Wednesday Links Part 2

From Ian:

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Syrian Refugees Quietly Treated by Israel while UN Makes Latest ‘Parody of Itself’

The script reads like this: Israel treats wounded Syrian refugees in its own hospitals. Syria produces a report alleging an “acute shortage of primary and tertiary health care services” in the Golan Heights region. A United Nations agency, citing the Syrian report rather than acknowledging Israel’s actions, condemns Israel.
On the surface, this storyline contains several plot twists, but it is not surprising for Dr. Daniel Pipes, president and founder of the Middle East Forum.

Alan Dershowitz: Syria Shows Why Israel Must Remain Strong

The hatred directed against Jews in general and Israel in particular by Israel’s enemies is far more malignant than the animosity between Sunni and Shia Muslims or between Muslim and Christian Arabs. It is taught in schools, preached in mosques and repeated in the media. There would be no mercy shown. Israeli armies would not be allowed to surrender and be repatriated, as the Egyptian army was when it was trapped in Sinai at the end of the 1973 war.
Israeli civilians would be targeted as they already have been by Hamas and Hezbollah rockets fired in the direction of large population centers. The goal of the first war against Israel, as expressed by one of its leaders, was “this will be a war of extermination.” The desire for revenge has only grown over the course of further warfare and more defeats.

Radical Islam Arrives in Ramallah by Khaled Abu Toameh

Palestinian Authority officials have not offered an explanation as to why Hizb-ut-Tahrir, whose members are frequently targeted by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, was given permission to hold a rally in favor of jihad [holy war] against Israel.
Some Palestinians, however, said that the decision to allow the fundamentalists to hold a rally in Ramallah was aimed at sending a message to Kerry about the challenges and threats facing the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority leadership, according to this theory, is using the Muslim radicals to scare Western donors into continuing, or perhaps increasing, their financial aid to the Palestinian government in the West Bank.

PA Arabs Fete 'New Mahdi," Establishment of Calpihate

Thousands of PA Arabs participated in a mass rally in Ramallah earlier this week calling for the establishment of the Muslim Caliphate – the worldwide Islamist government that will “bring the coming of the Mahdi.” the Muslim messiah.

Muslim Zionist, Christian Arab Explain Islamic Hatred of Israel

Two Zionist, one a Pakistani Muslim and the other an Egyptian Christian Reverend, explained to Arutz Sheva why “anti-Zionist” has become the new code word for anti-Semitism in the Muslim world.
History shows that Muslim anti-Semitism predated the state of Israel, Zionist Muslim Kasim Hafeez said. However, he explained, it is now called anti-Zionism because the term has become acceptable in the Western world.

Belgian lawmaker tramples Israeli flag at pro-Assad rally

A Belgian lawmaker trampled the Israeli flag at a support rally for Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar Assad held in front of Israel’s embassy in Brussels.
Laurent Louis, an independent member of the lower house of Belgium’s Federal Parliament, posed for pictures while standing on an Israeli flag on June 2.

"The Jeu de Paume Honours Killers Of Jews"

The Jeu de Paume a well known museum in the world subsidized by The French Ministry of Culture has since May 28 to September 1, 2013 offered visitors, an exhibition of Palestinian photographer Ahlam Shibli.
This "Phantom home" exhibition consists of 68 photographs of portraits of Palestinian terrorists, all members of the brigades of Al Aqsa Martyrs, ranked terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and the European Union

Arabs, Not Jews, Worst-Hit by EU Labeling Scheme

The labeling of products made by Jews in Judea and Samaria would damage Israel, a report by the Foreign Ministry said – but it would damage PA Arabs even more.
According to the report, some 22,500 PA Arabs are employed inside Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria. These Arabs are among the highest paid laborers in the PA. The report said that on average, PA Arabs working in Jewish-owned business in Judea and Samaria earned 88% more than those working in Arab towns. In addition, they have social rights, including health benefits and pension rights, that are usually unavailable to PA Arabs.

Bi-Partisan Call: Move US Embassy to J’slm, but Obama Renews Waiver

On Tuesday, June 4, a bi-partisan congressional call went out for the United States government to move its Embassy from Tel Aviv, to the capital of Israel, in Jerusalem.
The call went out from the congressional Israel Allies Caucus at an event marking Israel Reunification Day, the day in 1967 that Jerusalem was reunified as the result of Israel’s defeat of the Jordanian army. Israel acquired the land by defeating Jordan which attacked Israel as part of the 1967 war, despite Israel’s repeated pleas to Jordan to stay out of the hostilities.

Ray LaHood's son sentenced to jail in Egypt in absentia over pro-democracy dispute

The son of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was among 16 Americans sentenced to jail in absentia by a court in Egypt Tuesday, part of a diplomatic dispute over the activities and funding of U.S.-backed pro-democracy groups.
Sam LaHood was given a five-year sentence and fined 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($143).

Feting Jerusalem

As we mark the 46th anniversary of the outbreak of the Six Day War, it is fitting to be humbled by the tremendous challenges we face and the obstacles to peace that remain to be overcome. But we should also be proud of our tremendous achievements.
Today, 46 years after reunification, Jerusalem is Israel’s largest city with a population of over 800,000. Once referred to by writer Cynthia Ozick as a “phoenix city” with a “history of histories” where “no one is a stranger” – Jerusalem has never before in its long life flourished so astoundingly.
Never have so many Jews lived in Jerusalem in relative harmony and security alongside a diverse non-Jewish population. And never before have the religious rights of all been so carefully protected.
Israelis are rightly wary of endangering all this.

Apple to Inaugurate High School Development Center in Northern Israel

Apple Inc. will inaugurate the first entrepreneurship development center of its kind at a High School in Hadera next week, Globes is reporting.
The center at Amal High School was established with the collaboration of the Ministry of Education. The students will learn application development and marketing and will develop iOS-based apps for iPads and iPhones. Apple will provide instructors to train the center’s teachers and students.

'Extinct' Frog Appears in Israel

The first amphibian to have been officially declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has been rediscovered in the north of Israel after some 60 years and turns out to be a unique “living fossil,” without close relatives among other living frogs, according to researchers at Hebrew University.
The Hula painted frog was catalogued within the Discoglossus group when it was first discovered in the Hula Valley of Israel in the early 1940s. The frog was thought to have disappeared following the drying up of the Hula Lake at the end of the 1950s, and was declared extinct by the IUCN in 1996. As a result, the opportunity to discover more about this species’ history, biology and ecology was thought to have disappeared. (h/t Phil)

From a Hamas prisoner to a globetrotting Israel emissary

Former Hamas captive Gilad Shalit has been receiving rock star receptions around the world as the United Israel Appeal’s (UIA) newest fundraiser.
Filling reception halls from Buenos Aires to Melbourne, the former tank gunner, who spent five years in captivity in Gaza after being abducted in 2006, is now an effective crowd drawer, raising millions for the state by sharing his story with Jewish audiences, Channel 2 reported Tuesday.

Anne Frank’s tree now grows in Boston

A sapling taken from Anne Frank’s solace-giving chestnut tree put roots down in the heart of Boston on Tuesday.
More than 200 community members and schoolchildren gathered in a corner of historic Boston Common to witness the ceremonial planting of one of eleven saplings taken from the tree in 2009. At the time of its demise in 2010, the white horse chestnut tree located behind Anne Frank’s “Secret Annex” was more than 170 years old.