Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Full text of Bibi, Peres, Obama speeches in Israel

President Obama,

This is an historic moment.

You have chosen to come to Israel as the first foreign visit of your second term, you the leader of the United States, the world's greatest democracy, have chosen to come to our somewhat smaller but no less vibrant democracy in the heart of the Middle East, the one and only Jewish state of Israel.

On behalf of the government and the people of Israel, I come here today with a simple message for you and the American people: Thank you. Thank you for standing by Israel at this time of historic change in the Middle East.

Thank you for unequivocally affirming Israel’s sovereign right to defend itself by itself against any threat. Thank you for enhancing Israel’s’ ability to exercise that right through generousmilitary assistance, revolutionary missile defense programs, and unprecedented security and intelligence cooperation.

Thank you, Mr. President, for upholding the Jewish people’s right to a Jewish state in our historic homeland, and for boldly defending that right at the United Nations. And thank you for strengthening the unbreakable alliance between our two nations during your Presidency.

In an unstable and uncertain Middle East, the need for our alliance is greater than ever. It is the key to thwarting dangers and advancing peace; it's the key to achieve a the stable and secure peace that the people of Israel yearn for with our neighbors with our all hearts. We seek a peace with our Palestinian neighbors. I look forward to working with you over the next four years to make the alliance between our two countries even stronger.

Mr. President, on this historic visit, you will have an opportunity to see a different side of Israel. You will see past, present, and future in this tiny land which has left such a huge imprint on the course of civilization. You will see the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls, the world's oldest text of the Bible, written in Hebrew here 2,000 years ago, scrolls that bear witness to the timeless bond between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.

You will meet the young men and women of Israel who make it one of the most creative and dynamic societies on earth. And you will see Israeli technology and innovation which is fundamentally transforming the way we live.

Mr. President, Barack – on a lighter side, I had an opportunity to see your interview on Israeli television the other day. I took note of your desire to go incognito, so if you have a few free minutes, and you can arrange to slip away from your security – a daunting task – well, we picked out a few cafes and bars in Tel Aviv, as we even prepared a fake mustache for you.

Mr. President,

The people of Israel are honored to have you visit our country. We warmly welcome you as a cherished guest. We deeply appreciate your friendship. And we share your hope that the Middle East will enjoy a future of freedom, prosperity and peace.

Mr. President, Baruch HaBa L'Yisrael: welcome to Israel.

Peres:

President Barack Obama, Dear Friend, Welcome to Israel.

We welcome you as a great President of the United States of America. As a remarkable world leader. As a historic friend of Israel. Of the Jewish People.

Your visit here is a crown demonstration of the profound relationship between our two nations.

The people of Israel welcome you with open hearts. From the depth of our hearts, From the depths of our history, "תודה רבה" Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, America.

Thank you for what you are. Thank you for what you do.

Thank you for the hopes you carry with you. In a few minutes you will be on your way to Jerusalem. Our ancient capital. The cradle of all believers, of all prayers.

You will see the hills and mountains where our prophets preached. Where the soul of the Jewish People was born. Where the State of Israel was created.

America and Israel are somewhat different in size.

In size, not in destiny. The American dream stems from the bible. The Israeli spirit is inspired by American exceptionalism. We are separated by an ocean and united by the commitment to freedom, to justice. By the ongoing struggle for peace. We face the same dangers. We share the same hopes.

Mr. President, The United States became great by giving. Not by taking. Your generosity enabled freedom to prevail all over the world. A world without America's leadership, without It's moral voice, would be a poorer world. A world without your friendship, will invite aggression against Israel

Mr. President, Your story reflects the history of the world as it is. Your vision reflects the future as it should be. You have offered the American people and the peoples of the world a leadership of vision, a leadership of values. A leadership dedicated to a brighter tomorrow.

In times of peace, in times of war, your support for Israel is unshakeable. You enabled our security in an extraordinary way, to project strength. To strive for peace. Strengthening security is the best way to strengthen peace.

We long to see end the conflict with the Palestinians. To see the Palestinians enjoy freedom and prosperity in their own state. We extend our hand in peace to all the countries of the Middle East.

America stood by our side from the very beginning. You support us as we rebuild our ancient homeland and as we defend our land. From Holocaust to redemption. From Truman to Obama.

Mr. President, Wherever you go in our land, you will meet the friendship and warmth of the people of Israel.

Mr. President, The people of Israel want you to feel at home. So, welcome home Mr. President.

Obama:

Shalom.

President Peres, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and most of all, to the people of Israel, thank you for this incredibly warm welcome. This is my third visit to Israel so let me just say tov lihiyot shuv ba’aretz.

I’m so honored to be here as you prepare to celebrate the 65th anniversary of a free and independent State of Israel. Yet I know that in stepping foot on this land, I walk with you on the historic homeland of the Jewish people.

More than 3,000 years ago, the Jewish people lived here, tended the land here, prayed to God here. And after centuries of exile and persecution, unparalleled in the history of man, the founding of the Jewish State of Israel was a rebirth, a redemption unlike any in history.

Today, the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah are fulfilling the dream of the ages — to be “masters of their own fate” in “their own sovereign state.” And just as we have for these past 65 years, the United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend.

As I begin my second term as President, Israel is the first stop on my first foreign trip. This is no accident. Across this region the winds of change bring both promise and peril. So I see this visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the unbreakable bonds between our nations, to restate America’s unwavering commitment to Israel’s security, and to speak directly to the people of Israel and to your neighbors.

I want to begin right now, by answering a question that is sometimes asked about our relationship — why? Why does the United States stand so strongly, so firmly with the State of Israel? And the answer is simple. We stand together because we share a common story — patriots determined “to be a free people in our land,” pioneers who forged a nation, heroes who sacrificed to preserve our freedom, and immigrants from every corner of the world who renew constantly our diverse societies.

We stand together because we are democracies. For as noisy and messy as it may be, we know that democracy is the greatest form of government ever devised by man.

We stand together because it makes us more prosperous. Our trade and investment create jobs for both our peoples. Our partnerships in science and medicine and health bring us closer to new cures, harness new energy and have helped transform us into high-tech hubs of our global economy.

We stand together because we share a commitment to helping our fellow human beings around the world. When the earth shakes and the floods come, our doctors and rescuers reach out to help. When people are suffering, from Africa to Asia, we partner to fight disease and overcome hunger.

And we stand together because peace must come to the Holy Land. For even as we are clear-eyed about the difficulty, we will never lose sight of the vision of an Israel at peace with its neighbors.

So as I begin this visit, let me say as clearly as I can –the United States of America stands with the State of Israel because it is in our fundamental national security interest to stand with Israel. It makes us both stronger. It makes us both more prosperous. And it makes the world a better place.

That’s why the United States was the very first nation to recognize the State of Israel 65 years ago. That’s why the Star of David and the Stars and Stripes fly together today. And that is why I’m confident in declaring that our alliance is eternal, it is forever – lanetzach.

Thank you very much.

Gaza exports through Israel continue to grow

COGAT reports that as of the beginning of this month, Gaza farmers have exported 184 tons of strawberries, 2.6 million flowers, 1.5 tons of peppers, 90 tons of cherry tomatoes, 28 tons of tomatoes, and 12.5 tons of spices and herbs for this season.

In addition, Gaza factories have exported significant numbers of plastic boxes and furniture, to my understanding these go to the West bank and other Arab countries.

Today, a shipment of cherry tomatoes are being exported from Gaza to Europe, as well as two truckloads of biscuits for schools in the West Bank.

These exports have been steadily growing and the pace has increased over the past three months as there has been relative calm from Gaza.

This all goes to prove, of course, that Israeli actions in Gaza are not capricious or punitive but are in direct reaction to security threats. When Hamas keeps things calm, Gazans benefit. The message was delivered loud and clear earlier this month when Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing for six days in reaction to rocket attacks.

Peace - or in this case, détente- brings benefits. It seems obvious, but in the Middle East, nothing is obvious.

Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic has a 10,000 word profile of Jordan's King Abdullah. Abdullah is so frank-sounding that it is hard to imagine that there wont be any backlash from this interview. (See below for Abdullah's reaction.)

Most fascinating, perhaps, was Abdullah's opinions on the leaders of Turkey, Egypt and Syria, as well as his understanding of the evil of the Muslim Brotherhood that surpasses those of many Western analysts:

When I asked King Abdullah whether he could unravel the enigma of Bashar al‑Assad for me, he replied with an anecdote about the conference in Cairo. At the time, Assad was already controversial; the Syrian parliament had, upon Hafez al‑Assad’s death, voted to lower the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 34—Bashar’s age at the time. Even by the standards of Levantine power grabs, this was considered to be a gauche act. In Syria, murmurs of discontent about the Assad family’s despotic inclinations had become audible. Abdullah says he took it upon himself to try to coach the new Syrian president in the ways of international statecraft. Even before the Arab League Summit, Abdullah says, he had devised a program to help Assad elevate his reputation. “I went to visit him and I said, ‘There’s the opening of the United Nations in September, please come—I can set up lunches and dinners,” the king recounted. “The World Economic Forum was doing something, and I said, ‘You’ll be the belle of the ball: everyone wants to meet you, you’re the new guy, you can have some interviews.’

“And he was like, ‘There’s no need—I have Syrian businessmen who can go on my behalf and get the contracts and investments.’ And I was like, ‘No, when you show up at the UN, everybody will come because you’re the flavor of the month.’ But he said he wouldn’t go.”

So, I asked, Bashar was a bit of a provincial? The king smiled, and told me about a conversation he had at the Arab Summit. “There was a dinner with me and him and the king of Morocco, at the king’s residence in Cairo. And so Bashar at dinner turns to us and says, ‘Can you guys explain to me what jet lag is?’ ”

The king arched an eyebrow at me. “He never heard of jet lag.”

Of course, provincialism alone can’t explain Assad’s behavior. After all, he’s not really that provincial: he’s a physician who trained in London. “He’s a smart guy, he’s married to someone who lived in the West,” the king conceded. But then he contrasted Assad’s upbringing with his own. “The fathers are two very different people,” he said. “The way his father ruled Syria, and the way my father ruled this country, and the relationship between the people and the ruler, were just very different.”

Which is not to say that the Hashemites don’t harbor visceral dislike for the Brotherhood. Abdullah expounds on that dislike to many of the Western visitors he receives—in part because he believes his Western allies are naive about the Brotherhood’s intentions. “When you go to the State Department and talk about this, they’re like, ‘This is just the liberals talking, this is the monarch saying that the Muslim Brotherhood is deep-rooted and sinister.’ ” Some of his Western interlocutors, he told me, argue that “the only way you can have democracy is through the Muslim Brotherhood.” His job, he says, is to point out that the Brotherhood is run by “wolves in sheep’s clothing” and wants to impose its retrograde vision of society and its anti-Western politics on the Muslim Middle East. This, he said, is “our major fight”—to prevent the Muslim Brothers from conniving their way into power across the region.

...

Though most of the gulf monarchs remain his allies—because they, too, fear the Muslim Brotherhood—the king’s expansive, moderate understanding of Islam has served to isolate him from the Arab world’s rising rulers. Tunisia is now ruled by Islamists. In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, a longtime Jordanian ally, has been replaced by Mohamed Morsi, a Brotherhood leader. The king argues that a new, radical alliance is emerging—one that both complements and rivals the Iranian-led Shia crescent. “I see a Muslim Brotherhood crescent developing in Egypt and Turkey,” he told me. “The Arab Spring highlighted a new crescent in the process of development.”

Abdullah is wary of Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, whose Justice and Development Party is, he believes, merely promoting a softer-edged version of Islamism. (“Erdogan once said that democracy for him is a bus ride,” Abdullah reports. “ ‘Once I get to my stop, I’m getting off.’ ”) He sees Erdogan as a more restrained and more savvy version of Mohamed Morsi, who set back Muslim Brotherhood’s cause in Egypt by making a premature play for absolute power. “Instead of the Turkish model, taking six or seven years—being an Erdogan—Morsi wanted to do it overnight,” the king said.

If the king is wary of Erdogan, he is decidedly unimpressed with Morsi, whom he recently met in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. The two men were discussing the role of Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian branch. “There is no depth there,” Abdullah told me. “I was trying to explain to him how to deal with Hamas, how to get the peace process moving, and he was like, ‘The Israelis will not move.’ I said, ‘Listen, whether the Israelis move or don’t move, it’s how we get Fatah and Hamas”—the two rival Palestinian factions—“together.” When Morsi remained fixated on the Israelis (“He’s like, ‘The Israelis, the Israelis’ ”), Abdullah said, he tried to reiterate the importance of sorting out “the mess” on the Palestinian side.

“There’s no depth to the guy,” he repeated.

Today, Abdullah wrote on his Facebook page that the interview was not accurate.

With regard to the section on Jordan's relations with the leaders of some friendly countries, the relations between these States is distinctive and respectful based on mutual trust, stressing keenness to develop them in all areas, through permanent coordination with their leaders and Presidents, who has his respect and appreciation.

In this context, [he would like to point out] the recent successful visit of his Majesty the King to Turkey, and the continued coordination and consultation between his Majesty and the Egyptian leadership on various regional issues.

New right-wing human rights org in Israel

This is very interesting:

Yoaz Hendel, chairman of the Institute for Zionist Studies, has set up the first rightist human rights organization of its kind. The organization intends to monitor the violation of Palestinians’ human rights at West Bank checkpoints, collate testimonies of apparent war crimes by IDF soldiers and provide medical assistance to Palestinians and African asylum-seekers.

Hendel, former head of the National Information Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, quit his post a year ago.

The new organization, dubbed BlueWhite Human Rights, started operating under the IZS about a month ago as the rightist version of leftwing watchdog groups such as Machsom Watch, Breaking the Silence and Physicians for Human Rights.

Hendel announced the organization’s establishment in his Facebook page this week. Unlike the leftist organizations, the new group will act in cooperation with the IDF authorities to make sure the complaints are investigated and acted on, he wrote.

The new organization currently consists of some 20 volunteers, most of them Hendel’s friends and acquaintances including reservists of the 13th squadron, activists of the Likud’s Liberal Forum and students from Bar-Ilan and Ariel universities.

Many of the activists wear knitted kippas, with their political views ranging from Habayit Hayehudi to Yesh Atid.

In recent weeks the new organization’s activists have stationed themselves at the Qalandiyah roadblock north of Jerusalem, where, alongside the women volunteers of Machsom Watch, they monitored the passage of Palestinians.

From the IZS website:

The Institute for Zionist Strategies will establish the Blue and White Human Rights Association which will be an umbrella for three organizations, each of which is involved in a different aspect of the defense of human dignity and freedom. The Association will project a non-political, “national liberal” orientation with the goal of: safeguarding human rights; focusing on improving the efforts of our authorities through the application of constructive criticism; creating discourse about the role and conduct of human rights organizations today; and preventing the exploitation of human rights issues to promote geo-political aims.

In recent years, two erroneous axioms have been internalized: The first is the exclusive correlation between Zionism and the political right: The second is the exclusive correlation between human rights and the political left. The IZS believes that human rights are a democratic and moral imperative that overrides all agendas in the political spectrum from the right through the left-- just as the values and goals of Zionism belong to and instruct all of us--left and right alike.

Several human rights organizations operate today in Israel and are engaged in important activities for human rights relating to the Arab-Israel conflict and to the safeguarding of the rights of the Palestinian population. However, at the same time, these organizations reject Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish State and are actively engaged in the boycott of Israel (BDS) and in other defamatory efforts. Most of these organizations are financed by foreign governments which have pro-Palestinian agendas.

The IZS has established the Blue and White Human Rights Association, out of a true and sincere concern for human rights in the belief that this is a moral imperative, regardless of political orientation, and out of the desire to create an alternative to the organizations which aims and practices confuse the cause of advocacy for human rights with political action to vilify, demean and delegitimize the State of Israel before the world.

The Blue and White Human Rights Association is an umbrella for three entities:

A. The Blue and White Crossings Organization is to be operated by volunteers from all over Israel, including Judea and Samaria, and it will monitor IDF soldiers and the strict enforcement of moral principles at the checkpoints. The organization will record the activities that occur at the IDF checkpoints in order to prevent, as much as possible, friction between the army and the people crossing at the checkpoints. It will maintain regular contact with the IDF and the Civil Administration and will report to the appropriate bodies any case in which IDF soldiers acted illegally

B. The Morality in Warfare Organization based on the concept of purity of arms in the IDF, will focus on the challenges faced by soldiers on active duty. We understand that unintended, terrible consequences are a foreseeable occurrence in army operations, but we believe that they must be avoided to the extent possible. The Organization will work with the IDF-not against it. We believe in the moral superiority of the IDF, and we will, therefore, collate data and incidents of improper action and regularly transmit this information to the qualified investigative agencies within the IDF (e.g., the Military Advocate General) so that the IDF can better achieve its goal. The Organization will also engage in education and will promote moral values in warfare to the general public in Israel. It will review adverse incidents involving IDF soldiers and the individual handling of each case, to help advance the remedy, and to prevent or reduce the deliberate perpetuation of anti- Israel generalizations in the foreign media and universities. We are mindful that false and unfair accusations against military personnel serve only to weaken commitments to the purity of arms. Where our investigation reveals that there was no violation of principles, and where we feel appropriate, we will publicize these findings.

C. The Ethical Medical Access Organization will be established in the belief that it is the duty of the State of Israel to ensure the right to healthcare on an equal basis to (i) Palestinian and other Arab individuals who reside in Israel and who have state health insurance, (ii) to Bedouins living in unrecognized villages in the Negev, (iii) to people with no civil status, such as refugees and asylum seekers.

I have long argued that there is no contradiction between Zionism and human rights for non-Jews. in Israel. This organization is exactly on the right path.

Instead of using "human rights" as a weapon to delegitimize Israel, as most so-called human rights organizations do, the Blue and White Human Rights Association wants to extend human rights to all because it is Zionist and Jewish. It truly wants to improve human rights, something that one cannot easily say about many of the others.

I hope that this one also safeguards the human rights of Jews.

(h/t Yoel)

Hamas female soldiers shoot at photos of Israeli leaders

From MEMRI:

The Star of David is a nice touch.

"Death to the Jews" graffiti - in Jaffa

Swastikas and graffiti saying "Death to the Jews" were found in a mixed Arab-Jewish Jaffa neighborhood overnight.

Police are investigating. There are no suspects yet but police will search through security cameras to try to find the criminals.

Maccabeats' Passover version of Les Misérables (video)

(h/t Yerushalimey, of course)

Which embassy's "Obama in Israel" video is more bizarre?

From the US Embassy in Israel:

From the Israeli Embassy in the US:

Do you get the impression that everyone is trying too hard?

Now you can buy land in Palestine on-line! (Except for you Jews.)

A new website being promoted in Arab media allows Arabs to buy land in "Palestine." Just pick the plot you want, pay 20% with your credit card, fill out some paperwork, and voilà!

The Canadian-born son of Palestinian refugees is successfully running a business which allows Palestinians to buy land in the area, reported the Guardian on Monday.

Khaled Sabawi launched his company, Tabo (the Ottoman term for “title deed”), three years ago. It is based on his father’s wish to help Palestinians buy Palestinian land, a dream that most of the estimated five million Palestinian refugees would deem impossible.

The Tabo webpage invites potential buyers in Jerusalem , West Bank and from abroad to embark upon a virtual tour of every plot of registered land in the area. Plots are sold for prices ranging from $13,000 to $80,000 and can be paid off over a period of three years.

When you go to the Tabo webpage you can learn:

For the first time, you have the opportunity to make your connection to the holy land a reality. Since time immemorial, the ancient and historic lands of Palestine have been among the most coveted in the world. For thousands of years, kings and paupers, emperors and peasants, Popes and pilgrims alike have come to Palestine for salvation, for redemption, for fulfillment, and for riches. Palestine’s unprecedented historical significance is a testament to its value as a land.

To Palestinians worldwide, owning land in Palestine is priceless. Land represents a Palestinian’s identity, his roots, and his proof of existence. It is his ancestry, his forefather’s legacy and children’s birthright. It is the place from which he came, and to which he shall return. Now UCI makes it possible for Palestinians to reclaim their legacy, reconnect with the land of their ancestors, and own a piece of the homeland, for them, for their children, and for generations to come.

When you start reading the fine print, something interesting appears:

Once you receive your UCI Land Purchase LPOA, the following steps must be followed:

You must print and sign your LPOA.

Once signed you are required to:

Scan and save a clear electronic copy of your signed LPOA.

Scan and save a clear electronic copy of your valid passport. If you are West Bank/Gaza/Jerusalem ID holder, or a Palestinian with an Israeli ID, please scan a clear electronic copy of your ID.

When they say a "Palestinian with an Israeli ID," they are excluding all Palestinian Jews.

In other words, an Israeli Arab can buy land in the West Bank - but an Israeli Jew cannot.

Israeli Jews legally buying land are evil "settlers" and merit being boycotted, stoned, firebombed and shot., and their homes must be dismantled and their hard work and investment on the land they bought must be forfeited. Even if their families had lived in the area for centuries, the land is simply not available for them. Because they are Jews wishing to return to their ancestral lands.

Israeli Arabs buying land there, on the other hand, are welcome! Because they are - not Jews!

Sounds like apartheid, doesn't it?

I think we need to call a UNHRC session. We must inform Amnesty about this blatant discrimination. Human Rights Watch will be most interested. No doubt they will jump right on it. If the PA is found to be involved in this project, they should be boycotted.

Because such blatant discrimination is ugly, and cannot be accepted. Right?

UPDATE: I wonder what would happen if an Israeli Jew with an Arabic name would buy some land. Might be worth the money just to find out!

The "Jewish" Daily Forward now promotes the Hamas Haggadah

Last year, I noted that the "Jewish Voice for Peace" came out with a "Haggadah" that Hamas would love. Excerpt:

It is time to look at the overcrowded Seder plate, which includes:

Olive – Symbolizing the self-determination of the Palestinian people and an invitation to Jewish communities to become allies to Palestinian liberation struggles.

When breaking the middle matzah, we must of course say that Israel should be overrun with Arabs.

As we break the middle matzah we acknowledge the break that occurred in Palestinian life and culture with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 when hundreds of villages were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people displaced. This damage cannot be undone — but repair and return are possible.

A new set of four questions must be asked, including this one:

How will we, as Jews, bear witness to the unjust actions committed in our name?

The actual Passover story is long and noring, so we will skip over that, except for the Ten Plagues, because we want to remember the suffering of the Egyptians:

Our freedom was bought with the suffering of others. As we packed our bags that last night in Egypt, the darkness was pierced with screams. May the next sea-opening not also be a drowning; may our singing never again be their wailing. We shall all be free, or none of us shall be free because our liberations are intertwined.

However, we would be remiss if we didn't talk about the ten plagues that Jews are inflicting on Palestinian Arabs today, including:

Poverty
Restrictions on movement
Water shortage
Destruction of Olive Trees
Home demolitions
Settlements
Political prisoners
Profiteering
Denial of the Right of Return
Erasing histories

Then comes the Palestinian Freedom Riders Song.

Now, the Forward has published an article by a JVP member encouraging this same self-hating mentality!

Passover has become a complicated holiday for me. I am still moved and inspired by the recounting of the Exodus. But the irony of celebrating Jewish freedom and deliverance into Israel, especially when, in today’s Israel, it is the Palestinians who face oppression at the hands of the Israelis, makes it painful. Yet it also renews my commitment to pursue the kind of justice that the story of Exodus teaches us is part of our legacy.

I bring this commitment to the Seder by including an olive on my Seder plate. The olive tree is a universal and ancient symbol of hope and peace. And sadly, the destruction of Palestinian olive trees by Israeli settlers and the Israeli army is just one example of the way that Israeli policies systematically deny Palestinians of even their most basic rights.

Yisrael Medad of My Right Word published a cogent comment at the Forward:

First of all, regards from Shiloh, a community I think you know well.

Second, an olive is not a bad idea. It reminds me of the annointing of the High Priest when we had a Temple. It reminds me of the moral ethical measurement standard (kezayit) which people of JVP blur all the time.

Third, it reminds me of all the olive trees the Arabs have destroyed here in Shiloh Bloc.

Fourth, it reminds me of the supreme value of the Land of Israel, "a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey;", the Land conquered and occupied by Arabs in 638 CE.

I would be remiss if I didn't point to the hilarious spoof of the JVP Haggadah made by Divest This! last year. It is a shame that the Forward wouldn't get the jokes.

Tuesday Links Part 2

From Ian:

LATMA: An Israeli Soldier's song to the world for Passover

Alan Baker: Biased, Prejudiced, and Unprofessional: The UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding Mission Report on Israeli Settlements

Issuing such a slanted and biased report implants within the international community an incorrect and inaccurate view of a complex reality, in a manner that inevitably steers the debate away from practical or fruitful directions and in fact assists in entrenching the beliefs of the more extreme elements on all sides. It serves to mobilize the international community in a manner prejudicial to any future prospect of agreement and settlement of the dispute.
In short, this report is nothing more than an insult to the UN as a whole and to its Human Rights Council, as well as an insult to the intellect of all those who read it in the false expectation that it is authoritative and credible.

Lord David Trimble Nobel Peace Laureate addressed UN debate on settlements

Nobel Peace Laureate David Trimble, member of the British House of Lords, took the floor in this morning’s UN Human Rights Council debate on a new report by a fact-finding mission on Israeli settlements, to deliver the following statement on behalf of the Geneva non-governmental organization UN Watch.

Pakistan arrests suspect in Daniel Pearl murder

Pakistan arrested a suspect in connection with the 2002 kidnapping and brutal murder of Daniel Pearl, a journalist for The Wall Street Journal.
The paramilitary unit Pakistani Rangers captured Qari Abdul Hayee in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, on Sunday. CNN cited a senior Pakistani official as saying that Hayee is suspected of having facilitated Pearl’s kidnapping on January 23, 2002, in Karachi.

George Galloway Banned from University of Chester

An invitation for George Galloway MP to speak at an event organised by the University of Chester’s Debating Society has been revoked by the Student Union, after it upheld the National Union of Students’ no-platform order against Galloway — a consequence of Galloway’s recent bigoted behaviour.

Don't be surprised by Lord Ahmed's anti-Semitic rant

Lord Ahmed's comments did not appear in a vacuum. They reflect a dangerous indulgence for conspiracy theory and Jew baiting in significant sections of the Islamic world

Obama and Netanyahu: Reboot

In their second act, will Benjamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama find happiness, and cooperate on policies that will best serve both Israeli and American interests?
The answer does not depend on psychology or individual personalities. Serious leaders leave their private likes and dislikes behind when it comes to serious issues – Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin did what they had to, despite the deep animosities. And Sadat and Begin did not need to play golf in order to negotiate peace.

Barry Rubin: The Region: Note to Obama

Current US strategy is to support anti-American, anti-Semitic radicals, with even arms and money, believing that “it pays off in the end.”
The nonsense here should be obvious: Why put into power people who hate you, lie about you and want to destroy you? What is the payoff? That if you help your ideologically motivated enemies into power they will then like you? That being in power will make them moderates, an idea that notably failed in the Israel-Palestinian “peace process” and on many other occasions? More accurately, today you give them guns, tomorrow they use those weapons to murder the US ambassador in Benghazi.

Poll: Most Israeli Jews don’t trust Obama to safeguard country’s interests

Ahead of visit, 62% of Israelis say US president is incapable of bringing about a breakthrough in peace talks

Israelis give video welcome to Obama

US Embassy in Tel Aviv hits the streets with cardboard cutout of the President so that locals can say a big ‘hello’
In addition to personal video clips that people made at home, embassy staff also patrolled the streets armed with a life-size cardboard cutout of the president so that locals could get up close and personal while giving a big “welcome” in a multitude of languages.

Netanyahu’s tiny gift to Obama: A marvel of Israeli nanotech VIDEO

Prime minister to present the US president with a minuscule version of both countries’ declarations of independence

‘Our Christmas dinners with the pope’
Argentina’s Jewish leaders describe an extraordinary relationship with Francis I, who comes to synagogue for ‘selichot’ and loaned out a cathedral for a Shoah event

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina made history last week by becoming the first pope from Latin America and the first from the Jesuit order. This week, Argentine Jewish leaders, attending a World Jewish Congress meeting in Greece, predicted a new era for Catholic-Jewish relations and described a man who is very close to the Jewish community, who regularly visits synagogues and has invited Jewish friends to Christmas dinner.

Israel’s iOnRoad wins top new mobile app prize
Qualcomm grants Israeli-created safety road app a total of $250,000 in venture capital, after it beat out apps from around the world

As far as international telecom giant Qualcomm is concerned, Israeli-created road safety app iOnRoad is the best new mobile app in the world. That’s why Qualcomm awarded iOnRoad a total of $250,000 in funding and assistance, as the winner of its third annual QPrize international venture investment competition.

Surgery without scars or scalpels
Israel’s InSightec is transforming the operating room with a new ultrasound technology that enables surgeons to destroy tumors and cysts without incisions.

Surgery without scalpels and scars? It’s not science fiction. Israel’s InSightec is in the midst of transforming the operating room with its ExAblate MRI-guided high-intensity ultrasound technology.
The ExAblate O.R. system uses interchangeable “cradles” set on a regular MRI treatment table. The tool allows doctors to destroy targets, such as tumors and uterine fibroid cysts, deep inside the body without incisions. The alert patient is monitored in real time, and changes in treatment parameters can be made instantly.

Gaza strawberry farmers must be traitors, according to anti-Israel Left

Here is yet another story showing that Gaza farmers are happily cooperating with Israel - which, to anti-Israel idiots and boycotters, must mean that they are traitors to the cause.

On Monday (March 11th, 2013), the Israeli Coordination and Liaison Administration (ICLA) for the Gaza Strip hosted twenty-nine farmers from Gaza to attend the annual Strawberry Fair in Qalansuwa, Israel.

The event (organized by the Israeli Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development's Agricultural Extension Service), is held annually in order for professionals to become acquainted with a large variety of strawberries as well as new and approved materials used within the industry. The fair was also attended by representatives of the Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza (CLA), Mr. Uri Madar and Mr. Eli Sadeh.

The farmers arrived early Monday morning through the Erez Crossing and were greeted by Mr. Eli Sadeh and other representatives of the ICLA. For some, it was their first time participating but many were veterans of ICLA sponsored trips. The ICLA coordinated the transportation for the Gazan farmers who arrived in Qalansuwa around 10 a.m. When the farmers arrived, they were able to participate in the fair's activities such as meeting with growers presenting different types of strawberries as well as learning about new products such as pesticides that are used within the industry.Towards the end of the fair, the Gazan farmers were shown strawberry fields and were able to learn about the different methods used for growing the fruit and were able to ask any questions they had.

The ICLA organizes events such as these for the Gazan farmers because it assists them greatly to keep up with the ever changing industry standards and development within the strawberry fruit itself. Through sampling and presentations, the farmers were able to learn more about different growing methods and how that affects how long a strawberry can remain edible or when it needs to be planted.

This event was made possible due to the stable security climate following Operation Pillar of Defense. The Israeli Coordination and Liaison Administration for the Gaza Strip hopes for more cooperation in the field of agriculture and plans to coordinate more events such as these which provide professional training and business opportunities for Gazan farmers and merchants.