July 2011 ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Sunday, July 31, 2011

A rosy open thread

But he that dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the ros...

Saudi cleric rules that men can marry baby girls "in the cradle"

From the WSJ: A senior Saudi cleric issued a religious ruling to allow fathers to arrange marriages for their daughters "even if they are in the cradle," setting up a confrontation between government reformers and influential conservative clergy. Sheik Saleh al-Fawzan, one of the country's most important clerics, issued the ruling after the Justice Ministry said this month it would act to regulate marriages between prepubescent girls and men in...

US DEA busts Hezbollah weapons smuggling ring

From Now Lebanon: It was just an undercover operation meant to lead to the arrest of an Iranian drug dealer in Bucharest, Romania. But it developed into one of the largest operations the American Drug Enforcement Agency initiated in the last decade. It ended with the arrest of a Lebanese weapons dealer who claimed he was buying weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, worth $9.5 million for Hezbollah. The American Drug Enforcement Agency announced...

Chabad members strike deal to enlist in IDF (updated)

From Israel HaYom: Leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch ultra-Orthodox movement have brokered an agreement with the Israel Defense Forces to draft male members for full military service. The agreement is to be signed soon, both sides report. The move marks the first time an entire Orthodox Hasidic movement will commit itself to sending its members to the Israeli military. The deal is unique and significant as most Israeli ultra-Orthodox men do not perform...

Death toll in Syria up to 136 today, rumors about who is in control (update)

From Al Arabiya: Syrian forces killed at least 136 civilians and wounded hundreds in major tank assaults on Hama and other cities that began at dawn on Sunday to crush pro-democracy demonstrations, activists said. “The army and security forces launched an attack on Hama and opened fire on civilians, killing 95 people,” Ammar Qorabi, who heads the National Organization for Human Rights, told AFP earlier. He said that elsewhere, “19 people were...

More trouble for the PA: Workers plan to strike

This was predictable: The union of civil servants in the West Bank on Sunday called for an open strike to begin Tuesday in protest over the late payment of salaries. Union chief Bassam Zakarna dismissed the Palestinian Authority's claims that it could not pay employees' wages on time because of a financial crisis. "This financial crisis is made up, and the government adopts a policy of blackout to frustrate employees and citizens while the treasury...

Islamists fighting Egyptians in Sinai - 4 civilians killed

From Ma'an: Five Egyptians were killed on Friday in clashes between Egyptian forces and reported Islamists. Over 100 masked men wearing black uniforms rallied in the streets of El-Arish, Sheikh Zweid and Rafah, a town on the Gaza border, waving black banners reading "There is no God but Allah." In El-Arish, the armed men headed to Rifai Square and fired at a statue of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by Islamists in...

Syria attacks Hama with tanks, 100 killed so far (updated)

From Radio New Zealand: Syrian tanks have stormed the city of Hama killing at least 45 civilians, a leading rights group says. Earlier, a doctor confirmed that 24 people had been killed and residents reported "intense gunfire" as Syrian forces moved in from several sides. The doctor also said there are scores of wounded people and a shortage of blood for transfusions. Speaking in London, Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights...

What a surprise: Iran blames Israel for Norway massacre

From Trend.AZ: The head of the Iranian military on Saturday accused "the Zionists" of being behind the terrorist attacks in Norway, the Iranian state-owned English-language broadcaster Press TV reported on Saturday, reported dpa. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of Iran's armed forces, Hassan Firouzabadi, said in a statement: "The Zionists are behind the terrorist attacks in Norway, as they fuel rightist sentiments, foster terrorism and...

Samir Kuntar reportedly injured in explosion

From Ya Libnan: An explosion caused by a bomb or grenade killed a person in the Dahiyeh suburb of southern Beirut, An-Nahar newspaper reported on Saturday . Hezbollah immediately imposed a security cordon around the site of the explosion, which the paper said occurred in the tenth floor of a building in the Al-Nasr Complex of the area. An-Nahar also reported that the security forces were unable to enter the site. Update : The person that was...

Anti-BDS hot chocolate in Australia

From The Australian: A GROUP of prominent Australians met for a hot chocolate last night in a peaceful protest against violence in front of a Jewish business that was recently targeted as part of an anti-Israel boycott. Labor MP Michael Danby, Australian Workers Union secretary Paul Howes, former Labor Party president Warren Mundine, comedian Sandy Gutman, aka Austen Tayshus, and journalist Jana Wendt were among those who spoke out against a violent...

Why peace is impossible, reason #2671

A most interesting piece in Dissent magazine by Michael Walzer: In a “solidarity” march for an independent Palestinian state earlier in July, roughly 90 percent of the marchers were Israeli Jews, but all the flags were Palestinian. Israeli flags were banned at the insistence of the Palestinians, who said that they wouldn’t join the march unless their flags were the only ones...

Syria update: Syrian embassy in US is threatening protesters!

Al Jazeera (via Now Lebanon) reports that nine protesters were killed today - so far. There are reports of more soldiers defecting from the Syrian army. Here is an extremely graphic video of a man who had been tortured and killed in Syria. A bomb struck a major oil pipeline in western Syria. The biggest rally today seems to be this one in Hama, where you can see hundreds of thousands of people. And here is a chilling story from Al Arabiya: Early...

Latest Latma (7/29/11)

Some new faces in this one...

Should Israel's policies be dictated by fears of becoming a "pariah"?

In my Twitter exchange with Jeffrey Goldberg yesterday, he pretty much admitted that Israel's giving up the West Bank would very possibly not bring Israel peace anyway. But he fell back to a second argument for Israel's withdrawal from the territory: I believe, however, that Israel will become a pariah if the Palestinians aren't granted statehood, or the vote in Israel. My point was that a Palestinian Arab state could exist while Israel still holds...

Abbas unclear on the concept of "popular resistance"

From Reuters: President Mahmoud Abbas urged Palestinians Wednesday to step up peaceful protests against Israel, urging "popular resistance" inspired by the Arab Spring to back a diplomatic offensive at the United Nations. Abbas, addressing a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) meeting, reiterated his decision to seek full U.N. membership for a state of Palestine alongside Israel, a diplomatic move resulting from paralysis in the U.S.-backed...

US Treasury Department details Iran/Al Qaeda links

From NYT: The Treasury Department on Thursday accused the Iranian authorities of aiding Al Qaeda and said it was imposing financial sanctions on six people believed to be Qaeda operatives in Iran, Kuwait, Qatar and Pakistan. Weighing in on the puzzling question of whether Iran’s Shiite regime seeks to help the primarily Sunni Al Qaeda, Treasury officials asserted that the Iranian government had entered into an agreement with operatives of the terrorist...

A honor massacre in Pakistan: Father kills six daughters

From the Express Tribune (Pakistan): A man gunned down six of his daughters on suspicion that two of them were in relationships with boys in the neighbourhood. On Tuesday morning, Arif Mubashir called his teenage daughters to his room and shot them while the rest of the family, including their mother, watched. His wife Musarrat called the police after the incident. Mubashir shot the girls after their brother said two of them were in a relationship....

In Hamas, doesn't take much to reach martyrdom

The headline of the Hamas Al Qassam Brigades website laments the death of Nabil Zaig, 41, who was a part of the terror group since its inception in 1987 (which would have made him 17 at the time.) The article calls him a "military martyr." But how did he die? He drowned, after going for a midnight swim. Becoming a martyr ain't what it used to b...

Are there a "million missing Israelis"?

A few weeks ago, in Foreign Policy, an article by Joseph Chamie and Barry Mirkin claimed that there are a million Israelis - about one if five - who moved away from Israel and are living abroad. This caused a bit of a hullaboo, and even prompted Tony Karon of Time to use that statistic as a springboard to claim that not only is Israel not the Jewish state, but even Israelis are disillusioned with it. Well, it turns out that the authors' statistics...

A Twitter conversation with Jeffrey Goldberg

There was an interesting Twitter discussion today between Israel's deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon and well-known writer Jeffrey Goldberg. Ayalon had posted a popular YouTube video about the West Bank, and Goldberg wrote an article belittling it. Ayalon and Goldberg then went to Twitter to continue their argument. It was so popular that no less than two articles have already been written about the thread, each drawing different conclusions. I...

Jordanian journalist union upset at "normalization"

Shimon Peres' office released a statement on Tuesday: President Peres during a Special Press Conference with the Arabic Language media in honor of Ramadan: “Assad Must Go; I Admire the Very Brave Syrian Protesters” President Shimon Peres held a special press conference today for members of the Arabic language media at Beit HaNassi in Jerusalem in honor of the upcoming month of Ramadan. The President delivered a message of peace and reconciliation...

Great new video on Palestinian refugees

From Free Middle East...

From TheJC: Skincare company Lush says concerns about the lack of a "mixed" workforce would prevent it opening a store in Israel - but it operates stores in Saudi Arabia. And this week the company, which has just opened a new store in Brent Cross, north-west London, defended its decision to promote a pro-Palestinian song on its website. Customers have been challenging staff...

From the ITIC: On July 24-25 Egypt hosted a conference called the "Founding Conference of the Arab-Islamic Gathering to Support the Option of Resistance" [i.e., terrorism] to support the so-called "resistance" (i.e., terrorism and violence). It was held at the Egyptian Press Syndicate in Cairo. The Palestinian media reported that the conference was attended by representatives...

Syrian stats: 1,634 dead, 12,617 in jail, 2,918 missing

From AFP/NOW Lebanon: Almost 3,000 people have gone missing in Syria since the start of anti-regime protests more than four months ago, the Avaaz non-governmental organization said in a statement on Thursday. "Avaaz has today revealed the identities of 2,918 Syrians who have been arrested by Syrian security forces and whose whereabouts are now unknown," the organization said in statement received by AFP in Nicosia. It said it was launching a campaign...

From the BBC: Chelsea have complained to the Malaysian FA about what they believe was racist abuse directed at Yossi Benayoun during last week's friendly. The 31-year-old Israeli was jeered each time he touched the ball in a match against a Malaysian XI on 21 July. Chelsea said: "We believe Yossi was subjected to anti-semitic abuse by a number of supporters at the game. "Such...

Another "moderate" saying he wants to destroy the Jewish state

MEMRI released this interview with Nabil Sha'ath, a Fatah leader: Nabil Shaath: The recognition of a [Palestinian] state is basically a bilateral action, which receives the blessing of the UN. This act, however, will make many things possible in the future. Eventually, we will be able to sign bilateral agreements with states, and this will enable us to exert pressure on Israel. At the end of the day, we want to exert pressure on Israel, in order...

Jordan upset over Israel's opening Christian site on the river

From AP, July 12: QASR EL-YAHUD, West Bank (AP) — Israel opened the traditional baptism site of Jesus to daily visits Tuesday, a move that required the cooperation of Israel's military and the removal of nearby mines in the West Bank along the border with Jordan. The location, where many believe John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the waters of the Jordan River, is one of the most important sites in Christianity. Until now, it was opened several...

Hamas considering more kidnappings, says "Israel isn't in our dictionary"

Hamas's head of international relations, Osama Hamdan, has restated the official Hamas positions that the Western media loves to downplay. Hamdan issued a press release where we learn these wonderful things: Hamas does not rule out kidnapping more Israelis in order to better its bargaining position in a prisoner swap. "Resistance will continue, God willing, in order to liberate the land of Palestine from the [river to the] sea." Palestine has...

Your tax dollars at work - for terrorists

I quoted Ma'an in March 2009: An extra 800 shekels (190 US dollars) will be added to the stipend’s given to Palestinians in Israeli prisons this month, Head of Palestinian Prisoner Society in Nablus Ra’ed Amer confirmed on Tuesday. Each prisoner receives 1000 shekels (238 US dollars) per month, plus an extra 300 shekels (71 US dollars) if they are married, and an extra 50 shekels (12 US dollars) for each child. The stipend is paid by the Palestine...

Avian Open Thread

Here's how birds play their version of King of the Hill: Speaking of tweeters, the Disqus comment system has added a new feature that seems cool if a bit buggy. If you type in an @ with a Twitter name in a comment, it will automatically tweet that person with the URL of the comment thread. (I have found it doesn't work great in Chrome; seemed OK in Firefox.) I couldn't...

Remember in February and March when Iran complained that the London 2012 Olympics logo really spelled "Zion"? Here's how they broke that insidious Zionist code, in case you forgot: Well, they now have a quandary. Because the medals were revealed today, and they have that same super-evil-Illiminati-Freemason-Zionist symbol! Iran has won medals in the last five summer Olympic...

Many have noted that the actions of the Palestinian Authority often resembles that of a spoiled child, throwing a tantrum because he does not get his way. I even wrote about it in 2006, an article that applies today (except for my underestimating Hezbollah's ability to take over Lebanon.) And while in that year, read this great piece from Treppenwitz. Mahmoud Abbas has made...

Meanwhile, in Syria...

From AFP/Now Lebanon: Syrian security forces shot dead at least 11 people, including a child aged seven, in a "vengeance" raid on the town of Kanaker near Damascus early Wednesday, a human rights activist said. "The security forces entered homes at dawn on Wednesday and during the operation 11 people were shot dead and more than 250 arrested," said Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights, reached by telephone from Nicosia. He...

One of the more interesting themes I have noticed among the twitterati of the anti-Israel left is that, no matter what the news story is, they have to relate it to "occupation." People in Tel Aviv protesting high housing costs? Why aren't they mentioning the "occupation"? A new publicity initiative from the Foreign Ministry? Well, it is propaganda because it doesn't talk...

Here is the Paris Gardens Resort - in Gaza: Unlike many of the Gaza resorts we have highlighted in the past, this one is unpretentious and fairly small. It looks like the type of place for ordinary Gazans to hang out without spending too much money. It was destroyed this morning:Assailants burned a Gaza resort at dawn Wednesday, the manager said. Imad Al-Wazeer told...

From Israel HaYom: A Lebanese belly dancer is facing death threats and cannot return to her homeland after embracing an Israeli musician at an international festival in France. On June 19, Israeli heavy metal band Orphaned Land performed alongside Lebanese belly dancer Johanna Fakhri at the Hellfest music festival in the western French town of Clisson. At the end of their...

Yisrael Medad, in My Right Word, noticed something interesting in a photo illustrating a Daily Mail story. The story is titled "Christian girls who go to church are 'more tolerant of other faiths than their peers'" . Here is the photo that illustrates the story: Yisrael noted that the girl looks quite Jewish, and she even looks like she is a Jewish resident of Yesha - a...