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Saturday, June 08, 2013

Saturday Links

From Ian:

Six Fateful Days that Shook the World
On June 5, 1967 Israel showed the world how a determined nation with just 2.5 million people could defeat in convincing fashion an aggressor forty-four times its size. For the Arabs, the Six-Day War is a sensitive issue, so sensitive in fact that they refuse to refer to it by that name, preferring instead to call it the June War, as if somehow that obfuscates the fact that they were defeated in a mere six days. However, for the civilized world, the Six-Day War will be remembered as a war where the few overcame the many and where civilization triumphed over those who still live in medieval backwardness.
Caroline Glick: Wounded...and dangerous
The one thing all the scandals share is a singleminded willingness to pursue radical goals to the bitter end. The IRS’s targeting of conservatives was an appalling abuse of executive power, unlike anything we have seen in recent history. The passage of Obamacare in the face massive public opposition was another means to the end of destroying his opponents. The cover-up of the Benghazi attack was a bid to hide the failure of a policy in order to double down on it – despite its failure. The only reason you would want to double down on an already failed policy is if you are ideologically committed to a larger goal that the failed policy advances.
What this means for Israel is we cannot be lured into complacency by Kerry’s buffoonery or Obama’s apparent political weakness. This is a man who is most dangerous when attacked. And this is a man who is absolutely committed to his ideological agenda. We had better be ready, because if we are not, we won’t know what has hit us.
Ann Arbor TA Bars ‘Boycott Israel’ bus Ads
A federal judge has agreed that the Ann Arbor Transit Authority had the right to reject a bus ad campaign by an anti-Israel activist. The ad shows a spider crushing skulls, framed by the words: “Boycott Israel, Boycott Apartheid,” CBS News in Detroit reported.
ACLU Attorney Dan Korobkin said he was disappointed by Judge Mark Goldsmith’s decision, and Blaine Coleman, the anti-Israeli activist that Korobkin is representing—was also disappointed.
CNN Accused of Whitewashing Palestinian Soccer Star’s Terror Ties
“The reporter makes a romantic figure out of someone with ties to Islamic Jihad and shows zero skepticism about Sarsak’s rendition of events,” Andrea Levin, director of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) told the Washington Free Beacon. “CNN shouldn’t be in the business of whitewashing. Viewers need the whole story.”
Saudi Gazette Editorial: Hezbollah unmasked
In recognizing that Hezbollah, for all its attempts to portray itself as a responsible political movement, is in fact simply a terror group, the GCC member states have taken a bold and decisive step. No longer will Hezbollah be able to present itself convincingly as a champion of any Arab cause. No longer will it be able to pretend that its men are dying for the rest of the Arab world.
IDF derides Hezbollah report of Israeli bombs found in Qusair battle zone
Hezbollah television channel al-Manar on Friday claimed Israeli ammunition was found in the Syrian battle zone border town of Qusair, but the IDF was quick to explain that the “bombs” are non-lethal and date back to before Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in the year 2000.
Syrian Army Uses Innocent Civilians as Bait
President Bashar Al-Assad’s troops have been using innocent civilians as human bait to lure rebels from their hiding places, according to Arab affairs expert Dalit Halevi.
A recent video distributed by the rebels shows the brutal methods used by the Assad regime in its war against the rebels.
Pentagon official: Russian warships may be carrying weapons to Syria
The United States has been tracking the ships since they left Russian ports several days ago. U.S. satellites were able to see some indications of containers being loaded onto the ships. Although it's not confirmed, it's believed the ships may be carrying some components of the controversial Russian S-300 air defense missile system and other weapons for the regime.
UN: Russia Can't Take Part in Golan Heights Force
The United Nations said on Friday that Russia cannot send troops to the Golan Heights peacekeeping force, after President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to bolster the force, AFP reported.
US experiment: Pentagon destroys replica of underground nuclear facility
The Pentagon has recently completed a series of field exercises on US soil as part of which a replica of an underground nuclear facility was destroyed, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.
The tests were declared a resounding success having exceeded all expectations.
The results of the experiment were relayed to friendly nations with the aim of reassuring them as to the US's ability to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities in a single strike.
Iran Protests Erupt, Take Analysts By Surprise
It’s a week before the presidential elections and the political atmosphere in Iran is heating up. For the first time in years demonstrators this week dared gathering in public in a large protest against the regime.
Pope angers Turkey over Armenian genocide comment
Pope Francis has angered the Turkish government by calling the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians, nearly a century ago, “the first genocide of the 20th century.”
The pontiff made the comment during a visit with a delegation of Armenian Catholics on Monday, when one member of the group said she was a descendant of genocide victims.
Montreal’s Cafe Shalom Firebombed, Follows Similar Attack on Nearby Kosher Restaurant
The owner of the cafe reportedly told police that he had not been subjected to any recent threats or harassment. However, a similar incident occurred last October at another R in the area—the high-end kosher Chops Resto Bar. In that instance, a single Molotov was thrown in through a front window, though it too was extinguished by the sprinkler system on the premises.
French Jewish community rips plan to honor Arafat
A French Jewish community is protesting plans to name a public square for the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
Mayor Etienne Butzbach of Belfort, in eastern France, said in an article published Monday in the online edition of the local newspaper L’alsace that the homage to Arafat “is connected to the signing of the Oslo Accords.”
UK MP describes female Israeli soldier as ‘a bloody Jew’
A British member of parliament under fire in a corruption scandal was caught on camera describing an Israeli soldier as a “bloody Jew.”
Patrick Mercer made the remark to a BBC reporter posing as a lobbyist in the investigation. The footage was broadcast Thursday.
Times Square Anti-Semitic Elmo Charged With Extortion
A man whose previous claim to fame was dressing up as Elmo and unleashing a tirade of anti-Semitic abuse on passersby in New York City’s Times Square may get his comeuppance after all, now that prosecutors are charging him with extortion, The New York Daily News reports.
Sandler, who plead not guilty, apparently contacted the Girl Scouts and threatened to go public with false claims, including that the organization arranged sex between men and young girls at scout camp, if he was not compensated, prosecutors said.