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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

From Ian:

Dennis Ross: Blocking action on Syria makes an attack on Iran more likely
Still, for the opponents of authorization, these arguments are portrayed as abstractions. Only threats that are immediate and directly affect us should produce U.S. military strikes. Leaving aside the argument that when the threats become immediate, we will be far more likely to have to use our military in a bigger way and under worse conditions, there is another argument to consider: should opponents block authorization and should the president then feel he cannot employ military strikes against Syria, this will almost certainly guarantee that there will be no diplomatic outcome to our conflict with Iran over its nuclear weapons.
I say this for two reasons. First, Iran’s President Rouhani, who continues to send signals that he wants to make a deal on the nuclear program, will inevitably be weakened once it becomes clear that the U.S. cannot use force against Syria. At that point, paradoxically, the hard-liners in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and around the Supreme Leader will be able to claim that there is only an economic cost to pursuing nuclear weapons but no military danger. Their argument will be: Once Iran has nuclear weapons, it will build its leverage in the region; its deterrent will be enhanced; and, most importantly, the rest of the world will see that sanctions have failed, and that it is time to come to terms with Iran.
Thomas Sowell: Syria and Obama
Whatever the Obama rhetoric, the reality is that his policies in Egypt and Libya have led to replacing stable regimes, at peace with Israel and the West, and tolerant of their own Christian minorities, with chaotic regimes in which fanatical anti-Western terrorists have played a large and growing role, with hostility to Israel and murderous attacks on Christians in their own country.
Barack Obama will try to salvage his policy and his presidency with a speech to the nation. Rhetoric is his strong suit. The big question is: How many Americans have learned to distinguish between his soaring words and his sorry record? Matters of life and death can hinge on the answer to that question.
Noah Beck: Russia helps Obama dodge the Syrian bullet
Any diplomatic initiative on Syria coming from Russia, whose UN votes have perpetuated Assad's killing machine for over two years, should be viewed with extreme suspicion. Nevertheless, the latest Russian proposal merits serious consideration.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's proposal, which exploited an offhand remark by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, calls for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons arsenal in exchange for a cancellation of the U.S. military action against Syria being debated by Congress.
Russian national interests underlie this proposal: helping Russia's last Mideast client state to survive, reinforcing the image of Russia as a Mideast power broker, and diminishing the perception that Russia supports chemical weapons use.
Isi Leibler: Candidly Speaking: America’s isolationism and its implications for Israel
Israel stands in a difficult position in the midst of the tension. Understandably, it is unwilling to side either with the murderous Assad or the monstrous al-Qaida terrorists now dominant among the Syrian rebels. There is little doubt that we would wish a plague on both their houses.
But Israel recognizes that if, after Obama’s repeated promise to act if Assad crossed the “red lines” and employed chemical weapons, Congress rejects his request for a military response, the weakened president would suffer further humiliation, highlighting US impotence and strengthening the isolationist trends that have already dramatically impacted on American public opinion.
This would have severe negative ramifications on Israel and the entire region and, above all, embolden the Iranians towards attaining their nuclear objective.
Privately, UN talks begin on Syria chemical arms
The plan for Syria to relinquish its chemical weapons, initiated by Russia, appeared to ease the crisis over looming Western strikes against Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus, only to open up new potential for impasse as Moscow rejected US and French demands for a binding UN resolution with “very severe consequences” for non-compliance.
Syrian FM: "We'll Even Sign the Int'l Ban on Chemical Weapons"
Walid Muallem was speaking in an interview with Lebanon based Al-Maydeen TV.
"We fully support Russia's initiative concerning chemical weapons in Syria, and we are ready to cooperate. As a part of the plan, we intend to join the Chemical Weapons Convention," Muallem said.
In a turn around to the political momentum building towards a possible military strike, Muallem gave the nod to the Russian brokered deal earlier today calling for Syria to turn over its full arsenal of chemical weaponry to the international community.
Syria and Russia Fail Lie Detector Test
Vladimir Putin and Bassar al-Assad’s proven inability to tell the truth has been their best tactic to outsmart Obama, who has allowed himself to be cornered into using reason to defeat a lie.
After weeks of insisting that the Assad regime has no chemical weapons, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Tuesday that it would cease production of chemical weapons and disclose the locations of its stockpiles to the United Nations and to Russia.
That was the first admission that Assad has chemical weapons, a fact which has been obvious to France, Britain, the United States and certainly to Syrian victims of chemical war.
Minister urges UN to stop making speeches and act on Syria
In a rare recent public comment from an Israeli minister on international policy in Syria, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni on Wednesday called on the United Nations to intervene in the war-torn country, and to avoid relying on speeches and rhetoric.
“The UN, whose motto from day one has been ‘never again,’ must intervene,” said Livni, speaking at a convention of the Israel Bar Association in Herzliya. “It’s not enough to make moving speeches. It must fight for the values with deeds as well. The events in Syria must be destroyed while they’re still small.”
Report: Russia to supply S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran
The newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Russian government will revive the transfer three years after it canceled the original transaction.
According to Kommersant, the Kremlin agreed to Tehran’s request to complete the transaction, which will net the Russian treasury $800 million.
Assad Celebrates Birthday as Rebels Rue 'Dirty' Chemical Deal
Bashar al Assad marked his 48th birthday Wednesday, gifted with the momentum gathering behind a Russian-brokered deal that could prevent a U.S.-led strike on his regime.
Despite the fact that over 100,000 Syrians have been killed in the country's civil war, with two million having fled and a further four million citizens displaced inside the country, the Russian plan that would see Assad cede his chemical weapons arsenal to the international community, looks set to lengthen Assad's grip over the country.
MEMRI: The Syrian Crisis As Reflected In Cartoons In The Arab Media
Numerous cartoons have been published recently in the Arab media in response to the escalation of the Syrian crisis following Bashar Assad's reported chemical attack near Damascus on August 21, 2013, and to the U.S.'s preparations for a possible military attack in Syria in reaction to this chemical attack. Many of the cartoons criticize the U.S., especially President Obama himself, for defining the use of chemical weapons as a "red line" but hesitating to respond now that this red line has been crossed. Others criticize the U.N., depicting it as weak and powerless to deal with the crisis or as turning a blind eye to Assad's use of chemical weapons. Still others express opposition to a U.S. attack in Syria, saying that it would destroy Syria and harm its people, and even spark war throughout the world. Some cartoons also criticize Assad's cruelty and predict that he will respond to a U.S. attack by retaliating against his own people.
Obama on Syria Retaliation: Israel ‘Can Defend Itself,’ Has ‘Unshakable’ U.S. Support
“Neither [President Bashar] Assad nor his allies have any interest in escalation that would lead to his demise,” Obama said. “And our ally Israel can defend itself with overwhelming force, as well as the unshakable support of the United States of America.”
Obama said that failing to respond to Syria’s use of chemical weapons against civilians “would weaken prohibitions against other weapons of mass destruction and embolden Assad’s ally, Iran, which must decide whether to ignore international law by building a nuclear weapon or to take a more peaceful path.”
Syrian oppositionist quietly aims for normalization with Israel
A Europe-based Syrian opposition political activist who took part in the early stages of the uprising against the Syrian government told The Jerusalem Post he would like the Syrian and Israeli people to become partners, develop business connections and visit each other’s countries.
The activist, who goes by the pseudonym Amin Muhammad, is working on forming a liberal Syrian party that would be pro-West and seek the normalization of relations with Israel. Muhammad is in contact with Israeli politicians. The only one he agreed to name was Labor MK Isaac Herzog, who had helped arrange this interview.
Israeli NGO brings food, medicine, post trauma care to Syrians
An Israeli NGO working under the radar has sent 70 tons of sanitation items, 670 tons of food, 300,000 dry meals, 20 tons of medications and post trauma care specialists to Syrian refugees since the start of the bloody civil war.
The NGO does not identify its members and is only known as IL4Syrians.
“The harsh reality in which the organization is operating is on behalf of the victims of [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s atrocities, which demands us to carry out our activities below the radar and hide our identities. This is in order to protect the lives of team members and local contacts, and to ensure the flow of victims’ needs, such as food, medicine, and basic supplies,” a statement on the website reads.
Youngest Syrian Victim Treated in Israeli Hospital Released
The child, a two-and-half-year-old boy who was suffering from shrapnel wounds to his head, was brought with his injured mother to Ziv Medical Center on Wednesday for emergency treatment. The two were injured by a missile explosion across from their home in Syria, which left shrapnel pieces and burns on the upper part sof their bodies.
U.S. Eases Sanctions on Iran
The U.S. Treasury announced Tuesday that it would permit private organizations to support humanitarian program in Iran, and sports groups to hold exchanges with the country.
Opening up a window of cooperation in its tight sanctions crackdown on Iran, the Treasury issued "general licenses", or permits, for the two areas of activity. It said this would "encourage humanitarian and goodwill services between the Iranian and American people."
‘Russia to sell Iran anti-aircraft system, nuclear reactor’
After calling off a transfer of five S-300 missile batteries to Iran three years ago, Russia is now interested in renewing the agreement and in setting up a civilian nuclear reactor for its long-time ally as part of a deal worth $800 million, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported Wednesday.
The two countries initially signed the S-300 missile system deal in 2007, but it was called off three years later as part of UN Security Council sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The cancellation of the agreement led to tensions between the two countries, including a $4 billion Iranian lawsuit against
Russia.
Iran’s Rouhani: Time running out to resolve nuclear disagreements
Speaking during a live interview on Iranian state television, Rouhani stressed that the Islamic Republic would not be open for dialogue with the West indefinitely, but stated that he is “ready for a win-win game,” and indicated that the nuclear dispute could be resolved peacefully if the parties involved took action as soon as possible.
“The world must know completely that this period of time for resolving the nuclear issue will not be unlimited,” the Iranian president said. “We have a specified period of time.”
6 killed as bombs hit Egyptian security HQ in Rafah
A pair of suicide bombers rammed their explosives-laden cars into military targets in Egypt’s volatile Sinai on Wednesday, killing at least six soldiers and wounding 17 people, security officials and a military spokesman said.
One of the two bombings in the town of Rafah brought down a two-story building housing the local branch of military intelligence, while the other struck an army checkpoint.
82 Jordanian deputies call on leaders to visit Jerusalem
In the appeal, addressed to the speaker of parliament, the deputies argue that avoiding the Palestinian territories and Jerusalem has placed the Palestinian people “under total isolation.”
“[This boycott] helps the occupier tighten his stranglehold on the Palestinian people… allowing him to continue his barbaric practices and Zionist arrogance immune from the Arab and Islamic world,” read the statement.
Jordanian MP Fires AK-47 During Parliament Session
According to news reports, MP Talal Al Sharif opened fire using an AK-47 on his colleague MP Qusai Dmeisi during a Foreign Affairs Council meeting inside of the House of Representatives, which is located in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
It remains unknown as to why Sharif opened fire, but no casualties have been reported.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

  • Wednesday, August 28, 2013
From Ian:

‘A pity they both can’t lose’
The US is in a similar situation. It needs to rush, while the outrage over Assad’s alleged chemical attack remains fresh, but it needs time to assemble itself. Once the obligatory moves to the UN have been made and the machinery of war is in place, the US should offer Bashar Assad an ultimatum. It could even be sugar-coated. Everyone detests the usage of chemical weapons, President Barack Obama could say. They are a heinous weapon. You claim the rebels have used them against your forces. We have evidence of your forces using them against civilians. In the interest of world security we offer you three days to surrender all chemical weapons materials to a UN team. So that they do not fall into the wrong hands. So that the weapons are safe. If you do not comply, we will be left with no alternative but to strike.
Iran’s role
As a US-led strike on Syria appears increasingly likely, Israel will be watching closely too. Not wanting to become embroiled in the conflict of its hostile northern neighbor, Israel can only hope that the international community punishes Assad for ordering the use of chemical weapons against his own people, and stops him from using them again.
Only swift action will send a clear message, not only to Syria, but also to Iran. Perhaps just as important is the moral message the civilized world is sending itself.
It is bad enough that the international community has been silent for so long about the civil war in Syria, which has claimed the lives of well over 100,000 people.
Syria strikes imminent, and right
The reason why this effectively guarantees military action, and why military action is right, is that the West simply cannot allow a precedent to be set in which the use of chemical weapons is brushed over and ignored. This does not, and must not, mean boots on the ground. Ultimately, the Arab world should sort this out, not us.
But we can do something. Extensive cruise missile strikes against Assad's military infrastructure (plus a nice little one on his presidential palace) should be sufficient to make a very necessary point.
Analysis: Syria should not be equated with Libya nor Iraq
Samore says that Kosovo, not Libya or Iraq, provides the best template for comparison to the Syrian crisis. And indeed, the US administration has been studying NATO’s 1999 intervention in the Yugoslav conflict closely in recent days.
“The big differences with Libya and Iraq are the facts on the ground,” Samore said. “But it’s based fundamentally on the principle that outside actors can intervene in a local conflict against a government, if that government has failed to protect its people.”
Syria said to clear out security installations ahead of attack
According to activists quoted in a report in the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya media channel, Syria was abandoning command centers and government security offices — sites that it suspects will be targeted in a possible Western strike. New facilities were being set up in secret locations, some of which were reportedly within walking distance of the former centers, and in alternative sites, such as in schools. Trucks were deployed to vacate some of the regime’s main security centers.
Report: Assad is in Iran
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and members of his family are in Tehran, after they arrived at Homeini Airport in the presidential plane Tuesday night, sources in Iran's foreign ministry told the website of Lebanese newsaper a-Nahar. The news did not receive confirmation from other official sources.
Arab League: Syrian Government Responsible for Chemical Attack
In a statement issued after a meeting in Cairo, the 22-member organization said it held the Syrian government, led by President Bashar Al-Assad, fully responsible for last week's gas attack in which hundreds were killed.
The League said it "demands that all the perpetrators of this heinous crime be presented for international trials,” reported Reuters.
Syria: Was Chemical Weapons Massacre a Mistake?
“It’s quite likely that there was a kind of operational mistake here,” the unnamed senior Israeli source told the New York Times. “I don’t think they wanted to kill so many people, especially so many children. Maybe they were trying to hit one place or to get one effect and they got a much greater effect than they thought.”
Israeli experts who were briefed on the attack reportedly said they believe the chemical used was a “cocktail” that included sarin gas. The mix of several components may have been far more deadly than Assad’s troops realized.
Netanyahu: Israel Will ‘Respond in Strength’ to Any Attack
“The State of Israel is ready for any scenario,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “We are not part of the civil war in Syria but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond and we will respond in strength.”
Jittery Israelis overrun gas mask distribution points
Thousands of Israelis failed in their attempts to obtain gas masks on Wednesday as growing numbers of citizens flooded post offices and IDF Home Front Command distribution centers ahead of an expected US strike on Syria.
Human Rights Lawyer: Syrian Atrocities Due to Cuddling [sic - JPress meant "coddling"]
International attorney Richard D. Heideman said that massacres in Syria, including the recent use of deadly gas by the government against its own citizens, are a result of the constant and consistent protection from responsibility which the Syrian regime has enjoyed in the international community.
“The Syrian state violence, not just of recent days, but stretching back two years, are the direct result and byproduct of the ongoing impunity enjoyed by the Syrian Arab republic while conducting terrorist activities stretching back decades,” said Heideman, the lead counsel on behalf of American victims of Syrian terrorism, who has received on behalf of his clients the highest judgments awarded by US Federal Courts against the Syrian Arab Republic as a state sponsor of terror. “The world didn’t care when it assisted in the hijacking of planes, when it helped and assisted terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and acted as a conduit for Iran to smuggle weapons to Lebanon to be used against Israel, and it still doesn’t seem to care when it kills 100,000 of its own people.”
NGO Monitor: HRW Hedges on Syrian Atrocities; Accuses Israel of War Crimes
In each of these four examples, HRW accuses Israel conclusively of “war crimes” without any qualifications or disclaimers. And, in each of these four examples, as well as dozens of others over the past decade, HRW levels the harsh accusations despite lacking factual and evidentiary basis for its claims, and without the expertise necessary to draw its speculative conclusions. In fact, later research by NGO Monitor and others showed that, in each of these examples and in almost every case, HRW was wrong about the facts, about the technology and science, and about the legal interpretations.
Iran Threatens War That Will “Engulf the Whole Region” if Syria Attacked
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Abbas Araqchi, indicated it was equally resolved to defend Assad.
“We want to strongly warn against any military attack in Syria. There will definitely be perilous consequences for the region,” Araqchi told a news conference. “These complications and consequences will not be restricted to Syria. It will engulf the whole region.”
UN, Iran agree to restart talks in September
Iran and the UN nuclear agency have agreed to restart talks focused on the agency’s attempts to probe suspicions that Tehran worked on atomic weapons, diplomats said Wednesday, in the first such meeting since Iran’s hard-line president was replaced by a more moderate successor.
The diplomats told The Associated Press that the negotiations will resume September 27, with the main focus on gaining access to a section of a military site that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency has long tried to access.
Hezbollah Places Beirut Stronghold Under Security Lockdown
Following two major bombings in Hezbollah’s largest stronghold in Beirut in less than two months, the group has decided to place the area under security lockdown, Al-Monitor reported Tuesday.
According to the report, the group has set up checkpoints, with explosives detection devices and bomb-sniffing dogs at all entrances linking it to Beirut.
Under these procedures, an unnamed correspondent in Beirut reported, every car entering the southern suburbs has to spend nearly two hours before being able to cross the checkpoints set up by Hezbollah.
Five Hamas members arrested over Egyptian police massacre
Five members of Hamas were arrested in northern Sinai recently for involvement in the killing of 25 Egyptian policemen, Arab media reported on Wednesday.
Quoting “a knowledgeable source” in the city of El-Arish, the Saudi-owned daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that 11 suspects were arrested four days ago near the border city of Rafah. Three of the suspect are local residents, three carry foreign passports, and five are Hamas members, the daily claimed.
Don’t count on Turkey
Considering Turkey’s interest in seeing an end to the violence in Syria, its membership in NATO, and the reported friendship between Obama and Erdogan, it seems logical to expect that Turkey will play a major role in the coming operation. The American-built Incirlik Air Base on Turkey’s southern coast was designed for a moment like this.
But there are number of reasons why Erdogan’s fervent saber rattling will not likely not be matched by his country’s participation:
Israel-Turkey relations sink to new low
The breakdown in once-close military ties could be critical if the international community, led by the US, decides to attack in response to the alleged Syrian use of chemical weapons last week. A US strike could trigger a retaliatory response by Syria against either of its neighbors, both close US allies.
But officials in both countries confirm that political and military contacts are now limited. They say reconciliation talks meant to repair diplomatic ties have collapsed quietly, and military ties, once the centerpiece of the alliance, are minimal at best. The dire state of affairs was reflected last week when Turkey’s Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, claimed that Israel was behind the recent military coup in Egypt, prompting condemnations from Israel and the US.
Bernard-Henri Lévy: My Response to the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Why do you think that Erdogan mentioned you by name and held you responsible for the overthrow of the government in Egypt?
He's out of his mind. He's come unhinged, flipped out. Sorry, but in France, in the United States, people can't stop laughing.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Where Muslims Can Speak Freely in the Middle East
While Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been thrown into prison in Egypt, Raed Salah and Kamal al-Khatib, the leaders of the Islamic Movement in Israel, continue to lead normal lives and organize various political activities around the country.
One of them, Islambuli Badir from Tulkarem, was detained for manufacturing and marketing a perfume named after Morsi. The second, Mahmoud Ayyad, a poet from Bethlehem, was taken into custody for wearing a shirt with a portrait of Morsi.
Last week, Palestinian Authority policemen used force to break up a pro-Morsi rally in Hebron. Two local journalists, Akram al-Natsha and Mahmoud Abu Ghania, complained that the policemen threatened and insulted them during the confrontation.
Today it has become evident that leaders and members of the Islamic Movement in Israel enjoy more freedom and rights than the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan and even -- under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank -- Hamas.
Israel’s Heroic Restraint
Israel routinely gets crucified by its enemies, not least for the behavior of the Israeli military. The Jewish state’s reckless soldiers eagerly spill Arab blood, as if for sport. Or so the story goes.
Kuwaiti officials accuse the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of “intentional killing, intentional destruction of civilian objects, intentional scorched-earth policy.” Pakistani authorities complain that the “horrors of Israeli occupation continue to haunt the international community’s conscience.”
“The IDF faces a challenge,” according to Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and an outside expert on the IDF’s strategy and tactics. “It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights.”
If Israel’s critics would calm down and face facts, they would be astonished by the IDF’s efforts to reduce or eliminate civilian casualties through its policy of military restraint.
BBC documentary on Tel Aviv gay pride fails to keep up with the news
The trouble with that statement is of course that a suspect in the Bar Noar shootings has been caught (in fact he was arrested during the time that Samuels was in Tel Aviv making the programme) and was charged with two counts of murder and attempted murder on July 8th 2013. The implication that the shootings were purely an anti-gay hate crime is also problematic given the information which emerged after the arrests. That means that whoever wrote that synopsis has either not bothered to keep up with the facts of the case – and hence misleads audiences by making inaccurate statements – or that the facts of the case do not tailor themselves to the message he or she is trying to get across. Clearly, that synopsis needs to be corrected.
‘All the News That’s Fit to Print’ Really?
The Times is entitled to its fantasy that land for peace will seal the deal between Israelis and Palestinians. But Palestinians have rejected every international recommendation for the partition of land west of the Jordan. All or nothing has its cost, but readers should not hold their breath in anticipation of Times recognition that it has been Palestinian recalcitrance, not Jewish settlements, that have proven to be the overriding obstacle to peace.
Two weeks ago the Times reported the discovery in Jerusalem by a prominent archeologist of a fragment of King David’s palace. Jerusalem bureau chief Steven Erlanger made sure to insert his own doubts about its veracity, equating historic Jewish claims to Jerusalem with Yasir Arafat’s absurd denial of any Jewish connection there. But several days later, when the print media overflowed with accounts of the discovery of a juglet with a 3,000 year-old text from King David’s time, pre-dating the earliest known Hebrew inscription from the 8th century BCE, the Times ignored the story.
Palestinian official threatens to go to UN over settlements
If the US is unable to halt Israeli construction on war-won lands, deemed illegal by most of the international community, the Palestinians may have to seek redress elsewhere, said Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
“We are saying very clearly that if Israel does not stop, then we have to move,” Ashrawi said during a tour of Israeli neighborhoods in east Jerusalem where hundreds of new apartments are planned.
Ashrawi said she was expressing the official Palestinian position, though it was not clear if her warning was a sign of frustration or actual intent. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas might be reluctant to disrupt recently relaunched negotiations with such a step, for fear of incurring US anger.
PLO official: Israel asked US out of negotiating room
A PLO official accused Israel on Thursday of undermining negotiations by demanding the removal of the Americans from the negotiation room in a bid “to exploit their power over the Palestinians.”
“We had an agreement on three-way negotiations. The Americans from the beginning were supposed to be there. I don’t see why the Israelis don’t want the Americans there, as witnesses,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, told The Times of Israel. “These are not two-way negotiations,” she added.
Peter Beinart’s Open Zion feels the pain of pre-Oslo murderers and their loved ones
An Aug. 20 essay by Maysoon Zayid at Peter Beinart’s blog Open Zion, titled ‘Palestinian Prisoners Are Released and No One Cares‘, mostly stands out in the way in which Arab murderers are characterized sympathetically while the victims of their brutal crimes are all but ignored.
Indeed, we’ve been posting frequently on the sympathetic portrayal, by some in the media, of the the 104 pre-Oslo prisoners who Israel has agreed to release – all of whom were convicted of murder, attempted murder, or being an accessory to murder, and the dearth of information about the victims and their families. And, in fact, Zayid spends most of the space allotted to her commenting on the pain felt by the recently released murderers – in “the middle of the night”!, we are reminded – and the ‘feelings’ of their families.
In addition to the moral inversion typical in the far-left’s coverage of the prisoner release story, here are a few of the smears and falsehoods in Zayid’s Open Zion essay.
Israel, the un-apartheid state – a comparison with Australia
The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Movement justifies its racist persecution of Jewish Israeli businesses in Australia, the UK, Europe and North America with the accusation that Israel is an apartheid state.
They like to imagine that their campaign of aggressive protests around tiny retail cosmetics stands and chocolate shops is comparable to the mass protests against the Springbok rugby team that characterized the campaign against South African apartheid in the 1970s and ‘80s.
But the analogy between Israel and apartheid South Africa is false on every level. A comparison of Israel with Australia, a country generally admired for its freedom and successful multiculturalism, reveals this clearly.
Words Supporting Boycott of Israel Deleted From JCC in Manhattan Official’s Article
The new version of the op-ed does not include the words “and the importance of the use of boycott to get international attention towards pressuring Israel to end the occupation is unquestionable.”
In his op-ed, Zablocki opposed a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement letter asking Iranian film director Moshen Makhmalbaf to boycott the Jerusalem Film Festival. He also criticized calls for Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri to boycott the festival.
Before the language in Zablocki’s op-ed was altered, he defended the story in a comment on its Web page.
Who needs Waters when we have much finer wine
If all this coverage of one aging, has-been, rock star who once wrote some lyrics for a very fine band before destroying it, makes you think cultural boycotts of Israel are on the rise: think again.
For every idiot like Roger Waters, who’s happy to play gigs in the country which has imprisoned more reporters in the last few years than any other (Turkey) but won’t play in the only free and open democracy in the Middle East, there are dozens more who love playing in Israel.
Refaeli takes on Waters over boycott letter
Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli tweeted in Hebrew that she no longer wants to be associated with British rocker Roger Waters after his open letter calling for a boycott of Israel.
“Roger Waters, you better take my picture off of the video art at your shows. If you’re boycotting — go all the way,” Refaeli said Wednesday on Twitter.
Her image is among dozens beamed on the wall during Waters’ concerts.
The case for regime change in Jordan
The popular uprisings, in various Arab states, which were hailed by the pundits as the “Arab Spring,” were directed against despotic rulers, who invariably represented a minority, either ethnic, religious, or army juntas.
These despots established dynasties which remained in power for decades. Their unmitigated ruthlessness and kleptocratic greed kept the vast majority of the population in a state of fear and subjugation, hunger and rage. The people invariably called for regime change.
Nowhere is the rule of a minority over the majority more blatant than in Jordan.
Iranian gets life for planned attacks on Israeli targets in Thailand
A Bangkok court sentenced an Iranian man to life in prison for a botched bomb plot last year that officials believe was aimed at Israeli diplomats in the Thai capital. His accomplice, also an Iranian national, received a sentence of 15 years.
The Iranians were detained shortly after a cache of homemade explosives accidentally blew apart the villa where the men were staying in February 2012.
India and Israel’s strategic ties
At first glance, Hindumajority India, with approximately 1.2 billion people and a subcontinent, would seem to have little in common with Jewish-majority Israel, which has only about eight million people living on territory roughly 15 times the size of India’s capital city. While full diplomatic relations were established between Jerusalem and New Delhi only in 1992, the two countries actually have much in common.
Both countries are homelands for ancient peoples who gained their independence from the British in the 1940s.
Both states have gone on to create vibrant, multicultural democracies that have experienced dynamic, technology driven economic growth. India and Israel each also have a large Muslim minority population, and each faces an ongoing terrorism threat from foreign and domestic Islamic extremists; indeed, both Israelis and Indians were targeted and killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Even more serious, India and Israel each face ballistic missile threats from at least one close, hostile Muslim state.
Punjab Farmers Learn Farming Techniques in Israel
A 10-member delegation of dairy farmers from the Punjab region of India recently visited Israel to participate in a training program about modern dairy farming techniques. The unique program was especially designed for the group by the Center for International Agricultural Development Cooperation (CINDACO), part of Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Liberman hopes to turn Arad into Israel's Hollywood
Milchan, 68, said tax credits persuaded movie studios to film top movies in Romania, Hungary, and New Zealand, so he saw no reason why films cannot be made in Israel. He said thee money invested by the countries came back in jobs, hotels, restaurants, construction, and tourism.
“This could be great public relations for Israel,” Milchan said. “It is possible to build a first-class studio here in Arad. If we do and there is cooperation from all sides, there is no reason why the biggest productions won't come to Arad instead of Budapest.”
Israeli Security System to be Used in NY Housing Projects
A one-building pilot project at the 1,600-unit Knickerbocker Village has been using the SafeRise program from the Israeli-based FST21 that is now rolling out to all dozen buildings.
The company is headed by retired IDF Major General Aharon Zeevi Farkash, formerly the head of Israeli Military Intelligence. He said the system is the ultimate answer to lost ID cards and security guards who don’t really examine IDs.
“Everyone who tried the system, was, ‘Yes I want it,’” Farkash told the newspaper. “This is the best way to introduce new technology.”
Canyoning, anyone?
Canyoning is all about accessing parts of nature you can’t otherwise access. It’s not just backing off a cliff for a high-energy rappelling experience and then climbing back up to do it again. Instead, this sport is about combining rappelling (abseiling) and rope-work, climbing and scampering, jumping and swimming.
“Israelis are good at canyoning because they like to explore, they like the fear factor and they like to do extraordinary things,” Adam Sela, founder of Challenging Experience — a jeep tours and wilderness activities venture – tells ISRAEL21c.
Israel is blessed with varied topography. And that means there are dozens of places to go canyoning. Israel’s top canyoning spots are found in the desert and the Golan Heights. Most of the trails are open to everyone and no prior experience is required. Sela notes that there are also canyons reserved for the more experienced.
Palestinians, Israelis work together to clear medicines from water
The joint Palestinian-Israeli research team from Al-Quds University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is working to assess the use of advanced membrane and bio-degradation technologies for eradicating pharmaceutical materials from treated waste-water. Organized by the Peres Center for Peace and sponsored by the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the two-year project aims to investigate the degradation and removal processes of certain drugs found in aquatic environments that come from both domestic and industrial sources.
“In order to facilitate and progress with the research, we need the expertise of the Israeli side,” said Karaman, who is the principal researcher on the Palestinian side. “We can learn from them and they can learn from us, and this way you can do good research in Palestine.” (h/t Zvi)

Sunday, August 11, 2013

  • Sunday, August 11, 2013
From Ian:

Netanyahu to Kerry: Palestinians continuing incitement against Israel
Netanyahu wrote to Kerry that leading Palestinian Authority officials were calling for Israel’s destruction even after peace talks resumed on July 31 in Washington — the first major effort since negotiations broke down in 2008.
“Incitement and peace don’t go together,” Netanyahu wrote, explaining that new generations of Palestinians were being taught to hate Israel, further fueling the cycle of violence.
“Instead of educating the next generation of Palestinians to live in peace with Israel, the education of hate poisons them against Israel and lays the groundwork for continued violence and terror,” he wrote.
Peace is more than a piece of paper
Peace can only come when the people of Palestine learn to value individualism and life, and have representation that believes in those same principles of liberty.
Instead, they have leaders who blame others for their shortcomings and demand the world pay for their services because of irresponsible and corrupt leadership. Of course, what Kerry and the Americans are missing, or refuse to accept, is that the Palestinian leadership doesn’t want to stop the conflict.
In addition to radical factions opposing the existence of a Jewish state in the first place, the PA itself has no interest in resolving conflict because it’s how its leaders prosper.
At the end of the day, the PA could not enforce an agreement even if one were to be reached. For the Obama administration to think otherwise is dangerously imperious.
Negotiator Erekat: Jerusalem Will Remain Unified in Peace Deal
According to a Kol Israel report on Saturday, PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat has told U.S. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, on a visit to Jerusalem with a group of 36 Democratic Congress members, that by the end of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jerusalem will remain a unified city.
Bereaved Families Ask: ‘Israelis, Where Are You?’
Families of victims of terrorism marched through Jerusalem on Sunday in a protest against the government’s plan to approve the release of 26 terrorists.
They marched from the central memorial for terrorism victims, located in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, to the Supreme Court building, where the court is to hear a petition against terrorist release filed by the Almagor organization.
J Street Cancels Poorly Attended Event, Then Covers It Up
Pro-Israel insiders said that this is yet another embarrassment for a group that purports to represent the will of the American Jewish community.
“Even by J Street standards, trying to scrub a Facebook event page is a new, pathetic low,” said one pro-Israel official. “You’d think [Elsner] would have built up a fan base somewhere.”
“Apparently not even the Israel haters that J Street caters to want to hear his propaganda,” the official said. (h/t Jewess)
Amnesty calls on Hamas to abort scheduled executions
Human rights group Amnesty International has called on Hamas to cancel the planned public hanging of several prisoners in Gaza after the ruling authorities declared they would execute the men as an example to others.
“We acknowledge the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offenses, but the death penalty is cruel and inhuman, and there is no evidence that it deters crime more effectively than other punishments,” said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, in a press statement issued last week.
Amnesty protests Hamas executions, but backs prize for defender of Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians
However, Amnesty continues to back their nomination of Mona Seif for the world’s top human rights prize, even though she forcefully opposed Amnesty’s call on Hamas to stop targeting civilians, in repeated tweets to her 180,000 followers.
Sinai jihadist group calls for unity against Israel
An Islamic terror group responded to an airstrike over the weekend that killed four armed members preparing an attack on Israel by calling on Egyptians to unite against the common enemy, the Jews in occupied Palestine.
The Mujahideen Shura Council of Jerusalem, a Salafist terror group based in Sinai, made the call to arms in a notification circulated in Egyptian media, Ynet reported on Sunday.
“The treacherous attack, that could not have been carried out without coordination with the Egyptian army, should remind the citizens of Egypt that the primary enemy is the Jews squatting on the occupied Palestinian land,” the statement said.
Will Hezbollah wage terror campaign against UNIFIL?
The European Union’s designation of Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization has cast a new light on the tussles between the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the armed Shi’ite movement.
A Hezbollah official told the Financial Times last week, “People are not going to accept you living among them and calling them terrorists.”
Gerald Steinberg, a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and the head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday, “The reports of increased friction in southern Lebanon are not surprising after the European Union belatedly added Hezbollah to the list of terror organizations.”
Bahrain Deports U.S. Teacher for ‘Radical’ Writing, Hezbollah Flag Reportedly Seen in Her Bedroom
Kilbride was “using Twitter and a number of websites to publish articles on Bahrain that were deemed to incite hatred against the government and members of the royal family,” the ministry said. It did not offer specifics about what she wrote, though it did say she wrote for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
Kilbride is listed as the Yemin & Gulf States co-editor of Muftah.org, launched in 2010 with a goal to “provide incisive analysis on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that eschewed Western obsessions with terrorism, oil, and Islamism and, instead, highlighted issues and concerns that mattered to the region’s people.”
Syrian rebels claim they killed 40 Hezbollah, Iranian fighters
According to their reports, rebels belonging to the Free Syrian Army detonated a car packed with explosives next to a compound belonging to the government defense apparatus, where the pro-Assad fighters were gathered. Members of the Shabiha, the regime’s civilian-clad enforcement apparatus, were reportedly also at the compound when the blast occurred.
Is a free Kurdistan, and a new Israeli ally, upon us?
While Turkey, Iraq, and other countries balk at indications of increased Kurdish self-rule, an independent Kurdish state in the Middle East would be a gift for Israel, many Kurdish and Israeli experts believe.
“Kurds are deeply sympathetic to Israel and an independent Kurdistan will be beneficial to Israel,” argued Kurdish journalist Ayub Nuri in July. “It will create a balance of power. Right now, Israel is one country against many. But with an independent Kurdish state, first of all Israel will have a genuine friend in the region for the first time, and second, Kurdistan will be like a buffer zone in the face of the Turkey, Iran and Iraq.”
Radical preacher wanted over Zanzibar acid attack shot in police raid
A radical Muslim preacher wanted for questioning over the acid attack on two British tourists in Zanzibar was shot on Saturday night as he fled police trying to arrest him.
Sheikh Issa Ponda is understood to have survived the raid and was on the run but injured, police sources told The Daily Telegraph.
He had visited Zanzibar in the weeks running up to the attack on Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both from north London, who were on Saturday still in hospital being treated for their injuries.
Ponda earlier this month met with the imprisoned leaders of a Muslim separatist group, Uamsho, who police believe may have inspired the attack on the two women.
Turkey Silences a Secularist
The Turkish criminal courts have increasingly been used to further Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist agenda through hate-speech prosecutions. The May 22 sentencing of Turkish-Armenian Sevan Nisanyan continues this disturbing trend of strangling political and social discourse.
Mr. Nisanyan is a man of many interests and talents. Linguist, journalist and hotel entrepreneur, Mr. Nisanyan is not only known for his guidebook to small, affordable hotels in Turkey, but also was awarded the 2004 Freedom of Thought Award by Turkey’s Human Rights Association for advocating the open discussion on the Armenian genocide. In 2008, he authored “The Mistaken Republic: 51 Questions about Ataturk and Kemalism,” arguing that Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, established a fascist dictatorship under the guise of nationalism. Mr. Nisanyan continues to frequently publish witty critical posts against the authoritarian bodies of the Turkish government on his blog, often with direct critiques on the Erdogan regime.
Nanotech’s ‘small world’ inching ever closer
The tech universe is shrinking rapidly as companies seek to make ever-tinier devices that can do ever-more powerful things. But there’s a limit to how much you can shrink the silicon that goes into computers, cellphones, tablets, and the like; at that point you have to starting thinking about nanotech — developing components out of atom- or molecule-sized material (a nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter).
Nanotechnology holds great promise for the future, but there are many technical challenges on the road to that future. This week, the Weizmann Institute of Science announced that it had figured out a way to overcome one of the most daunting technological issues that has been holding back nanotech development. The breakthrough, say Weizmann experts, could help jump-start a whole industry.
Dozens protest anti-gay legislation in front of Russian embassy
Dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of the Russian embassy Saturday in Tel Aviv, to protest legislation targeting the LGBT community passed by Russian authorities, as well as the growing number of violent incidents against gay persons in Russia.
Police reported that at least 200 protesters lined up on Hayarkon Street, carrying signs and chanting slogans against the Russian government.

Friday, June 14, 2013

  • Friday, June 14, 2013
From Ian:

US Confirms Assad Used Chemical Weapons
U.S. officials said that America will increase the “scope and scale” of its assistance to rebels in Syria in response.
“The President has been clear that the use of chemical weapons – or the transfer of chemical weapons to terrorist groups – is a red line for the United States, as there has long been an established norm within the international community against the use of chemical weapons,” deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said in a statement.
It’s About Time: United Nations Plans Refugee Camps for Syrians in Lebanon
But analysts here believe the biggest long-term fear for Hezbollah is that camps would shift Lebanese demographics. Judging by the estimated 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, some who fled Palestine at the establishment of Israel, camps would likely result in many Syrian Sunni refugees remaining in Lebanon even after the civil war is over—especially if Assad hangs on to power. Shiites would then become significantly out-numbered by Sunnis in a political system that is based on a delicate sectarian system introduced in 1990—at the end of a savage 15-year-long civil war—which allocates guaranteed government roles to the major sects.
Syria Death Count is at 93,000 – UN
Nevertheless, “the killings of at least 6,561 minors, including at least 1,729 children under ten years old – have been documented,” the High Commissioner said. “There are also well-documented cases of individual children being tortured and executed, and entire families, including babies, being massacred – which, along with this devastatingly high death toll, is a terrible reminder of just how vicious this conflict has become.”
Assad plans to open ‘resistance’ front in Golan, says report
According to a Lebanese report on Friday, embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad plans to open a “resistance” front on the Golan Heights and thinks such a move could unify the various factions in Syria.
Assad possesses a detailed plan for the establishment of such a front, reported the Beirut-based Al Akhbar daily, which would in practice be similar to the terrorist group Hezbollah’s activities in southern Lebanon.
Barry Rubin: How to Understand Islamism: Read What its Leaders Really Say
It should be stressed that the key challenge is not to cite passages from original Muslim theology to “prove” that Islam is always unchanging and inflexible—though understanding the roots of the radicals’ ideological appeal is important—or to ignore Islam as a factor completely but to look at the movement’s modern strategy and tactics. Almost thirty years after al-Qaradawi explained the movement's ideas clearly the opponents of Islamism have barely begun their attempt to understand and educate others on this ideology.
Have We Learned Anything From the Boston Attack?
Indeed, as the IBD report concludes: “Before mosques were excluded from the otherwise wide domestic spy net the administration has cast, the FBI launched dozens of successful sting operations against homegrown jihadists — inside mosques — and disrupted dozens of plots against the homeland.” However, the mosque in Boston that the older Tzarnaev brother attended was not monitored by the government, so the FBI was unaware of his increasing radicalization before the attack.
That should be of deep concern to every American. If our security services continue to close their eyes to the threat of Muslim terrorists, more innocent Americans will fall as their victims.
UN Watch: UN's Richard Falk & Truth Jihad's Kevin Barrett on "False Flag" 9/11 & Boston Marathon Attacks (10:20 onwards is insane)


‘Comment is Free’ contributor Abdel al-Bari Atwan sympathizes with Osama Bin Laden
Abdel al-Bari Atwan is the editor-in chief of the London-based Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, and has been named among the 50 ‘most influential Arabs’ by Middle East Magazine. His pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist politics can be best summed up by his fanciful boast a few years ago that he would dance in the streets in London’s Trafalgar Square if Iranian nuclear missiles were to hit Tel Aviv.
IDF Foils Terror Attack in Samaria
The man was found to be a member of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.
During the search carried out as part of the arrest, the soldiers found explosives, bullets, pipe bombs and plant fertilizer, which is used as one of the ingredients for making bombs.
Mesika to IDF: Nip 'Third Intifada' in the Bud
The gunfire aimed at an Israeli bus in Samaria Wednesday night was a significant ramping-up of the security deterioration in Judea and Samaria in recent months, said Samaria Council head Gershon Mesika. “This shooting is a worrying development,” said Mesika. “We demand that the IDF develop and utilize the appropriate measures to restore security to residents.”
'Sweden considering reducing aid to Palestinians'
The Swedish government may cut back on financial assistance to the Palestinians following their failure to move forward with peace negotiations with Israel, Swedish news site The Local reported.
The report quoted Development aid minister Gunilla Carlsson as asking: "Is it worth continuing developing the prerequisites for a two-state solution if Israel and the Palestinians themselves do not want to sit down at the negotiating table?"
Poland, Czech Republic balk on blacklisting Hezbollah
Denmark, Sweden, Germany and France support blacklisting Hezbollah, the source said. It has long been believed that France was blocking such a move out of concern that it would diminish European influence in Lebanon, a former French colony.
Lebanese Hezbollah suspects to sue Nigerian gov't
A raid on one of the mens' residences in the main northern city of Kano uncovered a stash of anti-tank weapons, landmines, heavy artillery, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles, authorities said.
The military said last month that the weapons were to be used in attacks on American and Israeli targets.
Concerns Grow Over Egypt’s Blasphemy Cases Against Christians and the Media
“Slapping criminal charges with steep fines and, in most cases, prison sentences against people for simply speaking their mind or holding different religious beliefs is simply outrageous,” Philip Luther, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director, said in a statement.
Most of the blasphemy cases in Egypt have been directed against Coptic Christians.
Thousands of Lawyers March in Turkey Anti-Government Protests
Addressing the lawyers, Ümit Kocasakal, head of Istanbul’s Bar Association, slammed the police crackdown. “The use of gas canisters and plastic bullets is illegal and indiscriminately targeting anyone while disregarding citizens’ safety. Turkish protesters are not bugs to be killed by gassing but are human,” said Kocasakal.

Friday, April 12, 2013

  • Friday, April 12, 2013
From Ian:

Latma asks to bring back the country we know and Tawil Fadiha compares Israel to the Nazis



Kerry’s quest: Who really wants peace?
What was John Kerry thinking when he asked Turkey’s viscerally anti-Israel and anti-Jewish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to be “a partner” in brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians? Does he honestly think Hamas’ loyal and enthusiastic supporter, a man who has called Zionism a crime against humanity, could be an honest broker? The State Department spokeswoman confirmed a Turkish newspaper report that Kerry wants Erdogan to play an active role in the peace process, and said Kerry asked Turkey to use its “significant influence with the Palestinians” to encourage Hamas to accept the demands of the International Quartet.
MPs: Erdogan's son doing business in Israel
Turkish opposition members have embarrassed Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan by revealing that in the past three years, while the relations between Ankara and Jerusalem were at an all-time low, his son continued doing business with Israel.
The son, Ahmet Burak Erdogan, is the owner of the MB Shipping company, which holds two cargo vessels. One of them, Safran-1, has sailed between Turkish and Israeli ports several times, transferring goods back and forth.
Turkey says terrorists planned to bomb US Embassy, synagogue
Al-Qaeda-linked operatives planned to bomb the US Embassy in Ankara, a synagogue in Istanbul and other sites, Turkish police said on Thursday.
Turkish officials uncovered the plot and arrested 12 people — two Chechens, two Azeris and eight Turks — in February.
The police seized 50 pounds of plastic explosives with detonation systems attached, as well as six laptops and other evidence during a raid on two terrorist cells in Istanbul and Corlu, reported The New York Times.
Caroline Glick: Column One: Moral relativism and jihad
The danger exposed by the cancellation of Geller’s speech and the conferral of honors on the likes of Carter and Waters by mainstream Jewish institutions is daunting. If moral relativism remains the dominant dogma of the American Jewish establishment, the already weakly defended, but still strongly rooted, support for Israel among the rank and file of the American Jewish community will dissipate.
IDF: Mideast being Redrawn along Sunni-Shiite Fault Line
He added that regional shifts have deteriorated governance in areas bordering Israel, noting, "For the first time in decades, Israel has four active borders which could open up from terror attacks."
Kochavi also discussed the changing role of religion in shaping regional alliances. "Today, the Middle East is being redefined into Shiite and Sunni camps," he explained, "which explains things like why Hamas has distanced itself from Iran in recent months and is moving closer to Egypt and Turkey, or why Iran is arming the Shiite minority in Yemen."
23,085 soldiers have fallen protecting Israel
The Defense Ministry released its annual figures of fallen soldiers on Friday morning ahead of Remembrance Day, stating that 92 soldiers had fallen this year and a total of 23,085 have fallen in Israel's wars since 1860.
UC Santa Barbara, in Marathon Hearing, Becomes Latest School to Reject Israel Divestment
“The argument against the bill was pretty multi-faceted, but essentially rested on the fact that there were a bunch of claims in the resolution that were either false, taken out of context, or disputed by independent experts, and so the effect of passing the resolution would be to declare Israel guilty of all these accusations despite all the conflicting evidence,” Samarov said.
Pallies File UN Complaint Against Canada
I bet we're still taken for suckers & Baird gives them another 300 Million
"In a move that could greatly impact the actions of third-party states and companies currently profiting from Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise in the West Bank, the Palestinian village of Bil’in recently filed a complaint against Canada with the United Nations."
South Africa: Labels for Products from 'Occupied Territories'
The new rules stipulate that goods will no longer carry "Made in Israel" labels but instead will have to be specific about the exact origin of the goods.
Medupe explained that goods coming from Gaza will be labeled Gaza-Israel goods, those made in Judea and Samaria will be labeled West Bank-Israeli goods and imports from eastern Jerusalem will be tagged East Jerusalem-Israeli goods.
Avago buys Israel's CyOptics for $400m
CyOptics is developing next-generation optical components for high-speed transmission of video content. Customers include governments and some of the world's biggest companies. The company is growing rapidly, tripling its sales in the past three years to $210 million in 2012.
Israel set to bag another mega Indian defence deal
Israel seems all set to bag yet another mega defence deal to equip all the 356 infantry battalions of the Indian Army with third-generation anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). While Russia is far ahead in the lead, Israel is trying to stave off a strong challenge from the US to remain the second largest arms supplier to India.
The Rs 15,000-crore ($2.76 billion USD) project will involve an initial direct acquisition of the man-portable "tank killers", with a strike range of 2.5-km, followed by transfer of technology (ToT) to defence PSU, Bharat Dynamics, for large-scale indigenous manufacture.

Friday, March 15, 2013

  • Friday, March 15, 2013
From Ian:

Israeli lawyer goes after Abbas, Hamas in ICC
Files request to prosecute "Palestine," as a state; allege crimes by Palestinians against Israelis and Palestinians alike.
An Israeli law firm on Thursday formally announced its request to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensada, to open a criminal investigation into violations by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and nine members of Hamas for war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.
The allegations include alleged war crimes against Israeli civilians and by the Palestinians against rival Palestinian groups, such as Fatah’s forces against Hamas’s sympathizers during rounds of in-fighting.
Israeli Director of Military Intelligence warns Iran and Hezbollah have established 50,000 strong army operating in Syria
Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the Israeli Director of Military Intelligence, today gave his analysis of the deteriorating situation in Syria, saying that “the damages of the imminent fall of Syria are very high for both Iran and Hezbollah.” Speaking at the annual Herzliya security conference held in Israel, he highlighted that Iran is losing its sole ally in the region surrounding Israel, and thus also the ability to transfer weaponry through Syria to Hezbollah.
UN says it’s worried about arms flow from Syria to Lebanon
Security Council ‘encouraged’ by calm along Israeli-Lebanese Blue Line, but says attempts being made to undermine Lebanese stability
The UN Security Council underscored its grave concern Thursday at the arms trafficking and repeated weapons fire across the Lebanon-Syria border, but said it was happy that arms had not been used against Israel.
IDF Blog: Two Years On: The “Victoria” Weapon-Smuggling Interception
Two years ago today, the Victoria set sail from a port in Syria, loaded with Iranian-made weapons bound for Gaza and the terrorist group Hamas.
Stone Throwing Arabs Cause Car Crash, Critically Injuring 3 Year Old Girl, 3 Others
Palestinian Arab stone throwing at a road near the Jewish community of Ariel in Judea and Samaria led to a car crash that critically injured a 3-year-old girl and moderately injured her mother and her two other daughters, ages 4 and 6.
Soldiers Shoot Terrorist, Discover Huge Cache of Firebombs
IDF soldiers shot a Palestinian Authority Arab terrorist on Thursday evening, after he threw a firebomb at them near Nitzanei Oz in the Sharon region.
The terrorist sustained moderate to severe wounds and was taken by a Red Crescent ambulance to a hospital in the PA city of Tulkarm.
After the terrorist was shot, the soldiers searched the area and discovered a huge cache of ready-to-use firebombs. It is believed that the terrorist had been planning to throw more firebombs at the soldiers, but his plan was foiled when he was shot by them.
CAMERA: Human Rights Watch Goes to Bat for Hamas's Al Aqsa TV
Are the activities of Al Aqsa TV as innocuous Whitson claims? And who is responsible for blurring the distinction between civilian and combatant, Israel or Hamas? Whitson blames Israel, relieving Hamas of accountability. HRW criticized the Israelis for failing to produce evidence of the station's direct support of Hamas's violent activities. However, Al Aqsa programs are well documented.
Hamas accuses Egyptian media of anti-Palestinian incitement
Press had reported that seven Palestinians detained in Cairo were planning to target local installations
Hamas leaders on Thursday attacked the Egyptian press for attempting “to sow strife between Egypt and Gaza” by reporting that seven Palestinians detained at the Cairo airport were planning to target vital infrastructures in the country.
Egyptian media reported the arrest of the seven, who arrived in Cairo on a flight from Damascus early Wednesday morning, after they were found carrying maps of installations and documents specifying ways of manufacturing explosives.
Saudi Arabia may stop beheading due to swordsmen shortages
Oil-rich kingdom mulls abolition of beheading in favour of firing squads for capital punishments due to reported shortages of government swordsmen, Saudi daily reports
University College London bans hard-line Islamic group which tried to segregate men and women at a debate held on university premises
A Muslim group has been banned from a university after segregating men and women during a debate.
Visitors to the event at University College London were told to use men’s or women’s entrances.
Organisers Islamic Education and Research Academy (iERA) told women to sit at the back, while men and couples were sent to the front. Three people who objected were ordered to leave.
Jewish group lodges complaint against South African minister
Deputy FM in hot water over ‘inflammatory remarks’ alleging foul play in awarding of building contracts to Jewish developers
The South African Jewish Board of Deputies lodged a complaint with the country’s Human Rights Commission over ”inflammatory remarks” made by Deputy Foreign Minister Marius Fransman.
In a radio interview last month, Fransman claimed that Jewish businessmen in the Western Cape region have benefited from contracts previously held by members of the local Muslim community. “We saw that the DA [Democratic Alliance party] had given over building contracts… that historically were in the hands of Muslim participants and now they have given it to people from the Jewish community,” Fransman said.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

  • Tuesday, March 12, 2013
From Ian:

Douglas Murray: Will Owen Jones apologise?
Last November, during another exchange between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza, the left-wing columnist Owen Jones appeared on BBC Question Time. Invited to comment on recent events, what he read out (or so it appears from the tape) was a catalogue of errors about Israel. Among them were big, sweeping incorrect allegations – such as the claim that Israel is enforcing ‘a siege which stops basic supplies’ getting into Gaza.
But there were also some new and more specific errors. Take his striking and emotive claim that Israel’s ‘onslaught’ included ‘targeted strikes’ which killed children.
Following UN Report, Major Jewish Groups Call for Media Outlets to be Held Accountable
For his part, the BBC’s Jon Donnison, who covers the West Bank and Gaza and attributed blame to Israel at the time of the incident, offered his version of a mea culpa, writing in an article on the BBC’s website that “‘The son of a BBC journalist and two relatives killed in last November’s war in Gaza may have been hit by a misfired Palestinian rocket,’ a UN agency says.’”
Donnison attempted to defend himself, writing that at the time “The family, and human rights groups, said that the house was hit in an Israeli attack” and that “The Israeli military made no comment at the time of the incident but never denied carrying out the strike.”
Donnison also reported that the boy’s father dismissed the UN report as “rubbish,” saying that Palestinian Arab terror groups would have apologized if they were responsible.
Hamas Working on Being Removed from EU, U.S. Terror Lists
Hamas says its removal from the U.S. and European lists of terrorism organizations is “a matter of time.”
Ahmed Youssef, one of Hamas’s leaders, told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, “There are contacts [being] made by the movement, with the help of Arab and Islamic countries such as Qatar, Egypt and Turkey, to convince major and European countries to take Hamas’s name out of the terrorism list.”
Hamas attacks Islamic tourism to Jerusalem
Gaza government slams Israeli, PA initiatives; calls on Arab League and clerics to bar religious pilgrimages to the city
The Hamas government in Gaza attacked an Israeli bid to encourage tourism to Jerusalem from Islamic countries, calling it a “dangerous Zionist plot.”
In a statement published by Hamas on its official website, the government of Gaza blasted the initiative, espoused by Israeli tourism companies and supported by the Tourism Ministry, to encourage religious visits by Muslim tourists from countries in Africa and East Asia.
UN says troops in Golan Heights came under Syrian fire
Following attack and kidnappings, UN launches ‘very active review’ into safety of peacekeepers on Israel-Syria border
Syria rebels vow to 'liberate Golan Heights' after Assad falls
In online video, Syrian rebels operating near Israeli border criticize Assad regime for not fighting Israel in recent decades. Israel: The ‘Somalization’ of Syria is a great concern. Red Cross told Israel: Syrian refugees refused aid from Jewish state.
Newspaper Adds New Obstacle to Tribunal Investigating Lebanese Official’s Death
The first shock came when a leading Lebanese newspaper published a confidential list of 17 witnesses who may testify in the murder trial of a former prime minister — showing their names, passport pictures, dates of birth and where they work.
A spokesman for the United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon quickly condemned the publication, in January, as a serious breach of court rules that put the lives of those named at risk.
Germany, Turkey bust Iranian nuclear smuggling ring
German and Turkish authorities detain smugglers suspected of illegally shipping nuclear materials purchased in India and Germany to an Iranian nuclear facility in city of Arak, Turkish newspaper Haberturk reports. Turkish customs forces raid home of Iranian couple, but they were not there and a search for them is now underway.
UN Reports an Increase in Iran's Human Rights Violations
Human rights violations in Iran spiralled in 2012, a United Nations monitor said Monday, spotlighting abuses including repression of freedom of speech, torture and secret executions.
"The prevailing situation of human rights in Iran continues to warrant serious concern," Ahmed Shaheed told the UN Human Rights Council, according to a report by AFP.
Iran puts five Christians on trial for their faith
The five men were among seven arrested in October when security forces raided an underground house church in the city of Shiraz during a prayer session. They will be tried at the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz’s Fars Province on charges of disturbing public order, evangelizing, threatening national security and engaging in Internet activity that threatens the government, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a religious persecution watchdog group.
France Arrests Three Islamists Suspected of Planning Attack on Toulouse Shooting Anniversary
According to French prosecutors, police found weapons and explosives in one of the suspect’s homes in a town near Marseille. Police also intercepted communications between the men suggesting they were planning on going into action.

Saturday, February 16, 2013

  • Saturday, February 16, 2013
From Ian:

Missing Peace: Haniyeh: Palestinian reconciliation dependent on non recognition of Israel
On Thursday Gaza’s Prime Minister Ishmael Haniyeh made clear that for Hamas Palestinian reconciliation is dependent on non recognition of Israel. Haniyeh said that Hamas wants reconciliation that ‘does not concede national constants and will not serve policies that have proven failed’. A clear reference to the Oslo peace accords.
Meanwhile Fatah Central Committee Azzam Al Ahmad called upon the international community to support the Palestinian reconciliation which he called a ‘stabilizing factor’.
It is hard to phantom how this reconciles with Haniyeh’s demand for non recognition of Israel.

Israel and Hamas said to hold indirect talks in Cairo
Senior Israeli officials negotiate easing of Gaza blockade with Islamist group’s officials, working through Egyptian intermediaries
Israel and Hamas have been engaged in indirect negotiations in Egypt, most recently on Thursday, to resolve the remaining details of the ceasefire agreement that ended November’s Operation Pillar of Defense.
Senior Israeli defense officials have met in Cairo over the past several weeks to negotiate, indirectly with Hamas, the reopening of the Rafah Border Crossing with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to construction materials and basic commodities such as gasoline, Channel 10 reported Friday night. Egyptian defense officials have served as the intermediaries in the contacts.

Hamas Slams Bulgaria for Expelling its Delegation
"Zionist pressure" led to a Hamas delegation being expelled from Bulgaria, claims the terror group.
The Hamas government in Gaza on Friday condemned Bulgaria's expulsion of a delegation on its behalf that was visiting the country, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency reported.
The terror group reportedly blamed Israeli pressure for Bulgaria’s move.
Bulgarian security forces on Friday raided the hotel rooms of a visiting Hamas delegation, ordering them to leave the country, a party statement quoted by Ma’an said.
"We condemn this act, which reflects the scale of compliance with Zionist pressures," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said, according to Ma’an.
Hamas leader and MP Yahya al-Abadseh said the Bulgarian government's actions were contrary to all diplomatic norms.

Hundreds protest joint Iran-Argentina bombing probe
Legislators in Buenos Aires scheduled to ratify establishment of ‘truth commission’ in late February
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — Some 300 people attended a protest rally against Argentine-Iranian cooperation in investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
Among the protestors on Feb. 14 in the Argentine capital were relatives of the survivors of the bombing of the AMIA center. Israeli and Argentinean justice authorities blame Iran for the attack.
“We ask Argentine society’s forgiveness for wasting a great privilege that democracy gave us,” Sergio Bergman, a lawmaker and Reform rabbi, said in a speech at the rally. “We had the first Jewish foreign minister and that is why we say sorry.”

Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Certain Hizbullah was Behind Attack
Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov: We know the real name of the Burgas terrorists.
Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov reiterated on Friday his belief that two of the attackers in the July 2012 bombing in Burgas are part of the Hizbullah terror group, the Sofia News Agency reports.
"The Burgas bombers were maintaining part of Hizbullah’s structures in Canada and Australia and had contacts with other representatives of this organization," Tsvetanov said in an interview with the local TV7 network.
The Bulgarian Interior Minister first announced he had "grounded reasons to believe" that "Hizbullah’s military wing" is involved in the Burgas bus bombing on February 5, stirring international controversy.

Not even the Nazis did what Assad’s doing, says ex-Syrian PM
Defected leader claims Iran is ‘actively running’ Syria days after reports surfaced that Islamic Republic, Hezbollah are building networks of militias there
The former prime minister of Syria delivered a harsh critique of the country’s president during an interview with al-Arabiya Friday, claiming that “not even the Nazis did what Bashar Assad’s doing in Syria.”
Riad Hijab, who defected from his post in Damascus six months ago, also told the Arabic-language news outlet that Iran is “actively running” Syria.
“Syria is occupied by the Iranian regime,” he said. “Who runs the country isn’t Bashar Assad but Kassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds Brigades [within the Revolutionary Guards].”

Iran calls allegations it transferred weapons to Somali militants an 'absurd fabrication'
Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council obtained Thursday by The Associated Press that the allegations in a report by experts monitoring sanctions against Somalia and Eritrea were part of a "malicious campaign."
According to a U.N. diplomat, the report links Iran and Yemen to the supply of weapons to al-Shabab militants. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not been publicly released.

Iran temporarily bans exports of pistachios to control prices on home market
Iran has ordered a six-month ban on pistachio exports to try to control the price of the nut, which doubled in the past month.
Pistachios are among Iran's top non-oil exports and widely consumed at home, bringing in an average of $1.5 billion a year and providing work for hundreds of thousands of people. Iran was long the world's largest pistachio exporter, with over 200,000 tons a year, but was surpassed last year by the United States.

Egypt foils smuggling attempt of 2 tons of explosives, weapons
In separate incident, undercover Israeli border guards seize 250 kg of hashish heading from Sinai to Israel
Egyptian forces foiled a smuggling attempt that included two tons of explosives and weapons in the Sinai Peninsula Friday.
Police forces intercepted a truck that was carrying the objects, Ynet reported. An unnamed Egyptian senior security official told local media that the police were tipped off about the attempt and that the weapons were to be used by terror groups in Sinai or smuggled into the Gaza Strip.

Turkey arrests 8 ex-officers over ouster of Islamic government in 1990s; more questioned
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s state-run news agency says authorities have arrested eight more retired officers over their alleged involvement in the ousting of an Islamic-led government in the late 1990s.
Anadolu Agency reports say the eight, including seven retired generals, were detained on Wednesday and late Thursday pending a trial over a military campaign that forced former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to resign. No trial date has been set.

Sunday, February 03, 2013

  • Sunday, February 03, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Ian:

Alibi Antisemitism
Israel has been made an alibi for a new climate of antisemitism on the left.
“It is a moral scandal that some few decades after the unmeasurable catastrophe that overtook the Jewish people in Europe, these anti-Semitic themes and ruses are once again respectable; respectable not just down there with the thugs but pervasively also within polite society, and within the perimeters of a self-flattering liberal and left opinion. It is a bleak lesson to all but those unwilling to see. The message of ‘never again’ has already proved to have been too sanguine. Genocides still occur. We now know, as well, that should a new calamity ever befall the Jewish people, there will be, again, not only the direct architects and executants but also those who collaborate, who collude, who look away and find the words to go with doing so. Some of these, dismayingly, shamefully, will be of the left.This is not a hopeful conclusion, but it is a necessary one. The best of hope in politics must always be allied to a truthful realism. We need to know what we are up against.”

Lessons from the Holocaust? Try these two
(An article by Daniel Finkelstein that appeared in today's Times)
The Jews have learnt all about Man’s inhumanity to Man. But also that you cannot rely on others to keep you safe.

  • "Last week, in anticipation of Holocaust Memorial Day, David Ward, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bradford East, said that the Jews — my Mum, perhaps, her sisters — hadn’t learnt the lesson of the Holocaust. “It appears that the suffering by the Jews has not transformed their views on how others should be treated.” I’ll give my Mum a call when I have a moment and pass on his complaint.”


Israel Election: How The Pundits Got It Wrong
Many have failed to understand the currents of Israeli society - illustrated in the recent election and Holocaust Memorial Day.
"A similar lack of what is not really such a subtle argument, was shown by a cartoon in the Sunday Times depicting Mr Netanyahu as a big nosed, large-eared, bloodthirsty Jew cementing what appear to be screaming Arabs into a wall as blood oozes from the bricks.
On Holocaust Memorial Day this showed not just a lack of sensitivity, an echo of the blood libel, and a distortion of Holocaust iconography, but the belief that there is only one side in a peace process.
It was a cartoon version of Israel, a pictorial version of the analysts' predictions of the Israeli election and society. Wrong."

NYC Mayoral Candidate Bill Thompson Blasts Brooklyn College for Anti Israel BDS Event
"New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson ripped Brooklyn College Thursday for its plan to hold a BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) event against Israel with the co-sponsorship of the school’s political science department.
Speaking alongside Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a political heavyweight in the Brooklyn Jewish community, Thompson said, “Those are our taxpayer dollars. We should not be using those dollars to express hate.”

CAMERA: Maligning Israel at American Public Health Association Annual Meeting
"Why does an association formally devoted to improving the health of Americans not only concern itself with the Palestinian-Israeli situation – but also side with one (the Palestinian Arabs) against the other This is exactly what the American Public Health Association did in its recent (2012) 140th annual meeting's closing keynote speech delivered to hundreds of enthusiasts by Angela Davis.
Davis, who is professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz in what the school calls “the History of Consciousness Department,” was a member of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, and U.S. Communist Party member until 1991 when dissolution of the Soviet Union took place. The party generally sided with the Russian-led Soviet Union against the United States.
Davis' obsession with Israel's alleged unfair treatment of Palestinian Arabs apparently leaves no room for focusing any attention on nearby Syria whose real human rights violations include killing tens of thousands of its own citizens in the last year or two, renewed Sunni-Shi'ite violence in Iraq, oppression of Coptic Christians in Egypt or any of the other numerous and statistically more significant examples of Arabs maltreating Arabs."

PA Asks Israel to Allow Terrorist into Areas it Controls
The PA is making efforts to bring the leader of a group that carried out a terror attack in Israel in 1974 into Judea and Samaria.
"The man, Nayef Hawatmeh, is the leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), one of the main factions in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)."

Israeli civilian, soldier hurt in West Bank clashes
Dismantlement of protest camp turns violent as soldiers fire stun grenades at rock-throwing Palestinians near village of Burin

Yemen says intercepted ship carrying weapons was Iranian
Yemen confirmed on Saturday that a ship intercepted last month off its coast was an Iranian vessel trying to smuggle explosives and surface-to-air missiles to the country, the state news agency Saba reported.

'Failure to blacklist Hezbollah undermines security'
London conference discusses EU failure to list Hezbollah as terrorist organization as "undermining security goals."
"It is a “very bad thing that Hezbollah can operate in Europe regarding fund-raising and logistics,” US Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, a former coordinator for counterterrorism at the State Department in the first Obama administration, said. Hezbollah’s legal status in the EU “undermines security goals,” he said."

Ex-Iran bank head busted with $70 million check
Tahmasb Mazaheri, who was governor of the Central Bank of Iran from 2007-2008, suspected of money laundering by German authorities

Iran's Currency Plummets to All-Time Low
Iran’s rial has plummeted to an all-time low, dropping more than 21 percent over two weeks.

Islamist threatens to attack Germany, Merkel: paper
A German Islamist has threatened to attack Berlin this summer and kill Chancellor Angela Merkel in a video posted on the Internet, a newspaper reported on Saturday.


Also:

Not a Mistake, Misunderstanding, or Well-Intended Criticism But a Deliberate Campaign to Bash Israel (Barry Rubin)

Inventing words to demonize Israel (CJ News) (h/t Jason)

Linking Obligations with Rights at the UNHRC (Commentary - Evelyn Gordon) (h/t YM)

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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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