Friday linkdump

From Ian:

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LATMA: "Wonderful Country's" new season on Channel 2 and Nissim Mishal’s alter ego speaks



Iran Fears May Be Compelling Saudi Arabia to Begin to Tell the Truth About Israel

"If there were a prize for the Arab country that has done most to promote Arab-Israeli peace recently, I'd seriously consider nominating Saudi Arabia. Admittedly, that's a counterintuitive choice: Riyadh doesn't even recognize Israel and shows no signs of doing so anytime soon; moreover, it finances the spread of extremist Islamic ideology. But Saudi-funded papers have been doing something that may be far more important than another handshake on the White House lawn: providing a platform for Arab journalists and public figures to challenge the dominant Middle Eastern narrative of Israel as the root of all evil."

Wiesenthal ranks top 10 anti-Semites, Israel-haters
Muslim Brotherhood’s rise in Egypt catapults two religious figures into No. 1 spot on Simon Wiesenthal Center's year-end list.
Report: 2012 Top Ten Anti-Israel/Anti-Semitic Slurs: Mainstream Anti-Semitism Threatens World Peace

Why a two-state solution will never work
Original Thinking: What will happen when you have pressured Israel into allowing a Palestinian entity to take hold on the 1967 borders, an entity that is taken over by a radical Islamic force bent on Israel’s destruction?

Senior Hamas Official: Reconciliation Efforts With PLO to be Based on Rejection of Israel’s Right to Exist

"A Senior Hamas official said that his organization wants reconciliation efforts with the PLO to be based on the Palestinian Arab demand for a right of return, a demand that if implemented would effectively bring about the end of Israel as a Jewish state, as well the absence of recognition of Israel’s right to exist."

The True Face of Hamas and the Five Myths That Obscure It

"Indeed, the world must move beyond the media-driven myths above and recognize Hamas for what it really is: an Islamist terrorist organization dangerously allied with Iran in its mission to destroy Israel. Hamas states this goal in its charter and Iranian leaders declare their genocidal intentions publicly. These forces must be stopped before the doomsday described in my novel leaves the realm of fiction."

Arab MK Sarsour Meets Terrorist who Killed 30 Israelis

Arab MK Ibrahim Sarsour (Ra’am) met with several jailed terrorists, including one who was involved in the Park Hotel massacre in 2002.
"In the past Sarsour has called to establish an Islamic Caliphate centered in Jerusalem and has met with senior Hamas terrorists.
He recently chose to condemn Israel for responding to Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza, while failing to condemn Gaza terrorists for firing the rockets."

IDF Personnel Pelted With Rocks, Molotov Cocktails in West Bank as Unrest Persists

"Protesters near Yitzhar descended upon IDF soldiers, throwing stones, and in some cases even Molotov cocktails, before they were dispersed as well. There were other reports of stones being thrown at buses and Israeli vehicles. A security officer’s vehicle was stoned by dozens of Palestinian Arab rioters adjacent to the West Bank outpost of Horsha in the Binyamin Regional Council. Palestinian Arabs also hurled stones at IDF soldiers near the West bank outpost of Ein Kodesh, south of Nablus; there were no injuries"

Pollard’s Catch-22 By Esther Pollard

"While this travesty of justice may not have originated on President Barack Obama’s watch, it has been fully revealed under his tenure. It is precisely for cases like this, where the US justice system is unwilling or unable to correct itself that the American Constitution grants the president virtually unlimited powers of clemency. Justice requires that Obama use his powers of executive clemency to release Jonathan Pollard now."

Iran is in social and economic meltdown
With unemployment soaring and the advent of hyperinflation, the plight of ordinary workers just gets worse and worse

"Workers' strikes and protests are gathering pace in Iran. In 2012, there were more labor protests than for longer than many can remember. Vast numbers live below the poverty line. Non-payment of wages for months at a time is a fact of life for millions. Inflation is soaring. Beggars in veils line the streets.And this is not merely a product of sanctions, though they are certainly biting. Gross mismanagement by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government is doing terrible damage to the social fabric all on its own."

Ahmadinejad Sacks Cabinet's Sole Woman
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sacked Health Minister Marizeh Vahid Dastjerdi, the sole woman in his cabinet, state television reported on Thursday.

"The minister had proposed price hikes for a number of medications due to the plunge of the Iranian rial against the US dollar and Western sanctions imposed on the country over its disputed nuclear program, AFP reported."

Preacher in Iran re-arrested on Christmas

"Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was first arrested on October 19, 2009 for protesting against Iran's decision to force all children including his two sons to read the Quran in schools.
He was at that time charged with apostasy and evangelism to Muslims. He spent three years or 1,062 days in prison.
Nadarkhani was released in September of 2012 after Christians around the world prayed for his release."

Christian Politician Quits Egypt Upper House as Tensions Persist

"A Christian member of Egypt's upper house of parliament quit on Thursday, reflecting persistent political tensions just a day after the Islamist-dominated chamber took over legislative authority under a contentious new constitution."

CAIR Protests Saudi Radical's Exclusion From U.S.

"He belittled Muslims who failed to take action, including "harming the Jews." He invoked Israel's targeted killings of Hamas leaders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel-Aziz Rantisi, saying he prayed that Allah "will destroy the Jews and their helpers from among the Christians and the Communists, and that He will turn them into the Muslims' spoils. I praise the Jihad, the sacrifice, and the resistance against the occupiers in Iraq."

Hitler statue placed outside Warsaw Ghetto stokes outrage
Italian artist’s depiction of the Nazi dictator, previously shown in New York, draws condemnation after being moved close to site of mass murder

Israel grants scholarships to 66 outstanding Indian scholars

"Sixty-six post-doctoral scholars from India will travel to Israel in the coming months to pursue research at top universities. The researchers will be sponsored by the government of Israel which has announced three-year scholarships grants for Indian scholars.
According to officials from Embassy of Israel, this is the first programme of its kind, bringing advanced Indian researchers to Israel in a wide range of topics."

Who Was the 19th Century American Preacher Mendenhall John Dennis?
Actually, He Was a Jerusalem Watchmaker Named Mendel Deniss, Jerusalem's First Photographer