The Neurotic Middle East
The world tacitly exempts the Middle East from the rules of civilized behavior.
“The world obsesses over Israel and the Palestinians because of the neurotic Middle East. The issue is not really the principle of a divided capital — or Nicosia would be daily news. Nor is the concern over refugees per se, since well over 500,000 Jews were religiously cleansed from the major Arab capitals following the 1948 and 1967 wars. No one cares where they went or how they have fared in the decades since. Is the global worry really over occupied territories? Hardly. Lately it seems that every desolate island between China and Japan is equally contested. Are there special envoys to the Falklands, and do the islanders receive international aid? Will there be a U.N. session devoted to the Kuril Islands? Does Gdansk/Danzig merit summits? We are told ad nauseam that the Arab minority in Israel suffers — would that the ignored Coptic minority in Egypt had similar protections and freedoms.”
A late-blooming Arab Spring in Jordan?
“Now, with large demonstrations planned for Friday in Amman – which organizers say will be the biggest the Hashemite Kingdom has seen in years – some question how long Jordan can remain immune from the demands for change that have swept through the region, sparking uprisings and unseating dictatorships.”
UK media watchdog rules: Tel Aviv is not the capital
Monday’s decision by oversight committee decides debate over Guardian apology for ‘wrongly’ giving Jerusalem the title
“The ruling set a precedent on British coverage of Israel, effectively barring all British publications from referring to Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital,” Honest Reporting, the British pro-Israel media watchdog group behind the complaint to the PCC, declared in a statement released Tuesday.
“Fatuous claims over the status of Tel Aviv as a means to delegitimize Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful capital will no longer be acceptable,” said the group’s CEO, Joe Hyams.
British politician slams ex-London mayor for ‘rich Jews’ quote
"Douglas Alexander, a former British government minister, has criticized former London mayor Ken Livingstone for allegedly saying Jews won’t vote for Britain’s Labor Party because they are rich."
Criticizing Islam taboo in academia: ex-Yale expert says
"Academics who study Islamic antisemitism are risking career advancement and younger scholars are shying away from the subject as a result, said Montreal native Charles A. Small, who headed a Yale University program in antisemitism until it was shut down last year amid controversy. "
PMW: The PA’s Jerusalem libel continues
Organizations and officials claim Israel plans to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque
"The Palestinian Authority continues to deny Jerusalem's Jewish history and the existence of the Temple, referring to the "alleged Temple." In addition, the PA continues to promote its Jerusalem libel"
IDF Blog: Israel Defense Forces: September 2012
September started off on a happy occasion — the celebration of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year — but turned tragic due to the death of Cpl. Netanel Yahalomi, who was killed while defending against a terror attack on the southern border. Here’s what the IDF faced this month.
Navy prepares to intercept Gaza activist ship
International rights group says Hamas' security forces in Gaza are committing severe abuses
Human Rights Watch says Hamas' security forces in Gaza are committing severe abuses, including torture of detainees, arrests without warrants, forced confessions, unfair trials and mock executions.
MP touts defeat of SA settlement product labelling
South African MP Meshoe hails victory in blocking bill requiring labeling of WB goods as from "occupied Palestinian territory."
South African parliamentarians blocked Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies’s bill requiring settlement products to be labeled as originating from “occupied Palestinian territory,” marking a “great victory,” South African MP Reverend Kenneth Meshoe said in Jerusalem Tuesday.
'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'
Khamenei's Qods Force representative claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" and is desperate, "close to annihilation."
Iranian police clash with protesters over currency plunge
As the rial plunges to record lows almost daily, foreign exchange dealers in Tehran protest against Ahmadinejad's "failed economic policies," riot police use tear gas to disperse protesters.
Asylum-seeking cameraman defected after refusing orders from Iran delegation
Israel to build model farm in South Sudan
‘We happen to be experts in some fields and it’s wonderful to be able to contribute to the process of nation-building,’ says the Israeli ambassador.
"Israel is planning to build a model agricultural village in the new nation of South Sudan, aimed at teaching local farmers how Israel’s breakthrough agricultural methods and technologies can help the fledgling African nation survive and thrive."
Israel Daily Picture: Young Jewish Men and Women Are "Recruited" in 1939 in Response to British Restrictions on Immigration to Palestine
Presumably, they would later serve in the Jewish militias such as the Haganah or Irgun, and many would join the British army to fight the Nazis in Europe and North Africa. An estimated 30,000 Jews of Palestine fought in the British Army in World War II.
Also:
Hezbollah members (and probably Syrians) die in mysterious blast in Lebanon
Dozens of Syrians approach Golan border; tourists evacuated
Hilarious quote in JPost as Haaretz employees argue against a strike: (h/t JK)
A senior editor questioned the wisdom of strike, remarking: "What if, with no paper, people realize [that] they can do without Haaretz?"
Introduction to Krav Maga (or, an IDF woman kicking butt)