Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Egyptians freak over idea of studying Hebrew

In the interests of normalization, Israel's ambassador to Egypt suggested that Egyptians study Hebrew in their schools.

The reaction is both hilarious and telling:

The Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Shalom Cohen, called for the Hebrew language be taught in Egyptian schools on Tuesday evening . The suggestion has provoked an angry response from Egyptian political parties who claimed that the demand came as part of the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978.

Jamal Zahran, an independent Egyptian lawmaker, told the Al-Khalij daily newspaper based in the United Arab Emirates that the Israeli ambassador’s comment reflected Israeli efforts to encourage the Egyptian young people to learn the Hebrew language and travel to Israel to ‘assimilate in its society.’

He criticized the Egyptian government for remaining silent in the wake of Cohen’s comments. Zahran urged Egypt to announce its rejection of the demand and to warn Israel against what he called intervention in internal Egyptian affairs.

"The Hebrew language does not possess any heritage or civilization, and it is spoken by very few people, and so Egypt can't adopt it in its schools as a foreign language," the deputy president of the Nasserite party, Husam Issa said. He described the Israeli ambassador's demand as "stupidity and triviality" and reminded the ambassador that most of the Egyptian people antagonize the Israeli government for its brutality against the Arabs in general and the Palestinian people in particular.

The fact that Egyptians are worried that hundreds of millions of Arabs could "assimilate" into Israeli society betrays a deep insecurity in their own culture. The fact that an Egyptian politician can even utter a sentence such as "the Hebrew language does not possess any heritage or civilization" also shows how hate can trump common sense.

Interestingly, there is increasing interest in Hebrew language instruction in Egyptian universities, as YNet noted recently:

An unexpected new trend among Egyptian university students... Hebrew language studies. Foreign Ministry data indicate that over 1,400 Egyptian students are currently enrolled in full-time Hebrew studies programs.

More than 10 Egyptian Universities currently offer Hebrew courses, usually as part of Oriental Language faculties that also teach Turkish and Persian.

Two major Egyptian universities, Ain Shams University and al-Azhar University, even boast a separate Hebrew language faculty. This is a major accomplishment, especially in universities that are considered bastions of strong anti-Israel sentiments.

One Hebrew lecturer, an Egyptian that has never visited Israel, recently told an Israeli diplomat that he teaches his students Hebrew through “Ha'Gashash Ha'chiver” comedy skits and Israeli music.

The lecturer even asked the Israeli diplomat for new movies to show his students, stressing that they must show absolutely no sex or nudity, or he could be charged with corrupting his students with Israeli pornography.

State officials explained that this burgeoning interest in the Hebrew language stems mostly from Egyptian curiosity, but also of a keen desire to “know the enemy”. Many students are sent to Hebrew studies programs by Egyptian intelligence, who frown upon students who study Hebrew of their own initiative.

Students who attend the Israeli academic Center or frequent the Israeli embassy in Cairo are likewise harassed by security personnel, who incessantly question them and often warn them not to return. Those few students brave enough to attend Hebrew lecturers are deemed highly courageous.

My letter to the Arab News

I know it is a waste of time, but sometimes I can't resist...

An article in the Arab News said:

The situation in Gaza represents misery, not only for the Palestinians but also for all civilized people of the world.
The West is preoccupied with human rights issues in the Middle East and the collapse of the American economy when children of Gaza are dying because of the blockade. Hunger, cold, darkness, pain and blood covering women and children and many other traumas are part of the bigger picture.
...The situation in Gaza represents a slap in the face of the civilized world. Children are living outdoors, women are dying from bullets and old people are freezing to death.

I wrote:

I have been following the events in Gaza pretty closely, and I do not recall any children dying (besides a very few who were already extremely ill), I do not recall anyone starving to death nor do I recall anyone freezing to death. Do you by any chance have names and the circumstances?

And if not, why does the Arab News keep publishing absurd lies like these? Self-perpetuating myths that incite hundreds of millions of Arabs is not quite the best way to get to a peaceful solution.

MSM: Only one side mourns

Here is one of the few pictures on the wire services about the funeral of 73-year old Lyubov Razdolskaya, victim of yesterday's terror attack:

Israelis stand near the grave of Lyubov Razdolskaya, 73, killed in a suicide attack in Dimona Monday, after her funeral in the southern Israeli town of Beer Sheva, Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008.

Meanwhile, I see dozens of pictures of Palestinian Arabs mourning - not mourning innocent victims of attacks, but mourning terrorists killed by Israel:

The Israeli mourners are seen from a distance, dispassionately, disinterestedly.

The Palestinian Arab mourners, on the other hand, are shown close up, as individuals who have gone through a tragedy.

And there are dozens of photos of Arab mourners, but only a handful of pictures from the Dimona funeral.

To the wire services, only one side is deserving of sympathy - the side that mourns and supports terrorists.

UPDATE: A couple of commenters here and at Israellycool pointed out that the relatives of the victim requested no media coverage, so this is perhaps a bit unfair - in this case.

The Amorites - the first suicide attackers?

In a paper about suicide terror written by the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group comes this curious comment:

The earliest reference of a SA outside the context of warfare has been suggested to be the Biblical story of the Amorites attacking the Jews: “The Amorite who dwell on that mountain went out against you and pursued you as the bees would do; they struck you in Seir until Hormah.” The 11th century French rabbi Rashi suggested this to mean that the Amorites attacked like bees do, i.e. stinging and then dying.

Apparently this came from a Wikipedia entry that has since been discarded.

The verse is in Deuteronomy 1:44:
וַיֵּצֵא הָאֱמֹרִי הַיֹּשֵׁב בָּהָר הַהוּא, לִקְרַאתְכֶם, וַיִּרְדְּפוּ אֶתְכֶם, כַּאֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂינָה הַדְּבֹרִים; וַיַּכְּתוּ אֶתְכֶם בְּשֵׂעִיר, עַד-חָרְמָה.

The Rashi (translated) is
Just as this bee when it stings a person, it [the bee] dies immediately;172 so too when they [the Emorites] touched you, they died immediately.

This seems a bit of a stretch to say that the Amorites purposefully killed themselves to hurt Jews, but it is still noteworthy.

Kid murdered in Gaza. Not even the PalArab press mentioned it.

From PCHR:

On Saturday 2 February, at approximately 19:00, the body of Ahmad Eyad Bilal (15) was brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. According to preliminary PCHR investigations, Ahmed Bilal, from Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza city, was killed by a bullet to the chest fired from an unknown source. The victim’s family informed PCHR that Ahmed was walking with his father in Nafaq St, northeast Gaza city, when a stray bullet hit him in the chest.

Gaza murders are barely reported anymore, and I didn't see this one in any of the Palestinian Arab daily publications I monitor (Palestine Press Agency, Ma'an Arabic, Ma'an English, Palestine Today, IMEMC.) I suspect that I am severely undercounting the number of murders in Gaza since the Hamas takeover. (And many are missed by PCHR as well.)

Nevertheless, the official 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 15.

Saudi Vice, episode 7: Depravity at Starbucks

Yara, a mother of three and a financial consultant from Jeddah, visited the new headquarters of her company in Riyadh. The electricity was temporarily out so she decided to go with a colleague to a Starbucks on the ground floor of the building to wait. They sat in the "family section" of the coffee shop.

But her colleague was - gasp! - a man.

Immediately, our heroes from the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice sprang into action and arrested Yara and her male colleague for being in a state of "khulwa", meaning in seclusion with an unrelated member of the opposite sex. Starbucks in Saudi Arabia are secluded enough for violating the law, but not secluded enough for our heroes to be able to see what everyone is doing.

The Vice Commission wasted no time. They forced Yara into a cab, took away her cell phone when she tried to call her husband, and then placed her in a Chevrolet Suburban, the Commission's favored means of transporting immoral criminals.

The whore Yara explains what happened next:

“I told (the commission member) that I am a good Muslim, a mother of three, and a God-fearing person who would never do shameful things,” she told Arab News in tears.
Last year, the Interior Ministry issued a ruling that the commission cannot detain people and must pass them on to the police.
Yara said that she was handed a confession.
“He told me I needed to fingerprint this paper stating that I got my mobile phone and bag back,” she said. “When I told him my phone was still confiscated, he threatened me: ‘Just do it!’”
She said that she fingerprinted the paper under duress.
“I had no other choice ... I was scared for my life ... I was afraid that they would abuse me or do something to me,” she said, as she broke down in tears again.
Then another person got into the GMC and switched on the engine.

As the Commission knows well, it is far better for a woman to be alone in a car with two male commission members than in a Starbucks with any other man.

“The next thing I saw from the window was that we were approaching a place with a sign written on the outside: Malaz Prison,” she said.
Inside the prison, Yara recounts being taken to a cell with a one-way mirror. On the other side was a sheikh.
“I could not see him because there was a dark window,” she said, adding that each time she paused he would reprimand her, telling her what she did was wrong. “He kept on telling me this is not allowed.”
Yara told the sheikh that her husband knew where she was and what she was doing. He then started writing a report. Another pre-written confession was fingerprinted, she said. She pleaded with prison authorities to contact her husband.
“They would not let me contact my husband,” she said. “I told them... please... my husband will have a heart attack if he does not know what has happened to me.”
She was not given a phone to call her husband. She was not given access to a lawyer. “They stripped me,” she said. “They checked that I had nothing with me and threw me in the cell with all the others.”

The disgusting, immoral man is still in detention.

The brave men of the Commission managed to keep the streets of Riyadh free from vice for another day.

And we can all breathe easier that the "family section" of Starbucks in Riyadh is a safe place where the virtue and honor of women are respected.

Earlier episodes:

Episode 6: Protecting Saudi Women
Episode 5: What's ummah, Doc?
Episode 4: The car washer
Episode 3: Holy Shi'ite
Episode 2: Alone with a strange, sick woman
Episode 1: Introduction, plus A Gang of Magicians

Electronic Fatwa and Virtual Mohammed

Asharq al-Awsat has an article about a new artificial intelligence program meant to issue fatwas and simulate Islamic figures to answer questions as they would have:

A controversial new electronic device could revolutionize the field of Islamic jurisprudence and allegedly issue more accurate Shariah fatwas [religious edicts]. The device, currently in production in France, will be known as the 'Electronic Mufti' and will depend on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to issue opinions on contemporary Muslim affairs and matters.
Asharq Al-Awsat met with the only Arab participating in the production of this machine, Engineer Dr. Anas Fawzi, who hails from Egypt and is a communications expert who is part of the team based in France.
He describes the device as "a very large capacity computer on which all the information that is relevant to a given [historical] figure is uploaded; everything that has been mentioned in history books or chronicled documents that indicate his/her responses and attitudes towards all positions adopted in his/her life. Through a process that relies on AI, the computer then simulates responses based on the available data so that the answers are the expected response that the person in question would give if they were alive," said Dr. Fawzi.
"The device deduces the expected response through consulting thousands of examples that have been uploaded on to the machine, pertaining to that person whilst taking into account their reactions so that it may relate the expected response in accordance with their personality as created by the Artificial Intelligence apparatus," explained Dr. Fawzi.
Dr. Fawzi said, "Although a team has assembled and uploaded all the information that is available about the Prophet Mohammed in [canonical] Islamic history books, the holy Quran and what is known about his life through Sunnah," he acknowledges that it would be highly controversial – if not downright contentious – to implement this.
Notwithstanding, he revealed, "I have consulted with several Islamic scholars and clerics in elevated positions – there is no need to mention their names so as to avoid stirring up public opinion – however, they have assured me that such a device is not 'haram' [prohibited by Islam]. But there are fears and scepticism regarding misuse and causing any misrepresentation or defamation to the figure of the Prophet. There are also fears in terms of Arab and Islamic public opinion and their acceptance of a machine such as this."
Regarding the views of various Islamic scholars and clerics about this device, the Egyptian Awqaf [Religious Endowments] Ministry's First Undersecretary for Preaching Affairs, Dr. Shawqi Abdel Latif said with regards to the concept of 'simulating' the figure of the Prophet of Islam to serve the Islamic religion in accordance with special conditions: "the idea is a noble one if indeed it calls for Muslim unity in matters of religion in light of the satellite [channel] wars that the Muslim endure, in addition to the incapability of the relevant bodies of formulating and setting forth ideas in the interest of Muslims. However, I strongly stress that there is no machine or human mind capable of simulating the figure of the Prophet regardless of their knowledge or immensely advanced technological capabilities."
He also added that, "God Almighty blessed the Prophet and chose him and you cannot transcend over the rest of the creatures to be like him; the true differentiating factor here is Revelation. The incorrect interpretation of the Quranic verse 'Say: I am only a mortal like you' (Surat al Kahf 18:110) does not in any way mean that there is any similitude between us and the Prophet or between him and any famous figure that the machine can simulate."

I wonder if the AI Mohammed is better than this one?

UNRWA head whines

Karen Koning AbuZayd, head of UNRWA, writes a whiny article in Arab News about how unfair Israel is to want to defend itself:

Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, with the knowledge, acquiescence and — some would say — encouragement of the international community. An international community that professes to uphold the inherent dignity of every human being must not allow this to happen....

As the head of a humanitarian and human development agency for Palestinian refugees, I am deeply concerned by the stark inhumanity of Gaza’s closure. I am disturbed by the seeming indifference of much of the world as hundreds and thousands of Palestinians are harshly penalized for acts in which they have no part.

You see, PalArabs cannot be held responsible for electing terrorists. They can have no repercussions for overwhelmingly supporting terror attacks. They are victims - no matter what they do.

In today’s Gaza how can we foster a spirit of moderation and compromise among Palestinians, or cultivate a belief in the peaceful resolution of disputes?

And when exactly has UNRWA done any of that? Their coddling of "refugees" and adamant refusal to solve the problem, along with a long history of tolerating terrorists in their own camps (remember Lebanon last year?) has the exact opposite effect. Moreover, when the UNRWA was supposedly "fostering the spirit of moderation" was when Israel was subject to daily suicide bombings. And the de facto loosening of Gaza's border last week directly resulted in scores of terrorists moving from Gaza to the Sinai as well as many more moving into Gaza from training camps in Syria and elsewhere. Are these examples of "cultivating a belief in peaceful resolution of disputes"?

There has never been a more urgent need for the international community to act to restore normality in Gaza. Hungry, unhealthy, angry communities do not make good partners for peace.

Better than sated, healthy, and even angrier communities, something that UNRWA never tried to stop.

Abu-Zayd, despite her mentioning that UNRWA also condemns the rockets in Sderot, has shown none of concern for human life that she professes in this article. Idiotic liberal platitudes like the idea that "fostering an atmosphere of peace" will stop Israeli civilians from being blown up is just so much rubbish, and it is clear that her concern for humanity ends at the border with Israel.

While there are a number of wire service photos of disgusting Palestinian Arabs celebrating the death of an Israeli woman in a shopping mall with flowers and candy, that information has not been deemed newsworthy by almost all news organizations. The only exceptions at this time are Canada.com and Swissinfo.

Hamas/Egyptian clashes, one PalArab dead

YNet has a news flash:

Gunfire erupted at the Gaza-Egypt border on Monday, following stone-throwing clashes between Egyptian border guards and Palestinians, witnesses said.
Five people were wounded by gunfire, said a Gaza health official, Dr. Moawiya Hassanain. The tensions began when the Egyptian guards sealed the border hermetically Monday,not even allowing Egyptians and Gazans who had found themselves on the wrong side of the border to return home. (AP)

PalPress Arabic says that one 42-year old Gazan was killed and that there was a number of injuries on both sides.

I wonder if any "human rights" organizations will start keeping track of Egyptian/Palestinian Arab casualties? Egypt has good practice shooting at civilians; they routinely kill Africans trying to reach Israel.

UPDATE: JPost adds:

Egyptian forces fired live bullets at the crowd, wounding several, witnesses said. Bullets landed close to an AP staffer on the Gaza side of the border. Later, Palestinian gunmen fired back.

Hamas policemen in the area encouraged people in the area to throw rocks at the Egyptians. Youths began pelting an Egyptian command post in the area, and forces there first threw stones back, and then fired tear gas. Medics said 26 people were treated for tear gas inhalation.
Egyptian security officials in nearby El-Arish said Egyptian officers fired in the air, and there were several wounded. In Cairo, an official said there was a heavy exchange of fire. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details to the media.

Our friends the PalArabs strike again

You can find the latest about this morning's terror attack in Dimona from Israellycool and Israel Matzav.

Our Fatah peace partners have taken "credit" along with the PFLP and some other group.

Once a terrorist...

Hamas made a deal with Egypt to close the Rafah border, and now Hamas is relishing its role as a respected international player.

But it is a bit harder to remove that terrorist mindset....Check out these bland captions for the somewhat more violent pictures:

Palestinian armed members of the Hamas forces arrest an Egyptian man who tried to cross the now-sealed breached part of the border wall between Egypt and Gaza, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008.
(This was from AP, but Reuters used essentially the same caption for essentially the same picture.)

A member of the Hamas security forces, right, threatens to hit a Palestinian man with his gun butt as he tries to keep him away from the border between Gaza and Egypt, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2008.

Try to imagine the airplay that similar pictures with Israeli soldiers would get.

Joseph's Tomb shows that there are no negotiations, only capitulations

Today Ehud Olmert - reacting to pressure from Knesset - plans to politely ask that the PA repair Joseph's Tomb, destroyed by them in 2000.

IRIS blog reminds us:

Arguably the most humiliating incident in the Palestinian/Israeli peace accords has been Joseph's Tomb and the yeshiva that was housed on the site. The Oslo Accords placed the site under Israeli control, but Ehud Barak unilaterally withdrew after securing a Palestinian agreement to defend the site and insure freedom of access and Jewish worship. Instead, as the IDF was withdrawing from the site, Palestinian forces opened fire and one Israeli border policemen bled to death as IDF commanders fruitlessly negotiated with Palestinian security for an extended period to permit Israel to return to gather its wounded.

Later a Palestinian mob engaged in an orgy of destruction of the site, accompanied by Palestinian security forces. Multiple desecrations of the site ensued, and finally the Palestinian Authority turned the site into a mosque, as is traditional in the Muslim World regarding captured holy sites.

Minister Natan Sharansky was aptly quoted at the time, fruitlessly attempting to lobby Israel's Foreign Ministry to simply publish the photos of the atrocity:
If we would have razed the gravesite of one of the founders of Islam, billions of Muslims would have taken to the streets. It's inconceivable that the world should not know about this travesty.

And how will the PA react?

So far, the only Palestinian Arab reaction is from the mayor of Nablus, but it foreshadows what we can expect from the PA: (autotranslated from Ma'an)

[Mayor] Mhasin [said] that the decision is aimed at straining the security situation between the two sides, stressing that it would affect the application of a security plan by the Palestinian security services in Nablus, as it does to the ongoing process of negotiations between the two sides.

What could be a rare goodwill gesture on the part of the PA is going to turn into another snub, as they will ensure that they do not give in on even a tiny symbolic move like this. And what should be an uncompromising demand on the part of Israel is reduced to Olmert (reluctantly) begging the PA to act like human beings, and no doubt his easy acquiescence to the adamant refusal that is forthcoming.

Jewish leaders today called for calm in anticipation of the release of the new All Mighty laundry detergent.

Extremist Jewish groups threatened Unilever, makers of the detergent.

Rabbi Youssef Goldstein, leader of the "Defending G-d Brigades," called for the death of all Unilever employees as well as those of any supermarkets, stores and advertising agencies associated with the "blasphemous" product. "It is obvious that these sons of pigs intend to trivialize our sacred beliefs with this scandalous piece of filth," he said in an exclusive statement to EoZ News.

"Naming a detergent after the A-lm-ght-, a product that is used to clean diapers and other disgusting unclean items, is beyond the pale. It shows just how trivial our belief system is being held by the so-called enlightened world."

Other Jewish leaders called for calm in the face of expected protests.

"While this is clearly a provocation, I urge all Jews to remain calm and protest peacefully," said the head of the Orthodox Society of Traditional Jews. "There is no need for deadly riots and calls for murder at this time. It all depends on how Unilever reacts to our pain and suffering."

The more liberal Union of Reform Jews and Others was more conciliatory.

"The URJO calls on Unilever to work to reduce the obvious provocations against our heartfelt belief system. On the other hand, we don't think that death threats are productive."

Officials from Unilever expressed surprise.

"The official name is 'All Small and Mighty,' and it didn't enter our minds that this could be offensive," said company spkesperson John Generic.

Goldstein wasn't impressed.

"Just look at the bottle!" he said. "From now on, we demand that Jewish representatives be consulted before any product launch by any company in America or worldwide, to protect our Al-M-gh- G-d from possible hurt feelings."

Peaceful PalArab weekend

There was a probable Clan Clash drive-by shooting, killing one and injuring 4, in Nablus.

Two children were injured in an "ambiguous explosion" in Rafah.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is up to 14.