Wednesday, June 11, 2014
JPost Editorial: Aussie clarity
Even UN Resolution 242, which introduced the “land for peace” formula, calls on Israel to withdraw from “territories” – not all territories – in exchange for peace with its neighbors. It was clear to the international community immediately after the Six Day War that Israel would retain an undetermined portion of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.Caroline Glick: Pragmatism, Obama and the Bergdahl swap
(Israel has since magnanimously ceded the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians, who have turned it into a reactionary Islamist state that uses violence to enforce Shari’a.) Far from “occupied,” the status of Judea and Samaria should enjoy a unique status in international law as land that has never been unequivocally set aside for a specific people by the international community.
Canberra has had the courage to publicly recognize this simple fact. What’s more, Bishop, Brandis and others in Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s center-right government understand that defining east Jerusalem as “occupied” hinders chances for peace by emboldening an intransigent, rejectionist Palestinian political leadership, whereas defining the territory as “disputed” might encourage a spirit of compromise on the part of the Palestinians.
For nearly six years, Obama and his supporters have managed to fend off allegations that his foreign policy is even more ideological – and far more radical – than Bush’s by channeling the public’s aversion to pie-in-the-sky rhetoric and obfuscating facts. But the Bergdahl announcement at the Rose Garden ended all of that.Paris Jews Sprayed With Tear Gas a Week After Axe Attack
The reason Obama is being denounced for the Bergdahl swap is because he orchestrated a radical spectacle. Try as he may to castigate critics of the deal as partisan and cynical, Obama cannot pretend away the fact that the ceremony he arranged and oversaw was an open celebration of an American defeat, by the US president and the unsympathetic parents of an accused deserter.
And worse still for Obama’s protestations of pragmatism, his decision to take sole ownership of the swap revealed his ideological myopia. Only someone blinded by a worldview in which America is morally deficient could have thought that Americans would join him and the Bergdahls in celebrating an American defeat.
And now everyone knows what makes him tick.
Two Jewish friends wearing yarmulkes were attacked in Sarcelles, a northern suburb of Paris, by three men seemingly of North African descent who sprayed the two friends with tear gas. The attack was captured on video surveillance revealed Monday.
The “anti-Semitic character of the attack has not been established,” said Sarcelles Mayor François Pupponi, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The attack comes a week after two Jewish teenagers reported being chased down the street by an axe-wielding assailant while they were on their way to the synagogue in Romainville, another Paris suburb, reported the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA).
Palestinians must accept Jews as neighbors
Imagine, though, a genuinely unprecedented Palestinian response:A president who opposes a Palestinian state — bad for Israel?
Imagine that the president of the Palestinian Authority were to admit that Jews have as much right to live in the Judean Hills or East Jerusalem as Palestinians do. Imagine that Abbas not only acknowledged the historical fact that Israel’s Zionist founders urged Arabs to remain in the new Jewish state in 1948 but sought to emulate their example in a new Palestinian state. Imagine his regarding it as a matter of Arab honor and self-respect that Jews should feel no less safe and comfortable going to work or school in Jenin or Gaza City than Palestinians do in Tel Aviv or Haifa.
To all but a fringe of Israeli Jews, the notion that Arabs should be forcibly excluded from pre-1967 Israel is abhorrent. The expulsion of Jews from a Palestinian state, on the other hand, is something Abbas and his lieutenants insist on. “In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli — civilian or soldier — on our land,” Abbas said last year. Saeb Erekat, the senior Palestinian negotiator, insisted in January: “No settler will be permitted to stay in a Palestinian state, not one, because the settlements are illegal.” After promoting that kind of blind rejectionism for so many years, a change of heart by the Palestinian Authority would be more than unprecedented: It would be radically pro-peace.
For what peace requires, above all else, is acceptance by the Palestinians that Jews are not interlopers but neighbors, and that Palestinian aspirations can be fulfilled without the destruction of Jewish aspirations. Mahmoud Abbas — like his mentor Yasser Arafat, like the fanatic haters of Hamas — has spent a lifetime seeking to “liberate” the historic territory of Palestine from any vestige of Jewish sovereignty. If only the Palestinians had a different goal — of sharing that territory with a Jewish state rather than resisting to the bitter end the right of Jews to be there in the first place — what a paradise they could build together.
Eventually that day will come. When it does, the building of homes will be cause for mutual celebration, by Israelis and their Palestinian neighbors alike.
President-elect Reuven Rivlin opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, a position that contradicts that of the incumbent president, and to some extent also clashes with that of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who at least publicly professes to support the idea of two states for two peoples.Does Obama Care About Hamas Terror?
Shimon Peres, by repeating in every meeting with world leaders over the last few years that “there is no other game in town than the two-state solution,” somewhat counterbalanced the hawkish policies of the two last Netanyahu governments. Now that the popular Nobel peace laureate is being replaced by someone who rejects that two-state solution, how will Israel fare in a world that wants to see the creation of a Palestinian state, and overwhelmingly blames Jerusalem for the current stalemate in the peace process?
Were President Obama serious about promoting Palestinian democracy and peace, he would be using the signs of a spat between the two new partners to pressure PA leader Mahmoud Abbas to reject Hamas and to insist that any member of his government embrace peace. But instead of exploiting the rift that gives the U.S. another opportunity to rid the PA of open terrorists, the administration is remaining silent.EU Delegation Meets Palestinian Unity Gov't Officials in Gaza
As I noted last week, the decision to keep funding a PA that included Hamas was a retreat from decades of U.S. anti-terrorism policy as well as a betrayal of the alliance with Israel. But a refusal to acknowledge what Hamas is openly saying about terror is more than a misguided policy; it gives the lie to the U.S. insistence that its goal is peace via a two-state solution. Even prior to the unity pact, the Fatah-dominated PA had shown no interest in recognizing the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders were drawn. But with this latest terror threat, it is clear that Hamas has not altered its platform or its practices. So long as Hamas is part of the PA the chances of peace with Israel are exactly zero. While they are not much higher without Hamas, it is at least theoretically possible that the PA might change its tune.
The meeting was an opportunity to the congratulate the Gaza ministers and receive updates on the situation in Gaza, but also "a political message that we support the national consensus government," the official said.Study: Washington Has More Leverage to Pressure PA than Generally Believed
"It was a follow-up to the statement we issued," he said of remarks by EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton, who welcomed the new unity government.
It is worth noting that Hamas is on the EU's list of terrorist organizations. That listing specifically includes both "Hamas" and "Hamas-Izz al-Din al-Qassem," meaning that both the military and governmental branches of Hamas are recognized as terror groups by the EU.
David Pollock of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy released on Friday an analysis of recent Palestinian public opinion polls, which held some surprising conclusions with important implications for the region.In the wake of killings, Jewish Museum of Belgium set to reopen
Pollock notes that despite the apparent contradiction, most Palestinians favor a unity government between Fatah and Hamas, while at the same time, a majority, though a smaller one, also wants that government to work for peace.
The polling also shows that Palestinian generally favor continuing peace talks and maintaining good relations with the United States, and consider assisting Syrians to be almost as important at the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The Jewish Museum of Belgium will reopen in seven to 10 days for the first time since a gunman murdered four people there in late May, museum president Philippe Blondin told Israeli journalists on Tuesday.Fourth fatality in Brussels shooting to be buried in Morocco
Police will return the keys to the museum’s front entrance, still blocked by police tape and a small sea of memorial candles and decaying flowers, on Wednesday, Blondin said, but the management will still need at least a week to properly clean the building and prepare some sort of memorial to the victims. He also wants to give the traumatized, mostly-volunteer museum staff more time to deal with the horrific events and meet with psychologists.
The fourth victim in last month’s Brussels Jewish Museum attack was set to be laid to rest in a Muslim cemetery in Morocco on Tuesday afternoon, Belgian media reported.Arab Attacker Indicted For Breaking Jewish Minor's Skull.
Alexandre Strens, 25, who worked in the museum’s communications department, was in a coma since the May 24 shooting which claimed the lives of three others, and died on Friday, the public prosecutor’s office said.
His body was airlifted to the city of Taza where he will buried next alongside his grandparents, after an agreement was reached between his mother, who is Jewish, and father, a Kabyle Berber. Strens and his six siblings were raised by his mother.
An indictment was filed on Wednesday against an Arab resident of Jerusalem who broke a Jewish minor's skull with a wooden bat last Tuesday right before Shavuot, as the youth was on his way to the Western Wall (Kotel).Israel’s ‘Green Rock’ Moves Against Missiles
The attacker, 28-year-old Yusuf Huleisi, was arrested last Tuesday. In the request for an indictment, Jerusalem District Attorney Shmuel Barzilai noted Huleisi has a criminal record for possession of a knife and being involved in skirmishes.
Barzilai, in requesting the continued arrest of Huleisi until the end of procedures, pointed to the overwhelming evidence presented by witnesses and video footage. The shocking film of the attack, uploaded by the Honenu legal aid organization, can be seen here:
Israel has just received its newest defense against the Palestinian Authority’s attacks on the western Negev — or anywhere in the country, for that matter.Danon Demands: 'Cut Money to Unity PA After Gaza Attack'
The new system arrived in IDF hands on Wednesday — the same morning the PA unity government launched another rocket attack from Gaza on southern Israel. The Qassam exploded at the entrance to a kibbutz, about 300 meters from a private home. No one was physically injured, but several people were shaken up.
With the ‘Green Rock’ mobile autonomous tactical counter Rocket, Artillery & Mortar (C-RAM) system, perhaps such attacks will be neutralized in the near future.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon on Wednesday called for the immediate cessation of transfers on all tax money collected by Israel for the Palestinian Authority (PA), in the wake of the Kassam rocket attack from Gaza earlier in the morning.Abbas condemns rocket fire at southern Israel
The rocket, which was fired by Gaza terrorists, exploded near a community by Highway 232 in the Eshkol Regional Council in the north-western Negev. No injuries or damage was reported from the attack.
"This is the result of the Palestinian unity government," declared Danon, referencing the government that was sworn in last Monday, and includes three ministers from Gaza that were backed by the Hamas terror group governing the area.
The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday condemned rocket fire at southern Israel by terrorists in the Gaza Strip and called on all factions to observe the truce reached with Israel in 2012.PA TV: “[Arab] students at Hebrew University have reclaimed occupied territories in Jerusalem"
PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s office said in a statement that the ceasefire reached by Israel and Hamas serves the security interests of the Palestinian people, and that Palestinians shouldn’t give Israel an excuse to continue its attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Official Palestinian Authority TV lauded Israeli Arabs of the student movementColumnist in official PA daily: Netanyahu is “modern Shylock”
Watan ("Homeland") for a festival they held in the amphitheater at Hebrew University last month. PA TV reported that "songs dedicated to the prisoners and the Martyrs were sung," and described the event on the Hebrew University campus as "reclaiming occupied territories in Jerusalem." [Official PA TV, May 23, 2014]
Hebrew University in Jerusalem is on Mount Scopus, which has been part of the State of Israel since the armistice agreement with Jordan in 1949. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the PA routinely presents all of Israel as "occupied Palestine."
PA TV reported that the Arab participants chanted "the slogan: 'The amphitheater is ours.'" The PA TV reporter added that "in fact it [the amphitheater] was theirs. They restored the Arab character of the land on which Hebrew University was built, even if only for one day."
The PA TV journalist ended her report with the words: "Christine Rinawi, from Hebrew University in occupied Jerusalem."
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the "modern Shylock," according to a regular columnist in the official Palestinian Authority daily. Netanyahu, he wrote, is "legalizing the illegal, legitimizing the illegitimate, presenting history in a one-sided way, and howling like mad wolves - this is what Netanyahu is doing at the head of his present government."Palestinian coasts are under "occupation," according to PA TV show on cuisine
Daily Mail: Summer camp Hamas style: Thousands of Palestinian boys take part in Gaza assault courses where they risk more than just a grazed knee
It is not for the faint hearted - a Hamas-run summer camp for school kids to take part in gruelling physical activities, military exercises and political demonstrations.Hamas, the “Political Organization”
Thousands of Palestinian students have gathered to take part in the brutal summer camps, organised by the political organisation Hamas, in the Southern Gaza Strip.
Photos from the camps show children climbing obstacles above open flames, running in formation and standing at attention.
They also include political demonstrations for the students to show their solidarity for Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli jails.
Some countries and organisations, including Israel, the United States and the European Union, classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation, while others, including many Arab states, do not.
The Daily Mail could be commended for publishing a photo essay exposing Palestinian children being put through military training at a Hamas-run summer camp. However, despite the photos showing the obvious military side to Hamas’s activities, this is how Hamas is described in some of the captions:Fathi Hammad Calls Fatah to Join Jihad: Bullets and Bombs Are Music to Our Ears
Hamas, a Palestinian political group which is considered a terrorist organisation by some countries
and
The Gaza Strip has been controlled by political organisation Hamas since 2007
Sexual assault on student sparks outrage in Egypt
A string of sexual assaults on women during celebrations of Egypt’s presidential inauguration — including a mass attack on a 19-year-old student who was stripped in Cairo’s Tahrir Square — prompted outrage Monday as a video emerged purportedly showing the teenager, bloodied and naked, surrounded by dozens of men.Jihadist ISIL group growing threat across Mideast
Seven men were arrested in connection with the assault and police were investigating 27 other complaints of sexual harassment against women during Sunday’s rallies by tens of thousands of people celebrating Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi’s inauguration late into the night, security officials said.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which dealt a spectacular blow to Baghdad’s Shiite-led government by grabbing Iraq’s second city Mosul, now poses a threat across the Middle East.The Fall of Mosul and the End of the Sykes Picot Map
Known for its ruthless tactics and suicide bombers, ISIL has already controlled the Iraqi city of Fallujah for five months, and is also arguably the most capable force fighting President Bashar Assad inside Syria.
Its takeover of Mosul on Tuesday prompted the United States to voice deep concern about the “extremely serious” situation and warn the jihadist Sunni group poses “a threat to the entire region”.
Today CNN and the BBC reported that Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul has fallen to ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria). Like it or not we are in the midst of a geographic paradigm shift in the Middle East. In 1919, almost 100 years ago, a war weary public joined by an antagonistic Congress chose to reject President Woodrow Wilson’s far sighted and prophetic global initiatives achieved at a high cost in the Paris negotiations at the end of WWI and do nothing for the Arabs, Kurds, Armenians and Jews of the Middle East. These rejections set in place all of the horrors we see happening today in the Middle East.Islamic Scholars Toy With Idea Of Valuing Life (satire)
Because Congress said no to Woodrow Wilson the Sykes Picot Agreement became a fact on the ground and Britain and France divided the Middle East without regard to ethnicity, tribal and clan considerations, language and cultural-religious factors. Kurdistan was not created as an American protectorate and today’s Syria and Iraq and Turkey came into existence. Armenia was absorbed into the Soviet Union and hundreds of thousands more Armenians died or were exiled after WWI. Jordan was created and the Arab world generally became more antagonistic toward the west.
Leading figures at the madrassas and other repositories of Islamic learning across the Middle East and North Africa have recently begun examining the hypothetical notion of assigning actual worth to individual human existence. Such an approach has been mentioned in passing by Islamic thinkers through the ages, but so far represents a purely theoretical question.
Dismissed by generation after generation of leading Imams and other authorities on Islamic thought, the idea that human life takes priority over political, or even some religious, aims, has been the subject of analysis only in whispered conversations and furtive glances at the texts of other cultures that do in fact consider life worth preserving for its own sake. By and large Islamic scholars and leaders view human lives through the prism of how they can be leveraged toward political or ideological hegemony, and the open interest in the theoretical basis for assigning actual value to life is making waves from Morocco to Malaysia.
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