Friday, August 29, 2014
Chloe Valdary: Beyond Repair: Racist Revisionists, Injurious Illusions
Arab countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria have a hand in promoting this bigotry. These countries deny basic rights to Palestinian Arabs in order to keep them in their dejected state, in part because they seek to make Israel look bad, but, more importantly, because of their own prejudices against them. This, however, is no surprise. It is important to remember that historically, Arab countries have never actually cared about Palestinian Arabs. In Israel’s war of independence, 7 Arab countries sought, not only to destroy Israel but also to set up their own imperialistic empires (Greater Syria) throughout the Middle East. This was certainly Jordan’s goal, as has been shown in recently unclassified cables between the King of Jordan and Golda Meir. Yet this history is largely ignored by statesmen who, in seeking to find quick solutions to problems neglect to examine the psychological makeup of the people being dealt with. Fathom the hypocrisy of an Arab country which persecutes its Palestinian Arab brothers and sisters by denying them basic rights, and then insists that their inferior status is what makes them special in the first place. This prejudice is endemic, because the Palestinian Arabs believe them.The Muslim Colonists: Forgotten Facts about the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Thus, Palestinian Arab Nationalism in its current form (and to be frank I do not know if any other form could ever exist since the very idea of Palestine as a nation is academically defunct) is a form of self-hatred, because it is rooted in the notion that the non-Palestinian Arab is eternally superior and the Palestinian Arab is irrevocably oppressed. Palestinian Nationalism is inherently discriminatory because it contends that a separate distinct “special” Arab race exists, that that special Arab race ought to be oppressed, and that that oppression is what deems it worthy of existing. This is orientalism in its most extreme form, for discrimination can at least be outlawed and even self-hatred can potentially be corrected. But taking pride in one’s self-hatred, well that, is beyond repair.
Justin McCarthy, a professor of history at the University of Louisville, writing in his Annotated Map, “Forced Migration and Mortality in the Ottoman Empire,” also notes that there were about five million Muslims displaced due to the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Crimean War, Balkan wars, the Turkish war of independence and World War I.David Singer: The Key to Peace Lies in the Past
Sergio DellaPergola, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in his paper “Demography in Israel/Palestine: Trends, Prospects and Policy Implications,” provides estimates of the population of Palestine in different periods. As the demographic data below shows, most Muslims living in Palestine in 1948 when the State of Israel was created had been living there for fewer than 60 years:
1890: Arab Population 432,000
1947: Arab Population 1,181,000
Growth in Arab population from 1890 to 1947: 800,000
The Yazidi in Iraq and the Christian Copts in Egypt are not “settlers” and “occupiers;” neither are the Jews in Israel. They are victims of a common enemy that seems to want a Middle East free of non-Muslims.
The period 1920-1947 without doubt covers a host of critically important legal and historical signposts that cannot be forgotten or buried.The Ties Between the Nusra Front – the Syrian al Qaeda Affiliate – and Hamas
Whilst the two-state solution ultimately created between 1946-1948 as a result of the San Remo Conference is ignored – attempts to resolve sovereignty in today’s highly volatile West Bank and Gaza – are destined to certain failure and renewed conflict.
The two-state solution posited by the Oslo Accords and the Bush Roadmap creating a 22nd independent sovereign Arab State in the West Bank and Gaza between Jordan and Israel for the first time ever in recorded history has failed to materialize – despite twenty years of intensive political and diplomatic efforts by the international community.
The PLO (founded in 1964) and Hamas (founded in 1987) both seek to unravel the decisions made at San Remo in 1920.
They need to be replaced as Israel’s Arab negotiating partners by the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine – Jordan and Israel – and possibly Egypt – to determine and allocate sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza between their respective States.
Unearthing the past still remains the key to peacefully resolving the future.
Hamas Leader Khaled Mashaal Expands His Terror Domain
The Lebanese news website Ertikaz published important information on the circumstances behind the establishment of the two movements in the Yarmouk camp, and it is clear that no less a figure than Hamas’ Khaled Mashaal stands behind both of them — almost certainly from the time he was given protection by the Syrian regime prior to the Syrian rebellion.
According to Ertikaz, Khaled Mashaal’s bodyguard was Muhammad Zaghmout, whose family lives in Gaza. Zaghmout and additional Palestinians who hold key positions in both movements are “graduates” of Afghanistan fighting and filled various posts in Khaled Mashaal’s military organization. According to this report, Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis is the leading organization and al Nusra coordinates with it.
Zaghmout — Mashaal’s former bodyguard — serves as the commander of both the Aknaf Bayt al-Maqdis and al Nusra, Ertikaz reports.
As long as the terror groups were combatting Syrian President Assad, Al Nusra and the Islamic State (previously ISIS) cooperated on several fronts. After they defeated Assad’s forces, however, they began to fight among themselves for exclusive control in those same areas, such as Raqqa and Deir ez-Zour and the Lebanese front. Right now in the area of Arsal in Lebanon, the Islamic State and al Nusra are fighting together against the Lebanese Army and Hizbullah.
Temple Univ. Handing Over Investigation Of Assault Of Jewish Student To DA
In a lengthy question and answer style press release, Temple University announced that the investigation into the assault of Jewish student Daniel Vessal will be turned over to the District Attorney's office "which will assess the information and charge the case appropriately." The school also stated that it will not release details of the investigation “in order to prevent bias in the judicial process.”Dutch Pension Fund Rejects BDS
In response to the question as to why the attacker, who was identified to TruthRevolt exclusively as Abdul Aziz R. Jalil, was not arrested, Temple said the “Temple police did not witness the event” and that responding officers "stopped and identified the accused student, and other witnesses were identified."
"Based on preliminary facts, a felony did not appear to have occurred, so the officers did not have the grounds to make an arrest,” the release continued. “The Temple police then conducted a full investigation. The ultimate determination of charges will be made by the District Attorney.”
Anti-Israel activists undoubtedly used the war in Gaza to fuel some local boycotts, but the exposure of Hamas for what it is – a regime of war criminals – has mooted the anti-Israel sentiment to some effect.How did UK Chief Rabbi get the motivation of Toulouse killer so wrong?
The anti-Israel spin on the war convinced some governments to reconsider their sales of weapons to Israel, but the long-lasting effect is questionable, especially in light of the chaos among ISIS and fellow Islamic radicals in Syria and Iraq.
After quoting several experts on the threat of a large-scale boycott of Israel, the Times admitted that “the economic impact has been small” and that “the European Union, which has been looked to for leadership on the issue, does not support the idea.”
It’s curious that Mirvis chose to benignly characterize Merah as a “petty criminal’ and not someone motivated by radical Islam. There is simply no debate over the fact that he was an Islamist who murdered Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, Gabriel Sandler (age 4), Arieh Sandler (age 5), Miriam Monsonego (age 7) in an act of Jihad.Joan Rivers rushed to hospital in critical condition
Though Merah had previously served time in jail for ‘petty crime’, his radicalization while in prison was not surprising, given that this extremist Islamist ideology infected most of his immediate family. Indeed, his family was reportedly obsessed by hatred of Jews, and were passionate supporters of the “outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and Armed Islamic Group) (GIA) terrorist organizations”.
In 2010, Merah traveled to Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Tajikistan to join or train with jihadists. He later traveled to Afghanistan in hopes of joining the Taliban.
American actress and comedian Joan Rivers was rushed to the hospital Thursday after she stopped breathing while undergoing a minor throat procedure at a New York City clinic.Elizabeth Warren Frustrates Anti-Israel Left
Rivers, 81, suffered cardiac arrest while at an Upper East Side doctor’s office and was quickly transferred to the city’s Mount Sinai Hospital, according to AP.
She was in critical but stable condition, E! online reported. Rivers’ daughter Melissa, who came to the hospital to be by her mother’s side, said that Rivers was “resting comfortably” and offered her thanks for the “overwhelming love and support” her mother had received over the past hours.
Elizabeth Warren blew up any hopes from the anti-Israel left that she might voice stronger criticism of Israel's Gaza campaign than more mainstream Democratic lawmakers. Warren had managed to effectively dodge questions on Israel for weeks, but in a town hall filled with far left supporters last week, Warren found herself defending her vote to send $225 million to Israel, and in the process finally explained her position on its Gaza campaign.Abbas Says US Agreed to 'Palestine' Along '67 Borders'
Responding to one supporter who criticized her vote—comparing Israel’s use of weapons in Gaza to police officers’ use of weapons against “innocents” in Ferguson—Warren said she stood by her decision. Warren explained that America has a “very special relationship with Israel” and it is one of the only liberal democracies in that “very dangerous part of the world” and thus a much needed ally. Warren then went a step further and condemned Hamas for its use of human shields.
Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was quoted in Palestinian Arab news sources as claiming that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu agreed to a Palestinian state on the 1949 Armistice lines - apparently Abbas actually said that the US, not Netanyahu, had made that agreement.Watch: Reclaming the Mount of Olives from Rock Attacks with Song
Abbas's actual statements from the recent interview were that the US expressed its support for establishing a Palestinian state along the "1967 borders," adding that all that was left was to sketch up the final border lines, reports Walla!.
Netanyahu hurried to deny the reports that he had made the agreement, and likewise denied reports in a Jordanian daily that Netanyahu and Abbas met in Amman last week.
The Mount of Olives has seen numerous rock attacks in recent days by Arab residents targeting Jewish buses and vehicles, and desecration of graves has likewise been a problem, with many last year charging the police of not doing enough. Indeed, last July it was reported that over the previous year 300 rock throwing attacks had occurred at the site.Memorial Erected in Judea for Three Murdered Teens
However, Rabbi Horowitz argued that the security situation of the ancient cemetery has been getting better.
"Whoever checks will see that during the last year, thank G-d, the security is being strengthened here and is improving," commented the rabbi.
"Rock throwing is down. There are problems now and then, unfortunately there are still people here who want to harm Jews that visit the Mount, but we are certain that with the police and the security forces we will succeed in overcoming them," added Rabbi Horowitz.
The work has been finalized on a stone memorial, constructed in honor of the three teens abducted and murdered by Hamas terrorists on June 12: Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha'ar (16) and Eyal Yifrah (19) hy''d.Report: Assad Partially Recaptures Syrian Golan Heights
The new monument was built next to the bus-stop and hitchhiking station where the three were abducted, in the Gush Etzion area of Judea.
On June 30, the day the bodies of the three were found after the intensive 18-day search of Operation Brother's Keeper, the idea to construct the memorial was raised by youth from Bat Ayin, a community in Gush Etzion.
Reports Friday indicate that Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces have partially recaptured the Quneitra region just east of the Israeli-Syrian Golan Heights border, which rebel forces captured in intense fighting on Wednesday.UN steps up search for Fijian peacekeepers on Golan Heights as IDF troops look on
According to the reports from the Iranian Fars news agency as cited by Walla!, the Syrian army has regained control over several Quneitra villages, including Jaba, Tel Krum and Al Ruachi.
The fighting continues on Friday morning in an attempt to take back full control after rebels seized the Quneitra crossing to Israel from the Syrian side.
UN officials shuttled along the rocky frontier between Syria and the Golan Heights on Friday, trying to establish the whereabouts of 43 United Nations peacekeepers seized by Al-Qaida-linked militants inside Syria.UN Chief Condemns Kidnapping of Peacekeepers in Golan
Israeli forces took up positions at Quneitra, a fortified crossing between Syria and the Golan, barely 400 meters from Nusra Front militants, who attacked a UN base on the Syrian side of the border on Wednesday and seized the 43 Fijians.
About 80 UN soldiers from the Philippines, all of whom serve with UNDOF, a UN force that has monitored the disengagement zone between Israel and Syria since the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, remain locked down in two camps on the Syrian side of the frontier, military officers in the Philippines said.
United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday “strongly condemned” the kidnapping of 43 peacekeepers from the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights, and called for their immediate release.Hamas Spiritual Guide Slams 'Extremist' Islamic State
In a statement, Ban also condemned the restriction of movement of UNDOF peacekeepers by armed elements of the opposition in two positions in the vicinity of Ar Ruwayhinah and Burayqah.
“He calls for the immediate lifting of these restrictions,” said the statement.
“The Secretary-General reminds all actors that UNDOF is mandated to monitor the Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria. The Secretary-General calls on all parties to respect UNDOF’s freedom of movement and safety and security,” concluded the statement.
Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the radical Muslim cleric who serves as president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, has come out sharply against the jihadist Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), which has captured large parts of Iraq and Syria.Egypt says Morsi ‘gave security papers to Qatar’
Qaradawi, who is also the spiritual guide of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, said the caliphate founded by IS in the areas that have fallen under its grasp is not legitimate.
Speaking to a Turkish news agency, Qaradawi argued that the caliphate has no meaning, claiming it does not stand up to the conditions for founding a caliphate as prescribed by Muslim sharia law.
Egypt has opened an investigation into deposed president Mohammed Morsi for allegedly handing over to Qatar “documents relevant to national security,” state news agency MENA reported on Wednesday.Number of registered Syrian refugees hits three million mark, UN says
Morsi is already facing the death penalty in several trials and his supporters have been the target of a bloody crackdown by the authorities that has left more than 1,400 dead since he was forced out in July 2013.
The former leader is suspected of providing “documents relevant to national security to Qatar via the Qatari Al-Jazeera chain when he was president of the republic…damaging the country’s national security,” said MENA.
The Syrian civil war that has raged since 2011 has resulted in three million registered Syrian refugees to date the United Nations Refugee agency the UNHCR said on Friday.Britain raises terror threat level to ‘severe’
Almost half of all Syrians have now been forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives, the agency said in a statement released on Friday in Geneva.
"One in every eight Syrians has fled across the border, fully a million more than a year ago. A further 6.5 million are displaced within Syria. Over half of those uprooted are children," the UNHCR said.
"There are worrying signs too that the journey out of Syria is becoming tougher, with many people forced to pay bribes at armed checkpoints proliferating along the borders. Refugees crossing the desert into eastern Jordan are being forced to pay smugglers hefty sums (US$100 a head or more) to take them to safety."
British Home Secretary Theresa May said Friday the country’s terror threat risk level was being raised to “severe,” meaning an attack is “highly likely.”A Grand Total of 50 Muslims in Michigan Condemn ISIS
“The increase in the threat level is related to developments in Syria and Iraq where terrorist groups are planning attacks against the West,” May said.
The threat level is now at the second highest level out of five possible categories and the highest since July 2011.
Muslim leaders in Dearborn, Michigan staged a City Hall protest against the Islamic State (ISIS) this week, but only 50 Muslims showed up. That works out to around .02 percent of the state’s estimated Muslim population.Islamic State massacres 160 captured Syrian soldiers
ISIS members were labeled “crazy animals” by Imam Mohammed Elahi of the Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn Heights. “You’re a bunch of gangsters … you’re not Islam,” he said, adding that the terrorist group does not represent Islam.
Sunni and Shi’ite Muslim leaders participated in the rally sponsored by the Michigan Muslim Community Council.
The Islamic State group killed more than 160 Syrian government troops seized in recent fighting, posting pictures Thursday of terrified young conscripts stripped down to their underwear before meeting their deaths in the arid Syrian countryside.Iran Debuts Bavar 373 Missile
The slayings were the latest massacre attributed to the extremist group, which has terrorized rivals and civilians alike with widely publicized brutality in Syria and Iraq as it seeks to expand a proto-state it has carved out on both sides of the border.
The Bavar 373, named after the Farsi word for "Belief," was developed as an alternative to the S-300, which Russia withdrew its intention to sell Iran due to pressure from the European Union (EU).Grand Ayatollah in Iran Issues Fatwa Stating High Speed Internet is "against Sharia"
Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ordered the development of the missile system as an alternative to locally produced weaponry. The matter was handed over to the Air Defense Command, Khatam al Anbia, and a number of scientific and academic centers.
According to Iranian security officials, the Bavar 373 is better than the Russian S-300; it is allegedly able to track over 100 targets simultaneously and is equipped with long-range ground to air missiles.
"A Grand Ayatollah in Iran has determined that access to high-speed and 3G Internet is 'against Sharia' and 'against moral standards.' In answer to a question published on his website, Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, one of the country's highest clerical authorities, issued a fatwa, stating 'All third generation [3G] and high-speed internet services, prior to realization of the required conditions for the National Information Network [Iran's government-controlled and censored Internet which is under development], is against Sharia [and] against moral and human standards.'Turkey’s education row deepens as thousands placed in religious schools ‘against their will’
He added that 'Judicial officials must not remain indifferent about this vital issue.'
Internet access has been an ongoing struggle between Iran's hardliners, who retain key bases of power in the judicial, intelligence and security branches of government and wish to maintain strict censorship and control over all information, and the 42 million Iranians-some 55% of the population-who use the Internet. Internet speed is a critical weapon in this battle, as the authorities frequently slow the speed of the Internet as a means to render it effectively useless, thereby depriving the citizenry of the online access it needs for professional, educational, and commercial use."
Turkey’s secondary education examination row has deepened, amid reports that thousands of students, including some non-Muslims, have been placed in Islamic vocational schools for the upcoming school year.Man covers pensioner's home with anti-semitic graffiti because she 'upset' him
After the results for the national primary to secondary education (TEOG) examination were announced earlier this month, there were a number of reports that around 40,000 students had been placed in religious “imam-hatip” schools against the will of their families.
Education Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Muhterem Kurt confirmed that a total of 9,802 students had been placed in schools far away from the districts where they live, but stressed that there was “no need to panic.” Kurt told daily Milliyet that there would be an opportunity for re-allocation in mid-September.
Stephen Loosemore, 50, was spotted by passers-by scrawling hate in large letters after a four-year feud with frail Vera Morgan, 84.Jewish community ‘forced out’ of Guatemalan village
Employed as a caretaker for a block of flats at the time, he fell out with Mrs Morgan and her house-bound husband James, 85, who live four doors away from him.
Loosemore - who said he knew the couple were not Jewish, or German - admitted carrying out the act because he wanted to scare them after they "upset" him.
He daubed the Nazi Party emblem on her windows alongside the word 'witch' and scrawled "Jews Out" on her front door in black paint.
A community of 230 Orthodox Jews from several countries Thursday began leaving the Guatemalan Indian village where they have lived for six years after claims and counterclaims of discrimination and threats.Holocaust memorial erected in Polish Jewish cemetery
Their exit from San Juan La Laguna, on the banks of Lake Atitlan and 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the capital Guatemala City, follows a meeting Wednesday in which Jewish and indigenous representatives failed to reach an agreement.
“We are a people of peace and in order to avoid an incident we’ve already begun to leave the village,” Misael Santos, a representative from the Jewish community, told AFP.
They had received threats, Santos said.
The town of Serock is located some 25 miles north of Warsaw and has a population of about 4,100. No Jews currently live there.Canaanite wine stash found in Galilee unearths ancient flavors
The Jewish cemetery in Serock, which served as a burial place from the 18th century, was destroyed during World War II. The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland and the United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad helped to build the memorial and rededicate the cemetery.
The dedication of the cemetery memorial and the rededication of the cemetery took place on Wednesday. The memorial is made up of headstones toppled during World War II, which were discovered lying in a pile next to the cemetery.
The Canaanite kings of Tel Kabri drank plenty of wine, and for the first time archaeologists have hard evidence for it after unearthing a Bronze Age royal wine cellar at the northern Galilee site.The Israeli Start-Up Behind the Hottest Viral Videos on the Web (VIDEO)
Kabri, a Middle Bronze Age city located a few miles east of the modern town of Nahariya, was excavated last year by a team headed by Dr. Assaf Yasur-Landau of University of Haifa, Dr. Eric H. Cline of George Washington University, and Dr. Andrew Koh of Brandeis University. During the dig, they found 40 narrow-necked, meter-tall, handleless jugs which date back over 3,600 years.
After conducting a residue analysis of the ceramics found last summer, they said in an article published Wednesday in PLOS ONE that the vessels contained wine.
An Israeli Start-up, Cat2See, which sells a gadget that allows pet owners to view, feed, play with, and even pester their lil’ own cat, is sweeping the internet, according to The Marker business newspaper.Japan, Israel can make beautiful tech together: advocate
The system has three parts, which are all remotely controllable: a feeder that can also be preprogrammed to release up to five pounds of dry kibble, a wiggling, spinning fishing pole, and an hi-rez internet videocamera that rotates 360 degrees.
“Cats are the most viral thing on the Internet after sex; 23% of the blogs on the Internet are on cat topics,” co-founder and CEO Gilad Gelfand told Israel’s Haaretz. “One out of every five pictures on Instagram is of cats.”
For decades, Japanese corporations hesitated to dip a toe into the Israeli high-tech scene, just watching the successes of the Start-Up Nation from afar. Now, after years of work by Kazunari Okada, director of the Japan Innovation Center (JIC), one Japanese conglomerate appears ready to take a chance on Israel.Dance at 3D disco in your PC, thanks to Israeli tech
In October, Toyota’s ITC (InfoTechnology Center), an important R&D arm of the Japanese car giant, will be holding the first ever tech event for a large Japanese corporation in Israel — a hackathon in which Israeli programmers and entrepreneurs will present their ideas on improving car safety and performance.
That’s the kind of thing Okada is hoping to see more of. “I realized already years ago that Japan was missing out on something important,” he told The Times of Israel in an exclusive interview. “People in Japan know Israel from the news, and of course as a religious center holy to Western religions. But these are both not very relevant to most people in Japan, so awareness of the more esoteric points of Israel has been very low.”
If you miss the days of disco — or always wondered what they were like — Israeli video technology firm XTR3D (Extreme Reality) enables you and your computer to take a dance down memory lane. Disco dancing is in again, thanks to DanceWall Remix, an interactive motion controlled PC game based on the Herzliya-based company’s technology. Using nothing more than your computer’s cheap 2D webcam, DanceWall Remix creates a 3D streaming image, putting it on screen, where an avatar shadows your every move. You don’t even need a fancy 3D camera or any other equipment.An IDF soldier proposes to his GF on Gaza border
In DanceWall Remix, players control their avatar’s movements to match movements of on-screen silhouettes to the beat of music (disco, classic bubblegum, or modern electronica), avoiding obstacles and matching their avatar’s movements to the on-screen figure while avoiding obstacles. No video game experience is needed, and it works on any PC — giving users the experience of being in a very cool disco.
