Sunday Links

From Ian:

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Barry Rubin: If You Think America Should Go to War in Syria You Haven't Been Paying Attention

Don’t get me wrong. On balance, I’d like to see the Assad regime fall and to see an end to the suffering of Syrian civilians. From a strategic standpoint, though, the fact that the Sunni and Shia Islamists—who both want to destroy U.S. interests and wipe Israel off the map—are battling in Syria may not be the worst thing in the world.

Prosor warns UN to rein in Hezbollah

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor on Friday warned that the transfer of “game changing weapons” from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon threatens to “plunge the entire region into instability and violence.”
Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on counter-terrorism, Prosor further lambasted several European countries for refusing to recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, saying that “one does not need to be Mother Theresa to realize that [Hezbollah] is not a social organization.”

EU threatens pullout of south Lebanon peacekeepers

The European Union has threatened to remove its troops from UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, unless the Lebanese government improves the security situation in the area.

UN says 4 peacekeepers held by Syria rebels freed

Syrian rebels on Sunday released four Filipino UN peacekeepers they abducted last week, a military spokesman in the Philippines said.
The four, seized Tuesday, were apparently unharmed, but will undergo a medical checkup and stress debriefing, said Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan.
Al-Jazeera reported on Sunday that the men were transferred to Israel.

Galloway: Israel supports Al-Qaeda
British Member of Parliament chirps up conspiracy crackpottery from his Press TV pulpit

Apparently, Israel is working with Al-Qaeda to help bring down the Assad regime. Yes. Apparently Israel is stupid enough to arm a terrorist group that would arguably work much harder to wipe the Jewish state off the map than Assad's lot ever did.

IRS Punished Conservative Non-Profits, Perhaps Also Pro-Israel Groups

After repeatedly denying it was targeting conservative groups for unfair treatment, the IRS admitted it was treating politically conservative groups in inappropriate ways. A pro-Israel group sued the IRS in 2010 for the same (and worse) conduct.
For example, in 2010, the passionately pro-Israel organization Z STREET filed a lawsuit against the IRS, claiming it had been told by an IRS agent that because the organization was “connected to Israel,” its application for tax-exempt status would receive additional scrutiny. This admission was made in response to a query about the lengthy reveiw of Z STREET’s tax exempt status application.
In addition, the IRS agent told a Z STREET representative that the applications of some of those Israel-related organizations have been assigned to “a special unit in the D.C. office to determine whether the organization’s activities contradict the Administration’s public policies.”

Soldiers: We've Capitulated to Rock Throwers
Report: number of soldiers injured by rocks is soaring but they are not allowed to open fire.

Writing in the web magazine Mida, Erez Tadmor says that in the past week, since the grave injury of Yaakov Zlatkin at the hands of an Arab mob, he has spoken with dozens of officers and soldiers who all said the same thing: The health and security of Jews who live in Judea and Samaria, as well as those of the soldiers who are supposed to guard them, have been left to the mercy of the enemy.

American stabbed in Cairo for "Being American" identified as lefty anti-zionist academic Chris Stone

Stone is a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and writes frequently against Zionism

Cairo says thwarts suicide attack on embassy

Egyptian security forces thwarted an al-Qaida-linked group's plan to carry out a suicide attack on a foreign embassy and captured several militants, the interior minister said on Saturday.
Mohamed Ibrahim, speaking in a televised news conference, declined to say which embassy had been targeted. He named three suspected members of the cell now under arrest.

Turkey arrests nine in connection to deadly bombings

46 reported dead and 50 still hospitalized from Saturday blasts; Turkish officials blame Syrian intelligence for attacks; Syria denies allegations

One arrested as plot to assasinate Patriarch Bartholomew uncovered

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I on the 560th anniversary of the conquest of İstanbul by the Ottomans, with police arresting one suspect and still seeking two others.

To get money, Marmara families must drop demands

Turkish Deputy PM says negotiators are trying to get up to 20 times the amount requested in court, but victims must waive civil suits

"Business Insider" names 20 hottest Israeli start ups

"Business Insider" yesterday listed Israel's 20 hottest start-up, and praised the country's developed start-up industry. "By some counts, Israel is home to 4,800 startups today. It's also home to least two dozen accelerator/incubator programs in the Tel Aviv area, alone, including some run by Microsoft and Google," it says, adding, "As a startup hub, Israel is second only to Silicon Valley

SodaStream raises guidance on strong Q1 results

SodaStream has raised its full-year revenue guidance to $554.1 million (27% growth over $436.3 million revenue in 2012) from $545.4 million ($25% growth over 2012). The company also raised its non-GAAP net profit growth forecast to 27% from 25%, to $63.5 million from $62.5 million, compared with a net profit of $50 million in 2012.

Morgan Freeman Presented With The Jake Eberts Key Of Knowledge Award By Canadian Friends Of The Hebrew University Of Jerusalem

Event raised $2 million for Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada
Last night Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman was honoured with the Jake Eberts Key of Knowledge Award at a gala reception hosted by Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (CFHU). The award celebrates Freeman's dedication to combating racism and promoting knowledge and education worldwide. The gala was held at the Toronto Centre for the Arts and was attended by more than 700 guests.