June 2011 ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Hedy Epstein - a disgrace (A Soldier's Mother)

A very well-written post from A Soldier's Mother: My message to Hedy Epstein as she sails to Gaza: Your participation, in the flotilla brings shame to you and worse is a betrayal of your family, those that died in Auschwitz. It is hard to comprehend how distorted your view of life, of Judaism, and of Israel must be to bring you to the point that you sail against your own people. Yes, you’ll say you sail for human rights, for humanity and some such...

Mark Regev on freeing Gaza - from Hamas (video)

...

From Philosemitism: The film poster shows French comic actor Dieudonné, dressed in military uniform and hilarious, feeding a tiny portion of food [is it food?] to a hungry man dressed as a concentration camp prisoner begging for something to eat. The subtitle of the film refers to "the first popular comedy about the Holocaust". According to the poster, the film has been...

STL hands down indictments of Hezbollah members - one a US citizen

From Gulf News: The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) probing the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri on Thursday issued its long-awaited indictment and accused four Hezbollah members of the murder, Lebanese officials and media said on Thursday. "I will now examine the indictment and the warrants to take the appropriate measures," Lebanese prosecutor Saeed Mirza was quoted as telling reporters following a meeting with a three-member...

Will Ilan Grapel be released?

Arabic paper Palestine Times quotes Yediot Aharonot as saying that Egypt will release purported "spy" Ilan Grapel in the next two days. Anonymous sources claimed that there has been fruitful communications between Israel and Egypt on the matter. The US has also been involved in the negotiations. Official sources would not confirm the stor...

Reuters joins the "Gaza isn't so bad but it is really bad" party

Earlier this week the New York Times reported on Gaza: Two luxury hotels are opening in Gaza this month. Thousands of new cars are plying the roads. A second shopping mall — with escalators imported from Israel — will open next month. Hundreds of homes and two dozen schools are about to go up. A Hamas-run farm where Jewish settlements once stood is producing enough fruit that Israeli imports are tapering off. As pro-Palestinian activists prepare...

Israeli innovators build new "Silicon Valley" (AFP)

Great article in AFP: With a concentration of start-ups just behind that of Silicon Valley and an impressive pool of engineers, Israel is becoming the new standard for high-tech, with a unique business model.Internet-related activities contributed 9 billion euros (12.6 billion dollars) to the Israeli economy in 2009, representing 6.5 percent of GDP, according to a report from management consultancy McKinsey.The sector is worth more than the...

Abbas to delay "unity talks" until after....September

From AP: Two Palestinian officials say President Mahmoud Abbas is inclined to put off talks on a unity government with rival Hamas until after a U.N. vote this fall on Palestinian statehood. The officials say Abbas fears running into difficulties with the West over an alliance with the Islamic militant group. This suggests he may have underestimated international opposition when he reconciled with Hamas in May. The Palestinian officials said Thursday...

My brief Twitter exchange with a flotidiot reporter

While the Dutch reporters acted ethically in rejecting the flotilla attempts to hide facts about Hamss ties and funding, other "reporters" are happily drinking the flotilla Kool-Aid. I mentioned yesterday that one of the cheerleaders who styles herself a reporter is Mya Guanieri, who comes out with daily rah-rah dispatches and whose Twitter feed makes no secret of her full support for the flotilla. When she published the photo of the...

PA to ban Israeli watermelons - boycott or protectionism?

Starting tomorrow, the PA will prohibit the import of Israeli watermelons. Existing agreements between Israel and the PA prohibit any boycott of Israeli goods. The PA is always careful to emphasize that they boycott goods made by Jews in Judea and Samaria but not from within the Green Line. They are not positioning this as a boycott, but rather as a means to protect local farmers who they say have higher costs and cannot compete with the Israeli...

Another natural gas field off Israel's coast - and possibly oil, too

From Globes: The Myra and Sarah licensees today announced that the fields have potential reserves of 6.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to an analysis of the 3D survey by Netherland Sewell & Associates Ltd. (NSAI). The discovery is the third largest gas discovery offshore from Israel, after the 8.6 trillion cubic feet at Tamar and 16 trillion cubic feet at Leviathan. Myra and Sarah are located in deep water northwest of Netanya,...

US to engage with Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood

From Reuters: The United States has decided to resume formal contacts with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday, in a step that reflects the Islamist group's growing political weight but that is almost certain to upset Israel and its U.S. backers. "The political landscape in Egypt has changed, and is changing," said the senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "It is in our interests to engage with...

I quoted a Radio Netherlands reporter Eric Beauchemin describing why he could not go on the flotilla voyage, as the Dutch leaders of the voyage refused to answer questions. Now every Dutch reporter on the flotilla has bailed out for the same reasons. And they are also upset over how the flotilla is hiding the involvement of at least one known Hamas leader. From De Telegraaf: Enraged...

The laws of blockades (JPost)

The Jerusalem Post put together a nice summary of the laws of blockades. It destroys a lot of the nonsense that the flotidiots like to spout. A maritime blockade is a tool countries can employ during an armed conflict to stop the passage of weapons and other goods to a country or entity. Israel has imposed one on Gaza since January 3, 2009, during Operation Cast Lead. One of the main arguments raised against the boarding of the six ships associated...

"Journalist" Mya Guernieri, who has been cheerleading the flotilla in various publications, sent out a Twitpic showing ladies of the flotilla with the caption yes, these #freedomflotilla2 people really look like they're baying for blood, don't they? #sarcasm So since people think that this is a convincing argument, I created a little graphic: The Free Gaza article...

"Millions of naked tourists visiting mosques in Turkey"

Saudi Arabia's MBC channel quotes a Turkish sheikh as complaining about the fact that large Turkish mosques are now tourist attractions, and millions of half-naked women (the headline says "naked") are now descending to the holy places. The sheikh of the mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent said that some mosques are starting to enforce dress codes, including veils, to stop this problem. He also says that Turkish women are eager to wear the veil...

Flotidiots already planning rally in New York for any "emergencies"

The people behind the "Audacity of Hope" boat have already set up a Facebook event page anticipating a violent confrontation at sea. IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: Time still TBD, dates above are *not* definite. ** Depending on the time we hear about the emergency, we have developed the following schedule for everyone to turn out ** If there is an emergency with the U.S. Boat to Gaza and/or the Freedom Flotilla, we call on people of conscience to gather...

From Al Ahram: Clashes erupted in front of the Ministry of Interior last night, as well as the Balloon Theatre in Agouza, between the martyrs’ families and police forces. The clashes soon turned violent as police forces assaulted the protestors with tear gas in front of the ministry. Police forces continued their tear gas salvo in a bid to break the demonstrations up until...

Bibi starts Arabic-subtitled YouTube channel to answer questions

From the Israeli Prime Minister YouTube channel: I especially invite people from the Arab countries to send questions. I'd like to hear what you have to say, and I'd like to hear what you have to say in response.I can't wait for Erdogan, Gaddafi, Nasrallah and Assad to follow sui...

" 'Right-wing EoZ' has co-opted 'Nothing' "

A site called Lavie Tidhar issued a "press release" because of my post about Nothing: A WAR OVER NOTHING?FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE28 June 2011TEL AVIV –An Android phone application continues to cause fierce debate in the Middle East.“How many times have you paid nothing and got something back? Now we offer you a unique opportunity: pay something and get Nothing back! This application does absolutely Nothing. By purchasing it you will help us prove that...

Report: Jordan opposed to unilateral declaration of "Palestine" (updated)

Palestine Today and many other Arab media are reporting that Jordan has announced that it is against the PLO going to the UN in September to be declared a state. A government source confirmed that Jordan will oppose the Palestinian decision to go to the General Assembly of the United Nations to declare a Palestinian state unilaterally in September. The source added that Jordan's national interest would be hurt if the Palestinian National Authority...

Egyptian security looking for Palestinian Arab terrorists

Palestine Press Agency quotes Egyptian newspaper "Seventh Day" as saying that Egyptian security forces are on the lookout for four Palestinian Arabs who sneaked into Egypt. The four are members of the "Soldiers of Allah" group. An Egyptian security official said "The Palestinians who entered Egypt photographed natural ga plants, the pyramids and tourist areas in the provinces of Giza, Luxor, Aswan and Hurghada They also threatened to execute a...

The Guardian's bias in covering Sheikh Raed Salah

From The Guardian: Sheikh Raed Salah, a leading Palestinian activist, has been detained in London after he entered the UK while banned from the country. Salah, the leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was detained on Tuesday night by police. The home secretary, Theresa May, said officials from the UK Border Agency were taking steps to remove Salah from the country. She said an investigation had been launched into how he managed to get into...

Flotilla Facts website

EoZ partner Stand With Us has put together a very good website, called Flotilla Facts, that explains all of the issues with the flotilla. It also includes videos and suggestions for what you can do. Check it out! By the way, StandWithUs turned my "This is Zionism" posters into a video:...

Muslim Brotherhood militants flying to Greece to join flotilla?

Palestine Today quotes Israeli TV as saying that the flotilla participants in Greece have checked out of their hotels and are on their way to the ships to start their trip. The last paragraph of the story says: According to other sources, 70 activists affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Jordan are flying from Jordan to Greece to join the fleet of the ships of freedom.I don't know the source of that story but somehow I don't think...

Unbiased reporters in flotilla?

YNet has an op-ed by Yosef Federman, the chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Israel: The Foreign Press Association in Israel was happy to see the Israeli government rescinding its threat to expel and even boycott journalists who cover the Gaza flotilla. It’s important to understand that the decision was illogical to begin with. For some reason, the government attempted to apply the same attitude to journalists doing their job and to pro-Palestinian...

Videos of Syrian atrocities

Syrians troops brutally beating protesters in Damascus: Another video that shows a child who was tortured and killed is too horrific to show here. Despite the massacres, there are still daily protests in dozens of Syrian towns, many quite large like this one in Hama yesterday rejecting dialogue with the government: (h/t Israel Mus...

Arabs that the flotilla ignores: The tent city of Medinat al-Salam

From Al Masry al-Youm: Naglaa Mahdy sleeps in a tent with ten other women and their children. She wakes up and dusts herself off, then she tries to figure out how to feed herself and her family on her tiny budget. Mahdy is one of over 1000 people who, after being evicted from their rented apartments in February, have been living in tents in Medinat al-Salam. After cooking...

Moonbat Dutch reporter can't stomach Flotidiots

An eye-opening report from a Radio Netherlands reporter who really, really wanted to cover the Dutch contingent of the flotilla, but was turned off by their refusal to share any information. I had been planning for the past three months to sail with the activists and report on their journey. But over the past week that I spent in Greece, I lost all faith in the Dutch Gaza Foundation which is responsible for the Dutch boat. Things started going...

I had the opportunity to be across the river from lower Manhattan today, and from there one can see the progress of the Freedom Tower now visible from behind the World Financial Center. It is about 70 stories tall so fa...

Arab researcher: "Israel trumps the Arab world"

From The Peninsula (Qatar): (via Daily Alert) DOHA: There is no doubt that Israel is superior to all Arab countries in the sphere of Information Technology, a comparative study between Arab nations and Israel on ‘Scientific Research and Patent Rights Compared’ conducted by Dr Khalid Said Rubaia, a Palestinian researcher at American Arab University in Palestine, says. Israel spends 4.7 percent of its total GDP on scientific research, which is the...

Textbook examples of "Asajews"

The term "Asajew" has been around for a couple of years. It refers to people who use their Judaism to slam Israel, often in letters to the Guardian, that start with "As a Jew, I condemn/deplore/abhor Israel's latest war crimes.." As you could guess, the flotilla is filled with Asajews, and the self-penned biographies of the "Audacity of Hope" passengers are great examples. Here's one: Henry Norr, 65, is a retired journalist and human rights advocate....

I just saw that Greta Berlin's first husband was born in Tzfat (Safed), just like Mahmoud Abbas. And just like Abbas' family, his family fled way before any Jewish troops entered the town. Just like Abbas' family, they left because they were afraid Jews would act like Arabs and take revenge on the Arabs for their massacres of Jews in 1929. Here's is the Palestine Post article...

The Tailor (video)

It is not too often that a joke gets turned into a six minute video. But this one is done very, very well. From the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival: (h/t jzai...

Iran unveils underground missile silos

From NYT: Iran unveiled underground silos on Monday that would make its missiles less vulnerable to attack, marking the country’s latest show of force in the long standoff with the West over its nuclear program. State television broadcast images of an unspecified number of silos deep underground, saying they held medium- and long-range missiles ready to hit distant targets. Subterranean silos are considered harder to destroy than surface installations,...

PA mulls switching from shekels to dollars

From Ma'an: A leading Fatah figure has revealed some of the means that might be used in the event the UN declines to take a positive decision on Palestinian statehood and its membership in the Security Council. "The Palestinian leadership will be pushed to take decisions with strategic dimension in dealing with this matter, including the use of the US dollar as the main currency in the Palestinian markets instead of the Israeli shekel," said Muhammad...

UNESCO shows its anti-Israel bias

From YNet: UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee decided to accept a petition by Jordan and issued an official censure of Israel over the archeological excavations near the Mughrabi Gate in the Jerusalem's Old City. UNESCO's censure calls for the immediate cessation of all renovation work done on the Mughrabi Gate bridge, which leads from the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to the to the al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount. Israel and Jordan had previously...

Germany confirms that Hamas rejected Shalit deal

From AP: Germany says Israel accepted a proposal by a German mediator to free a soldier captured by Hamas-linked militants in Gaza five years ago, but Hamas did not sign off on it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he had accepted the proposal, but Hamas rejected the deal. It is thought to include hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the soldier, Sgt. Gilad Schalit. Hamas said Netanyahu was lying about the...