Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

PalArab support for Hamas goes up sharply

From the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research:

These are the results of the latest poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip between 21-23 June 2012.

The second quarter of 2012 shows clear improvement in the standing and popularity of Hamas and Ismail Haniyeh, especially in the Gaza Strip, and a decline in the popularity of Fateh and President Abbas. The increased Hamas popularity might be due to the fact that it has allowed the Palestinian election commission to begin voter registration in the Gaza Strip and might reflect optimism about future improvement in the conditions of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate in the Egyptian presidential elections. The decline in the popularity of Fateh and president Abbas comes in light of widespread popular anger with the PA for the arrest of journalists and the blocking of internet sites. It might also reflect public perception of a reluctance on the part of Abbas to form a reconciliation government despite Hamas' decision to allow the election commission to operate in the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, it is possible that Abbas' reluctance to go to the UN or take the initiative to break the deadlock in the relationship with Israel might in part explain the increase in public dissatisfaction with his performance and the decrease in the percentage of votes he might receive in a new presidential elections.

Findings also indicate that the overwhelming majority of the public opposes the arrest of journalists or the blocking of internet sites and view such measures as harming the Palestinian cause in international public opinion. A majority is also pessimistic about the chances to implement the reconciliation agreement and a very small minority is optimistic about the chances of forming a reconciliation government in days or weeks or organizing parliamentary and presidential elections before the end of the year.

Ha'aretz Hebrew has some of the numbers, showing that the gap between those who would vote for Abbas and those who would vote for Haniyeh has narrowed to 7%, as opposed to 12% last quarter.

But if terrorist Marwan Barghouti would run for president against Haniyeh, Barghouti would win 60%-34%.

Fatah's popularity in parliamentary elections also declined from 47% to 40%.

The raw results will probably be released next week.

(h/t Yoel and CHA)

6 out of 10 Arabs support censorship of the arts

From Al Ahram:

An opinion poll conducted by the Doha Debates television programme reveals that six out of 10 Arab citizens support government censorship of the arts, especially when it comes to nudity or profane language.

According to the poll, conducted between 30 May and 3 June, most said that the existence of regulatory bodies and institutions affiliated with the state is a must, as art could be "inappropriate" and offend "religious beliefs."

Most of those polled suggested that censorship was needed on modern art taught in Arab universities, but most also said that censorship would not be able to stand in the way of artists because thoughts and beliefs live in our imaginations.

In the poll, most of those who supported government censorship of art came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Yemen. Poll samples from less conservative countries in the region returned different results.

Al Ahram itself came under fire recently for censoring a famous piece by Abdel Hadi al-Gazzar by covering up the breasts of a woman in the painting:

Muslims upset at Putin's visit to the Kotel

Vladimir Putin visited the Kotel on Tuesday night:

Throughout the visit, Putin demonstrated curiosity, asked many questions on the history of the place, and spoke about the Jewish connection to the holy site: "You can see how the Jewish past is engraved in the Jerusalem stone," he said.

As you can imagine, Muslims were very unhappy at a world leader saying that Jerusalem has anything to do with Judaism.

Hamas called it a cheap stunt, and the Al Aqsa Heritage Foundation said:

We say to Putin and his ilk, that the Wailing Wall is purely Islamic, and is part and parcel of the Al Aqsa Mosque, and non-Muslims have no right to the wall or in the Al Aqsa Mosque. All the historical facts and international documents confirm that the Al-Buraq Wall is Islamic, including the British Shaw Commission. Remember, the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem and the al-Aqsa mosque is 45 years old, and they demolished the buildings and around the Square unjustly for the prayer of the Jews, then carried out the excavations, including the excavation along the bottom of the Al Aqsa Mosque, and during the excavations many of the Islamic and Arabic findings were suppressed, not to mention that these excavations led to the cracks and collapses in the vicinity of the Al Aqsa Mosque and some of its buildings, and the occupation is engaging in Judaization of the place, and we affirm that all rocks the Al Aqsa Mosque and every stone of Jerusalem proves the Arab identity of Jerusalem.

Other Arab media pointed out that Putin wore a kipah.

Links

From Ian:

It looks like Mel Gibson has fallen off the wagon again:
Anti-Semitic Elmo detained in NY
“Man dressed as Sesame Street character is removed from Central Park after obscene rants against Jews”

Birthplace of Christ Used in Bid for Palestinian Statehood

“The issue is not genuinely about a two-state solution – as many are fooled into believing. Lethal opposition to the State of Israel remains fierce. This tiny democracy, Israel, which lives by individual freedoms, equal justice under law and respect for universal human rights, is an affront to these autocratic regimes.”

“The drive to have the Church of the Nativity recognized as a global heritage site is nothing short of offensive. Christians have been driven out of their ancestral lands; Palestinians have shown nothing but hostility to both Christians and Jews. Moreover, Christ himself was a Jew.

Upon the birth of the State of Israel in 1948, Bethlehem had a Christian population of over 80 percent. With the rise of the Muslim population, Christians dwindled in numbers. Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority took over the town in 1995, thanks to the Oslo Accords. Along with the PA, came a tribal political system which caused Bethlehem's Christian population, already at 15%, to further sink to 2% today. Under this political system Christians are targeted, seen as inferiors, and subjected to threats, violence, discrimination and acts of terrorism.”

BBC Apologies:
BBC apologises over Itamar massacres coverage

The BBC “got it wrong” by not giving prominence to the massacre of the Fogel family by Palestinians in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, the outgoing director-general has admitted.

Our coverage of the Arab Spring was over-excited, admits BBC

Head of news admits reporters may have failed to explore both sides of the story
Countries where regimes were not overthrown were ignored, says BBC Trust report by former UN director of communications
Two thirds of mobile footage and other user-generated content was broadcast without any caveats

BBC boss sorry for reply to campaign to save radio show

“BBC head of north-west programming Aziz Rashid has apologised for snubbing Jewish leaders with a standardised reply to their complaint over the scrapping of the Jewish programme on Radio Manchester.”

Emanuel Cleaver and the Congressional Black Caucus Fail to Condemn Antisemitic Democrat

“Here is a list of organizations that have endorsed Barron, to their eternal shame: the Sierra Club, one of the most influential environmental groups in the nation; DC 37 and 1707, the big New York City public sector unions affiliated with AFSCME and the AFL-CIO; outgoing incumbent Democrat Edolphus Towns; and the local Amsterdam News, among others.“

A Hamas victory at the UN Human Rights Council

“Here is some of what Habeeb had to say while speaking in a UN room, at a UN-provided microphone, at a UN-advertised event associated with the UN’s top human rights body: “In 1947, 1948 and 1949 the Palestinian refugees were ethnically cleansed by the Israeli gangs.... Some Arab armies came to Palestine to fight the Zionist project, which came from all over Europe to take over Palestine and to make it as a national home for the Jews, although it was always the national home for the Palestinians for thousands and thousands of years.”

AFP Whence the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty?

"Today AFP refers to "1980, the year after Cairo signed its peace agreement with Tel Aviv." (Emphasis added.)

The Church of England Battles the Israeli Satan

"The Anglican Church, the UK's largest, is in the vanguard of Jew-hatred. Israel is demonized and their upcoming Synod may be a watershed."

New Memri Video:
Egyptian Leftist Politician Rifat Said: The Muslim Bortherhood Will Never Relinquish the Presidency

Also, Mostly Kosher on Amnesty's latest absurdity (h/t Benjamin of Tudela)

An searing first person account of being sexually abused at Tahrir Square (h/t CHA)

Israel's SodaStream surges, BDS fails again (h/t Tobias)

A German judge prohibits circumcisions

It is time for my quarterly appeal for donations. I'll try to be less irritating than PBS.

Things keep going well here at Chez Elder. During this last quarter we have seen a steady increase of Twitter followers (now approaching 2500) and subscribers to the blog via RSS and email (750 people get my email digest directly, and many others have it forwarded to them.) Direct blog readership has held steady at around 5000 hits a day.

I spoke last month to a full house as part of a panel at an American Zionist Movement event. Here's how it was described:

The guest blogger was “ElderofZiyon,” well-known by his nom de plume in the blogosphere but rarely seen in public. “Elder” is perhaps the most quoted blogger in the area of Middle East politics, and he used his time well to help the hopefuls in the audience think about how to be most effective in their work on behalf of Israel.

It has been hard to keep up my pace of posting, as I started a new job and my free time has gone down considerably. In order to maximize blogging time, I had to buy a netbook (Acer Aspire One), and a new cell phone ($399 plus shipping) with an upgraded data plan ($15/month) so I can blog on the train. (My one day of trying to blog with a tablet was awful. Sorry, but to blog the way I do, you need a real computer. I ran to Walmart that night because I couldn't take it.) Because of nosy commuters looking over my shoulder, I just ordered a privacy screen for the netbook as well.

I also occasionally blog at The Times of Israel. I just did one today based on a post from last week, that has already gotten some Twitter traction.

So if you want to be a partner in this endeavor, please consider a donation - either a one-time donation or a subscription - by clicking on the appropriate button in the upper right of the blog site or simply going to this PayPal site. If you are not a fan of PayPal, I happily accept Amazon gift cards which can be sent via email.

And if you have lots of money and want to match the donations given, the way someone does at Mondoweiss (!), feel free to contact me!

Thanks as always for your support, for being there and for publicizing my posts. I really, really appreciate it!

Those "civilian" Hamas police...

Remember the Goldstone Report? The biased UN report took pains to claim that the police of Gaza should be considered civilians and not terrorists or militants. I debunked it here and here.

Well, Goldstone and the other "human rights" organizations are proven wrong again.

Hamas held a ceremony for police graduates where it was made very clear that the goal of the police is anything but civil:

Announcer: Now that we have heard the song of the men, here is a little Palestinian girl, a flower of Jerusalem, who insisted on participating in this ceremony. Rawan is the daughter of one of the officers at the Palestinian police academy. Please welcome Rawan Khilla, who will recite what she has to say, the words on which she was raised.

[…]

Rawan Khilla: Glory explodes in your bodies, and eternal life is guaranteed for martyrdom-seekers.

[…]

Fathi Hammad, Hamas Minister of the Interior and of National Security: Allah says: “Prepare for them what force and steeds of war you can.” The Prophet Muhammad says: “Prepare for them what force you can. Force means shooting.” The Prophet Muhammad also says: “Lands shall be thrown open to you, and Allah will protect you, but none of you should give up playing with his arrows.”

None of you should give up playing with all the tools of force and equipment, which will bring us closer to our aspirations: Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Haifa, Akko and Jaffa.

[…]

From this place, I bring you glad tidings: The officers of the class graduating today will become the Police Chief of Jaffa, the Police Chief of Haifa, the Police Chief of Akko, the Police Chief of Lod, the Police Chief of Ramle, and of all other places.

Therefore, from this place, we declare to all those who usurped our lands that they must prepare to leave, because we have prepared for Jihad. You are going to leave, while we are summoned to battle. We are the owners of this land.

[…]

We say: There shall be no reconciliation with secularism. There shall be no reconciliation with any path other than that of Islam.

[…]

This is an opportunity for you to study at our academy how to defend our battlefront and how to be soldiers of Allah. We will not be the soldiers of the US, of the Zionists, or of the hypocrites. We are determined to proceed along the path of Allah.

Therefore, dear brothers, we speak with conviction. Some might say: You are talking as if victory is imminent. Yes, victory is imminent. Victory is ours, and disgrace will be the lot of all the hypocrites, who agreed to be the shoes on the feet of the Zionists and the Americans.

Indeed, victory is coming. Victory is imminent.

This isn't a police force - it is an army.

But "human rights" organizations will always refuse to see the truth in their zeal to crucify Israel.

(h/t Yoel)

Iranian VP blames drug problem on - the Talmud

From the ever-entertaining official Iranian Fars news agency:

Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi condemned Zionists for inciting global drug trade and addiction in a bid to annihilate non-Jewish communities in accordance with Talmudic teachings.

Addressing a ceremony on the occasion of the International Day of Drug Abuse here in Tehran on Tuesday, Rahimi stated that prevalence of narcotics and drug-addition throughout the world finds its roots in the wrong teachings of the Zionists' religious book, Talmud.

The Talmud (Hebrew: "instruction, learning") is a central text of mainstream Judaism in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history.

"The book teaches them how to destroy non-Jews so as to protect an embryo in the womb of a Jewish mother," Rahimi stated.

The Iranian vice-president said that the Zionists' direct involvement in the prevalence of illicit drugs is while "you cannot find a single addict among the Zionists".

I must have missed that part of the Talmud. (Maybe it's in the Yerushalmi.)

But don't call Iranian leaders anti-semitic. He was only talking about the "Zionist" Talmud.

(h/t Challah Hu Akbar)

Report: Al Qaeda recruited Norwegian Muslim to attack West

From AP:

A Norwegian man has received terrorist training from al-Qaida's offshoot in Yemen and is awaiting orders to carry out an attack on the West, officials from three European security agencies told The Associated Press on Monday.

Western intelligence officials have long feared such a scenario — a convert to Islam who is trained in terrorist methods and can blend in easily in Europe and the United States, traveling without visa restrictions.

Officials from three European security agencies confirmed Monday the man is "operational," meaning he has completed his training and is about to receive a target. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly. They declined to name the man, who has not been accused of a crime.

"We believe he is operational and he is probably about to get his target," one security official said. "And that target is probably in the West."

A security official in a second European country confirmed the information, adding: "From what I understand, a specific target has not been established."

European security services, including in Norway, have warned in recent years of homegrown, radicalized Muslims traveling to terror training camps in conflict zones. Many of the known cases involve young men with family roots in Muslim countries.

But the latest case involves a man in his 30s with no immigrant background, the officials said. After converting to Islam in 2008, he quickly became radicalized and traveled to Yemen to receive terror training, one of the officials said. The man spent "some months" in Yemen and is still believed to be there, he said.

The official said the man has no criminal record, which would also make him an ideal recruit for al-Qaida.

"Not even a parking ticket," he said. "He's completely clean and he can travel anywhere."

The official would not specify what preventive measures were being taken but said "there is a well-established relationship between Western security services, and they share the information needed to prevent terrorism."

The officials declined to specify what makes them think the man is operational.

The man has not been accused of a crime in Norway, where traveling abroad to attend terror training camps is not a crime per se. In many European countries, suspects are not named unless they have been formally charged with a crime.

Yemeni military officials said they had information on Europeans training with al-Qaida in the southern part of the country but that they weren't aware of a Norwegian being among them. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

CIA and FBI officials in the U.S. declined to comment on the AP report.

(h/t Yoel)

Another peaceful "truce" rocket

From YNet this morning:

The Color Red alert sounded in Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council. A projectile landing site was found shortly afterwards.

No injuries were reported, but a henhouse in one of the council's kibbutzim sustained some damage.

Meanwhile:

Israel has lodged another complaint with the UN Security Council, condemning the rocket barrages fired recently on the Jewish state from the Gaza Strip.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, wrote in the letter that a million civilians are under risk of being hurt in the attacks, and warned that the Security Council's inaction could exacerbate the conflict.

Who can be against a complaint to the Security Council against terrorist rocket fire targeting a million civilians?

Why, Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party, of course!

Spokesman for the Fatah movement Dr. Fayez Abu Eita said in a press statement issued by the Office of Information and Culture on Tuesday, 'This complaint is the second official complaint made yesterday by the Government of Israel to the Security Council on the continued firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip, [but] it is only to throw dust in the eyes and mislead world public opinion, to cover up its ugly crimes against our people and our cause.'

Once upon a time, the Fatah-dominated PA would issue automatic (and quite insincere) condemnations of terror attacks. Now they make quite clear what side they have been on the entire time.

Anti-Israel LA billboard campaign fails- because the haters screwed up

From the virulently anti-Israel Mondoweiss site, June 13:

Exciting news. The Coalition to Stop 30 Billion to Israel has put up 23 billboards across Los Angeles in an awareness initiative to stop military aid to Israel.

...The billboard company for Stop30Billion's LA initiative is CBS Outdoor, the outdoor advertising division of media conglomerate CBS Corporation.

Due to the tremendous pressure CBS Outdoor will undoubtedly encounter in the days and weeks ahead, Stop30Billion and its partner the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation have asked us to sign a petition to thank CBS Outdoor.

But only one week into the hate campaign, CBS Outdoor took the billboards down:

That win fell apart just one week later when the billboard company--CBS Outdoor, a subsidiary of CBS Corporation-- took all our billboards down.

They sent a curt email telling us they were canceling our contract and refunding our money because "your organization has used the ‘CBS Outdoor’ name without permission" in email messages and in our petition thanking CBS for putting up the billboards in the first place.

Needless to say, this was a punch in the stomach.

In other words, the hate crowd tried to make it sound like CBS supported their message, and overstepped.

StandWithUs has more - and they are going to put up their own pro-Israel billboards in Los Angeles in the same locations.

Open the pod bay thread, Hal.

I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission.

Links!

From Ian:

Karma news - Anti-Israel BDSers “The Co-Op” caught out desecrating the dead.
Families horror as its revealed Co-op funeral firm piled naked bodies up in grim warehouse morgue

Channel 4 Dispatches programme shows casket lid was removed to cram four bodies into a van which left elderly woman's nose nearly touching roof
Horrific moment when the wrong body is discovered at a funeral and family wait 30 minutes for the right coffin to be found
Undercover programme also reveals that if a family member requests to see their relatives again bodies are quickly returned to the funeral home
Last year firm handled 100,000 funerals and made £51million profit

The media’s despicable silence on Israel

"The world’s media constantly blasts and attacks Israel. A simple monitoring of the media over the last few days shows a deafening silence on issues – and there’s no explanation other than media bias against Israel:
In the last week, there have been 150 rockets fired into Israel, and it’s far from major news. It’s a non-issue for the Western media – damage to a school and factory on Saturday. It will become news when Israel responds and kills some terrorist(s), and world headlines will speak of “tit for tat violence.” No, in reality it’s a sane democratic country defending herself from terrorism."

Should Israel Exist? A Sovereign Nation under Attack by the International Community

PA TV glorifies Palestinian terrorists who killed over 100 civilians in video by Palestinian national band

“Palestinian Authority TV has twice broadcast a music video honoring terrorist prisoners, including Ibrahim Hamed, serving 45 life sentences for orchestrating suicide bombings at Hebrew University (9 killed), Cafe Moment (12 killed), Cafe Hillel (7 killed), and Abbas Al-Sayid, serving 35 life sentences for planning the suicide bombing at the Jewish Passover Seder in Netanya (30 killed), and others.”

Congressman Allen West calls upon Obama to cut off U.S. aid to Egypt and repudiate Muslim Brotherhood

Egyptian cleric launching Pres. Morsi’s campaign promised new Arab empire with Jerusalem as capital

Malaysia to extradite Iranian suspected of attempted attack on Israeli targets

Australian-Israeli Venture Turns Emissions Into Fuel With Solar Energy

An Israeli-Australian venture aims to use concentrated solar power technology to turn carbon emissions from coal fired power generators in Victoria into fuel.

Egyptian beats pregnant wife to death for not voting for Morsi

From Al Arabiya:

An Egyptian plumber in Alexandria beat his pregnant wife to death upon learning that she had not voted for Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohammed Mursi, reported the Egyptian daily al-Wafd on Sunday.

According to police reports, the initial argument between the couple who was not named escalated into violence, despite her pleas. Battered and bruised, she was reported to have died at the hospital from injuries sustained.

Syrian army officers defecting in larger numbers

From Al Arabiya:

A Syrian general, two colonels, two majors, one lieutenant and 33 soldiers have defected from President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and arrived in Turkey, Turkish state television said on Monday, without giving any further details.

The private news channel CNN Turk also reported the defections of the soldiers, but said they had arrived with members of their families, making a total of 224 individuals.

On Sunday, three additional Syrian military pilots have defected to Jordan, according to Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Amman.

“The three pilots have entered Jordan in an illegal way and they are currently held by the Jordanian security authorities who are taking them through the regular routine procedures” said Al Arabiya’s Ghassan Abu Louz quoting sources within Syrian opposition.

One of the three pilots was a Lieutenant Colonel who managed to bring in his family to Jordan today as well, according to the correspondent. The other two pilots were both colonels and were believed to have also brought in their families from Syria, he said.

Four other Syrian military officials have entered Jordan since last Thursday following the defection of the colonel Hassan Marei Hamada who landed his Meg21 plane inside the Hashemite Kingdom.

Syria's SANA news agency is silent about these reports.

Outrageous: AP turns terrorists into "art"

Un-effing-believable. From The Daily Star/Lebanon:

Seven Palestinians gathered in a home in the West Bank village of Bilin and displayed their improvised weapons of protest as AP photographer Oded Balilty snapped their portraits against a black backdrop. The images provide a rare look at the Palestinian stone throwers normally seen in the streets in action against Israeli soldiers.

Do you think any of these "protesters" also throw stones at cars and buses? Have any of them hurled boulders through the windshield of a moving vehicle? Maybe a Molotov cocktail or three?

It's bad enough that wire services stage photos and pretend that they are news. But this takes it to another level - it is at attempt to elevate terrorism into art under the thin guise that it is news. It is romanticizing terror.

A "rare look"? Do these loving portraits illuminate anything about stone throwers that we didn't already know?

Yes, they do. They teach us that AP is a disgusting organization.

And the sick part is, you just know at the end of the year these portraits will win awards from various "progressive" publications, and will be hanging in galleries in Europe.

The photographer is an Israeli who lives in Tel Aviv and has already won a Pulitzer.