Stunning photos of the Hamas terror tunnel, plus video

From Buzzfeed:

Hamas military spokesman in Gaza, Abu Obeida, said on his official Twitter account that “thousands” more tunnels would be dug out.

Ventilation shaft

The IDF estimated over 500 tons of concrete were used to build this.

Israel has now suspended shipping construction materials to Gaza.

You can be sure that "human rights" organizations will be condemning that ban on concrete far more than the Hamas attempt to kidnap Israelis.

Here's video:



(h/t Yoel)

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A legal scholar details ICRC bias against Israel over "occupation" of Gaza

Last week I wrote a post about how the International Committee of the Red Cross was, in my opinion, hypocritical for ignoring the opinions of experts it gathered to discuss the definition of "occupation" and choosing instead to consider Gaza to still be occupied, against all normative legal opinions.

I received two responses from Juan-Pedro Schaerer, ICRC Head of Delegation, Israel and the Occupied Territories, in the comments. The first one:

While this article provides a summary of an important expert's workshop, the author ignores essential facts used by the ICRC when applying of the Law of Occupation to Gaza.

The ICRC closely monitors developments in the Gaza Strip, since facts on the ground are crucial to determining whether the elements of effective control required for occupation continue to be met. While it cannot be said that the Gaza Strip is a "classic" situation of occupation, Israel has not entirely relinquished its effective control over the Strip. This control includes amongst other the almost total control over the borders of the Gaza Strip (except for the border with Egypt), the control over the airspace and the entire coast line, the control over who can move out of the Gaza Strip, the control of the population register, control over all the items that can be imported and exported from the Strip and the control over a no-go zone along the Gaza fence inside the Gaza Strip. These facts and others allow ICRC to determine that Israel exercises effective control and therefore remains bound by the law of occupation in the case of Gaza.

This article ignores such essential facts and concludes in a facile way that the ICRC is hypocritical, biased and politically-motivated. The ICRC has no doubt that much of the hardship caused to the 1.7 million people living in Gaza would be reduced if international humanitarian law was fully understood and respected. ICRC works in a neutral and impartial way to promote a better understanding of international humanitarian law, and to alleviate the suffering caused by those who fail to respect it.

Schaerer Juan Pedro
ICRC Head of Delegation Israel and the Occupied Territories

And a second one, after I commented:

In response to your comments and for the purpose of clarification, I wish to emphasize that the ICRC does not maintain that Israel has retained all elements of authority and governmental functions in Gaza. Rather, our position is that even after the withdrawal of its forces in 2005 Israel continues to exercise effective control over certain key elements of authority in Gaza and therefore remains bound by obligations under the law of occupation within the territorial and functional limits of the competences it has retained. This reflects a functional approach to the law of occupation that emanates from the underlying purpose and rationale of that body of law. In simplified terms it means that to the extent that an occupying power retains control of key functions and authorities in the occupied territory it also remains bound by the relevant provisions of the law of occupation. Where there is control there is responsibility. For an elaboration on this see T. Ferraro, Determining the beginning and end of an occupation under international humanitarian law, 94 IRRC 133, 159 (aviliable online here:)

Professor Abraham (Avi) Bell, of the University of San Diego School of Law and at Bar-Ilan University,  an expert on international law who has written extensively on this very issue, graciously offered to comment on Schaerer's responses. His answer is much better than the one I planned to write. (Emphasis mine.)

The argument first used by Mr. Schaerer was taken near verbatim from one invented by Gisha, a political pro-Palestinian NGO. It is not an argument that has any basis in general international law. 

Mr. Schaerer’s argument consisted of a list of factual assertions, some of which are obviously correct but irrelevant (yes, Israel controls Israel’s own land borders with Gaza), and some of which are obviously both false and irrelevant (no, Israel does not “control … all the items that can be imported and exported from the Strip” – Gaza imports and exports goods through its land borders with Egypt).

None of the factual assertions relate to the generally understood legal criteria for effective control as understood in international law, as ICRC officials would readily acknowledge if Israel were not in the dock.

Is there any other case in recorded history where the “facts” offered by Mr. Schaerer have been interpreted as sufficient “effective control” to create a belligerent occupation notwithstanding the absence of (1) boots on the ground and (2) any administration by the purported “occupier”?

The answer, of course, is no.

It is curious that Mr. Schaerer didn’t even try to analyze how the generally applicable test for belligerent occupation would apply to Israel and Gaza. Instead, he said that a set of irrelevant facts “allow ICRC to determine that Israel exercises effective control.” Well, sure. ICRC is “allowed” to make any determination it wants. It is “allowed” to determine Spain occupies Portugal, if it wants.

Mr. Schaerer’s “clarification” is even more mystifying. He appears to be saying that the ICRC acknowledges that Gaza is not occupied by Israel, but that the ICRC claims that Israel can still be bound by some of the rules of belligerent occupation due to legally insufficient effective control. This is a novel theory that was advanced by Gisha after its earlier arguments that Israel “occupies” Gaza found no support among legal scholars not pre-committed to the Palestinian side. Needless to say, Gisha’s new theory has no basis in the text of any treaties, and it has never been applied against any other country in recorded history. In other words, it is a brand-new anti-Israel theory aimed to create legal duties that restrict the conduct of the Jewish state, but not of any other state in the world.

There are several additional oddities in Mr. Schaerer’s clarification. First, it is a lie. The ICRC continues to treat Gaza as belligerently occupied territory (see, e.g., here.) I cannot find a single public statement of the ICRC that acknowledges that Gaza is not actually belligerently occupied by Israel, but rather that Israel is bound by some laws of occupation under the “functional” theory even though Gaza is not occupied. Even Mr. Schaerer’s fails to acknowledge this openly in his “clarification.” Instead, Schaerer’s characterizes the ICRC position in a disingenuous manner. Schaerer claims that the ICRC restricts itself to asserting that “Israel ... remains bound by obligations under the law of occupation within the territorial and functional limits of the competences it has retained.” This is, of course, a flat-out lie. The ICRC continues to assert that Israel is bound by the law of occupation well beyond any “functional limits of the competences [Israel] has retained.” For instance, the ICRC continues to blame Israel for the failures of Hamas’ health care system in Gaza, the lack of variety of goods exported from Egypt to Gaza, and numerous other “competences” that have nothing to do with Israel.

Second, not only does Mr. Schaerer refuse to acknowledge the nature of the new theory he is advancing, he pretends that it is existing and well-known international law. The disingenuousness of Mr. Schaerer’s claims on this score can be seen by looking at his citation of an article by an ICRC advisor that Mr. Schaerer claims supports the bizarre anti-Israel theory used by the ICRC. The article is written by a senior legal advisor at the ICRC, so it naturally attempts to support the ICRC’s position. But ironically, the article does little more than show just how baseless the ICRC’s anti-Israel position is. Mr. Schaerer claims the article shows that "[w]here there is control there is responsibility" and Israel has "control" according to the ICRC, and it must therefore have responsibility. But the article actually says quite the opposite. According to the article, the general understanding of international law when not distorted to attack the Jewish state is that a state only has control if three ingredients are present at the same time: (1) the armed forces of the occupying state are physically present in a foreign territory without the consent of the local government; (2) the effective local government has been or can be rendered substantially incapable of exerting its powers by virtue of the foreign forces’ unconsented-to presence; and (3) the foreign forces are in a position to exercise authority over the territory concerned (or parts thereof) in lieu of the local government. As it happens, exactly ZERO of these ingredients are present in Gaza. In other words, the article cited as authoritative by Schaerer shows just the opposite of what he claims.

Of course, the article is produced by an ICRC lackey, and it attempts to fabricate a new legal theory that can justify the ICRC’s position against the Jewish state. Thus the article offers for unnamed “specific and exceptional cases” the “functional theory” that Mr. Schaerer uses to try to impose legal duties on Israel to support Hamas’s rule in Gaza. But the article does not even try to claim that there has ever been such a specific and exceptional case in recorded history. In fact, the article introduces its discussion of the “functional theory” by contrasting it with existing law, making it clear that even the article’s author cannot seriously claim that the ICRC’s anti-Israel position reflects international law as it currently stands. Instead, the article offers the “functional theory” as an innovation for which the article cites not a single legal authority nor any legal precedent.

However, I should acknowledge that Mr. Schaerer is right in saying that it is “facile” to accuse the ICRC of hypocrisy. We do not have any clear evidence of the ICRC officials’ motivation in distorting legal standards to create a uniquely harsh anti-Israel standard. The only things that can be clearly demonstrated are that the ICRC is using a harsher standard against Jewish state than it has used against any other country in recorded history, that its anti-Israel standard has no basis in international law as it is currently understood and applied, and that ICRC employees advocate the ICRC’s anti-Israel position by means of falsehoods and disingenuous argumentation. Until an ICRC employee is willing to be more forthcoming, the reasons for the ICRC’s bias against the world’s only Jewish state will remain a mystery.

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Anti-Israel stamps from Syria

Latest in a series...

1960: This picture was in a number of Arab stamps. It shows refugees pointing to the area of British Mandate Palestine. Note that Syria always included the West Bank, even though Jordan annexed it; Syria and most Arab countries never recognized that.

1961: What better way to say that Palestine is Arab than to show an Arab?

1965: This same picture was in a number of Arab League country stamps. It is supposed to commemorate the Deir Yassin "massacre." 

1965: commemorating "Palestine Week." In this case, the flags are all in pre-1967 Israel.

1968: "Palestine Day," with a torch, right after Syria's defeat in 1967.

1970: The first anniversary of the fire at the Al Aqsa mosque, blamed on Israel.

1973: 25th anniversary of Israel's rebirth. Well, something like that.

1982: This is one of my favorite stamps, both because it has two misspellings and because it has the oxymoronic characterization of the peace dove and the sub-machine gun, with an Israel-shaped keffiyeh for good measure. . For some reason many Westerners just see the dove. 

1986: The multiculturalism in having all races want to destroy Israel is a nice touch.

1987: Continuing on the keffiyeh theme. The UN was sponsoring the annual Palestine Solidarity Day (on the anniversary of the 1947 partition plan) so the UN logo is quite appropriate here.

1989: Second anniversary of the "first" intifada. Unlike other cases of supposed Palestinian Arab child art, this looks like it might have actually been drawn by a child. 

2001: Celebrating the second intifada. No suicide bombings celebrated in Syrian stamps, alas. 

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Israeli firm will design helmet for F-35 pilots

The best part about this story is that it is being reported by Hezbollah's organ Al Manar:

An Zionist company has been selected to take part in manufacturing hi-tech helmets for pilots of the US F-35 stealth fighter, Zionist Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Sunday.

He said in a statement that Elbit Systems and its US partner Rockwell Collins have been chosen by the Pentagon and F35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin to supply helmets for the next generation of the Joint Strike Fighter, the hi-tech warplane that is supposed to serve as the backbone of future American air power.

Elbit Systems designed the helmet for the fighter.

"The new helmet, which is to be manufactured in the United States, is capable of putting flight data as well as data about weapons systems and intelligence before the pilot's eyes," it said, adding that it would be delivered as standard with every F-35 purchased around the world from 2016.

Al Manar is actually overstating Israel's case a bit; the helmet is a joint venture between Elbit and Rockwell Collins. But it sounds like an amazing technical achievement:

Lockheed said the move amounted to a vote of confidence in the main helmet and efforts to
resolve earlier problems. "To date, more than 100 F-35 pilots have flown more than 6,000 flights and 10,000 hours with the helmet, and their feedback has been very positive," said Lorraine Martin, Lockheed executive vice president and F-35 general manager.

...The Gen 3 helmet will include an improved night vision camera, new liquid-crystal displays, automated alignment and software improvements. The Gen 3 helmet to be introduced to the fleet in low rate initial production Lot 7 in 2016 will meet program requirements to complete test and development in 2017. Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems LLC also developed the Gen 2 helmet that F-35 pilots currently use, which will meet the needs for the US Marine Corps to declare Initial Operational Capability in July 2015.

The F-35 HMDS provides pilots with unprecedented situational awareness. All the information that pilots need to complete their missions through all weather, day or night is projected on the helmet’s visor. Additionally, the F-35’s Distributed Aperture System (DAS) streams real-time imagery from six infrared cameras mounted around the aircraft to the helmet, allowing pilots to “look through” the airframe.

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10/13 Links: UNESCO Bias, Has Islamism Peaked?, Tarantino Loves Israeli Film “Big Bad Wolves.”

From Ian:

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In the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood is in retreat

Whether or not it turns out that the reports regarding Mashaal’s relocation are true, Hamas is being forced to reposition itself, and to go back to Iran with cap in hand. The reason is because this movement, too, had placed its bets on a Qatar-financed alliance of Brotherhood-oriented states – which will now not come into being.
The Brothers are by no means finished. Their politics retain a natural purchase in the conservative, Sunni Arab Middle East. But the moment when everything seemed possible has decidedly passed. What looked like the potential beginning of a new age ended up as a brief moment in the sun.
The sun is now setting on the Muslim Brotherhood’s hopes of regional domination.

Has Islamism peaked in the Middle East?

Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum, spoke at the conference held by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies this week at Bar-Ilan University, and presented the original thesis that the events over the past few months may mean that Islamism has peaked in the region and has begun its decline.
He cited the popular opposition to Islamist-led governments in Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, and Sudan.
“The more you know it, the less you like it,” he said in reference to Islamism. “It is not popular in the long-term.”

UNESCO and bias against Israel

The theater of the absurd was highlighted in March 2012 when, at a moment that the atrocities committed by the Syrian regime in the civil war raging there were being investigated by the Red Cross in Syria, UNESCO voted in favor of keeping Syria on the human rights committee.
Irina Bokova was on October 4, 2013 nominated by the Executive Board of UNESCO to serve a second term as Director-General. She oversees an organization that spends more than 80 per cent of its budget on staff costs, travel, and operating expenses. Very little has been spent on projects except castigation of Israel.

New York Times: Netanyahu on 'Messianic Crusade'

Ten days after publishing a front-page editorial blasting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech at the UN General Assembly as "combative" and sarcastic, the New York Times has published an interview-profile that portrays Netanyahu as a "shrill" voice on a one-man "messianic crusade" against Iran's nuclear weapons program.
In the piece, the Times says Netanyahu's long campaign against Iran is "a Messianic crusade" according to "critics and admirers alike."

13 years on: BBC website still misleads over 2000 Ramallah lynching

Under the sub-heading “Rising anger”, Asser transparently tries to ‘contextualise’ the lynching by presenting readers with a set of ‘explanatory’
circumstances. He first suggests that the murdered soldiers may have been members of an undercover unit, inventing a very creative interpretation of a picture of one of them being dragged off by a member of the mob after his eyes have been covered with a kefiya placed back to front. Asser also presents the fact that the two soldiers were wearing civilian clothes rather than army uniform (as is quite normal for reservists who have not yet reached their base) as though it were relevant.
In addition, Asser tries to ‘explain’ the lynching by patronisingly portraying it as an inevitable reaction to previous Palestinian casualties.

A new kind of terrorism

In the aftermath of the murder overnight Thursday of retired IDF colonel Seraiah Ofer in the Jordan Valley, early indications suggest that the incident was the latest in a series of sporadic terror attacks carried out by assailants using improvised weapons rather than by organized terror groups. Monique Mor, Ofer’s wife, who heard the assailants speaking outside their home in the Brosh Habika vacation village late Thursday, said they used axes and iron bars to carry out the killing — not “classic” murder weapons.
The suspicion, when looking at what have now been four terror attacks in the West Bank in the past month, is of a new phenomenon: Terrorism that is not carefully premeditated by an organization such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad — rather, attacks by Palestinians acting independently, bent on murdering Israelis, be they soldiers or civilians.

Victim's Widow: 'He was Cut Down by Low-Lives, Just Like That'

The widow of Sariya Ofer, who was brutally murdered in the Jordan Valley Friday, told reporters at week's end that the Jordan Valley (Bik'a) is one of the safest places in Israel. She added that the state must give protection to all of its citizens, including those who live in secluded spots.
Speaking from her hospital bed at Afula's Ha'emek hospital, she said Sarya "was simply an amazing character who knew how to help, make others laugh, make others happy, and offer help. An amazing man who was cut down by two low-lives, just like that."

Abbas to lobby EU to support sanctions against West Bank settlements

The PA leadership fears the EU may delay action against settlements under pressure from the US administration out of fear it could harm the current peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.
The US has already asked the EU not to move forward on the matter.
Abbas, who is expected to visit Germany, Italy and Belgium, will urge the leaders of the three countries to go ahead with the EU plan to impose sanctions, a Palestinian official in Ramallah said.

Mortar shells hit near chemical inspectors’ hotel in Syria, killing child

An 8 year old was killed and 11 people were hurt in the blasts in the upscale Abu Roumaneh area of Damascus, the SANA news agency said. One shell fell near a school and the other on a roof, damaging several shops and cars.
The blasts struck some 300 meters (1,000 feet) away from the Four Seasons Hotel where the chemical inspectors and U.N. staff are staying. A U.N. employee staying there said it did not appear that the hotel was affected by the twin explosions. The hotel remained open after the blasts, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Twitchy: Garry Kasparov surprised Nobel committee didn’t give Assad the award for chemistry

PM urges European leaders not to lift Iran sanctions

According to the officials, Netanyahu also warned Hollande and Cameron that Iran had ignored UN Security Council resolutions in the past, and that Tehran has been directly involved in terrorist activities across the globe.
The prime minister added that Iran has provided Syrian President Bashar Assad with military assets that have been used to “slaughter” civilians in the country.

The West cannot afford to be the global village idiot

Western delusion over Middle Eastern pretentions of democracy is nothing new. Although initial hopes were high, the Arab Spring has surely shattered any illusions that the region stands at the dawn of a new age of freedom. President Barack Obama eagerly proclaimed hopes of “genuine democracy” in Egypt following the downfall of Hosni Mubarak, lapping up initial talk of real reform. When free elections ensued, they proved to be a mirage, instead paving the way for an attempted Islamist power grab. A return to military repression soon followed. In Tunisia, the cradle of the Arab Spring, stability hangs in the balance following opposition assassinations and government resignations.

Iran said to ready ‘three-stage’ nuclear compromise

The Iranian delegation to an upcoming round of nuclear talks with the P5+1 nations plans to present a three-stage compromise proposal that would entail Western recognition of the legitimacy of Iran’s controversial uranium enrichment program.
The first stage of the proposal includes a motion that would commit the P5+1 nations – the US, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany – to defining “the recognition of the uranium enrichment right on Iran’s soil” as a goal of the negotiations, Xinhua reported Sunday.

Iran says ‘Israeli spy network’ put on trial

A news agency in Iran said a group of suspected Israeli spies have gone on trial in the country’s southeast.
Judge Dadkhoda Salari was quoted Saturday by the semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying that the group was led by three people who recruited some 60 Iranians to conspire against Iran’s ruling Islamic government and passed information on to Israel.

Egypt not expected to be hit hard by US aid cuts

The US decision to suspend delivery of tanks, helicopters and fighter jets to Egypt is more of a symbolic slap than a punishing wound to the military-backed government for its slog toward a return to democratic rule.
Egypt is awash in the tanks and planes it would need to fight a conventional war, and spare parts from US manufacturers will continue to be delivered.

Qaradhawi's Friend: Israel Planted a Chip in His Brain or Uses a Double; the Real Qaradhawi Is Dead


2 Turkish students detained for using Nazi salute on concentration camp visit

Two Turkish students were taken into custody in Poland after they allegedly greeted an Israeli student group with a Nazi salute during their visit to a former Nazi concentration camp, the Turkish media reported on Friday.
According to a report by Polish television station TVN24, the incident occurred in Majdanek, a former Nazi concentration camp near the city of Lublin, on Sunday.

Barclays Capital: Israel Could See Several Billion-Dollar Deals in Coming Year

Israel could be the beneficiary of several multi-billion dollar deals in the coming year, Barclays Capital technology M&A manager Richard Hardegree told Israel’s Globes.
“It’s possible that we’ll see two to three $1 billion-plus deals (in Israel) a year. We think that this is the direction, and that we’ll also see many transactions in the hundreds of millions,” Hardegree said ahead of his participation in the Globes-Ernst & Young Israel Journey Conference in Tel Aviv on October 17. “This is definitely a change from the sizes of the past. I think that it’s because Israeli companies are turning in the direction of bigger opportunities and the success of companies which have become market leaders.”

Israel Engineering Co Wins Lockheed Martin Contract to Supply ‘Smart Helmets’ for New F-35 Fighter Jets

Israeli engineering company Elbit Systems Ltd., in partnership with U.S. firm Rockwell Collins Inc., won a new contract to supply “smart helmets” for Lockheed Martin’s next generation F-35 fighter jet, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Friday.
The Elbit-designed “Helmet Mounted Display System” projects real-time images onto its visor, allowing a pilot access to more computer-based information, from weather conditions to night vision. The screen also projects images from six infrared cameras around the fuselage, providing the pilot with access to what’s usually unknown once the jet is airborne.

Tarantino: Israeli flick ‘best of 2013’

Quentin Tarantino is certainly not afraid of the “Big Bad Wolves.” In fact, the neo-noir kingpin was so enamored with the Israeli thriller after viewing it at a South Korean film festival over the weekend that he took to the microphone and declared it the best film of 2013.
“Big Bad Wolves,” from directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado, is a gritty story of a vigilante cop (Lior Ashkenazi) chasing a child murderer. It’s one of the darkest films to ever come out of the Israeli film industry, and it’s been praised for its sophistication and subtlety.

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Surprise! EU auditors find billions of euros missing in WB/Gaza

From the Sunday Times:

BILLIONS of euros in European aid to the Palestinians may have been misspent, squandered or lost to corruption, according to a damning report by the European Court of Auditors, the Luxembourg-based watchdog.

Brussels transferred more than £1.95bn to the occupied territories between 2008 and 2012 but had little control over how it was spent, the auditors say in an unpublished report seen by The Sunday Times.

EU investigators who visited sites in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank noted “significant shortcomings” in the management of funds sent to Gaza and the West Bank. Gaza is controlled by Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the EU.

The auditors complained about the lack of measures to mitigate “high-level” risks, such as “corruption or of funds not being used for their intended purpose”.

A spokesman for the court declined to comment.

No way! You mean that the PA under super-PM Salam Fayyad hasn't shed its decades-long reputation of corruption and theft of international funds? You mean that the hundreds of NGOs in Gaza and the West Bank aren't responsible with all the money being sent to them?

But...but...they are so moderate! They wear ties! They are modern, Western-style institutions, only interested in building a nation! We've been told this dozens of times by politicians and pundits - what possible incentive do they have to downplay corruption and theft in the PA while they blame Israel for everything under the sun?

Say it ain't so!

In a completely unrelated story, France just pledged €24 million to the PA the day after the PA honored the murderer of a French tourist. I'm sure that money will go to good use - like paying the salaries of other terrorists and their families, which takes up 6% of the PA budget.

(h/t Arsen)

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Polish Mufti plans to slaughter sheep for Eid al Adha to challenge ban

The leader of Poland's Muslim community, Mufti Tomasz Miskiewicz, has been in the forefront of challenging the ban on kosher and halal slaughter that went into effect this year in Poland.

While Jewish groups in Europe have campaigned to overturn the ban, Miskiewicz has been more outspoken and innovative in his opposition. In June he noted that eastern European Catholics have a inhumane practice of bashing the heads of carp to kill them for traditional Christmas dishes, and no one is calling to ban that practice.

In September, the Mufti claimed that legal experts agree that EU law trumps domestic Polish law and that the ban was not legal. I cannot vouch for that legal argument, but he's giving it a shot.

Now, in the days before the major Muslim feast of Eid al Adha, where families traditionally slaughter sheep (in a more painful way than kosher slaughter), the Mufti has said that he will publicly slaughter a sheep himself to challenge the ban.
.

While experts have shown that kosher slaughter is far more humane than Muslim slaughter, in either case the religious requirements should not be trampled by people who often use "humanity" as a way to disguise their xenophobia (see the end of this post.) The focus should be on improving existing methods of ritual slaughter, not banning it.

Kudos to Mufti Miskiewicz for standing up to the haters.

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PFLP-GC claims 23,000 Syrian Palestinians have fled to Sweden

The PFLP-GC claims that some 23,000 Palestinian Arabs from the Yarmouk camp in Syria have fled to Sweden during the civil war.

Yarmouk camp

The group, which supports the Syrian regime, blames the opposition for setting up their forces in the camp.

I couldn't find verification of the numbers, but they are not unrealistic. In 2012 there were over 2000 Palestinian Arabs along with some 8000 Syrians who sought asylum in Sweden, and things have gotten far worse this year.

There is of course one additional factor: Arab nations have been treating the Palestinian Arab refugees from Syria like garbage, either turning them back at the border (Jordan, Egypt) or putting inhuman restrictions on them (Lebanon.) (I have been unable to determine if Iraq is letting any Palestinian Arab refugees into its camps.)

Oil-rich Gulf countries don't want any of them, either.

It is not surprising that the ones that make it successfully to Sweden will communicate with their relatives and friends and tell them that Europe is far more friendly to Palestinians than their Arab brothers are.

For some reason, "pro-Palestinian" groups are silent as to how their pets are being treated by Arab countries. No rallies, flotillas, or other campaigns against Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon.  And the last time there was a Palestinian Arab refugee crisis - when they were expelled from Iraq by the thousands - Arab leaders were dead-set against them becoming naturalized in the West, because happy European Palestinian Arabs are no longer useful as cannon fodder against Israel.

It is remarkable how much the very people who pretend to love the Palestinian Arabs the most are the ones who care about them the least. Even more remarkable is that the Western media and "human rights" organizations all but ignore the discrimination and hate by Arabs for their own. 

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Gaza terror tunnel discovered near Israeli communities

From JPost:

The IDF recently uncovered a Palestinian terrorist tunnel leading from the Gaza Strip to Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, they announced on Sunday.

The tunnel was dug in order to either kidnap civilians and soldiers, or to infiltrate the community and carry out an atrocity in it, the army believes.

The tunnel was over 120 meters in length and represents a grave attempt by Palestinian terrorists to perpetrate an attack, army sources added.

The entrance of the tunnel on the Israeli side was reportedly dug near a kindergarten.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the IDF for unearthing the tunnel, his spokesman said.

YNet adds:

According to defense establishment estimates, the tunnel was set up in order to execute a large-scale attack on one of the nearby villages. The starting point is located in a village between Gaza Strip's Khan Younis and the border fence. Several spaces were located within the tunnel, which were designed to store and detonate explosives in large quantities. The tunnel also contained tracks with carts and lighting tools. In addition, the tunnel contained advanced technical means to allow its functioning and prevent its collapse.

Here is a satellite map of the area.

Israel recently started allowing iron and concrete to be imported into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossings, after years of NGOs and governments complaining that it is a human rights violation to not allow these sorts of dual-use materials into the Hamas-controlled sector. Up until a few weeks ago, Israel only allowed such materials if they were earmarked for specific projects for known organizations like UN agencies.

From September 29 to October 5, Israel allowed 153 trucks of cement and 77 trucks of iron to enter Gaza.

Reportedly, the tunnel was built with Israeli cement.

You can be certain that none of these organizations or governments will now agree that Israel should be concerned that the material it is allowing is being used for construction of terror tunnels.

These  groups and governments who claim to be acting on the basis of the human rights of Gazans rarely extend their concern to the human rights of Israeli kindergartners not to be kidnapped and held hostage.

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Fill out this BDS survey for the Methodist Church UK

The Methodist Church UK is apparently considering whether it should encourage its members to boycott and divest from Israel.

In July 2013 the Methodist Conference passed Notice of Motion 201. The motion requests the production of a briefing on the arguments for and against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The wording of the motion as revised and adopted by Methodist Conference is as follows:

Recognising the call of the prophet Micah to "do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God," the Conference directs the Methodist Council to ensure that the Joint Public Issues Team prepare a briefing document for the Methodist People upon the arguments for and against the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions Movement, and for the Methodist Council to bring a report based upon the briefing to the Conference of 2014.

This consultation has been launched to gather a range of perspectives on this topic and is open to all. People are invited to respond either in a personal capacity or as representatives of organisations. Responses will be kept confidential unless specific agreement is made to the contrary.

The briefing commissioned by the Methodist Conference will reflect the range of perspectives on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions arising from this consultation. It is hoped that this briefing will offer helpful reflection for Methodist people as they consider how to respond to the call of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

There is a 14 question survey that is open to all so you can make your opinion known.

This is not a poll, from what I gather, but an opportunity to make an argument.

Here are the questions:

1. What do you understand to be the motivation/inspiration behind the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions in relation to Israel?

2. In your view, what would be the essential elements of any peace agreement in Israel/Palestine?

3. Do you support a boycott of products produced within Israeli settlements?

4. Do you support the call for a wider consumer boycott of all Israeli products?

5. If you answer 'Yes' to Question 4, what changes would you need to see to be content to end your boycott?

6. What are the arguments against a consumer boycott of all Israeli products? What are the risks?

7. If you do not support the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions, could you ever see yourself supporting such a call in the future? Under what circumstances?

8. What message does the call for a consumer boycott of Israel communicate to the general public? (please specify whether you are answering with reference to the public in the UK, in Israel, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, or elsewhere)

9. Do you support an academic boycott of Israel? Please explain your reasoning.

10. Do you support a cultural boycott of Israel? Please explain your reasoning.

11. Under what circumstances, if any, should the Methodist Church divest from companies operating in Israel?

12. Should the UK government or European Union impose trade or other restrictions on economic relationships with Israel or alternatively limited restrictions on economic engagement with settlements? If so what form should such sanctions take?

13. What actions other than BDS might members of the Methodist Church take to encourage a political process that could deliver a just and sustainable resolution in Israel and Palestine?

14. Is there any further theological or other comment that you would like to make in relation to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions or are there papers or other resources that you would highlight?

In the slight possibility that this is not an exercise in futility, I encourage you to thoughtfully and respectfully answer these questions.

My answers concentrated on the fact that people who push BDS are guilty of the worst double standards and are effectively (if not consciously) acting in an antisemitic manner by singling out the Jewish state for alleged human rights abuses that are no worse than those of any Western nation at war in history, and even those not at war.

I also emphasized that the entire point of BDS is to only place responsibility for action for peace on one side, giving the Palestinian Arabs a free pass for their behavior and demands. They must be pressured at least as much to compromise for peace, an attitude that the West has abandoned.  Incitement, refusal to accept a Jewish state, refusal to compromise, rejection of many previous peace plans, their decision to launch a terror war instead of make peace - all of these should have consequences and should not be rewarded.

Furthermore, I also emphasized that every single Arab nation discriminates against Palestinian Arabs, in not allowing them to become citizens if they so choose (even Jordan no longer allows them to be naturalized anymore.) If anyone cares about the "refugee" issue, this should be their top priority. It is not dependent on a peace agreement. It is simple human rights.

I mentioned that the idea that artists should boycott Israel while playing freely in Lebanon, where there are actual laws discriminating against Palestinians, is the height of hypocrisy.

There are of course many other arguments against BDS, a fundamentally corrupt and immoral concept.

Again, the odds are long that this is anything more than an exercise in getting support for something that is already decided, but better to try now than to complain later.

The deadline is November 4.

(h/t Rosalie)

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Rabbi brothers singing "Sounds of Silence" on Israeli talent show (video, updated)

This is very cool, although their accents sometimes get in the way:




Somehow, I don't think that they're going to cover "Ceclia" though...

UPDATE: They are apparently well-known street musicians, called The Breslov Brothers, and have even covered....Pink Floyd!



They don't have to worry about Roger Waters dropping by to listen, though!

Also check out their Tears in Heaven.



(h/t Malca)

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10/12 Links: Leftist Enablers of Hezbollah and Hamas, Iran Arrests ‘Homosexuals and Satanists’

From Ian:

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The Leftist Enablers of Hezbollah and Hamas

Chomsky and his comrades on the Left couldn’t care less what happens to real people as a result of the actions of terrorist groups like Hezbollah. Any group that hates the “Great Satan” has got to be alright for the Chomskyites, who meanwhile seek comfort and security in the land they so glibly condemn.
Such willful moral inversion is not confined to academia, of course. For example, former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Gaza flotilla spokesman Edward Peck said after meeting with a group of Hamas leaders, including Hamas’s leader, Khaled Mashaal: “These guys were entirely rational.” Peck added that he found Mashaal to be “moderate in many senses.”

Syrian Attacks on Lebanon and Global Terrorism Shake Hezbollah Branding, “Western Apologists”

The damage has been compounded by a series of recent terrorism convictions, across multiple continents, in which Hezbollah operatives were linked to potential or actual attacks. Reviewing Washington Institute fellow Matthew Levitt’s book “Hezbollah” this week, Michael Totten described the effect on Hezbollah:

And yet Hezbollah is still often described, by itself and by its Western apologists, as an indigenous Lebanese “resistance” movement in a twilight struggle against the Jewish state. It is, in fact, a multinational terror operation with Iran as its funder and controller. “Hezbollah’s role in Iran’s shadow war . . . has cast the group as a dangerous terrorist network capable of operating everywhere from Europe to Africa and Asia and to the Americas,” Mr. Levitt writes.

Richard Millett: War On Want event: “Palestinians live in apartheid ghettos.”

Last night 200 students crammed into Room G2 at SOAS where they heard a new phrase employed in order to accuse Israel; “apartheid ghettos”. “Apartheid ghettos” neatly combines the horrors of Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa. But this time, in sick role reversal, it’s Jews who are the Nazis (see photo above).
Meanwhile, Daniel Machover, a solicitor, called for “the destruction of the political system in Israel” and for “an end to the Zionist project”. All obvious code for the destruction of Israel, although he wouldn’t admit it.

Tunisia orders tennis player to withdraw from match against Israeli

Tunisia’s tennis federation ordered the country’s top player to withdraw from a match against an Israeli at a tournament in Uzbekistan.
Malek Jaziri had been scheduled to play Israel’s Amir Weintraub on Friday in the quarterfinals of an ATP Challenger tournament in Tashkent. He withdrew before the match and Weintraub advanced to the semifinals of the lower-tier event.

Caroline Glick: Israel’s blind watchmen

Intellectual reliance on the leftist-dominated media; blind trust rather than critical analysis of statements by foreign sources and colleagues; lawyerization of military operations; over-dependence on technology; politicization of the senior ranks; and discrimination against religious officers have all been pointed to as factors that have contributed to Israel’s senior defense officials’ failure to foresee any major development and insistent blindness to their significance.
Certainly all have played a role in bringing about this dismal state of affairs.
But whatever the cause of our military and intelligence leadership’s insistence on getting everything wrong, the fact is that they are Israel’s Achilles’ heel. Until steps are taken to rectify this situation, Israel’s technological prowess and tactical brilliance will remain of limited value for securing the country and our interests.

Abbas blames Israel for Palestinian fiscal crisis

“The economic situation is very difficult and the central reason for this is the Israeli occupation,” Abbas said in an interview with Palestinian government television. “Israel exploits our resources and lands which directly leads to an increase in the deficit which we must contend with.”
According to Abbas, Palestinian Finance Minister Shukri Bishara informed him that the PA won’t be able to pay government salaries unless it receives international aid. The Palestinian government employs approximately 150,000 of the nearly two million Palestinians living in the West Bank.

Report warns of loose missile threat in Syria

The Syrian government’s shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and launchers could imperil civil aviation if they fall into the hands of terror groups, according to an independent report examining the global proliferation of portable missiles.
The report released Friday by the Federation of American Scientists, a prominent Washington group that focuses on issues of science and security, warns that some opposition factions inside Syria are already wielding small numbers of anti-aircraft systems in combat against Syrian government forces. Citing video and photo evidence from opposition forces, media and official accounts, the FAS study says some portable launchers and missiles have been seized by opposition forces during battles with Syrian troops, while others have been smuggled in to rebel fighters from neighboring countries.

Al-Qaeda leader urges unity among Syrian jihadis

Ayman al-Zawahiri said fighters must “rise above organizational loyalties and party partisanship” and unite behind the goal of setting up an Islamic state.
Al-Zawaihri also urged Syrian regime opponents not cut deals with Western-backed and secular groups. Islamist rebels have battled with secular and Kurdish rebel groups over Syria’s border crossings with Turkey for several weeks, leaving dozens dead.

Once again from Nobel, a prize for the prospect of peace

Once again this year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded not to an extraordinary individual, but to an organization tasked with a great challenge well before positive outcomes from its work have materialized.
The Nobel committee, by awarding it the peace prize, has cast the OPCW as a practical and powerful tool for the execution of peace. And yet the ability of the OPCW to deliver is far from assured.

Hollande to Netanyahu: We'll Remain Tough on Iran

French President Francois Hollande reassured Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday that France will remain "tough" with Iran on its controversial nuclear program, reports AFP.
Hollande told Netanyahu in a telephone call that France would wait to see if the more moderate politics of Iran's new leader Hassan Rouhani, who replaced hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, would translate in his "actions", the Elysee palace said, according to the news agency.

Iran Arrests Network of ‘Homosexuals and Satanists’

The website of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards reported the arrest of “a network of homosexuals and satanists” in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah, close to the country’s border with Iraq, on Thursday, The Guardian reported.
A source told The Guardian “the raid took place on Tuesday night when some 80 people, including both straight and gay Iranians, had gathered for a birthday party in Kermanshah. At least 17 people who had tattoos, make-up, or were wearing rainbow bracelets were blindfolded and taken to an unknown location, according to a local source. Partygoers were filmed by the elite forces and had their mobile phones confiscated.”

Coptic Leaders Condemn Obama Adviser's Anti-Coptic Tweets

Major Coptic leaders are condemning Mohamed Elibiary, an Obama administration Homeland Security adviser, for suggesting that Copts who raise awareness of anti-Christian violence in Egypt promote "Islamophobic" bigotry.
Elibiary sent out a series of tweets that Coptic leaders found offensive last month. The tweets appeared to chastise the Coptic community for lobbying on behalf of their relatives in Egypt. He targeted them because they had aligned themselves with conservative groups that he called "Islamophobic."

Egypt to renew nuclear program in another setback for the West

In reports from the Egypt that have thus far eluded the Western media, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is reporting Friday that senior figures in the Egyptian government are now pledging to restart their once mothballed nuclear programme.
Analysts and diplomats consulted in Europe by The Commentator say that American and European officials have been aware of such rumblings for several weeks, but have not yet worked out a clear policy position. They add, under condition of anonymity, that this is no longer a Left-Right issue, but a policy matter dominated by confusion.

Car Bomb Damages Swedish Consulate in Benghazi

A car bomb exploded outside the Swedish consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, Friday, causing serious damage to the embassy and damaging adjacent buildings.
No casualties were reported from the explosion.

Argentina refuses to accept late Nazi’s remains

Argentina on Friday refused accept the remains of Erich Priebke, a former Nazi SS captain sentenced to life in prison for his role in one of the worst atrocities by German occupiers in Italy during World War II.
Priebke, who died in Italy earlier Friday, was to have been buried beside his wife in Argentina, where he fled in the aftermath of the war, according to an AFP report.

Pope warns of anti-Semitism as Rome commemorates Holocaust

Pope Francis urged vigilance against any resurgence of anti-Semitism ahead of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Rome’s Jews to Auschwitz.
Pope Francis made the warning Friday during a meeting at the Vatican with Italian Jewish leaders, including Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome.

Evangelicals and Israel

At a time when the state of Israel lies under existential threat from jihadist Islam, and under ideological and diplomatic assault in foreign ministries, international organizations, churches, universities, editorial offices, and other circles of advanced Western opinion—and when even some Jews in the Diaspora seem to be growing disenchanted with the Zionist cause—millions of evangelical Christians unabashedly continue their outspoken, wholehearted, stalwart defense of both the Jewish state and the Jewish people.

Israel Daily Picture: Holy Sites in the Holy Land -- More Pictures from the Emory University Collection, Part 2

The original photos are "stereographic," but we present just "one" of the nearly identical images to save space.
Many of the photos, taken between 1895- 1905, are accompanied by a travelogue describing the sites written by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut (1843 - 1930), an American Methodist clergyman. It was published in 1913.

Stand With Us: I Love Israel Because...

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