Sunday Links

From Ian:

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Howard Jacobson: It’s official: thanks to Stephen Hawking's Israel boycott, anti-Semitism is no more

Why is Israel alone of all offending countries to be boycotted? Perhaps because it's that offending country which also just happens to be Jewish?

And now, with Stephen Hawking announcing, by means of an Israeli-made device, that he no longer wants to talk to the scientists who invented it, or to Israeli scientists who invented or might invent anything else, or indeed to Israeli historians, critics, biologists, physicists of any complexion, no matter what their relations to Palestinian scholars whom he does want to talk to, we are reminded that the cultural boycott with which he has suddenly decided to throw in his lot is entirely unJew-related, which is more good news. “Peace”, that is all Professor Hawking seeks, a word that was left out of his statement as reproduced on the Palestine Solidarity Campaign website, presumably on the grounds that everyone already knows that peace is all the PSC has ever wanted too. (h/t Yerushalimey)

Naqba — Commemorating a Self-Inflicted Tragedy

As Israel’s UN ambassador Abba Eban was to put it, “Once you determine the responsibility for that war, you have determined the responsibility for the refugee problem. Nothing in the history of our generation is clearer or less controversial than the initiative of Arab governments for the conflict out of which the refugee tragedy emerged.”
However, the Palestinians do not mourn today the ill-conceived choice of going to war to abort Israel. They mourn only that they failed.

Erasing Sykes-Picot

Much has been written about whether the instability in Iraq, the warfare in Syria and the crises this causes for Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, the Kurdish drive for autonomy (at least) in Iraq and Turkey, will at some point combine to unravel the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement between France and England. Put another way, the question is whether the borders established in the context of the First World War will stick.

Beyond the BBC mantra on ‘international law’

Of course that simplistic, politicised statement glosses over a multitude of differing opinions and factors, many of which are touched upon in this video from Shalom TV in which Professor Eugene Kontorovich of Northwestern University provides interesting food for thought. (1hr video)

Jews harassed in Malmö, May 2013 German TV


Security Chief: IDF Taking Off the Silk Gloves

The IDF is ending its ‘silk glove treatment’ of Arabs who attack Israeli towns with rocks and firebombs, security chief says.

Babies Narrowly Escape Rock Attack

Arab gang hits father-of-three, babies in back seat have narrow escape.

Netanyahu: Israel Acting to Deny Hizbullah Syrian Arms

Israel preventing Syrian weapons from reaching Hizbullah and will continue to do so, Netanyahu says.

Report: Syrian Army Aiming Missiles at Tel Aviv

The Syrian army has begun deploying advanced surface-to-surface missiles and has aimed them at Tel Aviv, the British Sunday Times reports.

Congress set to tighten economic noose on Iran

The US House and Senate are set to advance two bills that would significantly expand US sanctions on Iran beyond the financial and energy sectors and offer support for Israel in case of a confrontation with Tehran.

Spike in Threats to US Embassies in Sunni Middle East

The Wall Street Journal – The U.S. is seeing a spike in al Qaeda-related terror plots and threats against its embassies in Libya, Yemen and Egypt, say current and former U.S. officials citing domestic and foreign intelligence reports.

Israel, Turkey and gas
It is becoming evident that a veiled agenda underpinned the recent Turkish willingness to consider a rapprochement with Israel.

Turkey grows increasingly dependent on Russia for its gas supplies. This hardly instills joy in Turkish hearts, especially considering the fact that Moscow and Ankara are at direct loggerheads over Syria. Israel, having repeatedly proven itself both reliable and exceedingly pliable, is now regarded as a safer bet for Turkish gas supplies – certainly safer than such alternatives to Russia as Iran. Moreover, Israeli gas could be had at a significantly lower cost.

Pango puts you in a parking spot in NYC

The Israeli app takes the headaches out of finding a place to put your car in the Big Apple and other US cities, with more to come.

Researchers Stumble Upon The Heart’s Self-Healing Ability

Sometimes accidents lead to the greatest discoveries. In a recent study conducted at Israeli medical center Hadassah, researchers stumbled on a key mechanism in the heart’s regenerative capabilities.