Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Dubai couple gets one month prison sentence for kissing

A 31-year-old banker and her 19-year-old colleague have been given a one-month sentence each after they were caught kissing in a tinted car behind a mosque in Al Muhaisna.

An Omani man was said to have spotted the Emirati woman’s car with its engine on and parked suspiciously between two trucks.

The man claimed that he saw a couple clutching intimately to each other but he doubted that they were having sex. He called the police.

Prosecutors charged the Emirati woman and her fellow countryman with kissing inside the car on January 21.

The pair denied exchanging kisses and pleaded not guilty at the Dubai Misdemeanour Court, which sentenced them to one month each.

The defendants were immediately taken into custody when they appeared in court.

Court records said the defendants left the bank where they both worked at 6pm and drove their separate cars towards Beirut Street.

The Omani witness spotted the car and suspected that the couple was indulged in an indecent act and he called the police.

A Dubai Police patrol was dispatched to the scene and both were taken to the police station for questioning.

The woman said: “We chatted for a while before we started kissing. Suddenly a sports utility vehicle parked behind my car immediately… five minutes later, the police came. I admit that we kissed inside my car but we did not have consensual sex anytime... I’ve known him for one year now because we are work colleagues.”

The teenager claimed during police questioning that he parked his car near the woman’s and went into her vehicle.

“We started discussing work and then we changed the subject and spoke about romance and love. We spoke about our love affair then we exchanged kisses. Suddenly someone knocked the window at her side… the person wore ordinary clothes. He did not identify himself or present his police ID, but simply asked me for an identification. I refused to give him my ID. Shortly after that police arrived and took us to the station for questioning. We have never had sex but I do admit that we kissed,” he said.

A cougar!

8/07 Links Part 2: BDS Fail at Delta, Vatican Slams Water's anti-Semitism, Soros Funds Conflict in Israel

From Ian:

Vatican op-ed slams anti-Semitism at pig-flying musician’s concert

“The spirit and the style of the Werchter Rock festival was visible, with the fans who had every right to listen to music that they enjoy,” Cristiana Dobner wrote in a weekend edition of Osservatore Romano, referring to the July 20 concert. “But did they also have the right to draw the Star of David on the back of a pig and not be reported? … We continue to talk about the respect for every religion and every human being, yet we keep falling into these shameful situations.”
The op-ed, headlined “Unrestrained anti-Semitism at a rock festival,” did not mention former Pink Floyd front man Waters, 69, by name. In his act he used a huge inflated balloon in the shape of a wild boar. A Star of David was prominently visible on it, as were other symbols, including a hammer and sickle, crosses and a dollar sign.

Carol Hunt: I'll ask this only once: What has Israel ever done to us?

You see, I've read all the histories, so I am aware that after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France divided up the Middle East – creating Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. I know that in 1921 80 per cent of what was called the "Palestinian Mandate" was made into (Trans) Jordan (where currently two million Palestinian refugees live yet only 167,000 are allowed citizenship or are eligible for education and healthcare).
I am aware that in 1948 the UN voted to halve the remaining 20 per cent; Israel was born and immediately invaded by five neighbouring Arab countries whose objective was – and still is – to annihilate it. In 1967, when tiny Israel was forced to pre-empt a massive Arab invasion, the West Bank was occupied by Jordan and the Gaza Strip by Egypt. I know that all current facts and statistics show that Palestinians are treated far better by Israel than other Arab nations –where they are subjected to apartheid discrimination. And I'm aware that if I am to be accepted in polite, liberal society I should keep my mouth shut and just agree – Israel bad, Arabs good.
But in all conscience I can't. I need to know why so many Irish politicians and groups are only "pro-Palestinian" "against Israel", as it were, and say, not Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan or the Arab League?

Embarrassment as Anti-Israel Claims Debunked

Last week, Electronic Intifada, a blog aligned with the BDS movement, announced its latest "victory," claiming that Delta Air Lines had decided to stop serving a snack produced in the Barkan Industrial Zone, due to its location in Samaria. Electronic Intifada claimed that the decision was made after a complaint was lodged by a member of the far-left "Coalition of Women for Peace," publishing what it said was the text of an email in which the airline said that it would be dropping the product. The blog's editor, Ali Abunima, claimed that "Delta Air Lines lawyers ruled that Israeli settlement-made snacks should not be served."
Veteran Israeli activist Avi Mayer, however, was unconvinced, and promptly discovered that claims of a boycott were completely false.

Watchdog Group: Soros Funding Conflict in Israel

OSF also funds Al Haq, an Arab organization based in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem. NGO-Monitor’s researchers described Al-Haq director Shawan Jabarin as “a human rights campaigner by day and a terrorist by night,” who is among the senior members of the PFLP terrorist group.
The extreme-left Israeli group B’Tselem also receives OSF funds. B’Tselem is notorious for publishing one-sided reports, and for inflating Arab civilian casualty figures. For example, the group included hundreds of Hamas policemen in Gaza as “non-combatants,” and counted Sheikh Ahmed Yassin – then the leader of Hamas – as not a definite combatant.

Wal-Mart pushes SodaStream profit up

SodaStream International Ltd. says its second-quarter net income jumped 36%, boosted by strong demand fueled by its launch at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
The company raised its revenue and profit outlook, pushing shares higher in morning trading.
SodaStream makes beverage carbonation systems that enable consumers to easily transform tap water into carbonated soft drinks and sparkling water.

CiF Watch prompts correction to Guardian publication claim about Israeli immigrants

Per our communication with The Observer’s Readers’ Editor, EPA Photo Agency researched the matter and promptly issued the following the correction:

Attention editors, on July 23rd, 2013 we moved a set of images showing immigrants arriving from New York to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. We have been made aware of that the part of our caption saying ‘… New immigrants predominately move to Israeli settlements in the West Bank,..’ is wrong and is not supported by figures of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics that we have received.

BBC Weather doesn’t know in which country Jerusalem is located

If you happen to be looking for the weather forecast for Tel Aviv, you will naturally also be offered the option “Israel”.
But if your search was for Israel’s capital city, well…that city is not located in any country at all according to the BBC.

Arab MK Attends Post-Ramadan Dinner on Marmara

The Turkish IHH organization, which was responsible for the 2010 flotilla aimed at breaking the naval blockade on Gaza, recently hosted a delegation aboard the Mavi Marmara ship, including one elected Arab Israeli Member of Knesset.
The Mavi Marmara is currently docked in Istanbul, where it arrived in December of 2010 after the incident during the flotilla, in which IDF soldiers who were forced to board the ship when it refused orders to change course and head towards the Ashdod Port, were attacked by the IHH activists on board with clubs and knives. The soldiers had no choice but to open fire, leaving nine Turks dead.

Over 50% of Palestinians back peace talks, survey finds

More than half of Palestinians support the resumption of peace talks with Israel, according to a public opinion poll published Tuesday.
The poll – conducted by Alpha International, an organization that aims to help decision-makers take “effective” decisions – also found that jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti would win in a presidential election if Mahmoud Abbas does not run for another term.

SWC to Greek President: Politician’s Swastika Tattoo is Grounds for Banning the Symbol Nationally

Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center on Tuesday called on Greek President Karolos Papoulias to ban the public use of the Swastika after photos surfaced of a high-profile Greek politician sporting a tattoo of the offensive symbol on his shoulder.
The front page of the August 4th edition of Greek’s largest newspaper, Poto Thema, featured the photo, obtained from the Greek Helsinki Monitor, of Golden Dawn Party Member of Parliament and Spokesman, Elias Kasidiàris, on his beach vacation last week.

VIDEO: Muslim IDF Soldier Keeps Watch Over Gaza Border

Watch our exclusive interview with Staff Sergeant Ahmed Inaim, a Bedouin soldier who guards Israel's Gaza border. Staff Sgt. Inaim's brother, who also served as an IDF soldier, was killed in combat several years ago. In 2006, Hamas terrorists injured another one of his brothers when they attacked Israel and kidnapped Gilad Shalit.
Despite his family's sacrifices, Staff Sgt. Inaim remains determined to serve his country. Last week, he spoke with us as he patrolled the Gaza border.

The Guardian wants your refugee story.

Do you have a compelling story to tell about the Jews who fled Arab or Muslim countries as refugees in the years following WWII? If so, The Guardian wants your story. Yes, I kid you not - The Guardian. Why? Because it does not feel it gave a fair shout to some refugees in its timeline by Mona Chalabi published recently (expertly ‘fisked’ by CiF Watch here). That timeline omitted 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries altogether. This is your chance to help set the record straight. But hurry – the deadline is in less than two weeks. Register as a commenter and write-up your story in no more than 250 words.

Treblinka Uprising 70th Anniversary Ceremony Features Last Living Survivor Samuel Willenberg

The site of the Treblinka concentration camp, in Poland, played host to a ceremony this past Friday commemorating 70 years since the Jewish prisoner revolt at the camp that became known as the “Treblinka uprising.”
The ceremony featured Samuel Willenberg, the last living survivor of the uprising, and Israel’s Deputy Minister of Education MK Avi Wortzman.

Yehuda Lev, who smuggled Holocaust survivors to Palestine, dies

Yehuda Lev, an iconoclastic journalist and veteran of World War II and Israel’s War of Independence who established a European underground route to smuggle Holocaust survivors to Palestine, has died.
Lev died Aug. 3 in Providence, Rhode Island, after a prolonged illness. He was 86.

Coke, Yoplait monitor water with Israel’s Blue I products

Israel’s Blue I (pronounced blue eye) had already defined the space for online water-quality monitoring in the early 2000s, before most people heard of smartphones.
Now the company, officially founded in 2003, boasts tens of thousands of its “smart” water systems in factories and municipalities around the world. Blue I smart boxes, based on electro-optics, are about to be installed in several American cities, and are found in about 150 locations throughout Barcelona.
Clients include Yoplait yogurt in France; BASF, the largest chemical company in the world; and 25 Coca-Cola bottling plants — including in India and Israel. Israel’s national water company Mekorot is another Blue I client, as is Israel’s Oil Refineries.

Stand With Us: Israel - Small Country, Big Ideas

Thirsty in the West Bank? Must be all those chlorinated swimming pools

A couple of years ago I noticed that some organization called Avaaz claimed over a million signatures on a petition for Palestinian Arab statehood - but in reality they inflated those numbers by orders of magnitude.

Not surprisingly, Avaaz is addicted to lies:

It was the hottest week of the year. All Fadel Jaber wanted was some water for his family. But Fadel lives in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli government has redirected water pipes to provide swimming pools for Jewish settlers and empty faucets for Palestinians like Fadel.

Those poor thirsty Palestinian Arabs!

It must be because all the swimming pools in the Arab areas are taking all of their water!

Here's a partial list of those pools, filled with the scarce water that is causing so many Palestinian Arabs to go thirsty. I am mostly listing clubs with the word "swimming" in their names; many sports clubs and hotels have pools as well.

Haddad Tourism Village, Jenin:

Ein Almarj Tourist Resort in Ramallah:

Palestine Park

Al-Karmel Swimming Pool & Park, Beit Kahil, Hebron
Al-Antoori Swimming Pool & Park, Sofin, Qalqilia
Al-Batroun Swimming Pool & Park, Al-libban Al-gharbi, Ramallah
Al-Dhahiriya Swimming Pool & Park, Jorat Al-dammeh, Al-dhahiriya
Al-Nakheel Swimming Pool & Park, Main St., Downtown, Jericho
Al-Qarawan Swimming Center, Al-Mal'ab St.,Near the Zoo, Ghayyadha, Qalqilia
Al-Qemmah Swimming Pool & Park, Jericho, Jericho
Al-Shaghour Swimming Pool, Main St., Beit Iba, Nablus
Al-Snowbar Diving Pool, Restaurant & Resort Near Y-College, Al-masayef, Ramallah
Al-Waha Swimming Pool & Park, Al-Quds St. Downtown, Jericho
Al-Waha Swimming Pools & Park, Qalqilia St.,Far'un Crossroad, Far'un, Tulkarm
Aroos Al-Shamal Park, Swimming Pool & Hall, Nablus St.,Near Al-Quds Open University Al-sweitat, Jenin
Beit Ummar Swimming Pool & Park, Municipality St.,Near Beit Ummar Municipality Beit Ummar, Hebron
Besan Swimming Pool & Park, Ein Al-Sultan St. Ein Al-sultan, Jericho
Dream Land Tourist Resort & Swimming Pool Nuba, Hebron
Dream Restaurant & Swimming Pool Main St. Jifna , Ramallah
Howara Country Swimming Pool, Howara, Nablus

Jericho Investment & Tourism ( Banana Land, pictured to the left ) Al-Mo'arajat Road Ein Al-dyouk, Jericho
Ni'lin Tourist Park & Swimming Pool, Main St. Ni'lin , Ramallah
Stars Swimming Pool & Park, Main St.,Town Entrance Arraba, Jenin
Tal Al-Marah Swimming Pool & Restaurant, Qoseen Crossroad, Beit Iba, Nablus
Tal Al-Rabee' Swimming Pools, Ezbit Naser, Tulkarm
The Swimming Pool , Park & Restaurant of " Ean El-Hammam ", Behind Birzeit Municipality, Birzeit, Ramallah
Wahat Al-Bathan Swimming Pool & Park, Al-bathan, Nablus

Perhaps Avaaz should send the poor Jabers to their neighbors in "Palestine" where there seems to be no shortage of water.

Erdogan's team fixated on telekinesis

This is bizarre:

The suspicious suicides of four engineers working at the Turkish corporation ASELSAN could have been caused by telekinesis, according to a report by the Turkish Prime Ministry Inspection Board.

The report, presented to the Ankara Public Prosecutor in accordance with the ongoing investigation over the 2006-2007 suicides, claimed the victims could have been directed toward the suicides by way of telekinesis, citing the work done by neuropsychology expert Nevzat Tarhan.

Hüseyin Başbilen, an engineer at Turkey’s military research and development enterprise, Aselsan, was found dead in his car on Aug. 7, 2006. A court ruled in 2009 that he committed suicide. Two other engineers working at Aselsan died shortly after Başbilen.

Halim Ünal was shot in the head with one bullet on Jan. 17, 2007, while Evrim Yançeken fell from the balcony of his sixth-floor apartment nine days later. Burhanettin Volkan allegedly killed himself in 2009.

Tarhan’s study, included in the board’s report, asked the prosecution not to disregard the possibility of telekinesis as a possible cause of the suicides, which could cause severe distress and headaches in the victims, giving them a tendency to kill themselves.

The waves could be sent from 1.5 kilometers, and could direct victims towards a suicidal state of mind, Tarhan told daily Hürriyet.

It gets better:

Telekinesis recently made the news after journalist Yiğit Bulut claimed that certain powers were trying to kill Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan through telekinesis. Weeks after his theories, Bulut was named a chief consultant for Erdoğan.

How long before Uri Geller is called out?

8/07 Links Part 1: Fatah Celebrate Being 'First' in Terror, Rowhani Appoints Holocaust Denier FM

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: The al-Qaida scare

Still, it might also be possible that al-Qaida intentionally planted the intelligence on the planned attacks so as to mislead the US and divert attention and security away from an actual plot.
Particularly in the wake of Benghazi, the State Department faces a dilemma. Refraining from issuing a public warning could potentially expose it to harsh criticism – particularly from combative opponents of the Obama administration – for not forewarning Americans. But issuing warnings plays into the hands of al-Qaida, whose very raison d’etre is to induce fear as a means of forcing the West into retreat.
We can only wonder whether it might have been possible for the Americans to protect their missions and strengthen security throughout the region more quietly without advertising to the entire world that it has been intimidated by the same al- Qaida that US President Barack Obama, during his successful 2012 campaign for reelection, pronounced “decimated” and “on the path to defeat.”

The snaky path of how terrorists raise money

Last week it was announced that January 13 would be the starting date for Courtney Linde et al v. Arab Bank, the first terror-finance case against a bank to go to trial in US history.
The allegations, which have been featured on CBS News’s Sunday Morning program, involve the massive transfer of funds to Hamas leaders and institutions, as well as to the families of imprisoned Hamas members and suicide bombers, via Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah’s al-Shahid Foundation.

Terrorist Attacks Down to ‘Only’ 12 a Week

The good news for residents of Judea and Samaria is that the number of terrorist attacks dropped by 20 percent in July compared with June. The bad news is that there still were 50 attacks, or approximately 12 a week.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) released the statistics, which are of little solace to victims, also showed a similar pattern in Jerusalem, where residents suffered 26 attacks in July, down from 39 in June.
Another disturbing factor if that the most of the attacks involved firebombs (Molotov cocktails), and not rocks, which also can be deadly but less so than a burning bottle that smashes through a car window.

IDF Blog: What The News Left Out: Palestinian Violence in July

Last month saw a continuation of violence in Judea and Samaria. Palestinian terrorists bombarded civilians with 52 firebombs and 246 rocks. Did you know rocks can kill? Click here to read more. Fortunately, nobody was killed but still six people were injured. There would be many more victims if it were not for Israeli soldiers who put themselves on the line to protect innocent civilians.

Fatah celebrates murder

The celebrated attacks include the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history: a 1978 bus hijacking in which 37 civilians were murdered. Also praised is the attack on the Israeli Olympic team, in which 11 Israeli athletes were murdered at the 1972 Olympic Games. Fatah's Facebook page also celebrates a series of terror "firsts" achieved by Fatah: the first suicide bombing against Israel, the first suicide bombing by a woman against Israel, the first missile attack from Gaza against Israel, and others. The page glorifies an attack that it claims killed the "the most" Israelis in a single terror attack: a double suicide bombing in Tel Aviv's central bus station in 2003. Fatah boasted it "killed more than 30 and wounded more than 200" in that one attack.

Analyst: Obama Executive Order to Release $148 Million Part of Effort to Bring Gaza Under PA Sway

While the Washington Times reported that “some lawmakers oppose the aid, both because of sequestration budget cuts and the Palestinian Authority’s ties to the terrorist organization Hamas,” Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said it was a logical move by the US.
“At a time like this when you have negotiations there is an inclination to want to provide some inducements,” Schanzer said, adding “the Administration is very aware of the fact that you have a division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and if there’s ever to be a chance of bringing Gaza back under the control of the PA, we’re going to need to hold up the PA as a success story,” he opined.

Police investigating hate speech allegations at anti-Israel rally

Toronto Police officers are investigating allegations of hate speech after a speaker at a controversial anti-Israel rally said Jews must vacate that country or be shot dead.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the group claiming to have complained to police, identified the speaker as Elias Hazineh.
Dennis Clark, the Ontario legislature's sergeant-at-arms, said Al-Quds organizers were not given a permit to hold the rally at Queens Park this year, but that there wasn't anything stopping them from doing it anyway. Clark said they were denied the permit because the Caribbean Carnival was happening at the same time, and that the decision was made in the name of public safety.

Leader in Toronto Quds Day Rally: We Should Give Israelis Two Minutes to Leave Palestine, Then Shoot

Daphne Anson: In Londonistan, "We Are All Hezbollah!"

Iranian-born Sheikh Mohammed Saeed Bahmanpour, a UK-based Islamic writer and lecturer who apparently needed "no introduction" to the assemblage, attracts enthusiastic cries of"Allahu Akhbar!", "We are all Hezbollah!", and wild cheers:

CIA's No.2: Syrian Rebels are the Top Threat to U.S.

The Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) second-in-command, Michael Morell, says the Syrian civil war is now the greatest threat to U.S. national security, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The risk, says Morell, is that the Syrian government might collapse and the country would becomes al Qaeda’s new safe haven, supplanting Pakistan.
In such a scenario, the chemical weapons that the regime of Bashar Assad now possesses will fall into the hands of the Al Qaeda rebels.

Wounded Syrian girl miraculously walks after surgery in Israel

A 15-year-old Syrian girl with an amputated right leg and serious shrapnel wounds to her left leg and abdomen, who was treated at an Israeli hospital, shocked medical staff when she managed to walk only a day after undergoing major surgery. The teenager was wounded during clashes in the Syrian civil war and was transferred to Ziv Hospital in Safed for treatment.
On Tuesday, she stood for the first time since surgery on her left leg, which was also badly wounded, and with the help of special crutches, she managed to walk.

Former IDF intel chief: US coming around on Iran strike

“The American stance on an Israeli strike against Iran has changed dramatically recently,” said Amos Yadlin, who served as chief of the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate from 2006 to 2010.
“In 2012 the [Americans'] red light was as red as it can get, the brightest red,” Yadlin said in an interview with Army Radio Wednesday morning. “But the music I’m hearing lately from Washington says, ‘If this is truly an overriding Israeli security interest, and you think you want to strike,’ then the light hasn’t changed to green, I think, but it’s definitely yellow.”

PM: US Pressure the Only Thing Holding Iran Back from Bomb

Netanyahu held a round-table discussion with the Congresspeople, presenting Israel's case on a number of regional and security issues.
Netanyahu also discussed Iran with the group, saying that the U.S. needed to more forcefully press Iran to stop its nuclear development program. “Iran's president said that pressure will not help to dissuade him from developing nuclear weapons. But we see that over the past two decades, the only thing that has helped has been pressure.”

U.S.: The Ball is in Iran's Court

Rouhani’s inauguration "presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over their nuclear program," said spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
However, she said, "There are steps they need to take to meet their international obligations and find a peaceful solution to this issue, and the ball is in their court."

‘Moderate’ Rowhani Appoints Holocaust Denier as Foreign Minister

Despite his “moderate reputation,” Iranian President Hassan Rowhani has announced the appointment of Mohammad Javad Zarif—a Holocaust denier—as his foreign minister.
In 2006, Zarif spoke at Columbia University and took questions, including one about the Holocaust, the Wall Street Journal reports:

Egypt’s leader to declare crisis resolution has failed, says report

An Egyptian media outlet reported late Tuesday that the country’s interim president plans to announce that efforts to resolve his government’s ongoing crisis with the Muslim Brotherhood have failed.
Adly Mansour will deliver an address on Wednesday, according to state-owned Al-Ahram, in which he will discuss the failure of American, European and Arab envoys over the past three days to come up with a way to stop the ongoing mass protests by supporters of deposed president Mohammed Morsi.

Al-Qaeda Threatens Britain’s Tottenham Soccer Club; Calls Management ‘Greedy Jews’

English Premier League soccer club Tottenham Hostspur had more than angry fans to contend with this past weekend as rumors that star player Gareth Bale would be transferred elicited an angry response from terror group al-Qaeda.

Pallywood training in Egypt as "protesters" pose for the cameras

This video is amazing.

It shows a Muslim Brotherhood "demonstration" in Egypt that was specifically staged to get the most dramatic poses, as the actors freeze their poses for the photographers. Injuries and even bloodstains are faked.

The actors and media are all complicit in the scam.

(h/t Ian, Tim Blair)

Media fail of the day (updates)

From WKRG.com (Alabama):

SILVERHILL, Alabama -
A Silverhill newspaper tabloid laced with conspiracy theories, radicalism, Zionist beliefs- even discussions about white supremacy- was found in the apartment of one of the Boston bombing suspects.

According to the Wall Street Journal- Tamerlan Tsarnaev's apartment was filled with copies of the Silverhill-published "The First Freedom" tabloid and other newspapers promoting what some call extremism.

A quick glance at this piece of trash white-supremacist newspaper shows that it is filled with Zionist conspiracy theories, antisemitism and is about as anti-Zionist as can be imagined.

On its website, the paper claims to keep "ZOG agents" (ZOG is "Zionist Occupied Government") "out of the loop." The slogan of the paper appears to be "Inviting the Zionist controlled media'cracy to meet a rising South."

The newspaper references the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, has articles by antisemitic nutcase Mark Glenn, and excerpts Henry Ford's notorious "International Jew."

The TV station website gets it exactly backwards.

UPDATE: I emailed to the reporter and commented on the page.

The headline was fixed an hour later, the first paragraph was not as of yet.

UPDATE 2: It is finally fixed.

Heads up for the next South Africa concert by Israelis

Last March, the University of Wits in South Africa sponsored a concert by an acclaimed pianist, Yossi Reshef, who was born in Israel. While the sponsors promised that they would ensure proper security, protesters crashed into the show and ruined the evening for everyone in ways that left many South Africans ashamed. The University apologized to the people who wanted to listen to the music, and couldn't:

The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, deeply regrets that a concert held on its campus last night was disrupted by some members of the University community and representatives of external organisations.

In light of this incident, the University takes this opportunity to issue a public apology to all those who attended the concert. The disruption of this event points to intolerance on the part of some members of the University community and goes against the core values espoused by the University. The University is investigating this matter and will take the necessary action based on its policies, processes and procedures

.Now we will have an opportunity to see if the University of Wits is serious about their words.

Jazz fans are in for a treat as renowned Israeli saxophonist, Daniel Zamir, is en route to South Africa with three other impressive musicians. The Daniel Zamir Quartet – which includes Zamir, Omri Mor on piano, Gilad Abro on contrabass, and Amir Bresler on drums – will perform at the Great Hall at the University of the Witwatersrand on Wednesday, 28 August.

Zamir is one of the most influential musicians in Israel. He is a virtuoso sax player and composer of what could be defined as “Jewish jazz”, fusing together elements of Jewish sounds and high quality jazz, together with ethnic and world music elements.

“We are thrilled to finally have the Daniel Zamir Quartet coming to South Africa,” says Professor Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph, one of South Africa’s foremost composers and composition professor within the Music Department at Wits School of the Arts. “He is such a fantastic musician and is hugely popular, not only in Israel but across the jazz world.”

The audience can expect the unexpected – a unique concert that combines jazz and new age Jewish music, with a touch of the experimental and the Klezmer music genre.

“Lovers of jazz and Jewish music are going to be thrilled by the quartet. They are a relatively young group, and bring to the art of jazz a completely different dimension with their ability to experiment and fuse different genres,” said Zaidel-Rudolph.

One of the leaders in disrupting the Reshef concert is anxious to do the same to Zamir:

We'll see in a few weeks whether the University can uphold its stated values.

Here's a concert with Zamir:

(h/t Steve)

"Pepsi defies the occupation"

Last year I noticed that various soccer teams and tournaments in Gaza featured the Pepsi logo and advertising. Pepsi apparently didn't mind their association with Hamas terrorist leaders:

Further research showed that the sponsorships were done by a local Gaza bottling company, Yazegi, that apparently has permission to use the Pepsi logo when sponsoring sporting events and the like.

Pepsi never responded to inquiries about their public association with Hamas.

Now, this year, Gaza is again seeing the "Pepsi Cup" football championship during Ramadan. The Yarmouk Stadium that hosts the tournament was bombed by Israel during Pillar of Defense because it was used as a launch site for terror rockets aimed at Israeli civilians, and Yazegi helped repair or cover up the damage that is still there.

Yazegi represents itself as Pepsi in Gaza, and on their Facebook page they say, directly, "Pepsi defies the occupation" - "occupation" being the Arabic code-word for Israel itself.

Is this message one that the Pepsi corporation supports?

Perhaps Israeli sellers of Pepsi should inform the company that they don't appreciate being told that Pepsi is "defying" their country and supporting those who want to destroy it.

You can complain on Pepsi's US Facebook page. Demand that the company dissociate itself from the Gaza bottling company using its name to support terrorists and to promote messages of hate against Israel.

(The winner of the Pepsi Cup tournament was the Islamic Society of Gaza.)

Arab counter-spring in Tunisia with large anti-government protest

From AFP:

Tens of thousands of people poured onto the streets of the Tunisian capital to demand the resignation of the government as the political crisis in the north African nation deepened.

The country has been wracked by political unrest since the July 25 murder of opposition lawmaker Mohamed Brahmi and Tuesday's protests marked the biggest anti-government demonstration since the assassination.

A police official estimated that 40,000 people crowded the streets of Tunis to call for the government led by the moderate Islamic movement Ennahda to step down. Opposition leaders cited in local media put the figure at 100,000-200,000.

Earlier on Tuesday, the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) -- a body elected in 2011 to forge consensus on drafting a new constitution -- was suspended.

Brahmi's murder, as well as that of another opposition politician, Chokri Belaid, have been blamed on radical Islamists, with the Ennahda-led cabinet criticised for not doing enough to prevent them.

The demonstration attracted a mixed bag of opposition parties, ranging from extreme left to centre-right, and was timed to mark six months since Belaid was gunned down outside his home.

Protesters carried pictures of both Belaid and Brahmi and shouted slogans such as "The people want the regime to fall" and "The government will end today".

The Islamist Ennahda party has not been nearly as oppressive as the Muslim Brotherhood was in Egypt, so it is not clear that these rallies will topple the government. They have been growing steadily, however.

Also, elections are planned already for December. Whether they will be fair or not is anyone's guess, but right now there doesn't seem to be nearly as much anger and frustration in Tunisia as there was in Egypt.

There is no doubt that Egypt's successful coup has put the brakes on the Islamist revolution that appeared to be taking over the entire region only recently.

Perfect hypocrisy by the Arab League

Today, the Arab League condemned a demonstration by Jews in Israel to be allowed to freely worship on the Temple Mount. It denounced the idea of Jews visiting the holiest site in Judaism as being "provocative" and "against international law."

They are concerned that these Jewish "extremists" plan to build their own structure on top of the Mount, even though - they say - there is no historical evidence that there was any Jewish Temple on the site.

The League said that Jewish visits to the site were "gravely dangerous."

Immediately afterwards, the League also condemned Israel's practice of limiting access to the Mount for Palestinian Arabs who are under 40 years old. It says that such limitations are "contrary to international law and the right of citizens to worship anywhere, and the occupying power may not violate the freedom of worship guaranteed in the Charter of the United Nations."

The Arab League suddenly fervently believes in freedom to worship - right after saying that Jews have no rights to worship on the Temple Mount!

Hypocrisy in the Arab world is not hard to find, but to see such blatant hypocrisy within the same statement is a bit more notable.

By the way, the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has this to say about freedom to worship, in Article 18, paragraph 3:

Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

So the League is lying yet again - Israel is perfectly within its rights under international law to restrict who can visit the Temple Mount to avoid violence and to ensure reasonably free access to all religions - a goal that the Arab League explicitly does not believe in.

The best news out of Egypt

From Al Ahram:

Egypt's interim president, Adly Mansour, had amended the law regulating the punishment for the crime of insulting the president.

His presidential decree stated that if found guilty, the accused could pay a fine of up to LE30,000 ($4,290) but no less than LE10,000 ($1,430).

This amends Article 170 of the Egyptian penal code, which dictated that an insult to the president lands the offender a minimum of 24 hours in jail but not to exceed three years.

Several activists, political figures and civilians were detained or forced to pay a fine for allegedly offending deposed president Mohamed Morsi.

The number of "insulting the president" lawsuits during Morsi's reign exceeds those filed under all Egyptian rulers since 1892, reveals the Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) in a report issued in January.

Furthermore, it says 24 lawsuits for insulting then-president Morsi had been filed against journalists and activists since his inauguration in June 2012. Three of the lawsuits were filed by the president's office with the prosecutor-general.

Not too many national leaders, even interim leaders, would have the humility to pull this off.

Maybe the interim government can throw in laws that give women equal rights and other Western-style liberal laws that would be difficult for subsequent governments to overturn without looking bad.