Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Senior Al-Aksa fugitive arrested in Bethlehem

The elite IDF Duvdevan unit arrested wanted fugitive and senior member of the Fatah Al-Aksa Brigades Adnan Mohammed Hassan Abayat, 31, who for the last couple of months hid in the Holy Family Maternity Hospital, an obstetric medical center in Bethlehem.

Abayat together with Rateb Ali Hassan Nabhan, 32, another wanted fugitive, were found hiding out in the hospital's laundry armed with two Kalashnikov rifles, three M16 rifles with telescopic sights, 15 ammunition clips and a heavy machine gun.

The two were responsible for numerous attacks against Israelis and the murder of 8 Israeli civilians and soldiers in the past four years."

Pre-Empting Pre-Emption

FrontPage magazine.com :: Pre-Empting Pre-Emption by David Bedein
On August 15th, The Revolutionary Brigades of the Iranian Army held a military parade in which they displayed the Shaab 3 missile that Israeli intelligence experts estimate has a range of 1300 kilometers, that even with a potential nuclear payload can reach any target in Israel. Not only can the Shaab missile hit Israel, but it could also hit U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf and other American bases throughout Turkey.

Meanwhile, Israel's chief of military intelligence, Major General Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash, told the Israeli government last July that Iran had supplied hundreds of Iranian-made missiles to Hezbollah that can hit all of northern Israel and territory as far south as Tel Aviv. In addition, another several dozen missiles can reach the southern city of Beersheba in southern Israel’s Negev desert.

Last September, the Iranians conducted a test launching of the Shaab 3 missile and thousands of Iranians cheered the banner and slogan which accompanied the test: "WE WILL WIPE ISRAEL OFF OF THE FACE OF THE EARTH."

Iran had pioneered the Shaab missile in 1992. Modeled after the North Korean "Nu-Ding 1" weapon, it was improved by German, Russian and Pakistani technologies.

Two weeks ago, a senior official of Israeli Air Force Intelligence testified at a closed session of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel’s Arrow missile defense capability could do little to stop any such barrage of this kind of missile. Israel’s Arrow missile is designed to intercept S.C.U.D. missiles or other lower grade potential missiles only.

This week, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton confirmed that Iran indeed told European representatives that it would be able to manufacture nuclear weapons within four years and that within a year it would be able to enrich uranium itself that can be used in such weapons of mass destruction. Bolton said that Iranian representatives made these statements in meetings with representatives from Britain, Germany and France. Bolton also said that the United States is consulting not only with officials from those three countries, but also with representatives from Russia and Japan and other governments regarding Iran's nuclear capability. He said that the consultations are taking place before a meeting of the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency next month.

Israeli nuclear expert Dr. Gerald M. Steinberg, writing in The Jerusalem Post on August 20th, 2004 agreed that International Atomic Energy Agency head, Dr. Mohamed El Baradei, is trying to find a "non-confrontational solution." However, Steinberg expressed skepticism about the need for dialogue and negotiations, since, in Steinberg’s words, "The evidence of Teheran's violations of commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is clearly presented in IAEA reports, but there is little willingness to do anything about it."

And Nobody Cries Foul

Boycotting Sports matches against Israel, with impunity

But facing the prospects of punishment, Mr. Miresmaeili turned coward. Just before his match against the Israeli, he seems to have binged on food, stuffing himself to the point that he no longer fit his weight class, earning an automatic disqualification. Rather than taking Mr. Miresmaeili to task for his stated political stunt, Olympics officials have accepted his highly contrived alibi. The Iranians will apparently pay no price for their transgression.

Unfortunately, this is a typical tale. Israel continually suffers sporting boycotts, and officials, Olympic and otherwise, continually turn a blind eye toward this injection of politics into sport.

Ever since Israel's founding, some Muslim nations have refused to compete against the Jewish state. In 1962, when Indonesia hosted the Asian Games, it chose to officially cancel the event rather than permit Israeli participation. After the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the boycott intensified and has come to permeate almost every venue. Earlier this year, for instance, Israeli fencers were initially not allowed to attend that sport's world cup in Jordan. Organizers feared that the mere presence of Israelis would cause the entire Muslim world to drop out. (Jordan ultimately caved in to international pressure and invited Israelis.) Even the mentally impaired have suffered this exclusion. At last year's Special Olympics in Ireland, both Saudi Arabia and Algeria refused to play Israel in soccer and table tennis.

Not surprisingly, Saudi Arabia has been one of the leading proponents of the boycott. In 2002, Prince Sultan signed a letter endorsing an Arab Football Federation proposal to ban Israeli competition in all international soccer matches. And when the Saudi Nabeel Al-Magahwi refused to play an Israeli at the 2003 world table-tennis championship in Paris, he became a cause célèbre. "In addition to the great support I received from government officials, residents and expatriates, I have received a special certificate from the Palestinian President Yasser Arafat that I'm very proud of," Mr. Al-Magahwi told a news conference.

Even as the Bush administration has applauded Libya's baby steps toward reform, the Gadhafi family has been another boycott stalwart. Earlier this summer, it refused to let Israeli chess players attend the world championship in Tripoli. (Chess's governing body is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee.) Because the colonel's sons are sports fanatics, the country has aggressively lobbied to host other major events. But it dropped its bid to bring the 2010 soccer World Cup to Libya rather than provide the International Soccer Federation with assurances that Israeli players and fans would be granted visas.

Hizbullah admits helping Intifada, plans to keep attacking Israel across border

Hizbullah will keep up pressure along border: "BEIRUT: Lebanon's southern border will remain a line of active confrontation with Israel because the plight of the Palestinians is a cause that affects the entire region, says Hizbullah's deputy secretary-general.

Sheikh Naim Qassem said Hizbullah has a 'religious and moral' duty to provide assistance to the Palestinian intifada and will not limit itself to liberating 'a few kilometers' of Lebanese territory, a reference to the Shebaa Farms.

In an interview with The Daily Star on the eve of the party's internal elections, Qassem said Hizbullah's battle-readiness is better than ever.

'We are now highly prepared to face Israel. We are more highly prepared than at any previous time,' Qassem said. 'The battle with Israel is not at an end. We are always in expectation of an Israeli attack in Lebanon. That's why Hizbullah continues with its logistics and training to prepare its members for any eventuality in facing attacks by Israel.'

The organization uses the United Nations-delineated Blue Line as a locus for direct military confrontation with Israel. That confrontation generally takes either the guise of retaliation for Israeli actions in Lebanon and further afield, or consists of Hizbullah-instigated attacks, such as those in the Shebaa Farms."

Newsweek article on Palestinians

Newsweekarticle on Paletinians

Israel's near-defeat of the Palestinian resistance has also stirred demands for reform. After 3,000 deaths (many of them civilians) and massive destruction, many Palestinians feel exhausted, beaten and skeptical about the logic of continuing the armed struggle. The few active guerrillas in the West Bank admit that attacking Israeli targets has become a near-insurmountable challenge. "The [724km security] wall has made it almost impossible for us to conduct operations," says Zacaria Zubeideh, the leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the Jenin refugee camp. Battered by Israel's harsh reprisals, ordinary Palestinians have turned their anger toward both the militants and the Palestinian Authority. After Hamas guerrillas fired Qassam rockets from the Gaza village of Beit Hanoun last June, Israeli troops occupied the village for 39 days, destroying houses, razing fields and shooting dead 21 people, both militants and civilians. "We're eating s—t from both sides," complains Mustafa al Refeiri, a farmer whose house and banana plantation were bulldozed by the Israelis during the siege. "If we tell Hamas not to fire, they'll shoot us. And if they fire their rockets, the Israelis will shoot us. We're caught between two fires, and the Palestinian Authority does nothing to help us."

Turkish PM to send top advisers to Israel

In a surprise move, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is preparing to send his top three advisers to Israel to repair ties, with a clear message that the Jewish state holds a unique place for Turkey."

Erdogan's harshly-worded statements against Jerusalem since the assassination of Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in March had eroded ties with Israel.

Egemen Bagis, Omer Celik, and Saban Disli, advisers who accompany Erdogan on every visit to abroad and are known as his right arms, helping him to shape vital foreign policies, will arrive in Jerusalem on August 30. The trip is to take place just a month before Erdogan's planned visit to Syria.

A Top Turkish government official told The Jerusalem Post that the advisers' visit is meant solely to deliver the message of Erdogan's good will toward Israel directly to his counterpart, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Fatih Altayli, a prominent columnist for the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, commented on the visit in an article in Thursday's edition, referring to the advisers as Erdogan's "three aces". Their visit seems to be an attempt to normalize ties between the two allies, Altayli wrote.

Some have suggested that pressure from the United States and American Jewish lobbies might have played a role in convincing Erdogan and his advisers that relations with Israel shouldn't be allowed to remain in poor shape.

Islamic group claims responsibility for Paris Jewish center attack

French investigators said Monday they were skeptical about claims of responsibility for Sunday's attack on a Paris Jewish center by an unknown Islamic group.

The group, Jamaat Ansar Al-Jihad, issued a claim of responsibility Sunday evening on the Islamic Web site known for militant Islamic comment.

The message said the attack was "in response to racist acts by Jews in France against Islam and the Muslims and the desecration of Muslim cemeteries by Jews".

"It is also meant ... as a simple response to the racist and savage acts by Jews in Muslim countries like Palestine and other Muslim and Arab countries," it said.

It said such "acts are carried out by the descendents of monkeys and pigs, with the help of the French government which stands idle before the Jews at the expense of the Muslims in France," AFP news agency reported.

It said the blaze marked the 35th anniversary of a fire at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which gutted the southeastern wing of the holy shrine.

Investigators said they doubted the claim because they did not believe a small neighborhood community center would have drawn attention from international militant groups. As well, the post referred incorrectly to the community center as a synagogue.

The Jewish community center in eastern Paris, used as a meeting place and soup kitchen for the elderly and disadvantaged, was torched before dawn on Sunday. No one was hurt as flames tore through the center on the first floor of a six-story building, located near the Bastille square.

When the smoke cleared, graffiti with anti-Semitic slogans such as "Jews get out" was found scrawled across the walls, police said.

The Terror Web

The Terror Web - a long analysis of Al Qaeda, Spain, the Madrid bombings and how terrorists are using the Internet.

S. Africa says won't sell uranium to Iran

South Africa will not assist Iran's nuclear development and will not sell any uranium to the Islamic Republic, the South African Ministry of Defense told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday.

Ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwnazi confirmed statements made earlier in the day by South Africa's ambassador to Israel Maj.-Gen Fumanekile (Fumie) Gqiba, who told Army Radio that South Africa will not aid Iran's nuclear program, and will not support any country wishing to develop nuclear weapons.

Israelis try to save young Arab victim of Pal terror attack

New York Times (requires subscription):

Mahdi Abu Snaineh, 6 years old, cannot move his legs or his left arm, and has shrapnel close to his spinal cord and his aorta. His father, Nidal, 27, hovers nearby, wary of the bustling Israelis at Hadassah University Hospital who are trying to save his child. Mahdi was in a car with his grandparents at a checkpoint in northern Jerusalem last week when a fellow Palestinian set off shrapnel-filled explosives by remote control. His grandfather died instantly and his grandmother was wounded. Mahdi, sitting in the back, was paralyzed, his abdomen pierced by nearly 10 pieces of shrapnel.

Mahdi was originally taken to a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where doctors operated on him to repair his intestines cut by shrapnel and diagnosed partial paralysis. The family asked that the boy be transferred here to Hadassah University Hospital-Ein Kerem, which has a pediatric intensive care unit and neurosurgeons.

The hospital's policy is to treat all who are ailing with evenhandedness, said a Hadassah spokeswoman, Barbara Sofer.

Dr. Ido Yatsiv, director of the pediatriac unit, said that Mahdi would live, and was "guardedly optimistic'' that the boy would regain movement in his legs. Shrapnel in his thoracic vertebrae has caused the spinal cord to swell, but it is not severed. Doctors want to see if the swelling will go down before deciding whether to operate.

Similarly, shrapnel near Mahdi's heart, a centimeter from his aorta, could be threatening if the body does not begin to form scar tissue around it. Again, the doctors want to wait. There was also shrapnel in Mahdi's armpit, which reduced the movement of his hand, and paralysis of the phrenic nerve, which helps the diaphragm create suction in the lungs.

If the doctors find they must leave some shrapnel, Dr. Yatsiv said, with a quiet sigh, "he'll set off the metal detectors for the rest of his life'' - no small issue for a Palestinian in Israel. But more important, he said, is that Mahdi walk again.

U.S. Eyes Money Trails of Saudi-Backed Charities

U.S. Eyes Money Trails of Saudi-Backed Charities
Includes a discussion of how Saudi exports Wahhabism to the West.

Lantos Urges Syria to Follow Libya's Steps

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria should follow Libya's example and renouncing weapons of mass destruction and links to anti-Israel militant groups in return for better U.S. ties, a prominent U.S. lawmaker said Wednesday.

'As a friend of the Syrian people I want to see the leaders of this great nation ... make the right choice as well,' said Tom Lantos of California, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives' International Relations Committee.

Libya's 'Colonel (Muammar) Gaddafi ... will reap endless benefits in political, economic and cultural ties with the United States and the civilized world as a result of his actions,' he told a news conference in Damascus after meeting Syria's Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara.

In May, Washington imposed economic sanctions on Damascus chiefly because of its concerns over support for Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups, lack of security on the Iraq-Syria border and its alleged pursuit of unconventional weapons."

Vacation

I will be on vacation Thursday through Monday, so probably no posts until I am back.
Have a great weekend!

British so-called philosopher : Palestinian terror is morally justified (Al Jazeera)

In a breathtaking display of moral inversion, a British "philosopher" calls America's actions in Iraq immoral terrorism but Palestinians blowing up babies are morally justifiable.

A leading radical philosopher, who has been compared to Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre and praised by Noam Chomsky, says Palestinian "terrorism" is a moral response to Israeli ethnic cleansing.

Ted Honderich, a professor of philosophy at University College London, plans to take the same message to the Edinburgh International Book Fair on Thursday, where tickets to hear his speech have already sold out.

The philosopher plans to begin his talk at the Opus Theatre with a close look at definitions of terrorism, particularly when it applies to Palestine and the expansion of Israel outside its 1967 borders.

He concludes it is "killing and maiming for political and social ends … illegal in terms of national or international law", and suggests Iraq could also fall into this definition.

"America is now engaged, as I say, in the principal piece of moral stupidity of this time … it is as if the causes of terrorism that are neo-Zionism and Palestine do not exist," he added.

However, defining "neo-Zionism" as the movement to expand Israel outside its pre-1967 borders, he condemns some Israeli policy today as an "ongoing rapacity of ethnic cleansing, the violation of the remaining homeland of the remaining Palestinians".

"It dishonours the great Jewish moral and political tradition of resolute compassion for the badly-off, a tradition now exemplifed by Noam Chomsky."

"This rape of a people and a homeland is in its wrongfulness a kind of moral datum … and issues in a moral right on the part of the Palestinians to their terrorism," he concludes.

Bracelets string the public along

As with most things in Hollywood, a new fashion statement has made its way down to the masses. Those red-string kabbalah bracelets you've seen Madonna and Demi Moore wearing are now sold at Target for $25.99.

Madonna says she's now a devout practitioner of kabbalah (the interpretation of Judaism in terms of the workings of the 10 powers of God through which God created and interacts with our world). But those who study it say calling them kabbalah bracelets is misleading.

"They have nothing to do with kabbalah; that's the trick of the marketing," says Eliezer L. Segal, a professor of religious studies at the University of Calgary. "The public that's being catered to doesn't know any better."

Segal says the red string dates to Greek and Roman times, and the practice was later adopted by Jews. The only mention of red string in Jewish texts, says Segal, is in the Tosefta, a supplement to the Mishnah, a book of oral laws. It's in a section that discusses superstitious practices -- which ones are forbidden and which are accepted. Putting on red strings is one of the things that's forbidden.

In Eastern Europe, families nevertheless tied the red string to cribs to divert diseases such as scarlet fever. There it was called a bendel ribbon in Yiddish. They also attached it to the clothing of older children. Now they are used to keep away "the evil eye."

These days they're available in gold, too -- the red string is weaved into a gold chain. For those who have been to the Old City of Jerusalem, the fact that they're going for $25.99 is laughable: Visitors can buy them in Israel for about 22 cents.