Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, July 17, 2017

07/17 Links Pt2: At a meeting of the Cognitive Jewish Warriors; Dismantle UNRWA

From Ian:

Phyllis Chesler: At a meeting of the Cognitive Jewish Warriors

At an evening with well known figures in the Jewish public world, the 'small talk' revolves around the diabolical lies Jews have to face - and the black humor that helps them cope with it.
I once hosted a meeting at my home. The doorbell rang and the man who stood there introduced himself as "Daled Amos."
Okay, sure, why not?
The next gentleman who arrived introduced himself as "Elder of Zion."
At some point Sultan Knish and Ibn Warraq also joined us; Brian of London was too far away. These pseudonyms, clearly required in these times, ensure them a place in history.
Once everyone had arrived, my living and dining rooms literally vibrated with wit and brilliance and passion. The Cognitive Warriors had assembled.
Last night was a night just like that.
Yes, Elder was happily here again but this time he was joined by my dear friends Dr. Mordechai Kedar and his charming wife, the musician and singer, Rhyna; Tuvia Tenenbom and his deceptively quiet but all-perceptive wife and collaborator, Isi; and Naomi Wolinsky and her husband Steve, my beloved shul mates and Torah study partners.
Kedar held forth. Tenenbom held forth. Every word mattered.

Edwin Black: Mike Pence and Trent Franks Lead Thousands of Christians at CUFI’s Pro-Israel Event

In response to a question about his CUFI appearance, Franks asserted, “Israel is on the front lines in a battle to protect all humanity from an evil ideology that has no respect for innocent life anywhere on earth. Adherents of this ideology hate Israel’s existence – more than that, they hate Western Civilization. Israel deserves our support and respect. As co-chair of the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus, I am happy to stand with Israel at the upcoming Christians United For Israel Summit.”
Representing the White House will be Vice President Pence, whose evangelical and pro-Israel credentials have been well established. Augmenting Pence is the baritone-voiced Dr. Sebastian Gorka, President Trump’s outspoken Hungarian-born, pro-Israel security advisor.
Malcolm Hoenlein, a fiery favorite at prior CUFI conferences, will appear again this year. As CEO, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations—an assemblage of some 52 leading communal groups, Hoenlein is the gateway to much of Jewish leadership. He is known for his passionate presentations at CUFI. Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer joins the line-up. Best-selling author Erick Stakelbeck, now hosting the CBN series “The Watchman,” will deliver remarks based on his expertise in both terrorism and ancient Israel.
The irony escapes no one in either Israel or the United States that at a time when Israel is fighting an internal battle within parts of the Jewish community, it calls upon evangelical Americans, represented by CUFI, as one of its most reliable and demonstrative blocks of support.

An exciting meeting with the diplomat who stuck to his guns

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met Monday with former Mexican Ambassador to UNESCO Professor Andrés Roemer in Paris, and thanked the ambassador for his courage and the personal price he paid to defend the truth and the history of the Jewish people.
Roemer was appointed the Mexican Ambassador to UNESCO in April 2016. He was fired from the position just two months later after he refused to vote for an Arab resolution denying the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. Although his government instructed him to vote in favor of the anti-Semitic resolution, Roemer refused to do so. Instead he got up and left the hall. His deputy took his place and voted for the Arab resolution.
Roemer was put on disciplinary trial and dismissed for his action.
During their meeting, Professor Roemer gave Netanyahu a copy of his latest book and the prime minister promised to read it. Half an hour after the end of the meeting, Netanyahu could already relate to selected quotations from the beginning of the book.
"The past year has been very moving, because usually there is a tendency to forget things within moments, but here it is not only the Israeli ambassador who remembered me and arranged the meeting, but the Prime Minister of Israel who saw fit to find the time to do so," said Roemer.
"I am at peace with what I did. I did it not only as a Jew but as a person who believes that such resolutions have no place in the organization of education and culture, and they are harmful to everyone," he added

The hypocrisy of denouncing metal detectors at the Temple Mount(Zvi)

Guest post from Zvi:
_______________

The Waqf officials are hypocrites, liars and rabble-rousers. Their purpose is to create bloodshed and cause conflict and murder. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan should be pressured to remove these psychopaths and replace them with sane, responsible adults. Otherwise, the responsibility for the actions of these lunatics, and the lunatics who follow them, rests with the Hashemite Kingdom. If Jordan is going to sponsor the Waqf, then it is responsible for the mistakes and the outright evil of its subordinates. The Waqf officials are a key part o f the problem in the Levant. They make it worse. Always. Jordan needs to get rid of them.

I have, for a long time, respected the Hashemite Kingdom and praised its relatively good relationship with Israel. I have generally supported King Abdullah II. But there is a limit to my support, and Jordan's absolutely atrocious response to the terror attack at the Temple Mount crosses a red line.

Muslims protest metal detectors at reopened Temple Mount (UPI)

Waqf officials, who oversee the religious management of the temple, instigated a protest outside the entrance. Dozens of worshipers instead conducted their afternoon prayers next to the gate. "This is a severe violation of the status quo," said Shikh Omar al-Qiswani, the director of the al-Aksa Mosque, said in a statement. The Waqf officials were not required to pass through the detectors.

Metal detectors are a VERY, VERY MILD RESPONSE when terrorists stash guns in y our site and use them to murder innocent policemen in cold blood. Every other government on earth would have done the same thing, and probably much, much more. And only the Waqf, Israel's Arab "leaders" and the rest of the anti-Semitic Israel-hating crowd are just plain hateful enough to portray this VERY, VERY MILD RESPONSE as some kind of "attack" on Muslims.

Terrorist attacks have consequences. Grow up.

Those entering the Western Wall Plaza and Western Wall, beneath the Temple Mount compound, for many years have been required to go through metal detectors.< /i>

Jews and Christians pass through metal detectors around the Temple Mount all the time, and have done so for years. No protests. No threats of violence by Israeli leaders.

There are metal detectors at large football stadia, government buildings, airports, concert venues, etc. all over the world. There are metal detectors at synagogues in Rome and at Coptic churches in Egypt.

In Egypt, Copts are installing metal detectors at the entrance to every church

In light of all the recent terrorism against the Coptic Church in our homeland, Pope Tawadrous II has approved a Metal Detector Project that includes installing a metal detector at the main entrance of every church in Egypt. They are fundraising in order to make it happen.

No protest there!

Churchgoers in Qatar must pass through metal detectors (Doha News, 2015)

Ahead of Eid al-Fitr, church-goers were told that due to “ongoing security concerns”, several new rules would be in place, including closing the gated parking area inside the complex, introducing metal detectors and upping the number of security personnel. The the Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church first introduced the measures at the end of June, while congregants at the Epiphany Church and Anglican Center were informed of the changes in mid-July, following a directive issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Malls and stores such as Landmark, Hyatt Plaza, Gulf Mull and Dar Al Salaam also increased their security arrangements after receiving a government directive before the holiday. They began employing more personnel and introducing checks with mirrors on the underside of cars entering the basement parking lots as well as looking in the trunks of vehicles. Newly installed metal detector at Marriott Marquis Doha. Meanwhile, hotels also stepped up their security arrangements, with some installing metal security arches in their lobbies and service entrances and paying extra attention to cars on the premises.

There are no protests about these security measures!

Explosives detectors to be installed at gates of Mecca's Holy Mosque (Guardian, 2011)

Explosives detectors are to be installed at the entrances to the Holy Mosque in Mecca

Around 180 people work on a shift pattern to man the gates leading to the Masjid al-Haram, which surrounds the Ka'aba, the black granite cube that Muslims turn to when praying.

But there are no other measures in place to screen pilgrims for weapons, explosive devices or other banned items, although there are more than 700 cameras tracking them for possible theft, pickpocketing and other criminal or immoral activity.

Lieutenant Colonel Fawaz al-Sahafi, who heads the security team at the mosque, to ld the Saudi Gazette plans to fit "sophisticated metal and explosive detectors" at the multiple gates were under way.

He also said there were proposals to monitor pilgrims' movements and have plain-clothes officers mingling with worshippers to stop them from carrying unauthorised foodstuffs into the mosque.

Another security official, Lieutenant General Saeed Bin Abdullah al-Qahtani, said cameras at pilgrims' residential buildings, traffic initiatives and crowd management plans would improve safety inside and outside the Grand Mosque.

There is a ban on private cars carrying pilgrims entering Mecca, and there will be greater intervention from guards to ease congestion and jostling.

The Saudi authorities have revamped a key element of the Hajj to minimise the potential for stampedes and expedite the evacuation of worshippers, but similar initiatives have yet to materialise at other sites in Mecca.

Islam's holiest city has not experienced terrorist activity since 1979, when hundreds of people died following an armed takeover of the Grand Mosque, with overcrowding proving to be more of a threat in recent years.

At any one time, almost 1 million pilgrims can fit into the Grand Mosque. It covers almost one-third of a square kilometre but, in the coming days, King Abdullah will lay a foundation stone marking an expansion project to accommodate more believers.

Around 4 million Muslims visit Mecca to perform the Hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage, while millions more go there throughout the year.

Sophisticated explosives detectors, cameras, car bans, etc. installed in Mecca, where no terrorists murdered policemen. No protests.

That's because everybody recognizes that metal detectors are there to reduce the chance that weapons will be smuggled in. This reduces the likelihood that terrorists will gun down worshippers, spectators, concertgoers, passengers... or policemen.

Any sane person would support their installation.

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 hate preachers of Al Aqsa (Petra Marquardt-Bigman)

By Petra Marquardt-Bigman

Since the Temple Mount is in the news again, it’s perhaps time to update a post I wrote some two years ago about the hate preachers who hold forth quite regularly at what is supposedly Islam’s “third holiest” site. Unfortunately, the mainstream media seem to have little interest in covering what Muslim worshippers attending the Al Aqsa mosque are told about how their faith relates to today’s world. And once you know what they’re being told, it’s clear that reporting it would be dreadfully “Islamophobic.”

Thanks to MEMRI, there is a large collection of translated clips that provide a revealing glimpse of the intense hatred that passes for pious Islamic teaching at the Al Aqsa mosque. I think it would be a great service to peace in the Middle East and beyond if MEMRI put all these clips together into one chilling documentary that should be shown around the world in order to perhaps shame the responsible Muslim authorities into putting an end to these vile outpourings. After all, the Temple Mount has been a symbol of Muslim fanaticism for decades – indeed, it soon will be a century since Haj Amin al Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, who later gained notoriety as a Nazi collaborator, first incited murderous Muslim violence with his mendacious fabrications about “Zionist” plots to damage the site’s Islamic shrines. But when the evil Zionists took over the Temple Mount in 1967, they naively thought it would be a wonderful gesture of good will to promptly hand the control of the site back to the Muslim waqf.

Ever since, Israel has cravenly served as enforcer of a “status quo” that is dictated by frequent threats of massive Muslim violence and that helps to entrench Muslim supremacism: only Muslims can pray on the Temple Mount – which is Judaism’s holiest site – while Jews and Christians are at best allowed to visit at severely restricted hours under strict police surveillance.

My disgust with this arrangement isn’t due to any religious belief or sentiments; rather, with each new Muslim riot or act of violence justified “in defense of Al Aqsa,” it seems increasingly clear to me that peace has to begin on the Temple Mount: as long as Muslims are violently opposed to recognizing the Jewish and Christian attachment to the site and refuse to accept equal rights for Jews and Christians on the Temple Mount, there won’t be peace. And as long as Muslim leaders insist on denying equal rights for Jews and Christians on the Temple Mount, they should be denounced as supporters of a vile “status quo” that inevitably disgraces the religion which demands it.

So let’s have a good look at the “status quo” on the Temple Mount.

A perfect example is a recent speech by Palestinian preacher Ali Abu Ahmad during a rally at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in early May. The short clip – which concludes with a “prayer” imploring Allah to help Muslims to destroy whomever they perceive as enemies and to “annihilate all the Jews” – will give you a good idea about the intense hatred and the murderous incitement that is a regular feature of speeches and sermons at Islam’s “third holiest” site.

Shocking, but unfortunately, a common occurrence at Al Aqsa – in June, a very similar “prayer” was led by Palestinian cleric Sheikh Nadhal Siam (Abu Ibrahim): “Oh Allah, enable us to slaughter the Americans!” Audience: “Amen!” Nadhal Siam: “And the Europeans!” Audience: “Amen!” Nadhal Siam: “And our criminal and treacherous [Arab] rulers!” Audience: “Amen!”

Just two weeks after Ali Abu Ahmad had prayed for Allah’s help to “annihilate all the Jews” in early May, he was at it again, denouncing Trump as “the White House Satan” who is eager to talk with Arab rulers “about moderate Islam.” And once again, this hate preacher implored Allah to “bestow upon us a rightly-guided Caliphate in the path of the Prophet soon. Oh Allah, annihilate Trump and the conspirators. Oh Allah, annihilate all the Jews.”

At the end of May, Palestinian cleric Sheikh Muhammad Ayed, (Abu Abdallah) enlightened his audience at the Al Aqsa Mosque about the confessions of “Jewish schemers” from “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”: “They are behind all the strife in the world. They cause all the killing, the slaughter, and the destruction everywhere.” He also got around to contemplating America’s fate: “First, the Caliphate will clip America’s nails and then move on to chopping off its hands. After we clip its nails, we will chop off its hands, and then we will chop off its feet and drive it out of our countries.”

Also in May, Palestinian cleric Sheikh ‘Abd Al-Salam Abu Al-‘Izz gave a speech at Al Aqsa that is fascinating in the context of the controversy about the meaning of “jihad” in the wake of Linda Sarsour’s call for “jihad” against Trump: “Many people say that Islam did not spread by the sword. They try to conceal Jihad for the sake of Allah as a means of spreading Islam. They say that the Muslims were only defending themselves, and that if they conquered some country or another, it was only in order to put an end to tyranny. […] Any system of governance in the world is tyranny against humanity, except Islam. If we look at it this way, we find that there is tyranny in every country. Let us not forget that the Quran makes it incumbent upon us to spread Islam through Jihad: ‘Fight the infidels who are near you, and let them find harshness in you.’ […] the Jihad continues as long as there are infidels who are not ruled by Islam. Thus, the jurisprudents defined the reason for Jihad as the existence of infidels.”

Incidentally, another Palestinian cleric who educated his audience at Al Aqsa about the meaning of “jihad” in January 2016 concluded: “The purpose of Jihad for the sake of Allah is to make His word reign supreme, and to conquer the world. Thus, the Prophet’s companions roamed the planet Earth in order to conquer it. The Islamic State, which will be established soon, Allah willing, should do the same. It must conquer Rome, Washington and Paris, Allah willing, by means of Jihad for the sake of Allah, in order to remove oppression, and to purify the land from the filth of polytheism.”

Now let me just list a few of the examples I covered in my post two years ago:

In an address at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on February 18, 2015, Palestinian political researcher Ahmad Al-Khatwani (Abu Hamza) urged his audience to “pray that Allah will enable the Muslims to wage war on America and against its true terrorism. May He grant victory to the Muslims, and may they raid America on its own land and the land of heresy everywhere.”

In March 2015, preacher Muhammad Abed delivered two sermons at the Al-Aqsa Mosque anticipating the establishment of a global caliphate: “Oh how similar to the past is the present! Just like the ideology of the Prophet Muhammad laid siege to the Quraysh tribe, the Persians, and the Byzantines, today, the religion and ideology of Muhammad – including Islam’s men of Truth, the men of the Caliphate and of jihad – are laying siege to America […] They are laying siege to Europe and to the fabricated democracy, the great lie. […] Oh nation of Islam, only a real Caliphate is capable of satiating your hunger, of defending you and your honor, and of liberating your Al-Aqsa Mosque form the filth of the defilers. […] America will be trampled by the hooves of the horses of the Caliph of the Muslims, Allah willing. This is the promise of Allah.”

In a lecture at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on May 29, 2015, Sheik Khaled Al-Maghrabi spoke at length about Jewish evil and justified the Holocaust: “Let us consider the Holocaust of the Israelites in Germany, and all the prior problems that they experienced throughout Europe. The Israelites were expelled from all the countries of Europe, and eventually, they were burned in Germany. Ask yourselves why. […] It was not only due to (Jewish) corruption. On Passover, every Israelite community would seek a small child and kidnap him. They would bring a barrel pierced by many needles, and would place the little child inside it. That way, the needles would pierce the child’s body. At the bottom of the barrel there would be a tap to drain the blood. Why would they collect the blood of the kidnapped child? Because Satan, or one of the other higher gods, said that if they wanted him to fulfill their desires, they would have to eat bread kneaded with children’s blood. […] On Passover, when they are not allowed to eat regular bread, they make their matzos. They would knead the dough for these matzos with children’s blood. When this was discovered, the Israelites were expelled throughout Europe. That was the beginning of the calamity of the Israelites in European countries. It got to the point where they were burned in Germany. It was because of all those things, because of their multiple kidnappings of children.”

In another frightening lecture bordering on madness, delivered at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on July 4, 2015, Palestinian cleric Issam Amira told his audience: “An Islamic state is required to deliver the call for Islam to the whole world. Therefore, this state must be qualified for expansion, militarily, ideologically, economically, and geographically. […] Therefore, our main war is with whom? With the Byzantines, with America and Europe – with France, with Britain, with those places […] The Islamic Caliphate must be restored, so that it will lead the armies to war against the infidels. Then we will bring about a second battle of Badr, and a third, and a fourth… In order to achieve that, the activists must work, along with [all] Muslims, to establish the Islamic State. It also requires destroying all the entities in the Islamic world.”

In an address at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on July 6, 2015, Sheik Muhammad Abed said: “From here, from the land of the Prophet’s nocturnal journey, armies will set out to conquer Rome, to conquer Constantinople once again, as well as its [modern] symbols, Washington and London. This is Allah’s promise to His Prophet: Islam will rule the entire Earth.”

During an address on July 24, 2015, Sheik Ahmad Al-Dweik told his audience at the Al-Aqsa Mosque: “Allah has promised to restore the Islamic Caliphate […] The Caliphate will come to be, and the nuclear bomb will be produced. It will be the number one country in the world. It will fight the U.S. and will bring it down. [The Caliphate] will eliminate the West in its entirety.”

Finally, since Muslims now like to claim that the Al-Aqsa Mosque is not just the gray-domed building, but extends to the entire Temple Mount, let’s end with an example that illustrates just how holy that area is to Muslims: almost exactly four years ago, in July 2013, Islamists held a rally there proudly displaying their murderous hatred for everyone and everything they don’t like: America, France, Rome, Britain, and of course the Jews. But as the examples listed in this post show, all the hate expressed at this rally has also often been expressed inside the mosque. And if this is what’s being preached at Islam’s supposedly “third holiest” site, one can only wonder what is being preached in mosques all over the world.

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.

07/17 Links Pt1: Jewish Voice for Peace Justifies Jerusalem Terrorist Attack; Erdogan's Obsession to Take Jerusalem

From Ian:

NGO Monitor: Why Is Human Rights Watch Posting Articles from a Palestinian Propagandist?

Yesterday (July 16), Human Rights Watch (HRW) posted a “Dispatch” about an Israeli military trial against Issa Amro and Farid al-Atrash for unlawful activity, including violence. The piece echoed the standard NGO themes about the trial, that prosecutors have no case (even though the evidence has not yet been made public) and that military courts “fall well short of any standards of justice.” As noted previously by NGO Monitor, the Amro and al-Atrash case has become a pretext for legal attacks against Israel.
The article was written by a “consultant” named Khulood Badawi, the only article on HRW’s website attributed to this individual.
Who is Khulood Badawi?
She used to work for UN-OCHA – until February 2013, when she was fired for “a bogus post on Twitter alleging that a pictured Palestinian girl had been killed by the IDF during the 2012 shelling of Gaza.” (Honest Reporting noticed that the photo, tweeted under the handle “Long live Palestine,” was from 2006.)
Continuing her Palestinian propaganda role, Badawi moved to the PLO’s Negotiations Support Unit / Negotiations Affairs Department. There, she prepared materials for “Israeli target audiences.”Since May 2014, and despite being dismissed from UN-OCHA, she has been working with UN Office for Project Service (UNOPS). Her position, Communications Associate, is “part of a joint program” with the Canadian government, and she is responsible for – irony alert – developing “communication strategies” and “media material.”
And, apparently on the sidelines, she also writes propaganda for Human Rights Watch. Which isn’t surprising for HRW, which has an apparent policy of hiring anti-Israel BDS activists.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Abbas: Shut Up or I will Arrest You!

Critics say the Palestinian Authority's (PA) Cyber Crime Law, which permits the imprisonment of Palestinians for "liking" or sharing published material on the internet, paves the way for the emergence of a "police state" in PA-controlled territories in the West Bank. They also argue that the law aims to silence criticism of Abbas and the PA leadership.
"What is laughable is that this law carries penalties that are tougher than those imposed on thieves and sex offenders... the law, in its present form, is designed to limit the freedom of the media and punish people for simple matters." — Journalist in Ramallah.
This latest dictatorial move in the PA-controlled territories might also serve to remind the international community about the current readiness of the Palestinian leadership for statehood, and what such statehood would look like. In its current incarnation, that state would fit in just fine with its brutal Arab neighbors.

PMW: PMW exposes Abbas' latest deception: PA salaries to terrorists are not social welfare

Contents: Click to view as PDF
Introduction:
- Facts and figures about PA payments to terrorists and their families
- PA claim: Salaries are social welfare
- The PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists
Part 1: 12 facts that refute the PA's claim that its payments to terrorists are social welfare
1. PA law defines the payments to prisoners as salaries
2. PA officials and prisoners' representatives deny that salaries are social welfare
3. Prisoners, and not their families, have complete control over the transfer of the salaries
4. Salaries rise based on years spent in prison and not based on financial need
5. Social welfare considerations add only small payments to the base salary
6. Salaries to prisoners are treated with the same status as salaries to civil servants.
7. Prisoners pay income tax on their salaries, like all government employees
8. Prisoners' salaries are higher than salaries of PA civil servants
9. Payments to families of terrorist "Martyrs" are higher than social welfare for those in need
10. Released prisoners continue to receive monthly salaries
11. PA officials openly declare that prisoners receive salaries because they are "heroes"
12. Released prisoner demanded undiminished salary because: "I personally killed Jews"
Part 2: The PA vows to continue paying salaries to terrorists

Introduction
Facts and figures about PA payments to terrorists and their families
The Palestinian Authority's "Law of the Prisoners" (2004) and subsequent PA regulations grant monthly salaries, from the day of arrest until the day of release, to all Palestinians arrested for security and terror offenses - acts defined in PA law as "struggle against the occupation." The salaries increase according to the amount of time the terrorist remains in prison, ranging from 1,400 shekels ($388) to 12,000 shekels ($3,324) per month. In 2016, the PA budgeted 488 million shekels ($135 million) for salaries to terrorist prisoners (numbering 6,300, July 2017)

Occasionally, I like to supplement this longer analysis of war as the best metaphor to use when dealing with BSD and other anti-Israel campaigns with additional strategies and tactics that are in the process of being demonstrated in the field.

Supporters of the Jewish state are endlessly frustrated by the success of the boycotters in getting their “Israel=Apartheid” message across, regardless of its total lack of truthfulness, even as the truths we tell barely make headway.

“A lie can travel across the planet while the truth is tying its shoes” (or something to that effect) is an explanation we tell ourselves as to why the other side’s fabrications seem to resonate with so many while our carefully constructed and well-articulated rebuttals fall on deaf ears. And there’s no question that a lie endlessly repeated (especially one that tells a simple story) can be very impactful on our story-loving brains.

But the power of their propaganda message derives not from its dishonesty, but from its simplicity. “Apartheid Israel” packs within it a wide range of messages and connections of bigotry and repression, as well as a clear set of steps to follow (boycott, divestment, and sanctions leading ultimately to state dismantlement) that need no further elaboration. In contrast, our explanations as to why Israel is not an Apartheid state (usually accompanied by long-winded analysis and history lessons) makes audiences’ eyes glaze over, not because they are false but because they are complicated.

Many messaging debates within the pro-Israel community boil down to how to find a similar storyline to counter the BDSer’s “Israel=Apartheid” slogan, with arguments generally breaking out over whether our storyline should be negative or positive. But even here, the messages we argue over tend to be multi-faceted and complex, whether negative (let’s talk about Arab repression, homophobia and sexism, as well as the corruption of the Palestinian Authority and depredations of Gaza’s Hamas rulers – who are really just like ISIS, etc.) or positive (let’s celebrate Israel’s democracy, open society, tolerance of gay people, technology, cuisine, beaches, nightlife, yada yada, yada).

In contrast, a storyline that has developed organically over the last few months demonstrates how the power of simplicity can work in our favor.

While Israeli governments have complained for years that the Palestinian government makes regular payments to convicted terrorists and their families, that complaint was just one of many related to incitement, tolerance of and even collaboration with terror. But in recent months, stories of those terror payments have “gotten legs” and regularly appear in the media, as well as being discussed and debated in high government circles.

Part of this has to do with the recent changeover in US government with associated changes in foreign policy priorities. But this doesn’t explain why one particular aspect of Palestinian perfidy as it relates to terror (payments to terrorists) has gotten so much more attention than other equally valid points of controversy.

I would posit that these terror payments have captured the public imagination due to the fact that the storyline they imply is a very simple one: “In an age when the US and the world are supposed to be fighting terror, why are taxpayers also subsidizing it?’ Such a message has the virtue of being straightforward and common-sensical, as well as aligning with the political goal of exposing Israel’s enemies for what they are.

In the world of rhetoric, the term synecdoche refers to the part of something standing in for the whole. The reason this rhetorical device works as a persuasive technique is that it gives someone a small idea they can easily grasp (such as the illogic of subsidizing terror while also fighting it) with a much larger truth (all the corruption and dishonesty and hypocrisy of Israel’s foes with regard to terror).

When a synecdoche like the current terror payment one takes hold among the public, it’s incumbent upon the strategic warrior to take advantage of the situation by reinforcing the simple part (by endlessly pounding on this one accepted idea) vs. broadening the debate by highlighting every other complaint we have against Israel’s foes.

As a wordy people with a great deal we’d like to get off our chests, it’s tempting to jump right in and start explaining why those terror payments are just the tip of the iceberg, and to provide long lists of additional outrages routinely practiced by Israel’s enemies. But just as a disciplined warrior making headway with a bow doesn’t simultaneously fill his hands with additional swords and spears, we too should focus on driving home our current advantage, rather than larding up the news with additional storylines that actually dilute, rather than reinforce, our message.

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.

Palestinian Authority says aim of Temple Mount metal detectors is to "humiliate worshipers"

The official Palestinian Authority Wafa news agency reports on the hundreds of Muslims who are holding prayers outside the gates to the Temple Mount, refusing to go through metal detectors that Israel set up to find weapons like the one that murdered two Israeli police officers.

While Israeli media reports that scores of Arabs ignored the prayer/picket line and passed through the metal detectors, the Palestinian Authority is denying that anyone has passed through.

Wafa describes the real reason the Israelis put up those hated metal detectors, and of course it has nothing to do with security:

The aim of the occupation of placing electronic gates is the humiliation of worshipers and citizens during their entry and exit to Al Aqsa, and to send a message to the Arabs and Muslims that they hold absolute sovereignty over Al Aqsa ... but Jerusalemites responded by rejection, until the situation returns to what it was before the electronic gates and checkpoints.

Once again, Arabs put everything in terms of honor and shame. Even though the holy places in Saudi Arabia have metal detectors and tight security, the problem here is that Jews are the ones who are enforcing the security, which is humiliating to them. Since they are so sensitive to being humiliated, which is often worse than death, they assume that Israel's aim is to humiliate them.

And this message resonates with all Arabs who share the same honor/shame mindset.

Logic and facts are optional. Feelings are paramount. And feelings are what drives their "facts."

Come to think of it, they do have a lot in common with the Western Left today.

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.

As Waqf stays away, Jews say Kaddish on Temple Mount for murdered Arab police officers

Times of Israel reports:

For the first time in years, Jews went up onto the Temple Mount on Monday without the accompaniment of Muslim religious authority officials, as police allowed non-Muslim visitors back onto the powder-keg holy site for the first time since a Friday terror attack in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Many members of the Waqf — the Islamic trust that administers the site — have objected to the metal detectors Israel installed at entrances to the holy site and have refused to ascend to the compound, urging other Muslims to stay away as well in protest.

Waqf officials normally keep a close eye on non-Muslim visitors to the site, where a delicate status quo allowing only Muslim prayer is in place.

A Twitter feed belonging to Israeli rescue service Hatzolah published a picture of what it said were a group of Jews taking advantage of the lack of Waqf officials and reciting Kaddish for the two police officers — both Druze — who were killed in the attack.

So "Jewish extremists" "stormed" the "Al Aqsa mosque" and prayed for the souls of Arabs. and the only reason why the Muslims who normally zealously stop such actions didn't is because they choose to boycott their "third holiest site" because they object to metal detectors being set up outside, which would stop them from bringing in weapons to their "holy site."

Arab media is upset at Jews praying on the Temple Mount (they of course don't report the Kaddish part, only the "Jewish rituals") but they cannot call for the Waqf to enter the defiled area and accept the security measures.

Which means, I imagine, that the Arabs will go to the UN any moment now.

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.

Arabs still don't know what the Al Aqsa Mosque looks like

Al Khaleej Online, a UK-based news service aimed at Gulf Arabs, has a backgrounder on the "Al Aqsa Mosque" in reaction to Friday's events.

Here is the autotranslated headline and photo:

The photos, of course, are of the Dome of the Rock, not the Al Aqsa Mosque.

In fact, a Google Image search on "Al Aqsa Mosque" in Arabic shows that about half of the resulting photos show the Dome of the Rock instead.

One would think that the supposedly third holiest place in Islam would be better known to Muslims.

(The words on red background say "Special Report," 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.

07/16 Links: PMW: Fatah calls for violence and “rage” following Friday terror attack; The Arab leadership's failure

From Ian:

Waqf official may have aided Israeli-Arab terrorists in Temple Mount attack — report

Israel Police made a number of arrests in the wake of the deadly terror attack at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Friday morning, which claimed the lives of two Israeli police officers, and officers were on the hunt for additional suspects who may have helped the three Israeli-Arab perpetrators, police said.
Raids were also conducted on the homes of the terrorists, all from the northern Israeli city of Umm al-Fahm, and a mourners’ tent for the terrorists was broken up.
Channel 10 reported Friday that among those detained were at least one official from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, the Jordan-based organization that administers the Temple Mount, on suspicion that the shooters received help from inside.
The channel said the official was seen on security footage behaving suspiciously.
Police also said they arrested one person, a 22-year-old from the northern city on suspicion he was directly involved in the attack.
Police have not indicated what kind of assistance they believe the Waqf official provided, though Channel 10 said he may have helped the shooters stash the weapons used in the attack. A gag order was imposed on further aspects of the investigation relating to the Waqf.

Officers killed in Old City attack are buried, remembered as patriots

Thousands of family members, friends, political dignitaries and others gathered Friday to mourn Border Police officers Haiel Stawi and Kamil Shnaan, who were killed in a terrorist attack near the Old City’s Lions’ Gate.
Stawi, 30, the father of a three-week-old boy, was buried in the northern Druse village of Maghar. Shnaan, 22, the son of former MK Shakib Shnaan, was buried in the nearby Druse village of Hurfeish.
According to police, Stawi enlisted in the Border Police in 2012 and served in the Temple Mount Unit. Shnaan, who reportedly was to wed in a week, joined the Temple Mount Unit seven months ago to become a career officer.
Both men, who were buried within hours of each other, were posthumously promoted to the rank of advanced-staff-sergeant-major.
Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich, Jerusalem District Police commander Yoram Halevy, senior police officers, ministers, members of Knesset and dignitaries from the Druse community attended the funerals.

IsraellyCool: Shot In The Back For Guarding A Mosque

Israeli police have released a video showing the moments just as the two Israeli Druze policemen are shot just outside the Temple Mount. The most horrifying aspect is that the two policemen were taken completely by surprise because they are facing AWAY FROM THE MOSQUE! They are supposed to be guarding the Temple Mount compound (against what I don’t know). Certainly not against hordes of armed Jews “storming” it!
The murdering terrorists run down from the so-called “Third Holiest Site in Islam” to murder and run back there in a, thankfully futile, attempt to escape justice.
Also remember the terrorists, in this case, do not come from anywhere that can be considered “occupied”. They’re from the Israeli Arab village of Um Al Fahm in northern Israel.
These two brave men were murdered in an act of Islamic terrorism for defending an Islamic holy site. That is what glorifies Allah apparently and furthers the cause of relentless Jihad.

A Kuwaiti MP named Waleed Tabtabaie has tweeted that religious Jews disguised as janitors are entering the Al-Aqsa mosque, and they steal the keys to the Lion's Gate in order to smuggle in whatever they want.

Maybe editions of the Talmud.

As crazy as that is (and Tabtabaie is really crazy) his fans who respond to him show even more craziness.

The usual memes of Jews using this as an excuse to destroy Al Aqsa of course are there.

One shows an old CNN video of Habitat for Humanity building houses in Mississippi for natural disaster victims, thanks to a donation by Qatar. The Arabic captions say that this video is showing Qatar building Israeli settlements!

And many others castigate the Arab League for not declaring war on Israel so the Temple Mount can go back under Muslim control.

(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.

Palestinian "Snakes and Ladders" game uses Gaza rockets and tunnels to reach Jerusalem

There is a new Palestinian board game, based on "Snakes and Ladders," with the goal to get to Jerusalem.

Here's what it looks like:

To skip ahead the child can use different types of rockets and tunnels. Israeli tanks and helicopters take the place of "snakes."

The Gazan creator of the game says it teaches children "values." He also says that he consulted with social workers and psychologists to see if the game would have any negative effects on children, but these Palestinian experts all agreed that this is a positive game for children.

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 UNSC condemned Israel for the previous incident where the Temple Mount was closed on a Friday

Israel's closing of the Temple Mount on Friday in response to the murder of two policemen has caused an uproar in the Arab world, although it is a lot more muted than it could have been.

Many are noting that the last time that Israel closed the Temple Mount for Friday prayers was in 1969, after a crazed Australian Christian named Denis Michael Rohan set fire to the pulpit of the Al Aqsa Mosque on August 21 of that year.

The Arab states insisted on a UN Security Council resolution blaming Israel for the incident.

Here is the text:

The Security Council,
Grieved at the extensive damage caused by arson to the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on 21 August 1969 under the military occupation of Israel,
Mindful of the consequent loss to human culture,
Having heard the statements made before the Council reflecting the universal outrage caused by the act of sacrilege in one of the most venerated shrines of mankind,
Recalling its resolutions 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968 and 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969 and the earlier General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V) of 4 and 14 July 1967, respectively, concerning measures and action by Israel affecting the status of the City of Jerusalem,
Reaffirming the established principle that acquisition of territory by military conquest is inadmissible,
1. Reaffirms its resolutions 252 (1968) and 267 (1969);
2. Recognizes that any act of destruction or profanation of the Holy Places, religious buildings and sites in Jerusalem or any encouragement of, or connivance at, any such act may seriously endanger international peace and security;
3. Determines that the execrable act of desecration and profanation of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque emphasizes the immediate necessity of Israel's desisting from acting in violation of the aforesaid resolutions and rescinding forthwith all measures and actions taken by it designed to alter the status of Jerusalem;
4. Calls upon Israel scrupulously to observe the provisions of the Geneva Conventions 1/ and international law governing military occupation and to refrain from causing any hindrance to the discharge of the established functions of the Supreme Moslem Council of Jerusalem, including any co-operation that Council may desire from countries with predominantly Moslem population and from Moslem communities in relation to its plans for the maintenance and repair of the Islamic Holy Places in Jerusalem;
5. Condemns the failure of Israel to comply with the aforementioned resolutions and calls upon it to implement forthwith the provisions of these resolutions;
6. Reiterates the determination in paragraph 7 of resolution 267 (1969) that, in the event of a negative response or no response, the Security Council shall convene without delay to consider what further action should be taken in this matter;
7. Requests the Secretary-General to follow closely the implementation of the present resolution and to report thereon to the Security Council at the earliest possible date.

This Resolution 271 passed, 11-0, with four abstentions from Colombia, Finland, Paraguay and the United States.

The hypocrisy of this resolution that the US allowed to pass is still jarring. The UN was placing responsibility for the actions of a madman on Israel.

Never has the UN said a word about direct Arab attacks on Jewish holy places.

Furthermore, the UNSC didn't say anything condemning Jordan after the assassination of King Abdullah I on the steps of Al Aqsa Mosque, which Jordan responded to by imposing martial law and a full curfew on the Old City of Jerusalem - which it was then occupying and had acquired by military conquest, which seems to be "inadmissible" by the UN only when Jews are the ones who conquer.

Although I can't see it said explicitly, one can assume that prayers were also stopped at the site after that Friday assassination.

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.