"Vegan-washing" and the fanaticism of the far-Left

+972 has an unintentionally hypocritical article about tensions within Israel's vegan community.

A fanatic animal-rights activist named Gary Yourofsky is planning to speak about his passion in Ariel, which is of course in the "territories." +972 finds this hard to believe, because it is such a left-wing topic; how could he even think about speaking in a city that is deemed illegal by the international community?

His answer shocked the +972-niks:

“Since the ‘international community’ is comprised of violent, bloodthirsty thugs who terrorize billions of innocent animals every second of every minute of every hour of every day, the ‘international community’ can go to HELL,” he wrote back.

Responding to the core question of the Palestinian struggle and the call to boycott Israeli academia and the settlements, Yourofsky said he sees no point in caring about any human beings so long as animals that are being regularly slaughtered. “When people start eating sliced up Jew flesh, or seared Palestinian children in between two slices of bread with onions, pickles and mustard, then I’ll be concerned about the Middle East situation.”

The +972 author, Haggai Matar, tries to wrap his head around such thinking, and finally gets an answer. Another animal rights activist explains that Yourofsky is a "single issue activist" who is focused on animal rights above all. He is, simply, a fanatic. Some people can be so obsessed with a single topic that they can be understood, even if their resulting actions are unforgivable.

Matar then quotes far left anti-Zionist Aeyal Gross, in Haaretz (Hebrew), where he notes that recently Bibi Netanyahu made statements supporting animal rights during a cabinet meeting. It wasn't a policy statement, it wasn't a public speech, it was just a conversation during a meeting.

Gross is incensed at how such a disgusting person as Netanyahu could possibly advocate a liberal position on anything. It is like Gross, a "part vegetarian part vegan," is sickened that he could have anything in common with the prime minister of Israel.

So Aeyal Gross, who had previously railed against Israel's officially gay-friendly public stance, called this "vegan-washing" as a successor to the ridiculous term "pinkwashing."

What Haggai Matar is completely blind to is that while he is condescending towards single-issue activists for animal rights, he doesn't realize that his article, +972 magazine and his entire far-Left community is focused on a single issue as well: the  evil of Israel, especially the"occupation."

To these fanatics - and they are no less fanatic than Gary Yourofsky - there is only one issue, Israel's supposedly horrible treatment of non-Jews. When they hear about Yourofsky speaking in Ariel, the first question they ask is "what about the occupation?" When they hear that a politician they don't like advocates a liberal position, they ask "what about the occupation?" When they see Israel sending aid to Haiti or the Phillipines, they ask "what about the occupation?"

To these far Left fanatics, the "occupation" and the fact of Israel's unique evil trumps all else. They see everything Israel does, whether it is a music festival or archaeology or scientific achievements or medical breakthroughs, as simply either proof of oppressing Palestinian Arabs or a scheme to distract the world from Israel's oppression of Palestinian Arabs. The only thing good about Israel, to these haters, is that there are so many people there that loathe Israel.

Like Yourofsky, they simply cannot hold two ideas in their heads at once. Because, to fanatics, the world can only be divided into those who see the world exactly their way and those who don't. There is no grey, no middle ground, nothing even orthogonal to their pet topic. Nothing else exists.

That's pretty much the definition of "fanatic."

(See also here and here for previous examples of this obsession among the anti-Zionist Israelis.)

(h/t Ruchie)

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To the West, not all occupied territories are equal (UPDATE)

An interesting thing happened last week:

In today's meeting of EU Ambassadors, a majority of EU Member States indicated to favour the newly proposed EU-Morocco fisheries protocol, which opens for EU fishing in the waters of occupied Western Sahara.

Though many Member States voiced their concerns on the protocol, a majority could be reached in today’s COREPER meeting. The decision to sign the EU’s most criticised fisheries protocol will be formalised at a Council meeting in the coming weeks.

Throwing its massive voting weight in the scale, Germany ended up supporting the controversial protocol that the Spanish government has lobbied so hard for. As far as WSRW understands, the German government will issue a statement that their endorsement should not be viewed as uncritical support.

Five Member States could not agree to the proposed protocol. Sweden and Denmark voted against, while the UK, the Netherlands and Finland abstained. These countries’ stances were underpinned by concerns relating to sustainable management of the available fish stocks and EU fishing in non-Moroccan waters through a deal with Morocco.

The provisional protocol still has to pass through the European Parliament, which is not expected to express its opinion before December.

Here is a more detailed description of how the previous version of the protocol worked, and this one does not change these key points:

According to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement, to which the Protocol sets the terms and conditions, fishing can take place in “the waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Morocco”. This is the core of the problem.

While no state in the world recognises Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara, Morocco itself views the territory as its own. Since the Agreement fails to stipulate the southern coordinates of the fishing zones, it is left to Morocco to interpret where the European vessels can fish.

The EU is saying that they can directly exploit natural resources in illegally occupied territories.

Its not only Europe, though. Last month Canada decided it can take natural resources away from the occupied people of Western Sahara, by dealing with a Moroccan company that does business over the border:

On 24 October, the bulk carrier Ultra Bellambi is scheduled to arrive at Vancouver. On board of the freighter are 60.000 tonnes of phosphate rock from the Bou Craa mines in Western Sahara. The cargo is worth almost $10 million. That money however, will not end up with the Saharawi people of Western Sahara - the original and sole people of the territory - but with the Moroccan regime that has occupied large parts of their country since 1975.

The phosphate rock was purchased by Calgary based Agrium Inc, under the terms of an agreement it concluded earlier this year with Moroccan state owned company Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCP). Agrium confirmed to Canadian newspaper The Tyee that it would import one million tonnes each year until 2020, and that part of the imports will be sourced in Western Sahara.

A UN Legal Opinion on exploitation of Western Sahara's natural resources is quite clear that such activity is illegal if not done in accordance with the wishes and the interests of the people of the territory - the Saharawi. The latter have unequivocally stated that they do not consent to Agrium's imports, through a letter by their political representation Frente Polisario to the company.

The EU made a big deal over saying that it had no choice but to adhere to guidelines restricting activity with Israeli companies that do business over the Green Line; international law demands it.

But it appears that it has no problem with such pesky legalities in the Western Sahara.

UPDATE: Eugene Kontorovich has more detail in a memo he wrote and sent me via email:

Differences With Israeli Agreements

1) Territorial Scope. The fisheries agreement applies not just to the “territory” of Morocco, but to all areas under its “jurisdiction,” which is understood to include Western Sahara. In agreements with Israel, however, the EU has only applied it to the “territory” of Israel, which is understood to exclude the West Bank, as well as Jerusalem. The new Funding Guidelines go further and exclude entities with operations in the territories. The guidelines claim that their approach is required by “international law” to avoid recognizing Israel sovereignty over the territories. The Moroccan case proves this concern false and pretextual.

2) Funding. The EU says that its “tax dollars” cannot be spent in occupied territory. Yet it pays Morocco specifically to exploit the scarce resources of occupied territory, against the wishes of its political representatives. This is much more severe than awarding science grants or prizes for, say, archeological research in the Golan. 

EU Parliament’s Formal Legal Opinion: Essential Resource for Israel.

The agreement was adopted despite massive opposition from the political representatives of the Western Saharan people, as well as some European nations. As a result of the controversy, the European Parliament obtained an opinion from its legal advisor.[1] The official opinion, in brief, says international law does not prevent Morocco from exploiting the natural resources of the occupied territory, let alone merely doing business there.  Despite the complete opposition of the Sawahari leadership, the incidental economic benefits of “development” (which the Sawahari deny exists) can be considered sufficient to satisfy Morocco’s obligation to them. Moreover, the opinion says it is legal for the EU to pay Morocco to exploit the resources of occupied territory.[2]

The Legal Opinion is consistent with all prior international law, including a 2002 opinion by the Security Council’s legal advisor, and a ruling of the French Court of Appeals. Indeed, the EU Parliament’s legal advisor may be a bit softer on the extent and nature of the benefit to the local population.

CONCLUSIONS

The positions adopted by the EU in its negotiations with Israel over grants and product labeling are inconsistent with those it has taken at the same time in its dealings with Morocco. While the EU does not recognize Israel’s control over the territories, and opposes it, the same is true of its policy towards Morocco in Western Sahara. Yet this policy does not require, nor does international law, the punitive measures adopted toward Israel. In particular, the EU has used entirely fabricated international law claims in its dealing with Israel, claims contradicted by its own legal advisors.

Perversely, the EU’s treatment of Morocco encourages Israel to conduct more economic activity in the territories. The EU was been under strong pressure to sign the deal with Morocco because of Spanish and French interests in the fish in the occupied territory. They simply did not want to lose an economic opportunity. Thus Israel’s problem may be not enough business in the territories, rather than too much. If significant Israeli defense, high-tech or biotech enterprises on which at least some European industries rely were relocated in eastern Jerusalem, the Golan or the West Bank, the Moroccan precedent suggests this would have the surprising effect of reducing diplomatic pressures on Israel.

---

[1] See Legal Opinion of Ricardo Passos, Director, Legal Service of the European Parliament, SJ-0665/13 (Nov. 4, 2013).

[2] The Opinion said international law would be satisfied if Morocco allocated “a certain amount of the financial contribution” fro Europe to the “population” of Western Sahara. Id. at Par. 31. By contrast, the EU settlement guidelines make a narrow exception for activities that “aim” at “benefiting protected persons,” an international law phrase intended to refer to Palestinians. Under the EU legal opinion, benefit to Moroccans in Western Sahara would suffice, and such benefit need not be the “aim,” but could be purely incidental.

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Poster: One man's terrorist...

One of the prisoners being released this week, along with one who was released in August 2013, murdered 67-year old Isaac Rotenberg with an axe.

Rotenberg wasn’t the oldest victim of the prisoners who made it onto the list Sunday. Fatah member Ra’ai Ibrahim Salam Ali was jailed in 1994 for the murder of 79-year-old Moris Eisenstatt. Eisenstatt was killed with ax blows to the head while he sat on a public Kfar Saba bench reading a book.

Another prisoner, Salah Ibrahim Ahmad Mugdad, also of Fatah, was imprisoned in 1993 for killing 72-year-old Sirens Hotel security guard Israel Tenenbaum by beating him in the head with a steel rod.

By the way, this very photo of Abbas partying with released murderers is featured on Mahmoud Abbas' Facebook page.

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PalArabs riot, police shoot tear gas, many arrested. In Jordan.

This story completely flew under the radar, and it wasn't covered at all by Jordan's state media.

From Ammon News, October 9:

Last Thursday, October 3rd, at approximately 7:00 p.m., a conflict occurred in Gaza Camp, eight kilometers outside of Jerash, between several residents of the camp and the adjacent Al Hadada neighborhood to the west.

The tribal altercation between the two parties escalated into a full lockdown of the area by Jordanian police in order to control the combatants. Eyewitnesses reported that Jordanian residents of Al Hadada vacated the area, the violence shifted between Jordanian police forces and Palestinian residents of Gaza Camp.

Camp residents threw rocks at the police and demanded that they cease their occupation of the main street, to which the police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. A number of stores and cars were looted and burned as a result of the initial clash. Fighting continued between police and residents, with the Jordanian Police forces employing tear gas and rubber bullets both on the main street and within residential areas until 4:00 a.m.

The police presence intensified on Friday morning with the addition of armed trucks and armed personal carriers. Local businesses were not permitted to open, and checkpoints were set up at the camp entrances, where officers did not allow those without ID cards to enter the camp.

Skirmishes between anti-riots police and residents of Gaza Camp resumed again at 12:15 p.m., nearly twelve hours after the original conflict between residents of Al Hadada and Gaza Camp had ended. An eyewitness said that the afternoon prayer at Abu Bakir mosque was interrupted by tear gas, and worshippers were driven the main street. At several times, police entered the residential streets with tear gas launchers, riot shields, and rubber bullets, engaging those who refused to go indoors.

By 10:30 p.m. Friday evening, the fighting mostly ceased. Eyewitnesses reported that the police limited their presence to the easternmost section of the camp, but continued to arrest those found out on the streets.

Police cordoned Gaza Camp by this past weekend lasted approximately forty hours. No casualties were confirmed, but many residents were injured by the officers' fire. The tear gas also caused a significant amount of discomfort as it spread inside residential homes throughout the day and a half long conflict. Spent canisters of tear gas found in the camp indicate that they were deployed after their expiration date.

Fire and damage was also inflicted upon the infrastructure and properties within the camp.
“Police cars have returned to the camp every day this week,” a source within the camp stated today. “They are still arresting more people.”

While only 14 arrests have been confirmed, residents have claimed at least 20 have been detained, with some estimates as high as 100. The current charges include assault of police officers and the destruction of property.

Here's video:



Apparently, no "pro-Palestinian human rights" groups bothered to go to the camp to act as human shields against the Jordanian occupiers.

Residents of the Gaza/Jerash camp are not citizens of Jordan. Although they have lived within Jordan's borders for over 45 years, they cannot become citizens, they cannot freely travel, and they are not tried in civilian but in military court, from which nine of them were released today after being held for over two weeks in custody.

There are two separate double standards here, both on how Jordan treats its Palestinian Arabs who originated from Gaza as well as how Jordanian police are not criticized by groups that pretend to be pro-Palestinian for their riot control methods.

But, as Meryl Yourish likes to say, it is Israel Double Standard Time, which occurs every day of the week that ends in a "y."

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Fatah poster shows diplomacy is a tactic, just like terror. When will the West wake up?

Palestinian Media Watch has been monitoring Fatah's official Facebook page, and it seems that every day Mahmoud Abbas' party shows its support for terrorism.

This graphic they posted is pretty clear:

Under the headline "Fatah - All means of struggle until statehood" the administrator of the Fatah Facebook page posted three pictures showing different "means of struggle." One picture represents diplomacy as a "means of struggle," exemplified by a picture of PA Chairman Abbas speaking at the UN. The other two pictures represent the use of different kinds of violence as a "means of struggle." One shows a man wearing an Arab headscarf throwing a stone, while the other shows a man holding a rifle.

(no link, I received this via email and it does not seem to be posted yet.)

There is no abhorrence for violence - it is a necessary tool. The Western world can be duped by seeing the Fatah-dominated PLO talk to them only about peace and diplomacy while in Arabic there has been no change of heart regarding terror.

It isn't like we didn't know that they regard diplomacy is a tactic, not a strategy. Fatah has said it many times, and it is part of its official platform - a document that has been utterly ignored by the Western world.  (I'm not aware of anyone who translated it into English besides my excepts.)

In that same platform, Fatah calls for relationships with Israel's "peace camp" but emphasizes that this is in no way "normalization" with the enemy. It's just another tactic - weaken Israel with words that fools gullible US, UN and EU officials all the while celebrating terror.

Hell, even Arafat swore that he gave up terror in 1993, and then he directed the suicide bombing spree of the 2000s.

These are basic facts that can be checked by anyone.  It is the willful blindness of diplomats, pundits and the media, combined with the willful lies spouted by the Israel-haters, that tells the world a story that is much different from the truth.

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Muslims, Israeli police upset over Israeli flag on Temple Mount

From Ma'an:

A group of Israeli right-wingers raised the Israeli flag while touring the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Monday, locals said.

Witnesses said that a group of 14 Israeli rightists pulled out an Israeli flag while touring the religious site and began dancing and singing.

The men were removed from the area by Israeli police and arrested.

Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, the director of Islamic endowment, said that he asked Israeli police to close the compound to visitors following the incident, and not to allow Israeli extremists to enter the area.

This story is true. Here's the video of Jews briefly praying and one of them unfurling a flag Monday:



Scandalous! How can such a holy place be used for political purposes?

How dare anyone wave flags on this sacred spot?

And, especially, how can anyone even consider displaying the hated Star of David in the Muslim's third holiest place?

(All photos from a pro-Morsi rally organized by Hamas on August 16 on the Temple Mount.)

(h/t Jewish Press)

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UN awards Iran key post - on disarmament committee

In July:

Iran is campaigning for a key position on a U.N. General Assembly committee that deals with disarmament and international security amid strong criticism from Israel and others who accuse Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran is competing against Kuwait to be the rapporteur of the U.N. General Assembly's First Committee for its 68th session, which begins in October, U.N. diplomats said. The rapporteur reports on the proceedings of the 193-member committee.

A spokesman for Iran's U.N. mission confirmed the country's bid on Tuesday. Asked why Tehran was interested in the position, he said: "It's a normal routine by a member state."

The First Committee considers all disarmament and international security matters, cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments.

The UN approved it - an hour after Netanyahu's speech. From IRNA:

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been elected as rapporteur of the UN First Committee on Disarmament and International Security for the 68th annual meeting.

The election of a member of the Iranian delegation to the sensitive position in the UN took place despite months-long efforts by representative of the Zionist regime to prevent Iran’s election.

The Zionist regime representative issued a protest letter urging members not to let Iran be elected as a member of the commission’s presiding board.

The election took place in the site of the General Assembly just one hour after the Zionist regime prime minister vigorously criticized the attitude of the Iranian government during his remarks.

It is one thing to know that the UN is a joke, but to see it confirmed day after day after day is still remarkable.

(h/t Arsen/Arnold)

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NYT upset at Bibi - but they won't say the real reason why

The New York Times is not happy with Bibi:

Mr. Netanyahu has legitimate reasons to be wary of any Iranian overtures, as do the United States and the four other major powers involved in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. But it could be disastrous if Mr. Netanyahu and his supporters in Congress were so blinded by distrust of Iran that they exaggerate the threat, block President Obama from taking advantage of new diplomatic openings and sabotage the best chance to establish a new relationship since the 1979 Iranian revolution sent American-Iranian relations into the deep freeze.

Even though the Times admits that pretty much every fact Netanyahu brought up is accurate!

Mr. Rouhani and the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, have insisted repeatedly that Iran wants only to develop nuclear energy and that obtaining a nuclear weapon would harm the country’s security.

Even so, Iran hid its nuclear program from United Nations inspectors for nearly 20 years, and the country is enriching uranium to a level that would make it possible to produce bomb-grade nuclear material more quickly. It has also pursued other activities, like developing high-voltage detonators and building missiles that experts believe could only have nuclear weapons-related uses.

These facts make it hard not to view the upcoming American-brokered negotiations skeptically. But Mr. Netanyahu has hinted so often of taking military action to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon that he seems eager for a fight.

Actually, the main thrust of Bibi's speech was to not to start a war, but a warning against loosening sanctions in exchange for smiles and empty promises:

I have argued for many years, including on this podium, that the only way to peacefully prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to combine tough sanctions with a credible military threat. And that policy is today bearing fruit. Thanks to the effort of many countries, many represented here, and under the leadership of the United States, tough sanctions have taken a big bite out of Iran's economy. Oil revenues have fallen. The currency has plummeted. Banks are hard pressed to transfer money.

So as a result, the regime is under intense pressure from the Iranian people to get the sanctions removed. That's why Rouhani got elected in the first place. That's why he launched his charm offensive.

He definitely wants to get the sanctions lifted, I guarantee you that, but he doesn't want to give up Iran's nuclear weapons program in return.

Now, here's the strategy to achieve this:

First, smile a lot. Smiling never hurts. Second, pay lip service to peace, democracy and tolerance. Third, offer meaningless concessions in exchange for lifting sanctions. And fourth, and the most important, ensure that Iran retains sufficient nuclear material and sufficient nuclear infrastructure to race to the bomb at a time that it chooses to do so. You know why Rouhani thinks he can get away with this?...Because he's gotten away with it before. 

The NYT cannot find any holes in Netanyahu's logic. It cannot find any concrete concession that Rouhani is
offering. Yet, against all known facts, it still insists that Rouhani is the moderate who must be given concessions to, and Bibi is the warmonger.

There is nothing wrong with speaking to and negotiating with Iran, but there is a great deal wrong with loosening sanctions in response to a smile.

So if the Times cannot find anything actually wrong with Bibi's words, why are they so upset at him? The reason seems to be because he called them out for doing the exact same thing with North Korea:

Like Iran, North Korea also said its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes. Like Iran, North Korea also offered meaningless concessions and empty promises in return for sanctions relief. In 2005, North Korea agreed to a deal that was celebrated the world over by many well-meaning people. Here is what the New York Times editorial had to say about it: "For years now, foreign policy insiders have pointed to North Korea as the ultimate nightmare... a closed, hostile and paranoid dictatorship with an aggressive nuclear weapons program.

Very few could envision a successful outcome.

And yet North Korea agreed in principle this week to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, return to the NPT, abide by the treaty's safeguards and admit international inspectors….Diplomacy, it seems, does work after all."

A year later, North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapons device.

That's the real reason the "Paper of Record" is so miffed - because Bibi mentioned its record of believing dictators on the threshold of nuclear weapons capability.

The truth hurts, so the NYT - instead of admitting its very real role in pressuring Washington to believe North Korea's empty promises - is lashing out at the person who pointed it out.

This is behavior one would expect from a teenager who was caught in a lie, not from a newspaper whose entire reputation is dependent on accuracy.

The NYT's choosing to ignore that part of Bibi's speech explains a great deal about its nonsensical editorial that is at odds with facts.

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Arabs again promise UNRWA funds that they'll never pay

From UNRWA, a September 26 press release:

We, members of the League of Arab States and other supporters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), met today in New York under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to reassert our support for UNRWA’s mandate in providing assistance and protection to Palestine refugees and to identify practical ways to strengthen that support.

We welcomed Members of the League of Arab States’ engagement to achieve and sustain the 7.8% target for Arab government contributions to UNRWA’s core budget as set out in numerous resolutions of the Council of the League of Arab States since 1987.

The Arab League has been promising to fund 7.8% of UNRWA's core budget since 1987?

Forget that this amount ($50.7 million) would be less than Sweden gives UNRWA by itself. Forget what a joke it is for oil-rich Arab states, who continuously claim that the plight of Palestinian Arabs is their most important issue, bragging about pledging a mere 7.8% of the core budget (and no promises for the emergency funds UNRWA regularly demands, such as currently in Syria.)

In fact, a glance at the 2013 budget shows that the members of the Arab League pledged not 7.8% of UNRWA's core budget this year - but 3.3%! (This document only shows government contributions, not individual NGOs and foundations.)

So even the inadequate 7.8% promise is an empty lie. And traditionally the Arab states have paid far less than what they pledged!

Everyone in the Arab world knows that none of them care about their Palestinian brethren, as this cartoon showed. . But this is hushed up when they talk to the West about how important the issue is to them.

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The EU is funding illegal settlers! (Illegal Turkish settlers, that is.)

From Wikipedia:

The demographic character of Northern Cyprus changed after the Turkish invasion in 1974 and especially during the last 10–15 years. The TRNC census carried out in April 2006 showed that out of a total population of 256,644 in Northern Cyprus, 132,635, or 52%, were Turkish Cypriots in the sense that they were born in Cyprus of at least one Cyprus-born parent (for 120,007 of these both parents were Cyprus-born). In addition, 43,062 TRNC citizens (17%) had at least one non-Cypriot Turkish-born parent, 2,334 TRNC citizens (1%) had parents born in other countries, 70,525 residents (27%) had Turkish citizenship, and 8,088 (3%) were citizens of other countries (mainly UK, Bulgaria, and Iran). Based on these census data, it can be argued that 113,687 TRNC residents, or 44% of the population, are not Turkish Cypriots properly speaking, but are in fact "Turkish immigrants" or "Turkish settlers" from Anatolia. Alternative sources suggest that there are 146,122 Turkish settlers from Anatolia in TRNC (2007 figures) and that the Turkish Cypriots in Northern Cyprus are today outnumbered by the Turkish settlers, contrary to the picture presented by the 2006 TRNC census.

Almost one-third of the Turkish settlers in Northern Cyprus have been granted TRNC citizenship by the authorities of Northern Cyprus and have thus been naturalized. Settlement in Northern Cyprus, especially if accompanied by naturalization, is a violation to the Geneva Conventions Protocol of 1977, since the Turkish occupation has been declared illegal by the UN. The Republic of Cyprus government regards these Turkish immigrants as "illegal settlers" and does not include them in the population estimates for the entire island published by the Republic of Cyprus Statistical Service.[5]

So given that roughly half of the residents of northern Cyprus are illegal settlers, and the land is under illegal occupation by Turkey, certainly the EU would never consider investing in the illegal occupation, right?

Not really. Here is a glossy brochure from the EU that brags about all of the projects it is proudly sponsoring there:

Nowhere in this brochure, nor in the 2006 EU resolution to help the Turkish Cypriots, is any distincton made between the natives and the illegal settlers - all of them benefit equally from the EU programs to help the environment, co-existence, farming, education, infrastructure and so forth.

By any measure, the EU is funding the Turkish settlement enterprise.

Eugene Kontorovich describes the hypocrisy in a JPost op-ed (in yesterday's linkdump)

Under guidelines prepared earlier this summer, euros would not be allowed to go to Israeli entities located cross the Green Line – or to those that have any operations there. All Israeli entities applying for funding would have to submit a declaration that they do not have such operations.

Europe claims that such a move – unparalleled in its dealings with any other country – is mandated by international law. The EU does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territories, and thus has an obligation to keep its money from going there. Those who celebrated the move said that Israel is finally paying the international price for its occupation.

Yet it turns out that despite the guidelines, the EU still knowingly and purposefully provides substantial direct financial assistance to settlements in occupied territory – in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, that is. So the EU funds the occupation of an EU member state. Turkey’s invasion and occupation of Cyprus in 1974 was condemned the UN Security Council, and the EU’s official policy is that the Turkish occupation is illegitimate, and Turkey must completely withdraw. The EU does not recognize the Turkish government in Northern Cyprus.

Nonetheless, the EU maintains an entire separate program to direct funds to Northern Cyprus.
...
Projects include study abroad scholarships for students at the numerous Northern Cyprus universities (imagine such funding for students at Ariel University!); developing and diversifying the private sector through grants to small and medium- sized businesses; various kinds of infrastructure improvements (telecom upgrades, traffic safety, waste disposal); community development grants, funding to upgrade “cultural heritage” sites, and so forth. They even put on a concert.

The program basically gives grants to the Turkish business and private entities, and builds the infrastructure of the occupying government. The EU is doing exactly what its claims, in the settlement guidelines, international law prohibits.

The relevant EU resolutions and reports make no mention of any international legal question about such funding.

There are real differences between the EU’s funding policies toward Turkey’s occupied territories and Israel’s territories: the former is a much starker contradiction of the principles the Europeans proclaim to uphold. The settlement guidelines aim to regulate groups based in Israel proper, and goes out of its way to make sure no money might be incidentally spent in the West Bank (or Golan or, oddly, Gaza). Yet the Northern Cyprus project is not simply an outgrowth of standing arrangements with Turkey or Cyprus, but rather a particular funding program that by definition funds 100% occupation activities.

Indeed, the EU maintains an office in Northern Cyprus to oversee its over “1000 grant contracts...to NGOs, SMEs, farmers, rural communities, schools and students,” according to an EU report.

This office liaises directly with the Turkish occupation regime in the territory.

Hmmmm. One standard for Israel, another for everyone else. Sounds very familiar.

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Miftah is against peaceful co-existence. Do its funders know that?

Among the organizations that are funded by the Anna Lindh Foundation are The Abraham Fund, "to promote coexistence and equality among Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens." It also funds PeacePlayers International, which "uses the game of basketball to facilitate positive relations and peaceful coexistence between Israeli and Palestinian communities – in short, to bridge divides, change perceptions, and develop leaders who will advocate for a shared future."

The Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation is associated with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and is meant "to deepen the knowledge and understanding of Jewish-Arab relations in Israel through conferences, public lectures and workshops, as well as research studies, publications and documentation."

A UNESCO paper on "The influence of education on conflict and peace building" quotes an Israeli study: ‘A series of quasi-experimental studies carried out with Israeli-Jewish and Palestinian youngsters revealed that despite the ongoing violence, participation in various programs yield positive attitudinal, perceptual and relational changes manifested in, for example, more positive views of "peace,” better ability to see the other side's perspective, and greater willingness for contact.'

The Government of Norway strongly supports co-existence programs, as this 2006 speech by their Foreign Minister emphasizes:

So, what opportunities do we have for peaceful coexistence?

I believe the key tool in our globalised world is dialogue. Dialogue based on a firm understanding of values, human rights and mutual obligations.

Some say that dialogue and compromise are signs of weakness.

I strongly disagree. I believe that dialogue and compromise are essential if we are to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Opening a dialogue does not mean giving up conflicting principles or values. It is a way of managing fundamental differences. Dialogue can be seen as a value – as a success – in its own right. And dialogue and engagement are ancient tools of diplomacy – ancient and at the same time modern. Those who believe solely in military intervention are just ancient – and not modern at all.

What do all of these organizations have in common, besides a clear commitment to the benefits of coexistence?

They all fund an organization that is explicitly against coexistence!

Miftah, which we have already exposed for pushing the anti-semitic blood libel and for explicitly supporting terrorism, now has stated that it is against any program that supports Jewish-Arab dialogue for peace.

This week, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy held a special meeting of the Palestinian Youth Network entitled “Normalization” as part of its “Empowerment of Palestinian Youth Leadership” program in partnership with NDC.

MIFTAH hosted university professor Dr. Abdel Rahim Al Sheikh, who first offered a definition of normalization, its various forms and the position the society towards it in order to develop methods and mechanisms for dealing with this issue. He said that normalization includes the following: participation in any project, initiative or local or international activity designed specifically to bring together (whether directly or indirectly) Palestinians (and/or Arabs) and Israelis (whether individuals or institutions) and which do not clearly aim at resisting the occupation and exposing all of its forms of discrimination and oppression against the Palestinian people, in addition to establishing projects or activities aimed at “achieving peace” without agreeing on inalienable Palestinian rights according to international law and the conditions for justice.

...Dr. Al Sheikh pointed to the danger of meetings organized between Palestinian and Israeli youth within the framework of getting to know one another and spreading a culture of peace and dialogue in an ordinary fashion that considers both sides as equals in the conflict.

The participants expressed their viewpoints on the subject, stressing on the need to denounce all normalization activities and projects, which did do not serve the Palestinian cause or its people.

Miftah is saying that it is adamantly against dialogue with any Zionist, with any Israeli, or with any Jew who does not a priori denounce Zionism and say that he or she supports "resistance."

That isn't a dialogue - that is a monologue.

It is crystal clear that Miftah is diametrically opposed to the examples of coexistence that are supported by the Anna Lindh Foundation, UNESCO, KAS, the Government of Norway and other Miftah funders.

Which makes one ask - why do these organizations send money to an NGO that is on the record as being against co-existence and dialogue? Don't they care that their money is going to an organization that opposes some of their key programs?

Perhaps it is time to ask them.

The Anna Lindh Foundation info@euromedalex.org Facebook  TWITTER - @AnnaLindh
Konrad Adenauer Foundation - Palestinian Territories Info.Ramallah@kas.de TWITTER - @KASOnline
UNESCO - English media editor  r.amelan@unesco.org TWITTER - @UNESCO
Representative Office of Norway repram@mfa.no TWITTER @NorwayMFA

Plus the other funders of Miftah who no doubt would be surprised that they are giving money to an organization that is against the most basic requirement for peace:

Oxfam UK enquiries@oxfam.org.uk Facebook TWITTER - @OXFAM
Secretariat for Consulate of Italy in Jerusalem segreteria.gerusalemme@esteri.it  @FarnesinaPress
Heinrich Böll Foundation info@boell.de Facebook Arab Middle East FB TWITTER - @boell_stiftung
Austrian Development Agency oeza.info@ada.gv.at
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ireland contact page  List of Twitter contacts TWITTER - @dfatirl
International Republican Institute webpage contact TWITTER - IRIGlobal

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Are BDSers hypocrites, antisemites, or both?

Another Israeli innovation:

The next revolution in personal computing could very well come from the northern Israeli town of Yokne’am, where SolidRun...has developed a $45 PC that can do almost anything a “big boy” computer can do – with all design and manufacturing done in Israel.

“Our goal is to supply anyone anywhere who needs one with a low-cost, high-capability computer that has a low carbon footprint and can do just about anything the average person would need,” said [the] CEO of SolidRun. “That’s been our dream for a long time, and with our new CuBox-I computer, that dream is becoming a reality.”

The Cubox-I can be used for all sorts of things a regular PC can be used for – dedicated or general purpose – and save loads of energy, because it can replace computers that require a lot more power.

So the Israel-haters will want to ensure that this product is boycotted, right?

One slight problem, though.

The company is run by, and the computers manufactured by, Israeli Arabs.

Uh-oh. Does the CuBox-I computer go on the boycott list or not?

If it does, then the boycotters are hurting "Palestinians," and they are proven to be hypocrites.

If not, then the boycotters are admitting that their entire movement is really only aimed at Jews, not Israelis, and they are proven to be antisemitic.

I've already shown that Israeli-Arab owned businesses that are in "the territories" don't seem to be listed as problematic by the BDSers, Since they are only boycotting Jewish-owned businesses, this proves that they are antisemitic.

On the other hand, BDSers happily use Israeli technology and innovations every time they turn on their computers and cell phones, which proves that they are hypocritical.

On the third hand, BDSers are also against Palestinian Arab farmers making a living if their products are exported by Jews, which is both antisemitic and hypocritical.

That's the answer!

The oh-so-moral BDS supporters are provably both hypocrites and antisemites.

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Antisemitic TV series to be rerun in Egypt for 40th anniversary of Yom Kippur War

"Knight Without a Horse," a notorious 2002 Arab Ramadan miniseries that used the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" as the driver for the plot, is going to be shown again on Egyptian TV this month.

Why would an antisemitic TV series be shown again? Because that is part of the celebrations of the Yom Kippur War, which Egypt considers a great victory.

But what does antisemitism have to do with the 1973 war? Well, officially, nothing. Officially, Arabs claim that they aren't antisemitic, that they are only anti-Israel. Officially, they have no reason to write, produce and air TV series that blame Jews for all strife and wars worldwide.

Yet there it is, being aired during the celebration of a war against Israel. Très intéressant.

The ADL has a synopsis of the series, which was 41 episodes long. At the time it was originally aired, Arabs felt that at least the first episode was extraordinarily boring.

The writer and lead actor of the series told Al Jazeera in 2002 that whether or not the "Protocols" was authentic, "Zionism exists and it has controlled the world since the dawn of history."

Ah. That explains it.

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World media still ignoring Egypt navy killing two Palestinians in cold blood

Yesterday I reported about the Egyptian navy firing at a boat filled with Syrians and Palestinian Syrians trying to reach Europe, killing two of the Palestinians.

I noted then that the Western media coverage of the event was nonexistent, while there was heavy coverage of the IDF killing an admitted Islamic Jihad terrorist while being attacked with firebombs.

How about today? Are any media reporting on the cold-blooded murder of two Arab civilians of Palestinian ancestry?

This isn't Syria, where the 1500 or so Palestinian Arabs killed pale next to the hundred thousand total dead so far. There were no other major violent attacks in Egypt yesterday.

So what English language media outlets have covered this?

Al Ahram English has the story - and no one else. 

The story has drama - people desperately trying to flee Syria and make a better life. It has politics - Egypt not allowing Palestinian Syrians to seek asylum there. It has violence. It has irony, that those fleeing Syrian bombs get felled by Egyptian bullets.

It has all the ingredients for a great news story.

But it is apparently missing an essential component: It doesn't fit the mainstream media narrative of Palestinian Arabs being oppressed by Israel and only Israel.

That makes it messy, and harder to explain, and it reveals shades of grey that the media prefers not to get into because they would then have to be more careful not to report other stories based on a template but based on real reporting.

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Too funny: Arab accuses Jews of falsifying history

Jihad el-Khazen, writing in pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, publishes one of the best examples of Arab projection I've ever seen.

The title of his article? "Israel And The Falsification Of History."

Let's see who falsifies history.

El-Khazen starts off fuming at a full-page ad in the Financial Times on Monday by the European Jewish Congress:

The European Jewish Congress paid to run a full-page ad in the London-based The Financial Times, protesting against the European Union's recent decision to suspend funding for any Israel institutions working beyond the Green Line - ie in the West Bank.

The ad, which was titled "Last chance for Europe to place peace above politics," claimed that the position of the European Union is "ultimately detrimental to Europeans, Israelis, and Palestinians, and above all, serve [s] to minimize the chances for lasting peace. "

But this is all a lie that only a pro-Israeli organization is capable of.

Personally, I do not recognize any green or red lines, and all I know is that Palestine is the land from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River. This land is entirely under occupation by the state of Israel. Also personally, I accepted with the Palestinians a state on 22 percent of their land, but the successive Israeli governments, including those that had war criminals and terrorists in their ranks, did not accept this.

While I oppose all war, and do not want any Palestinian or Jew to be harmed, I insist that peace is not possible with the current Israeli government, a fascist government leading the last apartheid state in the world, and a government that kills, destroys , and steals Palestinian homes every day. I challenge the European Jewish Congress to prove me wrong in the future.

OK, how many lies has el-Khazen given us so far?

He pretends that there was a nation called Palestine. He pretends that its historic borders happen to coincide with the borders of the British Mandate, with not a square inch on the other side of the Jordan. He pretends that Israel has no right to exist in any way, shape or form (a position he has made many times before.)

Now he gets to show his ignorance:

The second paragraph of the ad claimed that the EU does not implement the same funding policy on other countries, of which the ad named Turkey, Morocco, and China.

I don't know what the accusation against these countries is, but I know that the Turks or the Chinese do not live in a country to which they had immigrated, and which they then occupied by force of arms, dispossessing or murdering its native people . Furthermore, one mistake does not justify another, and if Turkey or China (Morocco took in the Jews of Spain and protected them after the fall of Andalusia, and alluding to it is ingratitude) has indeed made mistakes, then this does not justify the sins that Israel commits every day against the Palestinians.

He never heard of the Turkish occupation of northern Cyprus or the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, but he is certain that they don't occupy anyone. And if they do, well, it is no big deal.

Nice!

But it gets better:

The Palestinians alone can claim the land as their own, and yet, they and I with them have accepted a state on less than a quarter of their land. Historically, Israel never existed in Palestine, not 3,000 years ago, and not 2,000 years ago, or at any other time. There are no Jewish antiquities in Palestine, and the prophets of the Torah never existed, and were 'invented' hundreds of years after the alleged era during which they lived. Moreover, Al-Haram Al-Sharif is not the so-called Temple Mount, which never existed, and there are no traces in the mosque complex of any First or Second Temple. To be sure, the Temple is just another myth of the Torah.

Ignorance is one thing, but taking such pride in one's ignorance is breathtaking. Does he think that the Kotel was built by a Muslim sultan? (One must also wonder if he believes that the prophets mentioned in the Koran existed - since most of them are also in the Torah.)

The ad then moves from outright lies to sheer obscenity, claiming that the EU is abrogating the Oslo Accords which stipulate "that the current status of the territories and its residents will not be changed ahead of final status negotiations, to which the parties have now recently returned, "and that" the territories, captured during a defensive war, from Jordan, itself an occupier, were never an independent sovereign entity. "

Every word and every sentence in the above is a lie. The Oslo Accords did not stipulate that territories and residents should remain unchanged for a thousand years, as the terrorist governments in Israel want. Furthermore, the Palestinians are the native inhabitants of the land, and each of them has a known name and comes from a known city, town, or village. Jordan and Palestine, meanwhile, are one and the same, and Jordan cannot be an occupier because the Jordanians are Arabs in their own land, and not European Ashkenazi Jews.

El-Khazen, of course, is the only liar here. The EJC correctly stated that during the Oslo process the status of the territories should not be unilaterally changed. Jordan was of course an occupier of the West Bank, and the idea that Arabs cannot occupy other Arab territory is a rule that Khazen just made up.

Khazen is a known entity, having spouted antisemitism for years in the pages of Al Hayat. But this article shows not only that he has no idea what he is talking about, but he tries to make up in stridency what he lacks in basic knowledge of history and religion.

What is sad is that there are apparently no Arabs in the world who are willing to call him on his idiocy, because while they might know he is an inveterate liar, his lies are politically correct in that universe. Instead of being disparaged as the joke he is, el-Khazen maintains a large readership and respect within the bubble of anti-intellectualism that is the Arab world, and no newspaper would dare contradict him by saying, for example, that there really was a Temple in Jerusalem.

That inability for Arabs to even consider thinking critically when Israel is involved is the real issue here. And that problem shows no sign of being solved any time soon.

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Report: Hamas prevented Gazan students from going to Egypt

From the PA's official WAFA news agency, confirmed by Palestine Press Agency:

Hamas police Wednesday prevented Gaza students seeking to travel to Egypt through Rafah crossing to reach their colleges abroad from leaving the Strip, according to the students.

They said that around 200 students gathered at Rafah crossing after Egypt has decided to open it for a couple of days to allow students and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza.

However, Hamas members attacked the students with clubs and pushed them back with their jeeps to prevent them from leaving Gaza.

Students said that Hamas did this because they coordinated their travel with the Palestinian embassy in Cairo, as requested by the Egyptian authority to facilitate their travel.

The Palestinian embassy in Cairo had asked students who want to leave Gaza to attend colleges abroad to coordinate their travel through it due to the closure of the Rafah crossing since last week following an attack on Egyptian security personnel in Sinai.

Egypt agreed to open the crossing briefly on Wednesday and Thursday for special cases after President Mahmoud Abbas Monday called the head of the Egyptian intelligence, Mohammed Tohami, and requested that Egypt allows students, the sick and humanitarian cases to leave Gaza.

The siege of Gaza by Hamas continues!

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Egyptian forces kill two Palestinian Arabs on boat fleeing to Sweden

Arabic media is reporting that a group of Syrian refugees, attempting to sail a ship to Sweden for asylum, were fired upon by the Egyptian navy. Two were killed, both of Palestinian ancestry.

The boat was leaving from Alexandria with more than 200 people aboard. 

This is supposed to be video of the boat.

The two dead were a 35 year old man and a 61 year old woman.

Sources say that the Egyptians were firing randomly at the boat at dawn today.

As of this writing, some 15 hours later, still no reports about this murder of Palestinian Arab civilians in English. But the IDF killing a terrorist during a firefight has already been featured in wire service and major news media articles.

Double standards, anyone?

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A brand-new Palestinian Arab lie

What is the fourth holiest spot in Sunni Islam?

We all know that the top three are the mosques Mecca, Medina and the one that was built on top of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. But what is number 4?

According to Wikipedia, many Muslims consider the Ummayad Mosque in Damascus to be the fourth holiest site.

Others consider Kairouan, in Tunisia, to have the honor.

Still others consider it to be the Eyup Sultan Mosque in Turkey, a site that attracts many pilgrims.

Harar in Ethiopia is yet another city that has made this claim, and UNESCO agrees.

However, our "peace partners" in Fatah have made up a new 4th holiest mosque in Islam, one that no one else on the planet ever designated as such, as far as I can tell. Not surprisingly, it is at the second holiest place of Judaism.

The caption the Tomb of the Patriarchs on their Facebook page as "The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, which is the fourth holiest mosque for the world's Muslims."

That would be news to most Muslims.

Obviously, this is being done to push Jews out of Hebron. Just like Mecca and Medina are off-limits to non-Muslims, our "peace partners" are trying to elevate the holiness of Jerusalem and Hebron so they can kick the Jews out - in the name of Islam. (They are trying something similar at Rachel's Tomb, pretending that it is the ancient "Bilal bin Rabah Mosque," something that was made up in the 1990s.)

See also this previous post.

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Julio Iglesias to play in an apartheid state tonight

Two weeks ago, Julio Iglesias played a concert in Caesarea, Israel. The BDS crowd protested, as usual, to no avail and the concert was a smash.

But tonight Iglesias is playing in a country that has killed thousands of Palestinians. This country has a population that is majority Palestinian but they are ruled by a minority group that discriminates against them. While many of the Palestinians are citizens, hundreds of thousands of them had their citizenship stripped from them some 25 years ago, and many others who have lived there for over four decades are still barred from citizenship. Even today many some have lost their citizenship - and what rights they had.

The country, of course, is Jordan.

More recently, Jordan has either placed severe restrictions specifically on Palestinian Syria refugees from entering or traveling around the country, while allowing non-Palestinian Syrians to have more freedoms.

(Jordan also ethnically cleansed Jews from its territory and its law specifically banned Jews who had lived in Judea and Samaria before 1948 from becoming citizens. Jordan is probably the only country to specifically exclude a class of Jews from being citizens in its nationality law. Just sayin'.)

But there has not been one peep of protest to Iglesias from the people who claim to be pro-Palestinian, those who claim to be against apartheid and discrimination. No letters, no Facebook campaigns, nothing. Jordanian apartheid doesn't matter to them. On his Facebook page, under the announcement of the concert, not a single person protested.

Even worse, Jordan is seemingly using Iglesias to whitewash their own awful human rights record:

"Through the Amman Citadel Festival… we hope to promote Jordan as a hub for art and culture… and make it a world class destination," an FJF statement quoted the NGO's chairman, Isam Salfiti, as saying.

How can these paragons of human rights who support boycotting Israel be silent when a country that treats its Palestinian Arab citizens worse than Israel does is hosting such a prominent concert?

Oh, I forgot. King Abdullah isn't Jewish.

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Egypt arrests Palestinians, keeps Rafah closed (update)

Today is the fourth consecutive day of the Rafah crossing being completely closed by Egypt.

Still no flotillas to Egypt to protest this siege.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian security forces continue to arrest Palestinian Arabs in the Sinai on suspicion of terrorism:

North Sinai Security Directorate forces arrested Egyptians and Palestinians in Arish over suspected involvement in an earlier attack on the city's civil defense building.

Four Egyptians and five Palestinians were arrested in the sweeping operation.

The suspects were arrested inside a mosque near the meteorological authority building, close to al-Nasr Mosque, a supposed haven for jihadi groups in Arish.

Authorities claimed the four Egyptians had been drafted to attack army and police troops in North Sinai.

The Sinai Peninsula has witnessed escalating attacks against army and police since the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsy. Attacks are largely blamed on extremist groups in the region.

The army said Tuesday it detained 11 suspected terrorist elements, including two Palestinians.

Given the current mess in Egypt, it is impossible to know whether these Gazans are terrorists or if they are just caught up in the army's crackdown on Islamists (and popular opinion against Gaza.) What is clear is that no "pro-Palestinian" group is making much of a stink over this.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, Gazans are protesting - the Israeli "blockade." (h/t Jonathan Schanzer)

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