Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Gratuitous Yom Ha'Atzmaut Israeli Swimsuit Post

Israel21C has the list of the top ten Israeli swimsuits for this summer.

How can I not report such an important story?

The spike heels in the desert are a nice touch.

I know that when women go swimming, they love having a heavy blocky object around one of their wrists at all times.

I'm sorry, but I'm seeing dots in front of my eyes.

And for those who want more modest swimsuits - here's one for you as well:

Kampeas is wrong on one topic, right on another

JTA's Ron Kampeas writes:

I'm ancient enough to remember the younger Benjamin Netanyahu warning audiences to pay attention to what Yasser Arafat says in Arabic, as opposed to his relatively moderate pronouncements in English.

Such warnings are passe, with the onset of the Internet and a multilingual, wired world -- if a leader says something provocative/embarrassing/saber-rattling in his or her native language, it'll be out there in English, guaranteed, within minutes.

I wish this were true.

However, I've been using Google Translate for years now to see what Arabic sites are saying, and the vast majority of the things I uncovered were never reported in the mainstream media, or even by MEMRI or Palestinian Media Watch.

There is just too much stuff out there. MEMRI and PMW focus on the worst incidents, the stuff that can make headlines, the songs sung by little kids about killing Jews, anti-semitic cartoons andsimilar items. But the causal hate that pervades the Arabic media is not something that you can appreciate from just reading a couple of cherry-picked examples a day. If people knew how Hamas, day in and day out, praises terror attacks - even attacks from years ago - they would never believe the stupidity pushed by some that Hamas is moderating, or willing to be at peace with Israel, or willing to accept a two state solution.

But it is not reported.

A couple of weeks ago I searched for every mention of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion on Arabic news sites from the previous 30 days. While a couple of sites did refer to them as forgeries, most mentioned them - in asides - as if their veracity is unquestioned among the readership. This is a story that is current - but no media covered it besides me.

Also, what you will not see in Arabic sites is the complete absence of the other side of the story. We take it for granted that Jewish and Zionist media, like JTA, will have a variety of viewpoints on the subject of Israel and the Arabs. But that multiplicity of views is missing in Arabic media. Arabs are simply not exposed to anything besides anti-Israel propaganda, day in and day out. Tehy don't even have Arabic-language access to the truth. This is a story that is ignored - and it shouldn't be.

When reading the Arabic news sites, on first glance, it appears that they are similar to Western media. There are news items along with special interest stories, sports, ads, odd stories and so forth. It takes time to realize that most news sites have a sponsor and they faithfully report only one viewpoint. To see the truth about Fatah, you must read Islamic Jihad and Hamas sites (along with a very few maverick websites;) to see the truth about Hamas you must read the Fatah sites. Different Egyptian papers will cover different stories and ignore the ones that embarrass their sponsors.

None of this is obvious and practically none of it is reported. And that is a shame, because it is impossible to truly understand how Arabs think without reading their own words - about everything.

But Kampeas is right about one thing:

Bringing us back to Bibi and his two totally different Independence Day messages, one geared to Israelis and one to Americans. In the former he looks forward to hanging around the "mangal" or barbecue grill tomorrow, and he lists priorities for next year: A fence separating Israel and the Egypt, expanding Iron Dome, free education for kids from age 3 and reducing the cost of living (in that order.) He extols Israel's advances in high-tech.

For Americans and other English speakers, his cast is "Israel is unique." He emphasizes "restoring sovereignty" for a powerless people, and also becoming a "global technological power" (although here he qualifies that with a "despite threats"). He extols a "vibrant liberal democracy" where women are equal and says Israel is especially unique for the "tens of millions" of supporters it has, Jewish and non Jewish.

Nothing at all wrong with this: Two different constituencies, two different messages. Happens everywhere.

What throws me off, though, are the cat and the parrot singing "Hineh mah tov" at the end of the Hebrew version (which features Arabic subtitles). The cat is miserable, and apparently paw-cuffed; the parrot appears ready to hop into the blender standing alongside it.

What message are these unhappy creatures meant to convey?

Why are Israelis guided, unprepared, into this 20-second nightmare?

Indeed - that cartoon is creepy and bizarre, and I cannot come up with a single rational reason it was tacked onto the end of Bibi's Hebrew address.

British engineer in UAE on trial for saying "when will we finish the damn mosques?"

From The National, January 12:

An engineer told an appeals court yesterday that he did not mean to insult religious monuments when he said "damn mosques" during a meeting.

The British engineer, who works at the parks and recreation section of Abu Dhabi Municipality, was appealing against a one-month prison sentence imposed by the Court of Misdemeanours.

He was in charge of a project to create gardens around a mosque.

He lost his temper during a meeting because the project was progressing slowly. He was reported to the police by his work colleagues for saying: "When will we finish with the damn mosques?"

He explained to the judge that he did not mean to insult the mosque as a religious place and that he respected Islam and the UAE.

"I said it out of concern for the project because I wanted it to be ready as soon as possible," he said.

The judge asked him: "So your keenness on completion drove you to curse?"

The engineer reasserted his respect for mosques he works on and said he wanted them to be presented in the best way possible way.

A decision on the appeal will be announced on February 7.

He lost the case, and is now appealing. From Al Arabiya:

The lawyer of an engineer jailed in Abu Dhabi for insulting Islam by referring to “damn” mosques has insisted a UAE court look up the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.

“The first meaning for the word ‘damned’ says: ‘According to Christianity, a damned (person) is someone who God is angered with forever... the second meaning says ‘damn’ can be used for strong criticism in an unofficial way and is a way of expressing anger,” read out the translator at the Appeals Court, according to a report from The National.

The Appeals Court and will announce its new verdict on April 30, the newspaper stated.

I wonder what would have happened if he said "f--ing mosques." Would that have been considered worse or better than "damn mosques"?

Springtime in Egypt - for Islamists

From Bikya Masr:

One of Egypt’s best known actors, Adel Imam, has been handed a three-month hard labor sentence and a fine of about $170 for insulting Islam in roles he portrayed in film and on the stage.

The films include “The Terrorist,” “Terrorism and the Kabab,” among others.

Egyptian author Alaa al-Aswany, whose international best-seller “The Yacoubian Building,” was turned into a film co-starring Imam, said the court ruling sets Egypt back to the “darkness of the Middle Ages,” according to a report in Al Ahram.

“[The court's ruling] is an unimaginable crime of principle in developed nations,” he tweeted on his Twitter account.

The impetus behind this, and another case featuring the founder of Mobinil telecom, Naguib Sawiris (who tweeted an image of Mickey Mouse with a beard, and his lovely consort Minnie Mouse, wearing a face veil), are indicative of the growing draconian influence of the ultra-conservative Salafists in Egypt.

And:

Egyptian freedom of expression advocates are in an uproar over the banning of a play over its alleged use of “foul language.”

24 rights movements issued a joint statement condemning al-Sawy Cultural Center in Cairo for banning the play “Mono-drama Auto bus” from showing at the center’s 7th Mono-drama theater festival taking place this month.

According to the Sawy judging committee, the play featured a sentence that contains “foul language against religion.”

The play in question, directed by John Milad and acted by Mina Ezzat, was supposed to start with the actor throwing a fit and threatening to ruin the play, saying the disputed line, “I will ruin the damn show” or loosely translated from the Arabic, which uses a common swear word that many religious persons forbid, arguing it is “insulting religions.”

The rehearsal immediately came to a halt when the actor uttered the line. The play was removed from the program and all attempts to bring it back failed.

And:

Egypt’s liberal satellite channel ON TV received a threatening letter from an unknown group calling itself “The Jihadist Group to Cleanse the Country” warning they would kidnap some of the news presenters and inflict harm on companies that advertise with channel, if the channel “does not change its media policies.”

See? There was an Arab Spring in Egypt - for people who want Egyptians to have less freedom.

New NGO in Lebanon to fight for freedom of expression

From Now Lebanon:

“Yes to freedom of expression! Unless criticizing the state, God, the Prophet, Christ, the president, the Church, the Bible, the Quran, the martyrs, the Resistance, the Lebanese army, the civil war, sectarianism, the custodian of the two holy mosques, the pope, national unity, friendly countries and neighboring countries.” This is the text of the cartoon on the front page of the newsletter “FREE” which is currently being distributed around university campuses in Lebanon.

FREE, which stands for “Freedom and Right of Expression Event,” is the first issue of a series of uncensored newsletters produced by the Lebanese NGO March. It highlights censorship issues in Lebanon and focuses on the importance of freedom of expression following too many instances of censorship its producers say have been occurring recently in Lebanon.
“We started with the right of freedom of expression,” says Lea Baroudi, a co-founder of March, “because in a country like Lebanon, where there’s so much cultural diversity, if we do not accept the different opinions of one another, we cannot live together.”

In a country with 18 different religious communities that don’t think alike, there’s a need to “agree to disagree,” Baroudi says.

March is a civil movement that focuses on raising awareness about basic rights and civic duties. It aims at instilling these values at an individual level while simultaneously fostering dialogue and reconciliation between Lebanon’s diverse communities.

This isn't quite fair. Everyone in Lebanon agrees on one thing: that Zionism is evil.

That's a start, isn't it?

Arabs whining about Google Street View of Jerusalem

Firas Press has an article about Google Street View in Jerusalem, where it claims that the Al Aqsa Mosque is not shown except for some high angles - but the Kotel can be seen. It looks like they are complaining that this is somehow discriminatory. I cannot imagine if the guards at the Moroccan Gate would have allowed Google employees with all that equipment to go up there.

I found this photo from outside the walls of the Old City that shows the Aqsa mosque:

And this from inside the gate which includes the Dome of the Rock:

It looks like Google abandoned the special car to make the photos and an employee walked around the Kotel plaza, but from most angles you can't easily see the Muslim structures that were built to show Islamic supremacy over the holiest Jewish site.

Street Maps is addictive for Jerusalem.

At the moment, at least in the Google Maps version (I didn't check Google Earth,) many of the streets of the Old City are photographed - but they aren't all linked to the satellite maps, so it is easy to get "lost."

Luckily, at least in the Jewish Quarter, there are signs to help you orient yourself!

If I don't blog the rest of the day, it's because I'm virtually walking through Jerusalem.

Someone should overlay a social component so people could get virtual guided tours.

Egyptian law to allow sex with dead wives??? (updated)

WTF?

Egypt’s National Council for Women (NCW) has appealed to the Islamist-dominated parliament not to approve two controversial laws on the minimum age of marriage and allowing a husband to have sex with his dead wife within six hours of her death according to a report in an Egyptian newspaper.

The appeal came in a message sent by Dr. Mervat al-Talawi, head of the NCW, to the Egyptian People’s Assembly Speaker, Dr. Saad al-Katatni, addressing the woes of Egyptian women, especially after the popular uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

She was referring to two laws: one that would legalize the marriage of girls starting from the age of 14 and the other that permits a husband to have sex with his dead wife within the six hours following her death.

According to Egyptian columnist Amro Abdul Samea in al-Ahram, Talawi’s message included an appeal to parliament to avoid the controversial legislations that rid women of their rights of getting education and employment, under alleged religious interpretations.

“Talawi tried to underline in her message that marginalizing and undermining the status of women in future development plans would undoubtedly negatively affect the country’s human development, simply because women represent half the population,” Abdul Samea said in his article.

The controversy about a husband having sex with his dead wife came about after a Moroccan cleric spoke about the issue in May 2011.

Zamzami Abdul Bari said that marriage remains valid even after death adding that a woman also too had the same right to engage in sex with her dead husband.

Two years ago, Zamzami incited further controversy in Morocco when he said it was permissible for pregnant women to drink alcohol.

But it seems his view on partners having sex with their deceased partners has found its way to Egypt one year on.

Egyptian prominent journalist and TV anchor Jaber al-Qarmouty on Tuesday referred to Abdul Samea’s article in his daily show on Egyptian ON TV and criticized the whole notion of “permitting a husband to have sex with his wife after her death under a so-called ‘Farewell Intercourse’ draft law.”

“This is very serious. Could the panel that will draft the Egyptian constitution possibly discuss such issues? Did Abdul Samea see by his own eyes the text of the message sent by Talawi to Katatni? This is unbelievable. It is a catastrophe to give the husband such a right! Has the Islamic trend reached that far? Is there really a draft law in this regard? Are there people thinking in this manner?”

I haven't seen this mentioned in other Egyptian media, but if Egypt's parliament even discussed a law like this - let alone the law to allow 14 year old girls to marry - then Egypt is in even worse shape than we thought.

Holy crap.

UPDATE: The story about the "farewell sex" is bogus, but the 14-year old age of consent is real.

Remembrance Day (video)

I found a lot of videos online that individual Israelis make, on their own, to commemorate Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror.

Here is one from 2010.

Egyptian youth plan to vandalize IDF memorial in Sinai today

From YNet, April 8:

The Sinai Revolutionaries Movement is planning to paint the colors of the Egyptian flag over an IDF memorial, spokesman Mohammed Hendy told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency on Sunday. The act of protest is set to take place on April 25, the day Egypt marks the liberation of the Sinai Peninsula.

The monument was created in memory of 10 Israeli soldiers killed in a helicopter crash when the Sinai was still under Israeli sovereignty. Egypt pledged to guard the memorial as part of the 1979 peace treaty.

Hendy said that the Sinai Revolutionaries Movement had tried to destroy the monument several times, only to be stopped by Egyptian army forces guarding the site.

He noted that there is a cemetery of Egyptian soldiers in Beersheba which he claims the "Jews had destroyed."

The movement decided to cover the monument in the colors of the Egyptian flag in order to "render the site an Egyptian symbol and not an Israeli one, to honor the memory of the Egyptian troops and serve as a warning to anyone who wants to hurt Sinai."

Here is their mock-up of how they want it to look:

According to this 2009 article in Masrawy, there are three monuments in the Sinai that Egypt pledged to protect under Camp David that have come under regular attack by Egyptian youths, including painting swastikas and anti-Israel slogans on them. They say that their very existence "negatively affects Egyptians psychologically."

Israeli relatives of the victims of the crash say that they have been stymied from visiting the site by Egyptian authorities. As a result, they have been trying to physically move the monuments to Israel.

For years, Egyptians have considered the very existence of the monument to be a huge insult to them, and they have shown disgust for Israelis who want to visit.

The "As-a-Jews" of the New York Times

Paul Krugman writes in his New York Times blog:

Something I’ve been meaning to do — and still don’t have the time to do properly — is say something about Peter Beinart’s brave book The Crisis of Zionism.

The truth is that like many liberal American Jews — and most American Jews are still liberal — I basically avoid thinking about where Israel is going. It seems obvious from here that the narrow-minded policies of the current government are basically a gradual, long-run form of national suicide — and that’s bad for Jews everywhere, not to mention the world. But I have other battles to fight, and to say anything to that effect is to bring yourself under intense attack from organized groups that try to make any criticism of Israeli policies tantamount to anti-Semitism.

But it’s only right to say something on behalf of Beinart, who has predictably run into that buzzsaw. As I said, a brave man, and he deserves better.

Also from the New York Times today, an op-ed from Stephen Robert:

How can a people persecuted for so long act so brutally when finally attaining power? Will we continuously see the world as 1938, or can we use the strength of our new power to forgive, while never forgetting the lessons of our past?

I guess he is "brave" too.

Last month, according to the monthly tally from Soccer Dad, the NYT printed 8 more "brave" anti-Israel op-eds, as opposed to 3 that were pro-Israel. Including one from that "brave" man, Peter Beinart.

In the last six months of 2011, the tally was even more lopsided: 39 anti-Israel op-eds, and 8 pro-Israel.

Any way you look at it, the New York Times doesn't seem to have any compunctions about publishing criticisms of Israel. But not only is the Times blatant about its anti-Israel bias, but its writers seem to feel that they are being remarkably bold by parroting the same arguments that have been published there scores of times in the past year.

Criticizing a tiny state surrounded by enemies hell-bent on its long-term destruction might not play in Peoria, but it plays very well in the salons of the Upper East Side. It is a false bravado, one where the people pushing their agendas know quite well that they have a large support group from the most influential ivory tower newspaper in the United States. Seriously, how have any of these critics been hurt by what they have written? They have been criticized to be sure, but they have also been praised. They are getting huge amounts of publicity and selling lots of books, giving lectures across the nation and having their faces plastered all over every Jewish periodical. Is that what NYT liberals consider "bravery" nowadays?

In fact, today's NYT op-ed is utterly boring. Stephen Robert rehashes the exact same arguments we have heard ad nauseum as he demands that Israel somehow overlook the fact that Palestinian Arabs keep demanding that it be destroyed demographically and politically. He is not an expert on Israel - a previous piece that he wrote for The Nation shows that he has gullibly believed outright lies from his Palestinian Arab friends. He has no real credentials, unless you believe heading a major mutual fund group makes one an expert on the Middle East.

So why did the New York Times choose to publish yet another op-ed bashing Israel when it breaks no new ground, makes no new arguments, and is quite tendentious to boot?

Because, like Krugman, the author is another "As-a-Jew." He says he grew up as a Zionist, coming from a family of committed Zionists, complete with experience with pogroms and fundraising for the UJA. He is pretending to be yet another recovering Zionist, someone who knows what is best for Israel far better than the people who live there and actually vote in elections. The only thing that makes his point of view interesting, to the NYT opinion editor, is that Robert is being "brave" by speaking out, as a Jew, just like the scores of other ignorant Jews who have been reading the New York Times' anti-Israel pieces over the years and believe them as the Jewish equivalent of gospel.

This is not bravery.

Bravery is to be an Arab and to criticize the PLO. Bravery is to be a Muslim woman and criticize how Muslims treat women. Bravery is to publicly protest in Syria. Bravery is to risk your life for your opinions.

It is not bravery to risk receiving some angry emails. And as awful as the Likud seems to be when you read these "brave" articles criticizing it, the authors aren't quite scared that the Mossad will come and take them out.

When someone like Krugman calls someone like Peter Beinart "brave" it illustrates how out of touch liberal New York Times "As-a-Jews" are. Their worldview is so skewed that they believe that Netanyahu - a man who accepts a two-state solution, who has all but said that he would throw tens of thousands of Jews out of their homes to make peace - is somehow a warmonger. Meanwhile, they believe that Mahmoud Abbas, a man who honors the most notorious terrorists and anti-semites, who arrests journalists who criticize him, and who would rather partner with Hamas terrorists than Israeli Jews, is perfectly reasonable and moderate.

How can such a complete reversal of reality even cross the mind of a sane person?

Well, it can easily happen, if your idea of reality comes from the op-ed pages of the New York Times.

(h/t Daniel)

UPDATE: To Beinart's credit, he doesn't consider himself brave. (h/t Martin Kramer)

Video: "Peace when there is no peace" (1957)

Very hokey, but it shows that Israel was hardly at peace before the "occupation."

Links (Ian)

Anti-Pinkwashing Activist: Occupation of Palestine “One Of The Most Contentious Issues” In Queer Organizing
"But the audience was told homophobia is irrelevant in Palestine as “it doesn’t take away from the fact that there is an occupation. We can’t judge a country by its attitudes towards homosexuals,” said Puar.
http://www.queerty.com/anti-pi...
from
http://blogs.news.com.au/daily...

What ordinary Gazans think
"It’s not Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza that causes economic hardship there, despite what Israel bashers say. It’s corruption, Hamas’s corruption, and ordinary Gazans know it, even if Israel bashers don’t, or even worse if they do and refuse to admit it.”
“A young mother who was interviewed asked “Where are all the dead Jews we were promised?” and blamed Hamas for not killing more Jews than it has, for not providing her with more Jewish corpses than it has. Ordinary Gazans in their multitudes are asking the same question.”
http://www.canadafreepress.com...

PA donors warn Abbas not to replace Fayyad
Donors aware of Abbas’s repeated attempts to remove Fayyad from power and seize
control of Finance Ministry, diplomat says.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEas...

Military doctor saves Palestinian baby brought to West Bank base
http://www.timesofisrael.com/m...

Israel’s ‘right’ to hit Iran goes viral
http://www.timesofisrael.com/p...

You may need to read this twice – the Guardian Denies that Jerusalem is Israel’s Capital.
http://cifwatch.com/2012/04/23...

Bomb in south Lebanon restaurant injures five
There has been a spate of bombings in majority-Muslim Tyre in the last few months of clubs, shops and restaurants that sell alcohol, whose consumption is forbidden by Islam, and several restaurants have stopped serving alcohol as a result.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/...

Saudi boy, 4, kills father over PlayStation
(the irony is now he’s the head of family and his mothers guardian, game on!)
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/art...

Tomorrow, Egypt celebrates "Sinai Liberation Day." As a result, the Rafah border crossing will be closed, and no Gazans will be able to get into or out of Gaza.

And for some reason no one will complain that Egypt is keeping all Gazans in a "prison."

Just sayin'.

A Yom Ha'Atzmaut poster (inspired by the ADL kerfuffle)

I hadn't looked at the design of the star on the Urban Outfitters T-shirt that got the ADL all hot and bothered closely, but it is actually a nifty design showing three planes intersecting in 3D space, angled so it looks like a six-pointed star.

So I decided to make a true 3D version as a Yom Ha'Atzmaut poster:

I like how it came out, so I added the 3D flag as a section in my Printfection store. You can now buy T-shirts, mugs, mousepads and similar items with this design - just go here!

Great speech by Ron Prosor at the UN

It is really compelling to hear someone tell the truth in a hall of lies:

Statement by Ambassador Ron Prosor

UN Security Council

“Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East”

23 April 2012

Thank you, Madame President. Let me begin by thanking you, personally, for your outstanding leadership of the Security Council this month.

Churchill once said, “In the time that it takes a lie to get halfway around the world, the truth is still getting its pants on.”

In the barren deserts of the Middle East, myths find fertile ground to grow wild. Facts often remain buried in the sand. The myths forged in our region travel abroad – and can surprisingly find their way into these halls.

I would like to use today’s debate as an opportunity to address just a few of the myths that have become a permanent hindrance to our discussion of the Middle East here at the United Nations.

Madame President,

Myth number one: the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is the central conflict in the Middle East. If you solve that conflict, you solve all the other conflicts in the region.

Make no mistake: it is important for Israel and the Palestinians to resolve our longstanding conflict for its own merits. Yet, the truth is that conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain, and many other parts of the Middle East have absolutely nothing to do with Israel.

It is obvious that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict won’t stop the persecution of minorities across the region, end the subjugation of women, or heal the sectarian divides. Obsessing over Israel has not stopped Assad’s tanks from flattening entire communities. On the contrary, it has only distracted attention from his crimes.

This debate – even this morning – has lost any sense of proportion. Thousands are being killed in Syria, hundreds in Yemen, dozens in Iraq — and yet, this debate again repeatedly is focusing on the legitimate actions of the government of the only democracy in the Middle East.

And dedicating the majority of this debate to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, month after month after after month, has not stopped the Iranian regime’s centrifuges from spinning. Iran’s ambitions for nuclear weapons are the single greatest threat to the Middle East, and the entire world.

The Iranian nuclear program continues to advance at the speed of an express train. The international community’s efforts to stop them are moving at the pace of the local train, pausing at every stop for some nations to get on and off. The danger of inaction is clear. We cannot allow the diplomatic channel to provide another avenue for the Iranian regime to stall for more time, as they inch closer and closer to a nuclear weapon.

Madame President,

Myth number two: there is a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

In fact, numerous international organizations have said clearly that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the Deputy Head of the Red Cross Office in the area.

Gaza’s real GDP grew by more than 25 percent during the first three quarters of 2011. Exports are expanding. International humanitarian projects are moving forward at a rapid pace.

There is not a single civilian good that cannot enter Gaza today. Yet, as aid flows into the area, missiles fly out. This is the crisis in Gaza. And that is what keeps Gaza from realizing its real potential.

It is a simple equation. If it is calm in Israel, it will be calm in Gaza. But the people of Gaza will face hardship as long as terrorists use them as human shields to rain rockets down on Israeli cities.

Each rocket in Gaza is armed with a warhead capable of causing a political earthquake that would extend well beyond Israel’s borders. It will only take one rocket that lands in the wrong place at the wrong time to change the equation on the ground. If that happens, Israel’s leaders would be forced to respond in a completely different manner.

It is time for all in this Chamber to finally wake up to that dangerous reality. The Security Council has not condemned a single rocket attack from Gaza. History’s lessons are clear. Today’s silence is tomorrow’s tragedy.

Madame President,

Myth number three: settlements are the primary obstacle to peace.

How many times have we heard that argument in this chamber?

Just this month, the Human Rights Council proposed yet another “fact-finding” mission to Israel. It will explore…surprise, surprise…Israeli settlements.

Today, I’d like to save the Human Rights Council and the international community some time and energy.

The facts have already been found. They are plain for all to see.

The fact is that from 1948 until 1967, the West Bank was part of Jordan, and Gaza was part of Egypt. The Arab World did nothing – it did not lift a finger – to create a Palestinian state. And it sought Israel’s annihilation when not a single settlement stood anywhere in the West Bank or Gaza.

The fact is that in 2005, when I was the Director-General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, we took every settlement out of Gaza and only got rockets on our cities in return.

The fact is that this Israeli Government put in place an unprecedented ten-month moratorium on settlements. The Palestinian leadership used the gesture as an opportunity to take Israel and the international community on another ride to nowhere. For nine out of those ten months, they rejected the moratorium as insufficient – and then demanded that we extend it. As former U.S. Special Envoy George Mitchell said “what had been less than worthless a few months earlier became indispensable to continue negotiations…[for the Palestinians]."

Madame President,

The primary obstacle to peace is not settlements. The primary obstacle to peace is the so-called “claim of return” – and the Palestinian’s refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

You will never hear Palestinian leaders say “two states for two peoples”. You won’t hear them say “two states for two peoples” because today the Palestinian leadership is calling for an independent Palestinian state, but insists that its people return to the Jewish state. This would mean the destruction of Israel.

Some of you might say, “Oh Ambassador, but the Palestinians know that they will have to give up this claim, that’s what they whisper quietly at the negotiating table.”

Ladies and Gentleman – the Palestinian leadership has never, ever said publicly that they will give up the so-called “claim of return” – neither to the Palestinian people, nor to the Arab World, nor to the international community, or to anyone else.

Since the Palestinian leadership refuses to tell the Palestinian people the truth, the international community has the responsibility and duty to tell them the truth. You have a duty to stand up and say that the so-called “claim of return” is a non-starter.

Instead of telling the Palestinian people the truth, much of the international community stands idle as the Arab World tries to erase the Jewish people’s historical connection to the Land of Israel.

Across the Arab World – and even at this table – you hear claims that Israel is “Judaizing Jerusalem”. These accusations come about 3,000 years too late. It’s like accusing the NBA of Americanizing basketball.

Like many nations around this table, the Jewish people have a proud legacy of age-old kings and queens. It’s just that our tradition goes back a few years earlier. Since King David laid the cornerstone for his palace in the 10th Century BC, Jerusalem has served as the heart of our faith.

In debate after debate, speakers sit in the Security Council and say that Israel is committing “ethnic cleansing” in Jerusalem, even though the percentage of Arab residents in the city has grown from 26% to 35% since 1967.

The holiest sites in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, were closed only to Jews from 1948 until 1967. Everyone could come to these sites except Jews. There was absolutely no freedom of worship. The world did not say a word about the situation in Jerusalem at that time.

Since Israel unified the city, it has thrived under the values of tolerance and freedom. For the first time in centuries, sacred places that were once sealed off along religious lines are now permanently open for worship by all peoples. This is a principle grounded in our values, our actions and our laws.

Madame President,

There is another great truth that this organization has completely overlooked for the past 64 years.

In all of the pages that the UN has written about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, in all of its reports and fact-finding commissions, and in all of the hours dedicated to debate about the Middle East, there is one great untold story. Or – to be more specific – there are more than 850,000 untold stories.

More than 850,000 Jews have been uprooted from their homes in Arab countries during the past 64 years. These were vibrant communities dating back 2,500 years. On the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Babylonian Jewry produced many of Judaism’s holiest books — and thrived for two millennia. In the great synagogues and libraries of Cairo, Jews preserved the intellectual and scientific treasures of antiquity into the Renaissance. From Aleppo to Aden to Alexandria, Jews stood out as some of the greatest artists, musicians, businessmen, and writers.

All of these communities were wiped out. Age-old family businesses and properties were confiscated. Jewish quarters were destroyed. Pogroms left synagogues looted, graveyards desecrated and thousands dead.

The pages that the UN has written about the Palestinian refugees could fill up soccer stadiums, but not a drop of ink has been spilled about the Jewish refugees.

Out of over 1088 UN resolutions on the Middle East, you will not find a single syllable regarding the displacement of Jewish refugees. There have been more than 172 resolutions exclusively devoted to Palestinian refugees, but not one dedicated to Jewish refugees. The Palestinian refugees have their own UN agency, their own information program, and their own department within the United Nations. None exist for the Jewish refugees. The word “double-standard” does not even begin to describe this gap.

This discrepancy is very convenient for some in this Chamber, but it’s not right. The time has come for the UN to end its complicity in trying to erase the stories of 850,000 people from history.

The time has also come to speak openly in these halls about the Arab World’s role in maintaining the Palestinians as refugees for more than six decades.

Jews from Arab countries came to refugee camps in Israel, which eventually gave birth to thriving towns and cities. Refugee camps in Arab Countries gave birth to more Palestinian refugees.

Israel welcomed its Jewish refugees with citizenship and unlocked their vast potential. As they rose to the highest levels of society, our refugees lifted the State of Israel to new heights.

Imagine if Arab countries had done the same with their Palestinian refugees. Instead, they have cynically perpetuated their status as refugees, for generation after generation. Across the Arab World, Palestinians have been denied citizenship, rights and opportunities.

All of these are facts that must be neither forgotten nor overlooked, as we look to move forward on the path to peace.

Madame President,

I've saved the most obvious myth for last: the myth that peace can somehow be achieved between Israelis and Palestinians by bypassing direct negotiations. History has shown that peace and negotiations are inseparable.

Direct negotiations are the only tool, the only way and the only path to create two-states for two peoples. Last January, Israel offered a clear proposal in Amman for restarting direct negotiations. We presented the Palestinian delegation with negotiating positions on every major issue separating the parties.

That proposal – filled with Israel’s vision for peace – continues to gather dust, as Palestinian leaders continue to pile up new pre-conditions for sitting with Israel. They are everywhere except the negotiating table. It is time for them to give up unilateral efforts to internationalize the conflict and take up the real path to peace.

Madame President,

This week we will observe the two most significant public holidays in Israel – our day of remembrance and our day of independence.

On Wednesday, sirens will sound across Israel. For two minutes, everything will come to a halt. People will stop in their tracks, cars will pull over to the side of highways, and the entire country will pause to remember the more than 22,000 Israelis who have been killed by wars and terrorism in our nation’s short history.

On Thursday, we will celebrate the rebirth of the Jewish nation – and our 64^thyear as a free people in our ancient homeland. Against persistent threats and overwhelming odds, Israel has not only survived, but thrived.

I walk the halls of this organization tall and proud of my extraordinary nation – a nation of just 7 million that has produced 10 Nobel prizes; a nation that sends satellites into space, puts electric cars on the road, and develops the technology to power everything from cell phones to solar panels to medical devices.

We intentionally commemorate these two days one after another. As the Israeli people celebrate our independence, we carry the heavy weight of great suffering and sacrifice.

The lesson we take from these days is clear. We can never turn a blind eye to the dangers around us. We cannot pretend that we live in a stable region filled with Jeffersonian democracies.

But there is another lesson that will fill the hearts of Israelis this week. We can never, ever give up hope for lasting peace. The price of conflict is too high. The evil of war is too great.

That is the fundamental truth which guides our leaders.

Madame President,

In the dangerous uncertainty of a turbulent Middle East, the Security Council has never had a greater responsibility to separate myth from truth, and fact from fiction.

The clarity of candor has never been more valuable. The need for honest discourse has never been clearer. It is time for this Council to sweep out the cobwebs of old illusions – and plant the seeds for a truly “open” debate on the Middle East. The challenges before us demand nothing less.

I couldn't find video of the speech, but here is video of Prosor summarizing it at a press conference afterwards.

(h/t Ian)

Israeli electronics systems to be installed on F-35 stealth fighter

From Israel Defense:

The US government has agreed to allow the air force to install Israeli-produced radio and data link systems onboard the F-35 stealth fighter aircraft. As revealed in the report of the US Congressional Research Service, which IsraelDefense has obtained, this commitment represents the first significant US waiver with regards to the installation of Israeli systems onboard the advanced fighter aircraft.

The use of advanced radio and data link systems will provide the aircraft with greater immunity to deliberate jamming of its communication systems.

The report further reveals that if Israel were to procure more than 20 F-35s, the US government would consider allowing the country to add “black boxes” to the aircraft’s Electronic Warfare (EW) system, which would present unique Israeli-developed capabilities to the system.

The US has so far refused to allow the air force even partial access to the fighter's EW system.

(h/t Yoel)

Jordanian journalist exposes corruption - and gets arrested

From Deutsche Welle:

Jordan has arrested a journalist who published allegations that the country’s Royal Court abused its power by protecting a former cabinet minister from indictment. Journalists have demonstrated to demand his release.

Authorities detained Jamal Muhataseb, owner of Jordanian news website Gerasanews.com, on Monday after he published an article in which it was alleged that the Royal Court had intervened to stop the indictment of a former minister.

Muhataseb, also chief editor of the Marra weekly newspaper faces charges of disseminating "anti-regime sentiment," according to colleagues.

Jordan's Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) condemned the arrest.

"The state security court should not look into issues related to press and publication. We call for the immediate release of Muhtaseb. His detention violates press freedom," said the head of the Jordanian Press Association Tareq Momani.

The CDFJ described the detention of Muhatseb as a "contradiction" of repeated pledges by monarch King Abdullah II to maintain "sky-high" press freedoms in the country.

Muhatseb's colleagues also criticized the fact that the allegations against the journalist were being dealt with by the State Security Court, a military tribunal.

The charge against Muhataseb? "Disseminating anti-regime sentiment."

Iranian oil industry under cyber-attack

From YNet:

The Iranian Oil Ministry has formed a crisis center to deal with the recent cyber attack on the country's oil export facilities, Ynet learned Tuesday.

Hamdollah Mohammad Nejad, head of the Oil Ministry's Passive Defense Office, said that the ministry's IT experts were working on the problem.

According to Iranian media, over 50 of Tehran's top technical experts have been ordered to report to the ministry and assist in the "cyber battle."

The cyber attack, which has been ongoing throughout April, peaked on Sunday, when it took down several key computer systems in the Oil Ministry and corrupted the data stored on them in its entirety.

A virus was first detected inside the control systems of Kharg Island, which handles the vast majority of Iran's crude oil exports.

An Oil Ministry official said that it was still unclear whether the origin of the attack was external or internal.

Some Iranian media outlets ventured that the ministry may choose to shut down all non-vital systems for the near future to protect the Islamic Republic's crude exports while the problem was being resolved.

Tehran's ISNA news agency identified the virus as "Viper," but stressed that it "Hasn't impacted oil exports," as it did not impact the main servers in the ministry.

A ministry official told ISNA that "All of the information is secure – everything is backed up."

Dark Reading, a computer security news site, adds:

Security experts say it's too soon to draw any connections to this attack and Stuxnet or Duqu, for instance.

"Based on information currently available, it would be very premature to suggest that this was targeted against either Iran or systems utilized in oil pipeline/transportation operations -- and indeed make any kind of comparison to Stuxnet," says Tom Parker, chief technology officer at FusionX.

Initial reports indicate that it was the website of the oil ministry that was affected, and not control systems. "So [there is] no indication that it was targeted against oil production systems," Parker says.

I think that Parker's interview was based on the initial reports that only a web server was attacked. It is now sounding like it is a much larger issue. Malware would not jump from one website to another without a lot more things going on, either on the back-end or by a concerted attack from the outside. But so far it does not sound like it is state-sponsored; more likely either an activist hacker or group, or a zero-day virus that got behind the firewalls of the oil companies and spread from there.

A state wouldn't attack web servers, because they are not strategically important.

There are lots things in the world offensive to Jews. This is not one of them.

From Fox News:

The Anti-Defamation League is calling out retailer Urban Outfitters for a shirt the Jewish group claims bears a symbol strikingly similar to the one used by Nazis to identify Jews during the Holocaust.

The sale of the shirt, which comes on the heels of National Holocaust Remembrance Day, is just the latest in a long line of offensive products from Urban Outfitters, the ADL tells FoxNews.com.

The T-shirt, sold by the Philadelphia-based Urbn Inc. but manufactured by Dutch label Wood Wood, is a yellow and features a blue six-pointed star on a breast pocket. But the ADL tells FoxNews.com that it’s far more sinister than just a simple tee -- and is reminiscent of the yellow badges that Jews were forced by the Nazis to wear during the Holocaust.

“It’s a new low in Urban Outfitter’s consistent use of various offensive messages in what appears to be a quest for attention,” Barry Morrison, the Philadelphia regional director of the ADL, told FoxNews.com. “We are very troubled by it.”

“The juxtaposition of the six-pointed star on a yellow shirt brings about associations with the yellow Star of David that the Jews were forced to wear. A symbol marking Jews as subhuman -- setting them apart and ultimately paving the way for their annihilation.”

Here's the shirt:

What exactly is the problem?

The star isn't yellow, it doesn't resemble the stars Jews were forced to wear, it doesn't evoke the Holocaust in any manner, and I would consider wearing it if it wasn't so damn ugly and if I could get past the fact that Urban Outfitters was going to charge $100 for this simple pocket T-shirt. (Now, that's offensive.)

The ADL does some good stuff, but this is beyond ridiculous, and it makes the organization look like a joke. Please, Abraham Foxman, don't look for offense when there clearly is none. There is real anti-semitism out there - and this isn't it. And if you weren't looking for offensive symbols everywhere, perhaps you could have noted this this could be considered a compliment to Jews, not an insult.

See also Jewlicious, who notes that Maccabi Tel Aviv's logo must also be offensive....