Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

05/28 Links Pt1: So, Just What is a “Palestinian,” Anyways?; Historic Syrian Synagogue Destroyed

From Ian:

Michael Lumish: So, Just What is a “Palestinian,” Anyways?

The Philistines, of course, were a seafaring people of the Aegean islands.
They were one of the rivals for regional dominance competing with the ancient Israelites along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea over one thousand years before Jesus of Nazareth walked the land.
They were, needless to say, not a people from the Arabian peninsula and were in no way the forebears of those who conquered the Land of Israel in the seventh century.
This is to say that the ancient enemy of the Jews, the Philistines, are in no way related to the contemporary Arabs who have, for some reason, taken a Latin name that refers to a Greek people.

Syria’s Oldest Synagogue, Destroyed by Assad

The Jobar Synagogue was one of the holiest Jewish sites in Syria and contained priceless historical artifacts. Now it’s destroyed—and the opposition says Assad is to blame.
Syrian Arab Army forces flattened the Eliyahu Hanabi Synagogue in the Jobar neighborhood of Damascus over the weekend. The attack not only wrecked a site that’s at least 400 years old. It may have destroyed thousands of irreplaceable Jewish artifacts contained inside the synagogue, according to opposition leaders and photos obtained at the site.
The area where the synagogue once stood has been under bombardment by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for months. The Syrian regime is laying siege to the town, one of the few rebel strongholds in the area. It’s all part of what the opposition calls Assad’s “scorched earth” policy, which includes random and violent attacks on civilian populations. (h/t Yenta Press)

US supports case against Arab Bank financing terror, but worries of foreign policy fallout

In a major decision that will impact the high-profile Arab Bank terror finance case in the US and the future of terror financing cases, the US government late Tuesday told the US Supreme Court that it supports the Arab Bank case going to trial, but also undermined the case's strength.
The context of the decision was Arab Bank's interim appeal to the US Supreme Court to reverse a lower US court decision which could seriously hurt the bank's chances of winning at trial.
The case itself, which has been featured on CBS News's Sunday Morning program, involves allegations that Arab Bank facilitated massive transfer of funds to Hamas leaders and institutions, as well as to the families of imprisoned Hamas members and suicide bombers, via Saudi Arabia and Hezbollah's al-Shahid Foundation, mostly between 1998-2004.

Karim Younis, one of the Arab murderers who have been in Israeli prison the longest, is complaining that the PLO didn't do enough to get him and his fellow prisoners released in the planned fourth batch.

Younis wrote a harsh letter to Palestinian leadership saying that they dropped the ball and that they should quit their jobs and return to their mansions.

"This means that we are over the past nine months we lived in a spiral of deception and empty promises and commitments," he wrote.

He also called the failure of negotiations aimed at his release an "unforgivable crime," saying the negotiations were "miserable and shameful that no one can justify or defend it, so everyone runs away from the face of what actually happened and the tragic consequences because of it. "

He said to Palestinian officials, "get out, do not look behind you, just go to your palaces and mansions, just go and leave your office keys to those who can act responsibly."

Meanwhile, prisoners have been holding a hunger strike for over a month and the Palestinian Arabs are getting very frustrated that the media and NGOs have largely ignored this story. So naturally they are attacking - the Red Cross.

Palestinian activists on Wednesday closed the Red Cross' al-Bireh office in protest against the organization's "silence" regarding an ongoing prisoners' hunger strike, the organizers said.

"Today we are shutting down the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross because it has failed to play the role it should to protect Palestinian prisoners, especially hunger strikers," the organizers said.

Protesters blocked the doors of the office and denied entry to employees.

Arabic media every day describes how the prisoners are at death's door and deteriorating badly. The impression I get is that they are hoping that one manages to die, so that the media will start writing about them and raising this never-ending whinefest to a higher priority than troubles in Syria and Egypt and Libya and Iraq, where hundreds of people are actually, you know, dying.

A botched attempt at Pallywood: "The Hopper"

More footage taken from the extended "Nakba Day" CCTV video in Beitunia shows an attempt to fake an injury for the cameras that doesn't pan out.

Now that we have established that people faked injuries for the cameras, what else might have been faked?

(All posts on this topic here.)

Extended "Nakba Day" video shows no blood stains from Israeli bullets

Now that the entire hours-long footage of the CCTV cameras from the Nakba Day incidents in Beitunia are available, interesting facts are emerging.

We can see cameramen arriving at both incident scenes about ten minutes ahead of time, even sitting on the same object directly in front of where the youths are supposedly shot. We see a youth hopping around on one leg, pretending to be injured, and his buddies calling an ambulance over, only to see him walking around normally by the time they arrive.

But here's one thing I thought was a bit more interesting:

The medical reports for both youths claimed that the bullets ripped through their bodies and exited out the other side. We have seen no blood on any of the still photos anywhere near the entrance or exit wounds.

But the video shows that the ground where they were supposedly shot through has no bloodstains at all.

Truly amazing.

By the way, Walla reports that there were two medical reports issued for Nadim Nawarah. In the first there was no exit wound at all, but after his father went on TV claiming to have seen a bullet hole in Nadim's backpack and a (clearly unfired) bullet within, then the medical report was changed to suddenly find an exit wound.

So, what other lies have been given out by the oh-so-ethical Palestinian Arab coroner?

(h/t asherpat)

(All posts on this topic here.)

No anti-Zionist rumor is too stupid for Mondoweiss to believe (poster)

Really:

05/27 Links Pt2: Pope Francis’ Failure to Confront Evil; Stones: Dylan told us to come to Israel

From Ian:

Shmuley Boteach: Pope Francis’ Failure to Confront Evil

No one can deny that Pope Francis is a man who walks the walk. While many disagree with his neo-socialist world-view, who can feel anything but respect for a world leader who eschews the perks of office to champion the poor and the oppressed? The Pope is also courageously confronting the Church’s obsession with abortion, gay marriage, and contraception in favor of spiritual values that directly address the materialism, narcissism, and rot of the modern world.
But there is one area where the Pope must do more. And that’s in his confrontation with evil. Over the past few days we’ve heard the Pope repeatedly invoke the need for Middle East peace. We have seen him walk a tightrope of neutrality between Israel and the Palestinians. But as the world’s foremost religious voice, can he afford to be silent in the face of a grotesque moral affront? When the Pope prays at an Israeli security barrier in front of graffiti that compares Bethlehem to the Warsaw Ghetto, he has taken neutrality to an extreme and risks being party to trivializing the Holocaust.
Pope Francis, who is a global inspiration and a great light of the Church, must learn from the poor example of his predecessor not to be vague when it comes to mass murder. Platitudes about Middle East peace that refuse to condemn Hamas terrorism or its genocidal charter’s against the Jews risks compromising the great Pope’s moral standing. A security fence built solely to protect innocent Israelis from being dismembered dare not be compared to a fence designed to cage Jews prior to their gassing.
The Pope can surely find a different place to pray.

Pope, Netanyahu spar over Jesus' native language

Pope Francis and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded words on Monday over the language spoken by Jesus two millennia ago.
"Jesus was here, in this land. He spoke Hebrew," Netanyahu told Francis, at a public meeting in Jerusalem in which the Israeli leader cited a strong connection between Judaism and Christianity.
"Aramaic," the pope interjected.
"He spoke Aramaic, but he knew Hebrew," Netanyahu shot back. (h/t MtTB)

The meanest bastards in history VIDEO

So the Pope celebrates Mass in Bethlehem, but they can’t turn down the volume of the PA system at the nearby mosque?
Somebody was apparently trying to make a point, in case anyone wondered who’s in charge in Bethlehem.

UN Watch: What happened to the U.N.?

Insane Arab rumor: Netanyahu thanked Al Jazeera for screwing up the Arab world

This video was shown on El Balad TV earlier this month:

It shows a supposed letter from Binyamin Netanyahu to Al Jazeera, which says something like, "A special thanks to Al Jazeera for what you did on our behalf in the Arab world, and we are beholden to it for its acts of incitement against our enemies the State of Palestine and against the Egyptian army." (I know I'm missing some words I couldn't make out.)

I grabbed as much of it as I could from the screen:

Ya gotta love people who will believe literally anything as long as it fits into their bigotry.

Muslims desecrate Jewish holy spot with Koranic rituals!

The Al Aqsa Foundation published this video taken this morning, which illustrates - according to them - "Jewish settlers storming and desecrating the Al Aqsa Mosque."

It of course shows the opposite. It shows Muslim usurpers performing Koranic chants at Judaism's holiest spot, while a group of Jews respectfully tour the site.

But you won't find even Israeli headlines that mention the simple fact that Muslims are the thieves, even as Arab newspapers from Egypt to the Gulf have articles daily warning of "Jews storming the mosque" and "performing Talmudic rituals."

Invariably, the "storming" looks exactly like the scene above.

This article is warning about plans for Jews to visit their holiest site on Jerusalem Day tomorrow "to establish Talmudic rituals and dances in the Al-Aqsa Mosque" and the Al Aqsa Foundation is imploring Muslims to block Jews from entering.

05/27 Links Pt1: Daughters of Brussels shooting victims: 'They'll always be with us'

From Ian:

Daughters of Brussels shooting victims: 'They'll always be with us'

Shira and Ayelet Riva, daughters of the Israeli couple killed in the Brussels Jewish Museum shooting, write final letter to parents as their bodies land in Israel: 'We know that they'll always be in our hearts and souls.'
"We couldn't ask for better parents. Loving, caring and good-hearted, who most of all wanted the best for us," wrote Shira and Ayelet Riva in a letter in memory of their parents Emanuel and Miriam Riva, who were killed in the shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum Saturday, just hours after their bodies arrived in Israel.
In the final letter to their parents, the daughters (16 and 15 years old) wrote that "they went abroad to celebrate their 18th anniversary. Before the trip they promised us we would do a lot of things together after they return, but they won't come back to us.

Tel Aviv couple to be laid to rest; Brussels shooter still at large

The bodies of Emanuel and Mira Riva, the Israeli couple killed in Saturday's shooting at the Brussels Jewish Museum, will be laid to rest at Tel Aviv’s Kiryat Shaul cemetery at 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, as investigators continue searching for the perpetrator still at large.
A lone gunman entered the museum with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and opened fire, killing the Rivas and one other, injuring a fourth person. The fourth victim died on Monday.

Belgium sends museum murder file to terrorism prosecutor

Deputy public prosecutor Ine Van Wymersch told a news conference that “the file is transferred to the federal” level, but she refused to say whether or not it was being reclassified as a terrorist act.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Saturday, Joel Rubinfeld, who heads Belgium’s league against anti-Semitism, told AFP it clearly “is a terrorist act” as a man had been seen driving up and entering the museum before opening fire inside and running off. He added that the act was the result of a “climate of hate.”

Brussels gunman was wearing video camera, sources say

Belgian media reported Monday morning that the gunman who killed four people in an attack Saturday at the Brussels Jewish Museum carried out the act while wearing a portable video camera on his chest.
If true, the behavior would be reminiscent of that of Mohammed Merah, who filmed himself killing four people at the Ozar Hatorah school in Toulouse, March 2012.
“Sources involved in the investigation” informed several news sites that while reviewing one of the museum’s security videos, it was observed that the suspect was bearing a GoPro brand camera that may have documented the event.

I still can't believe the Pope called Abbas a "man of peace"

Yes, the Pope really said to Mahmoud Abbas, "Mr President, you are known as a man of peace and a peacemaker."

Abbas is the person who bankrolled the Munich Olympic massacre.

This is the person who had bragged that he hasn't budged an inch in negotiations with Israel, and that the Palestinian Arab position hasn't changed since 1988.

This is the person who pretended to dismantle the terrorist groups who belong to the party he heads and never did.

This is the person whose party he leads says, today, that terror is acceptable.

This is the person who publicly celebrates murderers and calls them heroes.

How can anyone call Abbas a "man of peace?"

Unless, of course, you mean that he is willing to bend over backwards to make peace agreements - with terrorist organizations.

Honestly, the only thing remotely peaceful about Abbas is that he no longer actively encourages direct terror attacks against women and children, even while he still praises those who do. To say that this makes him into a "peacemaker" is not only wrong, but an outrage.

Jewish jewelers in Djerba, Tunisia go on strike to protest attacks

Last week:

More reports of heightened anti-Semitism have emerged in the wake of the Brussels shooting attack - this time, in Tunisia.

Masked Muslims entered the main market in Djerba on Thursday, and stabbed Gabriel Ozen, 38, a Jewish jeweler and father of four.

Passerby stated that the assailants yelled, "the nation of Mohammed is coming back to take revenge" shortly before the attack.

Ozen fought the Muslim attacker, but was still stabbed in the chest, authorities said. He was rushed to intensive care in local hospital and is in serious, but stable, condition.

Some background:

Better-known for its sight-seeing and tourist culture, the island of Djerba also houses a majority of Tunisia's Jews. The Jews in Djerba are a hybrid variety, existing both separately and as a part of the rest of Djerban society. On the one hand, in their public lives, they interact daily with fellow Djerbans, Tunisians, and foreigners. On the other hand, Djerba's Jews are firmly tied to their religion and customs, and their private lives are set apart from the rest of Tunisian society.

Many of Djerba's Jews own jewelry shops downtown in the Houmet Souq. They do business with Muslim and Christian partners, and they sell their goods to buyers from all backgrounds. Plenty of them have non-Jewish friends, and the young adults with whom we spoke enjoy conventional activities, such as traveling and going out to night clubs. Moreover, outside the walls of the Hara Kebira - the main Jewish quarter of the island and where most of Djerba's Jews reside - many Jews prefer not to wear a kippah (the religious head covering), and instead make an effort to integrate into local society. Thus, outside of the Jewish quarter, it is difficult to distinguish them from other Djerbans.

Apparently, these attacks against the Jews have become a pattern, and the Jewish jewelers have gone on strike to protest:

Jewish gold dealers continue their strike in Djerba for the second consecutive day against the backdrop of attacks against a number of them, most recently when one was assaulted with knives in the market.

They are angry at what they described as unacceptable actions of a youth in the area who threatened them with murder, according to Mr. Nahum Mamo, who confirmed that there is no difference between a Muslim and a Jew in the Tunisian island of Djerba in the light of peaceful coexistence between the two sides.

Hamas newspaper says Jews are cowards

Felesteen, a Hamas newspaper, has an article that goes through the history of supposed Jewish cowardice from the time of Mohammed on.

According to the article, Jews always cower behind walls, whether it is behind fortifications in Mohammed's time or the ghettos in Europe or the Bar Lev Line or the security fence in the West Bank.

The article ends off with the famous Muslim legend from a hadith that in the future, rocks and trees will tell virtuous Muslims where the Jews are hiding so they can be properly slaughtered in a Halal manner. The Gharqad tree, however, is a Jewish tree and it will stay mum. So Jews plant "Gharqad" trees for protection.

Again, an Arab newspaper forgot the memo about always talking about how much you hate "Zionists," not Jews.