Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, October 17, 2005

Chag Same'ach!

Enjoy the holiday! May the bees not bother you!

Peace Now asks Israelis not to be so angry when they get killed

From Arutz Sheva:

Peace Now has called on the Israeli government to remove a new community outpost set up by Gush Etzion residents in response to Sunday’s Arab attack which killed three Jews and wounded three others.

The group says the new outpost causes “friction” with the Arabs and “endangers IDF soldiers and settlers.”

The group’s leader, Yariv Oppenheimer, has called on Israel to stop its “anger” over the terrorist attack and fight terror by way of “cooperation” with the Palestinian Authority.

I did not see this quote in any other newspaper or in either the Israeli or American "Peace Now" sites, but as I was looking at those sites it struck me that I could not find a single position of that group that would not be wholeheartedly endorsed by Mahmoud Abbas.

Apparently their definition of "peace" does not include any requirements on the Palestinian Arab side of the conflict - demands are strictly for Israel, and the starry-eyed self-deluders are certain that Arabs will be naturally peaceful if Israel just gives them everything they want.

I wonder if they would ever consider asking Arabs not to be angry?

Victims of Sunday's shooting attack at Gush Etzion junction laid to rest; Matat Rosenfeld-Adler, 21, married her husband Yisrael only two months ago. Her cousin Kineret Mendel, 23, was the first child born to the founders of the Carmel settlement and 14-year old Oz Ben-Meir was an outstanding athlete, and a navigational expert.

CNN International doesn't bother to mention that the victims were women and a child. The Boston Globe waits until paragraph 6 to mention the child; never mentions the young women victims. The Globe and Mail doesn't mention it, and neither does the Independent (UK).

The vast majority of the news coverage headlines Israel's mild response to the attacks, rather than the attacks themselves, as if the threat to "peace" is Israel's fault.

Once again, the media is showing a disgusting moral inversion about Israel.

Fatah group adds the Galilee to list of "occupied lands"

How predictable is it that Palestinians will always "demand" more until there is no Israel left?

A terrorist group aligned with the Palestinian Authority, the Al Aksa Brigades has vowed to continue the armed struggle against Israel until it liberates “Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and the Galilee."

The declaration was made in response to an interview given by IDF Chief-of-Staff, Lt.Gen. Dan Halutz, to a French newspaper. Halutz told the paper that the IDF was no longer targeting members of that terror group because it had joined up with the PA’s armed forces and was no longer involved in attacks against Israel.

Calling the Galilee, “occupied territory,” a spokesman for the Brigades said the organization would continue the armed struggle to liberate it.

And right after that brilliant analysis from Dan Halutz that the Fatah thugs were no longer terrorists, they killed 3 Israelis and wounded five more.

Today's Palestinian Police Phunnies

Just remember, Mahmoud Abbas is the leader of Fatah.

On Wednesday, a Fatah gang kidnapped two Western journalists while they were traveling in a car near Khan Yunis.

The two, Jerusalem-based American correspondent Dion British photographer Adam Pletts, were on assignment for Knight Ridder newspapers when six gunmen seized them at gunpoint and forced them into a yellow Mercedes, which sped off toward Rafah.

The two were released unharmed later in the day. PA security sources said the kidnappers, who belong to a Fatah gang calling itself Black Panther, were demanding jobs and money.

PA Civil Police Chief Ala Hosni told reporters that the kidnappers were members of the al-Najjar family, one of the biggest clans in Khan Yunis. He said they wanted jobs in the Palestinian security forces and higher ranks for the clan's members who are already serving in these forces.

In another sign of growing lawlessness, a Palestinian man was killed and two others injured in armed clashes between rival Fatah gangs in the town of Kabatya near Jenin. The victim was identified as Ala Sabaneh, a policeman who was wanted by Israel for his role in terror activities. Residents said the gunmen were local members of rival factions of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.

Meanwhile, other PA agencies don't want to get left behind in the terror game:

Israeli security personnel revealed that Arab terrorists, including a high ranking PA intelligence officer, threatened to kill a 14-year-old boy if he did not carry out a suicide bombing.

Wanted Tanzim terrorist Rabi'ah Abu Alil originally tried to employ the boy as a suicide bomber after he and his father quarreled over money. The boy refused, and was taken to an apartment by Abu Alil and another wanted Arab terrorist, Jamal Tirawi. Tirawi is also a high ranking Palestinian Authority (PA) intelligence officer, the IDF said.

G'mar chatimah tovah

If I offended you during this past year, I ask forgiveness.

I wish you all an easy fast.

May we all be sealed for a good year: a year of life, a year of peace, a year of prosperity, a year of unity for all Jews.

MEMRI: "Encyclopedia for Preparing Nuclear Weapons" on jihadist websites

From MEMRI:

Alongside the numerous documents posted on Islamist websites on how to prepare various types of explosives, 'An Encyclopedia for the Preparation of Nuclear Weapons' has recently appeared on such websites. The 'Encyclopedia' was posted on October 6, 2005 on the Islamist forum Al-Firdaws [1] ('Paradise'), by someone whose nom de guerre is Layth Al-Islam ('The Lion of Islam'). A link to a slightly different version appeared on October 9 in a Yahoo! discussion group called ' mujahedon.' [2]

The 'Encyclopedia,' which contains nine lessons in approximately 80 pages in Arabic, was published under the title 'The Nuclear Bomb of Jihad and the Way to Enrich Uranium' and was presented as 'a gift to the commander of the Jihad fighters, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, for the purpose of Jihad for the sake of Allah.'

The latest demand from the peaceful, moderate Palestinian Arabs

Arutz Sheva reports:

The PA demands the release from Israeli prison of Marwan Barghouti, accused of murdering 35 Israelis. So says PA official Saeb Erekat. Barghouti wants to run in the upcoming PA parliament elections.

Erekat told Army Radio today that the PA also demands the release of Hizbullah murderer Samir Kuntar. Kuntar and three other terrorists infiltrated into northern Israel by sea in 1979, abducted and murdered Danny Haran and his young daughter Einat, and killed policeman Eliyahu Shachar. Danny's 2-year-old daughter Yael was also killed in the attack.

The fact that the PA always demands the release of their murderous terrorist hero Barghouti is not surprising, because in the twisted world of Palestinian Arab terror supporters, he is seen as a potential leader.

But just once, I'd like to see the media ask some simple questions:

Why does the PA, supposedly trying to build a nation, want to see the release of those who killed children? Why are people who make such outrageous "demands," like Saeb Erekat, considered moderates who have no problem appearing on news talk shows as if they were respectable? Why does no reporter ask Erekat to explain his history of lies and terror support? Why, when the PA is supposedly trying to plan for its future as a peaceful member of the world community, does it place such a high priority on the release of murderers? Why, in Palestinian society, are baby-killers considered heroes worthy of emulation?

And are the PA's actions more consistent with an organization that is busy with nation-building or with an organization that is consumed with destroying another nation?

The EU's blood money (Melanie Phillips)

Melanie Phillips prints Jerusalem Post quote of EU Parliamentary President Josep Borrell Fontelles:

The EU, which provides the Palestinian Authority with half of the $1 billion in European aid, is not an altruistic player in the Middle East, said Borrell. With its growing Muslim population, Europe is finding that violence in the Middle East leads to unrest within its own borders, he said. 'The conflict in the Middle East is dangerous for us. We are not just here, as the good guy who says, please do not fight between you. We need this conflict to be finished because of its impact on life in Europe. 'As European society faces the problem of xenophobia, it can destabilize our society,' said Borrell explaining that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fuels anti-Semitism, 'Islamophobia,' and anti-globalization feelings.’

As Phillips points out, "In other words EU support for the Palestinians, which has played quantifiable part in legitimising terror and demonising its Israeli victim, was a kind of blood money, paid to appease a threat which, as is now all too apparent, has merely grown instead.".

Not to mention the incredible shortsightedness of such a policy, because of its ineffectiveness, its naivete and its ultimate outcome of supporting those who support terror.

(Links to the JPost site have been screwy this week, so I could not find the original article.)

Another Israeli invents something that will save American lives

Here is an Israeli who invented a revolutionary light armor made with ceramics that is useful for everything from bulletproof vests to protecting trucks, planes and helicopters from armor-piercing munitions.

With years of suicide bombings and roadside attacks providing 'real life' experience, the Light Improved Ballistic Armor (LIBA) invented by Dr. Michael Cohen at his company Mofet Etzion, has been proven to be highly effective at saving lives. So much so that the company has recently been awarded a contract to provide the armor for over 1000 US Marine Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles (EFV) - the army's main form of transportation in hot spots like Iraq and Afghanistan.
[...]
LIBA is already being used on Marine vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the Stryker and the Pandur.

"One of the biggest problems facing American troops now in Iraq is the issue of IEDs - improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs. The problem is the type of explosive is not very standard - every bomb maker adds his own input. As we know form suicide bus bombings, in addition to TNT, or mortar, items like nails are added to make it more devastating," said Taube.

"The LIBA is able to defend against this kind of threat. There aren't many kinds of armor - outside of 12 inch thick chunks of steel which are prohibitive due to weight - that can make that claim."

"What differentiates our armor from other types - and the main reason why Dr. Cohen's discovery is so important - is that he was able to discover armor that can stand up to armor piercing. With this feature, we have a special niche, and that's why General Dynamics became interested in us. As terrorists have developed more threats that can achieve a projectile that will pierce regular armor, everything's been pushed ahead. It's like musical chairs," he said.

Who says Hamas isn't feminist?

The progressive Hamas movement can elevate women to high positions, if they have the right skills! No glass ceiling there!

Among the numerous people recently detained by security forces is a young woman from the Gaza Strip suspected of being Hamas' first female bomb maker.

Samar Sabih, 22, was sent by Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip to the West Bank to train new explosive experts.

Hamas in Gaza is believed to have taught Sabih, of the Jabalyah refugee camp, how to make bombs.

A few months ago she submitted a request to the Israeli authorities asking them to let her live in Tul Karm so that she could marry her fiance, who lived there.

The defense establishment permitted her to do so, as she had no record of security breaches.

When Sabih arrived in Tul Karm, she married her fiance and contacted Hamas activists from Ramallah. Shin Bet sources said she gave bomb-making lessons to Ali Kadi, one of the organization's members who later took part in the abduction of Sasson Nuriel. Sabih also allegedly trained her husband to prepare explosives, so that he could replace her in training others if she were caught, the sources said.

Note also that it appears that the entire reason she got married to someone in the West Bank was just so that she could move there to help kill Jews.

Now, that's true love.

Former CIA head talks about Islam

This is part of an interview of James Woolsey, former CIA director, from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. He gives an interesting comparison between Wahhabism and Al Qaeda.

RFE/RL: What do you think of the impact of the Israel-Palestinian conflict on Muslim communities around the world and do you think it’s possible to reform Shari'a, or Islamic law?

Woolsey: I think the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has some importance but that in reality it is much further down the line of causes of the current support for terrorism and so forth that one sees in some parts of the Muslim, principally the Arab world, than people suggest. I think you could have an Israeli-Palestinian settlement tomorrow, and the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia would still be fanatically anti-Shi'ite, anti-Sufi, anti-Jewish, anti-democracy, anti-Christian, anti-female, anti-music and so would Al-Qaeda be. Indeed the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia and the Islamists Jihadis such as Al-Qaeda pretty much agree except on one thing -- who should be in charge. Should power and respect be focused on one state, Saudi Arabia, or should it be the case that anyone who wants can go off on jihad flying airplanes into buildings in New York and the like. That somewhat mirrors the dispute in the 1930s between the Stalinists and the Trotskyites. The Wahhabis are sort of the Stalinists, they believe in allegiance to one state. The Islamist Jihadis such as Al-Qaeda are sort of like the Trotskyites believing in moving against revolution in all parts of the world now, but they are both totalitarian and that totalitarian movement is not going to go away just because there is a settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I would say that the Wahhabis and the Islamist jihadis such as Al-Qaeda are not at all true representatives of Islam, we do not need to take their word for that any more than that the world needed to take the word of Torquemada in the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th century that they were true representatives of Christianity -- they were not, they were totalitarian bastards. And the Wahhabis and Al-Qaeda are the modern equivalents.

Norway school bans Star of David

A textbook case of how bigots can and do use political correctness as a cover for their hate.

A teacher working at an adult education center who has been told to stop wearing a Star of David because it 'provokes the many Muslim students at the school' in 2004 is now considering legal action against the ban, the Norwegian television network NRK has reported.

School head Kjell Gislefoss, said he thought that the Star of David can be seen to represent the State of Israel and is fearful of offending the school's Muslim students, citing immigrants from the Palestinian territories.

'The Star of David would be a symbol for one side in what is perhaps the world's most inflamed conflict at the moment.'

'Many have a traumatic past that they have escaped and then we feel that if they are going to learn Norwegian then they can't sit an at the same time be reminded of the things they have traveled from,' said Gislefoss.

But Telhaug has vowed to stand up for his right to wear the Star and has hired lawyers ahead of a possible legal battle.

Inge Telhaug told NRK that his right to freedom of speech was violated by the banning.

'I can't accept this. It is a small star, 16 millimeters (0.6 inches) that I have around my neck, usually under a T-shirt. I see it as my right to wear it,' Telhaug told NRK.

Telhaug, who is not Jewish, teaches the Norwegian language and culture to new immigrants at the school.

'I see it as the oldest religious symbol we have in our culture, because without Judaism there would be no Christianity,' he said.

The decision to ban the Jewish symbol from the school was slammed as 'unacceptable' by head of local Education Association, Heidi Hauge Uldal.

Norway's education minister, Kristin Clemet, said last year that she had no intention of banning the wearing of hijabs in Norwegian public schools.

'It is typically Norwegian clothing that has caused more problems in Norwegian schools,' she said.

Jewish learning source material online

As we are in the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it seemed to me a good idea to post a list of primary sources of Jewish learning available on the Web in English and Hebrew. I am not interested in listing every site that has divrei Torah, as there are hundreds of them already - just places where you can find source material. It is listed on the sidebar as "Source Materials for Jewish Learning;" here is what I have so far:

If you have any other primary sources appropriate for learning, please let me know; I'll be happy to maintain this list.

G'mar chatimah tovah!