Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, June 03, 2019

@IfNotNowOrg leader @RafaelShimunov outs himself as a hateful, lying, disgusting bigot (update)

Vice News had this story about an Israeli emigrant who opened a trendy restaurant in Toronto that uses a 150-year old stone mill from Israel to grind tahini using sesame seeds from Ethiopia.

This restaurant makes their tahini in-house using a stone mill they found in Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/JU1cKvRSIh
— VICE Canada (@vicecanada) May 30, 2019

This was apparently a trigger for Rafael Shimunov, an early founding member of IfNotNow, who responded with a bigoted, hateful tweet that shows what a jerk he is:

The owner of the restaurant is a Yemenite Jew who used to live in Israel. Shimunov sees that he is Israeli and therefore blames him for imagined Israeli crimes.

The definition of a bigot is someone who generalizes that all people in a group are guilty for the alleged actions of a few.

So from this tweet we know straight off that Shimunov, a card carrying leftist, is a bigot.

But there is more.

Israel never sterilized Ethiopian women. This is simply a lie. Haaretz once made it look like Israeli organizations were giving Ethiopian women birth control without their consent, and even that charge was found to be utterly wrong- back in 2013.

Shimunov is a liar.

But there is more.

Palestinians actually have been found to sterilize women for "honor" reasons. Someone like Shimunov who pretends to care so much about fictional Israeli victims of sterilization never say a word about when their pet Palestinians are proven to have done it for real.

Shimunov is a hypocrite.

But there is more.

Shimunov seems to be upset that an Israeli would import sesame seeds from Ethiopia. This is bizarre, to say the least. What is wrong with helping the economy in Ethiopia? Anyone else who would do it would be considered someone who supports poor farmers in north Africa. Only when a Jew does this it is somehow a problem.

But there is more.

This "woke" person saw a Vice story that made an Israeli look like a nice guy and went ballistic. This one tweet proves that his hate for Israel isn't because of "occupation" or "settlements" or whatever. It is hate for people - even people of color, even immigrants. It is hate for Vice for making a video about an Israeli that is positive.

The hate that he shows in this one tweet proves that for him (and we see this with other anti-Israel activists) it isn't about justice or loving Palestinians. It is pure hate that animates him, and so many others.

This hate is indistinguishable from the hate of racists, or bigots, of antisemites.

But this hate is still allowed and celebrated in certain circles.

UPDATE: Now the haters are posting bad reviews in Yelp by claiming that the stone mill, which they say same from the Golan, is "stolen Palestinian property."

Since when was the Golan Palestinian?

(h/t Tess)

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Another textbook example of media bias, courtesy of Reuters:

Hundreds of ultra-nationalist Jews guarded by riot police streamed their way into the Jerusalem compound revered both in Judaism and Islam on Sunday, resulting in violence between police and outraged Muslim worshippers.

The Jews who visited didn't sing songs, chant nationalist slogans, pray or do anything besides walk and talk quietly. But to Reuters they are "ultra-nationalist," and "ultra-" anything is pejorative in journalism.

The Muslims who were "outraged" are not ultra-anything. They are just peaceful worshipers. Of course, the Jews never come during prayer times, so the Muslims weren't worshiping. In order to build the contrast between evil Jews and peaceful Muslims, Reuters must employ the language of "ultra-nationalist" vs. "worshippers."

The highly provocative visit came during the final days of the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims flock to pray at the compound’s al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam where non-Muslim prayer has been banned since 1187.

Jews visit almost every day, but to Reuters their quiet touring of the area is "highly provocative." We learn that the area is the third holiest site in Islam but not that it is the first-holiest site in Judaism. The ban on non-Muslim prayer, rather than being framed as Muslim intolerance, is written as a basic status-quo that is being violated - even though no Jew (as far as I can tell) prayed.

Police fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets to disperse worshippers, some of whom threw stones and chairs as the Jewish groups walked across the esplanade in front of the al-Aqsa to angry calls of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great).

Which came first - the tear gas or the throwing stones and chairs? Reuters is implying that the police attacked "worshippers" (prayer only happens indoors, the police did not attack any worshippers) for no reason and the Muslims responded with throwing things - the exact opposite of what happened!

This is not reporting. This is propaganda.

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@HRW's @KenRoth supports the creation of a state that would not offer basic human rights to its citizens

A tweet can reveal so much:

First of all, Roth is misquoting Kushner.

Asked whether he believes the Palestinians are capable of governing themselves without Israeli interference — a fundamental demand for Palestinians — Kushner said, "That's a very good question. ... The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing."

Kushner said the Palestinians "need to have a fair judicial system ... freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions" before the Palestinian territories can become "investable."

Kushner did not say that Palestinians cannot govern themselves but that there are severe impediments to doing so effectively before they can be truly independent. This is not a very controversial position. Why wouldn't the world demand that a new nation can take care of the basics of human rights before being admitted to the family of nations?

Moreover, Roth does not dispute that Palestinians do not have basic human rights. He says that human rights are irrelevant to the question of their suitability to statehood!

Ken Roth - the leader of a human rights group - is defending granting statehood to a nation that he admits would not offer basic human rights to its citizens from the outset.

If anyone would want a human rights litmus test before granting nationhood, it should be Ken Roth. The fact that he says the opposite is stunning.

Would he say that about any other people who desire statehood? Would he say that ISIS deserves a state despite its human rights record? Hell, he won't go on a limb to say that even Kurds deserve a state, even after they have proven the ability to govern themselves! But he supports the creation of a corrupt, kleptocratic Palestinian dictatorship - because that would take land away from Israeli control, and Jews building houses is far worse to him than Palestinians sentencing Arabs who sell land to Jews to death.

His analogy to existing nations is absurd, of course: there is no comparison between nations that already exist and entities who aspire to statehood. By all means work to fix the human rights abuses everywhere, but the idea of dismantling a state because of its abuses - real or imagined - for some reason only applies to Israel.

Look at his examples of corrupt countries - Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Not Iran, not Turkey, not China with its concentration camps filled with millions of Muslims - Roth only mentions countries that are on Israel's side politically. Even his choice of paradigmatic nations with poor human rights records (which both undoubtedly do have) reveals Roth's deep seated hate for Israel.

Roth's pathological hatred of Israel prompts him to take positions that are diametrically opposed to human rights. Which disqualifies him from his job.

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Rabbi Shmuely 1, James Zogby 0

Yesterday, Rabbi Shmuely Boteach put a full page ad in the New York Times denouncing and disproving Rashida Tlaib's comments on the history of Jews coming to the Holy Land after the Holocaust.

James Zogby, head of the Arab American Institute, tweeted:

This is a dishonest & dangerous assault on ⁦@RashidaTlaib⁩ by far-right Shmuley Boteach. He funnels dark money into attack ads like this that distort the truth & put people’s lives at risk. It’s not an ad, it’s incitement. Shame on @nytimes for running it. #handsoffRashida.

Since Shmuley runs a number of this [sic] hateful attacks each year - i guess the NYT is more interested in the ad revenues. But shouldn’t there be some fact-check screening of these attacks

I responded, asking exactly what in the ad wasn't factual. Because it is completely accurate, including Tlaib's complete quote.

I'm not expecting a response. Because it is easier for a major Arab American leader to baldly lie than to admit that Boteach is right in this case.

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06/02 Links: A glimpse of 19th century Jerusalem; 52 years later: Israel and the superpowers; California Democrats soften resolutions critical of Israel; New Book Documents Ties Between BDS Campaign and Terror Groups

From Ian:

A glimpse of 19th century Jerusalem

What did Jerusalem look like 150 years ago? It seems we are the first generation to be able to answer this question with any degree of certainty, thanks to prints that have been preserved in the National Library, from the early days of photography in the Land of Israel.

The last few decades of the 19th century saw large surges of visiting tourists, researchers and pilgrims who explored the Holy Land as part of a predetermined route of tourist sites in the Near East. Most did not have cameras, which were heavy and cumbersome devices in those days. The Orient and the spirit of the Bible which they wished to absorb are clearly visible in the pictures produced by the few professional photographers who worked here. The most famous of these was Félix Bonfils.

The landscapes are vast and empty, perhaps because of the difficulties involved in photographing passers-by. Cameras of the period used special glass plates, which were coated with light-sensitive chemicals, a technique that required long exposure. In certain cases, when the composition demanded it, 19th-century citizens of Jerusalem can indeed be spotted in the pictures, resembling extras on an elaborate and majestic movie set.

52 years later: Israel and the superpowers

The welcome news that Russia decided to forego its sale of S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Syria reminds many of newspaper headlines from 52 years ago, which incidentally also appeared around the festive Shavuot holiday. The main photograph in the Maariv daily was of an SM-2 surface-to-air missile, captured during the Six-Day War. The particularly long missile was dubbed “a flying electric pole,” which accelerates at great speeds toward its high-altitude target. This missile, together with its more advanced models – the SA-3 and SA-6 – downed a large number of Israeli planes throughout the War of Attrition and Yom Kippur War.

Many years have passed, and the balance of power between Israel and its neighbors has shifted considerably: Israel now has complete air superiority and the risk of losing aircraft is negligible. While there is no room for complacency, the current reality is utterly different. The air force and other military branches are developing anti-missile and radar systems, which greatly reduce the potency of the Russian-made SA-300.

The latest news illustrates that Russia of today is not the Soviet Union of 50 years ago, nor is it the Russia of the previous decade. The willingness to convene a joint security summit in Israel (not a “peace summit”), with senior American counterparts, enhances Israel’s standing.

Two days before the outbreak of the Six-Day War, France was still an ally of Israel. However, then-French President Charles de Gaulle chose to impose an embargo that effectively quashed the sale of French planes and weapons to Israel and mainly spare parts for equipment. This crisis gave birth to Israel’s independent development of weapons systems, including the Merkava tank, and the Nesher and Kfir fighter jets. This, essentially, was the backdrop for the tremendous growth spurt of Israel’s defense industry. The Soviet Union, for its part, continued arming Arab countries without restraint.

Amid the backdrop of the current diplomatic developments – the strengthening of Israel-U.S. ties; the special relationship between Israel and Russia; recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which was captured in the Six-Day War; the relocation of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and other achievements – I recall the words of then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, who said: “We’re happy where we now stand.”

California Democrats soften resolutions critical of Israel

The Resolutions Committee of the California Democratic Party substantially rewrote draft resolutions fiercely critical of Israel that were put forth by far-left Democrats in California for the state party’s convention.

Four of the rewritten resolutions were passed by the committee on Friday at the party’s state convention in San Francisco, and two were withdrawn, J. The Jewish News of Northern California reported Sunday.

The original authors of the four passed resolutions withdrew their names and co-sponsorships due to the significant changes, according to the report. (JTA has yet to obtain the text of the revised resolutions.)

One resolution, authored by David Mandel, a state Assembly delegate from the Sacramento area who reportedly holds dual US-Israel citizenship, suggested that the Israeli government is partly responsible for the atmosphere inspiring last October’s massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

Other resolutions urged a rollback of US President Donald Trump’s Israel policies including recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights; condemned Israel for clashes with Palestinians in Gaza without mentioning provocations or attacks by the Hamas leadership there; and directed party officials to take a subsidized trip to Israel only if they spend the same amount of time visiting Palestinian villages and leaders.

Democratic Majority for Israel, a lobbying group that calls itself “the voice of pro-Israel Democrats,” praised the California Democratic Party in a statement Friday for rejecting the one-sided resolutions attacking Israel.

Every Friday of every Ramadan for the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of Muslims have gone to the Temple Mount, what they call the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, to pray.

I cannot find any news story or photo describing anything close to that number of people there before 1967.

Not under Jordanian rule. Not under British rule. Not under Ottoman rule.

I can find a few stories mentioning "thousands" of Muslims rioting in Jerusalem and attacking Jews before the massacres a couple of months later, and of thousands of Muslims who celebrate the "Nebi Musa" festival, a made up Muslim festival that is calculated according to the Christian calendar to coincide with and interfere with Easter celebrations in Jerusalem.

But I cannot find any story mentioning any gathering of tens of thousands, and certainly not hundreds of thousands, of Muslims or Arabs in Jerusalem before 1967.

If you care about access to holy places in Jerusalem, including for Muslims, you should want Israel to control the entire city.

Or, you have to admit that Muslims weren't all that interested in the Al Aqsa Mosque before Jewish control of Jerusalem.

Israel has provided more access to more holy places for more people of more religions than any ruler of Jerusalem in history.

There is no other way to look at the facts.

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Videos of Jews peacefully touring the Temple Mount while Arabs riot

This morning, hundreds of Jews visited the Temple Mount for Jerusalem Day. This is the first time in decades that Jerusalem Day coincided with Ramadan and the High Court said that the Jews would be allowed to visit, leaving it up to the police to see if they can allow it to happen safely.

Of course, the Arabs rioted.

Here are videos showing the Jews peacefully touring their holiest spot and Arabs throwing chairs, rocks and whatever else they could find.

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Haaretz' Rogel Alpher has always been pathetically trying to outdo himself with his offensiveness. His latest column, though, while also offensive, is Exhibit A as to why the Israeli Left is such a tiny sliver of the electorate there.

The brains and the money of the left are abandoning Israel. That isn’t just a feeling, those are the facts. Benjamin Netanyahu’s supporters, who call leftists “sourpusses,” like to boast of the decline in emigration from Israel in the past several years. But when it comes to leftists, the exit numbers are worse than ever. The leftists are fleeing. It’s called brain drain. In Israel, brains and leftists are one and the same.

According to a new study by Prof. Dan Ben-David, published by the Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research, the most educated Israelis with the most vital skills for the success of the economy are moving abroad at an increasing rate. How do we know that they are leftists? They belong to the highest-income deciles, and in Israel the highest earners vote for the left. They are the left’s electoral base.

...The right has quantity, the left has quality.

...The vast majority of educated Israelis with critical skills vote for parties that are against annexing the territories and maintaining the occupation and the settlement enterprise.

The right and the Haredim must stop dismissing and start taking the flight of the left — that is, the brains — seriously. The right must recognize the implications of the left’s enormous qualitative advantage and the fact that the right cannot live without the leftists’ brains and money.

Alpher is saying that the Leftists in Israel are smart and the Rightists are idiots. He bases this on...nothing. I couldn't find any survey that proves his contention. I did see that Rehovot has the highest household income of any city in Israel, yet Meretz received only 3.1% of the vote, Labor only 4.7% in the last elections - lower than the nation as a whole. (Blue and White did win there but the ideology of that party is hardly different than Bibis' Likud.)

Alpher think that the only Israelis with critical skills vote Left. Having critical skills to reject the Left doesn't count.

What the article does show is that Alpher's Leftists are so smug, so sure of their superiority to the average Israeli in every way, that it is no wonder that the average Israeli is turned off by them. Alpher's thinking here is the reason the average Israeli abhors the Left he represents.

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06/01 Links: Ruthie Blum: Right from Wrong: Electing to defend Israel from Iran; Douglas Murray: Why this year’s al-Quds Day march could be different; Jerusalem: The Beating Heart of Jewish History

From Ian:

Ruthie Blum: Right from Wrong: Electing to defend Israel from Iran

Since replacing Olmert in 2009, then, Netanyahu has had to greenlight airstrikes on these convoys. Oh, and on Iranian targets in Syria, as well.

While on the subject of the Islamic Republic, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday tweeted a characteristic attack on the Trump administration, accusing it of “economic terrorism [that] is hurting the Iranian people and causing tension in the region.”

He began his assault with a lie, of course, claiming that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “long ago said we’re not seeking nuclear weapons – by issuing a fatwa [religious Islamic decree] banning them.”

The story of this alleged fatwa was created by Iranian honchos for consumption by Western patsies as far back as 2005, and was reiterated prior to every summit held with and about Tehran. Former US president Barack Obama not only lapped it up, but spread it repeatedly to justify his appeasement of and capitulation to the mullah-led regime.

In 2015, mere months before reaching the deal with the devil, Obama declared: “Since Iran’s Supreme Leader has issued a fatwa against the development of nuclear weapons, this framework gives Iran the opportunity to verify that its program is, in fact, peaceful.”

Yet, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) had written six exhaustive reports – one of which was released days before Obama made that statement – proving that such a fatwa never existed.

Luckily, Trump is not Obama. He believes what he sees, not the lying eyes of wishful thinkers and evildoers. And what he is witnessing are Iranian warships in the Persian Gulf threatening American interests.

Trump might not have needed a push from Netanyahu to grasp the gravity of a nuclear Iran, especially one with long-range ballistic missiles at the ready. But he appreciates the existence of a steadfast ally on the front lines, fending off Iran’s proxies on a daily basis.

Netanyahu’s adversaries at home and abroad are gleefully trying to portray Israel’s current political crisis as a failure of his leadership – or an attempt on his part to escape possible indictment – rather than what it is: an electoral system sorely in need of reform.

Indeed, Netanyahu’s critics refuse to acknowledge the real reason that he has been prime minister for the past decade. No other party chair on the scene at the moment inspires confidence that, under his or her watch, the country would be secure enough externally to withstand its internal strife.

Douglas Murray: Why this year’s al-Quds Day march could be different

This weekend might provide an interesting spectacle. On Sunday the annual al-Quds Day march sets off in London from outside the Home Office. Of course al-Quds Day is the day inaugurated by the late bigot Ayatollah Khomeini, and his initiative allows peace-loving Khomeinists to stroll along the streets of London (among other capital cities) calling for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Historically the event has always attracted controversy, not just because it is organised by the farcically misnamed ‘Islamic Human Rights Commission’ but because the speakers and organisers routinely make their intentions perfectly clear. Two years ago one of the speakers on the Al-Quds Day platform declared that ‘Zionists’ were responsible for the then very recent tragedy at Grenfell Tower. This is par for the course. The only people who would be attracted to the Al-Quds Day march are Muslim and non-Muslim anti-Semites. Those who it has attracted in the past have included the leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn.

But the reason why this year is interesting is because of a rare positive development in the UK. In February I wrote about the British government’s announcement that it was intending to proscribe the terrorist group Hezbollah in its entirety. Up until then the British government had attempted to insist that there was a distinction between the political and military wings of Hezbollah, which is like pretending that there is a difference between the military and social action wings of ISIS.

Remember the Farhud, 78 years on

On the 78th anniversary of the Farhud on 1 and 2 June 1941, we recall the most traumatic event in the collective memory of Iraqi Jewry. It took place on the Jewish holiday of Shavuoth: 180 people were brutally murdered, thousands were wounded and raped, and shops and synagogues were plundered and destroyed. Here is an account prepared by the Museum of the Jewish People (Bet Hatfutsot) and reproduced in Haaretz:

The attack on the city's flourishing, peaceful Jewish community is usually referred to as the trigger for the Iraqi aliyah to Israel. But seldom is the question asked: How could such a pogrom have occurred in the first place in Iraq – a place where Jews had lived in peace for centuries, a country that did not seem to suffer anti-Semitic norms?

An examination of the historical background reveals the Farhud's causes: the opposing interests of the Iraqi government and the British Empire, Nazi Germany's influence, internal Arab movements, and a struggle between groups of Iraqi intellectuals. The unfortunate Jews were caught in the middle.

Historian Nissim Kazzaz has researched Iraqi Jewry and managed to put the Farhud in its historical context. Until the 1920s there was no significant evidence of anti-Semitism in Iraq. Old restrictions from the Ottoman era were abolished during the 20th century and the establishment of the British Mandate after World War I soon changed the Jews situation for the better.

Yet World War I had other outcomes as well. The Iraqi elite were introduced to "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forged text that was partly translated from the original Russian into Arabic. New movements were rising in that period in Iraq, some of which argued that as long as the Jews did not hold national inspirations, they were part of the Iraqi nation without obstacles.

05/31 Links Pt2: California Dems suggest Israel tied to 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack; UK Labour suspends top official over conspiracy claims against Israeli embassy

From Ian:

California Dems suggest Israel tied to 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack

As the California Democratic Party State Convention opens on Friday, Fox News reports that proposed resolutions include some that link Israel with "virulent Islamophobia," mandating Democratic officials to "nullify" US President Donald Trump’s Israeli policies, among them moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

Fox said the document the station obtained is secret.

One such resolution, "Commending the House for resolving to fight all racism and bigotry and for resisting the false conflation of support for Palestinian rights with antisemitism," was written by American-Israeli David Mandel. He is an elected State Assembly delegate who lived in Israel for a decade.

The resolution claims that the Israeli government is welcoming support from Christian fundamentalist groups, and in so doing, is aligning with Islamophobia while ignoring how such groups display “deeply rooted antisemsitm.”

According to Fox, the resolution also claims the 2018 shooting at a Pittsburgh Synagogue was "the culmination of an alarming re-emergence of virulent antisemitism,” of the sort in which these groups allegedly rooted.

The news outlet cites an additional resolution that calls on Congress to demand Israel and Egypt end their blockade of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Hamas terror group, and “restore a semblance of normal life” for the two million Palestinians who reside in it.

Executive director of Jewish Democratic Council of America Halie Soifer urged the California Democratic Party “not to fall into the trap of letting Republicans to divide us on Israel and the fight against antisemtism,” a Friday press release stated.

The Impossible Future of Christians in the Middle East

The precarious state of Christianity in Iraq is tragic on its own terms. The world may soon witness the permanent displacement of an ancient religion and an ancient people. Those indigenous to this area share more than faith: They call themselves Suraye and claim a connection to the ancient peoples who inhabited this land long before the birth of Christ.

But the fate of Christianity in places like the Nineveh Plain of Iraq has a geopolitical significance as well. Religious minorities test a country's tolerance for pluralism; a healthy liberal democracy protects vulnerable groups and allows them to participate freely in society. Whether Christians can survive and thrive in Muslim-majority countries is a crucial indicator of whether democracy, too, is viable in those places. In Iraq, the outlook is grim, as it is in other nations in the region that are home to historic Christian populations, including Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. Christians who live in these places are subject to discrimination, government-sanctioned intimidation, and routine violence.

Alqosh sits nestled below the mountains that divide Iraq from Turkey. For Christians in the Nineveh Plain, Alqosh is a place of national and religious pride, a way station for important figures in the ancient Christian world that some here compare in significance to Jerusalem or Rome.

There's another history to Alqosh. Back through the winding roads of town sits a tomb said to belong to Nahum, a biblical prophet believed to have lived in the region during the seventh century BCE. Jews prayed in this place. The building was a synagogue and the walls are covered in Hebrew. One engraved stone promises, "This will be your dwelling place forever."

Persecution of Palestinian Christians Worsens; the Palestinian Authority Turns a Blind Eye

Just this month, two churches in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank were vandalized, one of them for the sixth time in the past few years. On April 25, armed men attacked the Christian village of Jifan, which is also governed by the Palestinian Authority (PA). Edy Cohen writes:

The violence [in Jifan] erupted after a woman from the village submitted a complaint to the police that the son of a prominent leader affiliated with the PA’s ruling Fatah party had attacked her family. In response, dozens of Fatah gunmen came to the village, fired hundreds of bullets in the air, threw petrol bombs while shouting curses, and caused severe damage to public property. It was a miracle that there were no dead or wounded.

Despite the residents’ cries for help, the PA police did not intervene during the hours of mayhem. They have not arrested any suspects. Interestingly, the rioters called on the residents to pay jizya—a head tax that was levied throughout history on non-Muslim minorities under Islamic rule. The most recent [instances of the reintroduction of the] jizya involved Christian communities of Iraq and Syria under Islamic State rule. . . .

It is unlikely that the latest wave of attacks will lead to the arrest, let alone prosecution, of any suspects. The only thing that interests the PA is that events of this kind not be leaked to the media. Fatah regularly exerts heavy pressure on Christians not to report the acts of violence and vandalism from which they frequently suffer, as such publicity could damage the PA’s image as an actor capable of protecting the lives and property of the Christian minority under its rule. Even less does the PA want to be depicted as a radical entity that persecutes religious minorities. That image could have negative repercussions for the massive international, and particularly European, aid the PA receives.

Quds Day a bust in Iran?

A very interesting thread from Heshmat Alavi where he claims that most Quds Ray rallies in Iran were boycotted and empty except for paid military and some stragglers. (I'm not sure if the videos will work...)

Let's talk about the so-called "Quds Day" in #Iran.

Video shows only authorities in the streets.
Voice: "There aren't even ten people in the streets. No one is coming... It's martial law for Quds Day."

Iranians don't support this regime or the "Quds Day" sham.

2)Voice says officials are trying to bus their own security forces to take part in their "Quds Day" rally. Even the IRGC & Basij members are refusing to participate.
All buses are empty & the voice say he only saw ten people "from God knows where."
#Iran

3)Another video from #Iran showing literally no one participating in the regime's ridiculous "Quds Day" rally.

(Warning - Contains vulgar language)

4)This is #Iran's state TV.
Notice how they're very careful to only show their correspondent in the camera shot, knowing there is no "crowd" in the background to participate in their "Quds Day" rally.

5)Even the #Iran state TV correspondent acknowledge the vast "Quds Day" boycott:
"No one here yet, other than some birds & a lot of butterflies (!)..."

6)Faced with a national boycott, #Iran's officials gather their small base of supporters in a specific location for their cameras where they set American icons on fire.

As an Iranian, I condemn these measures.
They don't represent the Iranian people.

7)Takestan, NW #Iran
Another video showing people boycotting the rally.
Only regime officials and security forces are taking part in the "Quds Day" rally.

8)Chabahar, SE #Iran
Having their "Quds Day" rally boycotted, officials are taking advantage of poor locals to boost their repulsive slogans.
Many of these people, suffering from extreme poverty, don't even know where the U.S. is on the map.

9)Even in Iraq, only the #Iran-backed Hashd al-Shabi militia group took part in the "Quds Day" rally.

10)Tabriz, NW #Iran
More signs of people boycotting the regime's "Quds Day" rally.

11)Bandar Ganaveh, southern #Iran
Not a single person taking part in the regime's "Quds Day" rally.

12)Baghdad, Iraq
Another image of #Iran-backed militias marching on "Quds Day."
No civilians participating.

This, however, is an alarming reminder of Tehran's dangerous meddling in Iraq.

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From TOI:

Iran’s sole Jewish parliamentarian said Thursday that he looks forward to the liberation of Jerusalem from Israel ahead of the annual anti-Israel al-Quds Day events.

Siamak Moreh Sedgh in a statement called for Jews around the world to participate in rallies to protest Zionism, and said Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories would soon be liberated.

It's easy to wonder why Sedgh says this ridiculous stuff. Probably he is truly a believer in the Iranian cause or has allowed himself to be brainwashed. But maybe, just maybe, he gave a hint to why he acts this way here:

“Jewish Iranians consider participation in Quds Day rallies as a national and religious responsibility… all walks of the honorable Iranian nation obey the orders of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) and will shout slogans against the US and Israeli occupiers in a united and integrated manner,” Sedgh said in a statement carried by the semi-official Fars news agency.

Jews in Iran are not exactly acting with free will. They have to obey orders.

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05/31 Links Pt1: Thank You, Florida Governor DeSantis; Freedom from PLO and Hamas Rule awaits Gaza and West Bank Arabs; Terrorist attacks two in Jerusalem's Old City, gets shot by police

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: Thank You, Florida Governor DeSantis

Even before his trip to Israel, in the weeks after DeSantis was elected governor last year, he immediately took action on behalf of the Jewish state. Florida's cabinet recognized Jerusalem as "Israel's eternal capital," invested $10 million in Israel Bonds, and blacklisted Airbnb because of its plan to boycott listings in West Bank settlements, which the global company has since reversed.

This week, DeSantis repeatedly spoke out against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, leading the first official trade mission to the West Bank led by a U.S. governor - with two dozen business leaders.

"Anti-Semitism is driving the BDS movement, and you cannot separate the two," he said at the Gush Etzion Industrial Zone on Wednesday, meeting with Jewish and Arab businesspeople who oppose boycotts. "We are not going to discriminate against certain Israelis - and if people do... we will take action accordingly."

"You have people that are willing to trade with Iran, the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world - some of the worst regimes in the world - and yet they only want to boycott the one Jewish and democratic state in the world," he said. "If you support BDS in Florida, you are dead, politically," he added.

The Florida delegation signed over 20 memoranda of understanding in multiple fields including business, trade, academia, innovation and tourism.

David Singer: Freedom from PLO and Hamas Rule awaits Gaza and West Bank Arabs

The announced participation of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in the “Prosperity for Peace Conference” in Manama on 25-26 June — jointly convened by President Trump and Bahrain (“Manama Conference”) — promises to offer unique opportunities for Gaza and West Bank Arabs to emigrate to other Arab countries to seek better lives for their families.

Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces in recent years seeking entry illegally into other countries. There is no reason to believe that Gaza and West Bank Arabs would not similarly want to emigrate if offered the opportunity to do so legally.

Gaza and West Bank Arabs have personally suffered under the oppressive rule of Hamas in Gaza since 2006 and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the West Bank since 1993. They have not been given the opportunity at any time to determine their own future in free and fair elections— except in 2006 when the PLO refused to accept the result. A bitter internecine struggle since then has ensued between Hamas and the PLO for political control of the Gaza and West Bank Arab populations that still remains unresolved. Elections are not even being contemplated to resolve this impasse.

The policies espoused by both Hamas and the PLO in relation to Israel have wrought disaster on Gaza and West Bank Arabs both in regard to their personal lives and economic prospects for themselves and their children.

Rod Liddle: Tunnelling my way into Gaza

I’m meant to be peering into a tunnel hacked out by Hamas a few hundred metres from Gaza City into Israeli territory but my attention has wandered. The air around us, above this parched, scrubby wasteland, is fecund with life. A pair of black kites are circling and below them a steppe buzzard is lumbering amidst the thermals. And is that a lappet-faced vulture? Do you know, even without my specs, I think it is. The IDF guy in charge of this facility wanders up. ‘You are interested in the birds, my frent? They too are political. The Palestinians put all their filth, their garbage, right up against the fence, as close to us as possible. As a result, many vermin and many hawks, some endangered elsewhere. There is always an upside to misery. Now, let us go below, please.’

Down, down, then, into a passage fashioned by the perpetually infuriated and frantically scrabbling Morlocks from a Neolithic culture. The idea is this. They spend a million quid and take a year to tunnel into the middle of a sunflower field, suddenly pop up, murder everyone within sight, and then run away. But it’s still only a tunnel — seen one, seen ’em all. I exit sharpish, bored. You’d think if they were that good at digging they might create for themselves a decent sewage system or maybe a road. Instead of a Day of Rage, a Day of Clearing Things Up A Bit. All that’s missing from the tunnel is a blue plaque with yellow stars: the European Union funded this. Or the United Nations. Through their myriad succour for perpetual victims funds.

Later I meet the mayor of a town nearby which is bombed each week, the Iranian-built Qassam rockets raining down from Gaza, killing indiscriminately. The town provides Gaza’s sewage system. ‘Yes,’ the mayor says to me, with the pungent ghost of a smile, ‘we even wash their shit’

What former diplomats like @AaronDMiller2 get wrong about the Kushner plan

It is very easy to be negative about the Trump/Kushner plan for the Middle East. Former diplomats, however, seem to feel almost threatened by it.

Because it might show that their very assumptions have been wrong for decades.

Any article that says why the plan is doomed before the plan is known looks like more of an attempt to sabotage it, rather than an honest attempt to help bring peace to the region. Why would people who dedicated their lives to peace in the region want to kill a completely different approach, even if they disagree with it? It isn't like their efforts have exactly been successful.

Aaron David Miller, who has been part of the negotiations since Oslo, writes an article in Time entitled "I've Spent Decades Failing to Negotiate Peace in the Middle East. Trump's 'Ultimate Deal' Is Doomed, Too."

Sure, these negotiations are part real-estate deal over land. But they are also shaped by a bitter struggle between two peoples, driven by historical trauma, identity, dignity, security and contested sacred religious space.

The Administration’s current plan misunderstands the Palestinian stake in the conflict and, even if it was not its intention, reveals that Trump and Kushner think the Palestinians can be bought off. It signals an assumption that Palestine can be induced to settle or compromise on what they regard as their basic rights in exchange for economic and financial incentives.

But if this was a matter of money and improving lives, we might well have bought a solution decades ago. I can’t tell you how many well-intentioned economic initiatives and Middle East Marshall Plans have gone the way of the dodo over the years. Kushner is right: creating better lives for Palestinians through accountable institutions and the development of both infrastructure and industry is a key factor in securing peace. But it’s not the key to achieving a conflict-ending solution.

I don't think this is the thinking. I believe that the Trump administration is looking realistically at the history of Palestinian leadership. Kushner and Trump see the consistent Palestinian rejectionism of peace combined with their ideas of entitlement to claim the spoils of intifadas they have lost and wars where they have consistently backed the wrong horse.

The old Oslo-era diplomacy gives respect to the Palestinian side - the side that should be compromising to get a state - and that respect has made them less likely to want to compromise.

Trump does not want to reward this behavior any more . It didn't work under Clinton and it was disastrous under Obama, where the more respect he gave Mahmoud Abbas, the less Abbas was willing to even negotiate, let alone compromise. This is not a sustainable model for peace.

However, it is all that traditional diplomats know how to do. The idea of actively disrespecting one party to the negotiations is anathema to normal diplomats. But diplomats usually don't have to deal with people who have as much bad faith as Palestinian leaders.

The upshot is that peace is literally impossible using the old, bilateral negotiations formula which fell apart long ago.

Ordinary Palestinian Arabs just want to live their lives in dignity. The majority don't care about Palestinian nationalism. Their ancestors, by and large, came from other areas of the Arab world and freely moved from place to place for economic reasons, not political reasons.

Admittedly, this has been changing. Decades of incitement and indoctrination in Palestinian and UNRWA schools have created a generation or two of people who are more likely to be stirred by the empty slogans of the PA or Hamas. But most Arabs are normal people who want to raise their families and to have decent jobs.

If there was a referendum on a decent economic plan, the Palestinians would overwhelmingly choose it.

Gulf leaders know this. They are the ones that have been throwing good money after bad, and have gotten tired of supporting a cause where even the Palestinian leaders cannot work together.

Top down strategies simply will not work with this dysfunctional, greedy Palestinian leadership for whom "dignity" means to beg for Arab money while rejecting tax revenues that don't include money for them to pay terrorists. Regular Arabs know that this is not real dignity. Regular Arabs are the ones paying the price.

It may be politically inconvenient for the Trump Administration to admit, but on this one, economics can’t trump politics. A vibrant economy that moves people and goods requires security, predictability, transparency, freedom of movement and capital, and, above all, buy-in from the political establishment. It can’t be done in a free-fire zone (see Gaza) or in a West Bank where 60% is still controlled by the Israelis and where the Palestinian Authority that controls the remaining 40% face serious political and economic constraints. Why would serious investors want to put their money into Gaza or the West Bank without assurance that the region will be stable and secure and that people and goods can move without impediments and restrictions? Or without a clearer understanding of who will have authority over land, water and development? Neither of those fundamental questions can currently be answered.

It is funny that someone who worked for a President whose strategy to win elections was the slogan "Its the economy, stupid" is now disparaging a plan to work on exactly that above all else.

The Trump plan is indeed to bypass the Palestinian leadership. Give them chance after chance to come to the table and let the people see that they won't even try.

The Palestinian leaders do hold the political cards - but only to stand in the way of economic help. Again, we don't know what will come out of Bahrain, but if there is a specific plan that would provide Palestinians with jobs and a way to build their own economy outside the aid and NGO-based economy they have - and if their leaders block it - those leaders become more and more irrelevant.

Let's pretend that Israel allows the UAE to build a joint Palestinian-UAE industrial park in the West Bank, that would provide 50,000 jobs. Guaranteed market for their goods in the Arab world. Israel would support it, the UAE would support it, the Palestinian people would support it. Only their leadership would oppose it.

They would try to frame that opposition in terms of "dignity" but that wouldn't work, since Israel doesn't gain anything directly - no tax revenues - from such a plan.

Either the Palestinian Authority is shamed into doing what is best for its people, or it will be toppled, because the 25% or so unemployed in the West Bank will not pretend that false claims of dignity are more important than their families.

The chances of success are very low. Even Jared Kushner admits that. But the chances of Miller's and later John Kerry's style of diplomacy working are absolute zero. Since 2001, that style has made things worse.

Different and out of the box approaches to peace are difficult and unlikely to work - but people who really care about peace instead of their egos should be in the forefront of cheering a new approach on, rather than trying to derail it before it even starts.

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Video of this morning's terrorist stabbing Jews, getting shot

From Arutz-7:

Police released footage Friday afternoon taken during the terror attack in the Old City of Jerusalem Friday morning which left two Jews wounded, one seriously, the other moderately.

The terrorist, a 19-year-old Palestinian Authority resident, stabbed and wounded 50-year-old Gavriel Lavi at around 6:30 Friday morning, leaving Lavi seriously wounded. The terrorist then fled on foot, before attacking 16-year-old Yisrael Meir Nachumberg.

As the terrorist chased another young man, police officers opened fire on the terrorist, killing him on the spot.

Remember, it is Ramadan, a time for peaceful reflection. And trying to kill Jews.

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