Sunday, November 15, 2015
Brendan O’Neill: After Paris
Less than 24 hours after the barbarism in Paris, the bodies of more than 120 concertgoers, Friday-night revellers and children barely cold, and the apologism has already begun. They couldn’t even wait a whole day, these cultural appeasers, whose kneejerk response to every act of terrorism is to ask what we the wicked West did to deserve it, or to argue that we the wicked West will make things worse with our response to it. The simple fact of our existence makes us ripe for murderous assault, apparently; and the folly of responding to such assaults with either police activity at home or military activity abroad makes us riper still for attack. We’re damned if we stay still, damned if we take action. Our citizens must die because our nations are nasty.Europe should label terrorists, not tomatoes
Right now, the apology for terror, the liberal self-loathing that says ‘Of course they attack us’, is sporadic. It’s in the Guardian commentary arguing that such attacks are a product of ‘high youth unemployment’ and ‘racist discrimination against Arabs and Africans [in France]’, a foul racist argument masquerading as progressive empathy, which implies that such Arabs and Africans are so lacking in the moral autonomy enjoyed by us well-educated whites that they have no choice but to gun down scores of people as a kneejerk, Pavlovian response to individual difficulty. It’s a warped line of argument which has no answer whatsoever for why earlier generations of the unemployed or racially demeaned did not take hostage youths at a rock concert and then massacre them.
It’s in a left-wing commentator’s almost bloodthirsty celebration that ‘Westerners are finally being given just a small taste of the constant fear that people from other nations have endured for generations’ as a result of our military actions abroad. Yes, what does the family of four massacred at their restaurant table in the 11th Arrondissement expect? It’s about time that they, and us, felt such agony. It’s in the France-bashing, with one Irish politician arguing that the massacre was ‘terrible for the victims, but’ — but — ‘when is France going to stop its role in the militarisation of the planet?’. It’s in the already emerging handwringing about a possible Islamophobic response to the attacks, with observers fretting that ‘there could be a backlash, largely driven by confusion and anxiety’. This has become routine after every terror attack: the first response of concerned observers is not with the actual victims of actual terrorism but with possible victims of a moronic mob uprising that exists entirely in their imaginations. This, too, speaks to a profound self-loathing in the West, where the media and political elite’s fear is always how their own societies, and what they see as their inscrutable fellow citizens, a ‘confused and anxious’ mass, will behave. They condemn the terrorism, yes — but they fundamentally fear and loathe the societies they live in, the people they live among.
While Islamic terrorists have been scheming to terrorize the European continent, bigwigs in Europe have been laboring over how to “protect” European consumers from Israeli goods produced in the West Bank, such as vegetables, olive oil, honey, eggs, poultry, wine, organic products and cosmetics.Mark Steyn: The Barbarians Are Inside, And There Are No Gates
Well, that ought to keep Europeans safe!
As much as I’m disgusted by the sight of religious fanatics rampaging through Paris murdering people who just want to enjoy life, these murderers are simply doing what they believe their prophet or God wants them to do. It may violate every standard of decency known to humanity, but that’s what fanatics do.
Author and Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali calls this group of Muslim fundamentalists “Medina Muslims,” in that they see the forcible imposition of sharia as their religious duty, following the example of the Prophet Mohammed when he was based in Medina. As she wrote recently in Foreign Policy, this group argues for “an Islam largely or completely unchanged from its original seventh-century version and take it as a requirement of their faith that they impose it on everyone else.”
Now, you can be repulsed by this religious ideology. You can believe it is vile, indecent and inhuman. But you can’t tell me it’s not a religious ideology. You can’t tell me that the fanatics of ISIS and other radical Islamic groups are fighting for human rights, jobs and better health care.
To repeat what I said a few days ago, I'm Islamed out. I'm tired of Islam 24/7, at Colorado colleges, Marseilles synagogues, Sydney coffee shops, day after day after day. The west cannot win this thing with a schizophrenic strategy of targeting things and people but not targeting the ideology, of intervening ineffectually overseas and not intervening at all when it comes to the remorseless Islamization and self-segregation of large segments of their own countries.Jeffrey Goldberg: ‘Crimes’ Jihadists Will Sentence You to Death For
So I say again: What's the happy ending here? Because if M Hollande isn't prepared to end mass Muslim immigration to France and Europe, then his "pitiless war" isn't serious. And, if they're still willing to tolerate Mutti Merkel's mad plan to reverse Germany's demographic death spiral through fast-track Islamization, then Europeans aren't serious. In the end, the decadence of Merkel, Hollande, Cameron and the rest of the fin de civilisation western leadership will cost you your world and everything you love.
So screw the candlelight vigil.
Militant Islamism’s war on all of us appears to be accelerating. Christians, Jews, Hindus, atheists, women, gays, and millions upon millions of Muslims who reject the Islamist template—all of us are considered to be Quranically sanctioned targets for elimination by a demented and determined enemy. We can continue to make believe that jihadists are merely reacting to intolerable provocations by the perfidious West, or we can credit them with possession of a well-developed supremacist theology of global expansionism, and with a desire to resuscitate medieval values. Militant Islam’s war on pluralism and modernity has a thousand fronts, and, in the minds of jihadists, the crimes of their enemies are limitless. Here is a partial, and only partial, list of activities for which Islamists have imposed the death penalty recently:
1. Vacationing in Egypt
2. Shopping in Nairobi
3. Going to work in New York
4. Flying in an airplane in the U.S.
5. Riding a train in Madrid
6. Riding a bus in London
31. Sunbathing in Tunisia
32. Practicing journalism
And the crimes of the people who were murdered in Paris on Friday include: Liking music, eating, and drinking.
JPost Editorial: France's 9/11
It is high time that the international community mobilize together against ISIS. If there is no concerted effort to combat this radical organization that thrives on terrorism, we might see an escalation of ISIS attacks around the world. As former president Shimon Peres said at Saturday night’s rally, “This is a war that the whole world must put to an end. These terrorists are endangering us, and we must unite to put an end to the danger.”Bassam Tawil: What France and Europe Might Learn
In a condolence message sent to Hollande, World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder said: “Our common values are stronger than those of the terrorists. Our common values will prevail.”
It’s time for the civilized world to stop talking and to take action. ISIS must be recognized for what it is – a barbaric terrorist organization seeking to establish a radical caliphate throughout the Middle East. It must be stopped.
By constantly endorsing pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli policies, France has obviously been seeking to appease Islamic countries. France seems convinced that such policies will keep Muslim terrorists from targeting French nationals and interests. The French are now in grave danger of mistakenly believing that the November 13 attacks occurred because France did not appease the Muslim terrorists enough.Daniel Pipes: Why the Paris Massacre Will Have Limited Impact
When the terrorists see that pressure works -- increasing the pressure should work even more!
The French and Europeans would do well to understand that there is no difference between a young Palestinian who takes a knife and sets out to murder Jews, and an Islamic State terrorist who murders dozens of innocent people in Paris.
The reason Muslim extremists want to destroy Israel is not because of the settlements or checkpoints it is because they believe that Jews have no right to be in the Middle East whatsoever. And they want to destroy Europe because they believe that Christians -- and everyone -- have no right to be anything other than Muslim.
The terrorists attacking Jews also seek to destroy France, Germany, Britain and, of course, the United States. These countries need to be reminded that the Islamist terrorists' ultimate goal is to force all non-Muslims to submit to Islam or face death.
This defiance of common sense has survived each atrocity and I predict that it will also outlast the Paris massacre. Only a truly massive loss of life, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands, will force the professionals to back off their deeply ingrained pattern of denying an Islamic component in the spate of attacks.Phyllis Chesler: Europe is on Fire
That pattern has the very consequential effect of shutting out the fears of ordinary voters, whose views thereby have negligible impact on policy. Worries about Shari’a, rape gangs,exotic diseases, and bloodbaths are dismissed with charges of “racism” and “Islamophobia,” as though name-calling addresses these real issues.
More surprising yet, the professionals respond to the public’s move to the right by themselves moving to the left, encouraging more immigration from the Middle East, instituting more “hate speech” codes to suppress criticism of Islam, and providing more patronage to Islamists. This pattern affects not just Establishment figures of the Left but more strikingly also of the Right (such as Angela Merkel of Germany); only Eastern European leaders such as Hungary’s Viktor Orbán permit themselves to speak honestly about the real problems.
Eventually, to be sure, voters’ views will make themselves heard, but decades later and more weakly than democratically should have been the case.
Placing the murderous rampage in Paris into this context: it will likely move public sentiments substantially in one direction and Establishment policies in quite the opposite way, therefore ultimately having only a limited impact.
Europe did not wake up after 3/11 (Madrid) or 7/7 (London) nor did it factor in the Mumbai massacres in which a small band of jihadists overwhelmed hundreds of civilians all at once and targeted only the religious Jews for torture. Europe did not believe that the attacks against Israel could happen to them. On the contrary. Europe acted as if by sacrificing Israel they would be spared.The Jews may be the first, but it never stops there
Clearly, that is not the case. Will Europe now understand that Muslim jihadists have declared war—real war—against infidels and against the West? That it is both a new and a very old kind of war, one characterized by extra-state actors attacking civilians and hiding behind civilians in order to gain territory—and, at the same time, slowly, carefully, strategically acquiring nuclear weaponry.
Yes, Ghenghis Khan now has chemical and potentially nuclear weapons.
What is President Obama, who called ISIS the JV team, who recently insisted that ISIS was no longer a threat--going to do about it? When is he going to state that the war is against fundamentalist Islam, not against “terrorism,” not against “extremism?” Obama understands that this attack was launched "against all humanity." He has never understood this when Israel has been under attack.
What is President Hollande going to do about it?
Now, I am going to say something cold-hearted, something that I began thinking about as the people were being murdered in Paris.
If I were in charge of Israeli intelligence I would not share it with any European country until or unless the EU rescinds its vote on labelling/boycotting goods from Judea and Samaria; until and unless it directed its media to tell the truth about Israel instead of defaming it; until or unless the EU puts Palestinian terrorists on trial for the murder most foul of Israeli civilians.
Israeli and French Jews are murdered, but the world is silent. At worst, President Obama and other presidents label the terrorist attacks part of a “cycle of violence” that perversely equates the Palestinian terrorist murder of innocent Israelis with those defending themselves against Palestinian Molotov cocktails and bullets.Paris’ Bataclan Theater was BDS and terrorist target for years
But when non-Jewish Frenchmen are murdered by Islamist crazies because the Iranian Shiites are murdering the Syrian Sunnis in Syria, the UN Security Council labels the terrorism “barbaric” and "heinous". Sorry, it doesn't wash. You can’t have “good terrorism” against Jews and “bad terrorism” against non-Jews. When the world rewarded Palestinian terrorism, it validated terrorism against all peoples.
All the current terrorism can be traced to the world’s rewarding the Palestinians for their wanton butchery of Jews. Take for instance, the Palestinian terrorist 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre of Israeli athletes. What did the world do in response? Did it condemn Arafat, and all the Palestinian murderers for their bloodthirsty barbarity? Of course not! The Palestinian monsters, funded by their terrorist-paymaster, the current Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, had only murdered Israeli Jews. So, instead of the Palestinians being denounced, the world invited Yasser Arafat to speak at the United Nations in 1974 and gave "Palestine" representation at the UN. When Yasser Arafat ascended the podium at the United Nations, the world taught terrorists that terrorist murder is legitimate, and wins big.
Israel’s i24 News reports:Eagles of Death Metal Were Vocally Anti-BDS; Concert Hall Probably Targeted Due to Jewish Owners, Pro-Israel Stance
The threats against the Bataclan go back several years, with the venue often being a target of anti-Zionist groups. In 2007 and 2008, the theater received threats from radical groups due to its regular hosting of the conferences and galas of Jewish organizations, including one for the Israeli border police.
In December 2008, during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, threats to the Bataclan intensified and became more specific. A video was posted on the internet showing a group of youths with their faces masked, threatening the concert hall for its support of an event in honor of the Israeli border police.
Furthermore, pro-Palestinian associations have launched numerous petitions and encouraged their supporters to write to the authorities to protest the Bataclan’s hosting of pro-Israeli military events.
In 2011, Le Figaro reported that Farouk Ben Abbes, a Belgian national arrested in Egypt after the terror attack on a group of French students in Cairo in February that killed 17-year-old Cécile Vannier, had confessed that he “was planning an attack against the Bataclan in France.”
Three days after the attack on the French students, a report written by the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) in Cairo indicated that the teenagers had been targeted by a militant group who wanted them “to pay for France’s participation in Germinal boat blockade of Gaza” [a French-Israeli operation to stop the transfer of weapons to the coastal enclave].
In a series of arrests in May 2009, Egyptian State Security arrested seven suspects in connection with the attack on the French teens, one of whom justified possible attacks on the Bataclan on the grounds that “the owners are Jews.”
Needless to say, BDS supporters are uncomfortable with this history.
The Bataclan Theatre is an historic concert hall that is currently Jewish owned and has played host to a number of pro-Israel event.Paris attack: who are the victims?
The band playing at the time of the attack, the Eagles of Death Metal--an ironically named California garage rock duo that plays with a rotating cast of other musicians--had toured Israel many times and had become known for its opposition to the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement.
On Reddit, a fan posted this about an Eagles of Death Metal concert:
What's the most eventful/controversial live performance you've ever seen?
Well, living in Israel I've been to a whole bunch of controversial show with artists being threatened, etc. Most artists ignored it and played their normal set, some added a speech for peace or something, but the most memorable one was easily Eagles of Death Metal, where Jesse Hughes went on an amazing rant against Roger Waters (one of the leaders of the BDS movement among musicians), declaring "F__k you Roger Waters! F__k you!".
Couldn't find the whole thing but the ending of the speech, where he says 'don't give a f__k about what an asshole thinks' (referencing Waters), is here.
The Foreign Office has confirmed that a British man was among those who died in the attack on the Bataclan venue.Man arrested last week in Germany with hidden TNT, firearms was headed to Paris, Bavaria minister says
Nick Alexander, 36, from London, was killed at the venue. He was shot in front of Helen Wilson, an American expat who herself was wounded in both legs.
Miss Wilson, speaking from her hospital bed, told The Telegraph how she had tried to keep him alive as they lay on the ground at the Bataclan concert hall.
She tried to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and held him in her arms as he struggled for his life.
Miss Wilson, 49, originally from New Orleans, also told how she witnessed the gunmen deliberately targeting concert-goers in wheelchairs. The gunmen hunted down disabled people who were sat in an area specially set aside for wheelchair users.
A 51-year-old man arrested in Germany last week with weapons in his car may be linked to the Paris attacks, the governor of Bavaria said Saturday.Confirmed: Second Paris Gunman Entered Europe Via Greece, Posing as Refugee
A spokesman for Bavarian state police confirmed earlier Saturday that firearms, explosives and hand grenades were found when police stopped a man near the German-Austrian border on Nov. 5. Ludwig Waldinger declined to confirm reports by public broadcaster Bayrischer Rundfunk that the man appeared to be en route to Paris when he was arrested.
Responding to questions about the Paris attacks, Bavarian governor Horst Seehofer said: “In the course of spot checks we had an arrest where there are reasonable grounds to assume that there may be a link to the matter.” He didn’t elaborate in his comments broadcast by Bayrischer Rundfunk.
Germany’s interior minister said French authorities were informed of the arrest at the time, because of the possible link to France. Thomas de Maiziere said the arrested man’s navigation device contained an address in Paris, but he urged against making a hasty link to the terror attack.
“There is a connection to France but it’s not certain that there is a link to this attack,” de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin.
A second Paris gunman has been confirmed as having entered Europe via Greece by posing as a refugee. Following reports on Saturday morning that one of the gunmen was found with a Syrian passport, Greek authorities quickly confirmed that he had entered via the island of Leros. A second terrorist is now reported to have used the same route.After Paris, Netanyahu demands world also condemn attacks against Israelis
Yesterday, Breitbart London reported that an unnamed gunman involved in the attack on various locations in Paris on Friday night which claimed at least 129 lives made his way to France via Greece, registering on the Greek island of Leros on the 3rd October. Greek police have now confirmed that a second gunman made the same journey weeks earlier in August, at the height of the migrant flow.
As the Greek security forces continue to work with the French authorities, it is possible that others amongst the ten terrorists responsible for the attack will be shown to have taken the same route, Greek news site Antenna has reported.
Greece has vowed to increase security measures following the attack, including increased surveillance of suspicious people passing through the country. The Ministry of Citizen Protection has also promised to stay in close contact with other European states and to maintain vigilance.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday drew parallels between the massive terror rampage that rocked Paris Friday and attacks against Israelis, saying the world that had rallied to condemn bloodshed in France must do so for Israel as well.Jewish French MP: Terror in Paris is the same terror as in Israel
“It is time for states to condemn terrorism against us like they condemn terrorism anywhere else in the world. It is appropriate that [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas, who condemned the attack in France yesterday, will condemn the cruel terrorism against innocents in Israel and fight the incitement fueling it,” Netanyahu told his cabinet meeting.
Referring to a Friday shooting attack that left a rabbi and son dead in the West Bank, Netanyahu said the perpetrators had been the same.
“Hours after the murder in Otniel, terrorists went on a ruthless terror attack in Paris and murdered innocents,” he said. “In Israel, as in France, terrorism is terrorism, and the force standing behind it is radical Islam and its wish to destroy its victims.”
First they came for the Jews. They they came for the journalists, then the police, and now they aim at everyone, said French parliament member Meyer Habib in rushed phone conversation with The Times of Israel on Sunday.Israel spy services helping French intelligence on Paris attack
“We are now in mourning,” Habib said in the aftermath of Friday’s multi-pronged terrorist attacks in the heart of Paris. The people of France are coming together, he added.
While the background to and impact of the attacks are still under examination by the authorities, it is clear to Habib that they were directed at the entirety of the French population, dispelling any notion that the Bataclan concert venue was chosen because it was until recently owned by Jews.
“The terror in France is the same terror as in Israel, in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv — every place in the world,” said Habib, who was elected in 2013 to represent French citizens living abroad in Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Italy, Greece and Israel.
Israel said on Sunday its spy services were helping France investigate the Paris gun and bomb attacks, and Israeli media suggested that intelligence being provided drew on surveillance of militant groups in Syria and Iraq.Europe Should Seek to Emulate Jewish State, Says Israeli National Security Expert Following Paris Attacks
After Friday's rampage, which killed at least 129 people, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered full cooperation with French and other European authorities trying to identify the perpetrators and prevent further attacks.
"The cooperation is ongoing, but in accordance with the prime minister's directive, intelligence material relevant to what happened has been relayed, and we will also deepen the cooperation," Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz told reporters.
"This information can help the French - and not just the French, by the way - to deal with the aftermath, and not just with what happened, but also with terrorist attacks planned for the future," Katz said. He declined to give further details.
This is part of a greater European problem, however, says Dr. Dan Schueftan, director of the National Security Studies Center at the University of Haifa.Politico: On Terror 'We Are All Right Wingers Now'
“All open societies are at a disadvantage when confronted by barbaric ones of the kind that exist across the Middle East,” Schueftan told The Algemeiner on Saturday night. “And Europe, like Israel, is no exception.” But, he added, “Because societies with barbaric political cultures harbor unlimited grievances against open societies, and it is in the nature of open societies not to forfeit the character that enables infiltration by undesirable elements, the kind of thing we saw in Paris on Friday night is not likely to let up any time soon.”
This, said Schueftan, does not mean that all is lost. On the contrary, he argued, the key for open societies is not to give a barbaric enemy power over their constructive imperative.”
Israel, he said, “has always stuck to its constructive imperative – its democracy, its education, health, etc. – while often having to take measures it doesn’t like to take. This is what the Jewish state is all about: facing the challenge of fighting off enemies, while not abandoning the commitment to a healthy, flourishing society. Look what Israel has done in the last 70 years. It has built itself up, while physically fighting off Arab states and terrorists bent on its destruction, and also fighting an ideological battle against delegitimization.”
Europe, said Schueftan, “has to ask itself whether it will allow barbarians to drive it off the course of building and strengthening its society.”
Remember the mood in America just after 9/11? The surge of super-patriotism (dare we say jingoism)? The pall of political correctness (you’re fired, Bill Maher). The phrases that so resonated: “Let’s roll.” “You’re either with us or against us.” “Bring ‘em on.” Something like that is taking hold in France right now after Friday night’s horror, one of the worst terrorist attacks on Western soil since that terrible day 14 years ago.Thousands of Israelis turn out to show solidarity with France
You could see it in the grim visage of Francois Hollande, socialist-turned-avenger, when the French president declared, “This is an act of war,” pledged a “ruthless” response, and called in effect for a global counterattack against the Islamic State. The frighteningly coordinated attacks that left more than 120 people dead in the heart of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan and beloved cities were, Hollande said, “an act committed by a terrorist army, Daesh, against France, our values, who we are, a free country that speaks to the entire planet.”
Hollande is likely to get a great deal of such support. Because in one night of slaughter, the attacks in Paris have caused the tectonic plates of geopolitics to shift sharply rightward, and no one will be unaffected. The new axis of opinion in the U.S. and Western European countries is plainly going to be harsher, more interventionist and less tolerant of, well, tolerance. Americans were already beginning to lose their post-Iraq war squeamishness about intervening overseas: a November Quinnipiac University poll found that American voters, by a 54-38 percent margin, backed sending U.S. troops to fight the Islamic State in Iraq. It’s safe to assume we’re about to grow more even more interventionist in mood, and Obama, as is his wont, may well follow the public temper, stepping up the minimalist approach he’s taken to countering Islamic State in Iraq and Syria so far.
Approximately 2,500 Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square on Saturday evening to express solidarity with the people of France following the massive terror attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead and 352 wounded.PHOTOS: Jerusalem of gold lights up in red, white and blue after Paris attacks
Representing Israel’s governing coalition at the rally, Interior Minister Silvan Shalom told the French ambassador and other assembled dignitaries that “Israel stands by you and we will help you. We will defeat those who want to destroy our values.”
“We send our condolences to the French president, government and the entire French people. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with you as a nation that understands better than others what it is to be under a terror assault.”
Israel’s frail former president Shimon Peres also addressed the crowd, as did Israel’s opposition leader Isaac Herzog and French ambassador Patrick Maisonnave. All the speakers emphasized Israel and France’s common dedication to freedom and democratic values, and the phrase “vive la liberté” rang out repeatedly. The gathering concluded with the singing of the French and Israeli national anthems, with many in the crowd singing along.
Despite Newfound Solidarity Following Paris Attacks, Future Not Bright for Jews in France, Says French-Israeli Political Analyst
On the one hand, he said, “Socially, French Jews can now expect more solidarity on the part of non-Jews in France. Until now, French army patrols in the cities indicated a Jewish presence in the area. This will no longer be the case. This weekend erased the singling-out of the Jewish community as a sole target. Friday night’s tragedy integrated all the French communities blindly hit by terror, as one.”Justifying Paris
To illustrate, he cited a commentator on national network BFMTV, who said on Friday night that the attacks constituted “a wake-up call for all French communities, not only the Jewish one.”
On the other hand, Vitenberg said, “As the French people realize that their safety isn’t guaranteed at home, a growing number will trust far-Right Marine Le Pen [who has been associated with antisemitic views] and her National Front Party to make order out of the chaos left by the moderate Left and Right — something which is not at all reassuring to most French Jews. And more of those who can afford to do so will seek to leave France for other countries, not only Israel.”
In other words, concluded Vitenberg, “the future of the Jews in France – like that of the non-Jews – is not so bright.”
The Foreign Minister of Sweden has offered an explanation to the terrorist attacks in Paris and in doing so she justifies and inadvertently plays into the hands of the killers.New Canadian PM ignores Islamic nature of Paris attacks
Six coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris. More dead in a single act of violence than France has seen since World War II.
ISIS has claimed responsibility. Survivors of the attacks have testified to hearing their murderous attackers shouting “Allah Akbar” as they slaughtered their victims. One of the suicide bombers in Friday’s attacks has been identified as Ismael Omar Mostefai. To once again ignore the obvious will have continued disastrous results. This has everything to do with radical Islam. It needs to be said. It needs to be understood. No longer can any of us, especially our friends in Europe, go beating around the bush not even daring to speak of ‘he-who-must-not-be-named’, let alone mentioning ‘Voldemort’.
Yet, with stunning blindness, there are people, leaders in fact, who manage to explain attacks such as the terror unleashed on Paris, with a mind-boggling approach. Take Swedens Minister of Foreign Affiars, Margot Wallström, appearing on Swedish television SVT2 no less than 12 hours after the Paris massacres.
To counteract the radicalization we must go back to the situation such as the one in the Middle East in which not at the least the Palestinians sees that there is no future; we must either accept a desperate situation or resort to violence.
– Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015
And there you have it. A Foreign Minister within the European Union who has managed to internalize the analysis of the situation as seen by the Islamists themselves and consequently turning it into a Swedish foreign policy approach.
Canada's new prime minister, Justin Trudeau of the Liberal party, condemned the bloody terror attacks in Paris on Saturday that murdered over 129 people and were claimed by Islamic State (ISIS) - but ignored their Islamist terror connection.PMW: PA-Fatah responses to Paris terror, attacks serve evil Netanyahu’s goals
Trudeau, who entered his post late last month, said in an initial official statement, "I'm shocked and saddened that so many people have been killed and injured today in several terror attacks in Paris, and that others were held hostage."
"Canada stands to the right of France in this dark period and is offering aid. We will continue to work closely with the international community to help prevent such horrible and illogical acts," said Trudeau.
In his statements, Trudeau completely refrained from referencing the the Islamist terrorists who conducted the attack, their motivations and ideology. He also did not mention how the attacks might affect the national security of Canada.
The Palestinian Authority and Fatah have condemned the terror attacks in Paris on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. The PA and Fatah, both of which are headed by Abbas, have also exploited the horrific attacks that killed 129 and wounded hundreds to draw an imaginary false parallel to Israel’s alleged “terror” against Palestinians and to repeat the allegation that Israel is like the Islamic State terror organization.Jordan’s king urges Muslims to lead fight against terror
The Fatah movement posted the above image with the headline “Terror is terror.” Fatah implied that Israel is the equivalent of Islamic State by showing the Palestinian flag next to the flags of Russia, Lebanon and France. The flags refer to recent ISIS terror attacks that took place in and against these countries: the explosion on a Russian plane in Egypt that killed everyone on board, in total 224 (Oct. 31, 2015), a double suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed at least 41 and wounded over 200 (Nov. 12, 2015), and the attacks in Paris, France, which killed 129 and wounded over 300 in several simultaneous shooting and suicide bombing attacks (Nov. 13, 2015).
Fatah’s post exploited these terror attacks to demonize Israel, falsely claiming that Israel is perpetrating the same acts of terror against Palestinians:
“Terror is terror and we condemn all terror. Be it destroying houses in Nablus and killing our children by Israel or hitting a Russian plane over Egypt. The Paris attacks are criminal acts done by coward terrorists.” [Official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement, Nov. 14, 2015]
An op-ed in the official PA daily announced that the Israeli secret intelligence service, the Mossad, is behind the attacks in Paris. The writer stated that it is not a coincidence that “blood is spilled in Paris” at the same time as Europe has decided to label Israeli products made in “settlements.” He stated that Israel is the one benefiting from these attacks and that they serve the “goals” of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who “hides in his soul enough evil to burn the world”:
Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Sunday urged Muslims to lead the fight against extremist groups who carry out terrorist attacks, which the monarch called the “greatest threat” to stability in the Middle East.EXCLUSIVE: As Paris Burned, UK Muslims Told To ‘Struggle’ For Islamic State In Unprecedented Islamist Show Of Force
Confronting extremism, Abdullah said, is “both a regional and international responsibility, but it is mainly our battle, us Muslims, against those who seek to hijack our societies and generations with intolerant takfiri ideology.”
“Takfiri” refers to the radical Islamic practice of declaring one’s enemies to be infidels worthy of death.
The speech did not specifically refer to the attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State jihadists that killed at least 129 people, which Abdullah previously condemned as a “cowardly terrorist act.”
BEDFORD, United Kingdom – As the distressing attacks in Paris were occurring last night, some of Britain’s most high profile and notorious Islamist extremists gathered just north of London, unimpeded, to tell hundreds of British Muslims to “struggle” for an “Islamic State.” Breitbart London was there.Islamist Win in Turkish Elections Says More About Europe
At the “Quiz a Muslim” event held last night in the Corn Exchange in Bedford, panelists called British values “junk”, demanded that Muslims should “define” British law, and ominously, appeared to suggest Muslims were at war with the British.
The event was organised and chaired by Bedford-born blogger Dilly Hussain; an avid Islamist and a supporter of a global Islamic caliphate.
Mr Hussain described the event as “sort of like an Islamic Question time” – except during Question Time, there are usually disagreements. This event saw an all-male panel of “community leaders” talking to a completely segregated room, with little to disagree on.
Turkish immigrants swarmed into Europe in the decades after World War II as guest workers, picking up manual labor jobs that Europeans were no longer willing to perform. They came mostly from rural areas. They were uneducated, and often — especially the women — illiterate. They were deeply religious. Few learned the languages of their host countries, though they were not expected to. They were guests, after all, and would be leaving soon. And so they were ghettoized, shielded from the Western lifestyles and values that surrounded them.Edgar Davidson: Yesterday's terrorist attacks in Israel and Paris highlight media and politicians' hypocrisy
They were, in essence, the same people who now provide the backbone of AKP support in their homeland.
In itself, that seems explanation enough, except that most of the 70 percent of Dutch Turks who voted AKP are second- and third-generation, born and raised in the West, presumably with the values of a Western, secular democracy. That information comes from a man named Volkan, a co-founder of the Dutch Turkish Foundation (who requested his full name not be used for security reasons).
What to make of their support of a party led by men who believe, for instance, that women should not laugh in public; that men and women are not equal; and who support the building of a “new, religious generation” by forcing children to attend conservative, Islamist schools and religion classes?
Such issues have nothing to do with the AKP’s popularity in the Netherlands, Volkan said, though he was also quick to excuse and explain away many of Erdogan’s more anti-democratic remarks. “He didn’t say women were unequal,” he argued, “he said that they were different” — an interpretation apparently not shared by Turkish opposition leaders, who were outraged.
Even without the enormous story of the terrorist attacks in Paris the main stream media was always going to ignore the horrific terrorist attack that took place several hours earlier in Israel. The Litman family were travelling near Hebron to a family celebration (their daughter was getting married in 4 days time) when Muslim terrorists attacked their car leaving Ya'akov and his 18-year-old son Natanel dead. What makes the story even worse - and highlights the sick mentality of the Palestinians - is that a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance at the scene refused to treat them or the others injured.MSNBC Frets 'Tsunami of Hatred' Will Meet French Muslims, Right Wing Will 'Take Advantage'
Today the Telegraph asserts: "The brutality of this attack shows that we are not dealing with an enemy that can be negotiated with, only confronted and beaten."
Except, of course, they are talking about the Paris attacks - they do not care at all about the killing of Jews in Israel, which is why you will never hear any such statement when terrorists attack Israel as they are doing now on a daily basis... even though these are the same terrorists (Sunni Muslims who originate from the Muslim Brotherhood). And while the Telegraph's message "Vive La France: The world is with you" is heartfelt, it is one they would never apply to Israel.
During Saturday morning's live MSNBC coverage of the Paris terror attacks, Christopher Dickey of the Daily Beast worried that "the right wing politicians" in France "are going to do their best to take advantage of it and probably successfully to further divide this country," leading host Tamron Hall to recall concerns that a "tsunami of hatred may await Muslims."Wall Street Journal Terror Timeline Erases Attacks in Israel
Dickey then dismissed national security concerns about allowing Muslim refugees from Syria and North Africa to enter Europe as he downplayed the possibility such factors contributed to the attacks, as he declared, "I don't think it is I'll be surprised if turns out to be the case. But it doesn't matter if it's true or not, people will act on that assumption."
At about 9:10 a.m., after recounting that the terrorists had chosen targets that would not be heavily protected by police or military personnel, he brought up the possibility of the "right wing" dividing the country:
The Wall Street Journal's "Timeline: Terror Attacks Linked to Islamists Since 9/11" lists Islamist terror across the Middle East and around the world, from Tunisia and Egypt, to Pakistan, Indonesia, Kenya, Paris, Mumbai, London, Russia, Brussels, Madrid, Indonesia, and New York.Bill Maher Just Said 6 WORDS About The Paris Muslim Terror Attacks and Liberals Are SCREECHING
It is not an exhaustive and comprehensive list, but it is a full, diverse list which very conspicuously omits a country which perhaps more than any other (certainly in relation to its population) has been targeted by Islamist terrorism since the 9/11 attacks. Israel has suffered hundreds of casualties in the last 16 years from Islamist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria. It also faces a growing threat from Islamic State's Egypt affiliate, Sinai province, among others.
But The Wall Street Journal does not deem even one instance of Islamist terror directed against Israelis since 9/11 worthy of inclusion in its timeline.
Bill Maher is making Islam-loving liberal heads spin with the 6 words he just said on his show: “It was probably not the Amish.”Real Time with Bill Maher: Asra Nomani Interview (HBO)
Maher spoke with his first guest, Muslim journalist and author Asra Q. Nomani, about ISIS and the reality of radical Islam. He said:
“I’m characterizing. How did we get to this place where just describing something is demonizing, and I’m not so sure it’s a very small percentage. Maybe it’s a small percentage who carry out terrorist acts, but it’s not a small percentage who believe in some of the illiberal ideas that support terrorists.”
Shin Bet arrests suspected terrorist who killed Ya'akov and Netanel Litman
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) has arrested a chief suspect in a fatal shooting attack that took the lives of a father and son in the West Bank on Friday.
Under questioning the suspect has given details that link him to the attack, the Shin Bet said in a statement on Sunday announcing the arrest. They said that they also found the rifle and the car which were used in the attack.
The suspect – whose name was not released for publication – was arrested as part of a joint operation involving Shin Bet agents, the Duvdevan undercover unit of the IDF, and troops from the Yehuda Brigade, the Shin Bet said.
The man was brought into custody for his alleged involvement in the murder of Rabbi Ya’akov Litman, 40, and his son Netanel, 18, who were gunned down outside Otniel south of Hebron on Friday afternoon while they were on their way to a pre-wedding Shabbat celebration for one of Litman’s daughters.
The gunman also lightly wounded five other family members, including Litman’s wife, three daughters aged 5, 9, and 11, and a 16-year-old son.
Silver Lining in a Tragic Terror Attack: ‘The Gun Jammed’
But while the rabbi’s shocked and terrified wife and three daughters watched helplessly as the murderers emptied the clips into their loved ones’ bodies, a miracle was still on the way.Terrorist medics finished the job
Fourteen bullets into the attack, a terrorist jerked open the car door in the back, clearly intending to finish off the rest of the family.
One of the girls shouted out at him instead.
And suddenly, oddly, the attacker discovered his gun was jammed, according to the Hebrew-language NRG news site.
Unable to shoot, he fled.
In less than 48 hours, he was caught.
Israel’s security establishment also arrested several accomplices.
Ultimately, terrorists can run, but they can’t hide from Israel.
The eve of the holy Sabbath, we were on the roads of Samaria, on our way to Shabbat dinner. The kids were in the car, flowers for the hosts were on our laps. And then came the news of the attack. A father and son. Children ages 6 and 16 who witnessed the terror, including the verification of their beloved brother's death and their father dying. Sarah, the bride, who was a few miles away, hears people talking. They embrace her. Their lips move but she doesn't understand what they're saying. And the flowers fell to the floor of the car.Israel declares war on Palestinian Red Crescent
The murderers of the father and son came intending to take lives; the terrorists of the Muslim Red Crescent [an affiliate of the Red Cross] refused to treat them and finished off the murder. They might have been able to save one of them. Netanel, who was murdered because he was a Jew, volunteered with Magen David Adom and provided first aid to anyone in need -- Jews and Arabs alike. But they refused to save his pure soul.
Following reports that a Red Crescent ambulance passed by the site of Friday's deadly terrorist attack and ignored the victims as they lay dying, the Israeli government will be launching an international campaign against the organization, which in principle does not treat Jews - despite being bound to treat all casualties regardless off their identity.Indictment: Raanana stabber dreamed of being a martyr
Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service, by contrast, regularly treats Palestinians.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered the foreign ministry to lodge a stern complaint with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, under whose auspices the Red Crescent operates, demanding an explanation as to why the Palestinian ambulance ignored Israeli victims, contrary to all humanitarian and ethical practices.
A foreign ministry source told Arutz Sheva that "Israel will enact all necessary sanctions against the Red Crescent."
The State Prosecutor's Office submitted a formal indictment to the Lod Central District Court Sunday morning against 22 year-old Tariq Dweik, the Arab terrorist who stabbed a Jewish man in Raanana last month.Nearly two dozen terror suspects netted in major op.
Dweik, a Jerusalem native, declared his desire to "become a martyr" on several occasions in the weeks leading up to the attack.
To do this, he began working at a construction site in the coastal city of Raanana, and then brought a knife with him on the way to work less than two days after starting the job.
On October 13, Dweik walked to the 98 bus stop in Ra'anana and began stabbing the first Jew he found, a male victim, shouting 'Allahu Akhbar' (Allah is great - ed.).
Magen David Adom (MDA) medical teams provided treatment to the 32-year-old victim before evacuating him to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba. He suffered stab wounds to his upper body.
The IDF, Border Police, and Judea-Samaria District Police arrested 22 Palestinian Arab suspects overnight Saturday/Sunday. Of those, 13 were arrested on suspicion of acts of violence against civilians and security forces.Four wounded in car attack north of Jerusalem
One suspect was arrested in Deir Amar, northeast of Ramallah; three were arrested in Surif, northwest of Bethlehem; one was arrested in Al-Fawar, south of Hevron; one was arrested in Beyt Kil, northwest of Hevron; four were arrested in Bani Naim, southeast of Hevron; and six were arrested in Hevron itself.
In addition, several Hamas terrorists were arrested - two in Awa, west of Hevron, and one in Al-Hadab, southwest of Hevron.
Four Israelis were wounded in a car terrorist attack Saturday night in the Binyamin region of Samaria just north of Jerusalem.Guardian erases ‘Palestinians’ from two Palestinian terror attacks in Hebron
In the incident, which occurred between Kokhav Ya'akov and Psagot, an Arab driver apparently rammed his car into a Jewish car, wounding four people inside and himself being critically wounded and later dying of his wounds.
After initial confusion as to whether the incident was an accident or a terrorist attack, Judea and Samaria district police later clarified that an investigation revealed it was indeed a terrorist attack.
Apparently the Arab terrorist was trying to drive into Psagot with a knife to conduct an attack, but when he was spotted by the security guard at the entrance to the town he panicked and rammed his car into a Jewish vehicle.
Again, two Jews were wounded by “sniper fire”, but we’re not told that Palestinians fired the shots.Report: Netanyahu faces possible arrest in Spain over Marmara affair
Yet, note how Beaumont does manage to explain that, in a separate incident on Thursday, a Palestinian in Hebron was killed by Israeli security personnel.
This isn’t the first time the Guardian has erased Palestinians from stories about terror attacks against Israeli Jews. In November 2014, the Guardian deleted references to the Palestinian identity of the attackers in a Reuters story about the deadly assault on worshipers at a Jerusalem synagogue, despite the fact that Israeli police had already identified the attackers as Palestinians.
Once again, the Guardian has demonstrated their bias when reporting on Israeli-Palestinian issues – specifically, a pattern of obfuscating even the most unambiguous examples of Palestinian culpability for terror and violence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seven other former and current government officials may be at risk of arrest if they step foot on Spanish soil over the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla affair after a judge drew up warrants at the end of last week.Hunter College ‘Strongly Condemns Antisemitic Comments’ Made at CUNY Student Rally
Other officials who might face arrest include former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman; current and former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon and Ehud Barak, respectively; former interior minister Eli Yishai; former minister of intelligence Dan Meridor; minster without portfolio Benny Begin;
Together with Netanyahu, the officials make up the so called 'Forum of Seven," an ad-hoc committee of ministers that made key decisions on security issues at the time.
Former head of the Navy Eliezer Marom, the top IDF commander running the operation at the time, could also face arrest.
In response to the judge's order, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon said Saturday night, "We consider it to be a provocation. We are working with the Spanish authorities to get it canceled. We hope it will be over soon."
Following Thursday afternoon’s demonstration at Hunter College, at which students from the City University of New York system chanted, “Zionists out of CUNY! Zionists out of CUNY,” and “Intifada, Intifada, long live the Intifada,” the Hunter administration released a statement condemning the “anti-Semitic comments” made at the rally.China Gives Palestinian Authority $4.7M, Plus New Ministry Building in Ramallah
The “Joint Statement of Hunter College President Jennifer Raab, Undergraduate Student Government President Chika Onyejiukwa and Hunter College Senate Chair Sandra Clarkson in response to hate speech used at Campus Rally” was posted on the college’s website on Friday. It reads:
We, the President of Hunter College, the President of Undergraduate Student Government and Chair of the Hunter College Senate, on behalf of our campus constituencies, strongly condemn anti-Semitic comments made at a rally last night seeking to exclude members of our campus community based solely on their identity. As the Chancellor said in remarks today, CUNY is “a place of inclusion, not exclusion.” While we are committed to the right of free speech and free expression for all within our campus community, there is no place for hate speech and other acts of bigotry, harassment, intimidation, exclusion and intolerance based on an individual’s beliefs and backgrounds. Such behavior is unacceptable on our campus. Hunter must be a community where all express their views and opinions, without personally attacking others based on who they are and what they believe.
China officially handed a sparkling new foreign ministry building to the Palestinian Authority on Friday in its capital city of Ramallah.Hamas terrorist dies in 'accidental explosion' in Gaza
Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang had visited Israel and Ramallah from Wednesday to Friday, meeting with both Israeli and Palestinian Authority leaders, according to China’s CRI news agency.
But Yang was present Friday in Ramallah to present the new building to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas and PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki. And he added a gift at the end of the ceremony.
“We are proud of the relationship that has existed between China and Palestine over the years, and we’re also happy that China is also contributing in the building of the Palestinian institutions towards the statehood,” al-Maliki said.
“This is really a reflection of exactly how China would like to contribute and to be present in the future of the Palestinian people.”
A Palestinian affiliated with Hamas died on Sunday after apparently blowing himself up by accident in "unclear circumstances," medical and security sources said.Egypt police kill 15 Sudanese migrants at Israel border
The body of 25-year-old Amir Hamad al-Zaharani was brought to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City early on Sunday after an explosion, a medical source said.
Three others wounded by shrapnel were being treated, he added.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas terror organization which controls Gaza, confirmed in a statement that Zaharani was a member.
The group said Zaharani, who came from Sheikh Radwan in northern Gaza, died "as a result of an error with a weapon."
Egyptian officials in the Sinai Peninsula say police killed 15 Sudanese migrants and wounded another eight who were trying to jump the border fence into Israel.New Children’s Book Captures Lifesaving Work of Israel’s Magen David Adom
The officials say police opened fire on the migrants Sunday after they ignored warning shots and sprinted toward the fence. The security forces arrested another eight Sudanese migrants who were not wounded.
“Fifteen bodies of Africans shot dead were found at dawn on Sunday south of (the town of) Rafah,” said Tariq Khatir, a representative of the health ministry in North Sinai.
“We also found eight Africans who were wounded but whose condition is stable.”
A new children’s book series released ahead of Hanukkah seeks to introduce young readers to the mitzvot of helping others and saving lives through the work of Israel’s national emergency service organization, Magen David Adom.MIT honors 3 Israelis among its top 35 under 35 scientists
Developed through a partnership between the American Friends of Magen David Adom and Apple & Honey Press, the multi-part illustrated book, Avi the Ambulance Goes to School, follows the adventures of an eager young ambulance who dreams of rescuing people. The stories help children learn more about Israel and the important work for the country’s first responders.
“Avi the Ambulance shows how Jewish values are observed, learned, and applied,” says writer-illustrator Claudia Carlson. “Children can discover concepts such as Piku’ach Nefesh, the importance of saving lives; Z’rizut, contributing to society enthusiastically and swiftly; and Hakarat Hatov, expressing appreciation to others for their help.”
The book is available through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and at many Judaica book fairs and stores. The book will be followed by Avi to the Rescue, which is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2016.
Three Israelis are among 35 honored this year by MIT with its annual list of young researchers who have had a huge impact on the world – and are expected to go on to do much more.Iconic Israeli flag from Exodus ship up for auction
The three – Dr. Gilad Evrony, Cigall Kadoch, and Rikky Muller – all satisfy the main criteria of the prestigious Boston-based university, as “people who are driving the next generation of technological breakthroughs.”
MIT’s 35 Innovators Under 35 list has since 1999 selected young innovators whose work, the university believes, has great potential to transform the world. The awards, which cover fields such as biotechnology, materials, computer hardware, energy, transportation, communications and the web, were presented last week at EmTech, the annual conference of the MIT Technology Review.
The flag of an iconic ship that sought to take Jewish Holocaust survivors to Israel is to be sold for at least $100,000 in Jerusalem, the auction house confirmed Sunday.
The SS Exodus was the most famous of hundreds of ships that sought to transport European Jews to the land that later became the nation of Israel immediately after World War II.
The Exodus sailed to British Mandate Palestine in 1947 with 4,500 Jewish survivors of Nazi camps on board who had no legal immigration certificates.
The British government invaded the ship shortly before it docked and the families were eventually deported back to British-controlled Germany, where they were held in camps.
Their voyage inspired the 1958 book Exodus by Leon Uris and two years later a movie based on the book and starring Paul Newman.
The Israeli flag that flew from the ship will be sold at a public auction in Jerusalem next month with a starting bid of $100,000 (92,859 euros). The private owner of the flag was not identified.
Asher Gold, a spokesman for the Kedem Auction House that specialises in Jewish memorabilia, said the flag held "major significance to the state of Israel."
"The Exodus affair was covered by the media all over the world and the photos of Holocaust survivors deported behind barbed wire fences caused a severe shock," Gold said.
