Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Mahmoud Abbas and top officials honor the murderer of 15 people

On July 4, 1975, while busy crowds were preparing for Shabbat, a refrigerator filled with explosives was detonated in Zion Square, Jerusalem.

15 people were killed. Among the Jewish victims were Meir Zimmerman, 35, his wife Rosa, 28 and their 11-year-old daughter, Ahava; Michael Ben Yitzhak and his wife Rifka, American immigrants who left behind two small children; Yosef Amar, 28; David Cohen, 46; and Yoram Aivovi, 41. An eleven year old boy was also killed and his father was badly injured; he may have died (two victims died a few days afterwards.)

There were Arab victims as well. Nahiza Mohammed Hamed, 25, was about to get married; her aunt Fatima and a cousin Mohammed Abu Khadija from Amman who was in town for the wedding were also killed. Also Daoud Khoury, 50, a Christian from Nazareth, was murdered in the attack.

The architect of that attack was an Arab-American named Ahmed Jabara, whose terrorist name was Abu Sukkar. The Shin Bet managed to track him down more than a year after the attack, and he eventually confessed and sentenced to life. He was released from prison in 2003 in one of those "goodwill gestures."

Jabara died this week.

Palestinian Media Watch reports:

Yesterday, the Palestinian Authority honored terrorist Ahmad Abu Sukkar with an official military funeral. In a written eulogy Abbas referred to Abu Sukkar's life as: "A journey of struggle full of exceptional giving and devoted activity for Palestine and for the freedom and honor of our people."

Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim represented PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the funeral and laid a wreath from Abbas on the coffin.

In an interview at the funeral, Al-Rahim said: "We miss this man. He will remain in our minds and veins. His memory and his good and wonderful deeds for this nation and for this nation's cause will always remain an example for us to emulate."

In his eulogy Abbas referred to Abu Sukkar's "pure soul" and described him as "a righteous son and loyal fighter": "With the death of this fighter, Palestine and its people have lost a righteous son and loyal fighter, devoted wholeheartedly to protecting our people's rights. He dedicated most of his life to this people's independence and paid with many years of his life in the occupation's prisons so that the dawn of freedom will break over the pure land of Palestine."

Member of Fatah's Central Committee Jibril Rajoub praised Abu Sukkar as as “a tough patriotic fighter” and “the caring father of generations of struggle.” In his condolence telegram Rajoub vowed to keep the terrorist’s “principles and goals” and follow in his path:
“We emphasize our adherence to the principles and goals he dedicated his long life to protect… We commit to continue his way of struggle” [Ma'an News Agency's website, July 17, 2013 and Jibril Rajoub's Facebook page July 16, 2013]

Referring to Abu Sukkar's bombing that killed 15, PA representative to Lebanon and member of Fatah Central Committee Abbas Zaki said: "He [Abu Sukkar] started [out] with a wonderful and high quality operation (i.e., terror attack) using a refrigerator, that made the enemies lose sleep."

Fatah's spokesperson Ahmad Assaf stated to PA TV News:
"Abu Sukkar is an example of the brave, patriotic, loyal and honored fighter who dedicated his life to his people's cause and to his nation's cause." [Official PA TV, July 17, 2013]

Fatah's youth movement Shabiba remembered Abu Sukkar as the "hero of the heroic 'refrigerator' operation" and "the living conscience of the Palestinian people," mourning his death as a loss "to free men of the world and to all of humanity."

Many PA and Fatah officials attended the funeral, among them:
Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Tayeb Abd Al-Rahim, representing PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake
Deputy Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Ziad Abu Ein. (spoke at the funeral)
District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh, Laila Ghannam (spoke at the funeral)
Members of Fatah Central Committee: Mahmoud Al-Aloul (spoke at the funeral), Azzam Al-Ahmad, Abbas Zaki and Tawfiq Tirawi,
Deputy Secretary-General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Qais Abd Al-Karim, (Abu Laila)

I also found an Arabic site that says Jabari was known as - get this - "The Palestinian Mandela." And Greek Orthodox Bishop Attalah Hanna also eulogized him, saying he had spoken to him only a few hours before.

I wonder if John Kerry would, in passing, even think to mention to Abbas that normal people would consider his words to be morally depraved and utterly perverted. Or is it in the interests of "peace" to ignore that fact that one of the parties celebrates the murders of his " "peace partners"?

US envoy to OIC slams "Khaybar"

A nice op-ed by Rashad Hussain, U.S. special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation:

During Ramadan, Muslim communities around the world experience a month of fasting, devotion and increased consciousness of their faith. ...

In recent years, as Muslim communities have dealt with hateful depictions and inflammatory actions, American interfaith coalitions have come together to strongly reject such bigotry. It is this backdrop that makes the reported Ramadan release of the television drama “Khaiber” in some Muslim-majority countries particularly disturbing.

The new drama purports to provide a historical account of the Prophet Muhammad and the Arabian-Jewish town of Khaiber. But its producer has said that “the goal of the series is to expose the naked truth about the Jews and stress that they cannot be trusted.” The series also will reportedly focus “on the social, economic and religious characteristics of the Jews, including politics and conspiracies and how they dominate and control tribes.”

Rather than emphasizing Muhammad’s efforts to establish peaceful relations among religious communities, “Khaiber” does just the opposite. And it does so at a time when a number of religious groups, including Christians, face discrimination and violence in countries where the series will air.

Communities that were outraged at negative depictions of Islam must condemn this divisive and anti-Semitic effort. They should also understand that in many ways, this type of programming is also a disservice to Muslims and the legacy of the prophet. While censorship is not the answer, communities must come forward to counter such depictions with more informed views to prevent the spread of stereotypes and hatred that can dehumanize entire groups of people.

...Addressing Holocaust denial is an important step, and I raise this issue when I travel to meet government and civil society leaders in Muslim countries. Efforts also must be made to ensure that textbooks and television programming in the Muslim world are free from the types of dehumanizing ideas and images that breed intolerance and hate.

In doing so, honest and courageous voices must step forward, particularly during Ramadan, to condemn not only negative depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, but also a television series that uses a slanted historical narrative of his life as a facade for sowing discord, division and hatred.

It will be interesting to see if there is any reaction to this. So far, Arab media that discussed Jewish objections to the series tended to justify the hate.

By the way, JTA did have another article on Khaybar, which I missed because they choose to spell it differently.

(h/t Niklas Bergman)

7/18 Links Part 1: The Guardian Calls Judea and Samaria “right-wing” terms, The PA Honors Another Terrorist.

From Ian:

Wall Street Journal: Netanyahu Has Red Lines, Obama Doesn't

The article then went on to criticize Obama, who has in the past said that use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime would be a red line that “would change my equation.” The editorial quoted two similar statements by Obama, one dated August 2012 and another one from this past March.
“As everyone—most especially Bashar Assad—now knows, Mr. Obama has no red lines regarding Syria or chemical weapons,” the editorial charged. “Even his belated policy change to deliver small arms to the opposition is bogged down in bureaucratic inertia and congressional resistance. Readers may or may not think the U.S. should involve itself in Syria, but serious powers cannot issue empty threats and not expect consequences.”

New US envoy says she’ll defend Israel at the UN

The Irish-born Power, who has been criticized by some groups for past comments considered critical of Israel, said that the US has no “greater friend” than the Jewish state. She criticized the UN for its “disproportionate” focus on Israel and said she would fight to have Israel admitted as a member of the UN Security Council, a post that the Jewish state has been vying for.

CIF Watch: Guardian refers to ‘Judea and Samaria’ as a “right-wing” terms

As Elder of Ziyon noted, official UN documents routinely used “Judea and Samaria” until the end of the British Mandate, and in fact didn’t begin capitalizing the words “West Bank” until after the Six Day War. Further, before there were any settlements all, the Israeli government led by the left-wing Labor Party (under Levi Eshkol) called the area “Judea and Samaria” – as this 1968 UPI article, to cite but one example, shows.

Papers: EU ‘Earthquake’ Directive Underscores Europe’s Irrelevance in the Region

While Israeli officials reacted to the news with disappointment and confusion, today, the global news media weighed in on its significance.
Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post wrote that she wasn’t surprised by the EU’s position. In an Op-Ed, Rubin writes that the EU has a clear anti-Israel bias–a bias that makes it an otherwise insignificant player in the Middle East peace process: “This is an old story for the European Union — it strives for relevance but its anti-Israeli tendencies make it particularly unsuited to play any constructive role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The EU’s Broken Mideast Compass

If this is how the EU chooses to spend its limited diplomatic and political resources “to help” the Middle East, then its moral compass is badly broken. The EU still hasn’t even mustered the clarity or courage to join the USA, Canada, and six Gulf states (led by Bahrain) in designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization, even though Hezbollah has committed terrorist acts on EU soil that killed an EU citizen, and has supported Basher Assad’s butchery in Syria. The EU has also failed to take any decisive action to address the urgent crises in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran (which marches ever closer to nukes, and imports ore for armor and missile production from Germany and France). And where is the EU’s boycott of Mideast governments that persecute women, execute homosexuals, and condone the slaughter of Christians?

Israel moves to quit flagship EU project over restrictions

Israel is a major contributor to the EU’s €80 billion Horizon 2020 project, which aims to create new growth and jobs in Europe by the end of the decade. According to Hebrew daily Maariv, Israel is meant to contribute upwards of €600 million to the project over the next seven years, while receiving even larger sums in research grants.

'Europe wants to erect new Berlin Wall in the middle of Jerusalem'

In an interview with German magazine Die Welt, which will be published on Sunday, Netanyahu said that the EU was "trying to impose permanent borders by applying financial pressure on Israel rather than pursuing negotiations. That is an unfair move at any time, not just now, when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to get the parties back to the negotiating table."
Netanyahu told the German publication that Brussels "wants to erect a new Berlin Wall in the middle of Jerusalem, but anyone who has ever visited Jerusalem knows that you cannot turn back time and divide neighborhoods that would clearly remain under Israeli control as part of any peace agreement."

Conflicting reports surround possible imminent renewal of peace talks

Jerusalem on Thursday denied a Reuters report that Israel has agreed to a proposed formula for new peace talks with the Palestinians under which the border of the future Palestinian state would be along lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War with agreed land swaps.

Kerry closes in on resumed peace talks

Gaps between the Israeli and Palestinian positions have narrowed substantially after US Secretary of State John Kerry met with PA President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday in Jordan, a senior Palestinian Authority official told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal. The official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a partial settlement freeze and is willing to negotiate on the basis of the 1967 lines. The freeze would not apply to Jerusalem and the major settlement blocs, the report said.

Report: IDF preparing to remove West Bank checkpoints

According to Army Radio, IDF commanders are examining alternate security measures in the southern Hebron Hills region that would allow for the removal of a major roadblock near the settlement of Beit Hagi, which is adjacent to the entrance to Hebron.

In Feud Over Unpaid Bills, Palestinian Hospitals Refusing Care to Palestinian Govt Personnel

Observers have long feared that financial mismanagement by Palestinian officials – a function of endemic corruption, and coupled with political illegitimacy – would prevent the emergence of a stable Palestinian economy. A functioning economy is considered a critical prerequisite in efforts to achieve a viable Palestinian state, lest that state fail.

PA holds military funeral for former Fatah terrorist who murdered 14, injured 60

The Palestinian Authority on Wednesday held a military funeral for Ahmed Abu al- Sukkar, a former Fatah prisoner who was involved in the 1975 “refrigerator bombing” in Jerusalem’s Zion Square.
Fourteen people were killed and more than 60 injured in the terror attack.

Egypt intercepts 19 Grad rockets, military equipment

The Egyptian military intercepted a shipment of 19 Grad rockets concealed in a truck bound to Cairo from the port of Suez, Egyptian media reported on Wednesday. The driver of the vehicle was apprehended in possession of an automatic rifle and ammunition.
An army spokesman confirmed the seizure to the Daily News Egypt website. The military believes the discovery is related to the ongoing violence in Sinai.

Egypt: Morsi Supporters Protest Outside Cabinet

Egypt's new 34-member Cabinet was sworn-in on Tuesday. It features several prominent figures from the country's liberal and secular factions, as well as three women and three Christians.
There are no ministers from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood or other Islamist groups.

Copts Face Violence After Morsi Ouster

“What is disturbing is the failure of the security apparatus to act — which at times looks like collusion — to protect citizens and their property who are being targeted on the basis of their religion, Ishak Ibrahim of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) told Agence France Presse (AFP). “Copts are paying the price of the inflammatory rhetoric against them coming from some Islamist leaders and supporters of the former president, who accuse Coptic spiritual leaders of conspiring to foment army intervention to remove Dr Morsi.”

EU foreign policy chief floats plan to blacklist Hezbollah

The European Union could blacklist Hezbollah's military wing while stressing it is open to talking to the militant Lebanese movement's political faction, under a proposal by the EU's foreign policy chief, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.
European governments have been deadlocked over the issue since May when Britain asked for the Shi'ite Muslim group's military wing to be put on the EU terror list, citing evidence it was behind a deadly bus bombing in Bulgaria last year.

Gulf States Pursue Collective Ban on Hizbullah

Arab nations in the Gulf are apparently ahead of Europe in their readiness to concede the Lebanon-based Hizbullah group is a terrorist organization.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprised of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, announced Wednesday they are willing to blacklist Hizbullah as a terrorist entity.

New Burgas bombing evidence points at Hezbollah

Bulgaria’s interior minister says new evidence has bolstered its case implicating Hezbollah in a deadly July 2012 bus bombing, but investigators still do not know the specific identities of the suspects.

The Nakba that no one mentions: 315,000 Pal "refugees" lost their homes in Syria

UNRWA's statistics show that in Syria there are some 235,000 "Palestinian refugees" who have become displaced in that country.

Over 71,000 of the "refugees" became real refugees in Lebanon, and 8000 more in Jordan. Thousands more have fled to Egypt, Gaza, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

44,000 homes of Palestinian Arabs in Syria have been damaged or destroyed.

In total, more than half of Syria's Palestinians have been displaced.

Palestinian Arabs in Syria are still being killed daily. A UNRWA employee was killed last week, becoming the 7th UNRWA employee killed in Syria. The total number killed is above 1500.

Yet no one is calling this a "Nakba." In fact, hardly anyone is talking about this at all.

While the UN has numerous committees and events and days and meetings dedicated to helping Palestinian Arabs who are perceived to be victims of Israel, this year (besides UNRWA press releases) there has been only one semi-official statement on the matter listed in the UNISPAL archives, from January. Here it is:

Asked about reports that the Secretary-General may be acting as an intermediary between Israeli and Palestinian officials over the fate of Palestinian refugees in Syria, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General has expressed his deep concern on the plight of Palestinians displaced and uprooted by the violence in Syria. He has called for countries in the region to help the refugees.

That's it. A half-baked statement only made as an answer to a question. Nothing - zero- being done pro-actively by the UN to help them (again, besides UNRWA.)

The UNHRC has had nine anti-Israel resolutions since the beginning of 2012 - and not one about Syrian Palestinians.

600,000 people who left their homes in 1948 - most not forcibly but out of fear - have generated tons of papers, dozens of resolutions and thousands of man-days of obsessive attention. Over half that number are suffering much more today, and are being ignored by that same body - even among the specific committees that are ostensibly meant to help Palestinians!

Even the Palestinian Arab media have far more articles about Jews walking on the Temple Mount than about their fellow Palestinians being murdered, injured and made homeless daily.

Gaza fishermen get more attention from the media, NGOs, the EU and the UN than hundreds of slaughtered Syrian Palestinians.

It is more than a double standard. It is proof that the only reason people pretend to care about Palestinian Arabs is because they really want to demonize Israel rather than to lift a finger to actually help any Palestinian Arabs.

"Khaybar"-like antisemitic cartoon on PA TV (video)

Palestinian Authority TV has been showing a cartoon to kids on Ramadan that is thematically very similar to the antisemitic "Khaybar" series being broadcast to adults.

In this case, instead of Khaybar, it shows how the Jews of Medina broke agreements with Muslims and tried to cause infighting among them. Again, the Jews are shown as deceitful, scheming and (in this case) in league with the Devil himself.

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from “Raids of the Prophet,” an Egyptian animated series which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on July 15-17, 2013:
Jews of the Qaynuqa’ tribe conferring
Nawfal, member of the Qaynuqa’ tribe: The Muslims have grown stronger and have become mighty.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: You are right, Nawfal – especially after their victory at Badr.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: We, the Jews of the Qaynuqa’ tribe, are now on a par with the Muslims, after we used to have the power and the final say in Al-Madina.
Older member of Qaynuqa’: But we will not let them sit back and enjoy that. We will show them what the Jews of Bani Qaynuqa’ are made of.
Devil jumping up: How can they enjoy it while I’m around? I am responsible for them.
Devil's helper: You are responsible for your followers only, but you have no authority over those who are God-fearing.”
Devil: I know that, you idiot, but I have followers, whose hearts are filled with animosity, hatred, and envy towards Muhammad and his companions. This, in itself, can accomplish a lot.
Qaynuqa’ member: The Aws and Khazraj tribes are having laughs together, after their enmity used to fill the land from east to west.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: Muhammad brought harmony to their hearts, and what you see is the outcome. My heart rages with fire whenever I see Muslims who love one another. Utility means power and success in everything. We will not allow this.
[…]
“The Muslims besiege the Jews of Qaynuqa’ having foiled their plot to pit the Aws and Khazraj tribes against one another.”
Muslim fighter: This is the fortress of the Qaynuqa’ tribe.
Another Muslim fighter: The gates are locked. How are we to get in?
[…]
Muslim fighter: Masoud, we will lay siege to them.
Masoud, a Muslim fighter: Only besiege them? No fighting?
First Muslim fighter: These are the orders of the Prophet Muhammad.
[...]
Giant spiders jump around in the devil’s den
Devil: You idiot, where were you, when everybody abandoned the Qaynuqa’ tribe?
Devil's helper: I did what you told me to do.
Devil: Shut up. You are worthless. All you can do is play and have fun. However, we still have a chance.
Devil's helper: What chance?
Devil: Ibn Saloul.
[...]
Muslim: How can you possibly ask us to defy the order of Allah’s prophet?
Ibn Saloul: I’m just reminding you of your old pact with the Qaynuqa’ tribe, before Muhammad came to Al-Madina, before Muhammad came to Al-Madina.
Other Muslim: We kept that pact until they breached it themselves.
Ibn Saloul: Um… Um… They didn’t mean to.
Muslim: Inciting the Aws and the Khazraj tribes against one another, violating agreements harassing our women, making fun of the Muslims, affronting the Prophet of Allah – they did all this by accident?
[...]
Member of Qaynuqa’: Everybody has abandoned us. We are here alone.
Another member of Qaynuqa’: We have been here for 15 days, and nobody has saved us.
Older member of Qaynuqa’: We are imprisoned here. If things don’t change, we will die of hunger. Our supply of food and drink is almost finished.
Member of Qaynuqa’: I don’t want to die. No, I don’t want to die.
Older member of Qaynuqa’: Neither do we. We don’t want to die either.
Member of Qaynuqa’: Do something then.
Member of Qaynuqa’: There is only one thing to do.
[…]
Narrator: So they left Al-Madina, and the Prophet made sure no harm would be done to them on their way out. He sent a group of the Ansar to protect them.
Muslim: The Jews of the Qaynuqa’ tribe did not honor their pact with us. They persisted in their evil until it turned against them.
[…]

The "human rights defenders" of the EU and HRW and Amnesty don't have a problem with showing this. Antisemitism is bad, of course, but only when it is done by white right-wing bigots. Arabs and liberals and Muslims get a free pass with their brand of hate and incitement to violence. That's "free speech."

Egypt says helicopter over Gaza was "to protect our sovereignty"

Last week I noted Arab reporters that an Egyptian helicopter hovered over Gaza for about an hour. The Times of Israel quoted Israeli sources as saying it accidentally strayed over Gaza for only a few minutes.

Now, an adviser to the interim Egyptian president is saying it was deliberate.

Al Ahram reports that Dr. Mustafa Hijazi, a political adviser to the president, said that the Egyptian overflights over the Gaza Strip comes as part of a security framework for the protection of Egyptian sovereignty. At a news conference Wednesday afternoon he said that there are military operations to clear the Sinai cleared of terrorists and to defend its "sovereignty of the homeland."

Clearly, Egypt is still regarding Gaza as a major threat to its own security, even though Hamas stresses that it has no desire to hurt Egypt.

Israeli moves to defend its own territory from threats from Gaza are a bit more likely to result in UN condemnations, though.

In April, I briefly profiled Magda Haroun, the new head of the Jewish community in Egypt whois an avowed anti-Zionist, as was her father, who wanted to fight Israel in the Six Day War.

In a new interview at Al Masry al Youm, Haroun gives an interview that includes a shocking anecdote that shows that her father's sickening way of thinking.

In 1954, Magda's older sister Mona became sick with leukemia. Mona was 4 years old at the time. Magda says that her father, Chehata, was crazy about Mona; the only treatment available in Egypt for the disease was blood transfusions and Chehata gave as much blood as he could.

Things got worse, and doctors told him that the only way tosave Mona's life was to travel to France to receive treatment there.

Egyptian authorities told Chehata that, as a Jew, he would not be allowed to return to Egypt if he took Mona out of the country.

He refused to accept that he could never go home again. And Mona died.

Even after this incident, Chehata remained dedicated to Egypt - the country that didn't want him.

Now, Magda says that she refuses to travel to Israel, and to take any money from Israel to help preserve the remaining Jewish sites in Egypt.

She inherited her father's stubbornness - and fatal stupidity.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

A Jew visits Kurdistan

From Paul Rockower at HuffPo:

With just a bit of trepidation, I set off in early June last year for Iraq. I was to be there for five weeks, running performing arts academies in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. I was working as the Communications Director for American Voices, a nonprofit organization that conducts cultural diplomacy to countries emerging from conflict or isolation.....

In terms of religiosity, Kurdistan felt laid back. Islam was part of the social fabric and culture, but did not seem to dominate daily life. I met many Kurds who were quite secular. Like Israel (at times), religion felt to be part of the broader culture but not in an overbearing fashion. I happened to be there as Ramadan started, and there were still some restaurants open although they covered their entrance-ways in concealing cloth. Also to note, it was quite easy to find a liquor store to get a Turkish Efes or Danish Tuborg beer, or a bottle of arak named for the ancient Sumerian god of the harvest.

...On learning that I was Jewish, the Kurds I spoke with often mentioned their historic Jewish community, and shared about the Jewish history of Kurdistan. I heard over and over again that Kurdistan had so many Jews, and a sense of lament that they had left....

But what jumped out and shocked me was the support of the Kurds for Israel. I was aware of long-standing support for the Peshmerga (Kurdish fighters) from the Mossad . But I wasn't prepared for the actual sense of reverence that Israel held for the Kurds. Part of the support comes from the classic Middle Eastern dictum, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and as such the Kurds and Israel had a bevy of common enemies over the years such as the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein.

Another part of the support seemed to come from a similar identification. The Kurds are a nation divided with parcels of historic Kurdistan attached to Iraq, Turkey, Iran and Syria. They are the largest people in the world without their own state. The notion of being a stateless people, I believe, helped shape the Kurd's affinity and identification with the Jews and Israel. Like the Jews, Kurdish history has been peppered with heartbreak. There is a saying: "the Kurds have no friends but the mountains," a notion that reflects the Kurdish sense of longstanding betrayal and misfortune. Many of them mentioned feeling an affinity to Israel as another beleaguered outpost in the midst of bigger enemies.

Finally, another aspect of the affinity is drawn from the centrality of Iraqi Kurdistan for the rest of Kurdistan. Iraqi Kurdistan has taken on a Zion-like centrality for the rest of Kurdistan and the Kurdish Diaspora. I was sitting one night with a friend in a mountain café, waiting for our food, when one of the servers came to give us plates of salads. My friend Aram said something to him, but couldn't understand his response. Aram said he thought the server was likely a Turkish Kurd. Iraqi Kurdistan, Aram explained, had become a hub for Kurds in the region. He noted that Kurdistan's President Masoud Barzani had spoken of an open-door policy for Kurds of the region, and that many had flocked here for work and to live in freedom. Kani Xulam, the Director of the American-Kurdish Information Network once remarked to me a similar notion of Iraqi Kurdistan's centrality : "Five million Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan have become a beacon of light for the 35 million Kurds who live in Turkey, Syria, and Iran. That beacon of light is keeping us awake at night and is filling our hearts with hope."

Trying to understand the sentiments better, I asked an Iraqi friend about Kurdish support for Israel. Paradoxically, he said that while the Kurds support Israel, they still saw "Zionism" as a taboo word -- as if Israel and Zionism were separate entities. He mentioned that while Kurds may hold affinity with Israel from a similar sense of isolated status, the term "Zionism" held a connotation of conspiracy that is often rife in the rest of the Middle East. He mentioned that while not everyone differentiates Zionism from Israel from Judaism, and hold some hostility to all three as an inseparable enemy, most Kurds see Israel within a similar beleaguered paradigm and with similar enemies, and harbor sentiments of support.

I briefly discussed Kurdish feelings for Israel in this 2009 post.

Hamas starts begging Egypt for fuel

Al Ahram reports:

Hamas spokesman Ehab Al-Ghaseen said on Wednesday that the Egyptian army has initiated a campaign to close smuggling tunnels to Gaza.

"These campaigns were initiated for specific political reasons," added the spokesman.

Al-Ghaseen stressed the need for a formal commercial alternative before the tunnels are closed, saying that calls to Egypt have been made concerning the matter.

The suspension of smuggling activities has led to a serious gas shortage, added Al-Ghaseen, who underlined the tunnels' importance to the Strip.

Remember that Gaza can get much more fuel from Israel, but it is at market rates and not subsidized by the Egyptian government the way the smuggled fuel is.

Here is a video showing the Egyptians destroying a reservoir for fuel near the Gaza border that was meant to be pumped by smugglers into Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian NGO Network issued a joint press statement condemning Egyptian media incitement against Palestinians, aimed at "defaming Palestinian citizens."

A number of "unfortunate" decisions have been made regarding Palestinian mobility at border crossings and airports to and from Egypt, the statement added. The statement did not elaborate on the nature of these decisions nor the party responsible for them.

The Network expressed sympathy for Egyptian concerns given the recent political unrest, but called on Egyptian authorities and civil society organisations to limit incitement before it damages relations between Egypt and Gaza.

The Palestinian Arabs are the victims of incitement by the Arab media? That must be an awful feeling!

7/17 Links Part 2: Alice Walker Praises Racist Mass Murder Che Guevara, Dmitriy Salita Documentary

From Ian:

Jews Sue Police for Barring Them from Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av

The Babylonians and Romans destroyed the Holy Temples long ago. Since 1967, the site of the ruins returned to Jews, but Muslims have de facto rule. Police barred Jewish entry on Tisha B’Av and now face a lawsuit
Temple Mount activist groups are suing the police for “racist discrimination” and for tens of thousands of dollars in damages after the law enforcement agency closed the holy site to hundreds of Jews on Tisha B’Av Tuesday.

ANALYSIS: With Hamas Cooperation, Jihadists Turning Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula Into Key Battleground

The Sinai Peninsula is fast becoming the primary battleground between the Egyptian military and Islamist groups ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian off-shoot Hamas, to Al-Qaida and Salafist groups. The peninsula’s always-tenuous stability has been further undermined by the successive falls of Egyptian presidents Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and Mohammed Morsi in 2013. Homegrown Islamists, Hamas, and foreign jihadis are now regularly attacking Egyptian and Israeli targets in the Sinai.

This time in Sinai, the Egyptians mean business

Egyptian security forces early Tuesday morning discovered and sealed another eight smuggling tunnels running from the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian media reports, the Egyptians also located 23 warehouses used for storing fuel and thwarted the imminent transfer of the fuel to the Hamas-run territory. These warehouses contained 140,000 liters of fuel, a rare commodity of late in the Strip.

Erdogan: Morsi Is Still “My President”

Erdogan was an early and consistent supporter of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood-linked government, and Ankara reacted to Morsi’s removal with outrage. Cairo had already summoned the Turkish ambassador to Egypt last week after Ankara described Morsi’s removal as an “unacceptable coup.”

MEMRI: Egyptian Cleric Muhammad Zoghbi Calls on Allah to Annihilate Jews and Shiites in a Friday Sermon

UK Zionist Federation Slams Transport for London Deal Banning Sale to Israel

The United Kingdom’s Zionist Federation has sharply condemned Transport for London, the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in London, England, for agreeing to an Israeli exclusion condition put forward by the United Arab Emirates. The condition was included in an Emirates Airlines sponsorship contract for Thames Cable Cars, a cable car link across the River Thames in London. Thames Cable Cars is also referred to as the Emirates Air Line.

Student BDS movement leader up for regent post in California

“While it would be an important milestone for a Muslim student to become the student regent, Ms. Saifuddin is an ill-advised choice because she promotes activities that marginalize a large group of students on campus, and she advances extremist positions,” StandWithUs wrote in an open letter to the Board of Regents.
“If you appoint a student who is prominently associated with the ‘BDS’ movement, you would send a message normalizing and even rewarding the very activities that are greatly harming the campus environment,” the letter said.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center also launched a petition against Saifuddin’s nomination.

Alice Walker evokes Che Guevera in post on Trayvon Martin at ‘Comment is Free’

Whether espousing explicit antisemitism, defending Palestinian suicide bombers and paying tribute to radical chic ‘anti-imperialist’ mass murderers, Walker is about the last person who should be taken seriously on the issues of race and bigotry. And, the fact that she was imputed with such moral authority by ‘CiF’ editors is a remarkable commentary on the continuing perversion of true progressive thought at a media group which, however risibly, still fancies itself the world’s “leading liberal voice”.

Kirchner to Skip Bombing Memorial Again

Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, points out to me that for the second year running, Argentine President Christina Kirchner is going to skip commemorations for the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Her snub to Argentina’s Jewish community comes after her refusal to allow the prosecutor in the case to testify in the U.S. Congress in recent hearings about Iranian activity in Latin America.

ADL ‘Applauds’ De Blasio’s Campaign to Highlight Saudi Arabian Airlines ‘Six-Decades of Discrimination’

“Saudi Arabia, along with numerous other Arab countries, have refused entry to people traveling on Israeli passports since 1948. As many travelers know, many of these countries will not allow entry even to individuals who have an entry stamp from Israel in their passport.
“Mr. De Blasio is attacking this old prejudice with a new approach, and seeking to change Saudi Arabian Airline’s policies through U.S. anti-discrimination statutes.”

Leonard Garment, Beyond Watergate

Leonard Garment, Richard Nixon’s law partner, adviser, and White House Counsel during the Watergate scandal, died in New York on Saturday at the age of 89. The New York Times’ obituary emphasized Garment’s exquisite success in defending his friend-president-and-client while preserving his own integrity and reputation–a daunting task. But this 2,200 word article overlooked Garment’s essential contribution to American, Jewish, and world history in working with Daniel Patrick Moynihan to denounce the UN’s Zionism is Racism Resolution. Garment, a trial attorney, carefully sought the right word to describe Resolution 3379, which the General Assembly passed in November 1975. His ultimate choice, “obscene,” brilliantly captured how this unfair, inaccurate libel sullied us all.

Orthodox Jewish Boxer Dmitriy Salita Featured in Documentary Series, Talks Jewish Roots (VIDEO)

Overshadowed in recent years by The Algemeiner’s other favorite film-friendly Jewish pugilist, Yuri Foreman, Salita was recently given his own chance to shine.
In the film, part of an ongoing series from Moonshot Productions called New Yorkers, Salita tells how coming to New York from Odessa, Ukraine, opened his eyes to his religion.

Israeli-Made ‘Pencil Sharpener’ Device Peels Carrots, Vegetables (VIDEO)

An Israeli has invented a tool that will shave time off of peeling carrots. The device? The Karoto, looks and works like a large pencil sharpener, and peels vegetables such as courgettes and carrots or any similar-shaped vegetable.
Designed by Avichai Tadmor for Monkey Business design studio in Israel, it is also touted for its safety. The Karoto’s creative team says it is a safer way to slice the skin off vegetables compared to using a peeler or knife.

Apple in Talks to Buy Israel’s PrimeSense for $280 Million

American tech giant Apple is in talks to buy Israel-based PrimeSense, a developer of chips that enable three-dimensional machine vision, for $280 million, Israel’s Calcalist website reported Tuesday.
The company has developed an integrated system which gives digital devices the ability to observe a scene in three dimensions. The technology has been used in Microsoft’s Xbox.

New clips, alarms and apps can stop parents forgetting tots in cars

Israelis have been saddened — and angered — by the deaths of three very young children, in the past two weeks, forgotten for hours inside vehicles on sweltering summer days, succumbing to dehydration and heat exhaustion.
But bad feelings notwithstanding, officials in recent days have come to realize that Israel has a major problem — and some are looking to technology to solve it.

Great video about vilification of Israel

From JCPA:

The EU's slide towards accepting Palestinian Arab intransigence since 1997

Early today I noted that the official EU guidelines that were much discussed since yesterday incorrectly used the phrase "1967 borders" to refer to the 1949 armistice lines; lines that were never national borders and never meant to be national borders.

I just did a quick look through official EU documents and the earliest mention I can find of the phrase "1967 borders" is this 2002 document, which was quickly followed by a host of others with the same wrong formulation.

It is astonishing that Israel apparently never pushed back on the EU to change that incorrect language.

But beyond that, it is notable to see how the EU's language has, over time, become more strident against Israel and more pro-Palestinian.

From the June 1997 Presidency Statement:

The foundations of peace are widely known : the right of all States and peoples in the region to live in peace within safe, recognized borders; respect for the legitimate aspiration of the Palestinian people to decide their own future; the exchange of land for peace; the non-acceptability of the annexation of territory by force; respect for human rights; the rejection of terrorism of all kinds; good relations between neighbours; and compliance with existing agreements and the rejection of counterproductive unilateral initiatives. In this context the Union recalls its opposition to settlements and attachment to security cooperation.

...We call on the people of Israel to recognize the right of the Palestinians to exercise self-determination, without excluding the option of a State. The creation of a viable and peaceful sovereign Palestinian entity is the best guarantee of Israel's security. At the same time we call upon the Palestinian people to reaffirm their commitment to the legitimate right of Israel to live within safe, recognized borders.

From the June 2002 Presidency Statement - as noted, the first time I can find a reference to "1967 borders."

The European Council strongly condemns all terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. The peace process and the stability of the region cannot be hostage to terrorism. The fight against terrorism must go on; but so at the same time must the negotiation of a political solution.

A settlement can be achieved through negotiation, and only through negotiation. The objective is an end to the occupation and the early establishment of a democratic, viable, peaceful and sovereign State of Palestine, on the basis of the 1967 borders, if necessary with minor adjustments agreed by the parties. The end result should be two States living side by side within secure and recognised borders enjoying normal relations with their neighbours. In this context, a fair solution should be found to the complex issue of Jerusalem, and a just, viable and agreed solution to the problem of the Palestinian refugees.

The reform of the Palestinian Authority is essential. The European Council expects the Palestinian Authority to make good its commitment to security reform, early elections and political and administrative reform. The European Union reaffirms its willingness to continue to assist in these reforms.

Now compare those to this statement from the High Representative, November 2012, which no longer calls on the PA to have any responsibility - as if the PA has achieved the goals of democracy and transparency insisted upon ten years earlier:

The EU has repeatedly expressed its support and wish for Palestine to become a full member of the United Nations as part of a solution to the conflict. The EU has also consistently worked to advance the Palestinian Authority's state-building efforts under Prime Minister Fayyad. It will continue to do so. Recalling the Berlin Declaration of March 1999, the EU reiterates its readiness to recognize a Palestinian State when appropriate.

...It is important for all parties and actors involved to work towards a settlement of the conflict with renewed purpose and sense of urgency. The European Union recalls its well-known positions on intra-Palestinian reconciliation behind President Abbas, settlements and Israel’s security. The European Union calls on all parties to pursue actions conducive to an environment of confidence necessary to ensure meaningful negotiations and to refrain from actions that undermine the credibility of the process....

The EU reaffirms its position that clear parameters defining the basis for negotiations are key elements for a successful outcome, together with the avoiding of unilateral measures and acts on the ground which undermine confidence and the viability of the two-state solution. The European Union reaffirms that it will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties...

Two weeks ago, from a joint statement with the GCC:

The Ministers reaffirmed their shared position that a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East is vital for international peace and security, noting that such a solution must be based on UN Resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, leading to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State on the territory occupied since 1967. ...

The Ministers reaffirmed their position not to recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders other than those agreed by both parties including with regard to Jerusalem. They stressed their common position that Israeli settlements anywhere in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and constitute an obstacle to peace. In this regard, they called on Israel to immediately end all settlement activity in East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, including natural growth, and to dismantle all outposts. The Ministers agreed on the need to continue to support Palestinian state-building efforts, both politically and financially.

I still do see some more recent documents that call for "secure and recognised borders" such as this one from January 2012 and this one from this month. But both those statements also enshrine the "Arab Peace Initiative" as one of the bases for peace.

The change in language over the years is unmistakable. Essentially the entire Palestinian Arab position has been adopted fully by the EU.

There is not even insistence to end Palestinian Arab incitement against Jews and Israel, nothing about Hamas (and some Fatah) terrorism, nothing condemning Abbas' embrace of stone throwing and firebombs as "peaceful resistance" - nothing.

This represents a great failure on the part of Israel's diplomats.