Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

09/23 Links: Iran Promises to Violate Nuke Deal; Yet More Lies from Presbyterian Peacemakers

From Ian:

U.S. President Barack Obama entered office in 2009 with no foreign policy experience, and now, in retrospect, his Nobel Peace Prize seems undeserved • Above all, Obama's conduct scares us because it appears that his dreams contradict Israel's reality.
Introspection is important, even for those who don't observe Yom Kippur. Take Geir Lundestad for example, a former director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, who recently acknowledged that in hindsight, U.S. President Barack Obama "failed to live up to the panel's expectations" after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize six years ago.
The argument that led to Obama's prize was that it would lend the new president a helping hand, Lundestad claims in his new memoir, "Secretary of Peace: 25 years with the Nobel Prize." But that would be like awarding the Maccabi Tel Aviv soccer team the UEFA Champions League cup before their fateful game against Chelsea. Remember Maccabi's humiliating defeat to Chelsea? That's approximately what happened to Obama in the foreign policy arena. And it is not over yet -- not for Obama nor for Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Introspection sometimes involves some math. How much is $500 million divided by five? That is the sum that the Obama administration spent on training "four or five" local rebel fighters on Syrian soil. Upon closer investigation, we have confirmed that despite the massive investment, these four or five soldiers are not bionic -- they are regular flesh and blood fighters. Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Centcom, which oversees the war effort, revealed this astonishing turn of events to the Senate Armed Services Committee last week. So much money and so much time were invested into training rebels to fight the Islamic State group, and in the end, all there is to show for it is five fighters.
"Today, despite some slow movement at the tactical level," the general tried to reassure the committee, "we continue to make progress across the battlespace in Iraq and Syria in support of the broader USG strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat ISIL." You see? Remember the late Finance Minister Yehoshua Rabinovitz, who declared that "we are on the brink of an abyss, but next year we will make great strides forward"? It's like that.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State group is continuing to achieve more and more victories, murdering men, women and children, destroying archeological treasures and ruling over an area the size of England. How was anyone surprised that Russia and Iran have been dramatically stepping up their support for Syrian President Bashar Assad? But Washington was surprised. (h/t Elder of Lobby)

10 Facts You Need to Know About 10 Years in Gaza

In 2006, the Quartet (the U.N, EU, Russia and the U.S) offered Hamas recognition, provided it accept three conditions: recognition of Israel, the renunciation of violence and existing agreements signed by Israel and the PLO. Hamas has consistently refused these conditions and remains resolute in its intention to destroy Israel, as declared in the Hamas Covenant.
In 2007, Gaza fell under the control of Hamas. Following the violent takeover of Gaza, Hamas proceeded to launch missiles and mortars into Israel. This forced Israel and Egypt to impose an arms blockade on Gaza to prevent Hamas’ efforts to import advanced weaponry.
At the same time, working with the United Nations, Israel has continued to provide steady shipments of goods to residents of the Gaza Strip. The UN has confirmed (in the Palmer Report) that Israel’s naval blockade is a legitimate tool to prevent weapons from reaching Hamas in Gaza. In much of the world, including Canada, the United States, and the European Union, Hamas is a designated terrorist entity.
Since Israel’s disengagement, under Hamas rule Gaza has failed to thrive socially or economically.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Egypt's War on Terrorism Bears Fruit

Egyptian President Sisi's war against the smuggling tunnels will undoubtedly weaken Hamas and other radical groups in the Gaza Strip. Sisi should be commended, rather than criticized, for his courageous actions against Islamist terrorists, both in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai.
Sisi's actions will benefit not only Egyptians, but also many Palestinians who are opposed to Hamas and radical Islamist groups.
When the Egyptians destroy a Hamas tunnel, that is called "war on terrorism." But when Israel destroys a tunnel, that is condemned as an "act of aggression." This moral slithering is why it is important for the international community to stand behind Sisi's relentless war on radical Islam.
Without such backing, Islamists will continue to pose a major threat not only to Israel, but to many Arabs and Muslims who oppose Hamas, Islamic State and Islamic Jihad.
The environment of the Gaza Strip is the last thing that Hamas cares about. Hamas did not think about damage to the environment or to agricultural fields when it used those fields, as well as populated areas, as launching pads for attacking Israel.

G'mar Chatima Tova 5776 - גמר חתימה טובה

This is an update my Yom Kippur message of previous years.

I unconditionally forgive anyone who may have wronged me during this year, and I ask forgiveness for anyone I may have wronged as well.

Specifically (as enumerated in previous years, courtesy of The Muqata from a few years back):

If you sent me email and I didn't reply, or didn't get back to you in a timely fashion -- I apologize. It is sometimes hard for me to answer everyone as I get busier, but I am sorry.
If you sent me a story and I decided not to publish it or worse, didn't give you a hat tip for the story -- I'm sorry. (I sometimes get multiple tips for the same story and I usually credit the first one I saw, which is not always the earliest. And I cannot publish all the stories I am sent, although I try to place appropriate ones in the linkdumps, or tweet them. Whether I like it or not, I am an editor, as well as a writer, graphic designer, video producer, layout editor....so I really can't post everything.)
If you requested help from me and I wasn't able to provide it -- I'm sorry.
I apologize if I posted without the proper attribution, with the wrong attribution, or without attribution at all.
I'm sorry that I don't give hat tips on things I tweet.
If I didn't thank you for a donation, I'm very, very sorry.
I'm sorry if I didn't give the proper respect to my co-bloggers Ian, Mike, Daphne, PoT and Vic. They are all great.
I'm sorry if any of my posts offended you personally.

May this be a year of life, peace, prosperity, happiness and security.

I wish all of my readers who observe Yom Kippur an easy and meaningful fast.

And to my Muslim followers, Eid Mubarak!

I will not be posting until at least Wednesday night.

09/22 Links Pt2: Bassem Eid: World ignores PA corruption; The Politicization of Middle East Studies

From Ian:

Methodist-Affiliated Conference Promotes Hate for Israel as a Hobby

People do all sorts of things with their leisure time. Some people read mystery novels or watch PBS. Others go to car shows or art museums. Some go to the gym or take their dogs on long walks. Others attend science fiction conventions wearing the costumes of their favorite fictional characters. There’s even a group of retired baby-boomers who travel across the country (and sometimes to Israel) to hear stories of Jews behaving badly.
That’s what about 100 Christians, most of them in their late 50s and 60s, did for three days last week at the United Methodist Church in Lexington, Mass. They attended a conference organized by Rev. Dr. Peter Miano, a Methodist pastor and executive director of the Massachusetts-based Society for Biblical Studies. At the opening of the conference, which began Sept. 17, about 100 people showed up to hear Noam Chomsky, a retired linguistics professor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, rail against American exceptionalism.
On the second day, about 80 people heard Miano declare that nationalism, Jewish nationalism especially, is a bad thing. Miano who, under questioning, admitted that Palestinian nationalism is also problematic, also told attendees that modern-day Jews have a tenuous connection to the Israelites described in both the Christian and Jewish scriptures. (Judaism is only mentioned once in the Bible, he said.) With this line of reasoning, Miano suggested modern-day Jews don’t really have a legitimate claim to the land of Israel, even if they did endure a lot of suffering during the Holocaust.
After Miano spoke, Jean Zaru, a Palestinian Christian from the West Bank, tried to portray the uprising against the British in 1936 in Mandatory Palestine — which witnessed the death of 80 Jews during riots precipitated by an anti-Jewish boycott — as an example of Palestinian non-violence.
They also heard Israeli historian Ilan Pappé declare Israel guilty of the crime of genocide against Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. The historian also described people who support a two-state solution as folks who “don’t come from the belly of the beast. I know the beast and it’s a hungry beast.”

Palestinian human rights advocate says world ignores PA corruption

I recently sat down in Jerusalem with Bassem Eid, one of the top Palestinian human rights advocates.
Bassem began his career with Israeli organization, B’Tselem, documenting offenses committed by the Israeli army but in 1996, he resigned in order to create a Palestinian organization that would focus on the Palestinian Authority when he saw how little trust the Palestinians had in their own leadership.
He provides many examples for why that is and says that despite billions in international aid sent over the past 20 years, the Palestinian people have little to show for it.
He also offers his unique perspective on what all those involved, including Israel, should do.
Don't miss Part 2 of the interview with Bassem on the role the media plays in portraying Israel.

Palestinian human rights advocate: World ignores PA corruption

Michael Lumish: The Impending Transformation of Europe

We in the West like to think that everyone ponders more or less as do we. This is arrogance. The fact of the matter is that different cultures are, in fact, different and therefore hold to different cultural, religious and political tendencies. Whatever the cultural, religious, and political tendencies of these many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of immigrants washing into Europe, the continent will have no choice but to absorb and integrate those tendencies.
So, is Bill O'Reilly in the United States correct to call the mass immigration of Arabs into Europe an "invasion."
I do not think so. The word is loaded. It implies an intent to do harm, whereas the vast majority of immigrants are simply seeking better circumstances for themselves. Nonetheless, still another consequence will be an increase in Jihadi violence throughout Europe.
It is hard to imagine that the Islamic State, and other organizations in the Middle East devoted to political Islam, are not embedding operatives into the Arab population streaming into Europe. What this means, of course, is that in short order we will start hearing of additional bombings throughout the continent.
The Western European inclination to take in these immigrants and refugees is grounded in humanitarianism and is, therefore, admirable.
But as we say in the United States, no good deed goes unpunished.

The current issue of the Australian Jewish News carries a letter from a Jewish academic who urges readers “to stand up and speak out vehemently against the current climate of fear and Islamophobia”. Her letter focuses upon two groups that “try to convince Australian voters that Muslims are a danger to society” and she claims that the fact that the newer of the two groups is to be launched later this year by Geert Wilders is “particularly disturbing”. The letter is signed by her in her capacity as co-founder of an organisation of which I have not previously heard, “Voices Against Bigotry”.

Upon googling that organisation I see that its agenda is clearly left-wing, viscerally opposed to the policies of the late Abbott government, and that the group’s other founder, also female, is a former Catholic who converted Islam upon marriage to a Muslim man. I also see that the organisation’s subtitle is “Stand up, speak out, stop Islamophobia” and that it appears to be concerned entirely with countering “the vilification of Muslims”. So much for speaking out against bigotry against any other societal group, then, including bigotry against Jews, women and gays.

The Jewish co-founder holds the chair of Human Rights at the Swinburne University of Technology and, incidentally, is also a member of the Australian Jewish Democratic Society, a body that does not have a warm and fuzzy regard for Israel. I don’t mention her name here because I don’t want to “play the woman” but rather the attitude she represents. Needless to say, consciousness of the Shoah and of the Jews’ experience of persecution and homelessness is at the base of many Jews’ empathy with today’s “refugees” and “asylum seekers” – but given the current migration crisis facing the Western world it’s inherently dangerous, not least for Jews themselves, as well as for the Western world of which Jews and Israel form a part.

The huge throng of Middle Eastern humanity now surging into Southern and Eastern Europe determined upon what media reports dub “a better life” obviously includes men, women and children in genuine fear of their lives, and Australia is pledged to take 12,000 of such people, following the careful screening mandated by prudence. But as Eurostat statistics suggest, just one in every five of the current migrants is from war-torn Syria. Opportunistic economic migrants are swarming into Europe in far greater numbers than those in genuine need of refuge. Moreover, women and girls make up a small percentage of the “migrants”. Most of the migrants are males, mainly young males, with all the negative effects that may portend for Europe, one way or another. We know that there are many aspects of the current crisis much of the mainstream media is withholding from the public – including footage that shows many of the migrants in a very bad light indeed – and we know that in many parts of Western Europe a number of Muslim men have behaved abominable not only to female members of their own families but to other girls and women, chiefly although not exclusively of the “kuffar” variety. And we know that despite the values of the European Enlightenment and despite the notion that all citizens of a state should be governed by the same law and standards of justice we know that certain judges and certain polities have “privileged” Muslim men – for instance, in a tougher sentence given to a Muslim paedophile in the UK for raping two young Asian sisters than if he had raped two white sisters, on the grounds that the Asian victims suffered more than white girls would have since in their culture the rapes devalue them on the marriage market; and in the tolerance of polygamy for Muslim men in several countries of Western Europe with good welfare systems, despite the implications for the status of women and for demography.

Precisely whose “human rights” are ascendant in modern Europe? When there’s a contest
between the human rights of females and the cultural entitlements of Muslim men, whose rights are to be upheld in Western democracies? (Do our left-wing female anti-“Islamophobes” ever lie awake at night worrying about that one?) Just as many Europeans today see Charles Martel and Don John of Austria as wiser than their contemporary progeny, so many must see the irony in Napoleon’s insistence on according Jews French citizenship only after satisfying himself that Jews had come to terms with modernity (“Do you practice polygamy?” was one of the questions that they of course truthfully answered in the negative!)

A typically astute article by the UK’s Professor Denis MacEoin – a true friend of Jews and Israel – (http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6502/refugees-arab-states) makes these points: “Refugees arrive in some of Europe's poorest states, mainly Greece, Italy and Hungary, but insist that they have a right to head for more prosperous nations where welfare benefits are higher and healthcare freely available… It may also be that the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and elsewhere see the movement of Muslim refugees to Europe as a golden opportunity to increase their work in da'wa (Islamic proselytization). This crisis has exposed the abject failure of the EU, the UN, the OIC or anybody else to criticize the bloated nations of the Gulf with even a tiny fraction of the abuse they pour daily on the only democratic state in the Middle East, Israel. It is a repetition of the ongoing Palestinian refugee crisis, with the Arab states refusing to give jobs and citizenship to Palestinian Arabs over decades, keeping them in refugee camps and laying the blame on Israel. Is it surprising that the Arab world is still on the steady downward course it embarked on in 1948?” Europe, motivated by a politically correct obsession with multiculturalism, has used mass immigration to beef up its workforce and create a semblance of diversity, only to find that many of its immigrants -- above all Muslims from Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Somalia -- have remained averse to integration and assimilation into their host societies.”

09/22 Links Pt1: Can Obama Ignore Abbas’s Anti-Jewish Slurs?; Israel Needs New Friends

From Ian:

Heatwave, bikes and Jerusalem tensions: Israel prepares for Yom Kippur

Israelis preparing to begin the 25-hour Yom Kippur fast were greeted Tuesday by a heatwave, with meteorologists warning that temperatures would rise further on Wednesday. Meanwhile, recent tensions in Jerusalem have resulted in a bolstered police presence in the capital and a complete closure in the Palestinian territories.
The highest temperatures are expected in Eilat and Beersheba, reaching 38 degrees Celsius. In Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, temperatures are expected to reach 34 degrees at their peak, and climb to 35 in Tiberias.
On Thursday, temperatures will drop slightly and humidity rise again, but it will continue to be hotter than the seasonal average.
Magen David Adom and other emergency health services are on alert for the holiday, during which some Israelis in risk groups, like pregnant women and elderly people, often suffer health issues related to the stringent fast, in which neither food nor liquids are allowed. Those at risk were advised to seek medical advice before fasting.
Rescue personnel were also anticipating the usual spate of grazes, bumps and bruises stemming from the unofficial Yom Kippur tradition of riding bikes through Israel’s deserted streets. An informal ban on driving is customarily observed across the country for the duration of the holiday.

Yemen Strikes, Israel, and Double Standards in the Middle East

The Saudis confront in Yemen the same challenge Israel has faced in Gaza: how to deal with combatants who fire from urban areas using civilians for cover. But Riyadh seems to have less regard for civilian casualties and hasn’t been held accountable the way Israel is for such injuries and death, whether the issue is errant airstrikes, incompetence, or willful targeting of homes, markets, hospitals, and refugee camps. Last week, UNICEF reported that a coalition airstrike had targeted a warehouse used for water distribution, jeopardizing 11,000 Yemenis.
All of this puts the Obama administration in an untenable position. Yes, Washington is Israel’s key supporter and has defended Israel at the United Nations over Gaza. But when it comes to Yemen, the U.S. is supporting the Saudi coalition airstrikes with targeting information, logistics, and other intelligence. Washington has advised the Saudis to set limits on their targets, and U.S. officials expressed concerns as early as April about the campaign’s open-ended nature. Still, the Obama administration has avoided public criticism.
The issue is less defending Israel than recognizing this double standard in the Middle East.
The Saudis escape consequences for their actions in Yemen in part because the Arab coalition is nine countries deep and rich too. The Arab League–of which Yemen is a member–supports the coalition campaign. And a majority of U.N. members appear to be happy to ignore distant, poor Yemen while they support the Palestinian cause and fault Israeli human rights abuses. And unlike the Israelis, the Saudi military doesn’t investigate the accusations against it.
The next time Israel–or the U.S., for that matter–is accused of killing civilians while operating in urban areas against legitimate military targets, it would be nice if critics, the Saudis in particular, held their fire. But I’m not holding my breath.

Naked clown activists issue apology to Palestinians after protesting at wall separating Israel with West Bank

Some Facebook users commented “shame on them” while others asked if the nudity was necessary and said they should consider that the Muslim community in Palestinian territories may have “different principles”.
The group justified their actions, saying “when you stand before this shameful wall, all humanity is naked".
However, the group later issued an apology on Facebook to “any Palestinians who may feel offended by our action against the wall of shame that pierces the West Bank and every human heart".
“This is not an attack on Islam, it is our way of protesting [against] the existence of the wall,” Iván Prado, spokesman for the group added.

The Palestine Center for Policy and Survey Research released the results of a new survey, and it shows that Palestinian Arabs have very little desire to live in peace with Israel.

The finding that received some press attention is that 48% support and 51% oppose a two-state solution. But there are more interesting results that explain why.

The constant barrage of insane anti-Israel propaganda in the media and schools is part of the reason. For example, an overwhelming majority of 85% believe that "Israel’s long term aspiration is to annex the lands occupied in 1967 and expel their population or deny them their rights" while only 15% believe that Israel’s long term aspiration is to insure its security and withdraw from all or most of the territories.

Another overwhelming majority believe that "al Haram al Sharif is in grave danger:" 50% believe that Israel intends to destroy al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock and replace them with a Jewish temple; 21% believe that it intends to divide the plateau on which the two mosques sit so that Jews would have a synagogue alongside the Muslim holy places; and 10% believe that Israel intends to simply allow Jews to pray there. 81% say they are worried that Israel would demolish or confiscate their homes even though, another reflection of how their media coverage is out of whack with a reality where some 97% live under PA rule.

Even more bizarrely, 59% believe that Hamas won the Gaza war last year.

When a population is fed nothing but incitement and lies, how can anyone expect them to act rationally?

So we then see that a large plurality support terror against Israel. 42% think that armed terrorism is the most effective to get a state, 29% think negotiations is the most effective way, and 24% think "non-violent resistance" (which includes stone throwing and firebombs, in their worldview) is the most effective way.

Even though a majority now opposes a two-state solution, 69% oppose a one-state solution in which Arabs and Jews enjoy equal rights. Which means that the solution a plurality or majority support is one where Jews are second class citizens, or expelled.

Then there was this curious result:

When asked about the long term aspiration of the PA and the PLO, 64% said that it is to recover all or parts of the land occupied in 1967 while 26% said it was to conquer the state of Israel or conquer the state of Israel and kill most of the Jews.

Isn't it interesting so many Palestinians don't think of the PA as wanting a peaceful two-state solution?

Elder gets results! Imperial War Museum removes (one) offensive item

Last week I reported about how the Imperial War Museum website referred to the Jewish Brigade as "terrorists."

One person who emailed them about this received this reply:

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We were dismayed to learn of the errors in the online record for the item in our collection and offer you our most sincere apologies:

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205196547

We fully accept that the information relating to this item was factually incorrect and in no way met the standards to which we aspire. As a consequence, we have removed the record from our website whilst we correct the errors. Rest assured that we are looking at related areas to ensure that there are no similar issues.

I do hope that this addresses your concerns.

Yours sincerely,

Bryn Hammond
Head of the Department of Collections & Curatorial Development
IWM
Lambeth Road
London SE1 6HZ

Algemeiner reports:

The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in the U.K. removed an item from its website this week, following complaints from a Jewish human rights group about its offensive nature.

The description of a photo featuring men from the Jewish Brigade’s 1st Battalion from WWII opened with the words “terrorist activities.” The Jewish Brigade was defined as having been formed in September 1944 and fought in Italy under the British Eighth Army — with this additional assertion: “Many of its members went on to join the Haganah and other illegal formations.”

The poster, part of the museum’s collection on World War II, is currently inaccessible on the website. The IWM did not respond to The Algemeiner‘s emails about its removal.

But it was removed after Simon Wiesenthal Center Director for International Relations Shimon Sameuls wrote a letter to IWM Director-General Diane Lees on Monday urging her to “to withdraw this offensive poster, take disciplinary measures against the apparent antisemite responsible and make a public apology to the Jewish community.”

“The Jewish Brigade under British command were heroes who combated Fascist terrorists in Italy,” he argued. “They were eye witnesses to the annihilation of their people as they joined the liberators of the camps…”

Samuels said calling the Jewish Brigade soldiers “terrorists” is “the greatest Holocaust revisionism imagination.” He added that the offensive description tarnished the museum and “betrays the cause of British integrity.”

Jewish blogger Elder of Ziyon called the description “inexcusable” and “outrageous.” The blogger berated the IWM for “calling [the soldiers] future terrorists” while failing to give any details about “how the Brigade was formed, how the soldiers trained and how they fought.”

Elder of Ziyon also criticized the IWM for referring to the Haganah — an underground military organization in Israel from 1920 to 1948 — as an “illegal” organization. “It wasn’t,” he asserted. “At times it cooperated with the British.”

However, there are still plenty of problematic materials there, such as referring to the Jewish Agency as being behind a "campaign of violence." See the comments on my previous article for other examples.

.@UNRWA school site equates religious Jews with Nazis, encourages kids to attack Jews

On August 19, in response to my findings that many UNRWA teachers were posting antisemitic and pro-terror posts on Facebook, spokesperson Chris Gunness said:

Where we find credible allegations of neutrality violations among our staff, we investigate and where it's appropriate we take disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. And that process is audited by our major donors.

-Chris Gunness, UNRWA Spokesperson

August 19, 2015

How about when an UNRWA school itself regularly posts pro-terror and antisemitic posts?

The Facebook page of UNRWA's "Deir Yassin" co-ed secondary school in the Al-Buss camp in Lebanon, a school whose very name is dedicated to inciting hate against Jews, has many examples that not only violate UNRWA's supposed rules against bias, but obliterate them.

And it has been doing it for years.

For example, it published this antisemitic poster on their Facebook page in the wake of the abduction and murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir in July 2014:

It changes the Jewish star of th Israeli flag into a swastika and depicts religious Jews dancing in celebration at the burning of a child.

The graphic was posted before anyone was arrested for the crime, but after it was already roundly condemned by all parts of Israeli society.

The caption in Facebook says "Zionist terrorists." The use of silhouettes of dancing Hasidim show exactly what they mean when they say "Zionist."

The school also directly encourages its kids to use violence, as it posted this Land Day poster this year making those who hurl stones at Jews into heroes:

This more recent graphic, posted only last week, was more explicit in calling for students to fight Jews:

The caption says "Al-Aqsa has 'fityan' (a word meaning both "young men" and "heroes") to protect it. Be with them and one of them!"

Other examples include this post glorifying war:

In fact, this was the school's Facebook cover image last August:

But they also teach "human rights," so it's all OK!

Because antisemitism and encouraging kids to fight is a "human right" in UNRWA's twisted thinking.

Another photo on the site shows Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin as well.

These aren't the opinions of individual teachers. This is the official UNRWA school site on Facebook, where the graphic on every page header makes it clear that there is no room for Israel in their world:

If UNRWA really cared about bias as much as they claim, this entire school would be closed down. But instead they will tell the school that its Facebook page makes them look bad so they should take clean it up, and avoid doing anything to actually fix the problem.

Because this is all UNRWA does when confronted with the truth. It sweeps it under the rug.

.
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Massive #BDSFail as 99% of BDS' "50,000 South Africa protesters" don't show up

From News24:

The planned protest by the pro-Palestine BDS movement against Grammy award-winning artist Pharrell Williams's concert on Monday night could be the biggest action against a musician in South African history, the group said.

The local Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement expects at least 40 000 people to picket outside the main entrance of Grand West Casino in Cape Town.

The internationally acclaimed producer and performer has come under fire for collaborating with local retail group Woolworths who have been the focus of local pro-Palestine activists for their trade with Israel.

The Western Cape High Court ruled in favour of BDS at the weekend, declaring that the City of Cape Town's restriction of the upcoming protest of 150 people was unconstitutional and therefore invalid, according to the pro-Palestine group.

The organisation applied for a permit from the city to accommodate 50 000 protestors outside the concert. It said after consulting with safety and town planning experts, that it decided to compromise and settle for 40 000 protestors.

The BDSers claim that they had all the logistics ready for a massive protest:

Logistics organised for today’s protest event include fencing, safety personnel and marshals, ambulances and medics, free trains, two shuttles (to assist elderly, pregnant woman and young children), volunteer cleaners, water sachets, neon glow-sticks, face-paint, cultural groups and artists (including award-wining artist Tumi Molekane), over 250 hand written ‪#‎AreWithUs‬ ‪#‎BoycottWoolworths‬ placards and 150 Palestinian flags.
Members of the community can be assured that this protest event is well organised, it is going ahead and we will do so in a lawful and dignified manner.

Here is the biggest crowd shot I could find in a RT video of the event:

Not exactly impressive, is it?

From Reuters:

About 500 people demonstrated outside a Cape Town venue where Pharrell Williams was due to perform on Monday, in protest against the U.S. pop star's promotional deal with South African retailer Woolworths and its trade ties with Israel.

From 50,000 to 500? 99% of the expected crowd didn't bother to come.

Massive #BDSFail.

09/21 Links Pt2: Prosor: UN is run by Dictators; PA given 15 Marshall Plans - with nothing to show for it

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: UN Gives Palestinians Flags, But No Democracy

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a motion allowing the Palestinian flag to be flown in front of the UN buildings.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership and various "pro-Palestinian" groups have hailed the vote as a "symbolic victory" for the Palestinians. The Palestinian representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said that the vote regarding the flag would be "another step" towards solidifying Palestinian statehood.
The 119 UN member states that voted in favor of the motion are apparently convinced that this is a "big victory" for the Palestinians and their political aspirations. But what these countries do not know is that flying a Palestinian flag outside UN buildings is probably the last thing Palestinians need at this stage.
The vote in favor of hoisting the flag is not going to bring democracy, freedom of expression and transparency to Palestinians. The Palestinians do not need "symbolic victories" such as the one concerning the Palestinian flag.
A Palestinian living in the West Bank or Gaza Strip does not really care if his flag is flown in front of a UN building. For Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, there are more urgent matters that need to be dealt with immediately, such as the harsh economic conditions and the repressive measures of the Hamas regime. For those living in the West Bank, economic development, employment and democracy are more important than any flag raised in front of the UN headquarters.

United Nations Run by Dictators, Says Israel’s Outgoing Ambassador Prosor

Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the United Nations derided the international body in an interview on Sunday saying the organization was run by dictators.
Speaking to Israel’s Channel 2, Ambassador Ron Prosor, who has just completed four years of service at the UN, described the UN as a “hypocritical organization that is controlled by the hands of dictators, tyrants and non-democratic nations.”
Prosor also called the UN’s effectiveness into question, painting it as toothless. “Is the UN taking a leadership role in the Iranian matter?” he asked rhetorically. “Is the UN really providing a solution to what is happening in Syria? There is a genocide going on there. The UN, really, when it comes to the central conflicts in the world today, is not at the forefront of the solutions to these conflicts, and this springs forth from its composition.”

Ambassador Prosor's final speech at the General Assembly

“I look forward to the day the flags of our two peoples will be raised side by side, and Israelis and Palestinians live together in peace.
However, instead of trying to guide the Palestinians down the path to peace, you are helping them to ride right off the tracks.
You must tell the Palestinians: Enough with empty symbols, enough with political showmanship, enough with hijacking the UN agenda. Stop stalling, and start negotiating.”
Ambassador Prosor: “In my time here, I have seen the Palestinians use and abuse the UN, time and again. The sad part is: that you allow them to get away with it. You must make it clear to the Palestinians that the only way to achieve statehood is through direct negotiations. As long as the Palestinians believe they can achieve their political goals without making concessions, they will continue to avoid taking the difficult decisions needed for peace.
The real question we face today is not whether the Palestinians will raise a flag, but whether the UN will raise a white flag, and surrender the principles of this institution.”

Human rights activist: The Palestinian Authority has been given enough money to equal 15 Marshall Plans -- with nothing to show for it

Over the last 20 years, various countries, including Canada, have invested over US$30B in the emerging Palestinian state, with little to show for it. Calev Myers of the Jerusalem Institute of Justice explains why.
"The international community made a terrible mistake in 1994," Myers says.
"In order to push for two states for two peoples, they recognized Yassir Arafat as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people and helped him create the Palestinian Authority."
Before Arafat came to power, much of the money for Palestinian health care and education came from private NGOs.
But starting in 1994, he asked international governments to give him the money directly to build infrastructure.
Instead he shut down clinics and left building projects abandoned.
The money disappeared. Where did it go?
Besides ending up in Palestinian leaders' bank accounts, Meyers says it is also given to Palestinians "sitting in Israeli prisons for carrying out violent crimes against Israelis."
These terrorists are even paid on a sliding scale depending on how brutal the crime was.
So what is the solution? Myers offers some suggestions for change.

Donate to EoZ and help repair the world!

The past few months have been busy as always at EoZ Central.

There were two major themes covered almost exhaustively.

One was Amnesty International, which announced a tool based on lies to prove that Israel was guilty of war crimes in 2014. Nearly every one of Amnesty's tweets about events that happened a year before, claiming that Israel was targeting civilians, was countered by me showing that Israel had a legitimate target for each specified attack.

Even though I provided actual "martyr posters" for many of the people amnesty called "civilian," they have not corrected a single data point, proving beyond any doubt that Amnesty International values anti-Israel lies over the truth.

The second major theme was UNWRA, as a story I came up with last year - showing UNRWA teachers posting antisemitic and pro-terror entries on Facebook - got some serious media coverage, culminating, so far, with the US State Department issuing a wishy-washy memo about it.

Of course, EoZ covered many other stories, such as the Iran nuclear deal, the Temple Mount violence, media bias and many examples of unreported Arab antisemitism. I made posters and cartoons.

If you are going to misuse the term "tikkun olam," you might as well misuse it for a valuable cause!

The EoZ Twitter account has now reached 16,000 followers. The Facebook page has over 4000 "Likes."

I am happy to say that we now have six people contributing to the content of the site. Besides myself, we have

The illustrious Ian, who has done over 1,300 linkdumps that are the best daily roundup of news stories available anywhere
Mike Lumish, who has been writing his column now for about 18 months.
"PreOccupied Territory", who adds a bit of humor to what can seem to be very humorless topics.
Vic Rosenthal, whose insightful analysis has created some memorable comment threads.
"Daphne Anson," who adds much needed historical context to today's news stories.

This all takes time, effort and money. Please donate to help keep the blog going.

Click here to donate with Paypal.

If you prefer, you can send an Amazon gift card.to my email coolboardpresident - at- yahoo.com.

And have a g'mar chatimah tova!

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The number of trucks into Gaza keeps increasing

Palestine Press Agency reports that 970 trucks are scheduled to enter Gaza today, including 180 filled with construction materials.

Usually about a hundred truckfuls of goods end up being canceled by the Gaza buyers, but this indicates that the amount of goods entering Gaza keeps on increasing week after week.

Yesterday, 865 trucks entered Gaza. Also, 1425 people crossed the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel.

Last week UN officials said reconstruction has "visibly accelerated" over the past two months in Gaza.