Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

10/14 Links Pt1: Jews are being killed simply for being Jews; No, It’s Not The Occupation, Stupid

From Ian:

Jews are being killed simply for being Jews

One myth in particular has shown itself evergreen: the idea that Jews are trying to undermine Islam and its holy sites in Jerusalem. We have heard the lie that “Al Aqsa is in danger” since the 1920s, when the Palestinian leader Haj Amin Al-Husseini tried to stir up local rioters against Jews, inciting them to murder. Husseini would distribute pamphlets saying: “O Arabs! Do not forget that the Jew is your worst enemy and has been the enemy of your forefathers.”
Last month, President Abbas called on Jews not to put their “filthy feet” on the Temple Mount, again inciting anti-Jewish violence. Yet when Palestinian activists use this revered holy site as a temporary base from which to attack Israelis – piling up rocks, fireworks and explosives – it is they who desecrate the place.
Those making libellous claims about Israel and Al Aqsa today ignore the fact that 3.5 million Muslims visited the site last year, compared to 200,000 Christians and just 12,500 Jews. Indeed, Israel has maintained a delicate status quo since 1967, when it regained control of the Old City of Jerusalem, and handed back the administration of the Muslim holy sites to Islamic administrators known as the Waqf. Israel is determined not to let the status quo change, and has recently banned politicians from any visits to the site, in order to calm tensions.
But ultimately, what we are seeing is not about religious rights or land. It is about the same old issue. This is the issue that people least want to discuss but which most needs to be discussed. The excuse may change with the passing years. But the reality is that, be it 1921, 1929, 1936 or 2015, Jews are being murdered simply for being Jews.
Eitan Na’eh is Israel’s Acting Ambassador to Great Britain

1929 vs today

The current wave of terrorism was born from a lie. A lie that contributed to the incitement. Incitement that, regretfully, continues. Incitement that continues just like the lie. And that lie is that Israel is planning to rebuild the Temple and to that end is also planning to demolish Al-Aqsa mosque, which is holy to Muslims. If it weren't for the terrorist attacks, the casualties, the wounded, the worry, it would sound like a joke. A very bad joke, by the way.
As far as the people who keep things stirred up online are concerned, lies are legitimate now, just like they were in the past. Lies are allowed if they facilitate the murder of Jews. Lies are allowed if they challenge the Jewish people's sovereignty over their holy sites in the City of David.
In August 1929, the mufti, Hajj Amin al-Husseini, preached a sermon in which he decreed that "anyone who kills a Jew is promised a place in the world to come." Can anyone say that anything has changed among the extremists?
By the way, that sermon led to the riots of 1929 in which 133 Jews were slaughtered while the British cavalry looked on, indifferent.

PMW: Fatah brought soil from Al-Aqsa to grave of killer of two in Jerusalem

Fatah brought soil from the Al-Aqsa Mosque to the grave of terrorist Muhannad Halabi, who murdered two in the Old City of Jerusalem "so that the dead body of Martyr Muhannad Halabi can hug the soil for which he died a Martyr." [Fatah Twitter account, Oct. 8, 2015] Fatah thus follows the ideology of its chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, who recently justified the violence and murder as "protection of the holy sites," as Palestinian Media Watch documented.
In another demonstration of support for the current terror and murder campaign, today the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Education is planting olive trees and placing "signs with the names of the Martyrs," honoring the "Martyrs" of what they call "the ongoing popular uprising." The ministry event follows two weeks of Palestinian terror attacks in which several Israelis have been murdered and dozens wounded in stabbing and shooting attacks carried out by Palestinians. The PA and Fatah leadership have referred to these terrorists as "Martyrs."
The PA Ministry of Education stated that its tree planting ceremony was a symbol of its dedication to the "Martyrs," and mentioned that some of them were school pupils. This refers to, among others, Hassan Manasrah (15) who together with an even younger boy brutally stabbed 2 people earlier this week, leaving a 13-year-old boy fighting for his life with multiple stab wounds. The ministry event was to "honor" the terrorists' "sacrifices":

PMW: The PA lies to defend terror

One of the ways the Palestinian Authority is keeping its population angry, willing to riot and continue terror attacks against Israelis, is by falsely portraying every terrorist as an innocent victim of Israel.
PA Chairman Abbas’ spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, stated that Israel had “executed” Hassan ‎Manasrah (15), one of two young Palestinian terrorists, who repeatedly stabbed and critically wounded a 13-‎year-old boy (name undisclosed) who was riding his bike and also stabbed Yossef Ben Shalom (21) in the Pisgat ‎Ze'ev neighborhood of East Jerusalem yesterday:
“Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina stated that the execution of child Hassan Manasrah... is an abominable crime, and the legal, humanitarian and political responsibility for it is on the Israeli government. He demanded that the Israeli government catches those who committed this crime. Abu Rudeina stated: ‘If the government of Israel continues this escalation [of violence] by carrying out more grave acts of execution, the situation in the region will go out of control, and everyone will pay a heavy price for these Israeli crimes.’” [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 13, 2015]
PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah also made the same false accusation before the president of India, Pranab Mukherjee:
“Just yesterday the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood the child Hassan Manasrah and his innocence and calls for help did not help.” [WAFA, Oct 13, 2015]

The Ministry of Awqaf (religious endowments) in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq has officially opened up a Representation of the Jewish Religion.

Two staff members have been appointed to this function.

This is the actualization of Ministerial Order No. 181 issued in April, which "provides for the establishment of the Representation of the Jews in the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs."

The purpose of the act is to act as a liaison to Jews and to serve the Kurdistan's Jews In on formal occasions

According to estimates there are currently about 430 Jewish families in Iraq's Kurdistan.

The ministry has previously done setablished a similar office for Baha'is.

See here for details on Kurdistan' Jewish history, and here for an explanation of ties between Israel and the Kurds.

UNRWA's webpage proudly says:

Mohammed Assaf is UNRWA's first ever Regional Youth Ambassador

As a "child of UNRWA," Mohammed Assaf is the ideal individual to be the first goodwill ambassador in the more than six decades of our history. A Palestine refugee himself, he grew up in the Khan Younis camp in Gaza. Not long ago, he was one of the over 220,000 students attending the Agency's 245 schools in Gaza. For him, the connection continued at home: His mother, too, was an UNRWA teacher. Throughout his childhood – at school, at the doctor's, at community centres – he saw firsthand the work that UNRWA does for Palestine refugees.

Since his appointment in June 2013, by Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi, as the Agency's Regional Youth Ambassador for Palestine Refugees, the 23-year-old Arab Idol winner has used his voice and his talent to help UNRWA give other young people the same support it gave him. With the universal language of his music, he carries the message of UNRWA and young Palestine refugees to new audiences, including in the region – to Dubai and Kuwait – and even further. In November 2013, he took that message to the United States, bringing the voice of Palestine refugee youth to the United Nations in New York City.

This wonderful, shining example for UNRWA explicitly supports attacking Israelis.

This was his Instagram message yesterday:

I am not quite sure about the symbolism, but his image is supportive both of rock throwing and, apparently, of shooting (those are bullets sprouting from the flowers, right?)

This is also on his Twitter account.

Mohammed Assaf the perfect youth ambassador for UNRWA.

Remember - at UNRWA , "peace starts here."

And based on the extensive evidence I've collected, "peace" for UNRWA means no Jews left alive in the Middle East.

(h/t Craig, Bob K)

The cyber-intifada

Most content generators want to find the magic formula that would make a tweet or post or video explode in popularity - to go viral.

There is no shortage of advice on the web on how to make something go viral, but let's face it - there is no recipe. Sometimes, the stars align and something goes viral, but behind every successful meme are thousands that went nowhere.

Just like there are many people who try to find ways to make their content go viral, so there are many people who have been trying to incite Palestinian Arabs to a third intifada.

Just as there are entire companies nowadays dedicated to finding and pushing viral content, there are organizations and prominent people who have been working hard to start a new terror spree. They try to anger the Arab street with lies and deception.

We've seen it for years.

Palestinian leaders in 2009 warned of a new intifada.
Fatah in 2010 threatened a new intifada.
People called for a new intifada if hunger striking prisoners would die.
Muslim leaders, specifically Sheikh Tamimi and Sheikh Raed Salah, have been making up lies about the Temple Mount for many years all meant to spark a new intifada.
Tamimi predicted that Jews would massacre Arabs on the Temple Mount last year.
Journalist Khalid Amayreh has been inciting and pushing for an uprising for years.
Even Chris Gunness warned that an intifada would start if UNRWA wasn't properly funded.

I have documented literally hundreds of examples of Arab incitement against Jews. There i always a different reason to be angry, but the desired result is the same: violence.

This is one reason why blaming the "settlements" or Israel's Temple Mount policy or any other alleged grievance is spectacularly wrong. If any or all of the supposed grievances are addressed, more would replace them. One only has to go back to before 1967 or before 1948 or before even the first Zionist Congress and see that there was still violence and there was still incitement.

The ultimate "cause"is that Jews aren't Arabs and non-Muslims aren't Muslims. The violence of today is just a variant of the oldest violence there is: you are different than me so therefore you must be eliminated.

But the proximate cause is the never-ending tsunami of incitement in Arab newspapers, Arab classrooms, mosques and social media.

Any event, no matter how innocuous, can and is twisted to incite Arabs against Jews. Two Arabs who were tragically hit by a truck when trying to repair their car were transformed into "martyrs" who were "crushed to death by Jewish extremist settlers" in Arab media.

The incitement is constant.

Sometimes, it is successful. The Arabs believe one rumor more than others, or become more enraged than usual over some report, and it spills over into violence. This is the equivalent of "going viral." One pseudo-reason for violence somehow gains prominence and a critical mass of mentally unbalanced people are successfully goaded into action by the people who are always, always trying to start a new war against the Jews.

Traditionally, the result would be large numbers of Arabs joining riots. Here is an example from 1920 where an annual holiday combined with the supposedly important demands of Arab leaders were used to spark anti-Jewish riots.

"Do want we want or we will kill you" has been the slogan of Arab leaders towards the Jews for 150 years.

To be sure, the bigger uprisings are not spontaneous In the case of the second intifada, Arafat engineered the entire thing, just as the Mufti of Jerusalem was behind the deadly 1921, 1929 and 1936 riots..

This time, there is a difference. The mobs and the inciters are still there - but they are in cyberspace.

A 2011 Facebook page calling for a new intifada (which has recently been resurrected) had 44,000 likes. And that it hardly unusual. There are many such Facebook groups, and social media providers are woefully bad at stamping out explicit incitement, especially in Arabic.

The antisemitic rhetoric in social media is even more unhinged and much more violent than it is in more traditional media or in mosques. For example, earlier this year, many Facebook users changed their profile names to "death to Jews." Antisemitism was no longer one of their many attributes, it is their defining attribute.This is relatively new.

There is a reason so many of the current stabbers are young.

Previous generations included a degree of pragmatism that their parents or teachers or preachers might still have. Arab newspapers usually try to pretend to have some standards of truth and morality. Arab adults, as much as they hate Israel, don't want to make their own lives miserable. They preach hate, but with a wink, saying that the real destruction of Israel will wait for Arab unity or the next excuse. Even Hamas has been actively discouraging attacks from Gaza. Even Ishaq Badran's proud father claims that he told his son to stay away from trouble. There was a calming factor built in with the hate.

But Facebook groups have no compunctions. Their writers have no filters. They don't care about consequences. They want the consequences. And very possibly, some of those groups are run by terror groups like Islamic Jihad, who are particularly adept at using new media.

On Facebook and YouTube, there is no need for forbearance or subtlety. The more extreme your position, the more popular you are. So the most egregious anti-Israel and antisemitic lies are rewarded with more "Likes" and more people making up more ridiculous slander. The feedback loop creates more and more hate.

This is a cyber-intifada, where the bulk of the incitement was hidden beneath the surface even among those who watch for it. In the dark corners of Facebook and message boards, the hate is endemic.

This month, that hate went viral. Youth have been brainwashed.

I am afraid that we are only in the beginning of this war. The electronic inciters ensure that successful attacks must be emulated and failed attacks must be avenged. Traditional disincentives to terror simply don't exist in cyberspace. Arab adults don't want this violence but they cannot openly oppose it because no one wants to be branded a "collaborator." Arabs who publicly oppose the violence are almost completely nonexistent. (One exception I found, an Arab Canadian singer, besides proud Arab Israelis.)

Israel has to think very creatively to find a way to find new disincentives for those who have been brainwashed more thoroughly than ever before. Right now, anything done against the terrorists inspired by cyberhate will be used as fuel for the next round. And already more organized terror groups are feeling empowered to use this spark to their advantage.

Unfortunately, this is not a passing phase.

Kerry lies as new statistics prove: IT ISN'T ABOUT THE SETTLEMENTS

From JPost:

A "massive increase in settlements" built by Israel in recent years has led to the "frustration" and "violence" now stoking its decades-old conflict with the Palestinians, US Secretary of State John Kerry said at Harvard University on Tuesday night.

In his most extensive comments yet on the terror wave– which has claimed the lives of dozens in the last two weeks– Kerry said a permanent resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was becoming increasingly elusive, thus aggravating tensions on the ground.

"What's happening is that, unless we get going, a two-state solution could conceivably be stolen from everybody," Kerry said. "You have this violence because there's a frustration that is growing and a frustration among Israelis who don't see any movement."

This idea that the settlement are ever-expanding and taking up more and more room to make a two-state solution impossible is the conventional wisdom of the Left - of the White House and EU and J-Street and Peace Now and every NGO funded by the New Israel Fund.

And it is a lie.

I have pointed out, using statistics from Peace Now, that actual physical expansion of state-approved settlements has been close to zero for decades.

This lie is a convenient one. For the Left, it demonizes Israel and justifies Palestinian terror, even though their situation on the ground has only improved in recent years. (That may change quickly with the current violence.)

And for the Right, Bibi Netanyahu pretends that he has been the force behind the increased numbers of Jews in Judea and Samaria.

Neither is true.

From Ha'aretz:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the number of West Bank settlers has grown by about 120,000 since he took office in 2009.

But while the number is correct, the reason has little to do with the pace of construction in the settlements during his tenure. In fact, since Netanyahu became prime minister in 2009, there has been less construction activity in the settlements than under any other prime minister since 1995.

Netanyahu made his statement during an internal meeting on Tuesday, in an effort to rebuff growing criticism from the right. A recording of his remarks was obtained later by Michal Shemesh, a reporter for Army Radio.

“The left accuses us that from 280,000 [settlers] we’ve risen to 400,000, and that was during years when we were told that official U.S. policy was not even one house,” Netanyahu can be heard to say.
“Praise God, this isn’t far from the truth. It’s the biggest increase in our world.”

This increase, however, isn’t because Netanyahu has gone on a building spree. According to data from the Housing and Construction Ministry, an average of 1,554 houses a year were built in the settlements from 2009 to 2014 — fewer than under any of his recent predecessors.

By comparison, the annual average was 1,881 under Ariel Sharon and 1,774 under Ehud Olmert. As for Ehud Barak, during his single full year as prime minister, in 2000, he built a whopping 5,000 homes in the settlements.

The current rate is also only about half the pace of settlement construction during Netanyahu’s first term of office, in 1996-99, when it averaged almost 3,000 homes a year.

So why has the number of settlers increased so sharply? Due to natural growth, especially in the two ultra-Orthodox towns of Betar Ilit and Modi’in Ilit. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the fertility rate in the settlements is 5.01 children per woman, which is far higher than anywhere else in Israel. In the northern district, which ranks second, the fertility rate is just 3.91 children per woman.

Thus in 2013, for instance, 12,129 children were born in the settlements and only 535 people died. This is also a very low death rate, which stems from the fact that the settler population is relatively young.

The statistics bureau’s data also shows that 74 percent of the growth in the number of settlers from 2009-2014 stemmed from natural increase. In 2014, for instance, the number of settlers rose by 14,200.

Of these, 11,800, or 83 percent of the growth, was a result of natural increase (births minus deaths) and only 2,400 the result of net migration to the settlements. In 2012, by contrast, natural increase accounted for only 68 percent of the total increase in the number of settlers.

Ha'aretz of course is spinning this news, which contradicts 90% of its reporting, against Bibi, However in this case they are right - Netanyahu has not been nearly as much of a champion of settlements as he pretends.

The truth is that there has been next to no expansion. No land is being "gobbled up" by the supposedly voracious Jews. No Arab houses are being demolished so that Jews could move in.

The only reason these lies are so accepted is because people like John Kerry want to believe them.

More sickening is the idea that Kerry is justifying Arab violence by ascribing a bogus reason to it. We'll discuss the real reason for the current terror spree in an upcoming post.

A one-question current events personality quiz

Take the test to find out what kind of person you are!

Much quicker than Myers-Briggs!
Much easier to interpret than Rorschach!
Much more accurate than years of therapy!

Try it out on your friends!

10/13 Links Pt2: Code Pink BDSer also leads pro-settler, pro-occupation group; Obama Has Given Up

From Ian:

Eugene Kontorovich: Notable Israel boycott activist also leads pro-settler, pro-occupation group

Code Pink is a prominent far-left group that is heavily focused on anti-Israel activities, and promoting boycotts in particular. One of its major campaigns calls for boycotts of Ahava beauty products on the grounds that they support “illegal Israel settlement” in the West Bank (a contention rejected by the United Kingdom Supreme Court last year).
But the mastermind of the boycott campaign, Code Pink member Nancy Kricorian, is also a leader of a pro-settler charity, as the Kohelet Policy Forum, a think thank with which I am associated, has discovered. Will Code Pink, the Electronic Intifada and other self-righteous “anti-occupation” groups sever their ties with Kricorian as a result? Someone should ask them, but I would not hold my breath.
The Armenia Tree Project, on whose executive committee Kricorian sits, promotes Armenian control of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area taken from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s, which resulted in the flight of tens of thousands (or more) of Azeri refugees. Armenia has actively encouraged Armenians to move to the area, actions bitterly condemned by Baku. Indeed, the territory remains the site of occasional shootouts between the two sides.
The Armenia Tree Project supports various projects in the occupied territory (which they called Artsakh, the traditional Armenian name for the area, akin to Judea and Samaria).

Leading Anti-Israel Activist Supports Illegal Occupation Of Nagorno-Karabakh

A national staff member of the activist group Code Pink, which protests Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, is active in a group that promotes Armenia’s occupation of a region of Azerbaijan.
Nancy Kricorian is a leading proponent of boycotting Israel, especially products made by Ahava Cosmetics, calling them products of “illegal Israeli settlement.” Her husband, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and producer James Schamus, is on the board of directors of the organization Jewish Voices for Peace, which also promotes boycotts of Israel due to its settlement policy. But Kricorian is also on the executive committee of the Armenian Tree Project (ATP), a group that promotes the settlement of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was illegally seized by Armenia from Azerbaijan in a war in the early 1990s.
According to ATP’s website, its work “throughout Armenia and Karabagh is incredibly important. Armenia faces environmental and demographic threats.” To combat these threats, ATP has provided agricultural training to Syrian-Armenians seeking to settle in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.
In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 62/243, which reaffirmed “that no State shall recognize as lawful the situation resulting from the occupation of the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, nor render aid or assistance in maintaining this situation.”

Douglas Murray: The "Islamic Inquisition" and the Blasphemy Police

It took only ten years for most people across the West to learn about Islamic blasphemy -- and in the end to abide by it. Today there might be thousands of people willing to publish cartoons of Mohammed on their Twitter accounts, but most of them hide behind aliases and complain about the cowardice of others.
A few days before the Mohammed cartoons' anniversary, Mark Steyn, Henryk Broder and the Norwegian editor Vebjoern Selbekk addressed a conference in Denmark to commemorate the anniversary of the cartoons. It was held in the Danish Parliament, the only building there now deemed safe enough to withstand the now-traditional attack from the Islamic Blasphemy Police. Anticipating a terrorist attack, the UK Foreign Office and U.S. State Departments both warned their citizens to stay away from the area of the Parliament building that day. The restaurant in which we were meant to be having dinner cancelled the booking; they realized, when police and security officers scouted out the building in advance, who the guests might be.
Ten years ago, you could publish depictions of Mohammed in a Danish newspaper. Ten years later, it is hard for anyone who has been connected with such an act to find a restaurant in Copenhagen that will serve them dinner.
It is not just artists and writers who have learned the lesson; it is everyone -- from newspaper conglomerates to the people who serve food in restaurants. Our societies like to think that terrorism and intimidation do not work. They do -- or can -- but only if we let them. Over the last ten years, a couple of brief eruptions of sanctimonious point-missing aside, it turned out to be fear -- not Mohammed cartoons -- that went viral.
Freedom, however, was never defended by more than a handful of people. Most prefer their comforts and a quiet life to anything that looks like a fight. But there are still more than a few good people across the world, and more than a handful of them in Scandinavia. If, in previous conflicts, one looked to pilots or statesman to lead the way, in this war against the new "Islamic Inquisition," it is journalists, cartoonists, writers and artists who find themselves on the front lines and who need to lead. Some of them might be surprised to be in this position. They should not be. Freedom of expression and thought have always had vicious enemies. But the truth has always seen them off, and shall do again.

Jeremiah Wright Made a 30-Pieces-Of-Silver Sale

As a Black African advocate for Zionism, I often come face to face with the childish ad hominem “you are a coon/uncle tom/sell-out” or “how much is Mossad paying you”? Before, I used to get the former mostly from other Black people and the latter from mostly Asian Muslims. Now, recently, even White anti-Zionists are quite comfortable throwing such racist pejoratives at me. Anti-Zionism married itself with “the Black Struggle”, but few of us actually got the memo. We just woke up one day and found that if you are Black and you support the State of Israel as the Jewish homeland and believe in fostering greater ties between it and Black people all over the world, then that is tantamount to betraying the Black Struggle.
I thought about this as I watched a video clip from the recent Million Man March, in which Jeremiah Wright, retired Pastor Emeritus of the Trinity United Church of Christ, told his audience that “Please remember, Jesus was a Palestinian“. I could not help noticing that as Rev. Wright spoke these words, a Muslim woman took position behind him. I was to learn that she is called Linda Sarsour. Now, I am not suggesting that she was handling him as the term would be understood by a conspiracy-theory buff. However, it is what the retired pastor was saying that got me thinking: Who is the puppet now? Who is speaking for another?
Well, how else would you rationalise an instance where a pastor of 36 years departs from the accepted teachings of his faith, and repeats with a straight face the preposterous declaration that Jesus was a Palestinian while a non-Christian activist nods approvingly behind him?
I am hoping no one would ever want to rationalise this display. I am hoping, however, that other Black Christian leaders, especially in the United States, realise that they cannot continue to be part of a Silent Majority while such fundamental teachings of their faith are sold to causes that have no respect for Christianity or issues affecting Black people. I can accept that some Black Christians will support the Palestinian cause, for whatever reason. But to distort their own beliefs in order to do so, and appear in public as if at the behest of a Muslim woman, grabs any hold of any straws they may be clutching in order to back this position, and dips them in something nasty.

Albawaba reports that Jews are secretly touring Jordan in order to steal the country.

Locals in the ancient city of Petra in the Ma'an governate, say that there are increasing numbers of frequency of Israeli tourists to the area; where they are tampering with the archaeological and historical places and faking them to prove that Jews were there.

Journalist Joseph Ataiwreh reported on an "outbreak of the strong protests in the city recently, in rejection of the presence of Israeli tourists in archaeological sites."

Ataiwreh said in an interview for "Arabic 21": "Yes, Israeli tourists come to Ma'an, and are engaged in suspicious activities, and staying long days between the mountains and valleys and rugged places, under the pretext of living a nomadic life. "

Ataiwreh added that "the fear of the population is that these Israelis are burying forged Jewish manuscripts and coins in the area, and will then claim that they have a history and a presence, and thus begin to claim the land."

Another writer, Fayez Da'jah, says "the south of the kingdom is exposed to Judaization aimed at tampering with archaeological and historical places, and rigged to prove the existence of Jewish assets...."Aaron's Tomb in Petra is the most targeted area for this campaign, prompting the responsible authorities place it under permanent guard around the clock."

"Jewish activities are surrounded by a ring of secrecy and anonymity and the gathering of information by dealing with events and incidents over the past years confirm that the first wave [of Jews] consists each time of a few officers from the army, and the completion of their mission is a condition for the completion of passing their daunting training course held in Israeli military centers, " he explained.

"The second wave is of student scholars from Israeli universities and history who come to Wadi bin Hammad to complete a course of study under the supervision of specialist professors, and the two groups hide in civilian clothes, carrying fake passports and entering the country on foot under the cover of tourism without prior approvals. They around for several days in specific remote and rugged locations, with backpacks and maps and GPS devices and ropes to climb, water and food, and perhaps light bedding.

"They infiltrate the targeted areas surreptitiously and destroy archaeological sites or add new writings and fake buried artifacts and steal existing ones."

Jordanian officials are checking the rumors out, saying that the ost recent group held American passports but they saw some of them praying.

Of course, ancient Israel did include parts of today's Jordan.

“We know no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality,” famously observed the nineteenth-century British historian and politician Lord Macaulay. These days, there is surely no spectacle more ridiculous than swarms of hard-core leftists across the Western world declaring their revulsion at “Islamophobia” and branding as “Fascists” or "Nazis" those worried about the spread of – er – Islamofascism. We’ve seen plenty of the latter type of ridiculosity here in Australia over recent days, in the wake of the latest jihadist atrocity to take place in this land.

Runners-up in the Aussie “ridiculous spectacle” stakes this week are the representatives of eleven leftist Jewish organisations: Aleph Melbourne; Ameinu Australia; Australian Reform Zionist Association; Habonim Dror Australia; Hashomer Hatzair Australia; Hineni Australia; Keshet Australia; Netzer Australia; New Israel Fund Australia; Progressive Judaism Victoria; and Melbourne’s Shira Hadasha Synagogue.

These have taken it upon themselves to fulminate about the forthcoming visit to Australia of the controversial Israeli political figure Moshe Feiglin, scion of a family well-known in the annals of Australian Jewry. He has been invited to address the Melbourne-based Beis Chabad Ohel Deborah. But instead of expressing their misgivings privately, much less waiting to learn precisely what Feiglin has to say before rushing to judgment, these eleven organisations have taken it upon themselves to stir the pot and court maximum publicity for themselves (and the Israel-demonising cause) by co-issuing a press release condemning the decision to invite him.

“Moshe Feiglin’s views on women, homosexuality and Palestinian citizens of Israel are inconsistent with Jewish values,” these eleven organisations thunder. “They have no place in a modern democracy such as Israel that was established on the principle of respecting the human rights of all its minorities.”

(Observes a prominent rabbi: “Let him speak in Australia and the community can respond. Australia is a robust democracy, it can handle diversity. I am sure Feiglin will not be as controversial as some groups hope.”)

Getting their fifteen minutes of fame via the self-indulgent press release are office-bearers of the organisations concerned, a mix of men and women.

People such as the president of New Israel Fund Australia: “The views of many people in the Australian Jewish community do not line up with Moshe Feiglin’s which is why it is important to point out when such anti-democratic values are being promoted. NIF is working hard in Israel to bring different sectors together, promote shared society and coexistence, and uphold the values of the Declaration of Independence.”

People such as the president of Keshet Australia: “The board of Keshet Australia, wishes to express our concern regarding the proposed visit by Mr Feiglin to Australia. Keshet aspires to encourage and teach inclusivity. Mr Feiglin’s philosophy is diametrically opposed to our core values. Mr Feiglin has expressed views which seek to oppose the inclusivity and rights of GLBT Jews. Keshet Australia believes his views are damaging and hurtful to people here and in Israel. We feel it is incumbent on us to highlight to the greater community that such views are not held or supported by most Jewish people in Australia or elsewhere.”

People such as the president of Progressive Judaism Victoria: “We are concerned about Mr Feiglin’s visit to Melbourne. He is a disruptive person in the Jewish world and shares few values with the Jewish community.”

People such as the acting president of the Australian Reform Zionist Association (ARZA): “ARZA Australia supports discussion about sensitive issues in Israel, including the treatment of minorities, the status of women and the issues of pluralism and sexual orientation. However, such discussions should be respectful and focussed on constructive dialogue. It is highly questionable if the views and presentation of Moshe Feiglin meet these basic criteria.”

(Indeed, the bloke who runs Aleph has fulminated additionally against the Jewish community’s representative bodies: “Any Holocaust denier or anti-Semite would be hounded out of town by the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and the Anti-Defamation Commission, yet despite these organisations calling for respect for LGBTIQ people, they have remained silent on this visit from a person who does not respect LGBTIQ people. That is unacceptable. This man represents intolerance and intolerance is unacceptable to a cohesive and safe community.”

[http://aleph.org.au/2015/10/09/mr-aleph-melbourne-expresses-alarm-at-melbourne-visit-by-moshe-feiglin]

I’m tempted to say, as would the late British film director Michael Winner in his catch-phrase: “Calm down, dear”. Anyway, according to this report http://www.smh.com.au/national/chabad-hosts-rightwing-israeli-extremist-moshe-feiglin-20151009-gk57pb.html the chairman of the ADL – a gung-ho supporter of Israel, so fear not, ladies and gentlemen – has expressed disapproval of Feiglin’s “misguided and divisive comments”.)

I hold no brief for Feiglin. But where were these concerned leftists and representatives of Progressive/Reform Judaism last year when, tossing female and LGBT equality aside, Australia’s largest Jewish congregation, Temple Beth Israel, hosted two representatives of the Islamic Research Education Academy (IREA), which is actively and centrally dedicated to da’wah – the proselytising of non-Muslims – to participate in a concert in the Temple last year? Where was their concern for “Jewish values” then?

As the Islamist pair’s subsequent remarks on social media showed, those two (whose views on women’s role and status and on gays would probably make Feiglin’s look like those of a Sensitive New Age Guy) could scarcely believe their luck in being given the opportunity to address a huge crowd of Jews, and their brothers in the IREA were suitably impressed.

An excoriating analysis of the Temple event appeared on the Jews Down Under site [http://jewsdownunder.com/2014/06/21/melbourne-jewish-temples-interfaith-deception/]. Written by Pam Hopf, it pointed out, inter alia, that a Temple description of the event went as follows: '[T]he second half of the concert took on a different dimension, bringing “something new to TBI’s sanctuary, the Muslim call to prayer, and a chanting of the 55th Surah of the Koran. With this recitation Abdul Aziz al Mathkour and Brother Waseem Razvi … revealed many points of commonality between Judaism and Islam in its languages and texts.”

As Ms Hopf observed: “Excuse my cynicism, but what points of commonality can possibly exist when Surah 55 describes how Muslim men will enjoy deflowering virgins in paradise, whilst the unbeliever will suffer the torments of hell. For a community that prides itself on being progressive, particularly with regard to gender issues, it’s hard to see how they can condone this Surah, especially as there is no promise that women can equally enjoy endless sex. The progressives constantly berate orthodox Jewry for separating men and women during prayer, yet apparently have no problem endorsing men using women for sex, which smacks of hypocrisy. Moreover, if they truly believe in interfaith tolerance, they should surely object to the fate that awaits non-Muslims....”

Regrettably, nobody from the Temple or from the Progressive/Reform organisations was man – or should I say woman? – enough to respond Ms Hopf’s reasonable and reasoned article (I know it was read), or to admit publicly that in its affront to feminine sensibilities the Temple had made an egregious mistake in inviting the two Islamists to participate. Yet imagine the furore that would erupt if a male Jew (Mr Feiglin perhaps?) wandered into the Temple and recited this traditional Orthodox morning recitation: "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast not made me a woman".

Incidentally, the IREA hit the headlines only last week, when the press – in IREA’s eyes unjustifiably dubbing it an “extremist” organisation – reported that it’s been on a da’wah mission at Deakin University’s Melbourne campus. That fact has not been lost on Paul Winter of Sydney, a Holocaust survivor and frequent contributor to the letters column of the Australian Jewish News. In deploring the press release put out against Feiglin by the eleven leftist organisations, Mr Winter comments on the antipodean new service J-Wire’s site [http://www.jwire.com.au/rlrvrn-organisations-object-to-feiglin-views/]: “Feiglin is indeed on the far right. So what? He is as entitled to his views as those on the far left… The signatories to the statement are beyond belief! We have Jews murdered in Israel, a junior jihadi murders a man in Sydney, the Islamic Research and Educational Academy holds a session in Deakin Uni and they say nothing … The statement is a sad reflection of a nasty social trend where the politically correct want to shout down anyone who does not toe their line. Feiglin is not coming to talk to Progressive Jews, but to Chabad. Don’t like him? Don’t go to his talk. And if the NIF is opposed to Feiglin, I’m for him. I believe Israel is living up to the promise of its Declaration of Indep[end]ence. I’ve read the document and I deplore NIF’s distorted interpretation of it.”

Observes another commenter: “I didn’t see a list of Jewish organisations issue statements and objections when [the NIF’s] Naomi Chazan was brought by organisations who support her views. Yet there are many organisations that would consider her views extremist, divisive, destructive, not in line with Jewish values, not constructive, not in sync with the majority of Australian Jews etc etc. These organisations [the eleven] cannot have it both ways. Free speech is OK until such time as the views of that free speech don’t sit comfortably with their ideals and therefore need to be shut down…”

And another: “The difference between Israeli society and Israel’s Arab neighbours is that Israel ostracized Moshe Feiglin, but if he held his views in Arab society he’d be called a moderate. SMH [Sydney Morning Herald, part of the Israel-bashing Fairfax newspaper empire] staff must be [overjoyed] at the opportunity to deride Feiglin. If only the SMH wrote about the contrast between Israel and her Arab neighbours with respect to the fact that Israel functions as an egalitarian society – women, LGBTs and all ethnicities are equally protected by law. Arabs have held high office. Jews who don’t ignore molehills such as Feiglin’s visit and contribute to the media’s anti-Israel opportunity should hang their idiotic heads in shame.”

Among the commenters on J-Wire are Michael Burd and Alan Freedman, who intend to interview Feiglin on their show on radio J-Air. Mindful of the damage the eleven have done in providing food – or should that be acting as fools? – for the eager consumption of the Fairfax press [http://www.smh.com.au/national/extremist-rightwing-israeli-politician-to-visit-synagogues-20151009-gk57pb.html] Burd writes: “You have to scratch your head whilst Israel is being vilified day and night in the media particularly by the Fairfax media these left wing loony Jews provide Fairfax’s SMH a free kick to publish more anti- Israel material … You have to ask do we really need Jews acting as Palestinian Useful Idiots. How does it help Israel’s cause particularly when one of the Looney groups NIF is one of the most controversial Jewish based anti-Zionist extremist organisation in [t]he world?”

Quite so, Mr Burd. Quite so.

10/13 Links Pt1: Bibi: 'Our enemies haven't learned: Terrorism will not defeat us'; Gaza Cleric: Stab Jews

From Ian:

'Our enemies haven't learned: Terrorism will not defeat us'.

On the same day that Palestinians carried out four terrorist attacks against Israelis, leaving a teenage boy in critical condition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the Knesset's winter session Monday with a fiery speech against ongoing incitement to violence.
"A hundred years of terrorism, a hundred years in which they have tried to destroy the institution of Zionism, and yet our enemies haven't learned: Terrorism will not defeat us, in fact just the opposite," Netanyahu said.
"'The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew,'" he said, quoting Exodus 1:12.
"We will also overcome the current wave of terrorism. We will punish every attacker, Jew and Arab alike, to the fullest extent of the law."
Netanyahu also addressed the tensions on the Temple Mount.
"They spread propaganda filled with lies about the Temple Mount to spark riots," he said. "We are committed to maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount and we rigorously safeguard the holy sites of all religions."
All the Knesset members belonging to the Joint Arab List left the room at the beginning of the prime minister's speech. Netanyahu criticized members of the party for encouraging the violence and undermining the state, singling out MKs Basel Ghattas and Hanin Zoabi.

3 killed, over 20 injured as terror attacks rock Jerusalem, Ra’anana

Two separate attacks hit Jerusalem in a matter of minutes Tuesday morning, when two Arab men attempted to stab passengers on a bus before being shot and a car rammed into a group of people in the center of the capital.
One person was killed and another wounded as a driver rammed into a crowd on Malchei Israel Street in the Makor Baruch neighborhood in the center of the city. The attacker reportedly stepped out of the crashed vehicle and attempted to stab the wounded. He was subdued by police, but was not killed.
In a separate incident minutes earlier, two male passengers were killed — a 60-year-old who died at the scene, and a 45-year-old who died in the hospital — and three others suffered gunshot wounds in a combined shooting and stabbing attack on Egged bus 78 in the neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv in southern Jerusalem.
Two assailants were involved in the Armon Hanatziv attack, and were shot and subdued by police. One terrorist was said to have been killed, and the other was caught by police.
Some 15 people were said to have been injured in the attack.

Cleric Tells Palestinians to Stab Jews: ‘Cut Them into Body Parts’

A cleric directed Palestinians to stab Jewish Israelis during a sermon last week at a mosque in Rafah, a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip.
Sheikh Muhammad Salah “Abu Rajab” during a sermon at Al-Abrar Mosque on Friday directed listeners to attack Jewish Israelis in groups and “cut them into body parts,” according to video obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
Days after the sermon, Israeli authorities said that a young Palestinian man waged a knife attack on a border officer in Jerusalem. Police shot and killed the individual near Jerusalem’s Old City. The incident followed days of deadly confrontations in the city.
“Brothers, we must constantly remind the world and everyone who has forgotten … This is Gaza! This is the place of trenches and guns! This is the West Bank! This is the place of bombs and daggers!” Salah told his audience.
“Today, we realize why the [Jews] build walls. They do not do this to stop missiles, but to prevent the slitting of their throats.”
A few minutes into the sermon, he began wielding a knife.

Today, the UK Zionist Federation and British Board of Deputies are hosting a rally to support Israel during the current ave of attacks:

In the last few days there have been a seemingly endless number of attacks on Israelis. Whether with guns, knives, rocks or cars, every hour appears to bring news of a Palestinian murder attempt.

These attacks do not happen in a vacuum. They are promoted by a culture of incitement that encourages violence and glorifies terrorists.

We are standing together outside the Palestinian Mission to say: enough is enough. Join us to protest the incitement and commemorate the victims.

Who can be offended by that?

A group of "active British Jews," that's who. Proving how far many Jews have gone from caring about their own people, an open letter was written against this rally.

The reason? Because they feel that a demonstration valuing Israeli lives means it is inciting against the people who support the murderers!

Now is the time for people across the world to stand together in unity, and call for peace in the region, condemning all violence as counter-productive, evil and a chilul hashem (a desecration of the name of the Eternal One). To take what are presented as as uniquely Jewish troubles and lay them at the door of the Palestinian Mission in London creates a wholly unnecessary ‘Us vs Them’ narrative, which cannot possibly foster the good relations necessary for peace.

When Jewish organisations, who claim to represent the voice of British Jewry, say only that “#IsraeliLivesMatter”, it shames us as people who care about the lives of everyone in the region. When Jewish organisations use the loss of human life to pursue a political agenda, they tarnish our reputation as an ethical people. Our texts tell us that any loss of life is like the end of a world. Death, then, is not the basis for a campaign: especially a campaign which appropriates and offensively belittles the #BlackLivesMatter slogan on which it is (ironically) based.

To ‘protest the incitement and commemorate the victims’, solely in the framework of the importance of Israeli lives, itself incites hatred towards Palestinians, and shows no empathy towards their losses. As people who believe we are all made b’tzelem Elohim (in the image of the Eternal One), whether Palestinian or Israeli, Jew or Arab, this is unacceptable.

Yes, protesting incitement to kill Jews is offensive to the Jews the Palestinian inciters want to see dead.

You can't make this up.

The real reason they are upset is given later on - they are afraid that Muslims will be offended and might start a new intifada in England against Jews. So better to suck up and say that, no, they aren't like those Jews who actually value Israeli lives.

British Jewish organisations have an overriding responsibility to protect the interests of British Jews. Undertaking actions likely to inflame other communities and increase ethnic tensions on the streets of this country is not consonant with that responsibility. Positive dialogue is always a better way forward than hostile demonstrations.

The Zionist Federation replied, quite appropriately.

....One trigger for this has been the aforementioned media coverage, whereby there are now numerous examples of misleading headlines and stories that focus on Palestinians killed, rather than the Israelis they were trying to kill.

The other has been the quite frankly appalling reaction from many Palestinians to this spate of violence, and the related indifference of the Palestinian Authority. In fact, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) representative told the cabinet Sunday, that “senior PA and Fatah officials are involved in the incitement that is fanning the violence”. This is the reason why we have decided to hold our event outside the Palestinian Mission – the de facto Palestinian embassy. We wish to hold the Palestinian Authority to account, a decision that you describe as “itself incit[ing] hatred towards Palestinians.” Just so we’re clear, here’s a reminder of what actual incitement is.

It’s promoting on social media cartoons and videos encouraging Palestinians to stab any Jew they can. It’s Hamas imams and politicians calling on their followers to take up arms – the Hamas that is still part of the Unity Government. It’s calling for a Third Intifada.

It’s describing those killed whilst trying to indiscriminately murder Israelis as martyrs. It’s the paying of salaries to those arrested whilst trying to indiscriminately murder Israelis. It’s a Palestinian couple naming their baby after a man who indiscriminately murdered Israelis. It’s the Palestinian Bar Association giving that same man an honorary degree. It’s Mahmoud Abbas holding his tongue when Israelis are being murdered – and then condemning the deaths of Palestinians killed whilst murdering Israelis.

And last but not least, it’s the incessant lie that Al Aqsa is under attack, and that the only way to protect it is with violence. It’s Mahmoud Abbas saying, on Palestinian TV:

“We bless every drop of blood that has been spilled for Jerusalem, which is clean and pure blood, blood spilled for Allah, Allah willing. Every Martyr will reach Paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded by Allah.”

Remember Sohaib Fayyad, the UNRWA employee who changed his Facebook icon to a graphic of a "Like" icon modified to hold a stabbing knife?

He recently shared a video from "Jerusalem Intifada" on how to build a homemade bomb:

UNRWA yesterday issued a disgusting press release that condemned anything Israel is doing to defend itself from the current wave of stabbings, shootings, stonings and car rammings. It didn't mention the terror except for one sentence that was purposefully ambiguous enough to possibly refer to Israeli Arabs who are being shot during their knife rampages.

UNRWA is deeply alarmed by the escalating violence and widespread loss of civilian life in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel. Only robust political action can prevent the further escalation of a situation that is affecting Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

...According to the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials: “Law enforcement officials shall not use firearms against persons except in self-defense or defense of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape; and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”

Where alleged violations of international law occur, there must be a prompt, impartial, effective and thorough investigation of the events and full accountability in accordance with international standards.
...
The root causes of the conflict, among them the Israeli occupation, must be addressed. Across the occupied Palestinian territory there is a pervasive sense of hopelessness and despair resulting from the denial of rights and dignity. In the West Bank communities living under occupation feel profoundly marginalized. While in Gaza the latest demonstrations are evidence of a generation that has lost hope in the future; not least because of the lack of economic prospects -- youth unemployment is one of the highest in the world – but also because of the lack of reconstruction more than a year after the conflict. An entire generation of Palestinians is at risk. All political actors must act decisively to restore their hope in a dignified, secure and stable future.

That last paragraph justifies violence by saying it is a result of "feeling marginalized" and "hopeless" and other inanities.

Most of all, UNRWA is ignoring its own role in fomenting violence - by allowing its employees to teach and promulgate incitement against Jews in the classrooms and on social media.

Incitement is the root cause of the current violence - not Israeli actions. And it has been that way for decades. No one justifies terrorism anywhere else in the world the way UNRWA and others justify Palestinian terrorism.

And UNRWA is directly responsible for some of this, because it does not teach in any of its schools that Jews have the right to life.

(h/t Malel)

UPDATE: The Facebook page has been taken down.