Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

06/18 Link Pt1: Kidnapping, human rights and hypocrisy; Prosor to World: Where are you?

From Ian:

Three Jewish boys were abducted by Palestinian terrorists while trying to catch a ride home from school Thursday night. And as far as the foreign press is concerned, it’s their own damned fault.
As Honest Reporting documented, everyone from The Guardian to CNN, to Sky News to the Christian Science Monitor blamed Eyal Yifrach, Gil-Ad Shaer and Naftali Frankel for their victimization.
The boys deserve whatever they get, according to the media, because they are Jews and Jews have no right to be located anywhere that the Palestinians demand be cleansed of Jewish presence. And the Palestinians demand that Gush Etzion be emptied of Jews. So the boys, who dared to be located in Gush Etzion, had it coming.
And the blame doesn’t end with the victims. In trying to rescue them, the Israeli government is also committing an unpardonable crime – against Palestinian unity, no less.

IDF Blog: #EyalGiladNaftali: What if it were your child?

NGO Monitor: Kidnapping, human rights and hypocrisy

In a moral and just world, where universal human rights was more than a slogan to be exploited when politically convenient, the kidnapping of three Israeli teens would have produced immediate and widespead outrage, demands for action, and even demonstrations at the United Nations demanding their release.
But in the real world, three days after the kidnapping became public knowledge, those who claim to promote moral causes are largely silent.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has not called an emergency meeting or appointed an investigation to be headed by a highly respected international figure.
Similarly, the network of powerful non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that receive hundreds of millions of dollars annually, ostensibly to advocate for human rights, again show their disdain for the rights of Israelis. The only significant exception is the International Committee of the Red Cross, which issued an immediate and clear statement demanding “the immediate and unconditional release of the three teenagers.”

NGO Monitor: NGO Statements on Kidnappings

As was the case with the Gilad Shalit kidnapping, many NGOs that claim a human rights mandate and comment frequently on the Arab-Israeli conflict have been silent. Most of the NGOs that have released statements have created an artificial balance by also criticizing Israel and/or blaming Israel for the kidnapping.
The following is a list of statements, made in press releases or social media, by NGOs and their officials. Official statements by country and international organizations follow:

Human Rights Watch: Even Jews in ‘Illegal Settlements’ Should Not Be Violently Abducted

In multiple tweets about the kidnapping, Roth equated it with so-called “arbitrary arrests” by the Israelis and forcefully criticized the Jewish state for what he claimed is the intentional killing of Palestinians.
The series of tweets drew outrage from pro-Israel activists who slammed Roth and HRW for skirting their mandate and being beholden to a deep anti-Israel bias.
“Why does [Roth] feel uncomfortable criticizing the kidnapping on its own?” asked Gilead Ini, a senior research analyst for CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America.
“Ken Roth can’t seem to avoid the word ‘but’ when posting on Twitter about the kidnapping of Jewish Israeli teenagers,” Ini said.

Forward publishes article denigrating prayer for #EyalGiladNaftali

Leah Bieler, who we are told "has an M.A. in Talmud and Rabbinics from the Jewish Theological Seminary [and] teaches Talmud in Connecticut," writes in The Forward that praying to God for the safety of the three kidnapped teens is really a waste of time:

When my eldest daughter was three years old, she enjoyed a comfortable morning routine. After breakfast, if she dressed quickly, she was allowed to watch half an episode of “Sesame Street” before heading off to school. Like most three-year-olds, she enjoyed the predictability and sameness of quiet time with Elmo and Grover and Oscar the Grouch. Every morning, she was engrossed, dancing and singing along, blonde ringlets bouncing.

Then, one Monday morning, tragedy struck. Instead of “Sesame Street,” there was a new show on PBS. She was horrified. Tears streaming down her face, she looked up at me and with all earnestness asked, “Ima, why did HaShem have to change the TV schedule?”

The theology of a preschooler is very concrete. God made the world. Something in my world changed. Therefore the creator of the universe must have caused the switch. The end. If she had thought of it, she might even have concocted her own personal prayer.

“HaShem, please use your awesome power to put Sesame Street back on PBS from 8-9AM on weekdays. Blessed are you O Lord, part time network programmer.”

You got it: Beiler is comparing thousands of years of Jewish theology to the maturity level of a three year old.

Individual and communal prayer have in them the potential for tremendous power. Prayer can force us outside of ourselves, help create and maintain empathy, form community, heal wounded souls. It can redirect our thinking, bind us to the past, and allow us to make space for a connection with the divine.

All of these are holy purposes. But using prayer as a magic trick is a much dicier business. The moment I’m sure that my specific mode of praying will work miracles is bound to be short lived. I will, without fail, find myself disappointed in the end.

Wow! I guess all the theologians over the centuries of every religion must bow to the mighty logic of Bieler and stop wasting their time in prayer!

It is not the Jews who are praying for the safety of the boys who have the maturity level of a child. It is Bieler, who hasn't a clue despite her education of why Jews pray and what they expect to get out of it. Her conception of prayer is about as mature as the teenager who says "Look! God hasn't struck me with lightning when I ate a cheeseburger!"

Since she considers herself a religious person, I wonder if she actually looks at the contents of the daily prayers. Is asking God for sustenance and rain and to heal the sick just an excuse, a waste of time?

But Beiler's wisdom extends beyond this:

For now, as far as anyone can tell, the lion’s share of fault for the kidnapping falls on the kidnappers, the masterminds, and the nature of a society where these actions are seen as viable options.

Really? None of those people who are crying out to God in every Jewish community are aware of this piercing insight - they need an obnoxious know-it-all from JTA to tell them this!

The irony is that Beiler, who pretends to support prayer's supposed primary purpose of "forming community," has no problem writing an article that is meant to divide it, to belittle those who are crying out for the kids' safety.

Of course, The Forward is eager to publish such rubbish.

(h/t EBoZ)

Arabs have been kidnapping Jews for decades

Yisrael Medad points out the Arab terrorists have been kidnapping Jews for a long time.

August 1938:

An Arab rebel band late last night raided a labor camp at Athlit, coastal town between Haifa and Tel Aviv, and kidnaped a Jewish family of six, including police inspector David Leiserowitz, his wife, three children and mother-in-law. A British police inspector was wounded in the fighting.

A few days later:

Three children of the kidnaped Leiserowitz family were found alive and well before dawn yesterday in the field of Mishmar Haemek, Jewish colony about ten miles southeast of Athlit, where they were abducted by an Arab band Wednesday during a raid on a prison labor camp.

The children were discovered by a patrol of Jewish special policeman. Blindfolded when found, they told the policemen that the band had separated them from their parents and uncle immediately after the kidnaping, and had treated them well.

Rachel, 13 and oldest of the trio, said that Joussef Abu Dura, leader of the band, had made the children sign in Hebrew a promise to publish in the Hebrew press the following letter bearing his signature and had given them five dollars to cover the cost of publication:

“The children were comfortable among the Arabs. As an honorable and just man, I am returning them, even paying expenses on condition that this letter be published in Davar and Haboker–otherwise the children will be killed even if they are in London.”

Grave fears were held for the children’s parents, Police Inspector Moshe Leiserowitz and his wife Bruria, and their uncle, Eliahu Kirchiner.

I cannot find any news about the three adults ever being found.

Also 1938:

A watchman named Ben Zeev, employed on Jewish National Fund lands in Kiriat Haim in the Haifa Bay area, was believed in the hands of Arab terrorists after being missing since yesterday morning. Another Jew, Joshua Dubnow, was kidnaped by an Arab band near Jaffa yesterday. Dubnow, 36, was foreman of groves in the vicinity of Nathanya.

1940:

The bodies of three Jewish youths kidnaped by an Arab band in 1938 were discovered today in a pit near the Arab village of Zila, in the Jenin sub-district.

The youths were David Auerbach, 13; Itzhak Krupik, 18, and Jacob Zvang, 24. They were kidnaped on July 23, 1938, from the Jewish colony of Givath Ada. Identification was made through their clothes.

This story from 1970 is interesting:

The Israeli government has turned down an offer by El Fatah to free an Israeli watchman they kidnapped ten months ago in exchange for a number of convicted Arab terrorists serving sentences in Israeli jails, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today from reliable sources. According to the source, El Fatah offered to release 54-year-old Shmuel Rosenwasser. of Metullah who was seized by Arab guerrillas near the Lebanese border on the night of Dec. 31, 1969. He was subsequently taken to Jordan. In return, El Fatah demanded the release of convicted terrorists, among them Mahmoud Hijazi who was sentenced to death by an Israeli military court in 1965. His sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. The source said that Israeli authorities rejected the El Fatah offer because Israel, as a matter of principle, refuses to make exchange deals or to bargain with terrorists.

It is strange that so much of the discussion about the kidnapping of the three boys last week has centered on the wisdom of hitchhiking. The entire reason hitchhiking is potentially dangerous in Israel is because everyone understands that many Arabs just want to kidnap and kill Jews, no matter who they are.

From Kuwait News Agency:

Arab Parliament Speaker Ahmad Al-Jarwan on Tuesday emphatically condemned the "strange and abhorrent" phenomenon of terrorism in the Arab world.

Addressing an Arab Parliament session held here, Al-Jarwan said: "Internal conflicts and disputes and heinous terrorist operations only serve foreign plans aiming to disrupt security and impede growth, development and prosperity." He stressed the necessity of denouncing terrorism, stopping increasing domestic conflicts and unifying efforts to achieve development with a view to cutting off the way for anybody who could try to tamper with regional security and stability.

"As representatives of the Arab people, we at the Arab Parliament need to convey the voice of the Arab people who are yearning for security, stability and development on our dear great nation," he said.

Internal stability and security are the key to comprehensive development for which everybody should work in order to fulfill the expectations and hopes of the Arab people, Al-Jarwan pointed out.

So Arab terrorism is a "strange and abhorrent phenomenon"?

Edward Holden, who was an Arabophile, wrote in the 19th century:

The primary duty of the early Arab was blood-revenge. An insult to himself, or an injury to the tribe, must be wiped out with the blood of the offender. Hence arose the multitude of tribal feuds. It was Muhammad who first checked the private feud by fixing "the price of blood" to be paid by the aggressor or by his tribe.

This being an Arab summit, naturally there has to be some Israel-bashing:

Concerning Palestine, Al-Jarwan condemned Israel's continuing Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, making it certain that the Palestinian issue is the core of the Arab-Zionist conflict.
He also blasted Israeli attempts to Judaize the occupied city of Jerusalem by changing its Arab characteristics and imposing Israeli hegemony on the holy city.

06/17 Links Pt2: The peace process hoax; Could Jordan Fall?; Obama Fiddles While the World Burns

From Ian:

The peace process hoax

Over 100 years ago an impossible dream was conceived to create a state for the beleaguered Jews, where they could for the first time in 2,000 years be masters of their own destiny.
That dream has been destroyed by the peace process, with the very legitimacy of the Jewish state now contingent on the eventual formation of a Palestinian terror state.
Israel has allowed its sovereignty to be eroded bit by bit, and unless the Jewish state extricates itself from this insanity, the international community will go on perpetuating the two-state lie until Israel is weakened to such a point whereby the real “solution” of its enemies can be actualized.
Israel has been destroyed before; it might never have been reconstituted if Jewish farmers and Holocaust survivors had not vanquished seven invading Arab armies in 1948.

Brandeis Professor Slams Israel, 'Holocaustic Ethnic Cleansing'

In documents obtained by TruthRevolt, Brandeis University professor Donald Hindley slammed Israel and an initiative to plant trees in the "occupied, terrorized but still Palestinian territories" in 2007.
Under the subject line "Plant a Tree, Bury a Palestinian," the professor of politics declared, "[t]here's something wrong with this exhortation to send even more money to Israel- this time in order to plant olive trees." "We cut down Palestinian olive trees, while planting new ones on the expanding Jewish frontier."
"Zionist olive trees grow wondrously on Palestinian corpses," he added. "In that way, we combine great trees with our own holocaustic ethnic cleansing."
In April, Hindley was among 87 Brandeis faculty members who petitioned for the cancelation of the honorary degree extended to human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Could Jordan Fall?

Security officials acknowledge that ISIS already has cells in Jordan. King Abdullah II of Jordan does himself no favors. Like Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia or Ayad Allawi in Iraq, Abdullah is far more popular abroad than he is at home. Indeed, when he assumed the throne upon the death of his father, Abdullah was fluent in English but stumbled through Arabic. His wife Rania might charm Western audiences and might be imagined to attract Palestinian support because of her own heritage, but her profligate spending and tin ear to the plight of ordinary people has antagonized many Jordanians.
Many tensions Jordan faces are not Abdullah’s fault: While Jordan has, more than any other Arab state, worked to integrate the Palestinian refugee population, it has also been hit by waves of refugees, first from Iraq and then from Syria. Those working among the Syrian refugees in Turkey and Jordan report that they have not previously seen such a radicalized population. Jordan also does not have the natural resources of some of its neighbors: Saudi Arabia and Iraq are oil-rich and Israel now has gas.

Mudar Zahran: A Palestinian Jordan: Opportunities vs. threats

The concept of a Palestinian state in Jordan is not new. In fact, Jordan was created based on the Faisal-Weizmann agreement by which Jews agreed to give away 78 percent of the British Mandate for Palestine to the Hashemites to establish a homeland for the Palestinian Arabs.
The Hashemites have never kept their promise. Even today, the UNHCR reports that Jordan’s Palestinian majority is still treated as “refugees” by Jordan’s king.
Still, the concept of a Palestinian Jordan – and a Jewish Israel – has come back to life after the Arab Spring.

The Guardian whitewashes historic Iraqi antisemitism

From Comment is Free in The Guardian, by Sami Ramadani, arguing that Iraqis have been very tolerant of other cultures over the centuries:

[Nobody] has yet produced historical evidence of significant communal fighting between Iraq's religions, sects, ethnicities or nationalities. Prior to the 2003 US-led occupation, the only incident was the 1941 violent looting of Jewish neighbourhoods – which is still shrouded in mystery as to who planned it. Documents relating to that criminal incident are still kept secret at the Public Records Office by orders of successive British governments. The bombing of synagogues in Baghdad in 1950-51 turned out to be the work of Zionists to frighten Iraq's Jews – one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world – into emigrating to Israel following their refusal to do so.

Ramadani makes three statements: that there was no sectarian strife in Iraq before 1941, that the 1941 Farhud cannot be blamed on Iraqis, and that the 1950-51 synagogue bombings were clearly perpetrated by Zionists.

None of those claims are accurate.

A search finds this description of the Jews of Baghdad in 1883 by a Christian missionary:

Much of our work in Baghdad is amongst the Jews. The great majority of the Baghdad Jews are sunk in ignorance and superstition. There are twenty-one synagogues in Baghdad, in all of which morning prayers are said daily at dawn. This is still sacred soil to the Jews, who have here the tombs of Ezra and Ezekiel, Joshua the High Priest, and the Sheikh Isaac. With the Jews at Baghdad life is completely absorbed in the hard struggle for existence amid surroundings of wretchedness and misery, and they dwell in the midst of a hostile population, who at any moment may indulge in violent outbursts of fanatical hatred.

The Moslems of Baghdad, if they differ at all from those of their creed elsewhere, it is only in being more ignorant and fanatical. They are mostly Sunnis; but there is also, as might be expected from the vicinity of their shrines and sacred places, a considerable population of Shiahs.

Even other 19th century observers who say that Jews were treated well note that non-Muslims were prohibited from wearing certain items of clothing, for example.

Relatively speaking, yes, Ottoman Iraq was better for Jews than many places in Europe, but don't pretend that things were wonderful.

Wikipedia goes on to tell us:

In the 1930s, the situation of the Jews in Iraq deteriorated. Previously, the growing Iraqi Arab nationalist sentiment included Iraqi Jews as fellow Arabs, but these views changed with the introduction of Nazi propaganda and the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian Mandate. Despite protestations of their loyalty to Iraq, Iraqi Jews were increasingly subject to discrimination and harsh laws. On August 27, 1934 many Jews were dismissed from public service, and quotas were set up in colleges and universities. Zionist activities were banned, as was the teaching of Jewish history and Hebrew in Jewish schools.

JTA tells us of other antisemitic actions in Iraq before the 1941 Farhud pogrom that killed nearly 200. In 1932, the government ordered Jewish schools to be open on Saturdays and closed on Fridays. A major yeshiva in Baghdad was burned down in 1937. Jewish shop windows were smashed in 1938.

Farhud mass grave

As far as the Farhud itself is concerned, even a cursory knowledge of the pogrom shows that Iraqi Muslims engaged in the anti-Jewish riots with fervor. Jews were attacked by mobs as well as the police. To sweep that under the rug as if it was done by only pro-Nazi elements, ignoring the history of antisemitism in Iraq beforehand, is dishonest to say the least.

Finally, while some scholars do believe that Zionists were behind the synagogue bombings in 1950-51 (that caused no injuries,) others disagree. An Israeli commission of inquiry in 1960 did not find evidence for Zionist involvement. Other historians note that an antisemitic Iraqi army officer who had similar explosive devices in his possession was arrested but never charged.

Comment may be free, but The Guardian has an obligation to fact-check what people write.

(h/t Ronald)

Abu Amer

An Arab "Israeli affairs expert" from Gaza, claims that the way that the IDF names military operations is part of a campaign of "psychological warfare" against the Palestinian people.

Adnan Abu Amer noticed that "Operation Brother's Keeper" has a Biblical basis. (He really is an expert!) Amer says that the names of operations like these are sourced in a Psychological warfare Department of the IDF, where Jews dream up names to maximize the terror they can inflict on poor, unsuspecting Arabs.

He notes that "Brother's Keeper" carries a "religious and political dimension." By searching through the Torah and Tanach and Talmud for these names, the IDF is asserting that they have a divine mission, according to Abu Amer.

Abu Amer notes that there has been an increase in the number of religious soldiers, so that the IDF is teaching its troops that to kill Palestinian Arabs is a divine command.

The "expert" adds that IDF soldiers chant the names of the operation as they perform their duties.

However, these names cause fear and terror for Palestinians, he says.

Another "expert," Antoine Shalhat, agrees with Israeli motives in naming these operations and he helpfully adds that the Talmud encourages Jews to kill women and children.

Of the Israeli operations listed in the article, I am only aware of two of them having any Biblical-type name - Brother's Keeper and Pillar of Cloud (Defense.) The others named were Defensive Shield, Summer Rain, Autumn Clouds, Hot Winter and Cast Lead.

IMDB lists at least fifty movies and TV episodes named a variant of "Brother's Keeper."

Just more proof that Zionists own Hollywood!

06/17 Links Pt1: Rivlin: We don’t need to be fearful in our country; Chloe Valdary: Mad World

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: Festering terrorism

Once again the nation has been thrown into a collective state of trepidation. Once again terrorism, inspired by an extremist Islamist theology, has struck in the form of kidnapping.
For a time it seemed as though a relative qualm could be maintained indefinitely. There were, of course, incidents of rock throwing and firebombings. But the general impression was that the Palestinians had learned from the trauma of the second intifada that they could achieve nothing through terrorism. Violence would only be met with more violence.
Unfortunately, that was just an impression. Just under the surface there was a hotbed of terrorist activity. In 2013, according to Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, there were more than 30 kidnapping attempts foiled by our security forces. So far in 2014, 14 attempts have been prevented. In over 10 incidents, terrorists sitting in prisons helped organize the kidnapping attempts.

Khaled Abu Toameh: How the West Facilitates Hamas's Mission

The Obama Administration and those EU governments that rushed to welcome the alliance between Fatah and Hamas did not want to pay attention to the Islamist movement's announcements that it would take advantage of the unity government to move terrorism to the West Bank.
If it turns out that Hamas was indeed behind the kidnapping of the Israeli youths, it shows that the movement has kept its word to use the reconciliation pact with Fatah as a means to move its terror activities to the West Bank. Hamas's ultimate goal is to extend its control to the West Bank, and not merely get new jobs and salaries from Abbas.
The honeymoon between Fatah and Hamas now seems to be nearing its end as the two parties resume their rhetorical attacks on each other in the aftermath of the kidnapping. Abbas may now finally have realized that Hamas's real intention is to get rid of him and turn the West Bank into a battlefield against Israel.
It is obvious that all those who were quick to welcome the partnership between Fatah and Hamas -- the U.S. and Europe -- have emboldened and legitimized the Islamist movement, thus facilitating its mission to carry out terror attacks against Israelis as well as to take over the West Bank.

Chloe Valdary: Mad World

And, to add insult to injury, the world pays the salaries of the corrupt P.A.-Hamas government all while proclaiming to the Arabs that it would be a great idea if the P.A. and Hamas would continue to rule over them. Civil liberties be damned.
No one ever gives a crap about Palestinian Arabs. We just say we do. Because it sounds good and looks nice to write on our Facebook statuses. Actually, we just hate Israel. Because no one ever gives a crap about Jews. And this is a bit strange since the Jewish state is the freest state in the entire Middle East, with rights for women and other minorities.
But we already established that we don’t really give a crap about women either.
Apathy. Hypocrisy. Selfishness. Mad World.
Will you be the one who brings in the light?

Alan Baker: Palestinians and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

One may wonder how the UN Secretary General, the Swiss government and the 194 states parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Geneva conventions, as well as Abbas and his colleagues in the Palestinian leadership, will now relate to contractual obligations incumbent on the Palestinian pursuant to those agreements in light of the kidnapping and illegal hostage holding of three Israeli youths. Two of those youths fall within the age of children as defined in Article 1 – “under 18” – of the convention on the rights of the child.
Even more pertinent is how all the parties view the Palestinian abduction and hostage-taking of the Israeli children in light of the obligation pursuant to Article 34 of the Fourth Geneva convention (1949) according to which “The taking of hostages is prohibited.”

Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child Calls on UN to Do More to Help Save Kidnapped Teens

In a statement on Saturday, Ki-Boon had condemned the kidnapping, expressing “his solidarity with the families of the abducted” and called “for their immediate release.”
But MK Orly Levi-Abekasis, Chair of the Knesset Committee on the Rights of the Child, asked the UN leader to take active steps to help return the three yeshiva students Eyal Yifrach, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Frenkel, 16.
Levi-Abekasis wrote: “The abduction constitutes a profound infringement of conventions and a blatant violation of the right of Israeli children to lead a peaceful, unthreatened life. These are not soldiers, nor were they engaged in battle – they are three young adolescents who should have been dividing their time between preparation for their final exams and their family circle.”

A couple of months after the Egyptian revolution, authorities arrested a Jordanian telecommunications engineer for allegedly directing international phone calls from Egypt to Israeli intelligence, as well as attempting to spread Zionist hair products that cause infertility through Egypt.

The trial of Bashar Abu-Zaid and, in absentia, a (probably fictional) Israeli Mossad agent, "Ophir Harary," has been postponed numerous times since 2011. Abu-Zaid sounds like he is not exactly sane, accusing an Egyptian billionaire of attempting to poison him and screaming at judges during the process.

This week he was sentenced to a year in prison for insulting the Egyptian judiciary, separate from his espionage trial.

An Egyptian newspaper reproduced the Egyptian prosecutor's arguments in the case.

Islam Hamad, head of the State Security Prosecutor's office, started the trial by quoting the Koran 16:118, which says "And to those who are Jews We have prohibited that which We related to you before. And We did not wrong them [thereby], but they were wronging themselves," explaining that Egypt has been faced with malicious Jewish plots for the past 60 years.

The prosecutor claims that Abu-Zaid looked up the names of Israelis on the Internet to contact them about selling the phone call information, and hooked up with this "Ophir Harary", the supposed Mossad agent.

Also, the prosecution claimed "that the accused volunteered to implement Zionist products to spread disease, cancer and infertility, and that he admitted so himself during the investigation, that the Zionist entity is afraid of manpower for the Egyptians, because their numbers are enormous and now exceeds 85 million people."

When Abu Zaid was arrested, he was also accused of importing Zionist hair products that supposedly caused infertility, with an ingredient called "creatine."

The idea that Israelis are attempting to sterilize Arabs has been popular for years, along with the contradictory claim that Israelis are attempting to make Arabs sex-crazy.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

"Operation Brother's Keeper" roundup

Families of the kidnapped teens came together to ask for prayers,

Afterward, flanked by the other parents, Racheli Sprecher Frankel, mother of Naftali Frenkel, told reporters outside the house that the meeting was “very significant.”

“We want… to strengthen security forces, who are working day and night, the decision makers, and the prime minister, who is in contact with us,” she said. “We pray that all the soldiers, and our children, will come home without injury. We send our thanks to all everyone participating in this extraordinary effort.

“During these days,” she continued, “we feel deeply embraced by the entire Jewish nation, which accompanies us throughout the day, which gives us so much support. We ask that the prayers continue… That’s it, all we want is to hug our children. Eyal, Gil-ad, Naftali, we love you, we miss you, be strong, be strong!”

The IDF raided terror nests in Nablus. From the IDF Blog:

IDF soldiers conducted an extensive operation last night, uncovering hundreds of weapons and explosives in Nablus. The forces arrested over 40 terrorist suspects and seized several Palestinian weapons caches. The mission continued Operation Brother’s Keeper, Israel’s extensive effort to find three Israeli teens kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.

Don't know how reliable this is, but there are reports that the kidnapping by Hamas has cause the PA to halt reconciliation with Hamas. An unnamed PA official said that if it is proven that Hamas was behind it then unity would be stopped.

Reprehensible terrorist-supporting MK Haneen Zoabi defends a war crime:

The kidnappers of three yeshiva students last weekend are not terrorists, MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) said Tuesday.

"They're people who don't see any way to change their reality and they are forced to use these means until Israel will wake up a little, until Israeli citizens and society will wake up and feel the suffering of the other," Zoabi said in an interview on Radio Tel Aviv, adding that the kidnappers live under occupation.

"So an Israeli MK is openly justifying the kidnapping of Israeli boys?" the interviewer, Sharon Gal, asked.

"I'm not surprised at all," she responded.

"I'm surprised you're still walking around freely," Gal said, and Zoabi hung up on him.

Her cousin Mohammed Zoabi, who has been outspoken in his support for Israel and has been receiving major coverage in Israeli and Arab media, has been receiving death threats - apparently from his relatives in Nazareth.

Palestinian Arabs have been posting photos of their children celebrating the kidnappings.

Newest "Apartheid?" Poster: Col. Ghassan Alian

Latest in my viral poster series....

English story about the proposed appointment last October here. The actual appointment happened earlier this month.

(h/t Kramerica)

Anti-BDS resolution passes at Western Washington U

I missed this remarkable story from last week. (Yeah, I know, Ian probably caught it because he doesn't miss much, but I have been really busy....)

Associated Students of Western Washington University (ASWWU) became the first North American university student government to pass a proactive resolution against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

In a 7-0 vote, ASWWU resolved that it would not consider BDS resolutions based on national origin because of the “tensions between students related to foreign conflicts should be managed in a healthy and collaborative manner rather than be exacerbated.”

Additionally, the resolution noted that BDS campaigns could result in students being targeted based on their nationality and lead to “disrespectful bias, hostility, hate, or harassment.”

The initiative to pass the anti-BDS resolution was led by Western Washington University (WWU) student Alysa Kipersztok, who brought the resolution to the student government after hearing about how the boycott issue has sharply divided student bodies at other schools.

“I’ve seen how divisive anti-Israel BDS campaigns have been on campuses across the country. [WWU] is a warm, respectful, inclusive community,” Kipersztok said in a statement.

Here's the resolution:

WHEREAS, universities should foster an environment of peace and promotion of global welfare; and,

WHEREAS, Western Washington University is a liberal arts institution that values holistic and multi-faceted approaches to complex issues; and,

WHEREAS, it is the mission of Western Washington University to “bring together individuals of diverse backgrounds and perspectives in an inclusive, student-centered university”; and,

WHEREAS, inclusion is one of the core values of the Associated Students as expressed in the Strategic Plan; and,

WHEREAS, it is the duty of ASWWU to fairly represent the diverse interests and views of all students at Western Washington University and to foster dialogue, learning, and an inclusive campus environment; and,

WHEREAS, ASWWU has an obligation to focus its attention and resources primarily on addressing issues directly impacting the general welfare of the student body; and,

WHEREAS, to maintain a safe and inclusive campus environment, tensions between students related to foreign conflicts should be managed in a healthy and collaborative manner rather than be exacerbated; and,

WHEREAS, boycott, divestment, and sanction measures rooted in national origin or other identity-based features can cause students to be targeted on the basis of nationality; and,

WHEREAS, isolation of student groups can lead to the perpetration of disrespectful bias, hostility, hate, or harassment, against those groups; therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, the ASWWU shall not take positions advocating divestment from, boycott of, sanctioning, or ceasing collaboration with companies, products, or organizations due to their nation of origin.