in Toronto. In his speech to a crowd of hundreds holding anti-Israel banners and waving the flags of Palestine, Iran, Syria (Assad regime) and Hezbollah, Hazineh uttered a threatening message to the Jews living in Israel, while talking in favor of endorsing a strategy that will give the Israeli Jews an ultimatum to leave immediately the country or to be shot dead."
Palestine House is an anti-Semitic NGO defunded by the [Canadian] federal government.

Ultra-Orthodox man who offered to spy for Iran served in IDF

An ultra-Orthodox man accused of offering to spy for Iran on Israel previously served in the Israel Defense Forces but was released for reasons of mental health.
The man, a member of the anti-Zionist fringe group Neturei Karta, was remanded for two days during a hearing at the Jerusalem District Court Monday.

Egyptian anti-Obama video goes viral, blames him for siding with Muslim Brotherhood

An example of the vitriol in the country can be seen in a new video clip featuring a song by Egyptian performer Sama Elmasry. Titled “You Obama, Your Father, Mother,” it attacks the US president for allegedly preferring Islamic radicals over the army. It has gone viral, with over 160,000 views since last week.
The clip features Obama in traditional Islamic dress. Elmasry curses him while mentioning that he had called for former president Hosni Mubarak to leave immediately, seeming to imply that this proved he was pro-Brotherhood.
The song also mentions Obama’s support for Islamistled Turkey as well as Israel. It is highly nationalistic in tone and ends with a photo of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the anti-Morsi coup.

IDF Enlists New Robot to Defend Israelis from Explosives

Yahalom, the elite special force of the Combat Engineering Corps, operates in various terrains. It specializes in robotics, diffusion of bombs, minefield neutralization, and destruction of enemy infrastructure and outposts. It is also trained for active combat, such as the planting of bombs in enemy territory. The unit’s explosives disposal detachment is to begin using the Talon IV robots in the near future, bolstering its ability to thwart attempts to kill and injure Israelis using planted explosives.

Top 10 Israeli apps that are revolutionizing your journeys

Whether it’s a navigation aid you’re seeking, or a city bus or parking, these apps have you covered. One will check your tire pressure and another checks your breath to gauge if you’re too tipsy to drive – and it’ll even hail you a cab if you are.

Tadir Gan wins $45m Volkswagen contract

Tadir-Gan (Precision Products) Ltd. (TASE: TDGN), controlled by First Israel Mezzanine Investors Fund (FIMI), has won a $45 million contract from Volkswagen AG (DAX: VOW) to supply engine parts over eight years from 2015. The contract is the result of two acquisitions by Tadir Gan earlier this year.
Tadir Gan will supply aluminum components produced at its plants in Afula and Germany and magnesium products from its plant at Kibbutz Neve Or. The components are designed for large engines for Volkswagen's high-end models.

Veto on Disease

A little tolerance can go a long way. If the immune system, for instance, could be coaxed into tolerating foreign tissue rather than rejecting it outright, a variety of blood disorders could be treated by bone marrow transplants. Immune tolerance could also help extend these transplants to people who are currently too frail to receive them; in addition, it could facilitate the transplantation of kidneys, liver and other body organs.
An international team led by Weizmann Institute researchers has recently managed to induce a certain degree of immune tolerance by making use of so-called veto cells. These are naturally occurring immune cells that exert veto power over their own destruction: When attacked by the recipient’s immune cells, they launch a pre-emptive strike, destroying the attackers.

Israeli Researchers Invent Spray to Stop Hospital-Acquired Infections

One out of every 20 hospital patients in the United States contracts a hospital-acquired infection, with infants in intensive care and the elderly facing the highest risk of infection and death. Israeli researchers have invented a new spray that can help stop hospital-acquired infections.
The spray stops microorganisms from sticking to the surface of objects and reproducing, a process known as bio fouling. (h/t Jewess)

Dr. Mehmet Oz praises ‘coexistence’ at Israeli hospital

America’s favorite physician, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, recently wrapped up a 10-day tour in Israel that included all the main tourist sites and a stopover at the world’s largest and most advanced “fortified hospital” at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
Dr. Oz, the Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon who hosts The Dr. Oz Show, toured the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital and Rambam’s state-of-the-art shock-trauma ward, prior to hosting a public lecture on health, morality, religion and culture.

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8/02 Links Part 1: LATMA, Pal NGO's Condemn Talks, Is The NIF/Indyk Promoting Arab Riots?

From Ian:

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LATMA: Flock Builder on how to conduct a National Referendum and simulation of the peace talks


Sarah Honig: Another Tack: Who’s the sucker?

We’d therefore do better to go back to basics, proclaim loud and clear that we are in our historical homeland by right; that we were attacked; that the Arabs only conjured Palestinian nationality in order to stake rival claims; that a Palestinian state never existed (i.e. we certainly didn’t conquer and subjugate it); that we didn’t drive out hapless refugees (who themselves launched the war); that they caused their own downfall by plotting genocide and ethnic cleansing against us; that our only sin is surviving. We can even remind the world of the Nazi legacy of “Palestinian hero” Haj Amin al-Husseini.
Admittedly, we may not convince anyone. The cards are stacked against us. But we’ve nothing to lose by rediscovering our defiant spirit and lost Zionist ideals. Excessive pragmatism – the sacrifice of national honor for temporary gain – will lose us everything, from our own sense of justice to the souls of our youngsters.

Only if Israel gives a bit more...

Two decades ago they told us that only if Israel agrees to talk directly to the PLO could peace become a possibility, despite that organization’s monstrous terrorist record. Then we were informed that only if we allow the creation of the first self-governing authority in Palestinian history, in Gaza and Jericho, could peace ensue.
And we said fine – we’ve had enough of the conflict; we will live with this, for the sake of peace.
But the Palestinian Authority could sustain itself, we were then told, only if Yasser Arafat got himself a police force with tens of thousands of rifles and other military equipment. Even when this “police” force and other PA security forces mushroomed far beyond the numbers permitted by accords with Israel, and even when these “police” fired on IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, we said fine – somehow we will live with this. Peace requires us to look the other way.

Israel – Palestinian Authority Negotiations ‘Dangerous,’ Palestinian NGOs Say

A group of 133 Palestinian NGOs based in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem said in a statement Wednesday that renewing Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks would be “dangerous” after a three-year hiatus.
The Palestinian NGO Network believes renewed negotiations are unwise because Israel has refused to return to its pre-1967 lines, freeze construction in Judea and Samaria, and release Palestinian terrorists incarcerated in Israel jails. The Israeli cabinet, however, agreed on Sunday to free 104 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned before the 1993 Oslo Accords as a goodwill gesture for the start of negotiations.

Irish Times fawns over mother of an Arab who murdered a Holocaust survivor

Ateya Abu Moussa, as we noted in our post, was convicted of murdering Isaac Rotenberg with an axe in 1994. The terrorist attack on Rotenberg was carried out by Abu Moussa and an accomplice as a precondition (an initiations of sorts) of their entry into a terrorist organization – information evidently not deemed interesting by Indy editors.
As we noted, Rotenberg was a Polish Jew, born in 1925 (alternately listed as 1927), who survived the Sobibor Nazi extermination camp during the Holocaust. (With the exception of Isaac, who miraculously was able to escape during a revolt, the entire Rotenberg family perished in the camp.)
Rotenberg reached the Land of Israel in 1947, joined the IDF a year later and fought in the War of Independence.

Karl Vick Emphasizes Palestinian Narrative of Imprisoned Terrorists as National Icons

The sad thing about Karl Vick's Time piece on Israel's release of 104 Palestinian Arab criminals as a gesture to restart peace talks is that the article is probably not intended to be a partisan pro-Palestinian piece. Rather Vick evidences a journalist so immersed in Palestinian victimization that he has adopted its corrupt moral universe as the central narrative of the conflict.

Fund Chaired by Indyk Promoting Arab Rioting?

Social Television, a web channel sponsored by the New Israel Fund, has been encouraging its viewers to take part in protests against the Praver plan for legalizing Bedouin communities in the Negev. The pre-planned riots took place Thursday and had an extremely violent nature. They were led by radical Arab MKs Hanin Zouabi and Jamal Zahalka (Balad) at Wadi Ara in Israels north-central region, and also took place at Lehavim Junction in the Negev.
In Wadi Ara, 18 rioters were arrested because of violence. In the Negev, two Arabs were arrested after rocks were thrown.

'US leaks on alleged Syria strikes could be attempt to harm Israeli interests'

“The mere fact that such leaks happen often indicates that the Pentagon leadership does not have Israel’s interests at heart,” Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post. “It is difficult to assess the motivation of such leaks.”
Inbar listed several possible motives, including the wish to prevent future Israeli action.
Other possibilities include an attempt by Pentagon sources to embarrass US President Barack Obama, by pointing out the “ease” with which Israel allegedly operates in Syria at a time that the White House says US intervention is too complex and risky.

Lawyers: EU Has No Right to Determine Israel’s Borders (VIDEO)

Over 1,000 international lawyers, ambassadors, and professors from 30 different countries signed a petition protesting the European Union’s recent funding ban on Israel’s settlements.
Israel’s former ambassador to Canada and legal advisor, Alan Baker, who heads the Legal Forum for Israel’s International Action Division, initiated the petition and an accompanying letter, which drew widespread support across the world.

Dismantle the EU's "Political Wing"

While Egypt's Muslim Brothers are told that they can count on Europe's support and friendship, Jewish sportsmen, artists and scientists no longer get any EU support if they are Jewish and live beyond the 1949 armistice lines. The EU wants "every significant group" included in the Middle East peace process -- except Jews who happen to live beyond the 1949 Green Line. The Muslim Brotherhood is embraced as a friend and partner of Europe, but Jewish sportsmen, artists and scientists are considered a dangerous threat to peace in the Middle East.
Will Baroness Ashton visit Jewish settlers when she happens to be in Judea and Samaria? Obviously not, since the EU advocates their discrimination and impoverishment. But in Egypt, she rushes to the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohamed Morsi to wish them well.
The EU's double standards are also apparent from its decision to cut all financial and commercial links to the Jews beyond the Green Line, while at the same time it refuses to include Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations by making a hypocritical distinction between the so-called "military wing" of the organization and its "political wing." This way, it remains possible to raise funds for Hezbollah -- both its "wings" -- in the 28 EU member states.

Ron Prosor: Hezbollah’s partial isolation

It is for good reason that the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands long-ago labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group — and did so without distinguishing between the political and military wings.
Until Sept. 11, 2001, Hezbollah held the distinction of being responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist organization. In 1983, Hezbollah orchestrated the truck bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, which resulted in the death of 241 U.S. servicemen, mostly Marines. They were also responsible for an attack a few months earlier on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that killed 60 people.

Time to discuss controlling Hezbollah arms: Sleiman

Controlling Hezbollah weapons needs to be discussed because of the party’s military intervention in Syria, President Michel Sleiman said Thursday during celebrations to mark Lebanon Army Day.
“It has become urgent that we review and approve the National Defense Strategy in light of developments in the region,” Sleiman said.

A Glimpse of Things to Come: Arab Press Protesting Hamas Repression

Head of the journalists syndicate Abdul-Nasser Najjar addressed the protesters and expressed astonishment over the ongoing assaults against journalists in Gaza.
“We were surprised as Hamas continued with assaults against Palestinian media organizations, shutting down offices of Ma’an News Network and some other media offices. This is part of an ongoing practice,” Najjar said. He highlighted that “since Hamas staged its coup in Gaza, the main three Palestinian daily newspapers were banned in the Gaza Strip.”
But, you know, only a year ago, in July 2012, Abdel Nasser Najjar called for boycotting a meeting between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Arab journalists. Najjar, an old PLO hand, warned that punitive measures would be taken against journalists who attended the meeting in Jerusalem.
It must be embarrassing, if not outright infuriating, for a journalist who spends half his day working like a serious professional in a Western democracy, vilifying Jews and whatnot, and then, at night, crossing over to the Heart of Darkness that is the Palestinian-run areas.

Syrian Rebels Strike Back with Massive Homs Bombing

Syrian rebels carried out a large-scale attack in the al-Nuzha district of the hotly-contested city of Homs on Thursday, hitting a weapons depot in the government-held city. At least 40 people were killed in the subsequent explosion, human rights groups reported.

Rockets Explode Near Lebanon's Presidential Palace

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets or from where. Eyewitnesses said one rocket fell only a few meters from an entrance to the presidential palace, according to the Associated Press.

Jordan stops large arms transfer from Syria

The spokesman says the group arrested late Thursday included Jordanians and other Arab nationalities.
The official said the arms included mainly machine guns. He said an investigation had begun.

Syrian Rebel Leader Urges Attacks on Russia

The Islamist rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad have been helped by thousands of foreign terrorists, from elsewhere in the Middle East and from as far as the United States. A significant portion have come from the Caucasus, even forming their own rebel battalion.
Now the leader of one Islamist group is telling them to stay home – and attack there.

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8/01 Links Part 1: Netanyahu We Were Here First, Ramallah vs. Peace Process, Assad Joins Instagram

From Ian:

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Khaled Abu Toameh: Ramallah vs. the "Peace Process"

While Palestinian activists were busy threatening the owners of the clothing store, their representatives, Saeb Erekat and Mohamed Shtayyeh, were sitting with Israeli minister Tzipi Livni in Washington and talking about ways of achieving peace and coexistence between the two sides.
What Kerry and the U.S. Administration need to understand is that Abbas has failed to prepare his people for the possibility of peace with Israel. Abbas may be conducting peace talks with Israel, but at the same time he is also backing campaigns that promote boycotts and hatred of Israel. It is important to talk peace. But it is even more important to educate people about peace -- something that neither Yasser Arafat nor his successor, Abbas, have done for the past two decades.

Jeffrey Goldberg: Seven Reasons Kerry's Mideast Talks Are Delusional

Well OK, then: In about nine months, the Arab-Israeli conflict will be over, and we can all move on to something else.
Here's what John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, said yesterday at a news conference in Washington, in the presence of the lead Palestinian and Israeli peace negotiators: "The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues, and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation. And they are on the table with one simple goal: a view to ending the conflict, ending the claims. Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months."
Just to be clear, this is what will need to happen by next April, in time for the White House signing ceremony:

The five flaws of Kerry's Mideast peace process

With so many inherent defects in the current peace talks, why would the U.S. push its most reliable Mideast ally (and the only Middle East democracy) into such perilous waters or inevitable blame? One explanation is the increasingly fashionable idea (promoted by Arab governments) that settlements are blocking a peace deal that would produce Mideast stability.
But inconvenient facts completely contradict this idea: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, and Yemen (etc.) would remain the same conflict-torn mess as they are now after any Israeli-Palestinian peace.

WATCH: Netanyahu's response to Arab MK who said Arabs were here first

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen in the video immediately raising his hand to be allowed a response from the Knesset podium.
"I did not plan to speak but I heard what MK Zahalka had to say. You said 'We were here before you and we'll be here after you're gone.' The first part is not true and the second part will never take place," the prime minister said, slamming his hand on the podium and leaving.
Netanyahu's comments were met with applause from much of the Knesset, even though Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein asked MKs to refrain from clapping.

Anne Bayefsky: Obama Using the UN to Bully Israel

The UN made me do it. That’s how Obama officials are explaining Secretary Kerry’s intense efforts to move Israel onto the front burner, and shove over the bloody turmoil immediately affecting millions of Israel’s neighbors and the imminent catastrophe of an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Speaking to reporters on July 30, 2013, senior officials said the administration was seeking “to avoid a train wreck” at the United Nations. “Throughout the course of this year Palestinians have been making clear that if they couldn’t see progress on the peace front, their intention would be to seek other elevations of their status…at the UN.” “A new dynamic vis-à-vis the United Nations,” was driving the immediacy for renewed talks.

Jewish Human Rights Group Knocks ‘Irony’ of Abbas’s Jew-Free Palestinian State

Officials from Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center hit back at comments made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that any future Palestinian state would be bereft of Israelis.
“Abbas’ vision of peace in the Holy Land is duplicitous and repugnant and only serves to undermine Secretary of State Kerry’s peace initiative,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Center’s associate dean.
“The bitter irony is that Abbas has made a career out of rejecting Israel as a Jewish State, yet has the audacity to claim for himself that the future Palestinian state will be cleansed of Jews,” they continued.

Photojournalist Stages News for Profit and Ideology

Fadi Arouri is one of Ramallah’s biggest opponents of normalizing Israeli-Palestinian ties. He’s also a photographer who isn’t interested in separating his professional journalism and political activism.
And that raises questions about his association with the Reuters wire service and China’s Xinhua News Agency. HonestReporting has learned Reuters fired Arouri, apparently over his extra-curricular activities, but the wire service continues to use his work on a free lance basis.

PA minister urges Palestinians to revolt against Hamas

A Palestinian Authority cabinet minister in Ramallah on Wednesday issued a fatwa (Islamic religious decree) obliging Palestinians to revolt against Hamas and end its control over the Gaza Strip.
The fatwa, issued by PA Minister for Wakf Affairs Mahmoud Habbash, is yet another sign of mounting tensions between Fatah and Hamas in the wake of the crisis in Egypt.

Iran gives Gazans aid, but bypasses Hamas

Already under pressure from the new military-led government in Egypt, the militant group Hamas took another public-relations blow Tuesday when Iran began distributing food aid to Gazans, but delivered the charity through Hamas' rival, Islamic Jihad.
Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, has seen its ties with Iran fray over the last two years, particularly after Hamas refused to back Syrian President Bashar Assad in that country’s civil war. Though Assad had long given exiled Hamas leaders refuge, Hamas political chief Khalid Meshaal left Syria last year after not supporting Assad’s crackdown against predominantly Sunni rebels.

"Radicalizing" the Muslim Brotherhood

The poor Brotherhood. It seems, according to The Times, that people it cannot control are pushing it into violence it does not want. Pardon me, but how do you "radicalize" an organization the credo of which is, "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations"? The Brotherhood was born in violence and knows the value not only of violence, but also of martyrdom. Since its ouster, its leaders have been threatening and inciting violence, hoping to provoke the secular government into killing.

Security experts: Missile used by Syrian rebels poses limited threat to Israel

The rebels identified the weapon as the SA-8, a short-range, 1970s-era surface-to-air system.
A monitor at the launch site shows a missile shooting upward and striking an unidentified aircraft, to shouts of “Allahu akbar” by cheering rebels.
Israeli security experts who viewed the video told The Jerusalem Post that the system could pose a limited threat to Israeli air traffic in the North if radical rebels choose to try and target Israel, but that the Israel Air Force could deal with the threat with relative ease.

Report: Syria Moved Missiles Before Israeli Airstrike

American intelligence analysts have concluded that a recent alleged Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Syria did not succeed in destroying all of the Russian-made anti-ship cruise missiles that were its target, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
American officials who spoke to the newspaper on the matter predicted that further Israeli strikes are likely since some of the missiles hadn’t been destroyed.

Assad Instagram ‘despicable PR stunt’

Syria’s embattled president already has a Facebook page, Twitter account and a YouTube channel. Now Bashar Assad is turning to the popular photo-sharing service Instagram in the latest attempt at improving his image as his country burns, posting pictures of himself and his glamorous wife surrounded by idolizing crowds.

Days before Rouhani to be sworn in, US House sends message to Iran with harsh new sanctions

The Senate is expected to support the legislation— the toughest sanctions package to date, targeting what remains of Iran's oil sector— once Congress reconvenes from its month-long summer recess, sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The bill aims to bring Iranian oil exports essentially down to zero within a year from full passage. Iran has already experienced a 60 percent decrease in oil exports since 2011 due to sanctions.

Tanzania cries foul over masquerading Iranian oil ships

Officials from the East African country’s Zanzibar Maritime Authority have requested that port authorities take stern measures against Iranian ships that use Tanzanian identification codes and reaffirmed that they removed the registration of dozens of Iranian tankers, the website reported.
Authority director Abdi Maalim stressed that his country had canceled the registration of 36 Iranian tankers in order to not fall foul of international sanctions aimed at throttling Iran’s oil exports due to its nuclear program.

Extremist haredi Neturei Karta member offered to spy for Iran

In January 2011, he traveled to Germany and two days after arriving in Berlin entered the Iranian Embassy wearing traditional Jewish garb, introduced himself to the clerk manning the front desk as an Israeli and asked to speak with an embassy official.
At the clerk's request, he handed him his Israeli passport and was allowed into the embassy. He then met with three individuals whose identities are unknown, explained to them that he was a Neturei Karta member and what the sect's principles are, and offered to collect intelligence in Israel on Iran's behalf.

Britain Willing to Restore Ties with Iran

British Foreign Secretary William Hague signalled on Wednesday that Britain was open to improved relations with Iran on a “step-by-step” basis, following talks with his counterpart in Tehran, reported the Daily Telegraph.
The breakthrough phone call between Hague and Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's outgoing foreign minister, came after overtures from Tehran following last month's general election.

Never mind the Czech gold the Nazis stole...

The documents reveal a shocking story: just six months before Britain went to war with Nazi Germany, the Bank of England willingly handed over £5.6 million worth of gold to Hitler – and it belonged to another country.
The official history of the bank, written in 1950 but posted online for the first time on Tuesday, reveals how we betrayed Czechoslovakia – not just with the infamous Munich agreement of September 1938, which allowed the Nazis to annex the Sudetenland, but also in London, where Montagu Norman, the eccentric but ruthless governor of the Bank of England agreed to surrender gold owned by the National Bank of Czechoslovakia.

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7/31 Links Part 2: HRW Ken Roth's Israel Obsession, Richard Landes Terrorist Chic in France

From Ian:

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UN Watch: Why does Ken Roth keep blaming Egyptian abuses on Israel?

Weird that when Egypt's generals perpetrate abuses, Human Rights Watch's Ken Roth has the habit of injecting Israel into the discussion, attempting to implicate it by association.
To restore democracy in Egypt, says Roth, we must "not let Israel concerns stand in way." Yet the linked Washington Post editorial spoke of "peace with Israel." Roth changes the language to preserve his narrative of sinister "Israel concerns." Moreover, he omits the editorial's larger emphasis on policymakers' concern for "the [Egyptian] armed forces’ history as a U.S. ally":

Richard Landes: Terrorist Chic in France, From the Jeu de Paume Exhibit to Al Durah to Mohamed Merah

How can the French, who know what Nazi occupation was like, compare their experience to that of Palestinians in the West Bank? How they could not notice that while the Nazis killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in occupied Europe as part of their deliberate policy of collective punishment, the Palestinians kill thousands of civilians as part of their “resistance”? How could they miss the difference between an “occupation” that kills 6 million Jews and one that produces a Palestinian population with the highest standard of living in the non-oil-rich Arab world? How can they glorify a movement that embraces and intensifies Nazi Jew-hatred? And why do they view Jews who attempt to protect themselves from that aggression through the eyes of those who foment hatred? How did such a profound moral disorientation occur, and why has it been elevated to the level of high art?

Bill Seeks to Advance US Embassy Move to Jerusalem

The bill, H.R.. 2846, is the latest attempt to put pressure on the Obama administration to acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a step the administration and past administrations have been unwilling to take.
According to The Hill, the bill was introduced on Friday, just a few days before Israel and the Palestinian Authority were set to resume peace talks in Washington.

Two Hurt in Rock Attack on Bus in Jerusalem

A 15-year-old teen and a 40-year-old man were wounded on Tuesday evening in a rock attack on a bus in Jerusalem.
Arab terrorists hurled rocks at the bus as it was travelling from the Neve Yaakov neighborhood towards central Jerusalem.

Jihadists fire ‘US-made ballistic missile’ at Sinai security HQ

Jihadists attacked the Egyptian security headquarters in northern Sinai ostensibly using an American-made ballistic missile, Egypt’s interior ministry said early Monday morning.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, the ministry said the missile, which it said was made by the US, hit the third floor of the building in the city of el-Arish on Sunday evening, injuring three soldiers. Photos of the missile’s tail posted on the Facebook page reveal a small plaque reading “guided missile surface attack.” The missile was reportedly 168 centimeters (66 inches) long, 25 centimeters (10 inches) wide, and fired from “a great distance.”

Syrian Electronic Army Hijacks Thomson Reuters Twitter Account

In its latest attack on news outlets, the Syrian Electronic Army hijacked the Twitter account of Thomson Reuters news agency.
It started with this tweet late Monday afternoon, which I re-tweeted shortly thereafter in case it disappeared (and it has).
It was preceded by several other tweets containing political cartoons, which are captured here in screen shots. (Warning, they’re not exactly funny).

Aleppo rebel religious committee forbids ‘colonial’ croissants

A sharia committee in the city issued a fatwa on Facebook prohibiting “Muslim women wearing makeup and tight clothes that reveal physical features from going out.”
A fatwa issued by the Council of the United Judiciary, affiliated with the rebel Free Syrian Army, stipulated a year in jail for anyone not fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Report: Iran to supply Syria with $3.6 billion worth of oil

Iran and Syria have come to an agreement by which Tehran will supply Damascus with $3 billion worth of oil on loan, AFP reported Tuesday, citing Syria's official news agency SANA.
The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad has seen oil production in the country dissipate as result of the civil war.

Analysts predict Iran able to produce atom bomb by mid-2014

Iran is expected to achieve a "critical capability" to produce sufficient weapon-grade uranium by mid-2014, without being detected, the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said in a report on Tuesday.
According to the Washington-based think tank, Iran would achieve this capability by implementing its existing plans to install thousands more IR-1 centrifuges at its declared Natanz and Fordow centrifuge sites.

Turkey Hopes 2013 Trade With Iran Will Reach $30 Billion, up 36% From 2012

The announcement comes as the US threatens further economic sanctions on Iran, while NATO member Turkey has made it clear that it will continue, and even step up, trade with the Iranian regime.
Following a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Ali Reza Bikdeli, Yazıcı said in a statement released by his office: “We want to carry the trading volume one step further. The two countries have great responsibilities and roles with regard to elevating our bilateral trading volume, which was $22 billion in 2012, to $30 billion in the forthcoming period.” The forecasted increase is greater than 36%.

Bipartisan Letter Criticizes Turkish Officials’ Anti-Semitic Comments

Members of U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee have sent a bipartisan letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gül asking for the condemnation of recent anti-Semitic statements by Turkish officials.
The letter by Brad Schneider (D-IL), Randy Weber (R-TX), Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Mark Meadows (R-NC) was signed by 46 U.S. Representatives and noted remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referring to Zionism as a “crime against humanity.”

Prison, lashes for liberal Saudi web forum founder

The founder of a liberal-minded website in Saudi Arabia has been sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes after angering Islamic authorities in the ultraconservative kingdom, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
Raif Badawi, through his website known as Free Saudi Liberals, had urged Saudis to share opinions about the role of religion in the country, which follows a strict form of Islam that includes harsh punishments for challenging customs.

Serial Abusers Stand for UN 'Human Rights' Elections

The UN has announced that elections for 14 influential seats on its Human Rights Council will be held on November 12th, with the world body for the first time confirming that candidates include China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and other regimes criticized for widespread human rights abuses.
Iran pulled out of the race after the July 9th revelation by UN Watch, a non-governmental human rights group based in Geneva, sparked outrage worldwide.

Israeli Navy Installing System to Counter Yakhont Russian Anti-Ship Missile

Israel’s Navy has begun installing a new defense system on its missile boats that would protect them from the feared Yakhont Russian anti-ship missile, Israel Hayom reported.
The Barak 8 medium-range missile is designed to intercept airborne threats, including enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles. “History has never seen ships capable of controlling territory as well as Israel’s Navy using the Barak 8 missile,” according to a source familiar with the weapon.

An Inside Look: IDF Helps Palestinians Cross into Israel from Gaza

Major Tariq, a senior commander in the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), works in one of Israel's most sensitive areas. Stationed at the Erez Crossing – just steps away from Gaza – he and his soldiers face the constant threat of attacks from Hamas terrorists. Since 2005, Hamas has launched 8,000 rockets from Gaza at populated areas in Israel’s southern region.
Despite the danger, Maj. Tariq works every day to help Palestinians cross into Israel from Gaza. As a result of his cooperation with the Palestinian Authority – which also works with a division of COGAT in Judea and Samaria – about 400 Gazans travel into Israel each day through the Erez crossing.

Original Schindler’s List goes unsold on eBay

An original list of names of 801 Jews rescued by German industrialist Oskar Schindler did not find a buyer on eBay.
No one met the opening bid of $3 million for the 14-page list typed on onion skin paper. California collectors Gary Zimet and Eric Gazin had said when the auction was announced earlier this month that they expected the list to sell for about $5 million.
Though the list had no bids, more than half a million people viewed the auction on eBay.

Dr. Oz at Yad Vashem: We can never forget

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the famous TV doctor from the United States, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, both of whom have been spending time Israel, visited Yad Vashem on Tuesday.
The two men and their families were guided by Hanoch Teller through the Yad Vashem's Holocaust museum, the Hall of Names and the Children's Memorial. Following his visit, Oz told Israel Hayom that the museum helped him understand the dimensions of the Holocaust, and the horrific system the Nazis employed to carry out their plans. Oz said he was stunned at how the Nazis were able to come up with arguments to back their actions, leading the Jews to their deaths.
Oz said the lessons of the Holocaust must be remembered, so that history does not repeat itself.

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7/31 Links Part 1: Peace Talks Begin, More PA TV Incitement and Europe's "Moral Values"

From Ian:

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Jpost Editorial: Peace imperative

The true obstacle to peace is the intransigence of Palestinian political leadership. While Israel agreed this week to the painful and highly unpopular move of releasing 104 terrorists from the pre-Oslo era, many of them responsible for the deaths of innocent men, women and children, Palestinian leaders remain strongly opposed to negotiations.
Obviously, Hamas, an anti-Semitic terrorist organization that seeks the destruction of Israel and the restoration of the caliphate, and which continues to enjoy strong support from Palestinians since it won the parliamentary elections in January 2006, is adamantly opposed to any direct negotiations with Israel.

The unfolding failure

A Palestinian friend used an Arab allegory to tell me bluntly, "Just as you came empty handed, so you will leave." In the jails for security prisoners, the murderers know they will go free. Those who planned and carried out terrorist attacks know in advance that if they are caught, they will be released and will return to their activities. The refugees are certain they will return to Palestine, in other words to Jaffa, Acre and Haifa. Hamas, the "rejectionist organizations" and the refugees continue to demand their "return" to Palestine.
According to my friend, most Palestinians are of the mind that Abbas barely represents himself, and any agreement he signs, much like the ancient Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, will be broken and the conflict will resume -- only this time under more optimal conditions.

David Horovitz: 7 reasons the Americans think this time will be different

The next few months will determine if the skeptics — notably including veteran pundits who have seen so many such US-led peace bids crash and burn — have got it wrong this time, and the Kerry-led peace team has got it right. Here are 7 reasons the Americans, if not too many others, believe this time could be different.

MKs discuss anti-Semitism after Abbas calls for Israeli-free state

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s statement that “in a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli...on our lands” took center stage at a Knesset conference on Tuesday, with MKs inferring Israel’s negotiating partner is an anti-Semite.
Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett, who is responsible for the government’s efforts to battle anti-Semitism, attended a conference of a Knesset caucus on the issue, led by MK Shimon Ohayon (Likud Beytenu), and pointed out that Abbas denied the Holocaust.
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Avigdor Liberman (Likud Beytenu) said he keeps a copy of Abbas’s book, which purports to connect Zionism and Nazism and has a Star of David and a swastika on its cover, in his office.

MEMRI: In Palestinian Authority TV Film, Factions Unite to Beat Jewish Settlers, Cut Their Side-Locks


Leader of Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood Hammam Saeed: Peace Negotiations Are Heresy VIDEO

Barry Rubin: Now We Know The Truth: What's Behind U.S. "Peace Process" Policy

“With the Palestinians poised to take their claim for statehood to the International Criminal Court and United Nations bodies, American officials say the two sides were facing a downward spiral in which the Israelis would respond by cutting off financing to the Palestinian territories and European nations might curtail their investment in Israel, further isolating the Israelis.”
Now, what is this saying?
--The Palestinian Authority (PA) intends to violate all the pledges used over the last 20 years of negotiations and in obtaining the West Bank and, previously, Gaza Strip. (Not a good precedent for the likelihood of their keeping future commitments.)
--The PA will seek statehood not through negotiations with Israel but unilaterally. No Israel agreement will be necessary.
--To summarize, the United States proposes surrender to a development breaking its more than 20-year-long policy that no comprehensive solution would be achieved without real mutual agreement.

The Guardian asks if 4.9 million Palestinian “refugees” will “return” to cities…where they never lived.

Whatever the outcome of current negotiations between the two parties, and regardless of any diplomatic comprises proposed by either side to achieve a symbolic settlement of the “refugee” issue, Israel naturally won’t let Palestinian Arabs “return” to homes that they never actually owned, in cities where they never once lived.
Finally, it’s interesting to note that the Guardian has, on two recent occasions, completely whitewashed the historically undisputed ethnic cleansing of Jews by Arab rulers in the years following the 1948 war, yet parrots a Palestinian narrative falsely imputing such a victim status onto millions of Palestinians who never during the course of their lives were actual refugees.
The Guardian narrative is at times as ahistorical as it is ideological.

The World from Here: Peace talks and the Palestinian ‘struggle’

Abbas is not Arafat. However, his statements are no less fallacious. Abbas told Al-Rai on July 21, referring to the disputed territories of Judea/Samaria-the West Bank, whose disputed status was enshrined and agreed on in Oslo between Israel and the PA and was to be resolved by direct negotiations, that Israel should “get out of Palestinian land completely.” Abbas and the PA leadership’s latest success in mobilizing the European Union to assault Israel’s most fundamental rights in the Palestinian- Israeli conflict creates a strong disincentive for Palestinian negotiators to reach an end-of-claims agreement with Israel. It also empowers the Palestinian “struggle by any means.”
The “low-hanging fruit” of assaulting Israel’s housing in Jerusalem and in Jewish communities east of the 1949 armistice lines may likely prove too tempting for Abbas to make the necessary sacrifices and compromises that are critical to demonstrate goodwill and acceptance of the other. In the meantime, Israel continues to make painful concessions for peace, as the families of terror victims pointed out this week in their tearful protestations outside the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem.

Terror Survivor: We Can Only Look Forward

Terrorism survivor Asael Shabo spoke to the media this week as he prepared for a match against football (soccer) star Lionel Messi and the Barcelona team. Shabo will play as part of a group of Israeli and Palestinian Authority Arab athletes.
Eleven years ago, Asael’s home in Itamar was the scene of a massacre. PA terrorists broke into the home and shot and murdered his mother and three of his brothers, and badly wounded Asael.

Alan Dershowitz: United States Presses Israel to Release Murderers But Won’t Release Pollard

American political leaders from both sides of the aisle, as well as from all religious backgrounds, have called for Pollard’s release on compassionate grounds, based on the length of his sentence and his deteriorating physical condition.
Israel will go forward with negotiations regardless of whether Pollard is released, because the Israeli government wants a peaceful resolution that assures security. But in the end the Israeli public will have to vote for any deal struck between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, with the help of American negotiators. The outcome of any such referendum will depend on whether Israeli voters believe that their security has been assured and that the United States continues to stand behind them. Releasing Jonathan Pollard—as a gesture of good will, as a show of American support, and in the interests of justice and compassion—will go a long way toward encouraging the Israeli public to vote in favor of a peace agreement that requires great sacrifices on their part.

Ashrawi on CNN: So Predictable – Anti-Israel Vitriol and Distortions

Palestinian Legislative Council member Hanan Ashrawi, a fluent English speaker with a high news media profile, is a veteran anti-Israel propagandist who habitually shades when she does not shred the truth.
Ashrawi appeared on Christiane Amanpour's July 23 CNN International show on TV to discuss the position of President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority in negotiations soon to take place.

Europe's "Moral Values"

European governments and the EU have never been friends of Israel. Now, they are less friends of Israel than ever. The likelihood that they will adopt a more positive attitude toward Israel is nil.
They speak as enemies of Israel. They behave as enemies of Israel. They take decisions only enemies of Israel would take.
They are at war with Israel. They do not wage war directly: they engage battle through other channels, hypocritically, viciously, and cowardly.
In the 1940s, Europe was the continent of Auschwitz. Today, Europe is a continent where politicians and technocrats support what Abba Eban called the "Auschwitz borders". There is no doubt they hope for results similar to those obtained in Auschwitz, just by other means.

Anti-Semitic German Magazine that Praises Nazis Refuses to Shut Down Despite Global Criticism

Der Landser – translated literally as The Squaddie – is published by the giant Bauer media group, and fills its pages with glorifying photos of the German Army and the notorious Wafffen SS, seen as one of the main perpetrators of the Holocaust.
According to the UK’s Daily Mail, soldiers of S.S. divisions, including Das Reich, have been portrayed in the magazine as fighting machines who fought only for the honor of their Fatherland.

Anti-Semitism in Sweden Forces Jews to Question their Future

Jewish people have lived in Malmoe for over two centuries, often arriving in the south Swedish port city - a safe haven for generations - after fleeing persecution and intolerance in other parts of Europe.
But though waves of immigration over the past two decades have made the area more diverse, hate crimes appear to be on the rise and many people -
paradoxically - say they feel less secure.
Highlighting a problem many Swedes had thought long relegated to history, the US special envoy for anti-Semitism even visited Malmoe last year.

Kenyan lawyer takes State of Israel, Jews to Hague over Jesus' death

A Kenyan lawyer has filed a petition with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, suggesting that the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was unlawful, and The State of Israel among others should be held responsible, Kenyan news outlet the Nairobian reported on Friday.
Dola Indidis, a lawyer and former spokesman of the Kenyan Judiciary is reportedly attempting to sue Tiberius (Emperor of Rome 42 BC-37AD), Pontius Pilate, a selection of Jewish elders, King Herod, the Republic of Italy and the State of Israel.

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7/30 Links Part 1: Peace Talks Begin, Indyk’s Doubts, Prisoner Release Reactions

From Ian:

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Israel-Palestine: Nine months of talks, but will there be a baby?

Mr Obama needs to realise that he won't carve his niche in history by solving the unsolvable. The Israelis and Palestinians remain as far apart as ever on the core final status issues. Borders, refugees, Jerusalem and security are the four eternal and unresolvable agenda items and the distance between today's negotiators is as wide as it has ever been.
The Palestinians (and the EU!) are insisting that a Palestinian state's border follows a non-existent and irrelevant cease-fire line from 64 years ago; no-one realistically expects Israel to receive the several million Palestinian "refugees" into a Jewish state; East Jerusalem, never the capital of anyone other than Israel and logistically impossible to separate from the rest of the city, will never be given up by Israel; and who really wants to see a second Palestinian enclave taken over by Hamas so they can threaten my aircraft the next time I fly into Tel Aviv?
If this next nine months goes anywhere, it is most likely to be to a realisation that a two-state solution is just not going to happen. Unfortunately, however, this outcome has the potential for an even bigger disaster. Sky News' Tim Marshall, in my view the most balanced TV journalist around when it comes to Israel and the Middle East, commented Monday morning that the failure of these talks could lead to two highly negative outcomes.

Indyk Last Year: 'Hard to Believe' Peace Deal Can be Reached

IDF Radio has broadcast a recording of an interview with Indyk in which he was asked about the chances such talks would succeed.
“I'm not particularly optimistic,” he answered, “because I think that the heart of the matter is that the maximum concession that this government of Israel would be prepared to make, fall far short of the minimum requirements that Abu Mazen will insist on. Though it may be possible to keep the talks going, which is a good thing, I find it very hard to believe that they will reach an agreement.”

Negotiating lessons, in Martin Indyk’s own words

Martin Indyk, the former two-time US ambassador to Israel named Monday as US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations, in 2009 published a fascinating account of his personal experiences as a US diplomat at the heart of the Middle East peace process, entitled “Innocent Abroad.”
Throughout his book, he provides glimpses into his own personal beliefs, and he concluded with prescriptions for future negotiators and American diplomats. The various parties might want to read and internalize some of Indyk’s own words, as the negotiations get going again:

Oren: Israel will demand recognition as Jewish state

Israel’s ambassador to the US Michael Oren told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday that Israel is “predicated on having a Jewish majority,” and that any final-status agreement with the Palestinians will require their recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
“It means the Jewish state is permanent and legitimate,” said Oren of such recognition, adding, “We’re not asking the Palestinians to do it upfront.”

Ex-Mossad Head: Peace Talks were Bungled

"This should have been handled differently,” he explained. “We should have conducted secret negotiations with the Arab League, and only then begun open negotiations with the PA. The problem of Jerusalem, for instance, is not a PA problem but a problem of the entire Arab world. At least two states, like Jordan and Saudi Arabia, need to be brought on board, in order to give backing to any move.”

Peace talks arrive in the Knesset

For the first time, parliamentary caucus to host a delegation of PA officials for a gathering in support of renewed negotiations
The caucus will welcome the Palestinian officials by placing Palestinian flags alongside Israeli flags in the Knesset’s Galil Auditorium, according to organizers. The meeting may become the first time in the Knesset’s history that the two flags share a room within the parliament’s walls.
The visit also marks the first time Palestinian Authority officials have agreed to visit the Knesset, a move Palestinian leaders have avoided in the past because they feared it would constitute an implicit acknowledgement of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem, the organizers added.

Abbas pledges: There will be no Israelis in Palestine

Even as talks for a permanent Israeli-Palestinian peace got off to a cautious start in Washington Monday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters in Egypt that no Israelis would be allowed to remain in a future Palestinian state.
“In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli — civilian or soldier — on our lands,” Abbas said following a meeting with interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour in Cairo.

Snag in Israel-PA Peace Talks

After a three-year hiatus, negotiations were set to resume in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, with two representatives from each side to meet at the table for direct talks, supported by the U.S.
But the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) called the initiative a “unilateral move” by Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas.
The PFLP claimed the agreement to negotiate did not have unanimous backing from the entire PLO, since its own faction rejects the move.

Israeli Appeasement

Nothing does more to abet terrorism than the release of terrorists for their gruesome crimes. In 1985 Israel released 1,150 prisoners for 3 captured Israelis. Fifteen years later it released 450 prisoners for 3 Israeli bodies and a kidnapped Israeli. In 2008 it released 5 Arab prisoners (including Samir al-Kuntar, convicted for the hideous murder of a father in front of his four-year-old daughter, whose skull Kuntar then crushed against a rock) for two Israeli bodies. Two years ago, 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. None of these releases led to peace; only to more terrorism.

Indy posts, then deletes, reference to Palestinian terrorists as ‘political prisoners’

We contacted Indy editors shortly after the post, and, in addition to providing the data we secured from the Justice Ministry on the prisoners and their crimes, noted that even the Guardian (following our complaint) had corrected a story in April which originally contained the false description of the prisoners as “political prisoners”. Though the Indy has yet to respond to our complaint, there was recently an indication that such a correction may be forthcoming.

What does the mother of a ‘pre-Oslo’ monster look like?

The mother is rejoicing over the possible release of her son, a Palestinian (presumably seen in the photo she’s holding) alternately known as Abu Moussa Salam Ali Atiya who murdered an Israeli named Isaac Rotenberg in 1994. Whilst the Indy caption doesn’t include a word about the crimes of Ateya Abu Moussa or background on his victim, fortunately Almagor Murder Victims Association provides further details:
Ateya Abu Moussa murdered Rotenberg as a condition of being accepted into a terrorist organization.
Isaac Rotenberg survived a Nazi extermination camp but was murdered by a (soon to be free) loathsome terrorist spawned by the woman ‘sensitively’ depicted in a photo carefully selected by Indy editors.

Koby Mandell Foundation protests freeing terrorists

“My son Koby Mandell was murdered 12 years ago near our home, and his murderers have not been found. And I have to tell you that that’s a relief. In all likelihood, if they had not already been released, they’d be released now. In fact, my other son wrote an article thanking the government for not finding his brother’s killers,” said Seth Mandell, founder of the Koby Mandell Foundation, at a Monday evening demonstration outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem.

Op-Ed: It Pays to Mutilate Jewish Children

Arab torture and terrorism work. And the mutilation of Jewish families led to political gains. There is no other logical conclusion we can draw after Israel decided to free dozens of monsters who in the pre Oslo era killed hundreds of Jews. Terrorism has been a winning strategy for Arab irredentism.
First of all, the Jews killed by Palestinians are treated as second class victims by global and humanitarian organizations, by the robber barons of The Hague international Court, by the mainstream media and by the Israeli establishment itself. It is as though these Jews have never existed. Their blood has been shed for nothing.

A triumph for terror

They murdered men and women because they were Jewish, stabbed 13-year-old kids and firebombed Israeli buses and cars. They hurled grenades at Israeli civilians, kidnapped, tortured and killed young soldiers, and assaulted and slew the elderly, including a Holocaust survivor.
These are just a few of the 104 Palestinian prisoners the government magnanimously decided to release on Sunday as part of the resumption of talks with the Palestinian Authority.
Chalk up yet another triumph for the terrorists.

Terrorists Lob Rocket at Israel, No One Hurt

Terrorists fired a rocket Tuesday morning from Hamas-controlled Gaza into southern Israel, as “peace talks” between the Palestinian Authority and Israel began in Washington.
The rocket exploded in an empty area within the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. No one was hurt and no damage was reported.
Similar attacks took place July 21 and July 18.

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7/29 Links Part 2: Guardian Whitewashes The Ethnic cleansing of Jews, The PA's “radio terrorism"

From Ian:

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The Guardian AGAIN whitewashes the ethnic cleansing of Jews

But, not only does Sherwood suggest, without evidence, an Israeli attempt to purge the city of Palestinians, but when in the course of her narrative there’s an opportunity to provide balance and context, and detail the expulsion of Jews from eastern Jerusalem in 1948, the Guardian reporter merely writes the following:

at the end of the war following the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, Jerusalem was divided, with the Old City on the Jordanian-controlled eastern side of the armistice line, known as the Green Line. The Jewish population within the ancient stone walls sank to zero.

Why the Jewish population “within the ancient stone walls” magically “sank to zero”, she of course doesn’t say.
Readers aren’t told that on May 28, 1948 the Jewish Quarter of the Old City fell to the Arab Legion and upon its capture Jews were expelled from eastern Jerusalem and barred from returning, or even visiting Jewish holy places – and that the Jewish Quarter of the Old City was all but destroyed.

BBC downplays Palestinian terrorists’ crimes yet again

The BBC is apparently afraid to tell its audiences the truth about these men. It whitewashes their crimes with euphemisms such as “militant attacks”, never mentioning their victims or details of their crimes and never informing its audiences of the effect that their release will have upon family members of those victims.
Clearly, to tell BBC audiences the accurate and impartial truth about these terrorists and the full meaning of their release would undermine the existing narrative on the subject of the Arab-Israeli conflict which the BBC has long gone out of its way to promote.

Majority of missile fire from Gaza Strip ignored by BBC

In other words, the majority of missile attacks targeting Israeli civilians continue to be ignored by the BBC, as was the case in the months before Operation Pillar of Cloud. It is of course difficult to imagine such patchy BBC reporting were those missiles directed at British citizens.
If and when Israel is forced to respond to the renewed attacks, BBC audiences will yet again lack the background information which would enable them to put the news into context.

Officials: If PA Doesn't Act, IDF Will Close Down Radio Stations

Israel threatened on Sunday to take military action if needed to protect its skies from PA “radio terrorism.” In a statement, the Communications Ministry said that it “took a very dim view” of the PA's attempts to wreck Israeli aviation at Ben Gurion Airport by not closing down illegal radio stations. The Ministry has filed an official complaint with the PA.
On Sunday, officials at Ben Gurion Airport said that they had experienced significant interference in communications with incoming planes, to the extent that some landings would have been dangerous had weather conditions been less stable. If such interruptions occur again, the officials said, they would have to shut down the airport, preventing planes from landing or taking off.

Egypt’s dilemma

Today Egypt has two major political and economic actors who are well organized but inexperienced at operating within democratic structures. On the one side there is the secular army and on the other the Muslim Brotherhood. Between these two extremes is the popular majority of moderate Egyptians who simply want political freedom and equal economic opportunities. This majority is well connected through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, useful social networks for organizing protests. But these online social networks have been unable to build a viable platform with political vision and leadership that can receive a mandate from the people and command real political power. Until that happens, Egypt’s future remains fragile.

Attack on Minya churches repelled by residents, security forces

Muslim youth and security forces protected Al-Azraa and Anba Ebram churches from attacks by alleged Morsi supporters in Minya on Saturday, spokesperson of the archbishop of Mawas monastery Amgad Ezzat has told state-owned MENA agency.
“They threw molotov cocktails at Al-Azraa and Anba Ebram churches but were not able to break in as nearby Muslims and Christians were securing the churches,” said Ishak Ibrahim, researcher at Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). He added that the protesters tried to storm in El-Eslah church but were prevented. “However, both El-Eslah church and an annex of the Catholic church were raided before, on 3 July,” he said.

The Region: How the Syrian civil war really affects Israel

Finally, Syria has done something momentous in regional terms. It has broken the myth of the “Israel card” or “linkage.”
You can still argue that an Arab ruler can make political capital by blaming Israel, or that solving the Arab-Israeli or Israel-Palestinian conflict will fix everything in the region, but no one in the region will take you seriously. No one, that is, except US Secretary of State John Kerry on his frequent, short but useless junkets.

One-upping EU, Gulf states blacklist all of Hezbollah

Six days after the European Union placed Hezbollah’s military wing on its list of terror organizations while leaving cooperation with the party’s political branch unaffected, a union of six Arab Gulf states has begun officially blacklisting all of Hezbollah.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, a political and economic umbrella organization encompassing Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait, has begun implementing a decision adopted by its foreign ministers on June 2 to place financial and security restrictions on Hezbollah, “making no distinction whatsoever between its military and political arms,” the Saudi daily Al-Watan reported on Sunday.

Turkish Airlines investigated for alleged tax fraud in Israel

Turkish Airlines' Israeli office is currently being investigated for alleged tax evasion amounting to over 1.5 million shekels ($418,000), a statement by the Justice Ministry said Monday.
According to the statement, the Tel Aviv District Prosecution's Taxes and Economics Department is considering pressing criminal charges against the company as well as the head of its local office, Fatih Dogan, for failing to meet Israel's Tax Authority guidelines for foreign companies operating in Israel. The decision is pending a hearing before the head of the Taxes and Economics Department, attorney Mina Zamir.

NGO Monitor: How many Palestinians received medical care in Israel in 2012?

Almost 220,000 patients and their companions.
Political medical NGOs who condemn Israel are guilty of moral and informational malpractice. See NGO Monitor's monograph, NGO Malpractice – The Political Abuse of Medicine, Morality, and Science

IDF Blog: From the NYT Best-Seller List to the IDF

Best-selling American author and entrepreneur Harvey Mackay recently visited the IDF Home Front Command, where he discussed the importance of the IDF’s objectives, training and life-saving missions abroad, in an exclusive interview.

Cancer patient thanks Birthright for saving his life

"As far as I'm concerned, I received a gift in being able to participate in Taglit Birthright and now I am paying that gift forward," said 23-year-old Matthew Putterman from Houston, Texas after donating bone marrow to Michael Wiesner, a 65-year-old Jewish man from New Jersey, saving his life.
The two met for the first time on stage at a Taglit Birthright event held Wednesday evening. Participants of the program, which brings young Jews to Israel, are asked to give a blood sample to the Gift Of Life Jewish bone marrow database.

Max Brenner on US top milkshake list

The milkshake of Max Brenner, a restaurant chain owned by Israel's Strauss company, has been chosen as one of the best of its kind in America.
The chain has four restaurants and chocolate bars in the United States: In New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Las Vegas. Its fifth branch is expected to open next month in Bethesda, Maryland.
The USA Today daily has ranked the shake served at the company's New York restaurant as one of America's top 10 milkshakes.
The newspaper conducted a special examination of the popular ice cream drink, selecting 15 restaurants which serve the best milkshakes in the US. Getting "chocolate by the bald man" (Max Brenner's logo) was defined in the article as a New York experience.

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7/29 Links Part 1: Peace Talks Roundup

From Ian:

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Jpost Editorial: Too high a price

Israel should not have to foot the bill for the failure of the Palestinian leadership to prepare its people for peace with the Jewish state. And no Israeli who has already experienced the unfathomable pain of knowing that another person intentionally killed a loved one should be forced to endure the additional torture of seeing that murderer go free in exchange for the dubious prospect of a renewed peace process.
What’s more, by caving in to the Palestinian demand to pardon terrorists convicted of murdering innocent civilians, Israel blurs the clear differentiation that must be made between legitimate political activity used by Palestinians in pursuit of self-determination and the illegitimate use of terrorism to further their political goals.

Can Netanyahu go all the way in peace talks? And does it matter?

There is ample reason to believe that the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, getting underway Monday in Washington, will end in failure, well before the nine months slated for them are up.
But analysts say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on going into talks and seeking to reach a deal, bluff or not, may well leave Israel in a commanding position if the negotiations do indeed fail.
Conventional wisdom says that the “direct final status negotiations,” as they are referred to by the US State Department, are doomed to fall apart because the maximum Netanyahu can offer is far less than Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas can accept.

Releasing terrorists is obscene

We are constantly told that: “One man’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter”. It may have become a moral relativist mantra, but that doesn’t make it true. On the contrary, it is a fallacy designed to whitewash atrocities. A terrorist is a terrorist, is a terrorist. Mohammed Atta, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Adam Ibrahim Juma are terrorists by anyone’s standards, irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or politics. If indeed there are those that consider them “freedom fighters” – then they are themselves criminal minds.
The very notion of Palestinian preconditions before even reaching the negotiating table, to enter a process in which they would be the potential beneficiaries – is utterly absurd. But when it involves the release of some of the most vicious terrorists of our time, it becomes obscene. And that obscenity has been made possible by none other then the US Secretary of State.

Shin Bet Head Warned Ministers: Don't Release Terrorists

Cohen explained that the release of terrorist prisoners would diminish security “both in the immediate threat to the public, and because of the erosion in deterrence.”
"The chance that the prisoners will go back to terrorism is relatively large,” he said. Experience shows that as the years pass from the terrorists' release, they tend to go back to the activity that landed them in jail, he added.

Netanyahu Said: Freeing Terrorists Strengthens Terror

"The government decided to release terrorists and I ask, why? In return for what? What have we received? This crossing of a line, of releasing murderers, is dangerous in the struggle against terror."
These words were spoken just five years ago, when the Kadima government released 200 terrorists as a “gesture” to Mahmoud Abbas. Only two of those had blood on their hands.

MK: Let's Just Shut Down Shin Bet

In a Knesset debate on the budget, MK Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) expressed her frustration with the government's decision to release terrorist murderers, by proposing that the budget for the Shin Bet intelligence services, and military courts be slashed, alleging that they are unnecessary anyway.

Terrorist to be Released: There Will be More Intifadas

"As long as there is no political horizon there will be a third, fourth, fifth and sixth intifada," declared the terrorist, Nasser Abu Srour, who was interviewed by Channel 2 News as part of a special project which showed the excellent treatment of terrorist prisoners by Israel.
Abu Srour, who murdered Shin Bet agent Chaim Nachmani in 1993, told the channel, “"I was a soldier in the army of Palestine. What do soldiers do? Fight.”

While Abbas Talks 'Peace,' PA TV Continues Hate Broadcasts

As Israel and the Palestinian Authority prepare to sit down yet again for another round of talks, PA television has been broadcasting the latest in its long string of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic programs and songs.
In a “music video” first released in 2011 and re-released over the past several days, and monitored by Palestinian Media Watch, Israel is called “the snake's head” which needs to be crushed by Arab rifles. It comes only days after another PA program honored arch-terrorist Abdallah Barghouti for his role in the murder of 61 Israelis in a string of atrocities.

Cabinet approves referendum bill on relinquishing territory

The cabinet approved on Sunday a bill that requires a public referendum on any future peace deal with the Palestinians that would have Israel give up sovereign territory.
The bill covers all of Israel, the Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem, but does not relate to the West Bank, which was never annexed by Israel.

Report: Palestinians claim Kerry vowed to reject Israeli bid for interim deal

According to Al-Hayat, Kerry promised PA President Mahmoud Abbas that Washington would oppose any Israeli attempt to avoid a final-status deal in favor of an interim arrangement. The senior Palestinian official was also quoted as saying that Ramallah would initially aim to come to agreement with Israel on the contours of a Palestinian state.

Indyk to be named head US negotiator, says report

Martin Indyk is expected to be named the head of the American delegation to peace talks between Israel and Palestinians, possibly as early as Monday, a US source familiar with the matter has said.
The source, cited by Reuters, confirmed rumors floated early last week regarding the two-time US ambassador to Israel. Indyk, born in London and educated in Australia, currently serves as the director of foreign policy for the Brookings Institution, an influential DC-based think tank.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Iran Enters the Peace Process

With the support of Iran, Hamas will step up its efforts to foil any attempt by the Palestinian Authority to regain control over the Gaza Strip. And with Iran's backing, Hamas and other Palestinian groups will do their utmost to foil any attempt to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel.
Some Palestinian Authority officials expressed fear that Hamas, on instructions from Tehran, would try to initiate a confrontation with Israel in an attempt to embarrass Abbas and thwart US Secretary of State John Kerry's effort to resume the peace negotiations.

BBC misrepresentation of Resolution 242

There are many other examples which also clarify the fact that the wording of resolution 242 was in fact deliberately very precise and intended. It is therefore unfitting that the BBC should chose to misrepresent it in this disingenuous manner and the fact that it does so clearly contravenes BBC guidelines on accuracy and impartiality as well as deliberately misleading BBC audiences.

Christian Israel-Backers Blast Obama on Peace

Christian evangelical supporters of Israel sent a strong message of opposition to President Obama on Iran and the renewal of Mideast peace talks as they convened last night for their annual Washington conference.
A series of speakers who took the stage at the conference, which hosted 4,200 members of Christians United for Israel from across the nation, stressed Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran by taking military action and spoke out against attempts to force Israel to accept a peace plan based on the 1967 borders.

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