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Friday, August 10, 2012

Friday links

From Ian:

LATMA Palestinian heritage sites and rifts among the social justice protesters



Stop Iran at all costs by Prof. Benny Morris
“Israel's reasons for a future strike on Iran's nuclear facilities are logical and clear: Iran armed with nuclear weapons threatens Israel's existence; the weapons can fall into the hands of terrorists; and it will undoubtedly ignite an arms race in the Middle East that could end in nuclear war. In light of these threats an Israeli government that chooses to sit by and do nothing will have betrayed its public.”

Tom Friedman — mistaken or misleading?
"Consumed by wishful-thinking, Friedman assumed that Assad could liberalize Syria, attract international investors, normalize relations with Israel and end the Arab rejection of the Jewish state — thus demolishing the Iran-Syria axis and ending Iran’s involvement in Lebanon."

Under Olympic cover, Russian cargo ship approaches Syria
"The voyage of the Alaed shows the irresponsibility of the Russian government to allow a transfer of weapons to a regime that is responsible for the brutal slaughter of its own citizens"

In Egypt, Anti-Semitism Is Back in Fashion
"As Walter Russell Mead has written on his blog, countries “where vicious anti-Semitism is rife are almost always backward and poor.” They aren’t backward and poor because the Elders of Zion conspire against them. They’re backward and poor because, Mead argues, they lack the ability to “see the world clearly and discern cause and effect relations in complex social settings.” He calls anti-Semitism the “sociology of the befuddled.”

Attacks on Christians Sharpen with Government Collusion by Khaled Abu Toameh
“While the number of Christians in the Arab world continues to decline, Israel remains the only country in the Middle East where they feel safe and comfortable. That explains why Christians living in Israel have been appealing to Israel to open its borders to absorb their brothers who are fleeing from the Gaza Strip, Bethlehem, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan.”

United Church of Canada leaders team up with 9-11 conspiracy nuts to demonize Israel
"As one might expect, Ms Ralph is not the only 9-11 conspiracy theorist in the organization she co-founded. Her co-Chair and fellow Independent Jewish Voices founder Sid Shiniad shares her views and the organization of fringe radicals is liberally peppered with adherents to a movement that proposes the attack by Muslim terrorists on the World Trade Center and Pentagon was actually the work of "neo-cons and Zionists."
"If the United Church's leaders think they can shield themselves from being perceived as anti-Semitic by playing footsie with a small group of fringe Jews whose actions and statements could easily be interpreted to suggest serious, unresolved psychiatric issues, they will find themselves sorely mistaken."

HuffPost front-page headline: Romney chased by "pack of Jews"

Swiss group suspends 'anti-Semitic' Norway scholar
Researcher Johan Galtung suspended form Swiss World Peace Academy after he remarks that Jews control the American media.

London won’t pull bus ad campaign for Iran-linked anti-Israel march

Iran court upholds practicing Christianity sentence

Nepal women banned from Middle East over exploitation
Nepal has banned women under the age of 30 from going to work in Middle Eastern countries amid growing concerns that they are being exploited.

Officials fear wave of fires may be new kind of terror attack

PMW Ramallah municipality to build mausoleum to honor terrorist murderers
“The Ramallah municipality voted this week to build a mausoleum in honor of PLO terrorists responsible for the deaths of 11 Israelis in the 1975 Savoy Hotel attack. Ramallah is the Palestinian Authority’s seat of government.”

Iranian festival accepts Israeli movie, invites filmmaker to attend
"David Shadi submitted his short comedy ‘GentleDog’ around the world; a new Iranian international festival said yes and sent him a visa form"

Ali’s daughter visits Israeli hospital
"Rasheda Ali tours Hadassah-University Hospital-Ein Kerem to see how they combat diseases like Parkinson’s, which afflicts her father"

Chinese 'very impressed' with Israeli economy
"Major Beijing university to offer courses on Israel's high-tech, business culture; another school teaches Hebrew language, culture"

Israel Daily Picture: The 'Kotel' Exposed with the Advent of Photography
Old/New Photos of the Kotel Now Online in Great Detail -- With Thanks to the Library of Congress Archives