Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, April 06, 2007

Venezuelan Jew-haters didn't get the memo

From JTA, in a larger article about Venezuelan Jewry under Chavez:

Chavez repeatedly compared Israel's behavior to that of the Nazis, a stance that locals say encouraged a wave of similar slanders. Sammy Eppel, a Jewish journalist in Caracas, catalogued a host of violently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic writing and cartoons in the local government and pro-government media.

In one article, which appeared last September in Diario de Caracas, a pro-government newspaper, journalist Tarek Muci Nasir wrote of the "Jewish race" that "the only resource they have left to stay united is to cause wars and genocide."

A cartoon that ran last year in Diario VEA, a state-owned newspaper, depicted Hitler saying, "How they've learned from me, these Israelis!"

One worrying trend is the extent to which these sentiments appear to be approved and encouraged by the government. The Ministry of Information last year organized a demonstration outside the main Sephardi synagogue in Caracas.

After the demonstration, the wall outside the synagogue was daubed with "Jews, killers – leave" and "Zionist baby-killers." At other times, graffitti has appeared there with slogans such as "Jews go home" and "Here are the murderers of the Palestinians."

Apparently the Venezuelan anti-semites didn't get the memo telling them to try to appear to only dislike Israel, not Jews. Too bad...versions of the memo are all over the place.

Thinking Bloggers Meme

The Thinking Blog started a meme called The Thinking Blogger Awards. They are not really awards, even though they have a neat graphic:

But since it is a meme, and all "winners" are requested to list 5 additional blogs that make them think, the value of the award goes down exponentially with every generation. And since the meme started in February, chances are that the entire blogosphere has been already named at least once.

Nevertheless, I am honored that Garbanzo Toons chose to nominate me on his iteration, and keeping with the rules of the meme, I'll be happy to mention five other blogs that make me think:

On the Main Line (plus its sister blogs)
Vital Perspective
ShrinkWrapped
Mere Rhetoric
Gates of Vienna

If any of these want to participate in this meme/social virus, the participation rules are:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to the original Thinking Blog post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,
3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote.

Dallas Muslim women, just acting naturally

Here's a classic case where two women, acting suspiciously under any circumstances, yell "Islamophobia" when confronted: (H/T: Jihad Watch)

Dallas police and federal terrorism officials are investigating two women, both dressed in camouflage pants under their traditional Muslim robes and scarves, who were seen conducting what appeared to be surveillance and acting suspiciously at Dallas Love Field.

One of the women, Kimberly "Asma" Al-Homsi, 42, of Arlington, who is on probation for a 2005 Garland road rage incident involving a fake grenade, is said to have long-range assault rifle and explosives training, according to a Dallas police intelligence bulletin issued March 5.

"I'm a trained sniper and proud of it," Ms. Al-Homsi said in an interview Thursday after first refusing to comment on whether she has any terrorism ties. She then said no.

Police officials said they have no direct evidence the women have ties to terrorism.

"I am not a dangerous individual," said Ms. Al-Homsi, who said she is an accountant who has dual Syrian-U.S. citizenship.

On the afternoon of Feb. 25, Ms. Al-Homsi and a friend who could not be reached for comment, Aisha Abdul-Rahman Hamad, 50, of Irving, were spotted at Love Field wearing Muslim robes and camouflage pants and "acting suspiciously," the bulletin states. The surveillance video shows one of the women walking back and forth, apparently pacing off distances.

When confronted, the women told officials they were looking for the Frontiers of Flight museum. They left in a red Honda. Descriptions of the incident and the car were circulated at the airport.

Two days later, the museum executive director was leaving for the evening when he noticed the Honda parked facing the runway. A woman, later identified as Ms. Al-Homsi, was sitting on the hood, looking through binoculars at the airplanes. He told the women the museum was closing, and they left.

Dallas officers stopped the car nearby, but the women refused to let police search their car, , according to a police report. The women had digital camera memory cards, binoculars, a flashlight and several lighters on them.

Police issued one of them a citation for having no front license plate and failing to change her address on a driver's license. They were released.

"We were watching the airplanes," Ms. Al-Homsi said. "That's not a crime, unless you're Muslim."

On Dec. 20, 2005, Ms. Al-Homsi was arrested after a report that she waved a grenade at a motorist on Central Expressway near LBJ Freeway. Richardson police stopped her car and arrested her. The Garland bomb squad determined the grenade was a fake. She was released the next day, after officials charged her with making a bomb hoax. She was placed on probation.

Law enforcement sources acknowledge that activities of both women have garnered substantial attention.

"We are aware of the activities that occurred at Love Field in February and are giving it appropriate consideration," said Lori Bailey, spokeswoman for the Dallas FBI.

Ms. Al-Homsi said that she has been questioned by local authorities "maybe a dozen times."

She said that she practices her rifle skills at the Alpine Shooting Range in Fort Worth. An employee confirmed that she's been going there for years.

"In all the Muslim garb, shooting an assault weapon, it seemed at first like she was trying to draw attention," said Dave Rodgers. "But then she came out so much, it became normal."

He said federal agents have talked to range employees about Ms. Al-Homsi, which is not uncommon of their clientele. He recalls seeing the fake grenade hanging from Ms. Al-Homsi's rearview mirror before she was arrested.

Just ordinary peaceful Muslim women who like to go out (unaccompanied by a Muslim male, as per shari'a) and shoot rifles, decorating their car with a hand grenade ornament, wearing camouflage pants, with citizenship in a nation that arms terrorists.

Nothing unusual about this at all.

British teachers not teaching the Holocaust to avoid upsetting Muslims
Many more Israeli Arabs volunteer for National Service
Israeli Arabs love to eat Matzah!
Anti-semitic incidents over Passover:

Chicago synagogue defaced with Arabic graffiti
A bomb exploded outside a Jewish community center in Montreal
UK Chelsea soccer team warns fans not to shout anti-semitic slogans during games
Anti-semitic graffiti in a park in Northern New Jersey
Swastika painted on a liberal San Francisco synagogue
Swastika and crude cartoon on chalkboard at Princeton University
10% of Swiss said to be anti-semitic; another 28% harbor some anti-semitic attitudes
White supremacist and anti-semitic literature distributed in Berkeley

The ninth Abu-Ghanem honor killing victim

Ha'aretz has a followup of a story I linked to here about eight women in one Ramle family being murdered in "honor killings."

It appears that the main witness herself has become a victim, and as a result the case is now falling apart.

I scoop the Jerusalem Post

Last Monday I posted about PalArab fears that the UN would declare Gaza "a dangerous area" and would withdraw as a result.

Today, the Jerusalem Post has an "exclusive" of the same story, adding some interviews mentioning how bad things are in Gaza, and even adding a flaming hoop picture.

Still worth reading, though.

The sources of Palestinian Arab suffering

Richard at Augean Stables gives a brilliant survey of the sources of Palestinian Arab suffering. Even strong supporters of Israel will not know all the facts he mentions and links to.

This is an absolute must-read. (Hat-tip Israellycool.)

Psychotic Israel-bashing in NJ newspaper

Opinion pieces in newspapers can and should have points of view. But it is unconscionable for newspaper editors to allow such opinion pieces to be filled with lies.

Here are just the first two paragraphs of an absurd screed printed in the Home News of Central New Jersey, written by a Hassan Mahmoud, published on the first day of Passover:

A civil discourse about ideas is anathema to fanatics, whether they are al-Qaida followers or Zionism espousers. Both practice bigotry and intimidation against their opponents and commit unspeakable violence to achieve their sinister goals.

Al-Qaida wants to establish an archaic form of Muslim caliphate empire from Spain to Indonesia, and the Zionists want to establish a biblical kingdom from the "river of Egypt unto the great river, the Euphrates," Genesis 15:18. The current Israeli flag, which exhibits two blue parallel lines (the Nile and Euphrates) dominated by the Star of David in the middle, thus encompassing the land from Egypt to Iraq, symbolizes that fantasy. Both enterprises are based on religious intolerance.

This theory about the Israeli flag has currency among rabid Jew-haters and people who froth at the mouth at the mere mention of Israel. It is nothing less than a lie. The ignorant author uses it as evidence of Al-Qaeda-like extremism not only among those dreaded Likudniks but for every single Zionist, from Peace Now to the settler movement.

Readers of the newspaper will expect that the editors will do some basic fact-checks before printing such garbage. Alas, most newspaper editors are as ignorant about the history of the Middle East as the author himself.

The Home News, in propagating this myth, does a grave disservice to its readers.

Latest state-of-the-art in flaming hoop jumping

We've all seen the photos of Palestinian Arab "policemen" training by using the tried-and-true Flame Hoop Jumping Course:

But no one has really tracked the progress made by these innovators in the ancient circus art.

Originally, the hoop-jumping was merely for stationary flaming hoops, as seen above. But by 2003, the PalArabs had graduated to leaping through movable hoops while someone shoots a machine gun on the ground:

This was OK for a couple of years, but to really put fear into the Zionist infidels, a new dimension was needed. And, in 2006, the braintrust of the PalArab Security Forces came up with it:

Multiple hoops.

We don't have a picture of the actual exercise of multiple terrorists jumping simultaneously through adjacent flaming hoops, but it can be inferred from this picture:

But we are three months into 2007 now, and it is time for a enw wrinke on hoop-jumping. After months of preparation, the PalArabs are finally able to unveil their latest secret weapon:

Two jumpers through a single hoop.

One can only imagine what will come next. Three jumpers through a movable fiery hoop while trying to dodge live hand grenades? Jumping through flaming hoops backwards while reciting the Koran?

One shudders at the skill of these security professionals.

17 weeks in a row. Plus some other stats.

For the 17th consecutive week, the number of Palestinian Arabs killed by other PalArabs has exceeded the number killed by Israeli defensive actions.

PCHR claims 4 killed by Israel this week, and I counted 7 killed by other PalArabs from last Thursday to Wednesday.

PICCR, whose website has not been updated in months, keeps its own counts of internal PalArab violence, and its numbers for March are very close to mine (29 deaths, I counted 30.) They also added that in March there were 46 kidnappings in the PA territories.

Also, the utterly immoral "Defence for Children Internation- Palestine Section" has a press release vilifying Israel for everything terrible that happens to children in the territories, yet buried in the middle they admit that 17 children under 18 have been killed in internal PA violence this year, versus 8 killed by Israel (most of whom were 16-17.)

Home is where the violence is

The Palestinian Bureau of Central Statistics came out with a bunch of stats, on PalArab children, on the occasion of something called Palestinian Child Day.

Among the notable statistics (such as 52% of the PalArab population is now under 18) came this one:

The indicators showed that the majority of children were exposed to assault mainly at home followed by school and then the streets.

In the topsy-turvy world of Palestan, the most dangerous places for children to be are their own homes. And their schools are safer than "the street."

On the other hand, 52.2% of the households said that they are able to provide security for their children.

Which of course means that 47.8% of the households cannot provide security for their children.

Sounds like we should give these guys a state!

Chag kosher v'sameach

Thanks to all my readers, and I wish all my Jewish readers a wonderful Chag.

UN declares Gaza "dangerous." Erekat upset.

In a society where lies are truth, Saeb Erekat can do this:

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s negotiation's department, Dr Saeb Erekat, appealed against the United Nation's classification of the Gaza Strip as one of the world's most dangerous areas.

Erekat said that this labelling "affects Palestinian lives, and economy in particular."

Erekat added that "such a decision will be destructive and the withdrawal of the UN's employees and programs from Gaza Strip will be disastrous and will hinder the donor countries' projects."

He told Ma'an that such a trend by the UN "will have a catastrophic impact on Palestinian society, which might generate a further collapse in the already deteriorated Palestinian economy."

Erekat called on the UN to retract their decision.

The fact that Gaza is in fact one of the world's most dangerous areas is utterly irrelevant. Rather than working to actually fix Gaza, Erekat wants the UN to endanger its own workers and other foreigners.

Par for the course.

Another peaceful PalArab weekend

Besides the killing of a Salafist sheikh, another PalArab was shot in the head and killed Saturday. There were also some severe clan clashes with many injuries, 2 in critical condition last night.

Also a Hamas member was injured "accidentally."

Our count of PalArabs violently killed by each other so far in 2007 is now at 159.
UPDATE:

At approximately 20:30 on Friday, unknown gunmen in a car fired at Adnan Mansour El-Manasra (35) and Ahed Medhat El-Manasra (22), both from Sheja’eya Quarter in Gaza City. The shooting took place in El-Mentar Street in Sheja’eya. Adnan was killed by several bullets and Ahed was injured by a bullet in the right foot.

160.

UPDATE 2: On Tuesday, a man in Hebron was murdered in front of his house by those infamous "unknown persons." Is the West Bank starting to turn into Gaza? 161.

UPDATE 3:

Palestinian security sources announced on Thursday that the dead body of a Palestinian man, Muhammad Abu Hijaila, was found near the Shuja'iyya market in north-eastern Gaza Strip. The sources reported that the corpse was found riddled with gunshots and the reasons for his death remain unclear.

162.

For Muslims, co-existence=submission to Islam

Every so often, a Muslim writes an article that comes straight out of the liberal playbook, showing oh-so-logically why Jews and Arabs should co-exist peacefully. But scratch the surface and the message is anything but peaceful:

Muslims and Jews: Let us coexist

Azzam Tamimi

Until the Zionist project of creating an exclusively Jewish state in Palestine began in earnest in the latter part of the 19th century, Jews lived in many parts of the Muslim world and enjoyed living conditions not available to their fellow European Jews until recently.

For many centuries, and apart from the first two or three decades of Islamic history when Muslim-Jewish relations were plagued with a series of crises, Jews constituted a natural component of Muslim societies.

The Islamic civilisation was built with Muslim, Christian, Sabian and Jewish hands, by scientists and philosophers from all faiths and religious denominations who found in Baghdad, Cordova, Sicily and so many other cities unprecedented opportunities to think freely, translate literary, scientific and philosophical works of earlier civilizations and produce a corpus of knowledge that became the foundation upon which Europe set up its own enlightenment project.

In fact, Jews - on many occasions - fled European lands where they had been persecuted and sought refuge in Muslim lands.

The centuries-long harmonious coexistence between the Muslims and the Jews could have gone on. However, it was shattered, regrettably, when the Western European powers decided to solve their own Jewish problem by banishing the Jews to Palestine. Western Europe feared an influx of Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe, and the idea of sending the Jews to Palestine seemed to some Christian-Zionist leaders in London to pave the way for the second coming of Christ.

...
To assume that the Jews cannot survive without a state of their own called Israel is extremely foolish. The Jews have been around for thousands of years without a state of their own. There are many nations who similarly see themselves as distinct, whether as a faith community or a race or an ethnicity, but have been in existence, and will continue to be so, without a state of their own.

Jews have a future and a place in the Muslim world; but the future of an exclusively Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world is in doubt. What is more certain is a reality in which Muslims, Christians and Jews can live together again in peace and harmony enjoying equal citizenship rights; none should be superior to another.
...
Jews can once again put their hands in the hands of the Arabs and the Muslims to build a better future for all provided they dissociate themselves from the injustices inflicted upon the Palestinians by Zionism.
...
Originally published at http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/azzam_tamimi/2007/02/ijv_a_noble_jewish_initiative.html and reprinted with permission.

The subtext, of course, is that for all the talk of equal rights and coexistence, the author is advocating Jews and Christians live under Muslim rule.

Perhaps a counter-proposal is in order:

Jews and Muslims: Let us coexist

Elder of Ziyon

For centuries, the Arab and Muslim worlds have been plagued by infighting and bloodshed. Tribal wars, religious conflicts and battles between Islamic states have been constant and endemic. Even the newfound wealth of petrodollars has not significantly improved the Muslim world as corruption and theft have become the norm in the richest oil states.

There is only one place in the Middle East where Muslims enjoy equal rights, where Muslims can vote for the country's leaders, where Muslims can expect exceptional medical and social services. And that place is Israel.

For nearly six decades, over a million Muslims have lived in peace and harmony in the Jewish state. Significantly, almost none of them have chosen to emigrate to neighboring Arab countries. Their lives are far better in Israel than in any Muslim nation worldwide.

Not only is Israel a great place for Muslim citizens, but even non-Israeli Muslims who live under Israeli control enjoy better lives. The "golden age" of Palestinian Arabs, both Christian and Muslim, was when they lived under Israeli sovereignty, as their life expectancy zoomed and their birth mortality rates plummeted, as universities were built and Palestinian Arabs became the most educated and versatile members of the Arab world.

One only has to look at how the Muslims' lives have gotten worse as Israel withdrew from Gaza and parts of the West Bank to see that even under occupation, Palestinian Arabs had better lives than those of their neighbors. When Arabs have control over their own lives, their citizens suffer.

Let us live together. Let the Arabs and Jews co-exist under a benevolent Jewish regime stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates and beyond. Just imagine the heights such a society can achieve, as industrious Jews can turn oil revenues into a new Golden Age of Islam, where hundreds of millions of Arabs can all benefit from the newfound opportunities that would come in wake of a Jewish-ruled Middle East. Just imagine the flowering of Muslim women, finally allowed to reach their potential in a Jewish state. Islam will be not only tolerated but celebrated and the world will no longer look at Muslims as potential terrorists but rather as full members of civilized society.

Arab nationalism has failed and brought untold misery and bloodshed. Muslims can reap the benefits of living in a Jewish society as Israeli Arabs have learned. Isn't it time to put aside our differences and live together?

There - now doesn't that make more sense?