Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Zionism and the intense desire for peace with Arabs

In the past couple of days, an article has been circulated by one M. Shahid Alam, a professor of economics at Northwestern University, which it appears started at The American Muslim and then flew quickly throughout far-left and Arab sites:

The Zionist Question

by M. Shahid Alam

In recent times, no nationalist project has been so completely mythologized by its partisans as Zionism. In the construction of nearly all aspects of its history, the official Zionist narrative is often at variance – even complete variance – with the facts as they are known to the rest of the world: and, more recently, even as they have been documented by some Zionist historians.

Yet few Zionists would deny one central fact of their history: and that is the history of violence that has attended the insertion of Jewish colons into the Middle East. The history of the Zionist movement in Palestine – it can scarcely be disputed – has been attended by violence between the Jewish settlers and the Palestinians; it has led to unending conflicts between Arab societies and Israel; and these conflicts continue to draw Western powers, especially the United States since 1945, into ever widening clashes with the Islamic world.

The history of this violence was contained in the Zionist idea itself. Violence is integral to Zionism: not incidental to it.

Mr. Alam goes on to provide a highly selective history of Zionism that supports his thesis.

Also, James Abourezk yesterday quotes Ilan Pappe again in support of his thesis that Zionists engaged in "ethnic cleansing" against Arabs.

It is very difficult to be objective on any topic, and historians will naturally - usually subconsciously - gravitate towards the facts that support their pre-existing worldview while ignoring or minimizing those that disagree with them. In these two cases, however, these are not innocent subconscious errors - these opinions are so far from the truth that it would be laughable if it wasn't for the fact that a majority of the world believes them now.

Any objective observer of the history of Zionism - real, on-the-ground Zionism, the one that our parents and grandparents grew up with, the kind that the original pioneers in Israel were a part of - would know that Zionism has always not only been interested in peace, but it has been obsessed with peace. It is not an exaggeration to say that the idea of peace with the Arabs has permeated Zionist thought.

I have spent many hours reading the Palestine Post archives from 1932-1950. Nowhere in those pages does one see any whiff of "ethnic cleansing;" on the contrary, the ability to live in peace with the Arabs is an obsession, from the early Zionist leaders like Weizmann and Ben Gurion down to the ordinary people who wrote letters.

Just as an example, here are some articles from a single, 4-page issue of the Palestine Post, from March 10, 1946.

The headlining article was the testimony that Chaim Weizmann gave to the Anglo American Inquiry Committee. While he passionately defends Zionism and demands the repeal of the infamous White Paper, Weizmann repeatedly says that the Arabs would become an important part of a Jewish state and that no prejudice is meant against them.

A separate analysis of Weizmann's words shows that the editors of the paper shared his feelings - while the Arabs may not be 100% happy with a Jewish state, it is the lesser of evils compared to the idea of Jews not having the right to self-determination, and the Arabs under Zionist rule have nothing to fear:

This is not hate, this is not "ethnic cleansing" - this is Zionism as it was practiced and believed in by the pre-state Palestinian Jews.

In another article, testimony was given regarding the ability of Palestine to absorb immigrants, and the witness also took pains to emphasize that Arabs would not be hurt by Jewish immigration, and in fact the Zionists expected and hoped that the Arab standard of living would increase:

Obviously, the Arabs of the neighboring nations cared little about whether they would be working for Jews, because they were still illegally immigrating into Palestine as fast as they could:

Amazingly, even though the Jewish woman was deported for her illegal immigration, the Zionist Palestine Post considered this story - where Arabs were saying that Jewish-enriched Palestine was a paradise - as "good news." If there is any bigotry here, it is against Arab Jews!

And all of this goodwill towards Arabs was occuring even as some Arabs were hardly returning the favor:

In the face of unending hostility from their Arab neighbors, these Zionists still clung to a vision of co-existence and peace - a mindset that continues to this day. (Check out how many Israeli stamps have been issued with the theme of "peace".)

It is easy to pick and choose individual quotes here and there - some real, some imaginary - by Zionists that would, in the aggregate, make it appear that they felt otherwise. But when one wants to see the truth about Zionism, all one has to do is pick up any Zionist newspaper at random from that time period. Rewriting history is easy, but rewriting source materials is impossible. The context is all in the newspapers of the day, in all its mundane detail - you will not find the hate and vitriol that is so pervasive in Arab media even today. It is abundantly clear which side wanted peace and which wanted war - in 1929, in 1946, in 1967 and in 2007.

The truth cannot be erased, no matter how much the Israel-bashers try to. Those who claim that Zionism is predicated on violence, like Pappe, Abourezk and Alam, are simply liars.

Nice summary of Columbia tenure controversy

From the Columbia Spectator:

The Trouble With Tenure
By Chris Kulawik
PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 18, 2007

As a generation of controversial Columbia academics trudge toward tenure, get ready for a fight. Normally a mechanism to protect and embolden the research of legitimate scholars, it can and will be abused by “scholars” who, without such protection, already masquerade punditry and politics as scholarship. Concerned students and alumni cannot allow these polemicists a free pass.

For those who missed Spectator’s sparse coverage of the brewing controversy, Nadia Abu El-Haj, an anthropology professor of Palestinian descent, published a controversial book called Facts on the Ground. Critics reject Abu El-Haj’s contentious hypothesis that ancient Israelites did not live in what is today Israel. They argue that her work is misleading, if not unscholarly and slanderous. They posit three criticisms of Abu El-Haj, all worthy of consideration.

First, concerned alumni argue, Abu El-Haj is not an archeologist. Rather, Abu El-Haj studied in the Bryn Mawr anthropology department with Barnard President Judith Shapiro. For a scholar with a limited professional background in the subject, she is not in a position to make many of the claims she does. Second, many respected scholars passionately disagree with her findings. Weighing in on the subject, the New York Times cites fellow faculty member, Alan F. Segal, a professor of religion and Jewish studies at Barnard, who opines, “There is every reason in the world to want her to have tenure, and only one reason against it—her work.”

To be fair, Abu El-Haj has her share of supporters, including many in her notoriously like-minded discipline. No doubt talented individuals in their own right, they are anything but objective and impartial. Finally, critics take issue with Abu El-Haj’s postmodernist and unabashedly relativist approach. Dr. Candace de Russy, a member of the SUNY Board of Trustees, writes online,
“In her introduction, El-Haj explains that she works by ‘rejecting a positivist commitment to scientific method,’ writing, instead, within a scholarly tradition of ‘post structuralism, philosophical critiques of foundationalism, Marxism, and critical theory and [...] in response to specific postcolonial political movements.’”

Such abstraction in a discipline as evidentially and methodologically oriented as archeology is inherently counterintuitive. I too am not an archeologist, but with just a rudimentary knowledge of the field, it appears that one of two things must be true: either Abu El-Haj stumbled upon one of the greatest findings of the young millennium, or she practices faulty scholarship. Consensus and common sense seems to lean toward the latter. Still, a greater, far more contentious fight looms. Assistant professor Joseph Massad, noted anti-Israel polemicist, lumbers toward tenure and a place in Columbia’s 20-year plan.

Massad, some will argue to great effect, has yet to produce a piece of scholarship not loaded with anti-Israel and anti-Zionist rhetoric. Much of his scholarly work, equally at home on an op-ed page as his classroom, must be read to be believed. Once charged with classroom intimidation and violations of academic freedom, Massad has emerged as the poster boy for an increasingly political and activist Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures. To many, myself included, the thought of Joseph Massad as a facet of Columbia life for the next several decades is a frightening and wholly untenable proposition. There is no place within the academic establishment for thinly-veiled demagoguery. Individual departments or tenure committees must recognize this and act accordingly. To abandon their responsibilities is to commit a great disservice to the University.

To circumvent the inevitable criticism, let’s clarify: this is not a call to discriminate against unpopular ideas, but poor scholarship. Consider for the sake of this rejoinder the life and work of Edward Said. For all the rock-throwing and pro-Palestine sentiment, the late Columbian was a brilliant scholar who made significant contributions to not only his discipline, but academia and society at large. Agree with him or not, he was, unequivocally, one of the great minds of the 20th century. There’s no denying that a scholar of Said’s stature deserved tenure. Unfortunately, Massad is no Said. If it were simply a matter of denying tenure to professors with different political beliefs than my own, the ivory tower would be a pretty lonely place.

For all the gray area, convoluted processes, and controversy, there’s no way for Columbia to avoid the looming tenure battles—try as it might. Instead, the Columbia community must assert its right to secure objective, transparent, and academic proceedings. We must remember that tenure is both a reward and honor not to be taken—or given—lightly and without merit.

Chris Kulawik is a Columbia College senior majoring in political science.

Palestinian Arab "Kadima"?

Palestine Today reports on a number of businessmen trying to create a "Kadima"-like political party to bridge the gap between Hamas and Fatah (autotranslated):

Palestinian sources revealed that a number of businessmen and academics Palestinians began setting up a political party in an attempt to break the political impasse procedure, after they had received encouraging signals from President Mahmoud Abbas and some leaders of the Hamas movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in preparation for contesting the forthcoming legislative elections.

According to the sources, based on the party confirmed that they will of the Palestinian people something different, especially in light of political division and interactions among the largest movements in the Palestinian territories (Hamas and Fatah), and that this party will be a copy of Palestinian party "Kadima" Israeli attract voters of the two traditional "Labor" and the bloc "Likud".

It seeks authors of the new party to attract a number of leaders and cadres of the Hamas movement and what "moderates" and the leaders of the Fatah-corruption involved, in addition to some leaders of the Palestinian factions, the National Action; To join the new party's founding, or at least to obtain their support.

The sources considered that the successful annexation of the two leaders of the party give it a strong push savior of the Palestinians, as a reliable party officials that many Palestinians do not belong to the "Fatah" and "Hamas" and want to see a new party could provide them a better future for their cause.

Now, what could a political party that takes terrorists from Fatah and terrorists from Hamas look like?

It's a real head-scratcher.

Abourezk, part 3

I have continued to write in the comments section of the California Literary Review, and James Abourezk just wrote another comment a well. Here are some of the latest:

M.R. Khan Says:
September 16th, 2007 at 2:51 am As a former student of Mearsheimer and Walt and a Mid-East scholar at UC Berkeley, it was refreshing to read such a lucid and informed review in the CLR. The vitriol with which Likudniks in this country attack any criticism of the well documented atrocities and militancy of the Israeli right is underscored in some of the responses here and proves the critics of this lobby right...

Elder Says:
September 16th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
I can’t help but notice that, for all of the supposed “vitriol” my posts here contained, not one of those who are defending Abourezk has been able to find anything that I have written about him or his sources that is incorrect.

It is also a bit humorous to see that somehow the all-powerful Israel Lobby, of which I seem to be a part, manages to not only let books like Walt/Mearsheimer’s and Jimmy Carter’s to be published, but also allows them to be best sellers. We are so sloppy that we even allow a forum such as this to exist, where people openly defend a person - who is on video supporting terrorists - as a purveyor of truth and a great person to review a book that blames all of America’s problems on a small cabal of Zionists.

We Lobbyists must be slipping badly!
Gordon Says:
September 16th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
Elder, you say that Abourezk is on video supporting terrorists. How typical. Your arguments lack merit so you resort to smear tactics. Moreover, who is really guilty of supporting terrorists? The supporters of Israeli ethnic cleansing or those who oppose it? Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
atheo Says:
September 16th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Why did seven well equipped Arab armies attempt to destroy the poorly armed and newly founded ‘Jewish State’?

The baseless myth, of how the Arab armies wanted to destroy the ‘Jewish State’, has been propagated in all sectors of the Israeli society, especially in its school system, military boot camps, and media. As it will be proven below, this myth was deemed necessary by most Zionists to legitimize their continued USURPATION of the Palestinian people’s political, civil, and economic rights.....
Elder Says:
September 17th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Gordon, not only did I say that Mr. Abourezk supports terrorists, I quoted the transcript and gave the URL of the video where he calls Hamas “resistance fighters” rather than the far more accurate “terrorists.”

If quoting Mr. Abourezk and inviting people to watch the video that he made for Hezbollah TV is considered a “smear tactic,” then I must be guilty.

Atheo, you are correct in that the Arab armies in 1948 were poorly organized with the exception of the Transjordanian Arab Legion. That has no bearing whatsoever on the Arab desire to utterly destroy Israel, which is incontrovertible.

But if you doubt it, here’s a quote from May 15, 1948, when the Arab League Secretary General Abdul Razek Azzam Pasha announced the intention to wage “a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.”

If you need a few dozen other quotes from Arab leaders determined to not only destroy Israel but also to wipe out any vestiges of Jews from the area, just ask. I’ll be happy to educate you, as well as Mr. Abourezk, if he is still lurking about.

James Abourezk Says:
September 17th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
For anyone who is interested in following up on how Israel created itself as a state, please allow me to recommend some books that will inform you.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Ilan Pappe (an Israeli historian,who also enumertes the relative size of the opposing military).

Taking Sides, by Steven Green. (An American writer)

Any of Israeli historian Tom Segev’s books.

I believe these books, plus the Donald Neff Trilogy, can be ordered from the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, www.middleeastbooks.com. That organization has an extensive book list, all of such books are at a discounted price. Donald Neff used to be Time Magazine’s Jerusalem correspondent until he quit time and began writing Middle East history.

One other point–The UN General Assembly passed a partition plan in 1947, but General Assembly votes are non-binding, unlike Security Council votes which are binding. Thus, the myth that the UN created Israel is just that–a myth. If such votes were binding, then Israel would be forced to obey the dozens of General Assembly votes passed since then that have favored Israel’s withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders, all of them ignored by Israel. There have also been dozens of Security Council votes criticizing Israel for committing war crimes, etc., all of which have been vetoed by the United States.

Ilan Pappe’s book on ethnic cleansing is particularly shocking to read. Pappe recounts the horrendous slaughter, accompanied by a campaign of fear by the Zionist armies and terror groups designed to drive the Palestinians out of Palestine in order to create a majority Jewish state.

Another book that may now be out of print is: Terror Out of Zion, by J. Bowyer Bell (St. Martin’s Press), which carefully details the terrorism wrought by Zionist terror groups, such as the Irgun and the Stern Gang. Menachem Begin, leader of the Irgun, was elected Israel’s Prime Minister in the 1970s, and Yitzak Shamir, one of the troika who led the Stern Gang, also was elected as Prime Minister of Israel.

I became friends with Nathan Yalin Mor, who was also one of the Troika running the Stern Gang, however, since he later had become a “peacenik,” opting for peace between
Jews and Arabs, he was sort of persona non grata in Washington, D.C. It was up to me to make appointments for him when he wanted to see someone in our government, as none of the Jewish groups would even speak to him. The tribulations of someone who wants peace are somewhat remarkable. I once asked him if the Stern Gang had sent letter bombs to British politicians in the 1940s, as Sir Christopher Mayhew told me that his secretary opened one and was injured by doing so. Nathan said, “yes, we sent lots of letter bombs.”

Elder Says:
September 17th, 2007 at 6:28 pm
I already addressed Ilan Pappe’s lack of interest in historical truth.

Yes, the Stern Gang engaged in terror. This is not news. What is manifestly a lie is the idea that the Zionists engaged in “ethnic cleansing,” a reprehensible slander that is shown to be false by the simple fact that there are 1.2 million Arabs living in Israel today. If anyone should be accused of “ethnic cleansing” it would be the Arab world that expelled nearly every Jew in the years following 1948. The Old City of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria became literally Judenrein under “moderate” Jordanian rule - not a single Jew was left in those areas, and every single synagogue in the Old City was demolished within days of Jordanian control in 1948.

Other Arab atrocities that Mr. Abourezk wants to sweep under the rug started in 1886 with the first Arab attacks on a Jewish settlement, and they escalated in 1921, 1929 with the horrendous massacres in Hebron and elsewhere (ancient Jewish communities that had lived in Palestine for centuries), the 1936-39 reign of terror where thousands were killed including from Arab infighting, and no shortage of Arab massacres of Jewish civilians in 1947-48 including Hadassah Hospital.

I have spent much time reading contemporaneous accounts of the events in newspapers from the 1930s and 1940s and the Zionists (at least the ones that wrote for the Palestine Post) consistently wanted to live in peace with their Arab neighbors. The archives are online so if you want to find counterexamples, feel free. Yes, not every single Jew acted in an exemplary manner - real life doesn’t allow such neat categorizations - but the vast majority of Zionists considered the terror attacks from Irgun and Stern to be outrageous and did not celebrate them, as too many Arabs have been wont to do whenever Jews or Westerners are murdered.

In other words, Abourezk is cherry-picking the facts that fit his agenda and is not only ignoring the rich history of Arab terror that continues on to this day, he appears to embrace it when the perpetrators are Hamas and Hezbollah (we unfortunately do not have a record of his opinion of Islamic Jihad, PFLP, Al Aqsa Brigades, or any of dozens of other groups.) Israel has time and time again offered real concessions for real peace and it has been rejected by the Arabs, and very often the people who suffer most are the very Palestinians that the Arabs pretend to care so much about.

For more details about the history of the entire Palestinian Arab people - and I am far more sympathetic to them than you might think, although their leaders have been atrocious for decades - I have been writing a series of postings about them. Check out http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2007/05/psychological-history-of-palestinian.html

And if you find any mistakes, please let me know. Unlike some people, I really do care about the truth.

September 17, 1937: The Samaria Challenge Cup

Seventy years ago, the British played their third annual polo tournament between the Jerusalem team and the Nablus team:

Isn't it interesting that in 1937 that section of Palestine was not called "the West Bank" but "Samaria"?

And this is what the British called it, not only the Jews.

Seeking wife - and martyrdom

It's been a while since I visited Muslimintro.com, where Muslims can find their mates (or, in the case of men, their second through fourth wives.) I saw one interesting profile today from a Canadian Muslim member who names himself Falasteen (Palestine):

Name Ahmad Latif Abu Said

Gender Male

Date of birth 11 November 1986

Age 20 years

well i am palestinian born in Lebanon,Beirut, Moukhayam Burj-Al-barajni
moved to canada when i was 8 years old with my mother my sister and my 2 brothers my father is still in lebanon.i have made a professional diploma in automotive mechanics and i curently work ina garage and a tuning shop sometimes aswell

Best aspect of my personality:
im strong
im friendly
im funny

Worst aspect of my personality:
i get angry too fast(working on it)

The thing I would most like to change about the world:
the entire world needs to change.
1: unify islam
2:rule the world with islamic laws
3:get rid of alcohol,prostitutes,drugs etc etc

My interests:
Islam
weapons
cars

My political views:
we dont need politic
we dont need western democracy
all we need its ISLAM

Personal website:
www.freewebs.com/hamas

My ideal match:
Any age between 18-25 years old
i would like her to stay at home and take care of the kids, education is not important she only need to know what islam is,she must pray etc etc

My worst match:
jews

I love boxing i myself am a boxer.
I Love islam and someday in the futur i would like to go to palestine and fight on the side of my brothers and insha2allah die as a Martyr.i belive its the best way to die
I love Islam more than I love life.

and his personal website (called "Hamas Heros") he adds this nice thought:

hi if you came here its because your interessted in the islamiste group in palestine called Hamas

im mujahid AKA jew killa AKA ak74solja from the terrorists clan in mohaa

i made this site to show the ppl how Hamas are good and that they got nothing to do with terrorists

i made this site to support them too i will support them untill i die

PALESTINE 4EVER JEWS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH NEVER!

Jew-hating David Duke article indexed by Google News

Yet again, The People's Voice has published a hate article, one that could have been written by the Nazis, and Google News has indexed it as "news." This time it was written by none other than David Duke.

Isn't it wonderful to see how "progressive" these people are?

Anyway, to complain to Google about this, the URL is here.

UPDATE: From what I can tell, not only has the article been delisted from Google but the entire TPV website. Of course, Google has done this before, only to cave in to them a couple of days later. We'll see.

UPDATE 2: The site is back on Google News but the Duke article is gone.

Hamas exporting produce from Gaza for Shmittah?

According to the Palestine Press Agency (autotranslated):

informed Palestinian sources said that direct dialogue was last week between Hamas lawless and controlled the Gaza Strip and Israel allowed the export of vegetables through the crossing, "Karam Abu Salem," for neutralizing crossings of the Palestinian resistance.

The Emirates News Agency, that the personality of a Palestinian near Gaza article Hamas government contacts with the Office of Coordination and Israeli withdrawal Ayers on the everyday problems of export and import from the Gaza Strip and an agreement has been reached whereby "neutralize crossings and stop firing rockets from Palestinian areas in return for calm.

What reinforces this news that Prime Minister article in Gaza, Ismail Haniya had been asked last Thursday factions of the Palestinian resistance not to target the crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel with missiles, while the government was committed to bring the article, which

The news earlier had confirmed that Hamas had amended their opposition to allow the export of agricultural produce from Gaza through the crossing Kerm Shalom.

Palestine Press Agency is a semi-reliable, pro-Fatah and anti-Hamas organ. This article is intended more to make Hamas look hypocritical than anything else.

Even so, it is interesting to see reported that Hamas ordered the end to attacks on the crossings into Israel - starting on Rosh Hashanah. Is it possible that Gaza is exporting produce to Israel for Shmittah year? There have been a few articles in the international press about Shmittah and the financial bonanza that Palestinian farmers expect to receive as a result.

The media has been almost completely ignoring consistent Hamas and PIJ attacks at border crossings between Israel and Gaza, which only make the lives of Gaza residents more miserable as humanitarian aid cannot get through. Yesterday there was such an attack, at the Erez crossing, but it was done by Fatah and the DFLP in Gaza.

So it is unclear whether anything is different now.

Of course, whether allowing Gaza produce in the Israeli market is a wise move on Israel's part is a different question.

UPDATE: Evidently, Arab produce is often irrigated with sewage water, and last Shmittah many Jews contracted hepatitis from eating such vegetables. (h/t Soccer Dad)

Muslim admits Muslims can't handle rational thought

Well, he doesn't exactly say that, but this article in an Indian Muslim periodical shows that at least some Muslims consider Muslim ignorance - and anger - as critical weapons in their war against the West.

Recently there was a controversy over the visit of some so-called influential Muslims to the Zionist state of Israel. Some of them developed cold feet at the final moment and did not turn up at the airport to accompany the delegation while others went and enjoyed the trip. This was neither the first nor the last in the list of sponsored visits by Muslims to Israel.

The issue is not just the visit to Israel, but the sponsored trip to that, or any other country, which considers the Muslim world as its enemy. This is a dangerous trend. But the issue is that our community leaders are not only making to the Zionist state, but also the United States, United Kingdom and other western countries inimical towards the Muslim world. Visiting these countries with one’s own money may, in one way or the other, be justified, but undertaking trips at the behest of the governments of those countries is simply unpardonable. ...

The Muslim media debated the whole issue only in the context of the visit to Israel. But is it all right for any Muslim to undertake the sponsored visits to the United States or United Kingdom? No not at all. The sponsored trips to these countries need to be condemned with equal ferocity as their leaderships’ attitude towards the Muslim world is inimical. But the tragedy is that we are not taking to task those people who are undertaking sponsored visits to the western enemies.

Why is this typical double-dealing of the Muslim intelligentsia? Either they do not consider the United States their enemy or they just want to shut their eyes and avail all the opportunities to enjoy a foreign trip. Israel is as bad an enemy as the United States or United Kingdom. In fact, these two countries played the most important role in the creation of Zionist state. Jerusalem, it needs to be made very clear, is equally important for Christians as Jews. The Christian world launched eight crusades to take it back and even occupied it for 88 years in the 12th century. Therefore, they always wanted it to be snatched back from the Muslims. Today they have done so with the help of the Zionists.

However, whatever may be the tacit policy of the United States towards the Muslim world in the past few decades, after 9/11 the situation is quite different. The infamous statement of George Bush-II that "either you are with me or with them" makes it clear that the United States considers the Muslim world its enemy. Then why are we rushing towards that country?

I suppose I do not need to mention the astonishing amount of projection that this Muslim is employing when talking about the West, nor about how he completely misquoted what Bush said to serve his own psychotic ramblings. But it gets better...

We know the United States is the largest global power. We admit that it is in the field of science the most advanced nation of the world. We acknowledge that there are many good people in that country. We agree that Islam’s message of peace should be spread among all.

But then isn’t there 80 to 90 lakh Muslims in that country who can do that work better than us? We do not undertake the sponsored trips to these countries to spread the message of Islam, nor to learn something about science, but just to have ‘a feel good’ experience.

Notice anything missing? Yes, the possibility that by visiting Western countries, Muslims might learn something about how the West thinks! No, that possibility is not even on this bigot's radar. He knows it all already, and he has nothing to learn.

Have we ever heard, in the entire human history, of any single example of people rushing to the countries or empires whose rulers had declared war on them? After 9/11 the United States made it very clear that if you are not with her in her criminal aggressive acts and that you are her enemy.

...The United States neutralised Communism in many countries, including India, by inviting intellectuals, professors, journalists, etc. for the so-called higher studies. Once back from the educational trips these gentlemen lost all their cutting edge.

Somehow, they didn't take this author's advice and they learned that the West is not evil incarnate - and they therefore stopped rabidly hating the West. This is simply unacceptable! Better to live in ignorance!

Be it the United States, the United Kingdom or Israel it is a part of their global strategy to make the opponents leaderless and confused. A sponsored visit to Israel, the US etc. by these public opinion-makers is bound to expose them among their own community. Take the example of Aziz Burney, the editor of Rashtriya Sahara. By his writings he made a certain impression on the Muslim community. But though he refused to go to Israel, the news – may be right or wrong – that he initially considered to go to the Zionist state dented his image among a section of his admirers. This is the real purpose of the feel good visits.

Modern state-craft needs to be understood in proper perspective. There is no dearth of good Muslims coming from the United States and lecturing us in India about the tolerance of the people of the West. "See not a single Muslim was targeted in that country after 9/11; while on the other hand thousands were massacred after Godhra, though they were not even involved in the train burning." This is their common refrain. They say so because their skins have been saved. They know that one million Muslims have been massacred in Afghanistan and Iraq by the same tolerant Americans yet they have been rendered speechless. More than them some non-Muslim activists in that country are speaking out against the US tyranny. The West knows how to tie the tongues of their opponents.

Is there a better advertisement for Muslim paranoia and willful ignorance than this guy? He has so little faith in the belief systems of his fellow Muslims that he assumes that anyone who possibly moderates his opinions frokm exposure to Western values must be confused. And nosireebob - this guy won't ever let his mind be clouded by Western propaganda. He knows the truth!

Saudis complain that their maids aren't slave-like enough

Another gem from the Arab News:

MAKKAH, 17 September 2007 — With a high demand for maids during Ramadan, many people employ runaway maids and pay them extortionate salaries ranging from SR1,100 to SR1,500, instead of the standard SR600 to SR800 paid to legal maids working legally.
Fahd Amash’s wife is a teacher. The couple have five children. “My wife is a teacher and our circumstance requires us to have more than one maid. However, the authorities say we’re only allowed one. Before Ramadan I employed a legal maid, who ran away leaving us in a mess,” said Amash.
With Ramadan at hand, Amash decided to hire a runaway maid. “We had to do things illegally in the end,” he said. “We contacted an Indonesian woman who provides people with illegal maids. She brought us a maid and said we had to pay her SR1,500 a month. She also said we had to give the maid a day off every 10 days and that her work for the month would end on Ramadan 28 in order to give her a chance to perform Umrah,” said Amash.

SR600 is $160. Saudis are saying that it is practically extortion for them to pay a maid more than $200 or so a month, and it is borderline obscene to have maids ask for a day off every ten days. Plus, the maids certainly are not allowed to practice Islam the way that their owners, um, employers can.

Not only that, but a family of seven finds that a single maid is clearly not enough - they must have two of them!

Once again, the Arab News accidentally reveals what a sick, spoiled society that ordinary Saudis live in as they take full advantage of foreign workers (because Saudis would never be caught dead doing menial labor!)

More nipples than you can count

From Kamangir, via Judeopundit:

The Persian blogger Lithium writes, “I decided to invent a new method for making inappropriate clothings compatible to the [Islamic] values”. The invention, which is given the name “The Shield of Modesty” by the bloggers, is “worn underneath the outfit and not only eliminates the natural bumps, but also adds numerous fake bumps to confuse those who stare at ladies’ chests”. The blogger asserts that “this is a totally Iranian invention” and he wishes that “with the help of the administration it can be mass produced” [Persian].

I can't possibly improve on this story.

Palestinian medical sources reported that 27-year-old Baha' Al-Ajlouni's corpse arrived at Al-Ahli Hopsital in Hebron riddled with bullets.

His brother, Bilal, aged 25, was admitted to the operation room suffering from serious injuries.

Governor of Hebron, Dr. Hussein Al-Araj, said that a family feud between the Rajabi and Al-Ajlouni families was reignited on Sunday, based on old grievances and the desire for revenge. He said that several people were injured in the ensuing clashes.

523.

The military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, announced on Sunday that one of its members has died of wounds which he sustained in August.

The Qassam Brigades member, 20-year-old Nidal Al-Ashra, was injured whilst participating in an Executive Force operation to impose law in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

This makes 524 Palestinian Arabs violently killed by each other this year.

The Hamas Executive Force in Gaza City on Sunday said that they detonated a 15-kilogram explosive device planted at the entrance to the Palestinian Legislative Council building.

At approximately 17:30 on Saturday, 15 September 2007, a clash erupted between El-Buheisi and Abu Shehada clans in Deir El-Balah. The clash escalated into an armed clash, leading to the injury of 2 persons:The clash was a continuation of a fist fight that broke out between members of the two clan on Friday, 14 September 2007, over leading prayers in Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque in Deir El-Balah.

On Thursday, 6 September 2007, masked gunmen traveling in 2 vehicles abducted Sami Jaber Kuheil (44) from his car repair shop near his house in Daraj area in Gaza City. Sami’s father informed PCHR’s fieldworker that the family contacted several commanders and members of Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions, who confirmed that they held Sami; but they did not indicate where he was held.

At approximately 23:20 on Sunday, 9 September 2007, unknown gunmen abducted Mazen Ahmad El-Amasi (38) as he was sitting with friends near his house in Daraj area in Gaza City. Mohammad El-Amasi, who was with Mazen at the time, informed PCHR that 3 masked gunmen got out of a car and pointed their guns at Mazen as they were sitting near El-Omari store in Daraj. The gunmen ordered Sami to come with them. When he asked them about their identity, they informed him that they were members of Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions. They took Mazen to an undisclosed location. Mohammad added that his family contacted several commanders and members of Izzedeen El-Qassam Battalions, who confirmed that they held Mazen; but they did not indicate where he was held.

Palestinian Arabs in the West consider Abbas a "collaborator"

An interesting article in Electronic Intifada (reproduced elsewhere) talks about the difficulty of creating a united Palestinian Arab front when there are internal disagreements about tactics, but it makes clear that some "mainstream" pro-Palestinian Arab organizations in the US and Canada regard any compromise for peace as a crime punishable by death:

In the US and Canada there have been calls for national meetings to formulate umbrella organizations that would speak on behalf of all Palestinians living there. But why now, and who is involved? Two things need to be pointed out before we answer these questions. First, for the most part the front line organizations like SPHR and Al-Awda are defined as "solidarity groups" although they are founded and led by Palestinians and even the majority of their membership is Palestinian. Second, these groups are not affiliated with any of the "old country" feuds or factions because their membership is mostly young and never belonged to these factions. This is relevant because some actors have insisted that these incipient national organizations be centered on these old and largely irrelevant factional identities. Others are insisting that only Palestinians be allowed to participate, which opened the discussion of who is a Palestinian. These issues are being purposefully exaggerated in order to exclude solidarity groups and/or give more voting power for failed "community groups." The constant talk of blood quantum ("only your mother is Palestinian!") is also designed as psychological pressure against the young students to make it uncomfortable to be in those meetings.

Why is all this happening now? When the day comes for Abbas to sign on the line -- giving up Palestinian rights -- he needs a Diaspora leadership that is in line with his decisions. In Canada, almost all Palestinian advocacy and community groups have been involved in these efforts, but our tried, tested and failed "elite" are trying very hard to take the helm once again -- if not by democracy then by any means necessary. Since these discussions started last year, some of the steadfast individuals have received physical threats and even death threats. And things have not got serious yet.

In the past two years in Europe, Palestinians were able to form an umbrella group that actually challenged the Abbas line, and tried to challenge the ban on the elected Hamas government. It may be no coincidence that now the old "elite" in Canada are receiving backing from Abbas and his entourage. Since last year there has been a rash of Fatah visits to Canada and the US where the primary goal is meeting with prospective allies here to prepare them for seats in a revived (but Abbas controlled) PLO. In recent months, Fatah has sent senior representatives to rally the support of Palestinians in Canada late last year and this summer following the events in Gaza and promised rewards to potential allies.

Palestinians in the Diaspora need to learn the lesson from Gaza and Lebanon. Although all Palestinians desire unity, it is impossible with those who are actively collaborating with the Israeli agenda and seeking to undermine the Palestinian movement for liberation. We cannot allow those who hijacked Palestinian institutions in Palestine in order to serve Israel to do the same in the Diaspora.
...It will be an enormous challenge, but it is one we have to meet to make clear there is no mandate and no possibility for Abbas, or any other would-be collaborator, to sign away Palestinian rights. Judging from the emerging agenda of the US-planned "peace conference" in November, it may be now or never for us to act.

The myth of the "moderate Palestinians" takes another hit.

Another Osirak?

The Times of London today published an amazing report claiming that Israel's activities in Syria ten days ago was a very successful attack against Syrian nuclear materials, or possibly even warheads, smuggled in from North Korea:

IT was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line. On the ground, Syria’s formidable air defences went dead. An audacious raid on a Syrian target 50 miles from the Iraqi border was under way.

At a rendezvous point on the ground, a Shaldag air force commando team was waiting to direct their laser beams at the target for the approaching jets. The team had arrived a day earlier, taking up position near a large underground depot. Soon the bunkers were in flames.

Ten days after the jets reached home, their mission was the focus of intense speculation this weekend amid claims that Israel believed it had destroyed a cache of nuclear materials from North Korea.

...
Andrew Semmel, a senior US State Department official, said Syria might have obtained nuclear equipment from “secret suppliers”, and added that there were a “number of foreign technicians” in the country.

Asked if they could be North Korean, he replied: “There are North Korean people there. There’s no question about that.” He said a network run by AQ Khan, the disgraced creator of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, could be involved.

But why would nuclear material be in Syria? Known to have chemical weapons, was it seeking to bolster its arsenal with something even more deadly?

Alternatively, could it be hiding equipment for North Korea, enabling Kim Jong-il to pretend to be giving up his nuclear programme in exchange for economic aid? Or was the material bound for Iran, as some authorities in America suggest?

According to Israeli sources, preparations for the attack had been going on since late spring, when Meir Dagan, the head of Mossad, presented Olmert with evidence that Syria was seeking to buy a nuclear device from North Korea.

The Israeli spy chief apparently feared such a device could eventually be installed on North-Korean-made Scud-C missiles.

“This was supposed to be a devastating Syrian surprise for Israel,” said an Israeli source. “We’ve known for a long time that Syria has deadly chemical warheads on its Scuds, but Israel can’t live with a nuclear warhead.”

An expert on the Middle East, who has spoken to Israeli participants in the raid, told yesterday’s Washington Post that the timing of the raid on September 6 appeared to be linked to the arrival three days earlier of a ship carrying North Korean material labelled as cement but suspected of concealing nuclear equipment.

The target was identified as a northern Syrian facility that purported to be an agricultural research centre on the Euphrates river. Israel had been monitoring it for some time, concerned that it was being used to extract uranium from phosphates.

According to an Israeli air force source, the Israeli satellite Ofek 7, launched in June, was diverted from Iran to Syria. It sent out high-quality images of a northeastern area every 90 minutes, making it easy for air force specialists to spot the facility.

...
Only three Israeli cabinet ministers are said to have been in the know � Olmert, Barak and Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister. America was also consulted. According to Israeli sources, American air force codes were given to the Israeli air force attaché in Washington to ensure Israel’s F15Is would not mistakenly attack their US counterparts.

Once the mission was under way, Israel imposed draconian military censorship and no news of the operation emerged until Syria complained that Israeli aircraft had violated its airspace. Syria claimed its air defences had engaged the planes, forcing them to drop fuel tanks to lighten their loads as they fled.

But intelligence sources suggested it was a highly successful Israeli raid on nuclear material supplied by North Korea.

Washington was rife with speculation last week about the precise nature of the operation. One source said the air strikes were a diversion for a daring Israeli commando raid, in which nuclear materials were intercepted en route to Iran and hauled to Israel. Others claimed they were destroyed in the attack.

There is no doubt, however, that North Korea is accused of nuclear cooperation with Syria, helped by AQ Khan’s network. John Bolton, who was undersecretary for arms control at the State Department, told the United Nations in 2004 the Pakistani nuclear scientist had “several other” customers besides Iran, Libya and North Korea.

Some of his evidence came from the CIA, which had reported to Congress that it viewed “Syrian nuclear intentions with growing concern”.

“I’ve been worried for some time about North Korea and Iran outsourcing their nuclear programmes,” Bolton said last week. Syria, he added, was a member of a “junior axis of evil”, with a well-established ambition to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The links between Syria and North Korea date back to the rule of Kim Il-sung and President Hafez al-Assad in the last century. In recent months, their sons have quietly ordered an increase in military and technical cooperation.

Foreign diplomats who follow North Korean affairs are taking note. There were reports of Syrian passengers on flights from Beijing to Pyongyang and sightings of Middle Eastern businessmen from sources who watch the trains from North Korea to China.

On August 14, Rim Kyong Man, the North Korean foreign trade minister, was in Syria to sign a protocol on “cooperation in trade and science and technology”. No details were released, but it caught Israel’s attention.

Syria possesses between 60 and 120 Scud-C missiles, which it has bought from North Korea over the past 15 years. Diplomats believe North Korean engineers have been working on extending their 300-mile range. It means they can be used in the deserts of northeastern Syria � the area of the Israeli strike.

...

By its actions, Israel showed it is not interested in waiting for diplomacy to work where nuclear weapons are at stake.

As a bonus, the Israelis proved they could penetrate the Syrian air defence system, which is stronger than the one protecting Iranian nuclear sites.

This weekend President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran sent Ali Akbar Mehrabian, his nephew, to Syria to assess the damage. The new “axis of evil” may have lost one of its spokes.