June 2007 ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Saturday, June 30, 2007

"But it was an accident!"

Since Hamas' takeover of Gaza, news of violent deaths have all but stopped as the few PalArab reporters still there cower in fear. But every once in a while something makes it through the new Iron Curtain:Palestinian medical sources stated on Saturday that a Palestinian woman, Samah Al-Hor, 24, was killed in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip as a result of the "misuse of arms." She mistakenly received a gunshot to the head.A 24-year old woman being...

Farfour the terror mouse gets "martyred"

Hamas has such a good way with children:Hamas TV on Friday broadcast what it said was the last episode of a weekly children's show featuring "Farfour," a Mickey Mouse look-alike who had made worldwide headlines for preaching Islamic domination and armed struggle to youngsters.In the final skit, Farfour was beaten to death by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. At one point, Farfour called the Israeli a "terrorist.""Farfour...

Morning links

A video from MEMRI is getting some publicity from LGF and IRIS - a man on the street asking Saudis if they would shake hands with a Jew.I knew it sounded familiar - I linked to it back in 2004.-------------Mere Rhetoric links to a nice article showing Jimmy Carter's duplicity yet again, this time in purposefully misreading Palestinian Arab polls to make them sound peaceful when the poll indicates the exact opposite.--------------The new Palestinian...

Another meme - I've been tagged

I've been tagged in the "8 Facts About Yourself" meme by Fiery Spirited Zionist. As is my habit, I'll answer the questions out of politeness for the requester, but I will not forward the meme to eight others out of politeness to cyberspace - memes are effectively a combination of computer viruses and pyramid schemes.1. I've been getting up at 5 AM to blog - not a good thing to do.2. I never learned how to tie my shoes properly.3. My first computer...

An example of Arab Jew-hatred masked as intellectualism

Al-Ahram in Egypt printed an op-ed, by a professor of political science at Cairo University, where the author starts off saying what is wrong with Arab conspiracy theories, and then swallows one hook, line and sinker. It has to be seen to be believed: Many, I believe, share my sense of alarm over current events in the Arab world. Many wonder what will become of a region home to the world's worst crises. In Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Somalia and...

Olmert to Sderot: Drop Dead

In an astonishing public display of impotence, Ehud Olmert has essentially told the residents of Sderot to just suck it up and not kvetch so much about living in a human shooting gallery:Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday that he had no intention of providing maximal protection to all residents of Gaza periphery communities. "A country cannot protect itself ad infinitum, because there would be no end to it."Olmert was addressing the Caesarea...

Abbas controls no one (besides the Western media)

Yesterday:Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas took steps Tuesday against factional fighting by outlawing armed groups outside the official PA security forces, and ruling that the government will confiscate all arms from these groups."On the basis of the declaration of a state of emergency in the Palestinian territories, and by virtue of my authority, all armed militias, groups and brigades that do not belong in practice to the security services...

American and Palestinian Arab slums

Gaza and the West Bank are reminiscent of American inner cities in the 60s and 70s. No authority figures, no leadership, poverty, rampant crime, extraordinarily dangerous, ruled by gangs, and the complete absence of any sort of justice. In addition, the criminals are quick to blame the rest of the world for their actions while the innocent residents are stuck with nowhere else to go.The differences between the two cases are perhaps more enlightening....

Fatah refuses to talk with Hamas. Hmmmm.

Ma'an Arabic reports today that Fatah has rejected any dialogue with Hamas, after Hamas' Haniyeh said that Hamas is ready for immediate talks.When Israeli right-wingers decide not to talk to terrorists, they are routinely described as "intransigent" and "hardline" and "hawkish." In contrast, the Fatah terrorist leaders that want to keep talking to Israel (to gain more concessions for free) are invariably described as "moderate" and "pragmatic."Somehow,...

Hamas delusions

On the Al-Qassam (Hamas terror wing) Arabic website there is a readers' poll asking if the firing of Qassam rockets towards Israel contributes to safety and security in Gaza.At the moment, the vote is 84% yes, 14% no.And they have 6000 votes.I imagine that the BBC would spin it as "84% of Hamas supporters desire peace...

Everything in moderation

The BBC manages to use the words "Hamas" and "moderate" in the same sentence:Osama Bin Laden's number two has called on the Islamist group Hamas to unite with al-Qaeda after its victory in Gaza over Fatah, in a web-posted audiotape.Ayman al-Zawahiri also warned against any attempt by Arab countries to wrest control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas.Al-Qaeda has in the past criticised Hamas for taking part in the political process in the Palestinian territories.Hamas...

Juan Cole defending genocidal maniac, again

From the "Atlantic Free Press", by Juan Cole: Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul continue to show themselves among the few in Congress with any integrity and backbone. They declined to go along with a resolution charging Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad with incitement to genocide, given his alleged call for Israel to be 'wiped off the face of the map.' As most of my readers know, Ahmadinejad did not use that phrase in Persian. He quoted an old saying...

Hamas captures Fatah's collection of blackmail sex tapes

Ma'an reports on a Ma'ariv story, not otherwise translated into English yet:The Israeli newspaper, Maariv, reported on Wednesday that Hamas discovered videotapes during the seizure of power in the Gaza Strip that reveal the corruption of the security forces and the sexual deviancy of several Fatah leaders.Maariv reported that Hamas members discovered dozens of recorded sexual encounters of leading figures, which were being used by the security forces...

While the world toasts Fatah...

While Olmert meets with Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh, ready to give him lots of concessions in exchange for not screaming for Jewish blood right this moment, the "moderate" Fatah faction was busy as well:The Fatah-affiliated Al Buraq Army announced that they launched a rocket-propelled grenade at the Israeli military position at Karni Crossing, between Israel and the Gaza Strip,...

The death of Palestinian Arab journalism

I've touched on this topic before, but it is more clear than ever that there are no more real outlets for independent Palestinian Arab journalism ever since Hamas won Gaza.While even before the civil war there would be daily murders in Gaza from clan clashes and work accidents, since Hamas took over they have all mysteriously disappeared. Even "human rights" organizations like PCHR have stopped trying to keep track of Arab violence - according to...

"Humanitarian demands" to release terrorists

Ma'an reports:The formal spokesperson of the Popular Resistance Committees, Abu Mujahid, affirmed on Monday that the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is alive and well.Abu Mujahid told Ma'an in an exclusive talk marking the one year anniversary of Shalit's capture that the factions holding him are determined to stick to their humanitarian demands from Israel regarding his release: the release of female Palestinian detainees, children, sick and...

Snapped Shot has an impressive collection of wire-service photos of the exact same wild-eyed and wild-bearded Kashmiri protester, dubbed Islamic Rage Boy, who reliably shows up at every anti-Western protest and even more reliably gets photographed:Christopher Hitchens picks up on the deeper meaning of the West trying to pander to people like thi...

Meanwhile, Israel is saving the world

An Israeli company has developed a biodiesel fuel that can be used in normal diesel engines without modification, reducing dependence on Arab oil as well as reducing pollution.Another Israeli company has moved closer to creating insulin that can be taken orally.Israeli scientists have created a 1 mm robot that can swim through veins of a human body.Another scientist came up with an innovative way to save lives after head trauma or stroke...

June Qassam calendar

As with the February, March , April and May calendars, the numbers for each date represent the number of Qassams fired on that day. The numbers in parentheses (second row after date) are those I saw reported by Palestinian Arab media, outside of parentheses (first row after date) are those reported in Israeli media. Italics represent mortars, not rockets, but I am not keeping track of that consistently. I am no longer maintaining the days Israel...

For those who need a scorecard

Here's the quick rundown of the current meeting between Abbas and Olmert in Sharm el-Sheikh: What Fatah gets What Israel gets $1 billion or so annually from the rest of the world A Gaza that will still get some of that money for building up an army 250 terrorists freed More rockets International legitimacy A reputation as a "roadblock to peace" for not going further $400 million from Israel A figurehead PA government...

Shalit audiotape

It is obvious that he was forced to read these words written by Hamas and that Shalit did not write them.I think that there should be a prisoner swap. Israel should nab Haniyeh and Zahar, force them to read a statement on audiotape, and then maybe swap them for Shali...

Miscalculating the PalArab breaking point (Omedia)

A good article from Shaul Rosenfeld that, in its own way, explores how the West misunderstands the psychology of the Palestinian Arabs, and how in a large part Israel's previous mistakes have made things much, much worse today. An excerpt:When asked to explain what made him believe the Palestinians would keep to the agreements they signed in Oslo, Shimon Peres used to trot out his corny old mantra “they are fully aware that they have what to lose”....

Hamas: "Thank You, America!"

Hamas co-founder Mahmoud Zahar had an interesting interview with Der Speigel. Some highlights: SPIEGEL ONLINE: How would a Hamas-led Islamic state look? Zahar: There would be no difference from how it looks today, because our customs and traditions in Gaza are already Islamic. Marriage, divorce, daily business -- everything is Islamic. As soon as we have a state, then everyone will have their freedom. Christians will remain Christians, parties could...

A Psychological History of Palestinian Arabs, part 7

Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Part 6It is noteworthy that the leaders of the revolts of 1921, 1929 and 1936 were all Muslim religious figures. Since Islam does not distinguish between politics and religion, it is perhaps natural that Muslim Arabs would rally around religious leadership as their political leadership as well. At any rate, it does point out a religious dimension to the Arab nationalist movement that does not get mentioned often - usually,...

No photos of Bilin when Israelis get injured

Like clockwork, every Friday for many months, a crowd of demonstrators gather in Bilin to protest Israel's defensive barrier. every Friday, photographers show up en masse to try to take pictures of Israeli soldiers doing anything that can be construed as oppressing them:Israeli border police shoot tear gas canisters at Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against Israel's...

The West believes in PalArabs more than Arabs do

A curious thing is happening in the Arab world.For a couple of years already there has been a sense of exhaustion and apathy from the Arabs concerning the Palestinian Arab "cause." Statements to the West in support of PalArab rights have seemed perfunctory and reflexive, and in the general Arab press the Palestinian issue has mostly disappeared from the front pages. After the first couple years of the intifada, there seemed to be a slow awakening...

Palestinian Christians and Muslims hold conference against Jews

The rabidly Jew-hating Palestinian Arab Christians and Muslims are holding a three-day conference in Bethlehem to discuss how much they have in common - they both really, really hate Jews.From Palestine News Network (Arabic, autotranslated):opened hotel in the Russian city of Bethlehem Wednesday afternoon after Heritage Conference of Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land at its nineteenth session, which will hold the meeting of religious studies...