Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Amazing: Ornate flooring of Second Temple reconstructed

From the Ir David Foundation:

Archeologists from the Jerusalem-based Temple Mount Sifting Project are confident that they have successfully restored a unique architectural element of the Second Temple. Namely, a series of regally decorated floor tiles that adorned the porticos atop the Temple Mount, and which likely featured prominently in the courtyards of the Second Temple during the period that King Herod ruled (37 to 4 BCE) in Jerusalem.

"It enables us to get an idea of the Temple's incredible splendor," stated Dr. Gabriel Barkay, co-founder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project. The restored tiles will be presented to the general public on September 8^th, at the 17^th Annual City of David Archaeological Conference. “This represents the first time that archeologists have been able to successfully restore an element from the Herodian Second Temple complex,” stated Zachi Dvira, co-founder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

The Temple Mount Sifting Project was established in response to the illegal removal of tons of antiquities-rich earth from the Temple Mount by the Islamic Waqf in 1999. It is located in the Tzurim Valley National Park, and is supported by the City of David Foundation and the Israel Archaeology Foundation. The initiative is run under the auspices of Bar-Ilan University and the Israel Parks & Nature Authority.

Frankie Snyder, a member of the Temple Mount Sifting Project's team of researchers and an expert in the study of ancient Herodian style flooring, succeeded in restoring the ornate tile patterns “using geometric principles, and through similarities found in tile design used by Herod at other sites,” said Snyder, who has an academic background in mathematics and Judaic Studies. "This type of flooring, called 'opus sectile,’ Latin for ‘cut work,’ is very expensive and was considered to be far more prestigious than mosaic tiled floors.”

"So far, we have succeeded in restoring seven potential designs of the majestic flooring that decorated the buildings of the Temple Mount," said Snyder, explaining that there were no opus sectile floors in Israel prior to the time of King Herod. “The tile segments were perfectly inlaid such that one could not even insert a sharp blade between them."

To date, approximately 600 colored stone floor tile segments have been uncovered, with more than 100 of them definitively dated to the Herodian Second Temple period. This style of flooring is consistent with those found in Herod's palaces at Masada, Herodian, and Jericho among others, as well as in majestic palaces and villas in Italy, also attributed to the time of Herod. The tile segments, mostly imported from Rome, Asia Minor, Tunisia and Egypt, were created from polished multicolored stones cut in a variety of geometric shapes. A key characteristic of the Herodian tiles is their size, which corresponds to the Roman foot, approximately 29.6 cm.

###

The possibility that large expanses of the Temple Mount during the Second Temple were covered with opus sectile flooring was first raised by archaeologist Assaf Avraham in 2007, director of the Jerusalem Walls National Park with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.

Avraham's theory was based on a description given by the Romano-Jewish historian Josephus (1^st Century CE) who wrote, "… the uncovered [Temple Mount courtyard] was completely paved with stones of various types and colors…" (The Jewish War 5:2) Additionally, Talmudic literature records the magnificent construction of the Temple Mount, describing rows of marble in different colors - green, blue and white.

"Now, as a result of Frankie Snyder's mathematical skills, we have succeeded in recreating the actual tile patterns. This represents the first time that we can see with our own eyes the splendor of the flooring that decorated the Second Temple and its annexes 2,000 years ago,” stated Dr. Gabriel Barkay, co-founder and director of the Temple Mount Sifting Project. “Referring to the Temple that Herod built, the Talmud says that 'Whoever has not seen Herod's building has not seen a beautiful building in his life'. Though we have not merited seeing the Temple in its glory, with the discovery and restoration of these unique floor tiles, we are now able to have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Second Temple, even through this one distinctive characteristic."

Since the Temple Mount Sifting Project’s inception in 2004, more than 200,000 volunteers from around the world have taken part in the sifting, representing an unprecedented phenomenon in the realm of archaeological research.

Here are the photos of the finds, and they are amazing:

It is hard to imagine the scale of destruction done by the Islamic Waqf to the remains of the Second Temple when they constructed an underground mosque on the Temple Mount. Literally the most important archaeological site in the world was destroyed. The Temple Mount sifting Project is doing an amazing job trying to take the tons of materials that were discarded to find these sorts of gems.

And yet, no one from the international community condemned this crime against history by the Muslims who claim the most sacred Jewish site as their own.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Nobody for President! There is no choice.

When people ask me who I want to vote for this November, I simply cannot answer.

The choices are horrible. I simply cannot stomach voting for either major party. I do not want to be even slightly responsible for either of these major party candidates becoming president.

As much as I hate to abdicate my right to vote, I cannot vote for the US President this year.

I think this is the principled decision.

So I made an online shop where people who agree with me can show that they are disgusted by the candidates and by their campaigns.

Introducing Nobody for President.

You can proudly display your disgust with the current political season by buying a bumper sticker, buttons, T-shirts, mugs or lawn signs at the site.

Make a statement. Buy the swag.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Jordanians make fun of candidate who claims Israel is threatening him

From Ammon News:

A candidate in the upcoming Jordanian elections on September 20th has claimed that he is receiving threats from the Israeli army - again.

In a post shared on his official Facebook page, candidate Shebli Haddad posted a snapshot of a chat he had with the Arabic media spokesperson of the Israeli Defense Forces, Avechay Adraee. In a brief message, the IDF Spokesperson explains-according to Haddad-that “reliable sources” have told him that Haddad intends to visit the Gaza with the intent of breaking the siege.

Adraee appears to warn Haddad of any consequences that could arise from such a visit, but his picture and message can hardly be seen in the low quality photo.

“Mr. Shebli Haddad

We have learned from reliable sources about your intentions to visit the Gaza Strip with the goal of breaking the siege [on the area]!

We at the Israeli Defense Ministry deplore this behavior, and we warn you of the consequences coming with this visit. We will hold you entirely responsible for what happens. We ask you to cancel your trip to the Gaza Strip, and we are ready to meet with you and fulfill any request in the future in regards to Gaza or the greater State of Israel.

Avechay Adraee, official spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces”

This isn’t the first time that Haddad has claimed he’s been threatened by Israel. Stating that full liberation of Palestine from “the river to the sea” is his number one priority once obtaining office, Haddad regularly claims that Zionist plots aim to foil his bid at the parliament.

When he was forced to run for a municipal seat in the elections rather than a parliamentary one, Haddad took to Facebook to claim that the refusal of his candidacy due to unpaid utility bills had more to do with the “betrayal” than his bank account.

Considering the most recent alleged plot against him, the poor quality of the picture, as well as another post of Haddad photoshopped into a meeting with Hillary Clinton, Haddad has not given observers much faith in the message’s authenticity. As a result, many commenters have been quick to call “photoshop”.

Haddad is a candidate for a spot dedicated to Christians.

Besides the clearly manufactured threats against him (Adraee wouldn't have written to him to begin with, he wouldn't have used the word "siege" nor would he have said "greater State of Israel") Haddad also claimed that he was offered a "blank check" to withdraw his candidacy.

No one takes him seriously but he manages to get coverage for his antics.

Here's the alleged message from the IDF spokesperson:

Haddad also used an online tool - whose logo is all over this picture - to pretend that Paris Hilton is a fan of his:

The days where politicians can get votes by claiming Zionist conspiracies aren't just over. They themselves are now considered to be jokes.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Interesting observations in UNCTAD report on Gaza - both the lies and the truth

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development came out with a "Report on UNCTAD assistance to the Palestinian people: Developments in the economy of the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

Here is the first paragraph of the executive summary:

In 2015, Israel withheld Palestinian fiscal revenue for four months, donor aid declined and Israeli settlements continued to expand into the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while poverty and unemployment remained high. The Occupied Palestinian Territory continued to be a captive market for exports from Israel, while occupation neutralized the potential development impact of donor aid. Genuine reconstruction has yet to take off in the Gaza Strip despite $3.5 billion in donor pledges. Gaza's socioeconomic conditions worsened and the infant mortality rate increased for the first time in 50 years.

There is huge bias in how this report is written. For example, what the report says about infant mortality is quickly found to be a lie:

A shocking indicator of the grim situation in Gaza is the rising infant mortality rate, one of the best indicators for the health of a community. Infant mortality has risen for the first time in 50 years. The rate of neonatal mortality has also risen significantly, from 12 per 1,000 live births in 2008 to 20.3 in 2013. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (2015), progress in combating infant mortality does not usually reverse. The trend in Gaza is unprecedented and rarely observed outside communities affected by HIV epidemics.

I've already shown that it is Hamas, not Israel, that is responsible for any possible uptick in infant mortality. But the uptick in infant mortality reported by UNRWA in 2013 is not shared by the CIA World Factbook, which has much lower numbers across the board but also shows a steady decline in infant mortality in 2013 and 2014:

Not only that, but there are quite a few countries whose infant mortality rates have increased over time - it is not "unprecedented," as the UN claims. Chile's, Belgium's and Austria's went up in 2004, Bangladesh in 2009, British Virgin Islands in 2012, the United States in 2014, and quite a few more.

The UN is lying.

However, in this report, the truth is somewhat more interesting than the lies.

It shows that donor aid to the Palestinian authority plummeted by 30% in 2015. The amount of money thrown by the world to Palestinian kleptocrats has gone way down.

The report says "The one-sided customs union, enshrined in the Paris Protocol, and obstacles to trade and productive activities effectively render the Occupied Palestinian Territory a captive market for exports from Israel. In recent years, Israel accounted for more than 70 per cent of Palestinian imports and absorbed about 85 per cent of Palestinian exports."

But that is no longer true. The same document has a table that says that in 2015, only 55% of Palestinian trade was with Israel. It is still the lion's share, but "captive market" is a bit of an exaggeration. The percentage of trade with Israel has been going steadily down over twenty years.

The most fascinating - and perhaps puzzling - part of the report, however, is in a footnote to the title that refers to the "Occupied Palestinian Territory":

** The designations employed, maps and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delineation of its frontiers or boundaries. In accordance with the relevant resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly and Security Council, references to the Occupied Palestinian Territory or territories pertain to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Use of the term "Palestine" refers to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which established the Palestinian National Authority. References to the "State of Palestine" are consistent with the vision expressed in Security Council resolution 1397 (2002) and General Assembly resolution 67/19 (2012).

It sounds like the UN is saying that, notwithstanding its resolutions, its use of the phrase "Occupied Palestinian Territories" does not mean they are legally occupied, and the word "Palestine" refers to an organization, not a country. Despite this footnote, the report does not refer to the "State of Palestine" once.

This is interesting! It may be as the result of an episode a few years back when UN was once asked if Gaza is considered occupied, and it couldn't give a straight answer.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Gazans waiting at Rafah crossing

From Al Jazeera:

Egyptian officers are asking for bribes of up to $10,000 from Palestinians in Gaza desperate to leave the besieged coastal enclave, according to Gaza brokers who coordinate the bribe payments, former Palestinian border officials and travellers.

Typically, an adult in Gaza must pay a bribe of $3,000 to get permission from Egypt to cross the border, two Palestinian brokers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera. The brokers said that they took a 20 percent cut of the bribe, sending 80 percent to the Egyptian soldier or officer who coordinated it.

Sometimes, Egyptian officers put the names of Palestinians on a blacklist, declaring them to be a "security threat", both brokers said. The list forbids entrance to Egypt for those whose names are on it, but a $10,000 payment can have it removed.

Occasionally, the Egyptians want bribes paid in goods, not cash, the brokers said.

"Sometimes, they want iPhones or even gold," said one of the brokers, known in Gaza as the "King of the Border" for his ability to get almost anyone across.

The Egyptian government of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has imposed extreme restrictions on Gaza's Rafah border crossing since the military coup in 2013.

Sisi considers Hamas, the governing body in Gaza, to be an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt - declared a terrorist organisation in 2013 - and has accused Hamas of carrying out attacks on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas has repeatedly denied any role in those attacks.

In the first half of 2013, when former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was in office, an average of 40,816 people crossed between Gaza and Egypt each month. Since Sisi took power, Egyptian officials have rarely opened the border, allowing it to operate for a few days every month or two. This year, the average number of people who cross the border each month is 1,896, according to the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, an Israel-based non-profit organisation.

There are about 30,000 cases of people in Gaza needing to urgently travel abroad for humanitarian reasons, many in order to obtain medical care, Gisha spokesperson Shai Grunberg told Al Jazeera.

Mohamed Abu Abdelqader, a cancer patient in southern Gaza, told Al Jazeera that he would soon die if he were unable to go to a hospital in Egypt to receive proper treatment for his condition. But he says he is unable to, as he cannot afford the $2,000-$3,000 bribe to a broker to arrange his travel.

"I don't have the money," the 55-year-old flower farmer said, appearing on the verge of tears.

Hold on - you mean, Egypt is imposing a crippling blockade on Gaza?

It is very rare to read about this in English. Even Gisha, quoted in the article, tries to ignore Egypt's role in Gaza misery (as well as Hamas') in order to keep the focus on Israel almost exclusively.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

09/05 Links Pt2: Debunking A Palestinian Hoax; Eagles of Death Metal return to Tel Aviv

From Ian:

IsraellyCool: Know Your History: Palestinians Return Home

A series where I use history to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.
One of the sticking points of the Middle East Conflict is the so-called palestinian right of return. Yet before those words took on the meaning they have today, palestinians returning home meant something else entirely.
From the February 21, 1919 edition of The Sentinel.

New Guardian “journalist” revealed to be anti-Zionist extremist

The magazine Private Eye noted the “oddly partisan” nature of a Guardian article (Corbyn joins seatless commuters on floor for three-hour train journey, Aug. 16th) which characterized the Labour leader as a man of principle for joining 20 seatless commuters on the floor of a “packed” train from London to Newcastle.
Of course, this was published a week before CCTV footage emerged contradicting claims that he was forced to sit on the floor, but that isn’t the point of the Private Eye article, which revealed that the co-author of the Guardian piece, film maker “Charles Anthony”, is a passionate Corbyn supporter who used to be a member of Socialist Workers Party (SWP). SWP is a extreme-left group criticized for (among other things) its “involvement in the bannings of Jewish Societies at university campuses and its repeated hosting of Gilad Atzmon“.
Anthony, during an interview with Jeremy Corbyn
Anthony, during an interview with Max Blumenthal
Well, it turns out that there’s more about Anthony than what the Private Eye revealed, facts especially relevant in light of the antisemitism scandal plaguing Labour.
In April, Anthony defended NUS President Malia Bouattia from charges of antisemitism after it was revealed that she condemned “Zionist-led media outlets” for “oppressing the global south”.

Jeremy Corbyn is “Sunshine” for David Duke

If Jeremy Corbyn ever gets gloomy, he needs to remember that he is “sunshine” for so many people.
The notorious racist and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, for example.
Last September Duke invited James Thring, a fellow antisemite, to a radio interview.
Duke flags the interview this way:
He then brought on Dr. James Thring from Britain, who talked about the new leader of the British Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn was elected over the weekend despite a massive smear campaign by Britian’s Zio-establishment over his association with anti-Zionist activist like Dr. Thring. Corbyn’s landslide victory in the leadership election can be viewed as a positive sign that understanding of the harm being done to the world by Zionism is spreading.
Duke was certainly well pleased, telling Thring in the interview:
We must keep looking for the sunshine and I do believe we are going to find the sunshine in this world. I think things are opening up. And one encouraging thing that I see, now this, let’s go into this, Dr Thring. I know that you’re a friend of Mr Corbyn and I know you respect his positions on the Middle East.
Duke then laments the “Marxist roots” in Corbyn’s circles, naturally, but overall Corbyn is good because he must be bad for the Jews:

There was a wave of complaints over the newest official Palestinian Authority textbooks by educators and parents, according to Palestine Today.

Some of the complaints were about basic errors - such as mixing up Bethlehem and Gaza City on a map.

But other issues were more political.

For example, the book had lots of (presumably geography) questions about Ramallah, and the critics are upset that the book wasn't asking about Jerusalem instead, saying that the book implied that Ramallah is the capital of Palestine.

Another complaint was about how the book translated Tel Aviv literally into Arabic as Tel al-Rabi (Spring Hill), instead of referring to the fictional Jaffa neighborhoods that Tel Aviv was supposedly built on top of.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

From Albawaba:

Badmouthing the sexual capabilities of your country’s men is rarely a prescient political move. But when the cause is irreversibly mutilating women’s genitalia to control their sexuality, it seems that anything goes, at least where Egyptian MP Elhamy Agina is concerned.

In an exclusive statement to Mohammad Subi in Egyptian news website Parlmany, the lawmaker argued that Egypt’s men suffered from a particular “sexual weakness” – and that women needed to be circumcised to keep them at the erotically stunted level of their male counterparts. Multiple other Arabic news sites subsequently picked up the story.

Female circumcision – or genital mutilation as it’s more properly known – involves cutting away all or part of a girl’s labia and clitoris, and even artificially narrowing the vaginal opening in some cases. Its long term effects include long term urinary, vaginal and menstrual problems, pain during sex, or an absence of sexual satisfaction, and an increased the risk of severe complications in childbirth. In May, this year an Egyptian teenager, Mayer Mohammed, died after undergoing the surgery, which is illegal in the country.

For Agina, however, that’s the necessary price women must pay for living with men whose sexual performance is doomed to laughable inadequacy.

“We as men suffer from sexual weakness. The evidence for that is Egypt is among the biggest consumers of sexual stimulants that don’t treat anything except for weakness,” he is reported as telling Parlmany. Few statistics are available on stimulant use in Egypt, but viagra was legalised in 1999. “If we stopped doing female circumcisions, we would need strong men, and we don’t have men of this type in Egypt.”

“Firstly, there needs to be equality between men and women, so we do female circumcisions,” Agina continued. “This is because it reduces women’s sexual lust, and it’s assumed that it stops women going after men, and keeps the genders equal.”

Hey, you've got to even the playing field.

The story is reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut's short story Harrison Bergeron.

Agina was roundly criticized for his statements. But he defended them, saying, “If there’s anyone who doesn’t like what I’m saying and gets angry, he can consider that I’m speaking for myself.”

(h/t Yigal)

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

09/05 Links Pt1: The West Must Insist that the Palestinians Change Their Narrative; Peace Now, Wrong Again

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: The Invisible (Female) Palestinians

Instead of referring to the female candidates by name and publishing their pictures, the electoral lists are using the terms "the wife of" or "sister."
"It is disgraceful for any Islamic, national or independent list to scrap the names of the women. If they are not willing to recognize the woman's name, how will they accept the role of the women woman's name, how will they accept the role of the women after they are elected? ... I'm against the participation of women in this manner. Let men participate in the election alone." — Nahed Abu Taima, Media Development Center at Bir Zeit University.
Dr. Walid Al-Qatati, a writer and analyst specializing in Islamic affairs, said that the move reminded him of wedding invitations that are sent out without naming the brides.
When Palestinian women carry out attacks against Israelis, Palestinian society glorifies them as heroes. Then the names and photos of these women are plastered across billboards. Yet it appears that when the women wish to work for life rather than for death, their identities are not fit for public consumption.

NGO Monitor: IDF Document Refutes NGO Allegations regarding 2014 Gaza War

On August 24, 2016, the IDF Military Advocate General (MAG) issued a statement providing detailed information on 12 incidents from the 2014 Gaza War in which allegations of potential war crimes had been raised. The MAG described the findings of its “examination and investigation of [these] exceptional incidents” and explained the rationale behind its decision to open or close criminal proceedings for each.
In many instances (see chart below), the details in the MAG publication contradict the claims and repudiate the conclusions of NGOs – including Adalah, Al-Mezan, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel – and the UN Schabas/Davis Commission of Inquiry regarding these specific incidents.
In response, the NGOs Adalah and Al-Mezan addressed the MAG’s findings in a seven-page report published on August 28, alleging the Israel was “unwilling to conduct genuine, independent investigations.” In addition, Human Rights Watch claimed that Israel had not conducted “adequate domestic investigations” and that the International Criminal Court should step in.
Despite these reactions, the MAG’s latest update highlights the fundamental difference in the salience of information provided by different investigations: The MAG report (as well as others released previously) gives inside details on intelligence, targeting, weapons systems, operational capabilities, commander decision making, and real-time field conditions; without these, it is impossible to make determinations as to whether a violation of the law occurred. In sharp contrast, the publications of NGOs and the Schabas/Davis Commission (largely based on these same NGO publications) contain speculation, innuendo, unverifiable (and sometimes clearly mistaken) claims, and “testimonies” from “eyewitnesses,” and lack the essential facts provided by the MAG.

BESA: The Middle East Will Remain a Source of Terrorism

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The collapse of the Arab state system and the rise of political Islam have destabilized the Middle East and entrenched the region as the major source of global terror. Even the more stable states, such as Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, display strong Islamic tendencies and support radical groups that engage in terrorism. Not much can be done to change this situation. Accepting this unpleasant reality will entail a sea change in Western strategic outlook.
Several major developments in the Middle East will keep the region a wellspring of Islamic terror and a source of inspiration for Islamist radicals for the foreseeable future. Attempts to perpetrate acts of terror against the “enemies of Islam” should be expected to continue.
The first development contributing to the growth of terror has been the historic disruption of the Arab state system. The relatively new Arab states failed to instill deeply held national identities (with the exception of Egypt, a true historical state). This failure allowed for the breakdown of states along ethnic, tribal and sectarian lines and for the emergence of armed militias.
The rise of numerous failed states, characterized primarily by the loss of monopoly over the use of force, started before the Arab Spring. Lebanon, Iraq, the Palestinian Authority and Somalia are prime examples. This trend intensified with the weakening of the central governments in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Those states were transformed into vast battlefields containing many militias notable for their lack of inhibitions against using terror to attain political goals.

Yesterday was the annual European Day of Jewish Culture and Heritage, where Jewish culture is celebrated.

The Jewish Museum of Belgium decided that this would be a good time to celebrate how wonderful things were for Jews under Islamic rule.

Specific lectures and workshops were given on Jewish and Muslim calligraphy and the history of perfumes in Jewish and Muslim Andalusia. There was a concert of Judeo-Arabic music and a documentary about Jews in Morocco.

There is nothing wrong with studying Jews in the Muslim world. But there is a problem when it is presented in a biased way, as if Jews suffered no persecution and Muslims were nothing but benevolent and tolerant.

Yes, Jews nearly always had more rights in the Muslim world than they did in Europe throughout history. But having comparatively more rights is not the same as having equal rights, and they didn't have anything close to equal rights. There were a specific set of rules that Jews had to adhere to in most of the Muslim world. As summarized here:

The manner in which the rules of dhimmitude were applied varied according to the political circumstances and the disposition of the ruler. There were periods of tolerance which gave a small degree of security to the dhimmis. However the fanaticism which could be riled up by the clergy could change the situation in small time. If the local Muslim population became intolerant or jealous of the successes of the dhimmi, then a pogrom would ensue. Communities could find themselves evicted, women raped, exorbitant ransoms placed on them, children abducted and forced to convert, and in other cases mass murders of the dhimmi population was condoned.

Rules would be formulated to deny the dhimmi due process of the law. Discriminatory and restrictive dress and behavior codes would be enacted and severely enforced to reduce the dhimmi into a state of despair and poverty. Dehumanization of the dhimmi was not uncommon, and generally the rule. Various forms of physical abuse were common.

Many times distinctive dress was specified to identify a dhimmi that he would be unable to either mix with a Muslim or even walk in a Muslim area of a city. Other rules specified such demeaning dress codes as not wearing shoes or sandals, not using certain colors, wearing stars on their clothing. Dhimmis were often prohibited from working in many occupations. Even rules were made as to how a dhimmi could ride a mule to distinguish him from a Muslim.

The non-observance of these rules would entail a severe beating. Often passing a Muslim on the wrong side would begin a beating that could leave a dhimmi mortally wounded. Since the dhimmis were denied the ability to testify against a Muslim, there was absolutely no recourse.

It is dishonest to concentrate on the growth of Jewish culture in the Muslim world - which is still a fascinating topic - without mentioning the other half of the equation of the oppression that the Jews had to endure while building their lives.

The museum's program seems to be more oriented towards political correctness than for scholarship. Today, more than ever, Muslim antisemitism - both historic and contemporary - needs to be highlighted and exposed, not swept under the rug.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

The ramp-up to the municipal Palestinian elections has created a bizarre story.

Both Hamas and Fatah are scrambling to get votes, and a small bombshell was detonated a couple of days ago when Jibril Rajoub, the PA sports minister and prominent Fatah member, made fun of Christians who voted for Hamas ten years ago and referred to them as the "Merry Christmas bunch" in an interview on Egyptian TV.

Even though Christians are only 1% of the population, both Fatah and Hamas as vying for their votes.

Now, both Islamic Jihad and Hamas - Islamist terror groups who view Christians with the same disdain they view Jews - are condemning Rajoub for his remarks.

Hamas said the statement was "offensive to our religion and our people and our history and our values." Almost unbelievably, Hamas added that "they are Palestinian citizens with full citizenship rights and we may not be discriminate against anyone based on race, religion or sex."

Christians in Gaza are in constant fear ever since Hamas took over, and there have been a number of attacks against them.

Islamic Jihad said the statement was "inappropriate and harm the Palestinian people and its culture and Islamic values and national traditions."

The PFLP likewise condemned Rajoub.

Fatah is scrambling to contain the damage. They issued a statement from a Fatah committee member, not mentioning Rajoub but saying how important Christians have been in the intifada against Israel and that no one has the right to cause discord between Muslims and Christians.

Christians have been fleeing the territories by the thousands since 1948, when they were the majority in some towns and made up some 10% of the population. Their flight accelerated under the rule of Fatah and Hamas who are now pretending to love them so much.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Palestinians are accusing Israelis of "Judaizing" Samaria, capital of ancient Israel

Times of Israel wrote last year:

Sebastia is situated just a few kilometers northwest of Nablus in the northern West Bank. Known in Hebrew by its biblical name Shomron, the city was capital of the northern Israelite kingdom in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE, founded by the sixth Israelite king, Omri.

Fragments of houses, walls and a palace from the Iron Age remain. After its destruction by the Assyrians in 721 BCE, the city became the provincial capital of the conquered region. Under the Greeks it again flourished, but was destroyed by Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus. Then his son Alexander Jannaeaus rebuilt the city and repopulated it with Jews.

During the Roman era, King Herod renamed it after Augustus Caesar — Sebaste is Augustus in Greek. At its height, Sebastia was a major city and entrepôt; the remains of its Roman theater, temple, palaces, forum, hippodrome and marketplace are still visible today.

In the centuries of its long decline, Sebastia was a major Christian site, as underlined by the ruins of a Byzantine church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, where legend says he was executed and his head interred. A Crusader cathedral-turned-mosque still stands in the nearby modern Palestinian village, a vestige of the Crusader city’s former glory that shares the same name.

The PA’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities brochure avoids any mention of Israel or a Jewish connection to the site. It notes that Sebastia was “an important administrative and political regional capital during the Iron Age II and III” and was “a major urban center during the Hellenistic period,” but makes no reference to the Israelite Kingdom or the Hasmoneans.

A Palestinian description of Sebastia in a bid to have it listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site goes to even greater lengths to omit references to the city’s Jewish history, referring to it as the former “capital of the northern kingdom during the Iron Age II,” and alluding to Jewish figures such as Omri and John Hyrcanus without explanation.

On the other hand, the Nature and Parks Authority’s site makes no reference whatsoever to the village, home to 3,000 Palestinians, in which the church-turned-mosque is located, to the Church of St. John the Baptist located in the ruins, or to the former Crusader presence in Sebastia.

Despite Sebastia’s historical significance, the site has barely been excavated. The last archaeological dig took place in 1967, when the West Bank was still under Jordanian control. Since then only salvage operations have taken place. The national park is dismally neglected. There’s no fence to protect its artifacts, weeds grow rampant throughout, and garbage is littered all over the ancient ruins.

Most of the site is in Area C, but for some reason the PA controls much of it.

Wafa is now reporting that residents of Sebastia/Samaria are complaining that Jews are visiting the site and trying to "Judaize" the site - a site that was the capital of the Kingdom of Israel.

The mayor of Sebastia, Moatasem Allioui, said "The occupation is trying to ascribe Jewish legends over the area."

He called on the local and international community to protect the site "from the risk of Judaization and distortion."

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.