Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Morning links

Front Page: Arab-Israeli Fatalities Rank 49th

Augean Stables: Insights into Honor-Shame Culture: Reflections of an American-born Israeli Officer among Bedouin Soldiers

Hot Air: Jimmy Carter on Darfur: What genocide?

Slate: Hitchens on The Price of Freedom

(h/t Omri, Backspin, LGF)

Israel's terrible Internet hasbara

Last July I quoted an Omedia article highly critical of the IDF's information policies. At least by judging from the website, it appears to be even worse nowadays - and the IDF is not alone in its horrendous record of hasbara, and the Israeli government's web efforts highlight these shortcomings all too well.

The IDF web site's English section is a joke. There is nothing about current operations, no press releases, no substantive articles describing its philosophy - almost nothing. And there is an empty video section. In the era of YouTube, this is unforgivable. Even the photograph section is impossible to navigate in Firefox and woefully out of date.

It's Hebrew section seems marginally better - at least there are some videos - but in general it is just as hard to navigate, and the world audience is not conversant in Hebrew.

The IDF is not the only Israeli organization that is failing in its obligation to tell the world its story. Even the Foreign Ministry website - better than the IDF's, to be sure - has stories on its front page that are months old. Its video section is sparse as well, with no indication of even what year the videos were created.

Even the IsRealli blog, which was launched with much fanfare a year or so ago by the Israel Consulate in New York, is being updated only once or twice a week.

Compare these with the Israel Insider website, the video site Israel Up Close, the excellent Israel21c site and its associated blog Israelity. These are professional, attractive and updated sites that do what Israel's official websites do not - inform the world about what is really going on and show a side of Israel that is never seen on the news.

The talent exists for Israel to do a better job in Internet hasbara. The poor track record needs to be improved, and quickly.

UPDATE: Two commenters mentioned Israelplug.com and it looks like a very good and entertaining site.

This week's marriage fatwas

MEMRI uncovered two interesting fatwas today:

A sheikh from Al-Azhar, Farahat Al-Manji, decreed that a marriage ceremony acted out by two actors for a film or a television show is valid and binding.
According to the fatwa, if the woman is already married, the second marriage is considered bigamous.

Source: Islamonline.net, October 2, 2007

Egypt's Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has decreed that misyar marriages – "pleasure marriages" in which the woman gives up some of the rights granted her by Islam, such as the right to housing and financial support from her husband – are permissible in Islam.

The council, which is the major fatwa-issuing body in Egypt, added that the marriages are allowed as long as all provisions specified by shari'a have been met, and as long as they are not banned by the state.

Source: Alarabiya.net, October 2 2007.

Misyar marriages, of course, are pretty much Muslim-sanctioned prostitution for Sunnis. Muslims will go on business trips and "marry" a local girl just for sex. (A similar type of temporary marriage for Shias is called Mut'ah and it is a marriage for a pre-determined set amount of time - Shiites and Sunnis each strongly feel that the other type of marriage is forbidden.)

These two fatwas show that Muslims have watered down the definition of marriage and divorce so much that the terms are almost meaningless, and any social safeguards that the "decadent" West has for monogamy and respect for women are not only non-existent in Islam, but the concomitant disrespect for women is religiously sanctioned.

PA willingly cedes control of Jerusalem - to Jordan

From YNet:

Israel and the Palestinians have agreed that the Temple Mount as well as other parts of the Old City in Jerusalem will be under Jordanian control as part of a future peace deal, a Palestinian daily reported on Monday.

The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi reported that President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reached the agreement during recent talks in Jerusalem. Under the arrangement, the Old City's Arab residents will be granted Jordanian citizenship.

The newspaper did not say whether Israel would keep control of Jewish holy sites and neighborhoods in the Old City.

The arrangement will make the Jordanian monarchy a guardian of holy Muslim shrines in Jerusalem.

Forgetting the utter stupidity and breathtaking shortsightedness of Kadima allowing Jerusalem to be divided again:

If Jerusalem is so important to Palestinian Arabs and has been so important for so many centuries, why would they willingly give up control to another nation? Why is Jordan a preferable custodian of holy sites in Jerusalem than Israel from a PalArab perspective?

The reason is, of course, because Palestinian Arabs do not want control of these lands! They do not want the headaches of running a real state and solving real problems. Their attachment to "Al-Quds" is a farce, and the numerous photos of the Dome of the Rock that grace every Palestinian Arab website and TV broadcast are only for show. Their entire existence as a people is due to their leaders deliberately separating them from their Arab brothers for the past sixty years, for the singular purpose of using them as cannon fodder to help destroy Israel.

A real people, proud of their heritage and proud of Jerusalem, would never accede to giving their holiest and most important site to a completely different nation. The only goal here is to take away land from the Jews rather than to own and cherish it themselves. As long as Arabs own it, it matters little to them who controls it - just as long as they are not Jews. The entire idea of Palestinian Arab nationalism is shown to be a farce by this agreement.

(I am well aware of the irony of the first sentence of the last paragraph, as it shows that the Israeli Left is equally dismissive of their own religious and cultural heritage. If something is not done soon, we will in a couple of years witness Israeli policemen forcibly dragging Jews away from the Old City in the name of "peace" - proving that the blind pursuit of an illusory "peace process" is more irrational than most religions are.)

EU "observers" still silent on Hamas terrorists crossing Rafah

As I mentioned last week, Egypt allowed some 85 Hamas terrorists to enter Gaza through the Rafah border crossing late last month.

Today, the EU BAM Rafah website still has not acknowledged that it was complicit in this event by allowing it to happen. Their last press release is from July 7, saying that even though Hamas had taken over Gaza they still plan to maintain their presence.

Now, that's a cushy job! Live in Israel, stay on the EU payroll and don't lift a finger to stop terrorists and weapons from freely entering Gaza.

Fatah spokesman in Arabic: Negotiations with Israel just another form of "resistance"

The Palestine Press Agency reports in Arabic (autotranslated):

(Ahmed) Abdul Rahman (senior advisor to Mahmoud Abbas) confirmed that the negotiations are a form of work for the Palestinian resistance option and Palestinian ending the oppressive Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Abdul Rahman added, "If the Israelis Mtandin negotiator with the Palestinian side does not mean that despair, but we will continue to work through all possible means to us, explaining that one of the forms of struggle that is the international conference called for by President Bush, especially since many of the officials said that the hour is hours of an independent Palestinian state and an end to Israeli occupation....

Abdul Rahman stressed that the issue of concessions is not included final and the Palestinian side had nothing to give him, but we have what we want to Nabdeh to end the Israeli occupation.

The word "struggle" is a code word for "terror", so Abbas' senior advisor is mollifying the bloodthirsty Palestinian Arab population by saying that negotiations are just another form of "resistance" aimed at getting everything from Israel without any compromise on the Palestinian Arab side. He also makes very clear that terror is still a very viable option for Fatah as a means to extract more from Israel - even after successful negotiations.

You will not find any Western media translating this interview.

Qods Day postscript

Qods Day has come and gone, but it is worth mentioning that this day that is meant to fake Islamic ties to Jerusalem was created by the late Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran in 1979.

Khomeini also was responsible for another novel legal rulin g (warning - this is mind-bogglingly disgusting):

"A man can marry a girl younger than nine years of age, even if the girl is still a baby being breastfed. A man, however is prohibited from having intercourse with a girl younger than nine, while other sexual acts such as foreplay, rubbing, and kissing are allowed. A man having intercourse with a girl younger than nine years of age has not committed a crime, but only an infraction, if the girl is not permanently damaged. If the girl, however, is permanently damaged, the man must provide for her all her life. But this girl will not count as one of the man's four permanent wives. He also is not permitted to marry the girl's sister."^[34]^[35]

Khomeini specifically described an act known as thighing that allowed an adult male to simulate sex with a female child without penetration:
"Thighing is a means for an adult male to enjoy a young girl who is still in the age of weaning; meaning to place his penis between her thighs, and to kiss her."^[36]

With such a prestigious pedigree, it is no wonder that Qods Day has gained popularity among many Shi'a Muslims!

Israel barred from international sports event - Iran brags

Iran's news agencies are reporting that Iran successfully blackmailed the International Military Sports Council (CISM) from allowing Israel to join:

Iran's efforts to establish a single stance among Islamic countries eventually succeeded in preventing the Zionist regime of Israel from joining the International Military Sports Council (CISM).

Speaking to FNA here on Sunday, General Mohammad Ali Sabour , a member of the presiding board of the International Military Sports Council, said Israel strives to attend international events and bodies in a bid to buy recognition for its illegitimate entity.

"The Zionist regime, backed by certain western countries, launched extensive efforts in 2001 to take part in the world armies' Olympic games," he said, adding, "But Israel's pressures were defused due to solidarity of the Islamic countries which had been created through the extensive consultations of Iran, and thus, they (Israeli regime and its western supporters) could not achieve their goal."

The General said that following the said efforts by the Israeli regime, Iran, supported and accompanied by Islamic countries, threatened to withdraw from CISM.

"And the officials of the International Military Sports Council were eventually made to oppose Israel's membership in the council, arguing that these games are meant to provide a place for peace and tranquility while the Zionist regime's participation would cause tension and instability of these games," he concluded.

Let's take a look at some of the CISM's goals and principles:

The International Military Sports Council, known by its acronym "CISM", is an international sports association composed of the armed forces of member nations accepted by the General Assembly. CISM is open to the armed forces of all nations.

The aims of CISM are to develop friendly relations between the Armed Forces of member nations, promote physical education and sports activities, provide mutual technical assistance, support less privileged members in the name of friendship and solidarity, contribute towards the balanced and harmonious development of military personnel, and contribute to the international effort for universal peace.

This ideal is encapsulated in the CISM motto "FRIENDSHIP THROUGH SPORT".

A. CISM is an apolitical organization which fosters, through sport, friendship between military athletes to promote international harmony.
B. CISM values sport in the Armed Forces as an essential pillar of international sport and universal peace.
C. CISM adheres to the universal principles of “mens sana in corpore sano”, and “all human beings are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights”, as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the United Nations Charter.
D. CISM rejects all forms of discrimination towards a nation or a person on the basis of race, religion, political belief, and any other discriminatory practice.

Putting these two together, one can see that the CISM is blatantly hypocritical in allowing a single nation, by its own admission, to exclude another nation in violation of its own published principles.

The CISM has 128 member nations, and it is telling that none of them are willing to stand up against Iran in its bullying tactics. I don't think that any Israelis are losing any sleep over what is essentially yet another bunch of hypocrites running obscure sporting events, but it shows that even today, with its explicit calls for genocide, Iran is a much more esteemed member of the family of nations than Israel is.

Fatah is capable of goodwill too!

It is perhaps unfair to characterize Israel as being the only party in this conflict that hands out goodwill gestures like Arab candy after a terror attack. Fatah has its own version of goodwill gestures as well.

To Hamas.

This photo of terrorist man-love comes courtesy of our friends, the moderate PA.

A Palestinian member of the Hamas movement, who would not give his name, right, is embraced by a friend, left, after his release by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Jenin, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007. The Palestinian authority released 12 Hamas members from a prison in Jenin Sunday. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

See? They can be nice too!

Interestingly, Reuters reported the story too, but rather than say "12" terrorists were released, it says "several." :

Palestinian Hamas supporters wait before being released from a Palestinian prison in the West Bank city of Jenin October 7, 2007. Several members of the Hamas movement were released from prison on Sunday by Palestinian security forces. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK)

Reuters never misses an opportunity to minimize the terror threat!

Palestinian militants on Sunday fired a Katyusha rocket from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel, police said. The rocket, identified as a Grad-type Katyusha, landed in the area of Netivot, in the Negev Desert.

The Popular Resistance Committees armed organization claimed responsibility for the attack, which coincided with a number of mortar attacks against the Negev on Sunday.

There were no damage or injuries caused.

The mayor of Netivot said that the government had denied the town funds intended to provide for civil rocket defense. He said the stated reason for denying the funds, was that the town is located 11 kilometers from the Gaza border, rather than within a 10-kilometer radius the government had set, Israel Radio reported.

The Russian-invented Katyusha has a longer range than the more makeshift Qassam rocket that has been fired by the thousands at Negev towns and villages. Most Katyushas fired in the area are fired by the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah organization. But Palestinians fired a Katyusha at the southern Israel city of Ashkelon a year ago.

Nice to see that all that goodwill Israel received from abandoning Gaza is being paid back in spades. Not to mention Israel's abandonment of the Philadephi corridor that allows weapons smuggling to be increased from Egypt.

A similar goodwill gesture from Judea and Samaria would bring a large part of Central Israel, all the way to the Mediterranean, vulnerable to similar attacks.

Palestinian Christian bookstore owner murdered in Gaza

From JPost:

The body of a Christian official who was kidnapped over the weekend was discovered in Gaza City early Sunday, Palestinian sources said.

The man was identified as Rami Ayyad, 31, director of The Teacher's Bookshop, which is operated by the Palestinian Bible Society.
Although no group claimed responsibility for the murder, a number of Christians in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post that Ayyad had received several death threats in the past from radical Muslims who accused him of conducting missionary activities.
His bookshop and the Palestinian Bible Society had been the target of repeated attacks over the past two years.
They noted that attacks on members of the 2,500-strong Christian community in the Gaza Strip had increased in recent months, especially since Hamas took full control over the area.

The PalArab self-death count for 2007 rises to 534.

UPDATE: Clan clash in Nablus, 32-year old man murdered. 535.

UPDATE 2: PalArab police shot and killed a man in a stolen car. 536.

UPDATE 3: Arab man found "riddled with bullets" near Hebron. 537.

Palestinian Arabs depressed - but not over "occupation"

Near East Consulting recently polled Palestinian Arabs on their attitudes, as they do every month.

A whopping 70% described themselves as "extremely depressed" or "depressed." So obviously they must be depressed over that insidious Israeli occupation, right?

Well, not quite:

Main issue that makes you feel concerned:
	Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent
The economic hardship of my household	338	34.7	35.4
The absence of security for me and my family	193	19.8	20.2
The internal power struggle	216	22.2	22.6
The Israeli occupation	76	7.8	8.0
Family problems	48	4.9	5.0
I have no concerns	83	8.5	8.7
Total	954	97.8	100.0

There has always been a major disconnect between the attitudes of real Palestinian Arabs and those of the people who pretend to speak for them - often their power-hungry so-called leaders, but also people of Palestinian Arab descent who moved to the West and and gained positions in academia or other professions where they can trumpet their extreme anti-Israel opinions that are increasingly divorced from how real Palestinian Arabs think. (The same poll in August showed that only 2.6 percent mentioned the Israeli "occupation" as their major concern.)

This has been a consistent pattern over recent decades - the Palestinian Arabs who have enough ambition to get the hell away from the territories are the ones who claim that they can speak for those who have stayed. They live privileged lives in the West as they rail against the Western countries that treat them best. Above all, they are complicit in the crime that allows Arab countries to keep up their apartheid uniquely against Palestinian Arabs, not allowing them to become citizens like any other Arabs.

Not only are Palestinian Arabs being betrayed by their own elected leaders, but they are being kept in misery by their own cousins who left them behind and pretend to speak for them. Because of them, the amount of pressure on Palestinian Arab leaders to truly reform in minimal while they spin their wheels railing against Israel, who the real Palestinian Arabs do not seem to have nearly as much of a problem with.
(h/t IMRA)

Chag Sameach yet again

Time to gear up for another long Jewish holiday weekend. Have a good Yom Tov, everyone!

Qods Day celebrations continue: Jerusalem prayers

Here is a list of all Muslim prayers that mention Jerusalem:

Once again, there are none.

As far as Jewish prayers that mention Jerusalem, here are a small sample:

3 times a day: "And to Jerusalem, Your city, may You return in compassion and may You rest within it, as You have spoken. May you rebuild it soon in our days as an eternal structure, and may you speedily establish the throne of David upon it. Blessed are You, Builder of Jerusalem."

After every meal: "Rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city, soon in our days. Blessed are You, Who rebuilds Jerusalem in His mercy, Amen."

At the end of the Passover Seder and at the end of Yom Kippur prayers: "Next year in Jerusalem!"

So now we have seen that there is no mention of Jerusalem in Islamic numismatics, art, poetry, and prayer that predate Zionism. The Muslim claim that Jerusalem is holy seems not to be evident from how Muslims have treated it throughout the centuries. The relatively recent innovation of Qods Day appears to have been created for purely political purposes, because Muslims, historically, have ignored the Holy City.

Qods Day has been moved up to this Friday, so I don't have the time I wanted to research Jerusalem being mentioned or ignored in Islamic folksongs or literature and compare them to Jewish mentions of Jerusalem throughout the centuries. I'm pretty sure that we would see the exact same results that we've seen so far. (We already know that Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran, as opposed to the hundreds of times it is mentioned in the Jewish Bible.)

So I want to once again thank Iran for giving me this opportunity to celebrate the city that is holy to Jews as well as Christians, and has been treated like garbage by Islam through most of its history.

UK Muslims freaking over Israeli dates

First it was Morocco, then Egypt. Now the Muslims of the UK are freaking out over the fact that some Muslim-owned stores are selling Israeli dates that people are eating during Ramadan.

The pro-terror MPACUK website has at least 4 articles about this horrible crime, complete with liberal use of exclamation points:

Ramadan has come, a time when Muslims around the world focus on all that is good and just. All Muslims come closer to Allah in this period except those who are truly cursed. It seems many Muslim shop-keepers fall into that category. Putting the money God before the One true God that created them. For years some Muslim shop-keepers have been selling dates soaked in the blood of Palestinian children. Can you believe the parasites who are selling Muslims dates from Israel to open their fasts with during Ramadan?!

A group of MPACers decided to spend one afternoon during Ramadan ascertaining the general consensus amongst these shop managers in Manchester and we gained a fascinating insight into the psyche of some Muslim businessmen!...
The most concerning meeting was in a store, where the man whom we were informed was the manager proceeded to lecture us on how he used to think like us when he was our age…

“but it is useless…you can’t do anything!”

“The Palestinians deserve it.”

“Arabs are so and so…”

Shocking! And they were happy to continue selling Israeli dates. How worrying that we give business to such nonchalant people with no sense of responsibility and a terrible streak of racism ingrained in them.

A Muslim sister writes in desperately seeking help:

“In a nutshell Sabar Brothers in Slough are selling Israeli dates - last time I got screamed at when I complained. When MPACUK helped with an Action Alert the shop-owners were abusive to others who called in and then went to the Jewish Chronicle to defend themselves.

This year they are selling big boxes of Israeli Carmel dates for £9.99 each also Jordan River dates (which they have purposely labeled Jordan River dates on a piece of cardboard to mislead people to think they come from Jordan) - even though I looked closely and I saw a little sticker that said 'product of Israel' in French on the box.

So, just like in 1947, Muslims are boycotting other Muslims when they just want to make a living, and they end up hurting their "brethren" while Israel hardly notices. Way to go!