Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Saturday, March 11, 2006

Another peaceful protest in Gaza

A Palestinian militant from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades carries a homemade rocket launcher during a protest demanding job opportunities at the Palestinian Electric Company near Nusseirat in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 11, 2006.

Oh dear, I'm out of a job. What is the best way to get one?

I know! I'll dress my best, go to a good company, hand in my resume and ask them to hire me! I'll prove to him that I am industrious, hard-working and reliable.

Or, I can just cover my face up with my keffiyeh, bring my homemade rocket launcher and threaten to blow up anyone who doesn't give me money.

The latter method has a better track record in Gaza, anyway.

Dhimmi Carter: Israel is the problem

Jimmah has come out with his most anti-Zionist rant yet, in an article published in Pakistan. Even though he would insist he was being "even-handed" he purposefully uses words that he knows will be interpreted by his Muslim audience as being against the entire state of Israel's existence. Here is Pakistan's Daily Times' summary of his words:

The pre-eminent obstacle to peace is Israel’s colonisation of Palestine... Acting prime minister Ehud Olmert and others pointed out years ago that permanent occupation will be increasingly difficult as the relative number of Jewish citizens decreases demographically both within Israel and in Palestine. This is obvious to most Israelis, who also view this as a distortion of their moral and religious values

The article itself seems to imply that Cater calls "Palestine" the West Bank and Gaza, but he clearly chose words that could make that impression ambiguous, as he certainly knows that his readers consider Palestine to be a state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan.

He also peppers his text with outright lies:

...since 1967, the universally adopted UN Resolution 242 has mandated Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied territories. This policy was reconfirmed even by Israel in 1978 and 1993, and emphasised by all American presidents, including George W Bush. As part of the Quartet, including Russia, the UN, and the European Union, he has endorsed a “Road Map” for peace. But Israel has officially rejected its basic premises with patently unacceptable caveats and prerequisites.

Again, Dhimmi knows very well the text of 242 and that it does not speak of total withdrawal.

He goes on to imply that Hamas should be respected because it was democratically elected, that the Clinton/Barak offer was woefully inadequate, that the wall to stop terrorists is unacceptable - on and on and on, a word-for-word capitulation to the Arab viewpoint of the conflict that could have been written by the editors of Al Jazeera.

He ends off with yet another completely unfounded piece of fiction, saying effectively that if Israel trusts him, the hundreds of millions of Arabs who shout "Death to Israel" in rally after rally will all accept her right to exist:

There is little doubt that accommodation with the Palestinians can bring full Arab recognition of Israel and its right to live in peace. Any rejectionist policies of Hamas or any terrorist group will be overcome by an overall Arab commitment to restrain further violence and to promote the well being of the Palestinian people.

Proof by assertion, along with large dollops of wishful thinking to replace real facts. A favorite far-left prescription for peace.

And if he's wrong? And if he has been willfully ignoring the mountains of evidence that is as clear as day that Arabs will never accept Israel except perhaps as a temporary accomodation on the way to its total destruction?

Oops.

Jimmah is now a sick joke, an embarrassment to the United States who now is actively working to undermine the current administration.

He is a hero - to terrorists and their supporters.

Palestinian leaders again show no interest in statehood

I have posted on this topic before, and this is just more proof:

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that he opposed the creation of a Palestinian state with temporary borders and unilateral Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank.

“We reject unilateral solutions and a state with temporary borders,” Abbas said in an address at festivities on the eve of International Women’s Day.

“It should be clear to everyone that we reject such a solution,” he added.

Abbas recognised that the creation of a Palestinian state with temporary borders was outlined as a possibility in the internationally drafted road map peace plan, which has made next to no progress since its launch in 2003.

“It’s an option, not an obligation and it is an option we reject,” he said."

So to recap: They want to be recognized as a state in the Olympics and in the Oscars. But if the statehood offered requires the slightest bit of responsibility or compromise, they run away.

Infantilization, indeed.

"Palestinian militant stands above the gate of the European Union (EU) commission's headquarters in Gaza City. "

OK. Here is someone who is in a Jew-free Gaza, where the elected government supports terror explicitly. There is no fear that anyone will shoot him or arrest him. His leaders support his cause.

Why does he still need to cover his face?

The answer is as obvious as it is disturbing: He does not know any other way to act. He grew up idolizing murderers who hide among civilians, who target women and children. Terror is his life and nothing can change that.

Is these a trick question's?

Headline bias

There were many stories in the news today about the Israeli missile attack that killed Islamic Jihad leaders (using an ice cream truck) and unfortunately also killed three kids.

Predictably, the headlines in most newspapers spoke only about the kids:
Death of two boys in airstrike stirs anger in Gaza, soul-searching in Israel

Most of the stories, all based on AP reporter Sarah El Deeb's articles, have similar headlines, although most only had room for the "anger" part and not for the "soul-searching" part. Interestingly, the articles mentioned 3 boys and most headlines said 2 boys, showing the level of editorial care taken in most newspapers.

Also predictably, practically none of the stories highlighted in their headlines that Israel managed to get rid of two terrorists.

But by far the worst and most biased headline was in the Newark Star Ledger:
One Israeli missile, three dead kids

Am I finally out of protester material?

Yahoo Pictures did not add any new pictures today yet for insane Muslim protesters, and I'm suffering from withdrawal. Tomorrow is Friday so I'm cautiously optimistic that protests, riots and stupid signs will return.

But meanwhile, here is someone that AP seems to have fallen in love with yesterday. Look at the really photogenic guy with the green headband in the middle:

Clearly, here was a good representative of Islam, and AP wanted to get a closer look:

You can just imagine the photographer thinking "this dude will get me my photojournalism award and I'll finally get out of this stinking country!"

Not quite close enough. His uvula is not quite visible yet. One more "Itbach al-Yahud" and, watch out, Life Magazine!

YESSSS!

Nowadays it is still a good idea to send Israeli products for mishloach manot baskets.

What's wrong with this picture? Insane Muslim protesters of the day

Good news: Pakistani women are protesting demanding freedom, equal rights and an end to discriminatory laws against them.

Bad news: Here are the women in Karachi:

Yes, the women of Pakistan are in favor of burqas, but against discrimination.

In Islamabad, the protesters for women's rights made even less sense:

Let's protest for women's rights, and in the interests of efficiency, we'll protest against the one nation that supports and promotes women's rights more than any other! That'll show 'em!

At least these weren't cartoon protests. But there's always tomorrow.

The legacy of Goering

In the Independent (UK): (hat tip: Maven Yavin)

Matthias Goering says: "I used to feel cursed by my name. Now I feel blessed."

The 49-year-old physiotherapist, a descendant (sic) of Hermann Goering, Adolf Hitler's right-hand man, is wearing a Jewish skullcap, with a Star of David pendant round his neck. After being brought up to despise Jews, he has embraced their faith. And although he has yet to formally convert to Judaism, he keeps kosher dietary rules, celebrates shabbat and is learning Hebrew.

In a Jewish restaurant in Basle, Mr Goering enthuses about Israel. "It feels like home," he says. "The Israelis are so friendly." Even when they hear his name? "Yes, they say they're so thankful I've made contact."

With the same name as the former Luftwaffe chief, who committed suicide at Nuremberg hours before he was to be executed, Mr Goering says he did not have a happy childhood. His great-grandfather and Hermann's grandfather were brothers, and that was enough to ensure problems after the fall of the Third Reich. "My siblings and I were bullied mercilessly," Matthias says. His father, a military doctor, was a Soviet prisoner of war, but returned with his anti-Semitic views intact. When times were hard, Matthias says: "Our parents would say to us, 'You can't have that, because all our money's gone to the Jews.'"

But that's not the only Goering news. Val this week tipped me off to this fascinating Wikipedia article:

Albert Göring (1900 - 1966) was a German businessman, notable for helping Jews and dissidents survive in Germany during World War II. His older brother Hermann Göring was a high ranking Nazi war criminal.

Göring was born near Mauterndorf to Heinrich Ernst Göring and his wife Franziska.

The Göring family lived with their children’s aristocratic godfather, Ritter Hermann von Epenstein, in his Veldenstein and Mauterndorf castles. Von Epenstein was a prominent physician and acted as a surrogate father to the children as Heinrich Göring was often absent from the family home. According to the author Leonard Mosley, who had interviewed Göring family members, von Epenstein began a long-term affair with Franziska Göring about a year before Albert's birth. Mosley also states that the strong physical resemblance between von Epenstein and Albert Göring led many people to believe that they were father and son. If this belief was correct then Albert Göring had a Jewish paternal grandfather.

Göring also seemed to have acquired his godfather's love of the bon vivant and looked set to lead an unremarkable life as a filmmaker, until the Nazis came to power in 1933. Unlike his older brother Hermann, who was a leading party member, Albert Göring despised Nazism and the brutality that it involved. On one occasion he is reported to have got down on his hands and knees and joined a group of Jews who were being forced to scrub the street. The SS officer in charge, unwilling to see Hermann Göring's brother also publicly humiliated, ordered the street scrubbing to stop.

Albert Göring also used his influence to get his Jewish boss Oskar Pilzer freed after the Nazis arrested him. Göring then helped Pilzer and his family escape from Germany. He is reported to have done the same for many other dissidents.

Göring intensified his anti-Nazi activity when he was made export director at the Skoda Works in Czechoslovakia. Here, he encouraged minor acts of sabotage and had contact with the Czech resistance. On many occasions Göring forged his brother's signature on transit documents to enable dissidents to escape. When he was caught he used his brother's influence to get himself released. Göring would also send trucks to concentration camps with requests for labour. These trucks would then stop in an isolated area and their passengers would be allowed to escape.

After the war Albert Göring was questioned during the Nuremberg Tribunal. However many of the people who he'd helped testified on his behalf and he was released. Soon afterwards Göring was arrested by the Czechs but was once again freed when the full extent of his activities became known.

Göring then returned to Germany but found himself shunned because of his family name. He found occasional work as a writer and translator, living in a modest flat far from the baronial splendour of his childhood. He died in 1966 without having his wartime activities publicly acknowledged.

As Maven Yavin wrote, ונהפוך הוא. Purim is a time that things go topsy-turvy.

The accidental Muslim martyr for free speech

The Yemen Observer made a dire mistake last month. As its now-jailed editor says:

When we ran our article on the Danish cartoons, it was all about how the Prophet should be honored, with quotations from famous people about what an important figure he was, and a news story on Yemeni protests. We reprinted the cartoons but blacked them out. Unfortunately by an innocent mistake in the production process, a thumbnail of the cartoons appeared on the front page—only 1.5cm [0.6 of an inch] by 2cm [0.8 of an inch], you could hardly read it.

Uh-oh.

Insane Islamists complained (he claims that is was a rival government newspaper) and the Yemeni government, our close friends and allies, arrested the editor on the serious charge of insulting the prophet and put him in a special jail for journalists.(!) They also suspended the license of the newspaper to publish.

Now he is on trial and the prosecution is seeking the death penalty:

SANA’A – Up to 21 prosecution lawyers called for the death penalty against Mohammed Al-Asadi, the Editor-in-Chief of the Yemen Observer, and the permanent closure of the newspaper, during Al-Asadi’s trial on Wednesday. The lawyers, commissioned by Sheik Abdul-Majid Zindani, the Chairman of Islah Shura Council and led by Mohammed Al-Shawish, also called for the confiscation of all the newspaper’s property and assets, and for financial compensation to be paid to be the Muslim’s ‘Finance House’, which last existed during the time of the Caliphs, 1200 years ago. They recounted a story in which a lady was killed during the Prophet’s lifetime after she insulted him, and that the Prophet then praised the killer.

I think that poor Mr. Al-Asadi is in some serious trouble. What self-respecting Yemeni court can ignore such an ironclad legal precedent?

The cartoon bloodlust continues unabated, and if they can't kill any Westerners over the issue, by Allah, they'll kill some Muslims!

"Even worse" - anti-semitic Jews, exhibit A

For those who don't think it is possible for a Jew to be an anti-Semite, check out this piece from Gilad Atzmon (evidently written a while back but reprinted recently):

Let's review some current typical Zionist arguments:

The 'Elders of Zion' syndrome: Zionists complain that Jews continue to be associated with a conspiracy to rule the world via political lobbies, media and money.

Is the suggestion of conspiracy really an empty accusation? The following list is presented with pride in several Jewish American websites.

Jews in Bush's Administration:
Ari Fleischer White House Press Secretary
Josh Bolten Deputy Chief of Staff
Ken Melman White House Political Director
David Frum Speechwriter
Brad Blakeman White House Director of Scheduling
Dov Zakheim Undersecretary of Defense (Controller)
Paul Wolfowitz Deputy Secretary of Defense
I. Lewis Libby Chief of Staff to the Vice President
Adam Goldman White House Liaison to the Jewish Community
Chris Gersten Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families at HHS
Elliott Abrams Director of the National Security Council's Office for Democracy, Human Rights and International Operations
Mark D. Weinberg Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public Affairs
Douglas Feith Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
Michael Chertoff Head of the Justice Department's criminal division
Daniel Kurtzer Ambassador to Israel
Cliff Sobel Ambassador to the Netherlands
Stuart Bernstein Ambassador to Denmark
Nancy Briner Ambassador to Hungary
Frank Lavin Ambassador to Singapore
Ron Weiser Ambassador to Slovakia
Mel Sembler Ambassador to Italy
Martin Silverstein Ambassador to Uruguay
Jay Lefkowitz Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Let me assure you, in Clinton's administration the situation was even worse. Even though the Jews only make up 2.9 per cent of the country's population, an astounding 56 per cent of Clinton's appointees were Jews. A coincidence? I don't think so.

We have to ask ourselves what motivates American Jews to gain such political power. Is it a genuine care for American interests? Soon, following the growing number of American casualties in Iraq, American people will start to ask themselves this very question.

Since America currently enjoys the status of the world's only super power and since all the Jews listed above declare themselves as devoted Zionists, we must begin to take the accusation that the Jewish people are trying to control the world very seriously. It is beyond doubt that Zionists, the most radical, racist and nationalistic Jews around, have already managed to turn America into an Israeli mission force. The world's number one super power is there to support the Jewish state's wealth and security matters. The one-sided pro-Zionist take on the Israeli*Palestinian conflict, the American veto against every 'anti-Israeli' UN resolution, the war against Iraq and now the militant intentions against Syria, all prove beyond doubt that it is Zionist interests that America is serving. American Jewry makes any debate on whether the 'Protocols of the elder of Zion' are an authentic document or rather a forgery irrelevant. American Jews do try to control the world, by proxy. So far they are doing pretty well for themselves at least. Whether the Americans enjoy the deterioration of their state's affairs will no doubt be revealed soon.

Here is his nonsensical argument that he is not an anti-semite, on his website:

I am an anti Zionist and oppose the Zionist mindset. I look at questions of Jewish identity and I do question the ties between a Jewish world view and Zionism. I refute totally that I am anti-Semite. In fact I also believe that the current concept of an Anti-Semitism is meaningless.

Once the Zionists had managed to establish their Jewish state, any form of anti Jewish sentiments should be comprehended either as a private case of xenophobia or as a political retaliation to Israeli/Zionist atrocities. In other words, the title Anti-Semite became an ‘empty signifier, i.e. a signifier with a vague, highly variable, unspecifiable or non-existent signified. It is an empty verbal utterance that exists merely to serve a political cause (very much like Blair’s WMD and Bush’s Axis of Evil). Because Anti-Semite is an empty signifier, no one actually can be an Anti-Semite and this includes me of course. In short, you are either a racist which I am not or have an ideological disagreement with Zionism, which I have.

I leave it as a exercise to the reader whether this "argument" is convincing or not.

It seems clear that his Jewish roots allow him to publish things even more bigoted than the genteel European anti-semites or the Arab anti-semites publishing in English, as he uses his religion as a shield against the accusation. As it is, I am hard pressed to see a difference between his opinions and those of the classic Jew-haters throughout history.

(Despite the utter repugnance of his views, I have to admit to being amused at his "even worse" comment, taking it as a given that Jews are evil, as well as his implication that Clinton and Bush are mere puppets who are forced by an invisible, evil Jewish hand to appoint so many Jews to positions of power. Must be that those Joo-rays can also control gentile minds.)

Hooray for Holly War!

A late but worthy entry in the Insane Muslim Protestor of the Day awards:

It may be a war against Christmas, it may be a war on Jews in Film, or it may be a war against Holly Hunter. Hard to know these days when everything on the planet offends these clowns.

They do seem happier during their most recent flag-burning rampages, though.

Insane Muslim Protesters of the Day 3/7

The newswires seem to have tired of the months of protests over freakin' cartoons, but rest assured they are still going on. Unfortunately, it has been harder finding rioters with English-language signs to make fun of.

But people like this are still yelling their heads off (from Sunday):

(Did John Belushi get reincarnated as a crazy Islamist?)

And people are still burning flags, like these gentlemen decided to do earlier today:

So the Muslim world is stil seething, and they won't stop rioting over cartoons until....they find some other idiotic reason to riot.

The most moral army in history

The world is not shy about complaining about Israel's supposed barbarity as it fights against those who want to destroy every Jewish man, woman and child in the Middle East. Israel should not be shy about letting the world know that no army in history had ever cared more about protecting enemy civilians during wartime than Israel.

A Palestinian child and two teens, ages 10, 15 and 16, were killed in Monday’s Israel Air Force attack in Gaza, along with two Islamic Jihad members. Children were also among those wounded in the strike.

Security sources said that while the attack will be investigated, the targeted killings will continue, and IDF officials said there is a significant drop in the number of innocent civilians hurt during the army’s anti-terror operations.

Commander in Chief of the Israel Air Force, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shakedi, said Tuesday that the Air Force has been successful in reducing the number of civilian deaths in targeted killing operations, stating that in 2005 one civilian was killed in every 28 attacks, as opposed to 2003, when a civilian was killed once in every 12 IAF targeted killing operation.

Speaking at a Tel Aviv University conference titled “Aerial Strength,” Shakedi said, “We are making every effort so innocent civilians will not be harmed, but nothing can be guaranteed here. This is a war with weapons involved.”

During his speech Shakedi presented a number of videos displaying accurate Air Force strikes in Gaza, during which no innocent civilians were harmed. He added that Air Force attacks are accountable for the deaths of 54 percent of all terrorists killed in 2006, a significant rise from years past.

Only one in every 28 aerial attacks end up with a civilian killed? That is not just interesting, it is astonishing. Even the one in 12 in 2003 is unprecedented in history.

The modern rules of war were written only in the last century. Until then, civilians were not protected at all. But Israel goes way beyond Geneva, in fighting a war against an enemy that ignores Geneva altogether. (By the way, reading the Conventions is a worthwhile exercise - the Israel-bashers deliberately use the language of Geneva when blaming Israel for imagined war crimes.)

Some wars are moral. Israel's war against Arab terrorists is one of them. But what is extraordinary is not the justice of the fight, but the lengths that Israel goes to protect the general population of the enemy, even while the enemy uses that very same Jewish morality against Israel by deliberately hiding among the civilians they pretend to defend.

And it is clear that Israel is still innovating methods of reducing collateral damage even beyond the accomplishments made so far.

Israel's friends should not be defensive when the IDF and IAF are accused of atrocities. They should be pro-active in showing the hypocrisy of a world that demands perfection from Jews when no one - not Americans, not Canadians, not the French or British - have ever fought a war with as much care about the enemy's civilian population. Ever.