Sunday, February 09, 2014
Israel may pay for tolerance it shows to killers
IF most Palestinians thought like most Israelis, peace would come to their lands.Historic Palestine
If most Israelis thought like so many Palestinians — from its leader Mahmoud Abbas down to the shiftless youths seeking to meet Allah via Semtex and Jewish blood — there would be many fewer than the 4.3 million of them.
The tolerance of Israel, as its neighbours bait it, bomb it and demand its destruction, surprises me. Three rockets were fired from Gaza in to southern Israel as I wrote this piece.
So there you have it, from the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911 edition. Rather than being an "indigenous" populations, the Arab population of "Palestine" is composed of Bosnians, Sudanese, Algerians, Armenians, Greek, Kurds and many many others. There is no mention of a group called the "Palestinians".BBC Correspondent Apologizes For Omitting Anti-Israel Bias (satire)
Colonizers. All of them
Hard to imagine how the indigenous "Palestinians" could have escaped historical scrutiny for so many years. (h/t Bob Knot)
In a news item last week, Philips was seen narrating a segment about a crash on Route 443, part of which runs through the West Bank. A number of Palestinian men were hurling stones and Molotov cocktails at passing Israeli cars, and the driver of one such vehicle stopped his car and chased the group while wielding a handgun, scattering them and stopping the attacks. Philips devoted almost the same amount of time discussing the attack on the motorist as on his brief pursuit, thus departing from BBC policy of specifically painting Israel and Israelis as at fault in confrontations with Palestinians.
“I apologise first to the Palestinians, who depend on the BBC for unstinting propaganda support; second, to my colleagues at the BBC, for showing what could be construed as disrespect for our journalistic standards; and of course to our viewership, who might become confused if we do not paint Israel as thoroughly evil,” Philips wrote in a statement. He attributed the lack of sufficient spin to deadline pressures, but admitted he could have done better.
Rock Solid Reporting Down Under?
Central to Lyons’ report is the following:Nice Country, Israel. It Would Be A Shame If Anything Happened To It. (satire)
At the heart of the issue is that Israel enforces two legal systems in the West Bank, one for Jews and one for Palestinians. About 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation in the West Bank – also known as the Palestinian Territories – which Israel has occupied since 1967.Contrary to Lyons’ statement, the two legal systems in operation are divided between Israeli citizens (which, of course, includes both Jews and Arabs) and non-citizens. This is not a division based on race, ethnicity or religion but on the legal status of the disputed territories. The reason why Palestinians, both children and adults, are not subject to Israeli civil law is that Israel has never annexed the West Bank and therefore, Israeli law does not apply to the area. Instead, military law is applied.
Palestinian children appear before the military court, while Jewish children face a civil court with full legal protections.
You Israelis have done a wonderful job building up the place. It would certainly be unfortunate if something bad happened to it.State Dept: No Guarantee Arab League Recognize Israel Even after Deal
Hey, I’m not threatening. I’m just telling you, there are plenty of unpleasant folks about, and while I don’t exactly support their agenda, I must confess I’d be hard-pressed to stop them if you don’t give up some vital strategic interests. I’m doing you a favor here. I want to protect you, you see. These are just the political realities.
Psaki said the proposed U.S. framework will be the basis for negotiations for a final agreement. Meaning, when in doubt, parrot something, nobody is listening anyway. Except the pesky reporter was listening, and he pointed out the final agreement won’t address the Golan Heights, because it has nothing to do with a Palestinian state. He insisted on referring again to Psaki’s boss, who “says the minute this agreement is signed, 22 Arab nations and 35 Muslim nations will recognize or hold out the hope” of regional recognition of Israel.Jordanian Parliament: No to Recognition of Israel
Will they, or will they have new demands once Israel makes the big cut in its own flesh?
Psaki retorted, “Well, Michael, that’s a figure of speech. It doesn’t mean the minute he steps off the stage of an announcement that anything will be implemented.”
The Jordanian parliament declared on Saturday that it was against Israel’s demand that the Palestinian Authority (PA) recognize it as Jewish state.Did Bibi or his ministers label John Kerry an “anti-Semite”?
In a statement carried by the Jordanian Petra news agency, the Lower House of the Parliament outlined its “fundamental position on the Palestinian issue” and said it was rejecting Israel's demand for being recognized as a Jewish state.
So, based on the quotes used by Tait, only one minister, Bennett, even used the word “anti-Semitic” to characterize boycott efforts, and the only one who actually accused Kerry of antisemitism was Adi Mintz, an official in the Settler’s Council. Mintz is not a minister.‘Netanyahu won’t back down on demand that IDF stay in Jordan Valley’
Contrary to the strong suggestion of the headline, photo and subsequent text, neither Bibi nor any of his ministers labeled Kerry an “anti-Semite”. But, of course, a headline soberly noting that “an official at the Settler’s Council” labeled Kerry an anti-Semite would be a lot less likely to elicit the interest of Telegraph readers or those who casually peruse Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds looking for interesting content.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention of agreeing to the deployment of NATO or other international forces to replace the IDF in the Jordan Valley under a permanent peace deal with the Palestinians, Israeli officials said Saturday night.7 Arabs from east Jerusalem arrested at Temple Mount
The officials were quoted by Israel’s Channel 2 as saying that Netanyahu insists that “only the IDF” can provide security for Israel in the Jordan Valley, and wherever else is necessary in the West Bank.
Police arrested seven Arab residents of east Jerusalem on Friday, after they had caused a public disturbance at the Temple Mount following Friday prayers.'Whoever Attacks Us Will Bear the Consequences'
Hundreds of young people began throwing stones at the police officers dispatched along the alleyways and roads surrounding the Old City site.
Subsequently, several police officers raided the Temple Mount to disperse the crowds using stun grenades.
"Our resolute policy against terrorism may be summed up in a single principle: Whoever attacks us or plans to attack us – will bear the consequences," he stated, responding to last week's rocket attacks against Israel. Saturday night, a rocket fell in the northwestern area of the Negev; no injuries or damage was reported. On Thursday, Israel suffered from three attacks; a grad rocket was fired at the Eshkol Regional Council, terrorists fired a rocket at Ashkelon, and another rocket was fired at the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council.Ya’alon: If Hamas won’t prevent terror, it will pay the price
Following a Sunday morning airstrike that critically wounded Palestinian terrorist Abdullah Kharti, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned that Israel would exact a price from Hamas if it did not prevent terror attacks from the Gaza Strip, which it controls.Hamas deploys crack troops to Israeli border
“We will not tolerate the disruption of our citizens’ lives and will act forcefully against anyone who harms or tries to harm Israel,” he said in a statement. “We see Hamas as responsible for what happens in the Gaza Strip, and if it does not know how to impose its authority in this territory, it will also pay the price.”
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades are considered Hamas’s elite force operating in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas’s decision to deploy them to prevent rocket fire against Israel may signify the Islamist terror group’s intention to keep the ceasefire reached with Israel after the November 2012 mini-war.IAF strike critically wounds Gaza terrorist
The IDF confirmed that an Israeli Air Force strike on Sunday morning successfully hit a Palestinian terrorist in the central Gaza Strip who was responsible for multiple attacks against Israel.PA forces arrest scores of radical Islamists in West Bank dragnet
“Abdallah Kharti, born in 1985, is a key Popular Resistance Committees operative, affiliated with global jihad,”an IDF statement said. “Kharti was involved in numerous incidents of rocket fire towards Israel. The IDF operated in order to eliminate an imminent threat to the lives of Israeli civilians.”
Kharti was in critical condition after the strike, which took place near the central Gaza town of Dir al-Balah, according to Palestinian reports. Another man was moderately wounded in the strike, but his identity has not been publicized. Kharti was hit while riding a motorcycle near the town.
Palestinian Authority security forces arrested over the weekend scores of members of the radical group Hizb-ut- Tahrir (Party of Liberation) in the West Bank.Egypt Kills 16 Terrorists Near Gaza
The crackdown came after the party distributed a leaflet strongly condemning PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent statements to The New York Times, where he said he would agree to the deployment of NATO troops in a future Palestinian state to prevent weapons smuggling and terrorism. (h/t Bob Knot)
Egypt's army reported on Saturday that it killed 16 Islamist terrorists in Sinai near the border with Gaza the day before. The liquidation of the 16 terrorists was conducted by an Egyptian airstrike in an area south of Sheikh Zuweid on Friday evening, according to the army's statement.Revised NY State Assembly anti-boycott bill introduced
While Silver’s original bill would have punished any institution that continued to use state funds to support a boycotting academic group, the new version is far less punitive: It would take away from those schools only the amount of state funding equal to the amount that goes to support the group.Building a wall against us
“We are simply saying you cannot use state funds — taxpayer dollars — to participate in a hateful and bigoted boycott,” Silver’s spokesman Michael Whyland said in an email. “It does not limit an academic entity or organization from participating in such a boycott, it only says you cannot use state funds to do so.”
One response that received particular attention was that posted by Ben Red, the popular 88FM radio disc jockey and host of a well-known rock show. Red's post alone received 2,800 likes.Roger Waters’ Pathetic Follow-Up To Creepy Scarlett Letter
"Music is supposed to act as a bridge between people and cultures and not create a gap between them," Red wrote. "Your attitude doesn't help to break the wall, it only makes it higher. The impression you make is that you're not really interested in bringing peace and coexistence in the Middle East and that's too bad because many of us here are…
"Maybe you've succeeded in convincing Pearl Jam not to come here, because you're sort of a 'father figure' for them, but Neil Young is not a child and he will be here because he knows that music lovers are the same anywhere in the world."
Roger Waters has published another post in the wake of his previous creepy note to Scarlett Johansson, but without addressing any of the substantive issues, like the points brought up by Deebo, or his removing of comments. (h/t Bob Knot)Racist chants and soccer star’s tears
Star striker Mario Balotelli of the Italian soccer club AC Milan cried on the bench of his team during an away game at Napoli on Saturday, with some reports saying he was reacting to racist chants from the crowd.Senate bids to save ancient Iraqi Jewish archive
Balotelli, who was filmed on the bench crying after he was subbed late in the game, has in the past been the target of racist epithets due to the color of his skin and the fact that he was raised by a Jewish woman.
Centuries worth of Jewish documents are at risk of vanishing into the vortex of Iraq’s chronic instability, but for American Jewish groups advocating for their preservation, there was a moment of optimism Friday after the US Senate approved a resolution calling for a renegotiation of the archives’ status.Foreign investment in Tel Aviv Stock Exchange tripled in 2013
Late Thursday night, the Senate unanimously adopted the resolution, which was initially sponsored by Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Barbara Boxer (D-MD), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).
Nonresident net investments reached about $1.5 billion in TASE shares in 2013, primarily in pharmaceuticals, banking and communications industries. In 2012, the figure amounted to only $410 million, indicating an increase of some 266% in 2013.Spain gives 1492 expellees a right of return
Nonresidents also bought $940 million in Israeli shares that were traded abroad, on exchanges such as the NASDAQ, in 2013.
On Friday, Spain’s government approved the bill, which was filed last month by the ruling Popular Party and proposes to amend previous legislation that allowed for granting citizenship to Sephardic Jews who chose to apply for it.Anne Heyman, Rwanda Rescuer, Is Dead at 52
Spain’s Federation of Jewish Communities, of FCJE, said in a statement Friday that it welcomed the move. “Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz Gallardon has kept his word,” FCJE wrote in the statement.
The bill proposes to allow dual nationality, enabling people who can prove Sephardic ancestry to also retain their other citizenships. Reports about the bill did not say when it would go up for a vote by lawmakers of Spain’s Congress of Deputies.
When Anne Heyman learned in 2005 that the genocide in Rwanda had orphaned 1.2 million children, she saw a glimpse of salvation for the country in the experience of Israel.
“It popped out of my head: They should build youth villages,” she told The New York Times last year.
Ms. Heyman, a South African-born lawyer who had given up her legal career in New York to devote herself to philanthropy, was thinking of how Israel, as a new nation state in the late 1940s, had welcomed and cared for tens of thousands of children who had been orphaned by the Holocaust. The Israelis set up residential communities called youth villages to nurture them.
“Israel had a solution to the orphan problem,” Ms. Heyman, a supporter of Jewish causes, told The Jerusalem Post last year. “Without a systemic solution, this is a problem that won’t solve itself.”
