Monday, December 23, 2013
Elder of Ziyon
Monday, December 23, 2013Elder of ZiyonAfter a decade of unrest, Bethlehem has seen a surge in visits to Christ's traditional birthplace, raising hopes of a tourism bonanza in the West Bank town despite Israel's separation barrier.Does anyone notice a complete disconnect between the first paragraph and the other ones quoted here?
The Palestinian territories' top tourist destination is a victim of the barrier which cuts off the town from nearby Jerusalem, just 10 kilometres (six miles) away.
Israel began work on its sprawling barrier -- dubbed the "apartheid wall" by Palestinians -- in 2002 at the height of the second intifada, or uprising.
It defends the construction as a crucial protective measure, pointing to a drop in attacks inside Israel as proof of its success.
Palestinian tourism minister Rola Maayah sees the barrier as a key obstacle to encouraging visitors to the town.
"Bethlehem, one of our main tourist attractions is circled by 27 settlements. As a result, we are surrounded by high walls, fences and menacing checkpoints which put tourists off," Maayah said.
"We could develop tourism, attract people from all over the world, but it's not possible because of the Israeli occupation," she added.
Between 2011 and 2012, more than two million people visited the town. The record crowds brought much-needed revenues after a tough decade for tourism during the second intifada.So tourism to Bethlehem has reached record numbers - but the key parts of the article are about how Bethlehem cannot attract tourists.
"There was a significant jump in tourism in Palestine in 2012 with an 18 percent rise in the number of visitors," Maayah said. A little over half of these were foreigners.
Tourist visits are up this year, to about 1.6 million visitors, Palestinians officials say. Most visitors come by charter bus, however, and linger just long enough to peer into the grotto at the Church of the Nativity where Jesus is said to have been born. Few stop to buy a string of rosary beads, or enjoy a plate of hummus. Almost all spend the night at hotels inside Israel, which competes with Bethlehem for tourism dollars.Yesterday COGAT spokesperson Guy Inbar told me that Bethlehem hotels are booked solid this week - you cannot find a room in Bethlehem if you tried.
“We don’t benefit from the buying power of these tourists,” said Fayrouz Khoury, deputy director of the Chamber of Commerce.
Monday, December 23, 2013Elder of ZiyonUS Secretary of state John Kerry will present Palestinian and Israeli leaders with a framework peace agreement by the end of the month, an Arab League official said.Why is the Arab League is seemingly aware of this event but there is nothing from the Israeli side? Could it be that only one side understands what the word "secret" means?
Mohammad Sbeih, secretary-general of Palestinian affairs at the Arab League, told Ma'an that Kerry would present a proposed peace agreement by Dec. 31.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas informed the Arab League about the upcoming proposal, saying it would contain US suggestions regarding the borders of the future Palestinian state, Sbeih said.
- Abbas would accept a Palestinian state with the entirety of East Jerusalem as its capital, with limited land swaps as long as the lands being traded were of equal value.Abbas is great at rejection, as we know. But could he accept any agreement?
- He would accept an incremental withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian land, allowing them up to three years to leave.
- He would reject the idea of any permanent Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley, but would welcome an international peacekeeping presence.
- He would refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
- He would reject any interim agreement, calling instead for a final solution.
- He would reject any proposal that required Palestine to be an unarmed state, but said he would not get involved in an "arms race."
Abbas told the League that "once he receives the American proposal he will not respond but will present it to Arab nations to make a joint decision."He doesn't need Arab League approval for his demands, but he requires it before any compromise?
Sunday, December 22, 2013Elder of Ziyon
flood libelUN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has issued a report detailing the winter storm's impacts on the occupied Palestinian territories during the past few days.I debunked the dam story a week ago, but I was surprised that OCHA would have reported it. They are usually more subtle in their lies.
The report pointed to the deliberate opening of Israeli dams toward Gaza borders which led to the flooding of several houses and large agricultural areas, deepening the economic losses and crises in the besieged Strip.
"Heavy flooding across the Gaza Strip resulted in the displacement of approximately 6,000 people to temporary shelters and relatives’ homes at the height of the storm. Most of the displaced families have left schools and community centers; however, approximately, 1,000 were still taking shelter in three schools as of 15 December," OCHA’s report said, pointing out that the situation in most flooded areas has improved except for Gaza city.
Sunday, December 22, 2013Elder of Ziyon
Saeb Erekat, member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, said "At the request of President Abbas, the Council of Arab foreign ministers decided to assign permanent representatives of the Arab countries in the United Nations to work for the formation of an international investigation committee the martyrdom of President Yasser Arafat."
Sunday, December 22, 2013Elder of ZiyonBDSFail
Kamin also references The Pixies’ cancelled performance in Tel Aviv, again citing intimidation as the reason. However, she fails to mention that their cancellation happened in June, 2010—just days after Israel’s horrendously violent response to the peaceful Gaza Flotilla. At that time, The Pixies cancelled their performance, stating that, “events beyond our control have conspired against us.” Nor does she recognize the Israeli fans that support the BDS movement, writing to The Pixies urging them ‘not to cross the international picket line’. Kamin’s omission of these key facts does not give her readers the full picture of events contributing to The Pixies’ cancelation and calls into question her journalistic objectivity.Now we have a much better idea of whether the Pixies canceled because they support BDS - or because of the pressure given to them by the haters:
Iconic rock bands Soundgarden and Pixies will perform in Israel for the first time in their careers this summer.The Pixies and Soundgarden is a pretty impressive double act.
The Pixies were supposed to perform in Israel in 2010, but were forced to cancel in the political fallout from the Mavi Marmara raid, in which nine Turkish nationals were killed when the IDF boarded a flotilla heading from Turkey to Gaza.
The Pixies were apologetic but resolute when they called off their 2010 Tel Aviv concert.
At the time, the concert's producers received the following message from the band's management: "The decision (to cancel) was not reached easily, and we all know well the Israeli fans have been waiting for this visit for far too long.
"We'd like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond all our control have conspired against us. We can only hope for better days, in which we will finally present the long awaited visit of the Pixies in Israel."
In seeking to make Israel a pariah, the ASA anti-Israel boycotters have made themselves pariahs in American civil society and severely damaged the reputation of the ASA.Native Canadian Stands Up For Israel (Again) (VIDEO)
The pressure apparently is getting to those at the ASA who were behind the boycott resolution. The ASA Activism Caucus has issued a statement claiming that its members are the subject of harassment and threats.
More important, the ASA Activism Caucus has threatened legal action against critics in academia and university administrators:
We will try to address any academics and administrators who participate in undemocratic, unethical, and illegal behavior, and if necessary we will take legal action with the support of our legal team.The statement is curious because it is not issued in the name of ASA, but in the name of the ASA Activism Caucus, as if the ASA Activism Caucus considered itself able to take legal and other actions in the name of the entire organization. That tells you something right there.
Native Canadian Ryan Bellerose condemns NAISA’s call for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.Pro-Israel campaigning causes anti-Semitism, claims loony Left student
The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) is a decent organisation which helps to ensure the rights of Jewish students to freely express their cultural and religious identity on campuses across the United Kingdom.Arab League rejects Kerry security plan for West Bank
Perhaps illustrating the intimidating environment faced by Jewish students, this year’s conference featured a most bizarre motion which in many ways contradicted the UJS’ mandate.
Saul Gaunt, President of the Brighton and Sussex Jewish Society, was met with ridicule at his insistence that “having JSocs in charge of Israel campaigns creates anti-Semitism.”
The Arab League on Saturday rejected a security plan put forth by US Secretary of State John Kerry which would have allowed a limited presence of IDF troops within the borders of a future Palestinian state under a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.PA: Strip Judea, Samaria Residents of Their Israeli Citizenship
At an emergency meeting on Saturday, called by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the league’s secretary-general, Nabil al-Araby said that not one Israeli soldier could remain in the West Bank.
The alternative, according to the PLO official, is not through fighting - but through PA citizens garnering international support. Shtayyeh threatened Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria that they would be stripped of their Israeli citizenship and pursued by the governments of the US, Britain, Russia, and the European Union, claiming that they were violating PA territory after the UN allegedly legitimized the body last year.Report: Kerry Seeks Deal Within a Month
PA officials have claimed since 2012 that the UN granting the PA non-member status has effectively made them a full-fledged country according to international law.
The remarks also confirm similar statements by Abbas, who has openly declared that a future Palestinian state will have no Jewish presence, military or civilian.
Despite ongoing disagreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over significant issues, the United States plans to keep Israel-PA talks moving rapidly forward, and even hopes for a basic deal to be hammered out within the month, Reshet Bet reports.Former IDF general: Israel must control Jordan Valley
The report was based on a report in the London-based Arabic paper A-Sharq Al-Awsat, which spoke to senior Arab League officials at the Arab League meeting in Cairo.
According to Maj. Gen. (res.) Avi Mizrahi, Israeli forces in the Jordan Valley would have two missions: to prevent a missile threat from the West Bank akin to the threat from Gaza, and to prevent the transfer across the Jordanian-West Bank border of explosives, people and equipment used in terror attacks.What American Generals Knew About Peace
“In order to do that you need to control the border and the border crossing-points,” he said. “To make that happen, you need to be there.”
Mizrahi rejected the possibility that these goals could be achieved by a third-party force.
The minimum territory recommended for Israeli security included all of Judea and the western half of Samaria. The “non-annexed zone” was confined to eastern Samaria, running from the northern tip of the Dead Sea to Israel’s pre-1967 border. And, as Langfan notes, that recommendation preceded the introduction of shoulder-fired anti-air missiles, chemical weapons, and laser guidance and radar detection that might be available to the next generation of Arab attackers.Bogus Bus Boycott
To be sure, the Joint Chiefs’ report preceded the Oslo Accords, the illusion designed to bring peace now between Israelis and Palestinians that Secretary Kerry works so tirelessly to create. Twenty years later, however, it seems that American military experts may have known something that still eludes their Israeli counterparts.
Even though the sale of the Israeli transportation company was part of the company's global strategy, supporters of BDS hailed it as a "one of the most significant, tangible victories" of the BDS movement.MPAC Peddles Debunked Gaza Dam Story
Clearly, Veoila which for months has not owned a company running bus routes in Israel did not "just announce" that they will no longer operate busses on route 443. Nor did it do so, before the sale. Presspectiva, CAMERA's Hebrew site, contacted Veoila which emphatically denied the claims in the Ha'aretz report. The company's spokesman told Presspectiva: "The public transportation company Connex was sold in its entirety to Afikim. This was solely a business decision. Before the sale no bus line on Route 443 was cancelled."
MPAC posted the article Friday and also sent it on the group's email list.Officials demand Pollard release in light of US spying
The problem is that the dam doesn't seem to exist, and the story, originally pushed by Hamas, was debunked days ago by the Times of Israel.
A spokesman for Israel's Water Authority told the newspaper that the story is "baseless and false" and that Israel has no dams in that area. The flooding is real, but caused by overflowing reservoirs after 10 inches of rain fell in a three-day period. That's 60 percent of the normal annual rainfall in the area.
“Now the secret is out: the United States spies systematically on the Israeli political and defense leadership,” said Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud).‘US spied on Barak’s home from apartment across the street’
“This is how friends behave?” asked Katz in a Sunday morning statement. “Pollard was arrested for far less” than the alleged espionage acts revealed in recent days, Katz charged. “I intend to recommend that the government demand an American commitment to end the surveillance and immediately release Pollard,” he said.
The linkage of the espionage revelations to the fate of Pollard crossed ideological and political lines.
The revelations of “the years-long active surveillance the US committed against Israel’s leadership clarify at long last one painful point – that the punishment given to Jonathan Pollard crossed the line of reasonability long ago,” opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog (Labor) said in a statement Sunday.
In 2007, Israeli intelligence noted that the US government had rented an apartment across the street from Barak’s high-rise apartment in Tel Aviv, and observed “sizable amounts of electronic equipment” being delivered to the address, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Sunday. Washington said at the time that the apartment was being used by a member of the US embassy’s security team.Professor Responds with Sarcasm to Left-Wing Boycott
The US Embassy said it was “entirely coincidental” that the apartment in question faced directly into Barak’s home in the Akirov Towers block, Sunday’s report said. “All we did was rent an apartment for a member of the Marines,” the embassy was quoted saying, “who was working as a security guard at the embassy.”
Speaking to Channel 1’s program Roim Olam, Aumann joked : “I’ve prayed and aspired to getting an honorary doctorate from Haifa University for my whole life.”Fiddling While Iran Enriches
“I’m very disappointed,” he added, sarcastically.
“The ‘blow’ to Professor Aumann does not actually exist,” Eldad said. “The only party that could be hurt by this is the university. The idiots sitting there are so dumb that they forgot that universities give honorary degrees in order to honor themselves, not in order to honor the recipient."
According to a graphic in the New York Times – based on ISIS’s research – at the time of the Geneva deal Iran had a stockpile of 196 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium. The terms of the agreement moved the breakout time from less than two months to more than two months. The breakout time is the time it would take Iran to produce enough highly enriched uranium – weapons grade – for a nuclear weapon. (Iran also had less enriched uranium, but that’s not my concern here.)US Senate Condemns Iran's Discrimination Against Bahais
If two months pass before the agreement is implemented and Iran stops enriching to 20%, then Iran will have 226 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium. According to ISIS’s estimates, given the current centrifuges Iran has, a stockpile of 226 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium, could possibly lower the breakout time to less than a month.
The US Senate has urged Iran to free jailed members of the Bahai faith, raising human rights concerns as President Barack Obama pursues diplomacy to curtail Tehran's nuclear program.Iran bans popular social networking service
In a resolution approved unanimously Friday amid a flurry of activity before a holiday break, the Senate called on Iran to free seven Bahai leaders among other detained members of the religion, including 12 educators.
The Thursday report by yjc.ir said a decision by a governmental monitoring body on communications led to the ban of VChat.Erdogan blames 'international groups' for corruption scandal that rocks Turkey
Many users complained on Twitter and in messages that they do not have access to the cell-phone based social networking service.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan denounced "international groups" and "dark alliances" on Saturday for entangling Turkey in a corruption scandal that has exposed deep rifts between him and a US-based Muslim cleric who helped him rise to power.10 Israeli startups you’ll hear more about
Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers and the head of state-owned Halkbank, were formally arrested on Saturday, local media said, in a corruption inquiry that Erdogan has called a "dirty operation" to undermine his rule.
The Turkish leader raised the stakes by accusing unnamed foreign ambassadors of "provocative actions." Some pro-government newspapers had accused the US envoy of encouraging the move against Halkbank - a charge denied by the embassy.
Looking for the next new cool technologies? Look no further than the third graduating class of Tel Aviv’s Microsoft Ventures Accelerator.Top 10 Israeli medical advances to watch in 2014
At the program’s Demo Day, international and local media came to have a peek at the next new cool technologies.
“The accelerator opened the proverbial rolodex of contacts to us. We’re so grateful for it,” says Mandell.
The 10 companies to have concluded the Accelerator’s program are likely to snag headlines in the near future, so in addition to Roojoom, remember these names: Appixia, CellMining, ConferPlace, KitLocate, Navin, MetalCompass, Kytera, Semperis and Vubooo.
In our recent “Top 12 most amazing Israeli medical advances”, we promised a top 10 list of the most exciting Israeli medical-device and pharmaceutical developments just around the corner.Israeli developers partner with African startup entrepreneurs
Like the top 12, this list was also very difficult to narrow down, because Israeli breakthroughs in this field are a near-daily occurrence. Our top 10 is just the tip of the iceberg.
Among the many participants and startup founders who crowded the Google campus in Tel Aviv the week of Nov. 17, two guests stood out in the crowd. The event — a "hackathon" focused on the development of technologies for the Third World — was especially close to their hearts. At the event, groups of developers had to develop and present, within a specified period of time, a software product that directly dealt with the problems of Africa and the developing countries.
However, the two did not attend as competitors but rather as proven developers who had already done it, having set up their own company in Ghana, in the heart of West Africa.
Gregory Rockson and Emmanuel Foucault, his partner, attended the event, which was jointly organized by the global CleanWeb movement, the TerraLabs technology incubator and IsraelDev, to promote mPharma — a unique medical venture designed to bring progress to Africa. “Many seek to change Africa, but Africa is transforming itself. This is the only way it can happen,” Rockson said, who, after being awarded a scholarship from Princeton University, chose to return to his native country with the aim of solving the numerous problems the African continent was coping with.
Sunday, December 22, 2013Elder of Ziyon
Sunday, December 22, 2013Elder of ZiyonThey repeat it over and over again, so it must be at least partly true, right? I mean, that's pretty much thought process that make so many idiots think Israel is an "apartheid" state, right?The Lebanon's Hezbollah Resistance Movement vowed to curb what it called Takfiri-Zionist attacks against the resistance party and the Lebanese Army.
Moussavi
“We assure our people ... that we will continue to respond against these brutal (Takfiri) forces and their ongoing aggression will be destroyed through the pillar of the national strategy,” Lebanese Parliamentarian from Hezbollah Hussein Moussavi said in a Thursday statement, Al-Alam reported.
Moussavi said both Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army are the target of Israeli-backed Takfiri groups.
“The ‘Army, People, Resistance’ (formula) is now the target of Takfiri-Zionists,” he said.
“What happened in recent days, from the assassination of (Hezbollah) commander Hassan Lakkis to suicide bombings on Army checkpoints in Sidon all the way to the bloody bombing in Labweh in the Northern Bekaa, confirm that the Zionists and Takfiri groups are two sides of the same coin,” he added.
Moussavi said Hezbollah deems those attacks an “aggressive decision and an extension of the war imposed on Syria and its environs.”
"This war," he continued "has been approved by the Zionist and Takfiris together."
Saturday, December 21, 2013Elder of ZiyonThe U.S. Department of Treasury today imposed sanctions on two al-Qa'ida supporters based in Qatar and Yemen. Abd al-Rahman bin 'Umayr al-Nu'aymi (Nu'aymi) and `Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad `Abd al-Rahman al-Humayqani (Humayqani) were named as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. Nu'aymi was designated for providing financial support to al-Qa'ida, Asbat al-Ansar, al-Qa'ida in Iraq, and al-Shabaab, and Humayqani was designated for providing financial support to and acting on behalf of al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).But Nu'aymi also had another job - he was the head of a human rights group!
Nu'aymi is a Qatar-based terrorist financier and facilitator who has provided money and material support and conveyed communications to al-Qa'ida and its affiliates in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than a decade. He was considered among the most prominent Qatar-based supporters of Iraqi Sunni extremists..... Both Nu'aymi and Humayqani are at the center of global support networks that fund and facilitate terrorism.
In 2013, Nu'aymi ordered the transfer of nearly $600,000 to al-Qa'ida via al-Qa'ida's representative in Syria, Abu-Khalid al-Suri, and intended to transfer nearly $50,000 more.
Nu'aymi has facilitated significant financial support to al-Qa'ida in Iraq, and served as an interlocutor between al-Qa'ida in Iraq leaders and Qatar-based donors. Nu'aymi reportedly oversaw the transfer of over $2 million per month to al-Qa'ida in Iraq for a period of time. He also served as an interlocutor between these Qatari nationals and al-Qa'ida in Iraq leaders. Between 2003 and 2004, Nu'aymi provided support to the Iraqi insurgency more broadly and served as a conduit for their broadcast materials to media outlets.
Nu'aymi as of mid-2012 provided approximately $250,000 to two U.S.-designated al-Shabaab figures, Mukhtar Robow and Sheikh Hassan Aweys Ali, the latter of whom is also designated by the United Nations (UN). Also in 2012, Nuaymi provided financial support to a charity headed by Yemen-based Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Humayqani, who channeled funding to AQAP.
Most of the world knows Abdul Rahman Omeir al-Naimi as a Qatari history professor and human-rights activist. The Swiss-based organization he founded, known as al-Karama from the Arab word for dignity, has worked closely with the United Nations and American human rights groups, most notably Human Rights Watch.Is anyone surprised? So-called "human rights" organizations do not have any of the transparency or follow any of the methodologies that they demand from others. They are remarkably opaque as to how they write their reports and who they trust for partnering or to give them information.
...Human Rights Watch has joined forces with al-Karama in campaigns to free political prisoners in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
In an interview Thursday, Mourad Dhina, the executive director of al-Karama, said the news about his group’s founder and the head of its board came as a shock. “This is not good news for us,” he said.
.... The signs were there for some observers that al-Naimi may be an extremist, particularly when it comes to women. A 2007 U.S. cable first disclosed by WikiLeaks described him as an “Islamist hardliner” who was “critical of women taking up public leadership positions.” On Thursday, Gulf News reported al-Naimi was arrested in 2009 for opposing co-education at Qatari universities.
The rejection of Israel is not a natural component of leftist dogma. It’s just that for the past decade, the smart money and the rising power on the Left has been with those who oppose Israel’s existence as a strong, independent Jewish state.Dieudonné hacker: 'Jews need to stop turning the other cheek'
While the ASA and its comrades are on the fringes of academia, they are not fringe voices on the Left. The Left has embraced the cause of Israel’s destruction. And its financial power has made it difficult for pro-Israel Democrats to act on their convictions, and those of their voters.
The combination of an exodus of supporters of Israel – Jews and non-Jews alike – from the Left and from the Democratic Party on the one hand, and generous funding for pro-Israel Democratic candidates on the other, can change the equation.
In an exclusive interview, man who hacked controversial French comedian's website explains motivesWill Zionist-trained Mandela now fall out of favour with hypocrite Left?
The website of French comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala was hacked, in what was dubbed by some as Dieudoleaks. The hacker has posted nearly 10,000 names, emails and postal addresses of subscribers to Dieudonné's newsletter, customers of his online store or "quenelleurs" ["quenelle" is an upside-down Nazi salute, coined by Dieudonné, which has become identified with disaffected youth in the French suburbs]. (h/t Elder of Lobby)
The revelation that Nelson Mandela was trained by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in 1962 will no doubt bring rise to cognitive dissonance in the most hard-line, anti-Israel campaigners around the world.Holocaust Denial In Iran: Iranian Website Claims Holocaust Photos Are Forgeries
But spare a moment to think how hard it will be for them to now urge the boycotting of Israel, and hurl words like “apartheid state” around when indeed it was the Zionists that trained the man who ended apartheid: Mandela.
Will Lefties and self-haters now boycott Madiba? Will his face adorn their placards, branded with the words, “traitor” and “ZioNazi?”
Somehow, I think not.
On November 26, 2013, the website Mashregh News, which is close to Iranian security circles, published a post titled "A Taste Of Holocaust Falsity + Photos," while noting that it was originally posted November 19, 2013 on the blog Shonood blog ir, which is written by Iranian journalist and filmmaker Mehran Mozoon, a supporter of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.Rozen: ‘Jewish Senators’ Hold Sway on Iran Debate
The post presents what it alleges are Holocaust photos that are well known in the West, and says that they are doctored, comparing them to what it claims are the original photos. For example, it shows a photo of men placing an emaciated corpse into a crematorium, and compares it to the alleged original, which does not include the corpse, and which it claims was actually taken in the Soviet Union and has no connection to Jews or Nazi Germany.
Rozen, a former reporter for Politico and current reporter for the Middle East news site Al Monitor, got in a Twitter spat Thursday evening with a prominent American Jewish community official after he criticized her for suggesting that the Jewish religious affiliation of some senators influences their policymaking decisions on Iran.US and UK spied on Olmert, Netanyahu and Barak
Rozen was criticized for her remarks by a number of Twitter observers, who said they are reminiscent of the longstanding anti-Semitic trope that Jews have dual loyalties.
This is the second time in recent weeks that Rozen has deleted tweets after coming under fire for controversial comments about American Jews and Israel.
The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel reported Friday that Olmert, as well as then-defense minister Ehud Barak, were among more than 1,000 high-profile targets of surveillance in more than 60 countries; the documents were dated between 2008 and 2011. Israel’s Ynet added that the surveillance extended to email intercepts at Netanyahu’s office when he took over from Olmert as prime minister in March, 2009.Spy-target Netanyahu uses ‘gestures’ and ‘codes’ in sensitive discussions
Netanyahu has no computer in his office, does not use email, and does not maintain a private phone, Channel 2 reported.Oren calls on US Congress to quell movement to boycott Israel academically
More dramatically, when discussing especially sensitive issues even at his home, Netanyahu and guests sometimes resort to “gestures” rather than speech, because of concerns that they are being listened to, Channel 10 reported.
It added that Netanyahu conducts his most sensitive discussions in the offices of the Mossad intelligence service, because only there is he confident that he is safe from listening devices.
"Laws could be passed withholding federal or state funding from any academic program that knowingly blacklisted Israeli scholars or institutions or cooperated with associations that did," Oren argued.Israeli Universities: American Studies Boycott Targets ‘Breakthroughs That Benefit Humankind’
"While an organization like ASA might prefer punishing Israel to receiving government funds, other academic bodies—including universities—most likely will not. At the very least, lawmakers on the local and national level can go on record expressing their unequivocal opposition to such boycotts," he added.
In an advertisement appearing in the New York Times on Dec. 20, the American arms of seven Israeli universities said that the American Studies Association’s (ASA) boycott of Israel targets an academic community that“achieves breakthroughs that benefit humankind.”Boycotting the Boycotters
“Preventing scholars who live in a pluralistic democracy from participating in the global academic community is reprehensible,” the ad said.
The ad noted achievements of Israeli universities including: Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s development of the Exelon drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and dementia; Tel Aviv University’s development of BioPetroClean, an environmentally friendly technology for cleaning oil spills in seas; Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s development of Velcade, an new cancer drug; University of Haifa’s identification of the gene capable of increasing the protein content of wheat, contributing to the fight against world hunger; the Weizmann Institute of Science’s development of the multiple sclerosis drugs, Copaxone and Rebif; and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev’s work towards developing a cure for diabetes. The Open University of Israel, meanwhile, “makes it possible for all Israelis from all walks of life to achieve their full potential through higher education,” said the ad.
As I sit here in Israel and read about the boycott by the American Studies Association of Israeli academic institutions because of the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians, I wonder if they are referring to the same country in which I currently live. (h/t AlexandreM)Association of American Universities rejects Israel boycott
The list of universities rejecting and denouncing the anti-Israel boycott resolution of the American Studies Association is growing rapidly.Boston U. President rejects Israel academic boycott
In a statement signed by its Executive Committee, the Association of American Universities has stated its opposition to the boycott. ASA quickly is becoming a pariah in the academic community.
Robert A. Brown, President of Boston University, will be issing a formal statement rejecting the Amercian Studies Association’s anti-Israeli academic boycott. The statement is not yet posted on BU’s website, but was obtained by Legal Insurrection and confirmed with the President’s office.Willamette rejects Israel boycott, denies being Institutional Member of American Studies Assoc
President Brown, however, is deferring the decision on withdrawal of Institutional Membership to the American and New England Studies Department on grounds of the academic freedom of that department.
Willamette University joins an increasing number of universities rejecting the anti-Israel academic boycott, but in a twist, denies having any knowledge as to why ASA lists it as an Institutional Member.US calls for UN’s Falk to step down… again
Update: Hamilton also denies being Institutional Member // Update No. 2: Northwestern denies being Institutional Member too
A day after Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird called for the immediate removal of the Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian Territories of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the US condemned Richard Falk’s statement that Israel had “genocidal intents.”IDF soldiers wound Palestinian trying to plant bomb along Gaza-Israel fence
Although State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki blasted Falk’s statements as “despicable and deeply offensive,” the US stopped short of echoing Canada’s calls for Falk to be fired.
A Palestinian was wounded on Saturday after he and others approached the Gaza-Israel security barrier in an attempt to plant an explosive device.PA backtracks on ‘don’t boycott Israel’ comments
An IDF unit was dispatched to the area and soldiers fired at the legs of one of the suspects, striking and injuring him. The suspects then fled the area.The incident occurred on the border with southern Gaza.
The Palestinian diplomatic mission in South Africa released a statement Friday, saying that it does support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel, and claiming that PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s comments stating the contrary were “taken out of context and misconstrued” by the media and “members of the Israeli lobby.”When will the Western media grasp the self-inflicted Palestinian energy crisis?
Even the EU’s own auditors recognise it is a scandal that cannot go on. According to a BBC report, the European Union (EU) still funds Gaza’s non-working civil servants – a full seven years after Hamas won power and placed them on ‘gardening leave’. Needless to say, the pro-Palestinian BBC report makes much of the poverty and hardship being suffered in Gaza today, and thus the on-going need for foreign aid. What the report doesn’t say however is that the misery of the Gaza Palestinians is entirely self-inflicted. Not least as billions in natural gas revenue lies just offshore.Nasrallah Vows to ‘Punish’ Israel Over Death of Top Operative
It is estimated that Gaza has an offshore natural gas energy resource worth around $4 billion.
While the massive gas discoveries off Israel are proving to be world class, Gazans could well be looking to their own energy good fortune and a bright future. Yet abject poverty and hopelessness prevails. The standard explanation by many Arabs and the liberal Western media is to depict the Palestinians as in a permanent state of Israeli-inflicted victimhood. The truth is that Gaza is the poster child for all that is wrong with Islamism, as exemplified by Gaza’s governing party, Hamas.
Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general, blamed Israel for the assassination of his top operative Hassan al-Laqqis last month and vowed to “punish” Israel for the killing.2 Egyptian soldiers killed in clashes with 'Supporters of Jerusalem' terror group
“All evidence indicates that Israel is behind the assassination,” Nasrallah said Friday in a televised tribute to al-Laqqis, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“If the Israelis think… that Hezbollah is busy and that Israel will not pay the price, I say to them today, ‘You are wrong,’” Nasrallah added.
The two soldiers, both conscripts, died when a gunbattle broke out after the troops came under fire, the army said in a statement. It said the operation was continuing and armed helicopters had been deployed.Vienna Philharmonic strips ex-Nazis of honors
Security sources said the militants involved in the gunbattle were members of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which means "Supporters of Jerusalem".
The famed Vienna Philharmonic orchestra has quietly stripped six former senior Nazi officials of honors awarded them — a late act of contrition for its embrace of the Hitler era that included purging Jewish members from its ranks.US Senate c'tee passes bipartisan US-Israel energy bill
The decision was divulged to The Associated Press by an orchestra member on Friday and confirmed by historian Oliver Rathkolb.
The United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday passed a bipartisan bill that aims to bolster collaborations between Israel and the US on energy issues.‘Bubble tech’ start-up closes deal with huge UK water concern
Led by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana), alongside Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Enhancement Bill hopes to foster partnerships on developing resources such as natural gas and alternative fuels, on academic, business and governmental levels.
Landrieu and her colleagues introduced the bill in September, at which time she argued that the US is "uniquely qualified to lead the effort to help Israel develop" its new-found hydrocarbon resources. Her region of America – the Gulf Coast – has one of the most advanced offshore drilling industries in the world.
Israel’s Mapal Green Energy this week closed a deal with Britain’s largest water provider, Thames Water, to provide its bubble aeration technology water purification system for use in municipal and regional water supply systems. In the first stage of the deal, Mapal will set up a purification system in the city of Chesham, north of London. Later on, Thames Water will have the option of adding more Mapal systems to its network, as the water provider moves forward in its long-term project of replacing old and outmoded purification systems.1000 French teens arrive for weeklong tour
Amid an unprecedented rise in French immigration to Israel, 1,000 French high school seniors on Thursday arrived in Israel to take part in a weeklong tour of the country organized by the Jewish Agency.
During a gala celebration held Thursday night in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center, agency Chairman Natan Sharansky told the French Jewish teens participating in Bac Bleu Blanc (“Seniors in Blue and White”) that France’s roughly half a million Jews are “leading a new wave of aliyah [immigration] to Israel.”
Saturday, December 21, 2013Elder of Ziyon
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PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
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