Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, October 18, 2013

10/18 Links Pt2: Why Israel Can't Trust UN for Protection, Hecklers Flee Israeli Speaker

From Ian:

Why Israel Can't Trust UN for Protection

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), a pre-eminent Israeli think tank, has produced and published a historical/topographic video explaining the basis for Israel's rejection of the idea that international peace-keeping troops can be introduced into Judea and Samaria, to offer Israel protection if it withdraws its forces in a "peace treaty."
The Jerusalem Center is headed by Israel's former ambassador to the UN, Dore Gold, who has been a long-time security advisor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Hecklers Flee Israeli Speaker at U of Florida

“You think the IDF kills children? You should go to Syria, where everyone knows they are murdering thousands of children with gas and other cruel weapons! Go to Syria where there are actually thousands of real refugees. They need you to demonstrate in Syria, go!” Berko lectured the SJP hecklers.
And with that, the hecklers left the room and Berko continued her lecture. The people who came to hear about what could possibly motivate women and children (that’s the “smart bomb” Berko means) to want to kill themselves were able to hear from her first hand observations and watch video clips of many who attempted to be smart bombs.

'Stop Being Afraid'

At one point, Galloway can be heard saying that he felt "threatened" and demanded to known what Hunter was hiding under his sweater - at which point the 19 year-old student pulls out an Israeli flag, to Galloway's obvious bemusement.
Before being escorted out by security, Hunter parodied Galloway's own remarks to Aslan-Levy that "I don't debate with Israelis," by declaring: "I do not have a question for you, because I do not debate with racists," before unfurling the Israeli flag and making his exit, to applause from members of the audience.
In an exclusive interview with Arutz Sheva, Hunter explains why he decided not to stay silent - and relays an important message to British Jewry and fellow pro-Israel activists.

Comedy Half Hour: BDSers confounded in Oxford Street (video)

A young man of unmistakable Middle Eastern appearance approaches a gaggle of bourgeois-looking BDSers on Oxford Street who are protesting SodaStream outside the John Lewis department store.
One of the protesters hands him a leaflet. After all, the young man's sure to be receptive to material demonising the Zionist Entity, right?
Wrong! The young man in question, from Iraq and of mixed Iraqi and Iranian parentage, is in fact a staunch and well-informed supporter of Israel, and superbly capable of challenging the BDSers' nonsense (in which that infamous set of Four Maps plays its mute mendacious part).

The ultimate in Muslim victimhood mythology: 'they were victims of the Nazis, just like Jews were'

There can be no ambiguity in what the artist is claiming here: Jews, gays, and ... Muslims (dressed in concentration camp outfits) were equal victims of the Nazi holocaust. The myth of Muslim victimhood and 'Islamaphobia' is one that is now constantly pushed not just by the Muslim Brotherhood, but even more so by their useful idiot leftist allies, like the 'guerilla artist' here. To cast Muslims as equal victims when they were actually among the most enthusiastic participants in the Nazi persecution of Jews takes the myth of Muslim victimhood to a whole new level; and as with most Muslim propaganda it is a perfect inversion of reality.

Yerushalayim, Jerusalem, or al-Quds?

Well, maybe we should call Yerushalayim “al-Quds.” Why not? Western liberal Jews have so capitulated to the “Palestinian narrative” that they think within terms created by the enemies of Israel. That is, most western liberal Jews have, over the years, adopted the language that the enemies of the Jewish people use to describe the alleged atrocity which is the existence of the Jewish state..
This is what I refer to as the Palestinian Colonization of the Jewish Mind. It is the unconscious embrace of terminology developed by the enemies of the Jewish people that suggests Jewish guilt and aggression in stark contrast to supposed “Palestinian” innocence and victim-hood.

Family of Girl Hurt by Terrorist Gives Thanks

Two weeks ago, nine-year-old Noam Glick was attacked by a terrorist as she played on the balcony of her family home in Psagot, north of Jerusalem. On Thursday, her family gave thanks for her survival with a celebration.
Among those who came to celebrate with the family were Members of Knesset Yariv Levin (Likud Beyteinu) and Orit Struk (Bayit Yehudi/Jewish Home), both members of the Knesset’s Land of Israel Lobby.

Jordanian Minister: No Israeli Flag on Temple Mount

Hael Abd-el Hafiz Daud, the Jordanian Minister for Sacred Properties and Islamic Holy Sites, warned this week of unspecified diplomatic consequences to the fact that the “Israeli occupation” allows “settlers” to enter the area of the Al Aqsa Mosque and hold up the Israeli flag. This happened, he accused, with the protection of Israeli security forces, who prevented faithful Muslims and Waqf guards from taking the flag down.

Revealed: How Richard Silverstein was duped again by a phony “source”

Richard Silverstein not only devotes his blog to smearing the Jewish state – while defending even the most openly malevolent extremists – but routinely spreads wild claims and, at times, false information under the veneer of promoting “liberal” values and social justice.
The strange phenomenon of mainstream media sites taking Silverstein’s rumor mill seriously was best summed up by the following cheeky Twitterer back when the BBC cited Silverstein’s “scoop” about Israel’s “secret” Iran attack plans.

Analysis: Turkey's unprecedented act of betrayal against Israel

This strategic alliance is manifest in the biannual meetings between the heads of Mossad and MIT and between intelligence analysts and experts on both sides. The two countries’ relationship is characterized by frequent exchanges of information about common enemies and adversaries in the region, including Iraq, Syria and post-Islamic Iran.
Even during the most tense periods in relations between the two countries, intelligence ties remained intact, even if they did cool somewhat. While intelligence work is often interest-driven and unsentimental by its nature, there are still unwritten rules of conduct that govern relationships.
If it is indeed guilty of blowing the cover off of the Israeli spy network, then Turkey blatantly violated these codes.

'Turkish exposure of Israeli spies directed at Kurdish nationalists'

Meanwhile, an Israeli official said Thursday that if the report was true, it had to do with the strained ties between Turkey and the National Kurdish Nationalist Movement. The Turks and the Iranians have been working in tandem for some time against the Kurdish nationalists both in Turkey and in Iran.
Former Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon urged the government to file an official complaint with NATO and demand Turkey's removal from the organization over the incident.

Time to go cold turkey

The problem is that Erdogan does not share Netanyahu's sense of realpolitik; he does not consider Turkey to have common interests with Israel. He most certainly isn't going to assist Netanyahu in an operation against Iran. As the Ignatius article illustrates, Ankara is happier helping Tehran than Jerusalem.

Body of dead Nazi Priebke goes missing

Family lawyer Paolo Giachini said he and the former SS captain’s family lost track of Priebke’s casket Tuesday night, when they tried to celebrate a funeral Mass for him in a church compound in Albano Laziale, south of Rome.

Belgian ‘Holocaust ad’ against ritual slaughter riles Jews, Muslims

A Belgian radio ad that is accused of drawing on Holocaust themes to promote a ban on ritual slaughter has drawn sharp criticism from Jewish and Muslim representatives.
The ad, which the Antwerp-based animal welfare group Gaia produced for airing on national radio and sent Monday via email to 200 politicians, delivers a mock testimony told from the perspective of a lamb waiting for slaughter.

Christian Journalist Who Posed as Jew in Malmo: ‘I’m Optimistic Things Will Get Better’

Reilly says that a concern for safety among the Jewish community is understandable and suggests Jews wishing to visit the country be vigilant.
“Jews who are considering visiting here, my advice would be to do your homework and as I said in the article, be prepared for stares at least and violence at worst if you make your Jewish beliefs visible.”
Still, despite his experience and evidence to the contrary, Reilly believes that there’s reason to remain optimistic that a turnabout is on the horizon.

Israeli bird researcher derides spy bird ‘nonsense’

“The whole field of conservation is based on regional cooperation and not this nonsense,” said Leshem, who collaborates on several projects with Palestinian and Jordanian scientists. “It’s not enough that they kill people; now they are killing birds too.”

Pope Francis Appoints Israel-Friendly Archbishop Pietro Parolin as New Vatican #2

Archbishop Parolin, 58, who was papal nuncio in Caracas prior to this appointment, will become the youngest cleric to occupy this post since 1939.
The BBC said cardinals welcomed the choice, as Archbishop Parolin is seen as a reformer and is known for his efforts to improve relations with China and Israel.

In Tel Aviv’s Silicon Wadi, the focus is on brain gain

Ronak Kumar Samantray, co-founder and chief software architect of NowFloats.com, a Hyderabad, India-based start-up, has only been in Israel for three days. But says he never wants to leave.
“The best part of Israel is how open it is. I just love this country. I wish I was born here,” says Samantray — whose business helps small companies get online — during a meet and greet at the annual DLD Innovation Conference in Tel Aviv. He was rushing between conferences and thrilled, he said, because later in the day he had landed a face-to-face meeting with the CEO of Wix.com, the free website software company that is lauded as one of Israel’s most successful examples of a start-up. “It’s just brilliant,” he says of the culture of the city. “I can just pick up the phone and call a CEO, and they’re so approachable.”

Israel shows the way for Irish hi-tech start-up scene

THEY may share the same first letter but that is where the similarities between Ireland and Israel's start-up scene currently begin and end.
Indeed, while Ireland has struggled to produce large, home-grown hi-tech companies, the Jewish state boasts the highest number of companies listed on the NASDAQ outside of North America, the world's highest gross expenditure on R&D and highest level of venture capital as share of GDP.
However, five up-and-coming Irish hi-tech firms arrived in Tel Aviv this week hoping to rapidly learn the lessons from the small country that has been dubbed the 'Start-up Nation'.

Fatah poster shows diplomacy is a tactic, just like terror. When will the West wake up?

Palestinian Media Watch has been monitoring Fatah's official Facebook page, and it seems that every day Mahmoud Abbas' party shows its support for terrorism.

This graphic they posted is pretty clear:

Under the headline "Fatah - All means of struggle until statehood" the administrator of the Fatah Facebook page posted three pictures showing different "means of struggle." One picture represents diplomacy as a "means of struggle," exemplified by a picture of PA Chairman Abbas speaking at the UN. The other two pictures represent the use of different kinds of violence as a "means of struggle." One shows a man wearing an Arab headscarf throwing a stone, while the other shows a man holding a rifle.

(no link, I received this via email and it does not seem to be posted yet.)

There is no abhorrence for violence - it is a necessary tool. The Western world can be duped by seeing the Fatah-dominated PLO talk to them only about peace and diplomacy while in Arabic there has been no change of heart regarding terror.

It isn't like we didn't know that they regard diplomacy is a tactic, not a strategy. Fatah has said it many times, and it is part of its official platform - a document that has been utterly ignored by the Western world. (I'm not aware of anyone who translated it into English besides my excepts.)

In that same platform, Fatah calls for relationships with Israel's "peace camp" but emphasizes that this is in no way "normalization" with the enemy. It's just another tactic - weaken Israel with words that fools gullible US, UN and EU officials all the while celebrating terror.

Hell, even Arafat swore that he gave up terror in 1993, and then he directed the suicide bombing spree of the 2000s.

These are basic facts that can be checked by anyone. It is the willful blindness of diplomats, pundits and the media, combined with the willful lies spouted by the Israel-haters, that tells the world a story that is much different from the truth.

10/18 Links Pt1: Ha’aretz- “Why Shouldn’t Hamas Dig Tunnels?”, PLO Battle for Succession

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: PLO: Battle for Succession Has Begun

Several PLO and Fatah officials have recently been talking about the need for "leadership change." They maintain that it is time for the Palestinians to start thinking of replacing Abbas's old-guard regime with young and fresh leaders.
However, as of now Abbas, whose term in office expired back in January 2009, has shown no sign that he is willing to accept the principle of power-sharing. The battle for succession is therefore likely to intensify in the coming weeks and months, casting a shadow not only over his regime, but also the peace talks with Israel.

Palestinians very serious... about stealing aid billions

Though the international community, much of the mass media, the World Council of Churches, as well as the Palestinian leaders may persist in blaming Israel for this state of affairs, their views are belied by the voices of Palestinians themselves over the last few years. In June 2012 the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research issued the result of a poll showing that a majority of the Palestinian population thought that the Palestinian authorities were corrupt and that freedom of the press did not exist under Palestinian rule.
The result showed that 72.9 percent believed the administration in the West Bank under Mahmoud Abbas was corrupt, and 61 percent of those in the Gaza Strip believed the rule of Hamas there was corrupt. Also, only 23 percent believed freedom of speech existed in the West Bank, and only 15 percent believed it did in Gaza. Another poll by the Palestinian Center in September 2013 showed that 79 percent believed the Abbas administration was corrupt.

US ambassador denounces Gaza terrorist tunnels

“US condemns terrorist tunnels, supports Israel’s right and ability to self-defense, and is focused on advancing negotiations for peace,” tweeted the American ambassador following the tour.
Shapiro called the recently discovered tunnel in the fields of Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha “simply shocking,” adding that the tunnels’ “sole purpose is to conduct violent attacks on Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers.”

‘Humanitarian Aid’ Enables Palestinian Terrorism

In June 2010, Israeli intelligence issued a warning that “Hamas uses cement for military needs,” especially in the construction of munitions supply tunnels.
Yet in November 2011, the Israel Civil Administration, which reports to the Israel Ministry of Defense, approved the shipment of massive cement supplies for the construction of 75 United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school buildings in Gaza.

Amira Hass: “Why Shouldn’t Hamas Dig Tunnels?”

Ha’aretz’s Amira Hass is clearly unable to recognize intent or any moral distinction when it comes to Israel and Hamas. In her latest piece, she asks:

"Why shouldn’t Hamas dig tunnels? What makes a tunnel more “terrorist” than a navy boat firing on fisherman, or less of a security need than unmanned aerial vehicles? Each to his own resources in the arms race."
Intent is a key concept in both the laws of war and the criminal justice system.

Another ‘last-first’ BBC headline in report on attack on Israeli soldier

The official PA news agency Wafa reported that the man was thirty year-old Yunis al Radeideh from Bet Hanina, referring to “the martyrdom of Citizen Radaideh”. According to reports, al Radeideh’s brother carried out a similar terror attack using a bulldozer in 2009 in Jerusalem, injuring two police officers.
The BBC’s short report on the incident appeared on the Middle East page of the BBC News website on the evening of October 17th. In line with usual BBC practice, the report’s headline presents the last in a series of events first: “Israeli troops kill Palestinian who rammed army base“.

Iran slashed Hamas funding, senior official admits

“Iran used to be the most supportive state to Hamas in all aspects: money, arms and training. We don’t deny this,” Abu Marzouk said. “Our position on Syria affected relations with Iran. Its support for us never stopped, but the amounts [of money] were significantly reduced.”

Canadian Woman Sues Iran Over Hamas Terror Attack

Dr Sherry Weiss, a 43 year old dentist from Vancouver who was injured in a 1997 suicide bombing by Hamas in Israel, has submitted a damage suit against Iran, Shalom Toronto reports.
Weiss claims that the Iranian government was directly responsible for the attack, in September that year at the Mahane Yehuda open-air market in Jerusalem, in which she was badly wounded by the explosive device detonated by a suicide bomber.

Amnesty says Egypt should stop arresting, deporting Syrian refugees

Officials also said 300,000 Syrians were living in Egypt, underlining that it was impossible to say that they were subject to any kind of harassment.
They added that legal procedures were only taken against those suspected to be involved in crimes, or participating in Muslim Brotherhood protests.
Syrian and Palestinian refugees were accused by Egyptian media of being supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and being complicit in political violence in the country, following the ouster of Islamict president Mohamed Morsi in July.

Syria conflict: Christians 'fleeing homes'

A senior Church leader in Syria has said almost a third of the country's Christians have fled their homes.
Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III Laham told the BBC that more than 450,000 Christians out of a total population of 1.75 million had been displaced or left the country.

Canadian UNDOF adviser released after 8 months in Syrian captivity

A Canadian legal adviser to the UN peacekeeping mission on the Golan Heights was released after eight months in captivity, the United Nations announced Thursday.
Carl Campeau was kidnapped in February — reportedly by Syrian rebels — while working for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force.

US said to weigh gradually unfreezing Iranian assets

The plan calls for a graduated unfreezing of Iranian oversees assets without rescinding the sanctions themselves, affording US President Barack Obama the capacity to respond to offers made by Iran in the course of negotiations without undoing the years-long effort to put the existing sanctions regime into place, a unnamed senior official in the Obama administration told The New York Times late Thursday.
The official reportedly likened the plan – said to still be in debate in the White House and the State Department – to a “financial spigot,” which could be opened and closed at will.

Former Obama Advisor: Rouhani’s Nuclear Offer No Different Than Ahmadinejad’s

Iran continues to woo the West in talks over concessions vis-a-vis the country’s nuclear program. But Gary Samore, President of United Against a Nuclear Iran—which describes itself as a non-partisan, broad-based coalition committed to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons— and formerly one of U.S. President Barack Obama’s point men at the National Security Council on these issues, believes Iran is all style and no substance.

Iranian faces a second hanging

Amnesty International has urged Iran to stay the second attempt to execute a convicted drug dealer who survived a hanging.
The man, identified by Iranian media only as Alireza M., 37, was sentenced to death after he was convicted of possessing a kilogram of crystal meth.

Top Lebanese Shiite Cleric Calls For Hezbollah to Disarm

Now a top Shiite cleric in Lebanon on Tuesday called for groups within the country to completely disarm. Higher Shiite Council deputy head Sheikh Abdel Amir Qabalan is certainly not the first high-ranking Lebanese official to have criticized Hezbollah’s militarized state-within-a-state in recent months. But his status as a Shiite religious leader makes his criticism particularly relevant:

UN Watch: Saudi Arabia refusal to take seat on UN Security Council is “victory for human rights”

Saudi Arabia’s refusal to take its seat on the UN Security Council, announced today via the Saudi Press Agency, is a “victory for human rights,” said a Geneva-based human rights group today.
“A country whose legal system routinely lashes women rape victims rather than punish the perpetrators never belonged in the UN Security Council in the first place,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the non-governmental human rights group UN Watch, which has for years reported on Saudi Arabia’s oppression of women and its other gross human rights abuses.

Saudi Arabia rejects seat on UN Security Council

...the statement from Riyadh on Friday struck a dramatically different tone.
“Allowing the ruling regime in Syria to kill its people and burn them with chemical weapons in front of the entire world and without any deterrent or punishment is clear proof and evidence of the UN Security Council’s inability to perform its duties and shoulder its responsibilities,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said.

Saudis, UAE to get US bunker-buster bombs, cruise missiles in deal worth $11b.

The US Pentagon said on Thursday it plans a large arms sale to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth $10.8 billion.
The weapons include bunker-buster bombs and air-launched cruise missiles that can hit targets from a long distance, AFP reported. The missiles can hit air defense systems from a safe distance, out of range of anti-aircraft systems.

Kuwait: Coffee shops 'corrupt morals' - MP

At least, that's what they're said to have told local media, while threatening to interrogate three ministers in parliament if they didn't close the "immoral" cafes within a month. The Kuwait Times says Askar al-Enezi was among MPs, religious figures and residents who rallied in Jahra, near the capital Kuwait City, claiming cafes promote vice and depravation. "Such coffee shops have no room in our society as they violate our very traditions and customs," al-Enezi said. Fellow MP Mohammad Tana told Al-Jarida newspaper: "There is a deep corruption of morals at these suspicious places."

Forget chemical weapons: Syria is also starving people to death

From Now Lebanon's Michael Weiss :

Children in Syria are now eating leaves for nutrition. Residents of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp are baking flatbreads made from “stale lentils.” A group of Muslim clerics has issued an Eid al-Adha fatwa allowing the hungry to consume cats, dogs and donkeys to survive. In Moadamiyah, one of the suburbs south of Damascus known as western Ghouta, gassed with sarin by the regime on August 21, residents subsist on a meager diet of olives, mint, grapevine leaves and figs. This is Assad’s terror-famine. It’s getting worse every day.

According to Qusai Zakarya, a rebel spokesman in the town, the regime cut all humanitarian supplies to Moadamiyah ten or eleventh months ago, and local stores ran out in March. So the people have had to rely mainly on the largesse of Syrians living in the countryside who ran basic staples into the town – and by “ran,” I mean they drove by it on the Damascus-Quneitra highway and tossed grocery bags from their moving cars in the general direction of Moadamiyah, which then had to be retrieved by the inhabitants, sometimes at great risk. “This was rice, olives and makdous [cured eggplants], which lasts one to two years,” Zakarya told me via Skype, with clear sounds of artillery fire in the background. “But three months ago, all this food ran out too.” Water pipes into Moadamiyah, he said, had also been “blocked” or destroyed by the regime, leaving residents to rely on a single unreliable source of hydration. “Within the past month, we lost over 11 women and children from malnutrition. There are about 100 more suffering from malnutrition.” Images and videos of starving children in the Damascus region, collected, verified, and mapped by my colleague James Miller, show a proliferation of tiny and emaciated corpses, starting in August and continuing to today.

And it gets worse from there.

You can't make this stuff up.

A Fatah delegation met yesterday with Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organizations and a Coptic leader.

After the meeting Gabriel told Egypt's Youm7 that "the Hamas movement committed massacres against the Palestinian people and opponents of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as many human rights violations that rise to war crimes in accordance with the laws and conventions and international treaties."

Then Gabriel added, "Fatah has many documents, photographs and audio recordings to prove Hamas cooperation with the Israeli Shin Bet and the Central Intelligence Agency in America," saying that millions of dollars from Israel are being used to pay Hamas leaders every month in exchange for cooperation in the implementation of Zionist schemes.

Gabriel will hold a press conference next week to discuss this evidence as well as show videos of Hamas massacring people in Gaza. Should be fun.

Meanwhile, in Jordan...

From Ammon News:

Riots erupted in night protest organized by youth pro-reform movement in Hay al-Tafaileh neighborhood in Amman, as police fired heavy tear gas to disperse the crowds and arrested four men.

Rioters set tires on fire, broke glass, launched fireworks at the police, threw explosive bottles, and attacked police cars expressing their anger at the arrest of 10 of pro-reformers in the past few weeks, according to Ammon News reporter.

Several of the detained activists were being tried by the State Security Court, Jordan's special military tribunal, on anti-regime charges.

Jordanian riots haven't quite made it on the radar, especially with what's going on in other Arab countries.

However, all it takes is one symbolic event that grabs people's imaginations, like the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia in 2010, and then all bets are off. If Jordanian police kill a protester, or rumors of torture start to spread, everything could change in an instant.

Funny Israeli Shabbat video

If you aren't a religious Jew you might miss some jokes, but it is still funny. English transcript below.

Narrator: Givat Shmuel, a heavily populated concrete jungle located in the heart of Gush Dan. A National Geographic camera crew is observing a typical pack of the wild “Dati” [Orthodox] tribe. It’s 5 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and the pack is preparing for its weekly gathering. The Sha–bat ceremony. The alpha male howls, apparently in order to signal that the time of the gathering is near.
Father to children: Tell me, are you normal?! Shabbat’s in one hour! Go take showers, you and your spacey brother!
Father to wife: Nechama, do me a favor, boil the water already. Come on!
Narrator: The female, Necha–Ma, defends the family nest by marking her territory [close-up on her sponja mop].
Mother: Nobody enters the hall now, I just washed the floor!
Narrator: It’s 8:30, and the pack gathers for the ceremony. Our crew must remain silent to hear the alpha male’s deep gutteral sounds aimed to prepare the pack for the upcoming meal.
[Father uses hand motions and sounds to request that somebody bring salt to the table for the challah]
Narrator: What’s that noise? Near the dati tribe lives a pack from a different tribe, the Chilonim [secular Jews]. This pack is also fascinating. Even though it’s a completely different pack, it also celebrates the Sha–bat ceremony.
Father:Shabbat shalom, family.
Daughter: [Making video with her phone] My mommy and daddy at the Shabbat table.
Father: Also film the kiddush cup!
Narrator: It’s 7 in the morning and the secular pack seeks grazing land to expand it’s territory. This is a demanding process requiring the pack’s approval.
[Mother suggests distant destinations around Israel for a family hike]
Mother: So, Chatzbani?
Children: Boring!
Mother: Yehudiya?
Children: Boring!
Mother: Ramon Crater?
Children: Boring!
Mother: OK, Nachal Amud?
Children: Boring!
Father: Honey, why don’t we just get out a movie?
Narrator: Much like the dati tribe, the female of the chiloni tribe clearly has the final say [mother leads family out to go to the hike]
Narrator: Suddenly, an astonishing thing happens. The Dati pack encounters the Chiloni pack. Each pack is fascinated by the other, and approaches it with its own dialect.
Religious mother: Shabbat Shalom. What do you say? Maybe we could sit together to eat one Shabbat in the evening.
Secular mother: You mean a meal on Saturday night?
Religious father: No, Erev Shabbat, on Friday at night.
Secular father: You mean a Friday-night dinner?
Religious mother and father: No, a Shabbat meal.
Religious father: Never mind…why don’t you come now?
Secular mother: With pleasure!
Religious father: Great! We live on the 13th floor.
Religious mother: Moti! The Shabbat elevator!
Religious father: The elevator! Run! Run! Come!
Narrator: These tribes share the same origin. And there’s more to bring them together than to set them apart.
Secular mother: What’s a Shabbat elevator?
[Both families crowd into small elevator]
Religious father: Only seven more flights to go!
Narrator: Our head researcher, Abba Kookoo, finds that they can even spend the Shabbat ceremony together.
[Around Shabbat table, religious father indicates for somebody to bring the salt for the Challah. Secular son starts drinking from the handwashing cup]
Secular mother: Yoni! What are you doing?! You don’t drink from that!
Religious father: It’s forbidden to talk right now…[they all start talking with hand motions and sounds]
Narrator: Nature is unpredictable and so are the animals trying to survive in it. It seems however that with tolerance and good will, the delicate balance of the circle of life is preserved.

This video is an advertisement for “Israeli shabbat”(October 25th) when religious families around Israel invite secular families to join them for a Shabbat meal.

(h/t Yerushalimey)

10/17 Links Pt2: Fearing anti-Semitism 22% of EU Jews hide identity, The Palestinian Grievance Industry

From Ian:

Fearful of anti-Semitism, 22% of European Jews hide identity

Almost a quarter of respondents in a major survey of Jews from nine European countries said they avoid visiting places and wearing symbols that identify them as Jews for fear of anti-Semitism.
Fear of wearing a kippah and other identifiably Jewish items was especially strong in Sweden, where 49 percent of 800 respondents said they refrained from such actions, in a survey conducted this year among more than 5,100 Jews by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.
In France, 40 percent of approximately 1,200 Jews said they avoided wearing such items in public, followed by Belgium with 36 percent, according to preliminary results from the survey, obtained by JTA.
In total, 22 percent of respondents said they avoided “Jewish events or sites” because of safety concerns.

Rising Tide of Hate for European Jews

If Jews don’t think it is worth it to report even physical assaults, it can only mean one thing: that they believe such behavior is no longer considered beyond the pale or even frowned upon by mainstream European opinion. Given the drumbeat of incitement against Israel, which serves as a thinly veiled excuse for traditional anti-Jewish attitudes, throughout Europe, it is little surprise to see that this is being reflected in such incidents.
After a period during which Jewish life revived there in the aftermath of the Holocaust, it is obvious that much of the continent is in the process of reverting to its pre-World War Two attitudes. At the very least, surveys like this call into question the future of Jews in Europe. At worst, it portends worse to come. But either way, the lack of security for Jews in supposedly enlightened Europe makes the defense of Israel all the more important.

The Palestinian Grievance Industry

History will record that the Palestinian Cause was the single most destructive political issue in Arab history. Instead of focusing on building Arab societies by pressuring 21 Arab rulers, tens of millions of Arabs funneled their attention to a lost Cause the Palestinian themselves have turned into an ATM machine. The Arab Spring, sparked by economic deprivation, killed the Palestinian Cause and it is about time. Who would believe Israel is the enemy after watching the Assad resistance gassing Syrian children and women? The message is if you do not resist, we will kill you. Assad did a great favor for Israel here.(h/t Norman F)

New Amazon shame: Holocaust denial

...even more shocking still is the revelation today, following a third Kernel investigation, that Amazon, along with its rival bookstore, Barnes & Noble, are selling vile works of Holocaust denial, even in countries where Holocaust denial is against the law, such as France, Germany and Austria.
To reduce the company’s exposure to tax, Amazon’s European headquarters are in Liechtenstein, where it is also illegal to deny genocide according to section 283 of that country’s criminal code.

Jihad and terror: listen to what they're telling you

A recent Arabic article appearing in Egypt’s Al Ahram newspaper titled “Is Terrorism Jihad?” written by Islamic law expert Dr. Abdul Fatah Idris offers important lessons -- from the fact that jihad does involve subjugating non-Muslims to why the Western mentality is still incapable of acknowledging it.
Idris, professor and chairman of Al Azhar University’s Department of Comparative Jurisprudence at the Faculty of Sharia Law, is a well-reputed legal scholar. He begins his article by defining terrorism and quoting several international bodies that, in his words,

Ban Ki-Moon: Anti-Semitism Has No Place in the 21st Century

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the U.N. shares common goals with American Jewry in pursuit of “peace and human dignity for all” at the 50th anniversary tribute gala of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Tuesday in New York.
Ban praised American Jews for their efforts in fighting injustice and extremism.

Here’s How the IDF Blows up a Terrorists’ Tunnel (Video)

The latest tunnel that was discovered will be blown up because it was obviously a clear and present danger to Israelis, but no one the Defense Ministry has ever explained why there are no orders to the IDF to blow up all of the other tunnels that are known to exist. If the IDF were to be too aggressive, it might upset the United Nations. Gen. Edelstein tried to reassure Gaza Belt Jews by saying that the military considered the construction of the tunnel an “extreme violation” of the ceasefire following the Pillar of defense counter terrorist operation last year.

Ein Hashlosha: 'Calm Despite Discovery of Terror Tunnel'

Danni Cohen, Head of the Emergency Response team at the kibbutz told Arutz Sheva that kibbutz residents were calm after the discovery of the 2.5 kilometer tunnel.
"We weren't surprised by the discovery of the tunnel. Unfortunately, we have lived with a security problem for many years now because of the kassams and mortars, we know the Palestinian Arabs are constantly trying to dig tunnels." Cohen said.

The duplicity of the British Methodist Church

Instead of coming out publicly and saying that Israel shouldn’t exist, as they do theologically behind closed doors, they try to wrap themselves with a cloak of public opinion support for their consumer questionnaire.
They think they are being clever by implementing such tactics, but they are not talking about rights, they are talking about destroying Israel. Their claim to be agnostic about Israel is a lie, told because they know their support would dwindle if they were to openly say that according to their religious beliefs, Israel has no right to exist.

England’s Cooperative Wholesale Society and the Israel Boycott

Some Coop members have decided to fight back, which is exactly what happened at the North London meeting held on October 12. There were various placatory statements from the committee, but no intention has been displayed by the Cooperative movers and shakers to reverse the boycott policy. Again, the boycotters denied they are operating a boycott, and even claimed that they continue to trade with Israel in other fields.
Meanwhile, the Coop’s trading figures go from bad to worse. Perhaps a curse (or some other Higher Power) has overtaken the Coop. Only the funeral service has done well, and the Cooperative Bank is about to go bust. In fact, to its utter shame, the Bank will not be honoring its full debt to its bond-holders and has been forced – against every tenet of the Cooperative Movement – to offer shares in the Bank on the Stock Exchange!
Is this bad luck, mismanagement –– or divine intervention?

SS officer’s son: Bury my father in Israel

The son of a former SS officer provoked a storm of outrage by suggesting his father be buried in Israel, after a number of countries refused to inter the Nazi’s remains.
“Where should my father be buried?” asked Jorge Priebke, whose father, Erich, died last week at the age of 100 after serving a life term for a 1944 massacre near Rome. “For me, even in Israel. That way they’d be happy,”

Muslims launch massive legal assault on free speech in France

The weekly satirical magazine is accused of "provocation to discrimination, hated or violence with regard to a person or a group of persons because of their origin or their belonging or not belonging to an ethnicity, a nation, a race or a given religion". In July 2013, Charlie Hebdo published on its front page a drawing supposed to represent a Muslim declaring: "The Koran, it's crap, it doesn't stop bullets."

DNA testing on your smartphone just a download away

Genetic sequencing is no longer for the uber-wealthy and uber-patient: If a decade ago it cost $3 billion and took 8 years to sequence the human genome, that option is available to anyone today who has $3,500 to spend and is willing to wait the 24 hours it takes to do the job. Pretty soon, experts say, the cost for sequencing is going to come down to about $1,000.
So what can you do with your genomic DNA sequence? Soon you will be able to whip out your smartphone and analyze it, using an app developed by researchers at Tel Aviv University.
Their app (and website) GeneG makes genetic analysis as simple as sending a text message or making a phone call.

Chinese Family Seeks Owner of Books Hidden During Holocaust

A Chinese family is seeking a former Jewish refugee in Shanghai to return 2,000 of his books they kept safe for 70 years, media reports said Thursday.
Shanghai was home to tens of thousands of Jewish refugees who fled Nazi persecution in Europe from the 1930s.
One of them, a Jewish schoolteacher, left books with Lin Daozhi for safekeeping when he left China in 1943, the China Daily newspaper reported.

Government Approves New Aliyah for Indian 'Lost Jews'

The cabinet has voted to allow nearly 900 “lost Jews” from India to make aliyah (immigrate) to Israel over the upcoming months.
The new immigrants-to-be are members of the Bnei Menashe, a group of Indian citizens who trace their roots to the Jewish tribe of Menashe (Manasseh) – one of the ten “lost tribes” exiled by the Assyrian regime over 2,700 years ago.

Report: ‘Troubling Reactions’ From Jewish, Christian Audiences to Test Screenings for Hollywood’s Take on Noah’s Ark

Hollywood is finally taking on the full tale of Noah’s ark, but the film, directed by Darren Aronofsky, has not been received kindly in early previews, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
THR said ”test screenings for key groups that might take a strong interest in the subject matter: in New York (for a largely Jewish audience), in Arizona (Christians)…have generated troubling reactions.”

Facebook VP on Onavo Buy: ‘Amazed’ by Talent in Israel

Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook’s vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said the social media company was “amazed” by the talent resources in Israel, which is why it acquired Israel’s Onavo on Monday for some $150 million and announced plans to build its first overseas research and development center in Tel Aviv.

Open thread time

Super busy at work, and no time for my usual new post at this time, especially since the last one took me a bit of time to write.

So here's a place where all you commenters can go at it.

By the way, an August blog post of mine was published in three Southwest Florida Jewish Federation papers. For example, see page 22 here.

If you need some more recent news, read about the foiled tractor terror attack today.

EU project lists indicate Israel is less liberal than any Arab country

The EU publishes a list of projects that it is implementing or funding in many countries.

Based on its priorities, it looks like the EU thinks that Israel really has major problems in conflict prevention, democracy, governance and human rights - compared to its Arab neighbors.

Here is a chart showing the number of projects the EU is funding, by their categories, in four Middle East nations:

	Israel	Egypt	Jordan	Yemen
Conflict Prevention	17	0	0	2
The environment /natural resources	1	0	0	1
Governance, democracy, human rights and support for economic and institutional reforms	38	6	2	5
Human development	7	3	2	1
Multi-sectors	2	2	26	21
Rural development, territorial planning, agriculture and food security	2	2	0	4
Social cohesion and employment	5	2	1	2
Infrastructure, communications and transport	0	2	0	2
Trade and regional integration	0	1	0	1
Water and energy	0	5	0	0

These webpages are truly mind-blowing. While the EU spends, for example, €149,914 to teach highly educated Russian immigrants in Israel to be more supportive of the "peace process," it does not spend a dime on specifically teaching Egyptian Muslims that Copts are human beings. (To be fair, there is a €17,000,000 program in Egypt simply called "Promotion and protection of human rights" which gives no details as to what exactly it does. Maybe it mentions Copts. Who knows?)

€247,668 goes to an Israeli NGO to promote women's rights " in accordance with international commitments made by the state of Israel." Jordan gets €200,000 for its women's rights program, Yemen gets €33,498 and Egypt - where essentially every woman is sexually harassed - gets nothing.

There is an EU project in Israel, costing €130,625 to promote freedom of expression. Because that is a major problem in Israel, apparently. There are no similar projects in the three Arab countries I looked at. In fact, not one of their projects included the word "freedom."

Another EU project in Israel is to support anti-racism education. The other countries? Nada. Racism among Arabs? Not a problem to the EU.

The list of EU projects in Israel goes on and on...two programs protecting rights for asylum seekers, four separate programs against alleged Israeli torture, and every single left wing NGO you can think of (Machsom Watch, Breaking the Silence, B'Tselem, Yesh Din, Gisha, Rabbis for Human Rights...) is getting hundreds of thousands of euros.

Arab anti-Israel organizations get funded through the EU-Israel program as well, such as Shabab "to mainstream human rights to face racist trends in Israel."

Very little can be found to help poverty-stricken Jews in Israel, however.

Nothing is being spent in Egypt or Jordan about strengthening their peace treaties with Israel. Nothing that promotes normalization (with one tiny exception.) Nothing addressing Arab anti-semitism. Nothing about incitement in Arab media. These aren't problems, you see.

The EU is making clear that it believes that Israel is the Middle East country that needs its wisdom and influence the most. It is even clearer, based on these projects, that the EU considers Israel and only Israel to be the obstacle to peace in the Middle East, and that Israeli Jews are the most racist and intolerant group in the entire region.

I wonder if anyone audits these funds at all. What are the success criteria? Where is the transparency? Or do the anti-Zionist NGOs have a free annual income from the EU in perpetuity, as long as they put the right code words in their descriptions ("justice," "anti-racism," "rights"....)?

Well, that's not quite true. These NGOs also have to churn out reports that prove Israeli Jews are bigots. The smallest incidents must be magnified and exaggerate and documented in excruciating detail, in order to ensure that the EU money spigot flows forever.

(h/t Irene)

10/17 Links Pt1: Turkey blocking Israel-NATO cooperation, Who Let Iran Get So Close to a Nuke?

From Ian:

Palestinian Corruption -- Again

If the Palestinian movement believes it lives outside the laws of politics, nature and economics, it may be right.
The PA and Hamas occupy a split territory with two feuding governments -- both dictatorships with all the arbitrariness and lack of accountability implied by that; multiple armed services that fight each other and, occasionally, kill Israelis; a school system that teaches children that the IDF ate Mickey Mouse and Jews have no history in the land of the Bible; a civic culture that venerates suicide bombers and the mothers who seem to revel in their children's bloody demise; and an economy that produces nothing of export value. Yet it operates on the principle that it will be bailed out by European and American political support and international largesse. And that Israel will be blamed for the Palestinian failure to thrive.
Two stories this week, however, may challenge endlessly naïve European and American fealty to the Palestinian narrative.

Al-Qaida, Muslim Brotherhood hold secret meeting in Jordan

The meeting focused on the conflict in Egypt and Syria and an altercation broke out between a Brotherhood member and jihadist leader Mohammad al-Miqdad, and the latter asked the Brotherhood not to publicly denounce the actions of the jihadists.
The jihadists discussed their plans to start moving Syrian and Iraqi jihadists into Egypt in order to carry out terror operations there after the Eid al-Adha festival, which falls on Tuesday.

Experts Warn of Al Qaeda Biological Weapons Threat

Experts from the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) have issued a stark warning over what they say is the "clear and present danger" of Al Qaeda gaining possession of the Assad regime's stockpile of biological weapons, claiming to have substantial evidence that Al Qaeda-linked groups may already have possession of toxic agents.
Unlike chemical weapons, which utilize chemical agents to poison victims, biological weapons make use of diseases, toxins and other contagious agents. Biological weapons have the potential to kill far greater numbers, and are also far harder to detect or protect against.

Visualizing anti-Zionism: Site used by Guardian data blog calls Haifa “Palestinian”

Yesterday, we posted about an extraordinarily misleading Guardian data blog entry on the Palestinian economy – a piece by Mona Chalabi titled ‘How does Palestine’s economy work?‘, Oct. 14 – which assigned blame for Palestinian economic woes almost entirely on Israel, and never once so much as mentioned the injurious economic impact of Palestinian terrorism.
Many of the claims made by Chalabi were quite specious, including her reference to a report which purported to quantify the number of olive trees “uprooted by Israeli authorities since 1967″. To illustrate the number of olive trees allegedly destroyed by “Israeli Authorities” – which Palestinians have evidently methodically been counting over the past 46 years – she referred readers to a site called ‘Visualizing Palestine‘.

Following CiF Watch post, Guardian amends ‘terrorist sperm’ story

We demonstrated, per Israeli court records, that Za’anin not only belonged to a terror organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but volunteered for their military wing (Al-Quds Brigades), and was convicted after pleading guilty to four counts of being an accessory to attempted murder, a plea bargain in which he admitted his active participation in several terror attacks.
Today, we noticed that the article was amended (on October 15) to include details of Za’anin’s criminal record.

CNN’s Holocaust-revisionism: It isn’t “piffle.”

NPR knows it. NBC knows it. Even Iran’s Fars News Agency knows it.
CNN seriously mistranslated its interview with new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, and it’s turning into a scandal that won’t go away.

Brighton University lecturer calls for abolition of Sussex University’s Israel Studies course.

Tom Hickey, a Brighton University lecturer, speaking at the start of Sussex University’s Palestine Awareness Week on Monday night called for the abolition of Sussex University’s newly established Yossi Harel Chair in Modern Israel Studies until questions relating to its “external sources of funding” and the process that established it are “satisfactorily answered.”
He also attacked already established Israel Studies courses at SOAS, Leeds University, Manchester University and Oxford University.
Hickey is a senior member of University and College Union’s National Executive Committee and a member of BRICUP (British Committee for the Universities of Palestine).

World Bank Report on Palestinian Economy Full of Holes

Yet a close look at the report reveals that it makes numerous assumptions about Palestinian aspirations and behavior patterns, establishes a series of questionable multipliers, and downplays the significance of complex political factors and security realities, according to Steven Plaut, Professor of Economics at the University of Haifa.
“I think the World Bank doesn’t fully understand the Israeli economy or the Palestinian economy. What’s worse, they have a political agenda. They produce findings to match their political agenda,” Plaut told JNS.org.
“I think they are making it up as it goes along,” he said.

Is Hamas to mend ties with Assad?

Hamas' Deputy Politburo Chief Moussa Abu Marzouk interviewed for Assad affiliated channel Al Mayadeen on Monday, saying Khaled Mashal was wrong in raising the flag of Syrian opposition, and that Hamas had no official ties with any rebel organizations.
Last June a dramatically important meeting was held in Lebanon concerning the shaken relationship between Hamas and some of the Arab and Muslim world. Group senior Moussa Abu Marzouk conferred there with officials from Iran and from Hezbollah to work out differences that have occurred between Hamas and then in the past two years over the Syrian civil war.

Hamas TV Airs Cartoon Lauding its Military Wing, Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades

US says nuclear talks more substantive than ever; Israel mum

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the talks contained a “level of seriousness and substance that we have not seen before.”
While cautioning not to expect a prompt breakthrough, Carney said the US “found the Iranian presentation very useful.”
The sides released a statement at the end of two days of talks calling the meetings “substantive and forward looking.”

Who Let Iran Get So Close to a Nuke?

So far, we have little indication as to whether the U.S. is willing to accept the sort of “bad deal” that Secretary of State John Kerry, let alone Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, has warned against. But there is one thing that we know. The reason why the negotiations are so critical is that over the past several years Iran has made so much progress toward the completion of a bomb that there isn’t time for a long drawn out diplomatic process. As the New York Times reports:

On Monday, a senior American official said that the United States wanted Iran to take steps that were “transparent and verifiable” to constrain its program and to assure the West that it was not intending to produce a nuclear bomb.
Iran’s nuclear efforts had advanced so much, the American official added, that Iran needed to take stops now to halt or even reverse its nuclear program so there was time to negotiate a comprehensive agreement.

John Bolton: With Iran, We Can’t Verify or Trust

Tuesday’s opening of yet another round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear-weapons program creates enormous risks for America’s anti-proliferation efforts. Tehran’s extensive propaganda campaign, stressing the “moderation” of its new president, Hassan Rouhani, seems to be working, softening up the gullible in the United States and Europe.
As in previous iterations of the charade now reopening in Geneva, Iran’s bargaining position benefits from our own repeated mistakes. The ayatollahs need only take advantage of these unforced errors, and success may well fall into their undeserving hands. Consider the most blatant errors that Iran is eager to exploit.

Russia: Lift Iran sanctions in exchange for int’l control of nuke program

Speaking in Geneva, after the wrap of a 2-day meeting between the P5+1 and Iran, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov alleged that sanctions “undermine” attempts to solve the diplomatic crisis, reported Russia Today.
“The beacon, the main arrangement that we follow is the proposal by [President] Vladimir Putin that the recognition of Iran’s right to [uranium] enrichment as part of its inseparable rights under the Non-proliferation Treaty should be accompanied by the introduction of full comprehensive international control over the Iranian nuclear program,” Ryabkov told reporters.

Taliban Assassinate Afghan Governor With Exploding Koran…

When someone in America mishandles a Koran the Islamic world riots for days.
Via Khaama Press:
"Afghan intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Wednesday announced that militants had placed explosives inside the Holy Quran, which left Logar provincial governor Arsala Jamal dead."

Turkey and Israel: A ‘what next?’ mindset

As PM Netanyahu pointed out immediately after he initiated the US-brokered rapprochement, the most critical strategic priority would be Syria’s prolonged civil war. Within this context, Turkey and Israel have to get ready to secure the Baathist tyranny’s chemical and allegedly biological weapons arsenal along with other strategic weapons systems in case of an uncontrolled regime collapse. Furthermore, we also need to carefully watch for any mass transfer of game-changing weapon systems in asymmetric conflicts, such as man portable air defense systems (MANPADS), and antitank guided missiles (ATGM) into the hands of non-state groups that might target Turkey or Israel. In a moment of irrational shock, Assad or members of the elite surrounding him might attempt to ignite a regional war by provoking Turkish or Israeli administrations. In this case, the two nations need to be prepared to act in coordination, to nip the threat in the bud.

Erdogan’s Turkey: Less nationalism, more Islam

An op-ed published in the New York Times last week by Turkish researcher Halil M. Karaveli, claimed that far from helping Turkey’s minority, Erdogan was increasingly playing with sectarian fire.
“Erdogan is turning Turkey into a powder keg in an attempt to shore up his own political base,” Karaveli wrote. “He is intentionally activating the longstanding fault lines separating religious and secular Turks — and most dangerously the divide between the country’s Sunni majority and its Alevi minority. If he continues to do so, Turkish democracy itself could become a casualty of his confrontational policies.”

Greek ambassador: Despite apology, Turkey blocking Israel-NATO cooperation

Lampridis said he was surprised by the continued Turkish opposition, especially since practical cooperation between Turkey and Israel was taking place on a daily basis, “like where Turkey has an advantage, of course, and Israel is demonstrating goodwill.”
For example, since Turkish goods can no longer be transported overland through Syria to the Persian Gulf, every week hundreds of Turkish trucks arrive via ferry to the Haifa Port where they then proceed across the country to the Jordan border crossings, carrying millions of dollars worth of goods to Jordan and onward to the Gulf.
“If Israel behaved in the same negative way that Turkey was behaving, it could have said ‘no’ to Turkey, told them, ‘This is your problem. I don’t need these trucks blocking my highways.’ But Israel is cooperating, and Turkey is deriving great benefit from this.”

B'Tselem: If Arabs treat Gazans like dirt, blame Israel

B'Tselem has called for Israel to allow Gazans to travel abroad - going through Israel.

The reason? Well, Egypt is treating Gazans like potential terrorists, and is restricting their travel through Rafah. So, naturally, this is Israel's responsibility.

Really.

In early July 2013, with the onset of the events that led to the overthrowing of Muhammad Morsi, Egyptian authorities limited passage through Rafah Crossing, and the number of persons using it dropped radically. From July to September 2013, the crossing was open only intermittently. When open, Egyptian authorities only permitted the passage of limited groups, such as foreign nationals, the gravely ill, and students (the latter excepting those studying in Egypt, most of whom were allowed through only at the end of September). To date, people who had planned to travel abroad for meetings, family-related matters, professional courses or vacations, have been unable to do so.

...Data published by the World Health Organization indicate that, during the same period, Israel doubled the number of patients allowed to pass through Erez Crossing for medical treatment in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and in Israel. The objective was to grant access to medical treatment to patients who were to have been treated in Egypt. For example, in August, requests for passage through the Erez Crossing were submitted for 1,023 patients; 932 were granted permission. In contrast, only 585 such requests were made in August 2012, of which 543 were approved.

However many other Gazans scheduled to travel abroad for other purposes have been left with no recourse. Students studying outside of Gaza have had great difficulty getting through Rafah Crossing over the last three months.

...The closure of Rafah Crossing has had financial repercussions for merchants in the Gaza Strip. At present, only a limited number of merchants are permitted into Israel and the West Bank via the Erez Crossing, whereas many merchants had been traveling abroad through Rafah Crossing to buy goods for sale in Gaza. However, since July the Egyptians have not been permitting merchants through Rafah Crossing.

...At present, people who must travel abroad for professional seminars and work-related meetings are not allowed through Rafah Crossing.

...even when Rafah Crossing is functioning regularly, going through it is subject to arbitrary restrictions imposed by the Egyptian authorities, and travel abroad requires a long, dangerous journey through the Sinai desert. Therefore, the passage into Egypt cannot be considered an absolute solution for travel for Gaza residents to other countries.

Israel’s policy prevents Gazans from fulfilling their right to freedom of movement. Even now, eight years after Israel completed its Disengagement Plan from the Gaza Strip, the extent of its control over access to Gaza means Israel is responsible for enabling residents to fulfill their right to freedom of movement and its attendant rights, including the right to earn a living, the right to an education and the right to sustain family ties.

You see? If Egypt restricts Gazans from travel, Israel must compromise its security to allow foreign Arabs to go through its territory!

Egyptian sovereignty and its right to police its borders is sacrosanct. Israeli sovereignty, however, is nonexistent to B'Tselem. Perhaps Israel should be a superhighway for Gazans to travel to Jordan, Syria, maybe even Iran if they so choose.

When Hamas stops Gazans from traveling, as it has done, maybe B'Tselem would insist that IDF helicopters grab the poor people whose freedom of movement is being restricted and take them out. If Israel is responsible for Egypt's border policies, then obviously it is responsible for Hamas' travel restrictions as well.

Obviously, Arabs cannot be held responsible for anything. I guess B'Tselem thinks of them as somehow less than human.

Do you think for a second that B'Tselem is in contact with Egyptian NGOs on opening Rafah for Gazans?

They cannot even find a negative word to say about Egypt's siege of Gaza - it is just a fact of life. Arabs screw Arabs all the time, no big deal. Israel is the one who must fix intra-Arab problems now.