Friday linkdump

From Ian:

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LATMA: Morsi's letter from Obama and the man who fled too much




Michael Oren: Falling for Hamas’s media manipulation

"Media naturally gravitate toward dramatic and highly visual stories. Reports of 5.5 million Israelis gathered nightly in bomb shelters scarcely compete with the Palestinian father interviewed after losing his son. Both are, of course, newsworthy, but the first tells a more complete story while the second stirs emotions.
This is precisely what Hamas wants. It seeks to instill a visceral disgust for any Israeli act of self-defense, even one taken after years of unprovoked aggression."

IDF Blog: How Hamas and Islamic Jihad Use Journalism as a Cover for Terrorism

"The terrorists thought that hiding in a civilian building and using international journalists as human shields would ensure their safety. Once IDF Intelligence learned of their location, the IDF surgically targeted their hiding place. A direct hit was confirmed."

Lt. Col. AVITAL LEIBOVICH: Terrorist or Journalist?

"The real question raised by Mr. Carr’s column is whether a station that is ideologically motivated and subsidized by a terrorist organization deserves the same treatment as CNN or The New York Times. Moreover, should a Hamas commander who painted the words “TV” on his car be considered a journalist?
Mr. Carr is quick to incriminate the Israel Defense Forces for targeting journalists, but he does not mention that terrorists are actively exploiting journalists as shields.Mr. Carr is worried about freedom of the press and rightly so. However, when terrorist organizations exploit reporters, either by posing as them or by hiding behind them, they are the immediate threat to freedom of the press.Such terrorists, who hold cameras and notebooks in their hands, are no different from their colleagues who fire rockets aimed at Israeli cities and cannot enjoy the rights and protection afforded to legitimate journalists."

BBC Staffer Who Lost Child During Israel-Hamas Conflict Blames “Jews,” Tied to Hamas (VIDEO)

"Prior to discovering the footage posted below, which shows the funeral of Ahmed, BBC Watch says they contacted the IDF who confirmed that he was a known terrorist. The blog also writes that the al-Qassam Brigades wrote of his death on their English-language website. Additionally, as you can see in the picture above, he is wrapped in a green Hamas flag at the funeral."

JPOST Editorial: Family reunion

There's no reason for surprise that TA bus bomb suspect is Palestinian given citizenship under "family reunion."
"There was no reason for the shocked reactions in Israel following the disclosure that the suspected perpetrator of the bus bombing in Tel Aviv last week was a Palestinian Arab who had been granted Israeli citizenship to facilitate a “family reunion.”

Anti-Terror Campaign Nets Weapons Warehouse

The latest anti-terror arrest in the Hevron region unveiled a weapons storehouse in a private home.
"The IDF has been stepping up its fight against Hamas in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) in wake of the recent open battle with Hamas in Gaza. Earlier this week troops went to arrest a terror suspect in Hevron and ended up finding a weapons warehouse in a private home."

CIF Watch: 65 years ago today: Guardian misses one key element of 1947 UN partition

Well, it seems that they failed to mention one quite significant element of the UN resolution (which passed with 33 votes in favor, 13 against, 10 abstentions and one absent). Res. 181 not only called for the creation of a Jewish state, but the creation of an Arab one as well.

CST report on antisemitic discourse slams the Guardian: Singles out Orr and McGreal

"CST’s 2011 Report on Antisemitic Discourse clearly demonstrates the Guardian’s continuing antisemitic sins of ‘commission and, just as dangerous, ‘omission’: their silence in the face of clear evidence of antisemitism when covering a story. "

Surprise, surprise! Jon Donnison’s fauxtographic Tweet partner is a Guardian journalist

"Such journalist activists – whether they’re at the Guardian or the BBC – are risking more than their own reputations. If Guardian and BBC editors continually allow their journalists to make such egregious errors with impunity, and report the news in a manner resembling political advocacy rather than professional journalism, whatever remaining credibility they may have will continue to erode."

The Arab Atrocity Story Again, and Again, and Again

"When you hear Arab accounts of so-called Israeli “massacres” and “bestiality,” remember that the Arab foes of Israel have perfected a modern literary motif known as “the Arab atrocity story” which usually turns out to be a contrived work of fiction."

Syrian rebels using children in war: HRW

"Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad have sent children into combat and used boys as young as 14 to transport weapons and supplies, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday."

The Real Refugees: Children Die of Cold in Syrian Camps

Families on the run from violence in Syria face danger from the winter cold. UN continues to spend on Palestinian “refugees".

Syria shuts net as fighting rages

"The Syrian government has shut down the internet across the country and cut mobile phone services in select areas as rebels and government troops waged fierce battles near the capital's airport. International airlines were forced to suspend flights."

UN Soldiers Wounded in Syria Receive Treatment in Israel
Two Austrian soldiers who were wounded in Syria flown to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa for treatment.

Sharia status unchanged in Egypt draft constitution
Egypt's Constituent Assembly votes to keep principles of Islamic law as main source of legislation.

FIFA to Rebuild Gaza Soccer Stadium Used Against Israel by Hamas
"The soccer association, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), is pledging to rebuild the Gaza stadium that Israeli defense forces targeted after Hamas rockets were fired from it."

UN chief opens interfaith center sponsored by… Saudi Arabia
Speech focuses on need to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict; critics question Saudi promotion of religious pluralism

Norwegian youth leader seen encouraging anti-Semitic speech
"Aspiring Norwegian politician Khalid Haji Ahmed said he was only joking when he wished “best of luck eight times over” to activists who wrote on Facebook that they wished Adolf Hitler could kill more Jews."

Why I disagree with Arabic media’s demonization of Israel By AHMED ABDEL-RAHEEM

Let’s stop demonizing Israel. The new analogy I invite Arabs to use can be rendered: “Israel Is a Sister.”
"As a researcher in cognitive linguistics and critical discourse analysis, I can say that the reason bad analogies are so dangerous is that they can constrain and direct our policies. The above analogy, for example, highlights that Israel is a killer of innocence, suppressing the fact that Hamas fires rockets at innocent Israeli civilians. Importantly, depicting Israel as a demon implies that there can be no peace with it. If this were the case, how can Egypt play the role of peace broker between Israel and Palestine?"

Daphne Anson: An Irishman's Splendid Pro-Israel & Pro-Jewish Speech
(video)

"Here's Councillor Richard Humphreys (Labour) speaking on 25 November at a pro-Israel rally in Dublin. While by no means unsympatheti to the Palestinians, he calls for a more balanced approach in Ireland to the Middle East situation, and pays tribute not only to Israel but to the Jewish presence in Ireland."

Bright way to convert greenhouse gas to biofuel
Israel’s NewCO2Fuel poised to help Australia make its brown coal-burning industry into a greener enterprise.

NCR to buy software company Retalix for $650 million
Global ATM maker NCR Corp. said it would buy Israeli software company Retalix Ltd. for $650 million in a bid to expand its footprint in the retail sector.