Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Abbas opens his mouth, lies pour out

YNet reports:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has told some 300 young Israelis visiting him on Sunday in the West Bank that he does not want to "drown Israel with millions of (Palestinian) refugees to change its nature."

"The propaganda purports that I want five million refugees to return. This is false and will not happen. We need to solve the refugee problem, but we do not want to drown Israel with refugees," Abbas said, adding that there needs to be a "moral solution" the refugee issue.

"There is no escape from a just solution that both sides can agree on. No one will force a solution on the other," he said. Abbas told his Israeli visitors he seeks a "creative solution" for refugees, suggesting he is not demanding a blanket "right of return."

Really?

In 2008, Abbas made very clear that he refused to accept the idea of Lebanese Palestinians going anywhere but Israel:

President Mahmoud Abbas denied today, the accuracy of the news reports about the possibility of settling Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

He said in an interview with satellite channel Russia Today that the idea was an "unacceptable and irreversible abrogation of the right to return, and we are guests in Lebanon, in the interest of us in the internal problems in this brotherly country, and assure the Lebanese brothers that the resettlement of refugees in their country is rejected. We will not accept it."

Also in 2008:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted Wednesday as rejecting the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. "We would never accept any settlement that leads to naturalizing Palestinians in Lebanon," Abbas told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

"We would not accept any settlements that would lead to a demographic change in Lebanon. This is totally unacceptable ... We won't accept a settlement that obliges Lebanon to naturalize even one Palestinian. We will find a settlement that satisfies Palestinians in Lebanon and satisfies Lebanon ... I'm sure of this and time will prove it," Abbas added.

And in 2009:

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon will not be offered Palestinian Authority passports, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday following his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman at the Republican Palace.

Abbas’ remark quashed recent rumors concerning the issuing of PA passports to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, adding that the refugees’ presence in the country is temporary, particularly as Lebanon’s membership in the UN Security Council next year will help the Palestinian cause.

And in 2012:

According to Beirut-based Now Lebanon news agency, Abbas told the An-Nahar newspaper of “permanent” cooperation with the Lebanese government to maintain security in Palestinian refugee camps.

The president also voiced hope that the lives of Palestinians in Lebanon would be “easier”, adding that they did not “want to be naturalized.”

Abbas (at least since 2005) has been adamant that the only solution for Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon is to have them flood into Israel. he didn't even want them to come to the West Bank. And now he suddenly is claiming to an Israeli audience otherwise?

Either he is lying now or he was lying then. And if he changed his mind between 2012 and now, it means that he is willing to use his own people as pawns.

Why exactly should Israel sign an agreement with a liar who doesn't even care about his own people, let alone his enemies?

Any why can't a single reporter ask Abbas about his many lies directly?

02/16 Links: BDS fail- Code Pink uses Israeli web platform; PA Paid Terrorists $100M in 2013

From Ian:

BDS fail: Code Pink uses Israeli web platform for their new website

Code Pink's new website, promoting its Woman's delegation to Gaza was created using Wix. Its a great choice with cloud-based web development, easy templates, and no coding required. It might be the first smart act we've seen from Code Pink in a long time.
They overlooked one crucial thing. Code Pink is one of the leaders of the BDS movement, and Wix is an Israeli company. Ooops. BDS fail.
If you do anything web-based, Israeli tech is hard to avoid. To avoid being a BDS hypocrite, you're going to need to to live like this guy.

Honest BDS Activist Lives Off Grid, Forages, Avoids Medicine (satire)

The New Hampshire native has fashioned a serviceable crossbow that he uses to hunt rabbit, deer, and other game, and lives in an abandoned stone hut overlooking a man-made lake. “I used to go fishing there, but then I found out there’s a Zionist summer camp on the other side, I couldn’t in good conscience benefit from their maintenance of the lake,” he explained, referring to Camp Moshava, which is run by the Tel-Aviv-headquartered religious Zionist youth movement Bnei Akiva.
Despite the hardships, Thorpe eschews all medical care except for basic first aid, since Israeli pharmaceutical companies produce vast amounts of the generic drugs employed by hospitals and health clinics all over the world. “Simply making an appointment to go see a doctor would mean endorsing their use of Israeli technology in the clinic management software, or the hardware in the terminals themselves,” said Thorpe. “And forget about all the imaging technology to detect abnormalities or growths.”
Thorpe hopes his principled stand will inspire others to be more consistent in their activism. “There’s nothing I’d like to see more than all my fellow BDS advocates dying of some treatable disease,” said Thorpe. (h/t Mightier than the Pen)

Other nations that supported the Balfour Declaration

I found this today in Establishment of a National Home in Palestine: Hearings before the Committee on foreign affairs, House of representatives, Sixty-seventh Congress, second session, on H. Con. Res. 52, expressing satisfaction at the re-creation of Palestine as the national home of the Jewish race. April 18, 19, 20, and 21, 1922

SERBIA

SERBIAN WAR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES.

DEAR CAPTAIN ALBALA : I wish to express to your Jewish brothers the sympathy of our Government and of our people for the just endeavor of resuscitating their beloved country in Palestine, which will enable them to take their place in the future society of nations, according to their numerous capacities and to their unquestioned right. We are sure that this will not only be to their 1 own interest, but at the same time to that of the whole of humanity. You know, dear Captain Albala, that there is no' other nation in the world sympathizing with this plan mope than Serbia. Do we not shed bitter tears on the rivers of Babylon, in sight of our beloved land, lost only a short time ago? How should we not participate in your clamors and sorrows, lasting ages and generations, especially when our countrymen of your origin and religion have fought for their Serbian fatherland as well as the best of our soldiers. It will be a sad thing for us to see any of our Jewish fellow citizens leaving us to return to their promised land ; but we shall console ourselves in the hope that they stand as brothers and leave with us a good part of their hearts, and that they will be the strongest tie between free Israel and Serbia.

Believe me, dear Captain Albala,

Very sincerely yours, VESNITCH.

FRANCE.

The French Government made the following official declaration in favor of a Jewish State in Palestine in accord with the declaration to the same effect made by the British cabinet on November 2, 1917. The Provisional Executive Committee for general Zionist affairs has been authorized, by M. Tardieu, the French high commissioner to the United States, to make public the following communication bearing on this subject:

The Provisional Executive Committee for general Zionist affairs has beep authorized, by M. Tardieu, the French high commissioner to the United States, to make public the following communication bearing on this subject: .

[Message from Foreign Minister Piehon to M. Tardieu.]

FEBRUARY 12, 1918. Having seen M. Sokolow (representative of the Zionist organizations), I authorized him to state that, as regards the question. our views were essen-tially the same as the views entertained by the British Government.

[Naval radio from the press bureau of the ministry of foreign affairs.]

M. Sokolow was received to-day by Mr. Stephen Pichon. M. Pichon was happy to reaffirm that the understanding is complete between the French and the British Governments Concerning the question of the Jewish establishment in Palestine.

ITALY.
• Through its ambassador at the Court of St. James, the Italian Government, on February 25, 1918, officially signified its approval of the English and French declarations in favor of the Zionist movement and of a Jewish national home-land in Palestine. Mr. Nahum Sokolow, representative in London of the Zionist International Political Committee, received from Ambassador Imperiali the following formal statement of Italy's attitude of these questions:

"On the instructions of His Excellency Baron Sonnino, His Majesty's minister for foreign affairs, I have the honor to inform you that His Majesty's Government is pleased to confirm the declarations already made through their representatives in Washington, The Hague, and Salonica, to the effect that they will use their best endeavors to facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish national center, it being understood that this shall not prejudice the legal or political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

GREECE

On March 14, 1918. M. Politis, the Greek minister for foreign affairs, stated in the Chamber of Deputies: "I have already had occasion in Salonica to express the very sincere sym-pathy of the Liberal Party and of all Hellenes for the Jewish nation, for 20 centuries the victim of misunderstandings and persecution I am glad to renew to-day the promise which I then gave that at the right moment the Liberal Government will put forth every effort to assist the national task of the Jews in full accord with the great allies of Greece. Apart from the motives of sympathy which we have had for the Jewish race, a new bond is now added. Among other points in common, the Jewish race and the Greek race have that of both belonging with those races which have ceased to be subjected to perse-cution. At this moment when Hellenism has been literally led to exhaustion by the barbarians of the East, I address with emotion to the Jewish race all my wishes for their establishment as a nation."

HOLLAND.

Mr. Jacobus Kann, president of the Dutch Zionist Federation, was authorized by the Dutch Government to declare that it is sympathetic toward Zionist as-pirations.

SIAM.

The Zionist organization of America received the text of a statement issued by the Siamese Government expressing its approval of the plan to establish in Palestine a national homeland for the Jewish people. The statement was issued to Mr. E. S. Kadoorie, one of the leading bankers of China and president of the Shanghai Zionist Association, by H. R. H. Prince Devawongse Varopakar, Siamese minister for foreign affairs. It reads as follows:

FOREIGN OFFICE, Bangkok, August 22, 1918.

Dear Sir: I have the honor to state that the Royal Siamese Government expresses its accord with the sympathetic position taken by its allies with reference to the establishment of Palestine as a national home for the Jewish people and, in cooperation with the allied powers, will use its best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it. being clearly understood that nothing will be done that may prejudice the civil or religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. I am, very truly yours,

DEVAWONGSE.

CHINA.
The Zionist organization of America received a cablegram from Mr. E. S. Kadoorie, president, and N. E. B. Ezra, secretary of the .Shanghai Zionist Association, informing it that on December 14, 1918, the Chinese Government had officially indorsed the project for establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The text of the Chinese indorsement is as follows:

"The Chinese Government expresses its complete accord with Great Britain's proposals for the restoration of Palestine as the national home of the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country, and will cooperate with her allies at the Peace Conference in the attaining of that object."

JAPAN.

The Government of Japan authorized its ambassador to Great Britain to announce its approval of the project to establish in Palestine a Jewish national homeland, in accordance with the principles enunciated in the Balfour declare-ton of November 2, 1917.

The end of the book includes a very strong support from Congress for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. It says, in part:

We of America should be glad to give our moral support to a project which is based upon justice and humanity. To give this recognition to so laudable an endeavor of a people seeking to create a haven of refuge for the oppressed and homeless of their race is to act in consonance with the loftiest, American ideals. The Jews have suffered greatly during the war. There are now countless thousands of innocent members of the Jewish race in Poland, Galicia, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Rumania who have been utterly ruined and for whom there is no place in the lands where they had formerly lived. The World War has overwhelmed them. They are seeking a home where, with the generous help of their brethren of other lands who are in more comfortable circumstances, they may re-create their own forms of life and realize their ideals.

The hope of a return of the Jewish people to Zion has had the good wishes of our foremost American statesmen. President Woodrow Wilson, in a letter dated August 31, 1918, wrote as follows:

I welcome an opportunity to express the satisfaction I have felt in the progress of the Zionese movement in the United States and in the allied countries since the declaration of Mr. Balfour. on behalf of the British Government, of Great Britain's approval of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and his promise that the British Government would use its best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of that object. with the understanding that nothing would be done to prejudice the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish people in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in other countries.

Antisemitic Egyptian play says Mossad behind Arab Spring (video)

I read translations of Arabic media all day. I see and post about the endemic antisemitism in the Arab world. But sometimes even I am surprised at how virulent it is.

There is no comparison between reading an antisemitic article in a newspaper and seeing it as a play broadcast on TV.

From MEMRI:

A play titled "The Spy," recently aired on the Egyptian Al-Hayat TV channel, displays antisemitic stereotypes and portrays Mossad officials preparing "for a huge operation of espionage and sowing disunity" which targets the entire Arab world.

Following are excerpts from the play, broadcast on January 31, 2014:

Mossad headquarters, Mossad officials listen to an Israeli child singing Umm Kulthum's Enta Omri. All male Mossad officials are named Binyamin and listed here according to their seating from left to right.

All Mossad officials: How great...

Binyamin I: What's wrong with you, Binyamin?

Binyamin V: Binyamin, why do you cry whenever you hear this song?

Binyamin III: To tell the truth, I don't understand a word of the song.

Binyamin I: Ummu Kulthum's song, Enta Omri, is very beautiful.

Binyamin II: Just beautiful?! That boy Elisha sings it better than Umm Kulthum herself.

Female Mossad official: Binyamin, do you think that the Egyptians stole this tune from us, or vice versa?

Binyamin III: They stole it from us, of course – just like they stole the pyramids and the Sphinx.

[...]

Our perspective is a simple and humble one. All we want is to control the whole world. Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

Binyamin III: Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

[...]

Binyamin III: Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

Binyamin III: Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

All Mossad officials break out in dance to the tune of Hava Nagila

[...]

Binyamin III: Lady, take your son and go away. We are preparing for a huge operation of espionage and sowing disunity, and we don't want anyone to know anything about it – not its target nor its location.

Mother of Ezra (a would-be Mossad operative): Where will it take place?

Binyamin III: In Egypt, God willing.

Ezra: And what is the target?

Binyamin III: The entire Arab world.

[...]

Binyamin IV: I don't understand, Binyamin #5, how come you are accepting this boy back into the Mossad so easily.

Binyamin III: If we don't, he will stand opposite the Mossad headquarters, and throw stones on us. He is mentally retarded.

Binyamin V: You're right, but let's focus on what's important – today begins the most important of the Arab Spring revolutions.

Binyamin I: I've heard that it is still a demonstration. It hasn't transformed into a revolution yet.

Binyamin III: That's why we need to keep an eye on that demonstration.

Binyamin V: Eyes are a thing of the past. Today, we know what is going on from Facebook and Twitter.

Binyamin II: We know everything but the color of their underwear...

They all burst into laughter

Binyamin I: Would you believe that they still have signs on buildings: "Keep Away" and "No Photography"?

They all burst into laughter

Binyamin III: Google Earth gives us all the information we need.

[...]

Binyamin IV: The most important thing that we need to know is whether the demonstrations are taking place only in Tahrir Square, or in other places as well.

Binyamin II: Right now, they are only in Tahrir Square, but soon enough, they'll spread all over. After all, the Egyptian people is demanding change...

[...]

Will the mainstream media, so anxious to find individual bigots in Israel, ever bother reporting on a play broadcast on TV with a crowd laughing at anti-Jewish stereotypes?

From PressTV:

Seventy Iranian lawmakers have signed a letter to question Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over his positions vis-a-vis the Holocaust and the Israeli regime.

“The signatures for this question have reached 70,” senior Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Javad Karimi Qoddousi, told Fars News Agency in a Saturday interview.

“The question has been sent to the Foreign Ministry and it will be reviewed in the first session of the National Security [and Foreign Policy] Committee of Majlis,” said Karimi who sits on the committee.

In the letter to the Foreign Ministry, Iranian legislators pointed to Zarif’s interview with a German TV channel in early February in which he slammed the Holocaust as a “a horrifying tragedy” that “should never occur again.”

The lawmakers also called Zarif’s remarks about Palestinians’ right to recognize Israel, as ‘passive’.

“What is the reason for the passivity in your views about the issue of the illegitimate Israeli regime and the Holocaust,” the letter asked.

There are 290 members of Iran's Majils, so nearly 25% of them have signed this letter so far.

"Islamist groups planned to attack Egyptian synagogues"

Elihayu HaNavi synagogue in Alexandria

El Badil reports that members of "Ansar al Bayt al Maqdis", one of the Sinai Islamist groups fighting in Egypt, have admitted to plotting to blow up synagogues in Cairo and Alexandria.

The report says that they were doing surveillance of the spots.

It further quoted security sources as saying that they would not allow any such attacks and citizens should not worry.

I have not seen this verified anywhere else in Egyptian media.

It is hard to know what to believe, as the hatred of much of Egyptian media towards Islamists has caused them to make up stories in the past. It is quite possible that they want to ensure that the Jewish world is sympathetic towards Egypt's crackdown on civil and human rights in going after Islamists. On the other hand, the idea that Islamists want to attack synagogues is also quite believable.

None of Egypt's synagogues have any Jewish services anymore, and they are mostly preserved as part of Egyptian heritage.

02/15 Links: Palestinians Confirm: “No”; Syrian peace talks collapse; Zionism and Camels

From Ian:

Palestinians Confirm: It’s a “No”

The Palestinians may be aware that issuing an outright “no” to having any agreement with Israel ever would not play out well for their international standing. A “no” has to be delivered in such a way that it can at least be framed as merely a rejection of specific proposals. But by making every single proposal a red line it is clear that the Palestinians are in effect saying “no” to the whole thing. And if they are serious about pushing this line that they don’t have the authority to make an agreement with Israel, then they are essentially ruling out the very possibility of agreeing to anything. Presumably the only thing that would change this status would be new Palestinian elections–and there’s no sign of these coming anytime soon.
Whether the U.S. administration or the international community wish to acknowledge it, the Palestinians are saying loudly and clearly “no.” At some point policy will have to be adjusted to recognize this reality. (h/t NormanF)

Erekat: No to Recognition, No to Israeli Presence in 'Palestine'

Erekat, the report said, told his audience that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made it clear to the Americans that he would not recognize Israel a Jewish state, claiming that Israel's demand for recognition stems from its desire to change historical facts.
He further noted that Abbas will not agree that any Israeli civilians or military officials remain in the future Palestinian state.
Erekat also said that the PA demands that Israel compensate the so-called “Palestinian refugees” whether they decide to stay in their own countries, move to the Palestinian state, or return to Israel.

Anti-Semitic, Anti-American Conspiracy Theorist Set for Princeton Honors

The long tenure of Richard Falk at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHRC) – where for years he served as the body’s special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights – did not exactly cover that already controversial organization with glory.
In just a few months last year, he embroiled the UNHRC in controversy by blaming the Boston Marathon bombing on “American global domination” and “Tel Aviv,” trying to ban a pro-Israel human rights watchdog group from attending UNHRC sessions, and publishing anti-Semitic cartoons and articles on his blog.
U.S. officials routinely and repeatedly called for Falk to resign.
Under the headline “Trusting Khomeini,” Falk once praised the Iranian dictator as “a desperately-needed model of humane governance.” He is a quite open 9/11 conspiracy theorist. He has accused Israel of “slouching toward a Palestinian Holocaust.” In 2011 he defended the government of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi as the “lawful diplomatic representative of a sovereign state.”
Now comes news from the Wall Street Journal that Princeton is preparing to honor Falk:

02/14 Links Pt2: Dr. King’s pro-Israel legacy; BDS Fail at UC Riverside; Viber sold for $900m

From Ian:

Dr. King’s pro-Israel legacy: His prophetic voice still speaks, part 1

Since his death, many groups have attempted to use the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as champion of their cause. His timeless quotes are applied to all things related to social justice, equality and political freedom. Of course, in addition to being a beacon for all of the above, Dr. King was also a staunch supporter of the State of Israel, and loyal friend to the Jewish people. Yet this historical, indisputable fact does not seem to phase anti-Zionists who also claim Dr. King’s posthumous blessing on their agenda. How do they reconcile such a blatant discrepancy? They simply label the Palestinians as victims and the Israelis as perpetrators, and voila: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, becomes an obvious condemnation of the Jewish State.
The problem is, we have Dr. King’s unambiguous words supporting Israel, and none of his words to the contrary. In fact, his most full-throated endorsement of Israel may surprise you, not just because of its content, but its context.

Leftist figures did not set Schulz straight on facts

On Tuesday, European Union Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen hosted a dinner in honor of Schulz at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Among those in attendance was Naomi Chazan, a former Meretz MK and deputy Knesset speaker who is now a director in the left-wing NGO New Israel Fund; Yossi Beilin, former Meretz leader and cabinet minister and one of the architects of the Geneva Initiative; Ron Pundak, who helped draft the Oslo Accords in 1993 and is a former director-general of the Peres Center for Peace; Akiva Eldar, former Haaretz correspondent, and Professor Manuel Trajtenberg, chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee at the Council for Higher Education. Labor MK Hilik Bar was the only politician at the event. No government or right-wing representatives were invited.
At the event, Schulz said that he had just visited the Palestinian Authority, where he had been told that Israel did not distribute water fairly. He also said he was told of infringements on Palestinian freedom of movement. No one in the audience challenged Schulz on the facts or tried to set the record straight. Some of the people at the dinner said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be able to make better decisions if he faced more outside pressure.

Roving Sea Peoples may have settled Transjordan, archaeologist says

New evidence unearthed at an ancient site in the Jordan Valley suggests that the Sea Peoples — a group which includes the ancient Israelites’ nemeses, the Philistines — settled as far inland as the Transjordan, a Swedish archaeologist argues. Not everyone in the archaeological community, however, is convinced by the finds.
The find, made by a team digging at Tell Abu al-Kharaz, also strengthens the ties connecting the Sea Peoples and the Aegean — reinforcing the theory that the Philistines were among a number of tribes of non-Semitic peoples who migrated across the Mediterranean and settled in Canaan in the early Iron Age alongside the emergent Israelites.

114 year old Kurdish rabbi in Jerusalem

From Rudaw.net:

In a humble apartment in Jerusalem’s Baka neighborhood, about a mile south of the walls of the Old City, the world’s oldest living Jew goes about his daily ritual. As he has for over a century, the rabbi rises in the morning, puts on his tefillin, or prayer phylacteries, with the help of one of his students, and says his morning prayers. Then, he sits to learn the Torah, Talmud, or kabbalah, examining it with the same fervor and passion he did when he started learning as a teenager.

In addition to being the world’s oldest Jew, Rabbi Zechariah Barashi, 114, is also the world’s oldest Kurd.

Barashi, still sharp and gregarious in his old age, remembers details from events 80 years ago with surprising clarity. He gives exact dates, names, and even prices of bus rides as he recounts his time growing up in the Badinan region of Kurdistan, and his journey to the British-controlled territory that would soon become Israel.

...Barashi remembers a man named Mirza as the Agha of Meriba, the town his family was living in. He was as “an important man, one of the greatest governors in the mountains of Kurdistan.”

Mirza’s wife saved Barashi’s life at the age of 11. It was after the Passover holidays, and not one speck of food remained in the house. For two days, the family did not eat, and Zechariah fell sick. His father was away trying to buy meat on the black market. After having lost so many children, his mother was determined to save him. She went to the Agha’s wife, and begged her for food. The wife hesitated at first, saying she was afraid her husband would find out, and be angry that he would now be forced to give to everyone who asked. Barashi’s mother persisted, her only son’s life was at stake, and assured her that she would hide the food under her dress, and no one would know. The Agha’s wife agreed, and the boy recovered.

The Agha was very committed to the Jews in his region, Barashi remembered. His family used to visit the Agha on Friday nights. But when his sons got older, they began to smoke while Barashi’s family visited. Eventually, Barashi’s father told the Agha that his family can no longer come by, as smoking is forbidden on the Sabbath, and they wished not to be around it. The Agha’s decision was swift. “You are forbidden from smoking in this house on the Sabbath,” he told his sons, thus ensuring that his Jewish guests would feel comfortable during their visits.

...At the age of 18, Barashi met the woman who would become his wife.

“I met her the same way people meet their wives today,” he said with a smile. “On the dance floor. On Friday night, after the festive meal, all the youths would go to the big plaza in the middle of the village and we would perform Kurdish dances until one o’clock in the morning. The next day, after the meal, we would meet again and dance until the third Sabbath meal. Her older brother was my friend, and her grandfather, Yosef Arbaya, and I asked my father to talk to him and ask for her hand in marriage.”

They got married two years later.

He still speaks of his wife, long since deceased, as if they were both teenagers in love on that dance floor in the middle of Sindor.

“You can’t buy love, and no one except God knows what draws a man to a certain woman and not another one. In the village, there were dozens of beautiful and good girls, but I fell in love with her, and good that it turned out this way. There was no bad in this woman that became my wife. Modest and quiet and determined and pretty.”

...Last year, a Kurdish journalist came to Barashi’s apartment to film an interview with him for a Kurdish TV. The reporter, stunned by the purity of Barashi’s Kurdish, stayed for hours. He wrote down words that he had never heard before, and looked them up when he got home, discovering that they were old Kurmanji words that had fallen out of use.

Barashi is happy to share a blessing with his visitors, and is always ready to share his secret to a long life. “There are three things,” he says. “Always be happy, never jealous. Stay active. And never overeat, always leave the table a little hungry.”

But does he ever wish he could go back to the old villages in Kurdistan?

“No,” he says, smiling. “I have had the fortune of living in Jerusalem for 75 years. I’m in heaven.”

(h/t Ellen)

02/14 Links Pt1: PA tells Kerry NO to framework deal; The obstinancy of Abbas

From Ian:

PA tells Kerry no to framework deal in current form

The Palestinian Authority has informed US Secretary of State John Kerry that it will not accept his framework peace proposal as it currently stands, PA officials told The Times of Israel.
The officials claimed that the Obama administration’s current proposal, which is intended to serve as the basis for continued talks on a two-state solution, includes pretty much everything Israel demanded — almost down to the last detail — but does not address vital requirements from the Palestinian side.
The Palestinian officials detailed to The Times of Israel what they said were the main clauses of the framework proposal.

The obstinancy of Abbas

If anyone out there believes that Abbas is a realistic partner (following in the footsteps of Yasser Arafat), they should listen to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who came out last week and explained what happened behind closed doors in the negotiating room. In an interview with Channel 2, Olmert said that in the 36 meetings he held with Abbas, everything was agreed The only thing that was missing was a signature.
Olmert gave up the Jordan Valley, divided Jerusalem, handed over control of the Temple Mount, returned to the 1967 lines, retreated to the settlement blocs, made territorial swaps, agreed in principle to the right of return, accepted the symbolic resettlement of 5,000 refugees, and invited Abbas to fly with him to the U.N. General Assembly, where they would jointly declare the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. He even held out a pen for Abbas to take so that he could initial the deal.
How surprising -- Abbas refused. Today, there is widespread consensus. Since Abbas didn't sign then, he won't sign ever.

Sarah Honig: A page from Barker’s playbook

The long and the short of it is that nobody will compensate the Arab realm’s Jewish refugees. Obama knows it. Kerry knows it. So why make promises that can’t possibly be kept? Well, of course Kerry’s entire misnamed peace framework is a promise that can’t be kept.
But the specific attempt to tempt Jewish refugees borrows a page from Barker’s playbook. Its premise is that the Jew will sell his soul for money. Hence, the promise of a windfall can magically transform Sephardi hawks into Ashkenazi doves – that is if you at all buy into the blanket generalization of facile (and inherently offensive) stereotypes. (h/t Norman F)

Saudi Vice episode 36: Don't give birth without your guardian!

It is time for another episode of:

Where we follow our heroes from the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice as they protect and serve the Saudi public, guarding them from evil forces!

From Arab News:

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) has officially prevented women from visiting medical clinics without male guardians.

This came after a member of the Council of Senior Scholars issued a “fatwa” (edict) prohibiting women from visiting male doctors without having male guardians present.

“Islamic law does not permit women to visit their doctors without male guardians,” said Qais Al-Mubarak, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars. “Women are prohibited from exposing body parts to male doctors in Islamic law, especially during childbirth. This does not include medical emergencies. Islamic jurisprudence makes exceptions,” he added.

If childbirth isn't an emergency, it is unclear what is. But,hey, you can understand how Saudi male obstetricians can get uncontrollably turned on at the sight of a sweaty, screaming woman exposing her private parts. It's only natural, and Islamic jurisprudence must guard against it.

Male guardians can only be the next of kin in Islam. They are sons, grandsons, husbands, brothers, fathers or uncles.

Al-Mubarak said male doctors could conduct medical examinations on female patients only if female physicians are unavailable and only if male guardians accompany them.

“Unaccompanied visits to male doctors can have negative implications,” he said.

I wonder if Saudi medical school textbooks censor gynecological diagrams. Maybe the students practice delivering babies with camels.

Other Saudi Vice news:

Of course, the annual Saudi war against Valentine's Day.

Also, if you are a woman in Saudi Arabia, don't try to go to the main library in the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The good news? The Saudi king overturned a death penalty for an Indonesian housemaid who has been in jail for a while awaiting her execution. Her crime? Sorcery.

Over the past two days I reported about how Hamas complained about UNRWA's "human rights curriculum," and about how UNRWA caved in to Hamas demands and agreed to suspend teaching about "human rights" in Gaza, also mentioning how this curriculum is in fact not about respecting others' human rights so much as it is about how to demand human rights from others.

As usual when a news story makes UNRWA look bad, they do not mention this on their website. On the contrary, exposure of their less savory aspects cause them to perform cover-ups rather than leading to full disclosure.

Given that UNRWA depends on international donors, shouldn't the agency be completely transparent? Not only should it report about Hamas' bullying (if it cared about this so-called "human rights" agenda then publicizing the issue would help,) but all school materials created by UNRWA should be on their website so everyone can see exactly what UNRWA is teaching hundreds of thousands of students.

By contrast, the other UN refugee organization, UNHCR, seems to bend over backwards to provide transparency for researchers.

UNRWA won't become transparent until the donors themselves start to demand answers about where their hundreds of millions of dollars is going. Our taxes ultimately pay for UNRWA's activities, so it is past time for everyone to contact their elected representatives and ask them to demand UNRWA less like a corrupt agency that is trying to hide something.