Friday, January 06, 2012
Elder of ZiyonI like the commercial about Ilan Grapel.
Stevie Van Zandt Takes On Antisemitism
5 hours ago
Friday, January 06, 2012
Friday, January 06, 2012
Elder of Ziyon
unrwa
In 1949, the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP) held a months-long conference in Lausanne with Israelis, Arab countries and representatives of Palestinian Arabs to discuss how to solve the issues that came up from the 1948 war, including boundaries, Jerusalem and refugees.
The Commission was frustrated by both the Israelis and Arabs, as the Arabs wanted the repatriation of refugees to be the prerequisite for any other discussions, while Israel wanted the problem to be solved in context of a comprehensive peace plan. The Commission, with delegates from the US, France and Turkey, often sided with the Arabs and spent much of its time trying to find formulas to allow many or most of the refugees to go to Israel.
I came across a very interesting article in the Palestine Post, July 13, 1949, by Jon Kimche, regarding this Commission.
It seems to have been well known, at least among those who followed the issue, that a significant number of "refugees" did not come from the territory controlled by Israel!
This seems consistent with research that Efraim Karsh did to count the number of 1948 Arab refugees. He calculated between 583,000-609,000 refugees from Israeli territory during the war. But the UNRWA's first count of "refugees" done at the end of 1949 came up with 962,000! (I believe that they reduced that number in their second estimate to something lower than 900,000 after accounting for fraudulent claims, mostly for people who died and who didn't exist.)
The first UNRWA report accepted that there were over 150,000 destitute Arabs who were seeking aid from the Agency who were not refugees, so it is unclear if they were included in that initial number - or if they ended up being included anyway. UNRWA and other organizations at the time also freely admitted that the Arabs were exaggerating their numbers. "Many of the needy are now actually in poorer circumstances than the average refugee because the latter receives food, medical care and some clothing, little of which is available to the non-refugee."
I had not been previously aware of the number of "refugees" who fled from areas that ended up being in Jordan or Gaza. Perhaps they left out of fear that the Zionist forces would reach them. But it looks like many of them took advantage of the free food and medical care that UNRWA provided. I don't know if Kimche's numbers are accurate - they seem somewhat exaggerated - but it appears that a large proportion of the "refugees" in 1949 were nothing of the sort.
And chances are that many of them and their descendants are still defined as "refugees" today.
The Commission was frustrated by both the Israelis and Arabs, as the Arabs wanted the repatriation of refugees to be the prerequisite for any other discussions, while Israel wanted the problem to be solved in context of a comprehensive peace plan. The Commission, with delegates from the US, France and Turkey, often sided with the Arabs and spent much of its time trying to find formulas to allow many or most of the refugees to go to Israel.
I came across a very interesting article in the Palestine Post, July 13, 1949, by Jon Kimche, regarding this Commission.
Perhaps the failure of the Commission is best indicated by its failure to have done anything about the 200,000 Arab refugees who have fled, not from Israeli occupied territory, but from Arab occupied Palestine. There was no political obstacle to their repatriation. Yet they continue to sit in camps and refugee villages without anyone lifting a finger to get them back to their homes. Next there are 200,000 destitute Arabs who are not refugees but who draw assistance form the relief funds or live in refugee camps. Their problem will not be settled by repatriation of genuine refugees. What are they waiting for? In other words almost half the total problem of the so-called refugees could have been tackled without waiting on Israeli agreement for anything. It detracts considerably from the humanitarian argument used to persuade Israel to do something quick while these conditions continue unbettered.
It seems to have been well known, at least among those who followed the issue, that a significant number of "refugees" did not come from the territory controlled by Israel!
This seems consistent with research that Efraim Karsh did to count the number of 1948 Arab refugees. He calculated between 583,000-609,000 refugees from Israeli territory during the war. But the UNRWA's first count of "refugees" done at the end of 1949 came up with 962,000! (I believe that they reduced that number in their second estimate to something lower than 900,000 after accounting for fraudulent claims, mostly for people who died and who didn't exist.)
The first UNRWA report accepted that there were over 150,000 destitute Arabs who were seeking aid from the Agency who were not refugees, so it is unclear if they were included in that initial number - or if they ended up being included anyway. UNRWA and other organizations at the time also freely admitted that the Arabs were exaggerating their numbers. "Many of the needy are now actually in poorer circumstances than the average refugee because the latter receives food, medical care and some clothing, little of which is available to the non-refugee."
I had not been previously aware of the number of "refugees" who fled from areas that ended up being in Jordan or Gaza. Perhaps they left out of fear that the Zionist forces would reach them. But it looks like many of them took advantage of the free food and medical care that UNRWA provided. I don't know if Kimche's numbers are accurate - they seem somewhat exaggerated - but it appears that a large proportion of the "refugees" in 1949 were nothing of the sort.
And chances are that many of them and their descendants are still defined as "refugees" today.
- Friday, January 06, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
Al Quds al Arabi has an article about one of the most discriminated groups of Palestinian Arabs - the Gazans of Jordan.
Most of Jordan's Gazans fled there in 1967 because they or their parents didn't want to live under Israeli rule. Unlike the West Bank Palestinians who Jordan naturalized in 1949, these Palestinians from Gaza have been treated as if they don't exist.
There are over 100,000 Gazans in Jordan.
The article talks about Mohammed Khalil Shami, born in Aqaba in 1969, who has never left Jordan in his life. When he returned with his family on vacation in a nearby town, he was stopped at a checkpoint that other Jordanians could sail through. He was held for several hours.
Instructions from Amman on how to treat Gazans at any point in time are arbitrary and secret. In this case, Shami complained about how he could be treated like foreign spies when he has lived in Jordan his whole life?
People of Gazan descent in Jordan have restrictions on land ownership, business ownership and jobs. Some register their businesses under the names of Jordanian friends.
Shami says that Gazans in Jordan are "the living dead."
A pharmacist friend of his complains that pharmacists, among others, cannot get licenses. "We have received education in the best universities in and outside Jordan, our skills are very important but we are just ghosts - the ministries do not give us a license to practice our profession and no one wants to recognize our existence at all."
Others complain about things as simple as getting cell phones, not to mention health benefits. "Is there anything more humiliating than this?"
I had covered the disgraceful plight of Gazans in Jordan in 2010. I ended off asking these questions:
And the answer:
Zero, zero, zero, zero and zero.
(Related: Jordanian Gazans prove that Arabs don't really care about the "right to return.")
(h/t Arthur)
Most of Jordan's Gazans fled there in 1967 because they or their parents didn't want to live under Israeli rule. Unlike the West Bank Palestinians who Jordan naturalized in 1949, these Palestinians from Gaza have been treated as if they don't exist.
There are over 100,000 Gazans in Jordan.
The article talks about Mohammed Khalil Shami, born in Aqaba in 1969, who has never left Jordan in his life. When he returned with his family on vacation in a nearby town, he was stopped at a checkpoint that other Jordanians could sail through. He was held for several hours.
Instructions from Amman on how to treat Gazans at any point in time are arbitrary and secret. In this case, Shami complained about how he could be treated like foreign spies when he has lived in Jordan his whole life?
People of Gazan descent in Jordan have restrictions on land ownership, business ownership and jobs. Some register their businesses under the names of Jordanian friends.
Shami says that Gazans in Jordan are "the living dead."
A pharmacist friend of his complains that pharmacists, among others, cannot get licenses. "We have received education in the best universities in and outside Jordan, our skills are very important but we are just ghosts - the ministries do not give us a license to practice our profession and no one wants to recognize our existence at all."
Others complain about things as simple as getting cell phones, not to mention health benefits. "Is there anything more humiliating than this?"
I had covered the disgraceful plight of Gazans in Jordan in 2010. I ended off asking these questions:
How many times have you read about this "open-air prison?" How many human rights groups have championed the cause of Jordanian Gazans? What op-eds have ever been written, shaming the Hashemite Kingdom on how poorly they treat their Arab brethren? How many flotillas and convoys are being organized to help out the women and children? How many people are working to divest from Jordanian products because of this shameful discrimination?
And the answer:
Zero, zero, zero, zero and zero.
(Related: Jordanian Gazans prove that Arabs don't really care about the "right to return.")
(h/t Arthur)
- Friday, January 06, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
From Point of No Return:
CiFWatch adds that the clip also includes “Killing the Jews is a must!” (0:16) and “Chasing away the Jews is a must!” (0:20).
These must be those moderate Islamists we've been hearing so much about.
The YouTube comments include quite a few Tunisians who are deeply embarrassed about this.
UPDATE: Translation from commenter Sammish at the Point of No Return blog:
Cries of 'Out with the Jews!', 'Kill the Jews!' greeted the arrival at Tunis airport of the Hamas chief in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, StandWithUS (France) reports.
A few hundred people gathered on 5 January at the Tunis-Carthage airport to welcome Haniyeh. As they waited for him they sang antisemitic chants and slogans to the glory of Palestine and the liberation of Gaza. They carried Palestinian flags, the flags of the Ennahda movement, and the black flags of the Salafists.
Ismail Haniyeh was arriving in Tunisia from Turkey for a two-day visit.
CiFWatch adds that the clip also includes “Killing the Jews is a must!” (0:16) and “Chasing away the Jews is a must!” (0:20).
These must be those moderate Islamists we've been hearing so much about.
The YouTube comments include quite a few Tunisians who are deeply embarrassed about this.
UPDATE: Translation from commenter Sammish at the Point of No Return blog:
Speaker(One person):"Kick the jews:
Crowd:"Duty" [wajib] (It is a duty)
Speaker:" Expel the Jews"
Crowd: "Duty".
Speaker: "Kill the Jews"
Crowd: "Duty"
- Friday, January 06, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
Tayeb Abdel Rahim, secretary general of the PA presidency, spoke on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas at a ceremony honoring Palestinian Arab radio and television as a new cultural center opened in Ramallah.
In his speech, he said that every day the PA TV and radio broadcasters create new and beautiful programming showing the "genius of the revolution." He congratulated them and blessed Yasser Abed Rabbo, who is responsible for all broadcast media, for deepening the idea of a "Palestinian homeland" saying that the "culture of resistance" flows through their veins.
I didn't see him praising them on telling the truth, or on objectivity, or allowing any perspectives into Palestinian Arab TV besides the government line.
I didn't see any response from PA reporters, saying that their jobs are to report the news accurately and objectively, and saying that they are not simply parroting the official government positions.
I also don't see the people who pretend to care so much about freedom of expression saying anything about this speech that proves (as if people didn't know) that the Palestinian Arab media are nothing but organs of propaganda and incitement.
I didn't see him praising them on telling the truth, or on objectivity, or allowing any perspectives into Palestinian Arab TV besides the government line.
I didn't see any response from PA reporters, saying that their jobs are to report the news accurately and objectively, and saying that they are not simply parroting the official government positions.
I also don't see the people who pretend to care so much about freedom of expression saying anything about this speech that proves (as if people didn't know) that the Palestinian Arab media are nothing but organs of propaganda and incitement.
- Friday, January 06, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
For the past several days, Fatah leader Nabil Sha'ath has been in Gaza working on unification with Hamas.
In an interview there, he was asked about Hamas' position that armed resistance is still necessary.
Don't expect the Western media to make a big deal over the fact that the "moderate" Fatah is saying pretty much what Hamas says about "armed resistance."
In an interview there, he was asked about Hamas' position that armed resistance is still necessary.
See? Unity stands a chance - as long as Fatah keeps moving closer to Hamas' positions!"If you wish to end the siege on the Gaza Strip you must agreed with the program of President Abu Mazen which calls for peaceful resistance to achieve the Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza on the border of 1967 and its capital Jerusalem."
In response to Hamas's rejection of the option of popular resistance and adherence to armed resistance, he said Hamas was divided on this issue, and Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas political leader spoke of the popular struggle in Cairo at length and Hamas went to Khartoum to agree to that.
Shaath said the adoption of the popular resistance does not mean giving up the armed struggle ...international law and morality gives the right of armed resistance, but it is better to resist the military and not attack civilians, pointing out at this time that any use of armed struggle would be more costly than its results, expressing his belief that Hamas agrees.
He said he did not ask the Hamas movement to abandon the option of armed resistance which is a right, and President Abu Mazen said in a statement that all options are open.
Shaath said that at this time popular resistance is preferable in addition with political pressure on Israel such as attempts to gain statehood at the UN.
Don't expect the Western media to make a big deal over the fact that the "moderate" Fatah is saying pretty much what Hamas says about "armed resistance."
- Friday, January 06, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
It doesn't always take years for history to be re-written. Sometimes it takes only 19 days.
From John Glaser at Anti-War.com:
Was this perhaps an older article written by Glaser in early December and somehow released yesterday?
Nope. The quote from Ehud Barak is accurate and was made yesterday. As reported by AP:
The only conclusion is that Glaser simply made it up.
And since Israel haters travel in packs, his article has already been copied without any thought on other anti-Israel sites.
Glaser writes about two articles a day for the "news" section of Anti-War.com.
(h/t Arnold)
UPDATE: To his credit, one of the reposters corrected his post. And it appears that this site at least is not one of the mindless anti-Israel sites.
UPDATE 2: The Anti-War.com post has been taken down. No correction that I could find. The headline is still on the front page at the moment, linking to an error page. (update: now gone)
UPDATE 3: Anti-War did publish an apology.
From John Glaser at Anti-War.com:
Israel may betray its earlier promise to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in the second phase of a prisoner swap agreement that secured the release of one captive Israeli soldier.You may recall that Israel fulfilled the second half of the Shalit deal, releasing 550 prisoners, on December 18th.
That agreement has already resulted in the release of 477 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for five years. That first exchange took place in October, and Israel had agreed to release another 550 – a total of 1,027 – within two months of Shalit’s release.
But now a government-appointed panel in Israel recommended in a secret report Thursday to back out of the deal. Defense Minister Ehud Barak would not divulge details of the report but said Israel has “no choice but to overhaul the rules” now that Sgt. Gilad Schalit has been freed.
Was this perhaps an older article written by Glaser in early December and somehow released yesterday?
Nope. The quote from Ehud Barak is accurate and was made yesterday. As reported by AP:
Israel is rethinking its policy on prisoner swaps to avoid the kind of lopsided deals that saw Israel recently trade more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for a lone Israeli soldier.Glaser clearly knew that the Shalit deal was completed, because the same source that he got the Barak quote from said that Israel traded more than 1,000 prisoners for Shalit.
A government-appointed panel submitted its recommendations in a secret report Thursday and details were not divulged. But Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel has "no choice but to overhaul the rules" now that Sgt. Gilad Schalit has been freed after five years in captivity in Gaza.
Barak told Israel Radio, "We have to get off the slippery slope we ventured on 25 years ago."
Over the past three decades, Israel has carried out a series of wildly uneven prisoner swap deals. In some cases, the freed prisoners returned to violence against Israel.
The only conclusion is that Glaser simply made it up.
And since Israel haters travel in packs, his article has already been copied without any thought on other anti-Israel sites.
Glaser writes about two articles a day for the "news" section of Anti-War.com.
(h/t Arnold)
UPDATE: To his credit, one of the reposters corrected his post. And it appears that this site at least is not one of the mindless anti-Israel sites.
UPDATE 2: The Anti-War.com post has been taken down. No correction that I could find. The headline is still on the front page at the moment, linking to an error page. (update: now gone)
UPDATE 3: Anti-War did publish an apology.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
- Thursday, January 05, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
From Palestinian Media Watch:
(h/t Jack)
Narrator: "When Muhammad was 12 he went with his uncle Abu Taleb to trade in Syria. A surprise awaited them on the way":Peace partners!
Wise man: "This boy is the prophet foretold in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament."
Uncle: "Muhammad, my brother's son, is a prophet?"
Wise man: "Yes, I advise you to take him back with you. If the Jews find out that the prophet of this time is of the Arabs and not of them, they will kill him."
Uncle: "Don't worry, no one will find out about him, I'll protect him as long as I live."
(h/t Jack)
- Thursday, January 05, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
From the IDF:
As is usually the case with facts that don't portray the IDF as genocidal monsters, this video is already causing Israel-haters' heads to explode.
As is usually the case with facts that don't portray the IDF as genocidal monsters, this video is already causing Israel-haters' heads to explode.
- Thursday, January 05, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
From JTA:
To me, the programming is almost universally boring.
Rabbis talking around a table. Re-runs of old Dinah Shore shows and Jack Benny. I mean, come on!
There are some bright spots, especially dubbing/subtitling Israeli TV shows and movies. A couple of original programs might have promise. But altogether, there is very little I can imagine anyone under 50 wanting to see.
Hire me as program director, guys. If I can keep a blog interesting by myself and without any money, imagine what I could do with a budget:
Cooking show: "Tastes like Treif" - how to cook classic non-kosher dishes while making them kosher and delicious
Syndicated Ahmed and Salim
A Jewish Mystery Science Theatre 3000
If I was going to show old dusty sit-coms, I would dub them with new dialogue.
I could come up with ideas all day.
It is a strange irony: Jews have been successful in the television business -- but Jewish TV, not so much.I just went to the webpages of each of the three networks mentioned in the JTA piece - TJC, Jewish Life Television and Shalom TV.
It’s not for lack of trying. Right now, no fewer than three Jewish-focused national cable channels are trying to carve out a viable niche within the already small niche for Jewish TV.
It’s a road others have taken in the past, only to reach a dead end.
Jay Sanderson, who served for 21 years as CEO of the Jewish Television Network, knows better than most.
“There’s been dozens of attempts and dozens of failures,” said Sanderson, now the president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. “It’s a cycle that’s been happening for 30-plus years. People want it to happen.”
The current Jewish television channels -- The Jewish Channel, Shalom TV and Jewish Life Television -- have scored some successes. They all launched in the past five years.
To me, the programming is almost universally boring.
Rabbis talking around a table. Re-runs of old Dinah Shore shows and Jack Benny. I mean, come on!
There are some bright spots, especially dubbing/subtitling Israeli TV shows and movies. A couple of original programs might have promise. But altogether, there is very little I can imagine anyone under 50 wanting to see.
Hire me as program director, guys. If I can keep a blog interesting by myself and without any money, imagine what I could do with a budget:
Cooking show: "Tastes like Treif" - how to cook classic non-kosher dishes while making them kosher and delicious
Syndicated Ahmed and Salim
A Jewish Mystery Science Theatre 3000
If I was going to show old dusty sit-coms, I would dub them with new dialogue.
I could come up with ideas all day.
- Thursday, January 05, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
From BBC:
From Christian Science Monitor:
EU member states have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian crude oil to put pressure on the country over its nuclear programme.From Sky News:
The move is expected to be announced formally at an EU foreign ministers' meeting at the end of January.
The US, which recently imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, welcomed the news.
The UK would respond militarily if Iran carries out its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, the Defence Secretary has warned.
Philip Hammond used a speech in Washington DC to warn Iran that any attempt to close the key Gulf trade route would be "unsuccessful" and could be stopped in part by the Royal Navy.
"Any attempt by Iran to do this would be illegal and unsuccessful," he said in a speech at the Atlantic Council.
"Our joint naval presence in the Arabian Gulf, something our regional partners appreciate, is key to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open for international trade.
"It is in all our interests that the arteries of global trade are kept free, open and running. Disruption to the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz would threaten regional and global economic growth."
Iran has threatened to block the 34-mile wide strait in retaliation for a planned EU trade embargo on Iranian oil.
From Christian Science Monitor:
If Iran is hoping that China will buy more of its oil to make up the exports it is slated to lose because of a European embargo on Tehran’s crude it will be disappointed, Chinese analysts here predict.From NYT:
Beijing “will not take the risk for Iran’s benefit” of angering the United States and becoming too dependent on one source of oil, says Ma Xiaolin, a commentator on Middle East affairs and head of the Beijing-based BLSHE economic consultancy.
If Iran were to follow through with its threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit route for almost one-fifth of the oil traded globally, the impact would be immediate: Energy analysts say the price of oil would start to soar and could rise 50 percent or more within days.(h/t Ian)
- Thursday, January 05, 2012
- Elder of Ziyon
Islamic Jihad may have the edge on Hamas in weaponry in Gaza, according to Israeli military intelligence sources quoted by Israel's Channel 10.
According to the article, Islamic Jihad rocket have a range of 74 km.
Sources say that Iran is supplying the group with sophisticated weapons and with training through Hezbollah, who have a presence in Gaza. They add that Islamic Jihad is surpassing Hamas' weaponry both in quality and quantity.
If Hamas loses control of Islamic Jihad, it could inflame the entire area and lead to another war.
It is a sad state of affairs when the anti-semitic, relentlessly terrorist and philosophically genocidal Hamas is considered the most reliable and peaceful group in an area.
A rocket with a 74 km range which would easily reach Tel Aviv - and even Jerusalem. In fact, if the targeting is accurate, they could conceivably attack Jewish communities in parts of Judea, such as Efrat.
(h/t Yoel)
According to the article, Islamic Jihad rocket have a range of 74 km.
Sources say that Iran is supplying the group with sophisticated weapons and with training through Hezbollah, who have a presence in Gaza. They add that Islamic Jihad is surpassing Hamas' weaponry both in quality and quantity.
If Hamas loses control of Islamic Jihad, it could inflame the entire area and lead to another war.
It is a sad state of affairs when the anti-semitic, relentlessly terrorist and philosophically genocidal Hamas is considered the most reliable and peaceful group in an area.
A rocket with a 74 km range which would easily reach Tel Aviv - and even Jerusalem. In fact, if the targeting is accurate, they could conceivably attack Jewish communities in parts of Judea, such as Efrat.
(h/t Yoel)
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