Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, February 14, 2013

HRW can't wait to publish hit pieces on Israel

Human Rights Watch has just released a report on Israel’s recent “Pillar of Defense” operation to suppress rocket fire from Gaza. The report concludes that 18 airstrikes violated international law by not being properly targeted. I do not know if 18 is a little or a lot for an operation of this scale, as there an no good comparative data (though the report is released as Afghanistan says yet another NATO airstrike hit a house with innocent women and children inside.)

The report, by its description of its methods, appears to be a hit piece. Here is what the report said about the group’s investigative method (emphasis added):

Human Rights Watch sent detailed information about the cases to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on January 14, 2013, requesting further information. At a meeting on January 24 and in subsequent phone conversations, the military spokesperson’s office told Human Rights Watch that the military chief of staff had ordered a general (aluf) to conduct an “operational debriefing” (tahkir mivtza’i) concerning “dozens” of Israeli attacks during the conflict, including the cases Human Rights Watch investigated, which would be completed by late February.

Because previous Israeli “operational debriefings” involving attacks were not conducted by trained military police investigators or dedicated to investigating alleged laws-of-war violations, Human Rights Watch has decided to publish its findings rather than wait for their results.

In other words, HRW received high-level and consistent cooperation. A meeting between HRW and the IDF took place on Jan 24 (just 10 days after HRW asked for further information), and were told that the IDF would have a more detailed response by late February after its own investigations were over. One month is not a long time to wait, certainly not covering an incident that occurred months ago.

It is completely baffling why HRW would rush to publish their report a mere two weeks before they could hear in full Israel’s response to their allegations. Furthermore, HRW’s explanation why they chose not to wait lacks any coherence. What is so special about designated military police as opposed to other investigators? And even if the IDF investigations were not conducted by trained military police, it is unquestionable that the IDF investigators would have access to sources HRW does not. One would expect that an organization whose influence is completely based on their reputation for objectivity and thoroughness would wish to have all the facts before rushing to publish.

Well-meaning observers are often puzzled why Israel sometimes does not cooperate with the multitudinous foreign investigations into its military operations. The minimal lack of procedural fairness investigations such as HRW’s is surely one reason for their reluctance.

NGO Monitor went into more detail:

HRW possesses neither the military expertise nor the appropriate fact-finding methodology to make these assessments and conduct proper investigations. Such judgments require knowledge of the military intelligence possessed by Israeli commanders at the time of the strikes, and information on intent of the officers. In contrast, HRW’s “evidence” consists solely of its inability to identify “indication[s] of a legitimate military target at the site at the time of the attack” and Israel’s refusal to explain its operational decisions to the NGO.

HRW’s press release is its seventh document relating to the November 2012 fighting in Gaza and Southern Israel. The disproportionate obsession and political agenda are further seen by HRW’s decision to conduct “field investigations” on that particular conflict, at a time when the UN estimated that over 10,000 people were killed in the Syrian civil war in the month of January 2013 alone.

HRW’s statement also denounced Israeli investigations, claiming that they “were not conducted by trained military police investigators or dedicated to investigating alleged laws-of-war violations.” Therefore, HRW did not wait for a response from the IDF, dealing with HRW’s cases and other attacks, which is anticipated “by late February.”

In fact, Israeli investigations meet international standards, as noted by Judge Mary McGowan Davis (empanelled by the Human Rights Council to lead the follow-up committee to the Goldstone Report), Judge Richard Goldstone, and the Turkel Committee. The real reason HRW does not want to wait for the IDF report is because it will demonstrate that HRW’s claims are baseless, as happened with Israeli responses to the 2009 Gaza conflict and the 2006 Lebanon War.

I visited NGO Monitor in Jerusalem on Thursday, and asked them about the supposed expertise of the "field investigators" HRW sends into Gaza. They are not completely transparent on who writes and contributes to many of their reports, but apparently they rely on people who live in Gaza to fill out much of the information in these reports - and they, in turn, rely on biased sources like PCHR and the Gaza Health Ministry to get the "facts" about particular incidents to them.

One of their Gaza researchers, Fares Akram, also has written for the New York Times - even about HRW itself, without disclosing his affiliation in the article!

This incestuous relationship between native Gazan "investigators," news organization stringers and reporters, and biased "human rights" organizations and NGOs is sorely unreported.

One other fact that NGO Monitor noted to me that is terrifically important: HRW does not have a published methodology on how they conduct these "field investigations." Without a rigorous and known methodology, bias isn't only possible - it is inevitable. Facts that conform to the "researcher"'s preconceived notions will naturally get highlighted and anything that contradicts it will be silently ignored. This is natural, after all, the news media do this all the time. But an organization like HRW must adhere to the higher standard it demands from others. Its standards must be far greater than that of journalists. In this case, there was no "deadline" that forced HRW to release this report before waiting for the official investigation by Israel. They simply decided to ignore any response before the fact.

HRW claims that Israel's investigations do not reach some arbitrary level of professionalism and objectivity that they made up. Yet if HRW would investigate itself with the same standards, it would come out far, far worse. Its bias has been exposed over and over again, here as well as elsewhere. HRW never admits it was wrong, and when caught doing something unethical itself.

This is not the way an organization dedicated to the truth should act. But it is exactly how a biased organization with an agenda would act.

The Hurva is stunning at night

I had seen photos of the restored Hurva synagogue, rebuilt after Jordan destroyed it (along with some fifty other synagogues in Jerusalem) in 1948.

But until not, I never saw it in person. And its lighting at night is beautiful.

This photo does not do it justice. I might have a better one, but for now this will have to do.

Thursday links part 2

From Ian:

NGO Monitor: Pure Speculation: HRW Statements on Gaza and Prisoner X

"HRW possesses neither the military expertise nor the appropriate fact-finding methodology to make these assessments and conduct proper investigations. Such judgments require knowledge of the military intelligence possessed by Israeli commanders at the time of the strikes, and information on intent of the officers. In contrast, HRW’s “evidence” consists solely of its inability to identify “indication[s] of a legitimate military target at the site at the time of the attack” and Israel’s refusal to explain its operational decisions to the NGO.
HRW’s press release is its seventh document relating to the November 2012 fighting in Gaza and Southern Israel. The disproportionate obsession and political agenda are further seen by HRW’s decision to conduct “field investigations” on that particular conflict, at a time when the UN estimated that over 10,000 people were killed in the Syrian civil war in the month of January 2013 alone.
HRW’s statement also denounced Israeli investigations, claiming that they “were not conducted by trained military police investigators or dedicated to investigating alleged laws-of-war violations.” Therefore, HRW did not wait for a response from the IDF, dealing with HRW’s cases and other attacks, which is anticipated “by late February.”
In fact, Israeli investigations meet international standards, as noted by Judge Mary McGowan Davis (empanelled by the Human Rights Council to lead the follow-up committee to the Goldstone Report), Judge Richard Goldstone, and the Turkel Committee. The real reason HRW does not want to wait for the IDF report is because it will demonstrate that HRW’s claims are baseless, as happened with Israeli responses to the 2009 Gaza conflict and the 2006 Lebanon War."

Prisoner X
"HRW’s Israel-based staffer Bill van Esveld was quoted extensively in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) exposé on “Prisoner X,” reportedly an Australian-Israeli Mossad agent who hanged himself in prison in 2010. As noted by most media reports, the entire episode remains unconfirmed and speculative."
"In fact, as reported in Israeli media and contrary to van Esveld’s claims, Prisoner X was represented by a lawyer, was informed of the charges against him, and was in the process of negotiating a plea bargain shortly before he committed suicide. His family was aware of his imprisonment and was in contact with him. Moreover, Israel’s Supreme Court was also aware of the arrest and ruled on whether the security circumstances warranted a “gag order.”

The Arab Spring is great, says leading Israeli analyst
Yigal Carmon, founder of MEMRI, believes the current revolutionary shift is an essential first step in the Arabs’ long road ‘to ‘join humanity’

“People were warning us about the rise of Islamism, but from day one my attitude was exactly the opposite: I was shining,” said Yigal Carmon, founder and president of MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute. Carmon’s assessment, as someone who hails from the heart of Israel’s security establishment, might bear particular significance.
“It is indeed an Arab Spring,” he told The Times of Israel this week, “where people are fighting for freedom, putting their lives on the line every day against dictatorship. There can be no other name for it.”
Before the Arab Spring, Carmon said, the Middle East was “a frozen swamp of repression, on every level.” But that stagnation, which he said left Arabs and Muslims “outside the world in its progress,” is gone, never to return.”

Is Israel really to blame for Gaza's water shortages?
Israel has met and exceeded expectations in terms of the supply of water to the Palestinian people. So why are Palestinian and British politicians still playing politics with this issue?

"An argument that makes as little sense in theory as it does in practice. To get the facts straight from the outset is important, as misinformation propagated by the delegitimisers of the Jewish state often leads to erroneous beliefs being implanted in the minds of journalists, activists and, importantly, legislators. Take a look at what passed between Israel and Gaza just last week, here. and here.
How else could an Early Day Motion in the British Parliament have been tabled blaming the Israeli government for a situation that the World Bank claimed in 2009 would make the Gaza strip ‘uninhabitable’? But the World Bank didn’t blame Israel and a similar report by the United Nations stated that while Operation Cast Lead intensified the problems already faced, Gaza’s problems were “due to underinvestment in environmental systems, lack of progress on priority environmental projects and the collapse of governance mechanisms.”

Belgian Nazi Parade Makes Mockery of Holocaust
ADL expressed outrage that participants in UNESCO-affiliated festival dressed as Nazis and paraded through the streets of Belgium.

“The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has expressed outrage that a group of participants in the UNESCO-affiliated Aalst festival dressed as Nazi SS officers and paraded through the streets of Aalst, Belgium on a rail car reminiscent of those used to deport Jews to concentration camps during the Holocaust.
Photos in the Belgian media showed the men dressed in full Nazi regalia with a Hassidic Jewish boy character on a rail car, decorated with posters depicting pails labeled, “Zyklon,” the chemical used in the Nazi gas chambers.”

Yaalon Hizbullah Armed, Waiting
Israel must not be lulled into false security by quiet in the north, Yaalon warns.

"While northern Israel is now enjoying relative quiet, “we must not be lulled into false hopes,” Yaalon warned. “Hizbullah is armed with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles and is supported by Iran,” he explained, “and in Syria the civil war and instability continues, and is likely to bring unrest to the border near to where we stand right now.”
“Now, too, the best of our sons and daughters are ready to deal with the threats from north and south, from near and far, and with our enemies’ unwillingness to recognize our right to exist in peace and security as the national homeland of the Jewish people, in any border” Yaalon declared."

Rocket Preparedness Drill to be Held in Schools
Israeli children will practice moving briskly to their “safe spaces,” getting to a shelter and hiding from rockets on Thursday.

"Israeli children will have the opportunity to learn a new lesson on Thursday as they practice moving briskly to their bomb shelters and hiding from rockets in as many other safe spaces as possible.
The Ministry of Education is holding the nationwide exercise in kindergartens and schools to test the preparedness of every educational institution in Israel in the event of a rocket or missile attack while children are playing outside during recess."

Jewish Israeli Soccer Star Banned from Training With Club in Dubai

"Jewish Israeli soccer star and Swansea City (UK) striker Itay Shechter has been forced to miss his club’s week-long training decampment because it’s taking place in Dubai. The UAE and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and Shechter could have been arrested and deported if he tried to enter Dubai as the United Arab Emirates does not recognize Israel as a state."

Israeli helps India rehabilitate polluted river
Technologies developed in Israel to recycle the country’s precious water resources are being used to help save India’s Noyyal River.

“Prof. Yoram Oren first saw how chemicals from textile dyeing factories were poisoning India’s Noyyal River during a year-long stay in the country’s southernmost state three-and-a-half years ago.
Oren, an expert on water desalination from Ben-Gurion University, spent his sabbatical year setting up a water research laboratory at Karunya University in Tamil Nadu state. A passionate advocate of water rights, he saw the effects of river pollution on local people, agriculture and wildlife and decided to return to Tamil Nadu and help local water experts save the dying Noyyal.”

Savior of Thousands of Jews Honored Posthumously
Varian Fry, an American journalist responsible for aiding thousands of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, was honored posthumously.

"The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) posthumously honored Varian Fry, an American journalist responsible for aiding thousands of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust, with the ADL Jan Karski 'Courage to Care' Award.
The award was presented posthumously to Fry on February 8 during the League’s National Executive Committee Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, where it was accepted on behalf of the family by his son, James Fry."

Richard Silverstein gets owned and duped on twitter.
Israelly Cool: Australian Foreign Minister Rips Silverstein a New One

Islamic Jihad leader says they have no problems with Jews, but a third intifada is on the way

Sheikh Bassam Saadi, an Islamic Jihad leader recently released from prison, says that his movement has nothing against Jews.

Saadi said, "We do not hate Jews, and Jews were living among us for hundreds of years."

He goes on to say that there will be no solution except that Jews would accept to live in an Arab Palestinian state as second-class citizens "like any other sect."

As long as Jews are second-class citizens in a Muslim, happily paying their jizya and not talking about their right to national self-determination, then everything is hunky-dory!

Saadi also said that all indications point to a "third intifada on the way", and if the unity talks go nowhere, the people will take the initiative to fight against Israel.

I wonder if any of these Arabs might target those Jews that they love in this third intifada?

Thursday links part 1

From Ian:

NYT OpEd: Palestine’s Democratic Deficit By David Keyes

“It should come as no surprise that the Palestinian Authority is cracking down on basic freedoms. From the top down, a culture of repression reigns supreme. President Abbas’s term ended four years ago. He has clung to power as an unelected autocrat for nearly half a decade. In November, a senior adviser to Mr. Abbas, Mohammad Shtayyeh, told me that Mr. Abbas had no desire to continue ruling, but that he simply could not leave because of the divisions in Palestinian society. Suppressing criticism by resorting to a 50-year-old Jordanian law — designed to punish critics of Jordan’s monarchy when it ruled over the West Bank — has not helped burnish the questionable democratic credentials Mr. Abbas so often claims when meeting Western leaders.”

Karl Vick: Spy Fail Why Iran Is Losing Its Covert War with Israel

“Created to advance Iran’s interests clandestinely overseas, the Quds Force has lately provided mostly embarrassment, stumbling in Azerbaijan, Georgia, India, Kenya and most spectacularly in Thailand, where before accidentally blowing up their Bangkok safe house, Iran’s secret agents were photographed in the sex-tourism mecca of Pattaya, one arm around a hookah, the other around a hooker. In its ongoing shadow war with Israel, the Iranian side’s lone “success” was the July 18 bombing of a Bulgarian bus carrying Israeli tourists — though European investigators last week officially attributed that attack to Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hizballah. That leaves the Islamic Republic itself with a failure rate hovering near 100% abroad and an operational tempo — nine overseas plots uncovered in nine months — that carries a whiff of desperation. A Tehran government long branded by U.S. officials as the globe’s leading exporter of terrorism may be cornering the market on haplessness.” (h/t RK)

Member of UK Parliament's International Development Committee says British government should 'end relationship' with anti-Semite aid recipients
Pauline Latham, a member of the Department for International Development's Select Committee has responded to The Commentator's article from this week

“Pauline Latham, Member of Parliament for Mid Derbyshire said: "DfID need to be able to ascertain how exactly UKaid partners are spending our aid donations. These examples of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitic vitriol from the Ma’an Network – a UKaid partner – will do nothing to promote peace between Israelis and Palestinians and the British government should certainly not be funding this sort of incitement. I hope that after further investigation, the DfID will see fit to end its partnership with the Ma’an network."

British MP Asks Liberal Democrat Leader to Condemn His Party’s Anti-Semitism (VIDEO)

“Will my Honorable friend take action against those MPs who use the conflict in Israel to make inflammatory statements about Jews, and does he not realize that his party is getting a reputation, sadly, amongst some of its senior members for being hostile to Jewish people?” Halfon asked.”

Israel blamed for death of Iranian general in Lebanon
Hassan Shateri of the Revolutionary Guard assassinated by ‘Zionist mercenaries,’ news site claims

"An Iranian independent news website reported early Thursday morning that Israel killed a senior commander of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon.
The website, mashreghnews.ir, said Gen. Hassan Shateri was killed by “mercenaries of the Zionist regime,” but provided no details about his death. The semi-official FARS news agency confirmed the report a few hours later.
Shateri led Guard forces in Lebanon and oversaw Iranian-financed reconstruction projects there, aiding Hezbollah both financially and by training its members.
A second senior Iranian official was reported killed Wednesday in an attack on his car after he crossed from Syria into Lebanon."

'Tehran removing key intel material from Damascus'
Intelligence said to include secret agreements, minutes of meetings reports relating to Iran’s support of Hezbollah.

“Sources in the Syrian opposition claim that Iran has already begun transferring its diplomatic and intelligence archives from Syria, according to the Iraqi paper Azzaman on Monday.
The intelligence is said to include secret agreements between Tehran and Damascus, minutes of meetings of senior officials and reports relating to Iran’s support of Hezbollah from Syria.”

‘Iran tried to buy game-changing centrifuge parts’
Large order of magnetic rings from China would greatly expand the country’s nuclear enrichment capacity, Washington Post reports

“Iran attempted to purchase special magnets used for uranium enrichment, components which experts believe would enable the regime in Tehran to upgrade its centrifuges and greatly expand its nuclear program, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Iran has been under heavy sanctions from the international community for the past few years due to its drive to acquire nuclear weapons.
Recently, the Islamic Republic sought to purchase 100,000 units of the highly specialized ring-shaped magnets, which are banned from export to the country under a number of UN resolutions, the report said.”

Russia Sends More Arms to Prop Up Syria’s Assad
Moscow is continuing its export of military hardware to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Russian government confirmed.

“We are continuing to carry out our obligations on contracts for the delivery of military hardware,” Isaikin told reporters at a news conference in Moscow, adding there were no attack weapons among the hardware, such as helicopters or planes."

Almost 1,000 Palestinians dead among 70,000 Syria death toll

UN states that death toll in Syria may be as high as 70,000, with Palestinian deaths almost 10 times higher than Hamas-Israel conflict of last year

MEMRI: Released Lebanese Terrorist Samir Al-Quntar Calls to Kill Collaborators with Israel VIDEO

Egyptian officials accused of covering up torture

Opposition suspects foul play in recent deaths of anti-government activists, which investigations attributed to accidents

Egypt Approves New Controversial Protest Law

Egypt's cabinet approves a new draft law regulating public demonstrations that is slammed by rights groups as restrictive.

Egypt's Central Bank Governor Narrowly Escapes Carjack Attack

Three masked gunmen killed the bodyguard of the Governor of Egypt’s Central Bank and stole his car on Wednesday. The driver survived.

MEMRI: Egyptian Cleric: Christian Women who Go to Tahrir Square to Get Raped Are Not Taboo

The war against Valentine's Day in South Asia
The fact that people prioritise campaigning against Valentine's Day in a part of the world with so many problems is absurd and disturbing

“It is a harmless bit of fun that can help a relationship along or even help start a new one. But it seems not everyone shares my cosy or perhaps naïve perspective.
With endemic poverty, illiteracy, corruption, poor health care and sectarian violence to deal with, one would think political and religious activists in South Asia have enough on their plates as it is. But never underestimate the twisted and illogical priorities of some. Against all the odds, certain political/religious groups in South Asia have managed to find time to organise protests against Valentine’s Day. Yes, Valentine’s Day!
Pakistan's premier Islamist agitators, Jamaat-i-Islaami, managed to organise a large protest in Peshawar, demanding that Valentine's Day be outlawed and replaced with a 'modesty day'. I'm not quite sure what people are expected to do on a modesty day in a city where most of the women already wear a burka and free-mixing of the sexes is strictly taboo. Who knows, maybe even further 'modesty' is just what that place needs in order to make progress.”

Iran Photoshops its fighter jet

From The Telegraph:

Iran has been accused of dissembling after a picture apparently showing its latest fighter jet patrolling the skies was dismissed as a fake.

Iranian bloggers were quick to claim that the picture, which purports to show the Qaher-313 jet soaring over a snowy mountain and which was posted on Iranian site Khouz News, had been altered using PhotoShop.

The angle of the shot, as well as the reflections of light and shadows on the plane’s wings, appear uncannily similar to a publicity shot of the jet taken at its unveiling earlier this month.

The background also strongly resembles a stock image of Iran's Mt Damavand available elsewhere on the web.

No word on whether the Iranian bloggers who discovered this are in prison yet.

Kotel plaza panorama

Using an iPhone:

It is a great feeling to come back home.

The place I live 95% of the time never feels as permanent or as natural as Israel does.

If you enlarge the photo, you can see two things that Muslims are seething about: the refurbishing of the restrooms and tourist visiting area on the right, and the fence marking off where work is apparently being done under the wooden bridge to the Temple Mount.

Wednesday links part 2

From Ian:

Iran's Fake Super-Stealth Jet Takes to the Fake Skies, Now with Nice Photoshop

“Iran's homegrown, radar-evading stealth fighter jet is flying the very cinematic skies, according to state news agency/Iranian propaganda machine Khouz News, as the nation's defense minister continues to fend off the non-believers as false news/Western propaganda. Well, we've got news for him: The only technological miracle in this alleged flight of the Qahar 313 fighter over Mount Damavand is that someone at the Iranian defense ministry appears to have upgraded to Photoshop CS6 since the last copy-and-paste job went viral.
And how do we know it's Photoshopped? Well, look at this mountain shot from the stock-image site PickyWallpapers, which we found through a Google Image search, then lightened:”

UN envoy urges EU to add Hezbollah to terror list
Be brave like Richard, not blind like Napoleon, Ron Prosor says at UN Security Council

“Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday called on the European Union to take a bold but simple step and designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
Speaking at a UN Security Council debate on the protection of civilians in combat zones, Ambassador Ron Prosor told world leaders that “calling Hezbollah a charity is like calling al-Qaeda an urban-planning organization because of its desire to level tall buildings.”
“One does not need the fortitude of Richard the Lionheart to do the right thing here,” he said, referring to the legendary English crusader king in an attempt to convince the EU to change its policy.”

European-Funded Palestinian News Agency Publishes Article Denying the Holocaust

"Just a day after issuing an apology for an anti-Semitic article published to its website, the European-funded Palestinian news service Ma’an News Agency published an article denying the Holocaust, presenting it as a Jewish lie used by Jews around the world to achieve various goals.
Palestinian Media Watch spotted the article which was published only a few days after Holocaust Remembrance Day. Among its many hateful claims, the article calls the Holocaust a myth. “The Zionists are marking the 68th anniversary of the creation of the ‘Holocaust’ myth” the article contends. Further claims made are that “there is no basis for [claims about] what happened to the Jews in Germany and that they were cremated in gas chambers.”

Local row breaks out over UK council twinning with Palestinian town
Officials and locals in the borough of Pendle, UK, have expressed concern over the twinning of the town with Beit Lid in the West Bank

"But the Pendle-Beit Leed group, represented politically as the Pendle for Palestine Twinning group, also has some explaining to do regarding its links in the UK. On January 28th 2012, the group announced a partnership with the Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association (CADFA), a group led by a man who has expressed support for Khader Adnan - a jailed terrorist leader from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The PIJ is a banned terrorist organisation under UK law, whose car and suicide bombings have murdered hundreds of Israeli Jews and Arabs.
CADFA stands accused of propagandising for the eradication of the Jewish State, with one screenshot of their presentations showing 'Palestine' as the entirety of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Munir Nusseibeh, CADFA's Chairman, has also led the group in supporting Hana Shalabi, whom they describe as a “political prisoner”. Shalabi is also a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad."

MEMRI: Egyptian Human Rights Activist In Open Letter To President Obama
'Your Administration Ha[s] Given Political Cover To The Current Authoritarian Regime In Egypt'; 'Further American Statements Supporting The Current Egyptian Regime Will Only Lead To More Egyptians Being Beaten, Raped, Tortured, And Killed'

“In his open letter in Al-Ahram Weekly, Hassan requested "that spokespeople and officials in your administration stop commenting on developments in Egypt" and that "as long as they cannot speak the truth about what is happening in Egypt, they keep silent." Their statements, he said, only give "political cover to the current authoritarian regime in Egypt" and to its policy of violent repression of demonstrations, including the tactic of raping women.”

Hundreds of Egyptian police hold protest
Low-ranking law enforcers demonstrate against the way they are being used to suppress opposition voices

"Hundreds of Egypt’s low-ranking policemen staged protests on Tuesday demanding they not be used as a tool for political oppression in the country’s ongoing turmoil.
Dozens of policemen rallied outside local security administration headquarters in at least 10 provinces. Some of them carried signs reading, “we are innocent of the blood of the martyrs.”
Although small, the protests marked a rare instance of dissent by Egypt’s police force. The rallies reflect fears among many policemen of a public backlash after weeks of violent crackdowns on anti-government protests."

Analysis: Pyongyang nuke test may also be Iranian
Expert warns Tehran may be bypassing int'l inspections via North Korea, says Iranian scientists may have been present at test.

"North Korea is making progress both in its nuclear weapons capabilities and its ICBM missile research, Dr. Alon Levkowitz, coordinator of Bar-Ilan University’s Asian Studies Program and a member of the BESA Center for Strategic Studies, told The Jerusalem Post.
“The most disturbing question is whether the Iranians are using North Korea as a backdoor plan for their own nuclear program. The Iranians didn’t carry out a nuclear test in Iran, but they may have done so in North Korea,” Levkowitz said. “There is no official information on this... but Iran may have bypassed inspections via North Korea. If true, this is a very worrying development.”

Iran Denies its Officials Will be Questioned in Argentina Attack
Iran denies that Iranians facing arrest warrants for their roles in the AMIA bombing will be questioned by an Argentine judge.

"Iran denied on Tuesday that Iranians facing international arrest warrants for their alleged roles in the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish center will be questioned by an Argentine judge, AFP reported.
"The matter of questioning of some of the Iranian officials is a sheer lie," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at his weekly press conference, after Argentina's foreign minister had indicated the opposite."

What chutzpah!
As convicted anti-Semite John Galliano attempts a comeback at New York Fashion Week, the city’s outraged Jewish community still thinks he’s a schmuck

“Dior brand ambassador Natalie Portman said at the time, “I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano . . . In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way.”
The French courts later found him guilty of “public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity,” and he was fined $8,400 and enrolled in an Arizona rehab clinic for alcohol addiction. While in Paris, he’s been seen regularly at AA meetings held in a church down the block from Dior, according to a source.”

Holland seeks EU heritage label for Nazi camp
Step would honor Westerbork’s ‘key role’ in European history

"In total, nearly 100,000 Jews, or 70 percent of Holland’s pre-Holocaust Jewish population, were transported from Westerbork to Nazi extermination and concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Sobibor, Bergen-Belsen and Theresienstadt, according to Yad Vashem. The premises of the former Nazi camp have been made a national memorial."

Guess who's demolishing illegal Arab buildings?

From Ma'an:

Members of the Abu Amrah family in Gaza City demonstrated Tuesday in front of offices of the Palestinian Legislative Council protesting a decision by the Hamas-run government to demolish 75 houses belonging to the family in the al-Rimal neighborhood.

The government says it decided to demolish the houses because they were illegally built on public lands. The demolition is scheduled to be conducted Wednesday morning.

"We are refugees and we have been living in this area for tens of years," Abu Salah Abu Amra told Ma'an.

We have documented Hamas demolishing Arab homes for about two years now. Some have even involved injuries and deaths.

Yet there are no NGOs dedicated to the defense of these Arabs. No, the European NGO money goes only towards organizations that look at Israel demolishing Arab structures many of them built on public lands or lands owned by others (like Arab Christians.)

(Yes, I saw Ian had posted this story earlier...)

Sunnis in Egypt warn of the Shiite/Jewish/Crusader threat

Egypt's Al Mesryoon newspaper discusses the threat that Shiite Islam brings to Egypt, and goes through a bizarre history of the sect.

Naturally, since Shiites are evil, Jews must have something to do with it.

According to the article, Sunni scholars are warning against the growing Shiite influence in Egypt. You see, after the Jews killed many of Jesus' apostles - and tried, but failed, to kill Jesus - they decided to create discord and divisiveness in Islam by influencing the creation of the Shiite version of Islam.

After discussing some strange Shiite customs, like temporary marriages only for sexual pleasure, we learn that Iran's seeming success in scientific and cultural endeavors has nothing to do with Persians being smarter than Arabs or anything like that. No, Iran got its smarts from - all together now - the Zionists! (And the Crusaders, by which they mean Christians.)

As far as I can tell, Al Mesryoon is a mainstream newspaper.

Wednesday links part 1

From Ian:

Hamas Gov’t Demolishes ‘Illegal’ Arab Homes in Gaza
The Hamas government has issued an order to demolish 75 homes belonging to PA Arabs in Gaza City. The UN has made no comment.

“Members of the Abu Amrah family – affected by the order – protested the decision on Tuesday in a demonstration in front of the offices of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza City, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency reported.
The houses, located in the al-Rimal neighborhood, are scheduled to be destroyed this morning (Wednesday).
Hamas said the houses were being demolished because they were “illegally built on public lands,” Ma’an reported. The families claimed that alternative sites suggested by the PLC were remote areas with no services, a claim Hamas denied.”

Terror Cell from 'Peace Partner' Fatah Nabbed
Shin Bet, IDF arrest terrorists who attacked a soldier and stole his gun.

"The Shin Bet, Israel Police and IDF have exposed and arrested a terror cell whose members infiltrated an IDF base on December 21, 2012, attacked a soldier on sentry duty and stole his weapon, an M-16.
The cell belonged to the Fatah movement, which is headed by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Its members are residents of the Kalandia and a-Ram neighborhoods of Jerusalem. It is made up of five men aged 25 to 37, one of whom is an Israeli citizen."

Jerusalem terror alert continues into Wednesday
Police and emergency services on high alert after general warning of a possible attack in the capital

"Security forces maintained a state of increased readiness from Tuesday evening and into Wednesday in response to intelligence received by the Shin Bet security service indicating the possibility of a terror attack in the city.
Magen David Adom ambulance service declared a “Level C” alert, the second-highest level of readiness. Later they raised the alert to the highest level. Local firefighters were also on standby."

PMW: Released prisoner: Prisoners who killed Jews are entitled to a PA salary VIDEO

Abu Khaizaran: "Since the day we were released from prison, we have been given [only] half a salary... We killed Jews. I personally killed Jews. I killed settlers and I injured soldiers. My house was destroyed. I have 11 bullets in my body. I served 22 years in Israeli prisons."

Do the Palestinians Really Want U.S. Aid?

“The PA can get the money released by assuring the U.S. that they will (1) not take further steps to change the legal status of the disputed territories outside negotiations with Israel (since the Palestinians promised in the Oslo agreement not to take “any [such] step”); and (2) not reconcile with an organization designated by the U.S. government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a Specially Designated Terrorist (SDT), and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) — particularly when the PA promised in the Road Map to dismantle the FTO/SDT/SDGT, which has now waged two rocket wars against Israel and refuses to endorse any of the Quartet requirements for the “peace process.”

Freedom of Expression? Not for Palestinians by Khaled Abu Toameh

"In another story the Western media apparently refuses to cover, any Palestinian who dares to criticize Hamas or the Palestinian Authority risks being arrested or summoned for interrogation. Palestinian journalists are now hoping to bring this to the attention of President Barack Obama when he meets with President Mahmoud Abbas next month.
The journalists say they want United States and the rest of the world to know that the crackdown on freedom of expression in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip is designed to hide the fact that Palestinians are governed by two repressive regimes that have no respect for human rights and democracy.
Over the past few weeks, several Palestinian journalists have been arrested in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for reportedly criticizing the policies and leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas."

Outgoing Justice Minister: Implement Levy Report
Justice Minister Neeman responds to MK Strook’s challenge, agrees that government should implement ‘high-quality, objective’ Levy report.

"Freshman MK Orit Strook challenged outgoing Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman on Tuesday regarding the Levy Report, which stated that the presence of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria is legal under international law, and proposed a new approach to land disputes between Jews and Arabs in the area.
“As Justice Minister, you signed on the appointment of the Levy Committee,” said Strook, who took advantage of the opportunity to question Neeman during his final speech as Justice Minister."

Pro-Israel Group Responds to Houston Billboard Calling for End to Israel Aid

"The pro-Israel education group StandWithUs will counter a billboard in Houston calling for the end to U.S. military aid to Israel.
StandWithUs is partnering with Bridge Houston, a group representing pro-Israel residents of that city, on an advertisement appearing from Feb. 24-March 25 that will state the following: “Tell Congress Not to Support Palestinian Groups Like Hamas Because They Don’t Want Peace.”

Daphne Anson: Cutting Through The BDS Lies: The Truth About SodaStream (video)

The fiends of the BDS movement and their leftwing NGO abettors have this Israeli company squarely in their sights. Judge for yourself whether it deserves to be demonised.

Huckabee: Obama Should Focus on Iran, Pardon Pollard
President Obama should focus on preventing a nuclear Iran during his upcoming visit to Israel, says former governor Mike Huckabee.

“U.S. President Barack Obama should focus on preventing Iran from achieving nuclear weapons during his upcoming visit to Israel, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee told Arutz Sheva during a visit of his own to the Jewish State.
“If he (Obama) asked me for advice, I would tell him to come with assurances that under no circumstances will Iran ever be allowed to have a nuclear device, and to make that very clear so that there’s not any ambiguity whatsoever,” said Huckabee”

Israeli aid group to help North Korean refugees
Humanitarian organization will train local workers in techniques for dealing with post-traumatic stress

"The initiative will mark the start of a yearlong training program that IsraAID will conduct in South Korea during 2013. In addition, IsraAID professionals will provide post-trauma training to local nongovernmental and nonprofit Korean aid agencies that work directly with the North Korean refugee population in the country.
Founded in 2001, IsraAID is an international relief and development aid agency that works alongside local NGOs and government officials to coordinate relief efforts and emotional support in medical emergencies. IsraAID provided trauma relief after the 2011 tsunami that hit Japan, and emergency workers in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake."

David G's NYT Op-Ed Index totals for 2012

From David G:

New York Times op-ed Index summary July - December, 2012

July, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 5 / Pro-Israel - 1

August, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 3 / Pro-Israel - 0

September, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 11 / Pro-Israel - 2

October, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 6 / Pro-Israel - 5

November, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 25 / Pro-Israel - 4 / Neutral - 5

December, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 11 / Pro-Israel - 1

Totals for July - December, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 61 / Pro-Israel - 13 / Neutral - 5

Totals for January - June, 2012 - Anti-Israel - 30 / Pro-Israel - 10

Total for 2012 - Anti-Israel - 91 / Pro-Israel - 23 / Neutral - 5

Since November provided nearly half the op-eds in this period, it's worth considering why so many opinion articles about Israel appeared. The majority of these opinion pieces (including a few cartoons) were either about Pillar of Defense (by my rough count, 13 articles, 10 of which were anti-Israel) or the Palestinian effort to gain statehood at the UN (5 articles, 4 of which were anti-Israel).

In this time, the op-ed that has the distinction of being the worst is Yousef Munnayer's America's failed Palestinian policy. The following sentences are shocking for their extremism:

By constantly condemning Palestinian armed resistance, and failing to condemn Israeli settlement expansion and repression of nonviolent Palestinian dissent, the message the United States is sending the Palestinian people is this: All resistance to occupation is illegitimate. No nation on earth would accept that, nor is it realistic to expect it to.

Munayyer sees nothing wrong with anti-Israel terror. To him it's justified "armed resistance" that ought to be tolerated. This is the level of discourse that is currently allowed on the op-ed pages of the New York Times.

Even when the New York Times got something right, it still got it wrong. An editorial with the promising title, Hamas's Illegitimacy argued:

Israel has a vastly more capable military than Hamas, and its air campaign has resulted in a lopsided casualty count: three Israelis have been killed. The Israelis claim to have done considerable damage to Hamas rocket targets, which should make a ground invasion of Gaza less likely. But military action is no long-term answer. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had pursued serious negotiations on a two-state solution with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinians could have hope in a different future and Hamas’s nihilistic vision would have far less appeal. Mr. Abbas shares responsibility for this failure.

In other words, "Hamas's nihilistic vision" is Israel's fault. What's especially troubling about this paragraph is that Hamas has power because of Israel's disengagement from Gaza. Gaza was supposed to have been a laboratory for Palestinian self-government. (Even when Hamas won the 2006 legislative elections, "experts" told us not to worry, the shackles of governing would moderate Hamas.) Rather it became the base of a terrorist organization. To argue that Hamas's appeal is due to Israeli intransigence may be satisfying, but it shows an ignorance of history - recent history, in fact.

What the number (and ratio) of anti-Israel articles suggest is a campaign. When Israel is in the news, the New York Times' editors and columnists weigh in. Activists are recruited to write op-eds. The extreme bias demonstrated by the choice and number of op-eds and editorials reflects a very strong anti-Israel feeling in the editorial department of the New York Times. The op-eds of the second half of 2012 paint a very disturbing picture of what had once been a great and authoritative newspaper.