Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, May 07, 2007

Ein al-Hilweh: The proto-Gaza

Lest anyone think that the chaos in Gaza that intensified after Israel left the area is an anomaly, let us present Ain al-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian Arab "refugee" camp in Lebanon.

Ain al-Hilweh, which literally means "the eye of beauty," is a camp in Lebanon that holds 70,000 PalArabs in only 1.25 square kilometers. And the Lebanese army refuses to enter this camp.

To know how Gaza will turn out should see how Ain al-Hilweh is doing after decades of purely Palestinian Arab rule.

For years this camp has seen assassinations, huge amounts of crime, and Islamic fundamentalist influence. The PLO nominally led the camp from 1969 until a few years ago when the fundamentalists took over. For the past few years it has been considered the center of Lebanon's Al Qaeda faction. Just today, two more Fatah "officers" were assassinated in that camp. At this time there are no fewer than 5 competing groups trying to take over this hellhole.

Is it a coincidence that when you put a lot of Palestinian Arabs in an enclosed area that, rather than trying to make the best of the situation, they start acting like animals?

If I find the time, I intend to write an article to explain why they act the way they do.

I wonder if Disney will sue

The Disney company, famous for jealously guarding its trademarks, may have to decide what to do about Farfur, the Islamic Domination Mouse:

On a Hamas children's show, Farfur and his child co-host Saraa' say things that may have been beyond Walt's original vision:

Farfur: "We are setting with you the cornerstone for world leadership under Islamic leadership. Isn't it so, Saraa'?"

Saraa': "Yes, our beloved children.

Farfur: "You must be careful regarding your prayer and to go to the mosque for all five [daily] prayers. I say, in the mosque and in the first rows, until we can lead the world."

Saraa': "We remind you that we, the great ones, started this program to lead this world. The nucleus, with the will of Allah, will be from here, from Palestine. We will carry the concern of this [Islamic] nation that awaits us."

Farfur: "From Palestine, oh Saraa', what do you mean? From Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah, or from all of Palestine?"

Saraa': "Yes, from all of Palestine" [i.e., all of Israel -- editor].

Farfur: "If so, my beloved young ones, with the will of Allah, we will lead the nation from here, from Palestine."

Saraa': "Our beloved children, many say that we had glory [in the past], and we had culture, and the Muslims had greatness and respect. But with the will of Allah, we, tomorrow's pioneers, will restore the glory of this nation."

Farfur: "Yes, we, tomorrow's pioneers, will restore to this nation its glory, and we will liberate Al-Aqsa, with Allah's will, and we will liberate Iraq, with Allah's will, and we will liberate the Muslim countries, invaded by murderers."

Saraa': "Yes, they are children occupied by the Jews, but with the will of Allah, we will resist and protect against the Zionist occupation."

Farfur: "Until we win, with the will of Allah, we will resist until we win."
[Al-Aqsa TV, April 16, 2007]

You can watch the zany antics of Farfur here.

The PLO blames the Joos for journalist violence

Lying is like breathing to members of the PLO:

Bethlehem – Ma'an – The Department of Arab and International Relations of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (DAIR-PLO) on Sunday issued a press release urging that "Israeli Occupation crimes against the Journalists must be halted."

The statement said that Israel has escalated its crimes against local and international journalists and media organisations. DAIR reported that Israeli measures greatly disrupt and often severely endanger the lives of journalists in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Journalists, DAIR reported, are often held for hours at checkpoints, denied entry to military zones and are subject to arrest, physical abuse and assassinations.

DAIR says that the Palestinian territories are the second most dangerous place for journalists internationally, after Iraq.

DAIR concluded its statement by declaring that it "calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Alan Johnston, the Palestinians' ally, such crimes serve only the Israeli occupation, and oppose the Palestinian interests in peace and freedom."

Just last week the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms published a report about the dangers journalists face in the territories:

It said at least 12 Palestinian journalists were wounded in attacks by militiamen, thugs and Palestinian Authority security officers during April.
...Referring to the attacks on the journalists by Palestinians, the center said: "What is dangerous about these assaults is that they are often carried out by guards of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Palestinian prime minister. It's also worth noting that some Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank are trying to copy the assaults that are taking place in the Gaza Strip by attacking journalists and media institutions.
...
According to the report, six Palestinian journalists were wounded after being beaten by bodyguards accompanying PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City on April 2.
On April 10, Palestinian gunmen stormed the studios of the Zein Radio Station in Jenin and destroyed all the equipment, the report said. A week later, another six journalists were wounded when security officers attacked a peaceful demonstration outside the building of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
On April 21, prominent Palestinian writer and journalist Ashraf Ajrami was moderately wounded when Hamas militiamen hurled a hand grenade at him near his home in the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
The center expressed deep concern over the safety of the BBC correspondent, noting that this was the longest abduction of a foreigner in the Gaza Strip. (I guess Gilad Shalit isn't a foreigner - EoZ) "The fact that he has been held for so long [since March 12] raises doubts as to whether the Palestinian Authority is making a serious effort to release him," the report noted.
"Palestinian journalists are living under very bad conditions," commented the independent Palestinian Maan news agency. "They are being beaten and their equipment is being destroyed. They are receiving death threats and some have been kidnapped."

So who is making the journalists' lives more difficult? The ones kidnapping them, threatening and stealing their equipment, or the ones who sometimes delay them at checkpoints?

Leftists lying with numbers

I just read this gem of an article at a bizarre leftist site called MWCNews.net, by a Dr. Gideon Polya:

THE HUGE HUMAN COST OF ISRAEL
Using UN Population Division data [1] it has been possible to calculate the avoidable mortality (technically, excess mortality) for every country in the World since 1950. Avoidable mortality (excess mortality) is the difference between the ACTUAL mortality in a country and the mortality EXPECTED for a decently-run country with the same demographics [2]. The post-1950 avoidable mortality has totalled 1.3 billion for the World, 1.2 billion for the non-European World and 0.6 billion for the Muslim World (a Muslim Holocaust indeed). These horrendous figures are corroborated by independent calculations of under-5 infant mortality for every country in the World since 1950 - thus the total comes to 0.9 billion of which all but 25 million deaths have occurred in the non-European World and about 90% have been avoidable.

The First World (notably the US, UK, France, Portugal and Russia) have had major complicity in the huge avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in the Third World in the post-war era, mainly through impositions such as colonialism, neo-colonialism, malignant interference, militarization, debt, corrupt indigenous client regimes, war, civil war, economic exclusion and economic constraint [2]. Analysis of avoidable mortality (excess mortality) can determine the actual human cost of specific militarist enterprises such as illegal Zionist expansion in the Holy Land and the illegal US invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

What has been the human cost of Israel and US occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan?

The 1950-2005 avoidable mortality (and expressed as a percentage of the current population in parentheses) has been 0.1 million [1.4% of the 2005 population] (Israel), 0.7 million [17.7%] (Occupied Palestinian Territories), 19.8 million [26.5%] (Egypt), 0.6 million [11.0%] (Jordan), 0.5 million [14.2%] (Lebanon), and 2.2 million [11.8%] (Syria). Further, the 1950-2005 avoidable mortality in countries attacked but not occupied by Israel has been 5.3 million [19.9%] (Iraq), 0.8 million [13.6%] (Libya), 1.6 million [15.8%] (Tunisia), and 11.1 million [40.3%] (Uganda).

The 1950-2005 under-5 infant mortality (and expressed as a percentage of the current population in parentheses) has been 0.09 million [1.4%] (Israel), 0.3 million [7.7%] (Occupied Palestinian Territories), 14.1 million [18.9%] (Egypt), 0.3 million [5.8%] (Jordan), 0.2 million [6.3%] (Lebanon), and 1.7 million [9.2%] (Syria). Further, the 1950-2005 avoidable mortality in countries attacked but not occupied by Israel has been 3.4 million [13.0%] (Iraq), 0.6 million [10.9%](Libya), 1.6 million [15.8%] (Tunisia) and 6.3 million [22.8%] (Uganda).{mosgoogle right}

The 1950-2005 avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in Israel's neighbours total 23.9 million and 16.7 million, respectively. The 1950-2005 avoidable mortality and under-5 infant mortality in all countries Israel has attacked militarily total 42.6 million and 28.7 million, respectively (these estimates excluding the USA by setting aside the 1967 Israeli attack on the defenceless USS Liberty that killed 34 Americans and wounded a further 172)

Threat, militarization, war and consequent economic distortion have clearly contributed to the horrendous avoidable mortality in countries with which Israel has been in conflict. While Israel is clearly complicit in the huge avoidable mortality in its neighbours, the actual extent of Israel's responsibility is difficult to assess. However the Ruler is responsible for the Ruled and accordingly Israel has an unequivocal responsibility for the avoidable mortality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since the Israeli invasion in 1967. Using UN Population Division data [1] it has been estimated that the post-1967 avoidable mortality (excess mortality) and under-5 infant mortality in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been 320,000 and 170,000, respectively.

It goes on and on, but the gist of it is that the difference between the mortality of Palestinian Arabs and what he thinks the expected mortality of Palestinian Arabs comes out to some arbitrary number of about a half million.

The holes in his theory are larger than the numbers he is claiming.

First of all, he is blaming the mortality of third-world countries on first world countries. Practically all of what he terms "avoidable mortality" occur in poorer countries, and he lists a litany of sins to blame the West for almost all of them. In other words, he first has a thesis that all Third World deaths are the West's fault, and then he tries to find any numbers he can to prove it. This is not science - this is activism pretending to be science.

Secondly, his main sources are the UN World Population Database and his own website. The UN provides raw population data but gives no indication of "expected mortality." Those numbers, according to his footnotes, can be found on his own website, and a quick review of his website shows literally no statistics to back his claims up. He is so dishonest that he writes articles, footnotes his own work and doesn't give any indication of any primary sources for his entire major statistic.

If anything, the UN statistics on infant mortality in the Palestinian Arab territories show an amazing drop in infant mortality during that horrid "occupation" from 125 per 1000 births in 1965 to 25 per 1000 in 2000.

And, assuming PalArab population figures are accurate, I calculated 1.6 million more PalArabs alive today because of Israel!

Now, I am no statistician nor a demographer. (I suspect that the PalArab demographic claims are way overstated and therefore my numbers are as well.) But - surprise, surprise - neither is Polya. Even though he writes lots of articles based on this completely bogus and probably imaginary statistics, his PhD is in biochemistry and his BS was in zoology and chemistry.

In other words, we have an Australian professor at a German university, who is not a mathematician, statistician or demographer, who clearly already has rabid anti-Western views, making up statistics and giving them to people who know nothing about mathematics where they happily reproduce it as if it proves, scientifically, that the West is evil incarnate.

Sadly, this travesty of science and mathematics seems to be more the norm in the liberal world than the exception.

Bishara's hypocrisy

I finally got around to reading Azmi Bishara's self-righteous article that was printed in the LA Times titled "Why Israel is After Me."

Along with the absurd fact that he compares himself with Dreyfus, he pretty much says that Arabs in Israel are discriminated against and his mentioning it is what makes Israel uncomfortable, to the point of wanting him arrested for treason.

As ridiculous as it is to read a (now former) Arab member of the Jewish state's Knesset whine about how hard his life is, one must wonder about the hypocrisy of his mentioning that there are various laws in Israel that favor Jews over Arabs (I'm not sure if allowing Arabs to skip army service is considered one of those laws.)

The draft PA constitution includes the following:

Palestine is part of the Arab nation. The state of Palestine abides by the charter of the League of Arab States. The Palestinian people are part of the Arab and Islamic nations. Arab unity is a goal, the Palestinian people hopes to achieve.

Arabic and Islam are the official Palestinian language and religion.

The principles of Islamic Shari’a are a major source for legislation.

When I hear Bishara complain about these parts of the PA constitution (draft as of 2003, before Hamas entered the government) I can believe that he truly cares about discrimination.

And for those who care, here is the background of the case against Bishara:

If Bishara returns, he will be indicted for spying on behalf of Hezbollah during the second Lebanon war by providing them with with targets for their attacks, as well as with classified military information.

Bishara will be accused of assisting the enemy in a time of war, maintaining contact with a foreign agent, passing information to an enemy, money laundering and terrorist financing.

The first of those charges, assisting the enemy in a time of war, is one of the rare offenses punishable by death in Israel - a clause which has never been used.
Bishara did not make contact with Hezbollah in secret. He openly traveled to Damascus and to Beirut during the Hezbollah missile attacks on Israel last summer.

Israeli intelligence officials have placed their hands on what the former MK allegedly transferred to Hezbollah, in terms of information, predictions, assessments and recommendations, which included selected targets in northern Israel that Hezbollah fired on at the specific instructions of Bishara.

It has now been revealed that the Israeli Supreme Court issued confidential authorization to Israeli intelligence to tap Bishara's telephone conversations, a tactic that can only be employed with the court's approval. The investigation was conducted in conjunction with the office of the Israel Attorney-General's office.

According to Israeli intelligence officials, Bishara received detailed missions from Hezbollah, which he carried out.

He also allegedly transferred military information to Hezbollah that, according to Israeli intelligence, he knew to have been classified by the IDF censor. Bishara also allegedly informed Hezbollah of what he called "Israel's intention to target Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah."

Bishara was questioned by the Israel Police's International Serious Crimes Unit on March 22 and 23 in Petah Tikva, in two three-hour sessions.

ISCU head Lt.-Cmdr. Amichai Shai said Bishara was confident when he arrived for the first day of questioning. But when the MK understood that the allegations against him were more serious than he had thought, there was a noticeable change in his behavior.

During the questioning, Bishara said he planned to travel abroad for several days. Due to his parliamentary immunity, authorities were unable to prevent him from leaving the country. Police continued to communicate with Bishara's representatives, extending the deadline for the MK's return until April 24.

Bishara is also accused of receiving at least hundreds of thousands of dollars illegally. The money was transferred from a money-exchange office in Jordan to another in east Jerusalem in envelopes, and from there to his home in Beit Hanina. In some cases, he received the funds in dollars, and in other cases in shekels. Each transfer was equivalent to $50,000.

On April 26, after his resignation went into effect, police searched Bishara's homes in Beit Hanina and in Haifa, as well as his office in Nazareth. Earlier this week, police searched Bishara's office in the Knesset after receiving special permission.

Writing in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, Bishara tried to defend himself in an op-ed entitled, "Why Israel is after me."

In that LA Times piece, Bishara describes himself as a new "Dreyfus," to conjure up the image of the French Jewish officer Dreyfus who was wrongly accused of treason against his homeland in France.

Yet Bishara, given the platform of the LA Times editorial page, does not refute the charges leveled against him, preferring, instead, to point out that "Hezbollah - Israel's enemy in Lebanon - has independently gathered more security information about Israel than any Arab Knesset member could possibly provide."

HH CXV + CoH LII

This week's Haveil Havalim is hosted by BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS, and while I did nominate one posting this week, Barbara also mentions another.

Check it out!

I also nominated a posting of mine that appeared in the Carnival of History this month. (I nominated an article for the Carnival of Insanities but we'll see if it made it in.)

Palestinian militants opened fire at a festival at a U.N.-operated elementary school in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing a bodyguard of a local Fatah leader and wounding seven other people, medical officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. But Muslim extremists had earlier visited the school, warning authorities not to hold the festival, U.N. and security officials said.

A number of foreigners, including John Ging, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, were inside the school when the shooting broke out, a U.N. official said. Ging was not hurt, but remained holed up inside the school, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.

Palestinian medical officials identified the dead man as a bodyguard of Majid Abu Shameleh, a senior official in President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. Abu Shameleh was leaving the event when the shooting erupted. No children were hurt.

Isn't it lovely to see PalArabs attack the one organization that helps them the most? UNRWA only exists for them. (Paltoday says that people threw hand grenades at the festival.)

In other news, an alleged "collaborator" was extrajudicially executed:

Sabri Rajawi, 26, was murdered Saturday night by Fatah terrorists who claimed he confessed to helping Israel by passing information about Fatah’s terrorist groups.

Members of Fatah’s Al-Aksa Brigades said Rajawi helped Israel arrest local terrorist leaders and even established a terror cell solely to turn over its members to Israeli security forces.

A second PA man was handed over to one of Hamas’s PA militias.

There may have been a third murder this weekend, as PalArabs claim Israel killed an Arab in Gaza but no independent source verifies any Israeli actions there. But that story may have been made up altogether, as the dead man was not identified.

Our count of PalArabs violently killed by PalArab actions for the year now stands at 196.

Which makes this picture from IMEMC one of the most unintentionally ironic graphics in history:

UPDATE: The body of a Jerusalem Arab missing since last Wednesday was found in Ramallah on Monday. 197.

G.ho.st - what peace should look like

An Israeli Jewish entrepreneur and his Palestinian Arab partner have created an interesting Internet company called g.ho.st which is a virtual Web-based operating system. Right now it is in alpha test so it is a bit rough around the edges, a bit slow an it doesn't have too much functionality. But the purpose is to be able to have a computer desktop that is accessible anywhere there is a web browser.

What is interesting is that almost all of his employees are Israeli Arabs or Palestinian Arabs.

An abbreviation of Global Hosted Operating System, G.ho.st is a free 'Virtual Computer' - a Web-based operating system that allows users to access their on-line desktop from any browser. G.ho.st aims to "to complement and eventually replace Windows", according to its Website.

Israeli internet entrepreneur Zvi Shreiber is the founder and chief architect of the project which he privately funded, partly using profits from the lucrative sale of his company Unicorn to IBM.

With offices in Jerusalem and Ramallah, almost all of G.ho.st's 15 employees are of Palestinian or Israeli Arab origin.

In an interview with Ynet, Shreiber said that he was the mastermind behind the original idea for G.ho.st and he met his Palestinian business partner Tareq Maayah through a common acquaintance.

Academically educated in the United States, Maayah gained expertise in the field serving as CEO of Siemens Information and Communication Technologies and on the Advisory Board to the Palestinian Ministry of Post and Telecommunications.

G.ho.st and its team support collaboration – not just on-line but in real life as well.

Shreiber and Maayah don't just prove that co-existence is possible, they promote the idea financially as well, pledging 10 percent of earnings to the non-profit G.ho.st Peace Foundation. Their goal is "to promote peace in the Middle East through grass-roots social and commercial collaboration between the individuals on both sides," the Website says.

We have seen that much of the incentive that Palestinian Arabs have for weapons tunnels and shooting rockets is financial, not political or religious. Israelis have always grasped what Arab leaders have not - that true peace means real normalization and real economic partnerships that are mutually beneficial. The "golden age" of Palestinian Arabs was during Oslo - not because of the illusory "peace" but because they were economically better off than at any other time of their short history. The Intifada was a disaster for them because it devastated their economy.

Money makes the world go 'round, and any real peace, if it is at all possible, will occur because of the win-win that an economic relationship can encourage. An Internet-based company where people can work in virtual space is an ideal place to start because physical security is not a concern (no doubt network security is a concern, but those issues can be addressed.)

I look forward to seeing if g.ho.st can turn into a real, usable virtual OS.

Flip side of zero-sum game shows true hypocrisy

I mentioned previously that even educated Arabs, and many Israel bashers, look at the Arab-Israeli conflict as a zero-sum game, where anything good for Israel is bad for Arabs and vice-versa. Truly progressive people want to find "win-win" solutions where everyone ends up better off. True peace is "win-win," the "peace process" is guaranteed to be a win-lose.

Ronnie Kasrils, the "intelligence" minister for South Africa, has long berated Israel for many perceived crimes:

How much longer will the world permit Israel to get away with land theft and child murder? The sieges and check-points, the collective punishment and targeted executions, the house demolitions and ethnic cleansing...

Taking these absurd accusations at face value, one would think that Kasrils is against land theft, child murder, checkpoints, targeted executions and so on.

Yet now he is inviting Hamas leader Haniyeh to South Africa:

South Africa has invited Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas to visit this country, in what would be his first trip outside the Muslim world.
Haniyeh would like to meet Nelson Mandela during the trip, according to a Haniyeh aide.
The invitation was issued by Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, who met Haniyeh in Gaza City yesterday.

"We stand by you and support you," Kasrils said of the new Palestinian unity government, a coalition of Hamas and the Fatah movement of moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Now, is Kasrils so uneducated as to not know that Hamas practices routine assassinations, targets Jewish children, steals land, encourages children to kill themselves, persecutes Christians, practices misogyny, condones "honor killings," shoots rockets indiscriminately at civilians, and who knows how many other crimes?

Of course he knows that. So it is clear that his problem is not with Israeli crimes, but with Israel itself. If it wasn't, he would be against Hamas' existence as he is against Israel's.

But his worldview, like the mentally defective Arab worldview, is that the conflict is a zero-sum game. And if he is against Israel, then he must be on the side of those who want to see Israel destroyed.

All his talk about Israel's "crimes" and "racism" is so much hypocrisy - his hate came way before his illogical justifications for that hate, and his invitation to a terror group to visit his nation as an honored member of the world community proves that beyond a doubt.

Another infant girl shot in the head

No biggie, though - because it wasn't done by Israel:

A 7-month-old girl, Shahed Khalil, was seriously injured on Friday as a result of gunfire from unidentified armed men in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Palestinian sources reported that the infant was shot in the head while she was in her house. She was transferred from Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya to Ash-Shifa' Hospital in Gaza City.

As usual, if Shahed Khalil should die, it will probably go unreported in the PalArab press, because it really isn't that important.

If she had been shot by a stray Israeli bullet, though, she would have music videos made about her martyrdom.

Life isn't important in Pallywood - your status is defined by how you die.

Worth reading

Zionist Youngster writes a huge riff on an earlier article of mine.
Soccer Dad compares Tom Friedman to Scrappleface
Omri is a bit concerned about when British law will be replaced with Shari'a

Sheikh Qaradawi praises Israel

I had never seen this MEMRI clip from last year. It features Sheikh Yousuf Qaradhawi, an explicit supporter of suicide bombings in fatwa after fatwa, slamming Arabs for their laziness and backhandedly praising Israel:

Dr. Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi: We use trains and planes, but they are not our trains or planes. The (Westerners) manufacture them and export them to us. True, we can buy the most magnificent things in the world products for our homes and for ourselves. Our people can buy the most luxurious cars, Rolls-Royce or Mercedes 500 or 700, models S, M, and L with all the luxuries. We own them, but we don't manufacture them. We don't even produce a single nail in any of these cars. Others do this for us.

The income of the entire Arab world, including the oil-producing countries, does not reach the that of a European country, such as Spain. Spain – let alone Germany, France, Britain, or Italy. Just Spain, which is at the bottom of the list of industrial countries... The income of the entire Arab world does not reach it. How come? Because we don't work, and if we do work, we don't do it professionally.

They conducted a survey of the average time that a government employee spends working in a certain Arab country. The average was 27 minutes a day. 27 minutes! The rest of the time he drinks coffee, reads newspapers, and goes on errands here and there. Only a small number of people work. The rest do not.

In the mid 1970s I went to Germany. We arrived during in the morning. I asked the guy who took me from the airport to the convention hall… As I was passing through the empty streets, I asked him how come the streets were not busy, like in our countries. He said: "People are at work." After 7 p.m. he took me back to the hotel, and the streets were empty. I said to him: "What's going on, the streets are empty again." He said: people are back home from work, and they are exhausted. All they want is to eat their dinner, watch the news, and then go to bed, because early next morning they have to wake up for hard work. They commute more than an hour to work and back, and spend an hour at lunch. They work non-stop.

We are a nation that doesn't work. How can we develop if we don't work? When we do work, we don't do it professionally. We keep saying "Don't worry, later, later…" Islam teaches us to do things professionally. Doing things professionally is a religious duty. The Prophet said that Allah ordered to excel in everything. He imposed excellence and professionalism. Professionalism must be followed in everything. "If you kill, do it properly, and if you slaughter, do it properly." Even when killing, you must do well.

Unfortunately, we do not excel in either military or civil industries. We import everything from needles to missiles. This is our nation. We still haven't manufactured an engine in our Arab countries. We assemble parts, but have no manufacturing industries. India has manufactured a car, and even a plane, while we still go around in circles like a bull in who turns a grinding mill or a water wheel until it reaches exactly where it started.

How come the Zionist gang has managed to be superior to us, despite being so few? It has become superior through knowledge, through technology, and through strength. It has become superior to us through work. We had the desert before our eyes but we didn't do anything with it. When they took over, they turned it into a green oasis. How can a nation that does not work progress? How can it grow?

Gaza garage sale: Kids selling guns and grenades

Click here to see all the pictures.

H/T Gateway Pundit via Daled Amos.

US official praises Palestinian Arab press

A US official in the American Consulate in Jerusalem celebrated World Press Freedom Day in Ramallah:

Today, 3 May, is the United Nations' World Press Freedom Day, celebrated around the world. The United States consul for press affairs in Jerusalem, Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm, invited members of the Palestinian press to a special celebration in the West Bank city of Ramallah to honour the achievements of Palestinian journalists.

In her speech, Schweitzer-Bluhm applauded the Palestinian journalists for their "dedication to service", "commitment to getting at the truth" and "solidarity and bravery in the face of intimidation."

She particularly expressed her appreciation of the obstacles Palestinian media personnel must overcome to carry out their jobs, mentioning roadblocks, checkpoints, accusations of bias, threats, violence and gunfire. "Despite these obstacles, you do get the news out every day," she congratulated.

She applauded Palestinian journalists for challenging their own government, governments of neighbouring countries and the government of the United States. "Your inquiries and reports are a required part of a democratic Palestinian society," she said. "You are providing your fellow citizens with the information, the tools, to make decisions and be active members of their society. I urge you to continue to question and investigate and report."

Schweitzer-Bluhm described all attacks on journalists and freedom of speech as "despicable", adding, "And to those who would try to intimidate you or curtail your freedom of speech, I say no one is free if there is not freedom of information," she said.

Now, I spend a fair amount of time reading Palestinian Arab news sources in both English and autotranslated Arabic. With one exception, every major news source is clearly aligned with a political party, and the news is slanted that way (for example, Fatah-leaning newspapers will refer to Fatah victims of intraPal violence as "martyrs", and Hamas-leaning papers will do the same for Hamas victims.) With one exception, even basic journalistic standards of unbiased reporting is completely ignored in the Palestinian Arab media. Wafa, Al-Ayyam, Al-Hayat al-Jadida, Paltoday - all of them have the journalistic standards of the National Enquirer.

The one exception is Ma'an News, which to its credit will take on PalArab corruption and internal violence. Ma'an is not afraid to report negative things about the PA.

But its impartiality ends at the Green Line. While a Reuters or an AP may highlight and believe every absurd claim of violence that PalArabs have against Israel, they will at least mention if Israel denies the accusation. Not so for Ma'an - any random "witness" is believed completely when the accusation is against Israel, and no attempt is even made to confirm these stories.

I don't know whether the reason for Ma'an's partiality is because their reporters have no interest in the truth, or if they are afraid to report the truth, or if they are simply so brainwashed that they can't even conceive that there might be another side to the story. But there is simply no Palestinian Arab news outlet that can be said to be helpful in advancing the cause of peace with Israel.

And Ma'an is the best of the lot. One only needs to read Palestinian Media Watch or MEMRI to see the blatant anti-semitism, lionization of death and murder, and absurd hate that permeates the Palestinian Arab media.

And for this US official to praise this supposed press freedom without any reservations is very troubling indeed.

UPDATE: Islamic Jihad celebrated World Press Freedom Day with a statement that perverts the entire idea of freedom. Autotranslated from Paltoday:

Demanded that the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine today, the occasion of World Press Freedom Day today, Thursday,, the masses of journalists, to focus on the fundamentals it meets all our people away from the differences and contradictions Media battalion is developed in all our battles.

The movement said in a statement the "Palestine today," a copy of which, the role played by the media in highlighting the novel and impose national, and avoid discord and show Unionist voice of our people.

The movement said in a statement "the day World Press Freedom Day, journalists live atmosphere of persecution and oppression and gagged and confiscated liberties, spared no prosecutions were kidnapped and killed and arrested, at the hands of the enemies of freedom around the world, topped by the head of the evil American and pampered State of the Zionist entity."

Nice of them to tell the media what they should cover to advance their cause. The fact that they have RPGs to back up their request shouldn't be a problem at all.

Reasons for decline of the Muslim world (Husain Haqqani)

This article, by the Muslim director of Boston University's Center for International Relations, tells the straight truth about the Muslim world today.

So why is it only being printed in the Brunei Times and the Gulf News?

Reasons for decline of the Muslim world

Husain Haqqani

03-May-07

THE Muslim world seems to be in the grip of all kinds of rumours. The willingness of large numbers of Muslims to believe some outrageous assertions reflects pervasive insecurity coupled with widespread ignorance.

The contemporary Muslim fascination for conspiracy theories limits the capacity for rational discussion of international affairs.

For example, a recent poll indicates that only 3 per cent of Pakistanis believe that al-Qaeda was responsible for the 9/11 attacks in the United States, notwithstanding Osama bin Laden and his deputies have taken credit for the attacks on more than one occasion.

The acceptance of rumours and the readiness to embrace the notion of a conspiracy does not apply exclusively to the realm of politics.

Villagers in rural Nigeria are refusing to administer the polio vaccine to their infant children out of fear that the vaccine will make their offspring sterile.

Some religious leaders in Pakistan's Pashtun tribal areas bordering Afghanistan have also voiced concerns about a "Western-Zionist conspiracy" to sterilise the next generation of Muslims as part of what they allege is an "ongoing war against Islam".

Mobile phones and the Internet, the pervasiveness of which is often cited as a measure of a society's progress and modernity, have become a means of spreading fear in the Muslim world.

Text messages, originating from the Pakistani city of Sialkot, recently warned people of a virus if people answered phone calls from certain numbers.

The virus would not hurt the phone, the messages said, but would rather kill the recipient.

The panic caused by the rumours forced the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to issue a denial. Phone companies sent out text messages urging people to be calm.

A newspaper rejected the rumour but featured the headline, Killer Mobile Virus.

A text message widely circulated in an Arab country claimed that trucks carrying a million melons had been smuggled across the country's northern border and the melons were contaminated with the HIV virus, which causes Aids.

No one paid any attention to the fact that the HIV virus cannot be transmitted by eating melons.

The Muslim world has a high rate of illiteracy but ignorance reflected by the readiness to believe unverified (and sometimes totally outrageous) claims is not just a function of illiteracy.

It is a function of bigotry and fear. Literate Muslims, such as those involved in the text message rumour-mongering, are as vulnerable to ignorant behaviour as illiterate ones.

Conspiracy theories have been popular among Muslims since the twilight years of the Ottoman Empire as a way of explaining the powerlessness of a community that was at one time the world's economic, scientific, political and military leader.

The erosion of the leadership position of Muslims coincided with the West's gradual technological ascendancy.

The Persian, Mughal and Ottoman empires controlled vast lands and resources but many important scientific discoveries and inventions since the 15th century came about in Europe and not in the Muslim lands.

Ignorance is an attitude and the world's Muslims have to analyse, debate and face it before they can deal with it.

The 57-member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference have around 500 universities compared with more than 5,000 universities in the US and more than 8,000 in India. In 2004, Shanghai Jiao Tong University compiled an "Academic Ranking of World Universities", and none of the universities from Muslim-majority states was included in the top 500.

The Muslim world spends 0.2 per cent of its GDP on research and development, while the Western nations spend around 5 per cent of GDP on producing knowledge.

The tendency of Muslim masses to accept rumours as fact and the readiness to believe anything that suggests a non-Muslim conspiracy to weaken or undermine the Muslims is the result of the overall feeling of helplessness and decline that permeates the Muslim world.

Most Muslim scholars and leaders try to explain Muslim decline through the prism of the injustices of colonialism and the subsequent ebb and flow of global distribution of power.

But Muslims are not weak because they were colonised. They were colonised because they had become weak.

Conspiracy theories paper over the knowledge deficit and attitude of ignorance in the Muslim world. It is time for a discussion of the Ummah's decline in the context of failure to produce and consume knowledge and absorb verifiable facts.

Husain Haqqani is director of Boston University's Centre for International Relations, and Co-chairman of the Islam and Democracy Project at Hudson Institute, Washington DC. He is author of the book "Pakistan between Mosque and Military".

There is something seriously wrong when repressive Muslim regimes can print something like this but the liberal US media, supposedly dedicated to free speech, wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole.