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Sunday, September 08, 2013

9/08 Links: Taking Back Jewish History, Hollywood's Silence on Syria, 'Spy' Stork Found Dead

From Ian:

Taking Back Our History
The Jewish people in the Middle East are a people under siege.
Aside from the perpetual violence leveled at the Jewish minority in the region, the Jewish people are also subject to the theft of our history. This is a theft that cannot be measured in financial terms. This is a theft that goes to the core of our humanity and our dignity as a people. It seeks, in fact, to eliminate us as a people.
For reasons which I find unfathomable, we are failing to place the Arab-Jewish conflict within the history of the Jews in the Middle East under thirteen centuries of Arab-Muslim persecution. The conflict between the vast Arab-Muslim majority and the tiny Jewish minority needs to be understood in just those terms. The Jews of the Middle East were a subjugated people since Muhammed’s armies marched out of the Saudi peninsula in the 7th century. From that day to this the Jews were considered dhimmis, second and third class citizens under the boot of Arab-Muslim imperialism.
Kotel Rabbi’s Horror at Temple Mount Riots
The world should condemn the Temple Mount riots that took place on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), says Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, Rabbi of the Kotel (Western Wall).
Several hundred Muslim youth rioted following Friday prayers. The riots ended only when police stormed the compound and arrested 15 people.
While the riot was confined to the Temple Mount itself, the rioters clearly meant to drive Jews away from the Kotel, which is adjacent, Rabbi Rabinovich accused.
EU delegation to mollify Israel over new settlement ban
In a news conference with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry, Catherine Ashton said that the EU would not be rescinding the new directive, which last month prompted the Israeli government to declare it would sever a string of joint projects with the European body.
However, Ashton asserted, “We, of course, want to continue to have a strong relationship with Israel.” She said the EU would send a team to Israel on Monday to make sure the implementation of the ban is done “very sensitively.”
PMW: Palestinians are "noble" because "we only kill the Jews" - Refugee on PA TV


Israel spreads drugs among Palestinians - Ramallah Governor on PA TV VIDEO

Palestinian 'confesses' to Israel-backed plot to oust Hamas, return PA to Gaza
The “confession” came after Hamas said its security forces had arrested several Palestinians on suspicion of involvement with the new anti-Hamas Tamarod (“rebellion”) group.
The group has vowed to overthrow the Hamas regime the same way Egyptians got rid of president Mohamed Morsi.
The man, whose identity was not revealed, claimed that Israel, the Palestinian Authority and and some Arab countries were behind the plot. He did not name the Arab countries.
Egypt Shuts Down Rafiah Crossing After Sinai Crackdown
The Palestinian Authority’s crossings director, Maher Abu Sabha, told Ma'an that the crossing would be closed indefinitely following unrest in the Sinai peninsula.
Around 50 travelers managed to enter Egypt from Gaza on Saturday, Abu Sabha added.
At least 10 Islamist terrorists were killed as Egypt's army launched an air and ground assault on terrorists in the restive Sinai Peninsula on Saturday, security officials said.
Ex-MI Chief: Obama's Credibility at Stake
In an interview broadcast on Voice of Israel public radio Saturday evening, Yadlin said that if a strike against Syria fails to materialize, Obama will have difficulty persuading the world to take meaningful steps against Iran in the future.
Yadlin said that the aftermath of the incident in which chemical weapons were used in Syria shows us how difficult it is to receive approval for military action in the UN Security Council and the international community – even when there is proof of the use of weapons of mass destruction.
He estimated that Russian pressure may result in a diplomatic solution in which chemical weapons would be removed from Syria without military involvement. Yadlin added that the Russian ships sent to the Mediterranean in the last few days are mostly intelligence ships, and not warships.
UK tests on victims said to confirm sarin gas use in Syria
Victims of a deadly chemical attack in Syria last month were flown to Britain for tests that revealed traces of the deadly nerve gas sarin in their systems, a British newspaper said Sunday.
Chemical Weapons "Evidence" Revealed
CNN has aired footage from 13 short films shown by representatives of US President Obama to the American Senate, which apparently show the aftermath of chemical weapons attacks by the Assad regime against civilians.
Volunteers to Serve as Human Shields in Syria
The British Telegraph said that Franklin Lamb, a lawyer recently appointed as the legal adviser for the group, said he had been "inundated" with requests from activists including from Canada, France, Italy, the US, and Britain.
The Syrian regime has not yet told the group whether it intends to let it enter the country.
Ed Asner Explains Hollywood Silence on Obama, Syria: They 'Don't Want to Feel Anti-Black'
While some conservatives see hypocrisy, [Mike] Farrell says that an all-out war in Iraq under Bush, a Republican who was very unpopular in Hollywood, was a much bigger deal than potential missile strikes against Syria under the direction of Obama, a Democrat who drew millions for his campaigns from showbiz industry donors.
Syria crisis: al-Qaeda seizes village that still speaks the ancient language of Christ
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, rebel groups, a mix of the extremist Jabhat al-Nusra and the more moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA), attacked with full force.
"First they took a brick factory owned by a Christian guy, who is now missing," said the resident. "Then at around 5.30am, a car bomb detonated at the checkpoint at the entrance to the village.
"Some of the rebels entered a home near the checkpoint belonging to Yousef Haddad, a Christian. They tried to force him to convert to Islam."
A nun living in a convent in the village told the Associated press that 27 orphans living in the convent were taken to nearby caves for shelter.
In south Egypt, Islamists take over a town
A town of some 120,000 — including 20,000 Christians — Dalga has been outside government control since hard-line supporters of the Islamist Mohammed Morsi drove out police and occupied their station on July 3, the day Egypt's military chief removed the president in a popularly supported coup. It was part of a wave of attacks in the southern Minya province that targeted Christians, their homes and businesses.
Since then, the radicals have imposed their grip on Dalga, twice driving off attempts by the army to send in armored personnel carriers by showering them with gunfire.
Stork Detained as Spy in Egypt Found Dead
A stork once detained by Egyptian authorities on suspicion of being a winged spy has been found dead.
Mahmoud Hassib, the head of Egypt's southern protected areas, said Saturday that local residents found the dead bird on an island in the Nile, south of the ancient city of Aswan.
Defense expert: ‘Strike or diplomatic solution on Iran likely within 12 months’
Brig.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Nuriel, a research associate at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, and a former director of the Counter- Terrorism Bureau, spoke before the ICT’s World Summit on Counter-Terrorism, which will begin in Herzliya on Sunday.
“My assessment is that the coming year will see a milestone in the international efforts against Iran’s nuclear program. It will either take the form of offensive actions, or an agreement with Iran.
The year cannot pass without activities that will significantly change the arena,” Nuriel said.
Report: Obama ‘Vetoed’ Israeli Strike on Iran
Giora Eiland, a former national security adviser to the Israeli government and a retired Major General in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), told the Israeli press that Obama “vetoed” the strike, which was planned to take place at the height of the 2012 election cycle.
“Israel has the capability to destroy the Iranian nuclear program” and was prepared to do so, Eiland was quoted as saying in a private meeting earlier this month, according to the Israeli paper Mida.
However, top White House officials “pressured” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel the attack on Iranian nuclear sites, according to Eiland.
Netanyahu dismisses Iran’s Rosh Hashanah greetings
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday evening shrugged off Rosh Hashanah wishes conveyed by Iranian officials on social media earlier in the week, saying Tehran would be judged on actions, not words.
“I am not impressed by [holiday] greetings coming from a regime that only last week threatened to destroy Israel,” the prime minister said, referring to threats by Iran to retaliate against Israel for an American military strike against the Assad regime following its alleged chemical weapons use.
It’s also Holocaust denial
Iran’s Foreign Minister confirms there was a Holocaust and denies it’s significance for Jews in one short statement.
The world’s media has now realised a tweet wishing Jews a happy Rosh Hashona (new year) was not actually from an account controlled by Iran’s new president. They just couldn’t help themselves but want to believe it.
Now they’re reporting that Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, who really is on Twitter and Facebook, has also wished Jews “Happy Rosh Hashanah”.
France: Candidate Barred for Burning Israel Flag
France's far-right Front National has suspended one of its local government election candidates after he posted a burning Israeli flag on his Facebook page.
The image posted by FN activist Francois Chatelain was accompanied by the words: "Here, this is France" and was condemned as anti-Semitic by Gerald Darmanin, a center-right deputy in the National Assembly.
Knesset to erect solar energy panels on roof
A plan to install photovoltaic panels for the generation of electricity on the Israeli parliament building’s roof is moving ahead and the project is expected to be up and running in 2014. According to a report in Globes, the Knesset will become one of the of the world’s first legislatures to generate its own electricity.
New bone-growing treatment accelerates healing
Meet Rosa. She’s a much-loved St. Bernard dog who was hit by a car and suffered severely broken bones. She may not have survived the trauma had she not gotten a new bone-growing treatment from Israel.
Rosa is one of the 200 pets in the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, Germany and the UK that have been treated with BoneCure, developed by the Israeli company RegeneCure.
BoneCure is a unique artificial membrane rolled into a sleeve by veterinary surgeons, encasing the space where lost bone should grow. It is the only solution of its kind on the market, the company says.