Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Russian arms ship makes it to Syria despite being caught

Russia's apparent military support for the Syrian regime emerged on Wednesday when a Russian ship carrying 60 tonnes of arms for Damascus was stopped in Cyprus.

The MV Chariot, which set off from St Petersburg in early December, was forced to pull into the Greek Cypriot port of Limassol because of stormy seas. It had been on its way to Turkey and Syria, inspectors said.

Customs officials who boarded the ship discovered four containers. They were unable to open them but concluded that they contained a "dangerous cargo". State radio in Cyprus went further, alleging that the Chariot was carrying "tens of tonnes of munitions".

Russia is one of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's few remaining international allies. Moscow resents what it regards as western encroachment on its traditional sphere of influence and has continued to supply Damascus with advanced weapons and other arms, to the annoyance of Washington.

For its part, Syria gives Russia a strategic foothold in the Mediterranean via a shared naval maintenance facility in the port of Tartus.

The cargo ship was apparently heading to the Syrian port city of Latakia. As well as blocking a UN resolution last October in the security council, condemning Syria's human rights resolutions, the Kremlin is sending its warships to call on Syrian ports this summer.

The Cypriot foreign ministry said the boat was allowed to continue its voyage after assurances from the Russian owners it would not go to Syria. The Chariot, a St Vincent and Grenadines-flagged ship, technically broke an EU arms embargo to Syria, imposed amid Assad's continued violent crackdown against peaceful demonstrators.

And today:

A Russian ship, allegedly carrying tons of weapons, made a dash for Syria after Cypriot officials allowed it to leave their waters, Turkish officials said Thursday.

The ship had made an unscheduled stop in Cyprus Tuesday, technically violating an EU embargo on arms shipments to Syria, which has killed thousands in a crackdown on dissent.

Cypriot officials — told by the ship's owners it was heading for Syria and Turkey — only allowed the ship to leave Wednesday after the owners said it had changed its destination for Turkey only.

But Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Selcuk Unal — citing information from the Turkish navy — said the ship had docked Thursday at the Syrian port of Tartus, which Russian warships use as a resupply stop.

The St. Vincent and Grenadines-flagged ship, the Chariot, had apparently turned off its tracking device and the information could not be independently verified.

Once again I am disappointed that Russian arms smugglers, shipping explosives to a murderous regime so it can kill thousands of its own people, would actually lie to the nice people in Cyprus.

What's the world coming to when you can't trust people? They looked so nice, too. And honest.

There is another protest against UNRWA at the Nusseirat camp today over an alleged reduction of services. Apparently a clinic reduced its evening hours.

One of the leaders of the protest. Munir Abu, said that UNRWA's services to the Palestinian Arabs for the past six decades were not a favor, but a "right" of the "refugees." He claims that this right was affirmed by UN resolution 194 and lots of others, saying that until the Palestinian Arabs "return" to the nonexistent homes of their ancestors it is the international community's obligation to support them. He called on UNRWA to actually increase services, warning that failure to do so would constitute a "humanitarian crisis."

Nusseirat is in Gaza. It is in Palestinian Arab occupied territory. There is no reason the residents there should be considered refugees, even under the tortured UNRWA definition allowing descendants to inherit that designation forever, because they are already in what they consider their own land. There is nothing stopping the PA from dismantling the camps in its own territory and telling everyone to stop whining and do something productive.

But the reality is that the camps are there for a reason - to foment hate towards Israel, either directly via the residents or indirectly via people being angry that poor "refugees" are stuck in camps ostensibly because of Israel.

UNRWA has no plans to mainstream "refugees" into having normal lives - even if they live in "historic Palestine!" Rather than act like a real refugee agency where the goal is to reduce the number of people getting services, UNRWA encourages the problem to grow, and thereby keeping themselves in business to beg for more money every year to forestall yet another budget crisis directly due to their policies.

And so it goes.

(Update: Corrected a basic fact h/t Ian.)

Latest libel: Israel's doctors are too careful with their patients' lives

The Dutch newspaper Trouw has an unbelievable article written by Ilse Van Heusden, who had pre-natal care done in Israel for her child.

Her verdict? "The Chosen People have to be perfect."

Van Heudsen's thesis is that Israelis value Jewish children's lives because they think they are better than everyone else. Therefore, they recommend all of these unnecessary tests to make sure that they have nice, perfect children. Israelis, she says, are obsessed with perfect children, and will abort any child who falls short of this standard.

It is, to her, irresponsible to care that much about a mere baby. Her implication is that it is borderline racist.

Here's the kicker: Tests showed that she had a virus, CMV. As a result, Israeli doctors recommended a battery of tests to ensure that her baby would not be infected with the virus, since 20% of babies with CMV develop serious health problems.

Most people I know would insist on doing everything possible to ensure the health of a baby. But Israel-haters are a special breed indeed.

She saw every test as proof of the Chosen People's absurd obsession with the health of an unborn child. She considered her Israeli doctor, doing everything possible to ensure the health of her baby, a scaremonger. She complains that "the Israeli health insurance reimburses unlimited fertility treatments for women to 45 years, until they have two children. In the Netherlands there is a limit to the number of treatments and there is debate about treating women older than forty."

How dare they!

She even says:

Finally we held this little baby boy in our arms that went through all those tests. When we admired his little fingers and toes we saw that one of his toes was too small. His personal revenge on the Israeli health system.

Yochanan Visser of Missing Peace has an excellent point-by-point critique of her article and points out the factual errors she makes about Israel's health care system.

But the article itself is very simple: A woman who hates Israel is trying to find a racist motive for the excellent pre-natal care she received.

Which just goes to prove that hate has no rhyme or reason, and that haters can take any fact and twist it in their minds to fit their pre-determined conclusions.

Muslim Brotherhood flip-flops, now says it would consider allying with Salafis

Last month the Muslim Brotherhood website said:

The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) denied alleged alliance with the Salafist al-Noor Party, and confirmed that the only electoral coalition now is with the Democratic Alliance which includes 11 parties, al-Noor not one of them.

Saad El Katatny, FJP Secretary General, criticized media fabrication of news about the FJP and its alleged alliance with the Salafist al-Noor Party to form an "Islamist government," and urged Egyptian media to abide by professional standards of accuracy and objectivity at this critical timing.

This was echoed at OnIslam a couple of days ago:

Salafi and Brotherhood leaders have ruled out an alliance between the two Islamist groups in parliament as Salafis are seen as politically inexperienced.

But now Al Jazeera says that the MB's Freedom and Justice Party is considering an alliance with the Salafi Nour party.

A deputy of the Muslim Brotherhood told the newspaper that FJP is still looking at all possible coalition partners, but that it is "obvious" that there will be some sort of alliance with Nour and it would be natural to invite them into the coalition.

Al Masry al Youm said on Sunday that the FJP was considering a coalition with Nour, as one of five options the party is studying.

Syria death toll for 2012 tops 300

Here is the death toll in Syria since January 2, according to Al Arabiya quoted in Now Lebanon:

2-Jan	24
3-Jan	19
4-Jan	21
5-Jan	30
6-Jan	61*
7-Jan	26
8-Jan	32
9-Jan	18
10-Jan	36
11-Jan	27

I don't have the number killed on January 1, but unless Assad's troops took a holiday this means that there have already been over 300 killed in Syria this year.

(*this number includes the 26 victims of the suicide bombing in Damascus)

Jimmy Carter has "no problem" with Islamists in power (ElderToon)

AFP reports:

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter gave the thumbs up on Tuesday to Egypt’s parliamentary elections, saying the people’s will was “expressed accurately.”

“We have been very pleased,” Carter told reporters during a tour of a polling station at the Rod al-Farag girls’ secondary school in a working class district of the Egyptian capital

Asked about Islamists coming to power, Carter said: “I have no problem with that. The U.S. government has no problem with that either.”

The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party's platform, when discussing women, says (in Arabic) that it aims to "Ensure that all women get their rights as long as these don’t contradict Islamic Sharia and as long as they are balanced against their duties." Meaning that the FJP is explicitly against equal rights for women.

The platform also criticizes the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Yes, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and supposed defender of human rights - who quit the Southern Baptist Convention because of its stand towards women - has no problem with the most populous Arab nation being controlled by a group whose platform is explicitly against equal rights for women (not to mention its attitude towards Egyptian religious minorities.)

Where is the outrage from Carter's fellow liberals?

Turkey to rebuild mosques in Gaza

From Hurriyet Daily News:

Turkey will help Palestinians in the Gaza Strip repair mosques damaged in Israeli strikes and rebuild those torn down, the head of the Religious Affairs Directorate Mehmet Görmez said yesterday.

“As the Directorate of Religious Affairs, we will help them in every way possible to repair and rebuild the destroyed mosques,” Görmez said after a meeting with his counterpart from Gaza, Salih Alreqed.

(h/t D)

"Attempted murder" against rabbi in New Jersey

From CBS New York:

Authorities are investigating a firebombing of a northern New Jersey home attached to a synagogue as attempted murder and bias-related arson.

The fire was reported around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday at Congregation Beth El in Rutherford.

Police say someone threw explosive devices through the window.

“Incendiary devices were used to attempt to start of a fire in the upstairs portion of the structure which is a residence,” Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told 1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg.

Rabbi Nosson Schuman, who lives in the home with his wife and five children, said he saw a flash of fire outside his bedroom window before his bedspread caught fire.

“The fire in the bedroom, I had to go put it out. My quilt was on fire. I had to put it out,” he told WCBS 880′s Sean Adams. “Got the kids out and realized that this must have been a continuation of the hate crimes that have been occurring throughout the area.”

Schuman said damage to his home and congregation were minimal.

CBS 2′s Christine Sloan reports Schuman suffered burns to his hands but neighbors said he is doing okay.

Authorities say multiple devices were tossed at the home, including Molotov cocktails and rigged aerosol cans. All appeared as if they were being aimed at the second floor of the house.

Officials say whoever did this was targeting Schuman.

“At this point it’s not just a hate crime and a bias crime. It’s now an attempted murder,” said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli.

It comes just one day before a meeting between representatives of more than 80 synagogues, law enforcement and some Jewish day schools to discuss several incidents targeting Jewish temples in Bergen County.

There was a suspicious fire and two anti-Semitic graffiti incidents in the past few weeks.

It is a small Orthodox synagogue that looks like a converted house:

PA TV sermon: "Every evil in the world is caused by Jews"

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from a Friday sermon in Al-Bireh, the West Bank, which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on January 6, 2012.

Preacher: “Oh servants of Allah, every evil and catastrophe on the land of Palestine – moreover, in the whole world – is caused by the Jews.

“They generate civil strife with their clandestine handiwork, their despicable texts, their bitter hearts, and their abominable intentions.

“Allah said: ‘Whenever they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it, but they strive to do mischief on earth. Allah loves not those who do mischief.’ This is the history of the Jews.

“Many a covenant have they violated.

“Many a prophet have they slayed.”

I think Israel is way overdue for a peace treaty with these guys, don't you?

(This was run on the official PA TV - not Hamas, not a pirate channel, but the TV channel that reflects the opinions of the PLO.)

(h/t CHA)

Egyptian media spinning Abuhatzeira tomb ban

From Al Masry Al Youm:

For the first time in years, nine-year-old Sherif and his friend Mahmoud, residents of the village of Damtu, are able to play freely outside their house, which is located across from the tomb of Abu Hasira, a 19th-century Jewish rabbi, after years of deprivation due to security orders.

Sherif, Mahmoud and all of the village residents were finally able to enter the area around the mausoleum without fear. Previously, anyone who tried to enter the area would be beaten, humiliated or imprisoned for weeks because former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly’s security forces had turned the area around the shrine into a military barracks, forbidding anyone from approaching it.

The festival, scheduled for 9 to 10 January, is held on the annual anniversary of the death of Abu Hasira, whose mausoleum is located in the village of Damtu outside Damanhour. A number of political groups in Egypt announced Monday that they plan to protest at the Abu Hasira festival.

The usual security measures were absent around the tomb, which is located on top of the small village’s highest hill. Only one police vehicle with five policemen can now be found at the mausoleum, and for the first time in years, dozens of village residents are visiting the shrine.

Abu Hasira was born in Morocco and, according to Jewish lore, the ship that was carrying him to Palestine sank. Abu Hasira floated on a straw mat that eventually landed on Syrian shores. The rabbi, according to Jewish tradition, went from Syria to Palestine and then on to Egypt.

He died in Damtu in 1880. Every year, thousands of Jews come to celebrate the anniversary of his death.

Al-Masry Al-Youm, together with a number of village residents and activists from the Beheira Governorate, visited the tomb, which Jews failed to visit for the first time after activists declared they would form a human shield to prevent any Israelis from setting foot in the area.

Abu Hasira’s tomb lies in the center of Damtu. It is located on a 5-meter-high hill, where a closed shrine encloses the rabbi’s tomb, and three other tombs, which Jews say belong to his grandchildren. Abu Hasira’s tomb is covered with a large piece of black cloth embossed with Hebrew phrases embroidered with gold thread.

The room that includes the mausoleum is 30 square meters in area and includes three oil paintings of the Jewish rabbi, a marble plaque written in Hebrew at the entrance, and a group of small coin-like pieces placed on top of one of the adjacent tombs. It also contains a small, broken wooden painting and nine wooden windows, most which have been broken as a result of rocks being thrown at them.

After the revolution, a group of people tried to demolish the tomb, but village residents stopped them.

“We are against the tomb, but at the same time we are against demolishing it in such a manner. The revolution didn’t erupt to demolish such tomb,” said Mohamed Fawzym, one of Damtu’s residents.

Umm Abadam, a 50-year-old woman, might be the only resident suffering from the festival's cancellation. She benefited from being the closet neighbor to the tomb.

She used to earn money cooking food for the visitors of the tomb.

“What were [visitors] doing? I used to sell to them. In the beginning, they bought cows and goats from the village. People from Tanta used to come here and sell them cloth. But the number of visitors has decreased, and I was forced by security to not sell them anything,” Umm Abadam told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

Bassiony Mohamed, another village resident, shed light on another aspect.

“We had suffered a lot from the visits of Jews. Secret police were all over the place. During the festival, we weren’t able to move freely. The secret police were summoning the people who live close to the tomb and threatening them if something bad happens at the festival,” Mohamed said.

While the article sheds some light on the situation, it is filled with spin.

The newspaper is trying hard to make it sound like the residents have no problem with Jews, but only with the security services that made their lives miserable. But articles about the pilgrimage from previous years show real Jew-hatred, and not merely people upset at the security forces:

In 2008, villagers described it as "another foothold of Jews in Egypt", and complained about practices of the Jewish revelers from the "slaughter of pigs and drinking, dance and exercising unethical behavior."

A group of lawyers sued to stop "this harassment and moral pollution" caused by the Israelis and the Jews of Europe to the people of the village.

The earlier article made it sound like the security cordon was in place only for the week that the pilgrims would arrive, unlike the Al Masry al Youm article that says it was year-round.

Villagers also described "alcoholic celebrations spilled over the tomb, and then the slaughter of sacrifices that are often sheep or pigs, roasting meat, and dancing. Celebrants then hysterically sing Jewish melodies as they become almost naked, and then say some prayers, entreaties and tears to the tomb, burning, beating their heads on a wall and asked for their needs."

And the Facebook groups and others who are determined to stop Jews from coming to Egypt are explicit that they simply don't like Jews in Egypt.

We don't even have to go to previous years to see the hatred of Jews from the residents of the village. A blog called AntiAbuHosira quotes a newspaper as saying the villagers would allow Jews to come "over their dead bodies." Another Facebook group calls on the tomb to be "destroyed immediately."

And who exactly broke every window with rocks?

Iran's currency in freefall; leaders panicking

From Reuters:

Iran's currency has slid 20 percent against the dollar in the last week despite central bank intervention, and Iranians concerned about the economy said on Tuesday attempts to send text messages using the word "dollar" appeared to be blocked.

The central bank reportedly pumped $200 million dollars into the market last Wednesday after new and much tougher U.S. sanctions prompted nervous Iranians to change rials into hard currency, accelerating a rise in the price of dollars on the open market.

Saying it would act to stabilise the currency, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) imposed a rate of 14,000 rials to the dollar - up from record lows of around 18,000 rials - but many exchange offices would not sell at that price.

By Tuesday the exchange rate had risen again to around 17,000 rials, according to exchange bureaus, 50 percent more than the CBI's "reference rate" of 11,240 rials.

The currency slide is a huge risk for consumer prices in a country where the official inflation rate - considered an underestimate by many economists - is already around 20 percent and rising.

In a hint of political sensitivity over the issue, Iranians, long used to controls over Internet and mobile communications, said they were unable to send text messages containing the word "dollar".

"My colleagues and I tried to text each other in the office and to our surprise we found that texts that included words like 'dollar' and 'foreign currency' could not be delivered," said Malek, a 45-year-old government employee in Tehran.

Newspapers reported on the problem, adding that officials had denied filtering text messages. Reuters calls to officials went unanswered.

The head of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce, Asadollah Asgaroladi, estimated that annual inflation stood at 40 percent this month and that it would have been 27 percent without the currency slide, Khabaronline, a website close to the government, reported.

There is nothing in the official Iranian press about this.

In related news, India is set to cut Iranian oil imports:

The union government [in India] has told refiners to reduce Iranian oil imports and find alternatives as New Delhi may not seek a waiver that would protect buyers of Tehran's oil from a fresh round of U.S. sanctions, two industry sources said on Wednesday.

India, Iran's second largest oil buyer after China, is already struggling to pay for the crude due to existing sanctions, and fresh U.S. measures aimed at isolating Iran over its nuclear programme will make payment even harder.

The South Asian country buys from Iran about 12 percent of its oil needs, or 350,000-400,000 barrels per day (bpd) and worth $12 billion annually.

Indian oil firms were told by officials at a meeting on Monday that the government was not planning to seek an exemption from the U.S. sanctions, and were advised to reduce dependence on Iran and be ready with alternative supply sources.

It looks like the increased Western sanctions against Iran - and threats of new sanctions - are finally starting to take effect. It is a shame that they were not in place years before.

Is this a case of better late than never?

(h/t Yoel)

Two tunnel families shooting each other in Rafah, Egypt

Two competing family owners of Gaza smuggling tunnels have escalated their war with each other on the Egyptian side of Rafah.

Five people have been injured in recent days from gunshots between the clans. There have also been kidnappings.

Witnesses say that the families shoot at each other during the afternoons.

The families have installed machine guns on the roofs of their houses. Some Palestinian Gazans go through the tunnels to help with the fighting.

The report says that there is effectively no police presence in Rafah since the Egyptian Revolution; the military guards the border and the entrances to the city only.

The tunnel trade to Gaza remains lucrative and strong as ever.