August 2005 ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Hasbara needed now more than ever (Zvi Mazel)

Israel has historically done a awful job of explaining its position to the world. It is way past time to start rectifying this. If only someone would listen.... The old diplomacy is dead By ZVI MAZEL You may remember me. I was the Israeli ambassador to Sweden who was confronted with a so-called art installation in Stockholm in January 2004 that glorified suicide bombing. It was a representation of the suicide bomber who murdered 22 innocent people...

Lawyers are good for something!

Notice how hard the Boston Globe tries to spin this as being a bad thing.WASHINGTON -- A Rhode Island lawyer trying to collect a $116 million terrorism judgment against the Palestinian Authority has obtained a court-ordered freeze on all its US-based assets, severely limiting most Palestinian economic and diplomatic activities in the United States at a critical moment for the fledgling government.The frozen assets include US holdings in a $1.3 billion...

Rewarding the terrorists ... from 1929

Mofaz orders Hebron outpost evacuation Although the legality of the Rinat Shalhevet neighborhood may be questionable under Israeli law, there are bigger issues here. This war is not only about facts but, especially on the Arab side, it is about symbolism. And the symbolism of Jews being forced out from what had been a Jewish neighborhood for hundreds of years a second time under an Israeli government is extraordinarily dangerous. (Hebron's Jews...

IDF catches 14-year old with 3 bombs.

First, the Haaretz story:A 14-year-old Palestinian boy carrying three pipe bombs was arrested by Israel Defense Forces paratroopers Monday at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus.Sappers were summoned to the the Hawara roadblock and safely neutralized the bombs.The boy, Hussain Abu Kalifeh, was placed under arrest.Now, the version that will appear in Palestinian "news" sources:The Zionist IOF cruelly arrested a Palestinian child today near...

Recap of weekend Palestinian peace initiatives

Suicide bomber tries to blow up dozens of bus passengers in Beer Sheva Hamas leader threatens all Israel with genocide Palestinian "prime minister" calls Israel racist, says "battle for Jerusalem" has begun The same person threatens "violence" Palestinians are set to name Gaza towns after terrorists The rockets Hezbollah fired at IsraelThursday found to be longer-range Iranian rockets It is so nice to see that the Palestinians are wasting...

Abbas calls Beersheva attack "terrorist"

In what may be a first, Abbas actually used the "T" word to describe a terror attack by Palestinians. Of course, he has used the same word for Israeli self-defense operations in the past, he continues to condemn any Israeli moves to live in peace, and he continues to pay terrorist salaries, so the word has little meaning to him, but it shows that in one narrow sense he is now more dovish than Reuters! RAMALLAH, August 28, 2005, (WAFA)- President...

"Don't trust any kaffirs" - A divestment supporter unmasked

I was surfing tonight and saw a rabidly anti-Israel article concerning another thinly-disguised anti-Jewish campaign for the town of Somerville, MA to divest from Israel. Among the hysterical, bigoted and demostrably false comments in this article were:* Zionism is a "violent genocidal racist ideology";* " Israel’s crimes are ongoing, and have included bombing the Church of the Nativity."* "Are we safe with them living among us? What if they want...

Islamic scholars end up agreeing that suicide bombing Israeli Jews is obligatory

Another indispensable translation from MEMRI. One must marvel at the ability of these would-be mass murderers to call this a "counter-terrorism" conference. The following are excerpts from a panel discussion at the counter-terrorism conference of religious scholars at Sharm Al-Sheikh, Egypt. The discussion aired on Iqra TV on August 22, 2005. (To view this clip, visit: http://memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=822.) Dr. Muhammad Rafat 'Othman,...

Israel leads again in microprocessor design

It looks like Israeli research, not Silicon Valley, pretty much owns the advanced microprocessor development space. Here's just the latest example:Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: "Intel Corporation unveiled its next generation micro-architecture, a multi-core processor, which was completely developed at its facilities in Israel, and which will be used in all Intel-based computers from next year, the...

Today's Zionist plot - and a recap of some old ones

We now can add Joo-toxins to the list of hilariously stupid Palestinian accusations of Israel. Representatives of various Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday accused Israel of burying 'toxic materials' under the rubble of dismantled settlements to prevent Palestinians from exploiting the land.The allegations were made during a press conference in Khan Yunis that was organized by the Popular Committee for Defending Palestinian Lands.Committee...

Jihad in South Florida (Robert Spencer)

Robert Spencer (of Jihad Watch) gets us up-to-date on the Al-Arian trial. In a trial with more important national security implications than any since the Rosenbergs’, Sami Al-Arian now begins his third month in the dock. The defense claims that Al-Arian is a peaceful Muslim with unpopular political views. But according to prosecutors, while Al-Arian was a professor at the University of South Florida, and Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times was...

So this is why the neo-cons wanted to invade Iraq

It was so Israel could make some money selling bullets! :) Israel Military Industries won a tender Tuesday for around $300 million to supply the U.S. army with ammunition. IMI said this is their biggest ammunition deal with the U.S. army to date. IMI will supply light ammunition for rifles and machine guns, which will be produced in its 'Yitzhak' factory in Upper Nazareth. The deal will double the factory's scope of activity. It currently employs...

Israel’s exports to Arab countries up 21%

Some cheerful news to further freak out the Saudis: Israel’s industrial exports to Arab countries, excluding diamonds, grew 21% to $106 million in January-June 2005, compared with the corresponding period last year, Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute director Yechiel Assia said. Assia noted that these figures did not include $6 million in indirect exports to Arab countries by way of third countries in the first half of this year....

Abbas to media: Print what I say, not what I do

Once again, the new incarnation of Arafat says meaningless words to the news media, and they lap it up: RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday he hoped to persuade Palestinians peaceful dialogue was the way to statehood after an Israeli pullout from Gaza that militants claimed as a victory for armed struggle.Declaring the 'jihad' or 'holy struggle' of confrontation with Israel over, Abbas told Reuters it was time for...

Saudis freak out over Hebrew paper cups

You can't make this stuff up! (Hat tip to OpinionJournal Best of the Web)Made-in-Israel Paper Cups Used in Local HospitalSamir Al-Saadi, Arab News JEDDAH, 22 August 2005 — Paper cups with Hebrew writing disturbed both employees and medical staff at King Khaled National Guard Hospital on Saturday. The catering subcontractor for the hospital coffee shops began using them on Saturday after their usual supply ran out.“We were shocked and angry,” said...

Australian mainstream Muslim group promotes Protocols of the Elders of Zion

In a transcript of a radio interview in Australia about the Prime Minister meeting with "moderate" Muslim leaders, a moderate Muslim critic mentions a casual fact in passing: MICHAEL VINCENT: What do you think of the result of today's meeting? Do you think it does progress the dialogue between the Muslim community and the Government? IRFAN YUSUF: Well, it'll progress the dialogue between the Government and these particular organisations, but then...

Today's future Pal Police funnies

Another in the continuing saga of "Today's criminals, tomorrow's policemen." In another incident in the West Bank, arsonists set fire to the offices of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Hebron on Sunday night. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which is yet another sign of increased lawlessness in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hebron residents said the arson was apparently the work of a local Fatah gang whose members were angry...

Your tax dollars going to terrorists

An interesting part about funding for Fatah terror groups buried in another Gaza-in-chaos article: In a military training camp run by the ruling Fatah movement, hundreds of young Palestinians marched in formation Monday and sprinted across a sandy lot. [...] Competition among armed Palestinian groups over control of Gaza's lawless towns intensified Monday as Israeli settlers cleared out the last of 21 Jewish settlements. Palestinian leader Mahmoud...

Two good reference articles

CAMERA published a good backgrounder, "Why Palestinians Still Live in Refugee Camps", that explode many of the myths that the media take for granted about Palestinian "refugees." (interestingly, they published the same table I did in an earlier article, but I had not seen theirs before I published mine from Wikipedia.)And, via Israpundit, here is "Confessions of a Once-Hopeful Leftist," by Jared Israel, that does a nice job laying out the basic truths...

Palestinian "Police" punchlines continue

More insanity from the Palestinians that the world thinks sounds normal in the bizarro Palestinian world. In today's double feature, we have the interesting idea of paying former terrorists more so they abandon their lives of crime.It brings a whole new meaning to the expression "pay for their crimes."Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Nasser Youssef has decided to double the salaries paid to the PA's security forces.The increase in salaries...

I am very lucky in that I can see the Statue of Liberty looking south from my cubicle window. I am about a mile away from it so I can't take any really good pictures without a much better zoom, but the lighting was pretty interesting at 8:30 even though there was a lot of smog today.Enjo...

Haveil Havalim #33 is up

Another excellent issue of Haveil Havalim, a round-up of the week's best postings in the Jewish blogosphere, is now at SoccerDad. One of my articles made it ther...

The birth of modern Islamic terror

An amazing article by John Roy Carlson from October 19, 1948 in the Palestine Post about the growing threat of Islamic fundamentalism. Essentially every point the author makes applies today; eerily so. The graphic format is a little hard to read but it is worth it, especially the parts about the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Azhar University, about liberalism in interpreting the...

Arabs accelerate media attacks on Israel

One of the biggest hopes of the wishful thinking accompanying the Gaza withdrawal is that it will lead to "peace." In the West, a peacemaking move is regarded as something that is naturally reciprocated with good-will gestures. But in the Arab and Muslim worlds, it appears to be a chance to increase the hateful rhetoric and absurd conclusions.Here's a selection from Arab and Muslim writers over the past couple of days.The Providence Journal published...

Liberals blaming US for Muslim terror. Again.

As predictable as ever, we have a new article from The Nation going through a history of the Muslim Brotherhood and blaming 1940's era American bigotry (and perceived Western bigotry today) for today's Muslim terrorism. This was written by a Naomi Klein. Hussain Osman, one of the men alleged to have participated in London's failed bombings on July 21, recently told Italian investigators that they prepared for the attacks by watching "films on the...

Kfar Darom, 1946-1949

Kfar Darom was refounded in 1946 as part of "Operation Negev", an ambitious one-day program to build five settlements on JNF-owned land in October, 1946.Even though the political implications were clear, the local Arabs welcomed the new Jewish villages, as this Palestine Post article shows:The village was integral in the 1948 war, repulsing Egyptian attacks even before Israel...

New US Ambassador to UN does his job

A good article showing the cluelessness of the Jew-hatred of the UN and the direct criticism from Ambassador Bolton. This is an auspicious start for the new UN ambassador. Let's hope that he continues to do his job in the spirit of Moynihan and Kirkpatrick. The United Nations’ funding of a Palestinian Arab propaganda campaign timed to coincide with Israel’s pullout from the Gaza Strip has increased tensions between the U.N. and American officials. ...

This is the fourth explusion of Jews from Gaza

A fascinating timeline I found on this site shows the history of Gaza. During the first millenium, after the destruction of the Second Temple, Jews slowly moved back into Gaza. (The remains of one 1500 year old synagogue are still there today.) The number of Jews moving there accelerated during the Middle Ages and throughout the tumultuous history of the region.During WWI, the Ottoman Empire ordered the eviction of Jews from Gaza City.Jews returned...

Yesterday I was playing with a new, awesome digital camera and decided to take some pictures of Manhattan from the place I work. I took ten shots and stitched them together to make what is effectively a 33 megapixel panoramic view of lower Manhattan.Here is a much-reduced version: To give you an idea of how large the full picture is; here is a small slice: If you want to...

Kassam rockets kill more Arabs than Jews

Ha'aretz reports: Ever since the Palestinians began to manufacture and launch locally produced missiles, about four years ago, most of the casualties they have inflicted - dead and wounded - have been Palestinian, and not Israeli. The legendary Palestinian regard for human life remains legendar...

Hamas: Gaza withdrawal will help Islamists in Afghanistan and Iraq

Sometimes, Hamas tells the truth. Gaza is being perceived in the Arab world not only as a victory over Israel but as a victory of militant Islam over the West. At the height of Israel's disengagement, Mahmoud Zahar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, said that from the Palestinian perspective the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza signifies the collapse of the Zionist outlook and is "a sign of the final battle that will decide the conflict." "It is a defeat...

Here come the Macau terrorists!

Often you will see the media hammer home how densely populated the Gaza Strip is, as if that excuses terrorist behavior and the fact that the Palestinians have failed to build a decent infrastructure there over the decades. Well, unfortunately, there seem to be many far-more crowded (and yet productive) areas of the world.It's a wonder that we don't see any suicide bombers from Hong Kong or Gilbraltar. Country/region Population ...

How do you say "hypocrisy" in French?

It always amazes me how countries that have no problem pressuring Israel to give more and more and more to Palestinian thugs, despite decades of terror attacks and murders of Jews, become so hawkish so quickly when a single one of their citizens becomes a victim of a much smaller attack - one that would barely make Page 17 of Le Monde if it was against an Israeli Jew.Where are the French newspaper articles pointing out that Hamas might have kidnapped...

San Jose Mercury News equates settler supporters with terrorists

The magical words that have been used for years to downplay terrorists murdering people are now being used to describe Jews with no intent to hurt other Jews:Police, militants clash in GazaBy MICHAEL MATZA, DION NISSENBAUM AND MARTIN MERZERKnight Ridder NewspapersNEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip -- Clashes erupted Tuesday between Israeli authorities who stepped up the use of force and militant supporters of the Israeli settlers who faced a midnight to leave...

Israeli armor saving American lives in Iraq

Yet another story that the mainstream media wouldn't touch because it doesn't fit with their agenda.The speed and effectiveness with which American military trucks were equipped with armor in Iraq had a lot to do with Israel’s war with Palestinian and Lebanese terrorists. For over a decade, Israeli troops have had to drive trucks through areas containing Islamic terrorists. The ambush methods of these terrorists were similar to those encountered...

Reuters: Kidnapping is just a form of protest

Reuters' "even-handedness" continues on in bizarre ways as it justifies Palestinian kidnapping of journalists:GAZA, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Palestinian gunmen abducted an Algerian Muslim journalist working for a French television station on Monday, his TV crew said, the latest in a string of kidnappings of foreigners in the Gaza Strip.Mohamed Ouathi, a soundman for France 3 Television, was walking back to his hotel in Gaza City with his television crew...

UN pays for terrorist banners

On Sunday in Gaza City, Hamas strung blazing green banners: 'Resistance wins,' read one, 'so let's go on.' Around the corner was a banner from the Palestinian Authority, which is dominated by a more secular faction, Fatah. 'Gaza today,' it read, 'the West Bank and Jerusalem Tomorrow.' A tag line said the banner was paid for by the United Nations Development Program.Nice to know that the UN is spending its money so wisely. I guess there are no longer...

One year of blogging

Boring nerd stats:TruthLaidBear ranks me as blog #9973, which is frankly pretty bad. ("Slithering Reptile" in the Ecosystem.) I used to be ranked higher but then the blog URL had to change and evidently some people never found me again.Technorati shows 10 blogs that link back to this blog.I am still short of 10,000 page-hits. This blog still barely registers on the JBlogosphere, except that SoccerDad seems to like me and I get lots of links from...