Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Where is the "Palestinian Aliyah" movement?

As Israel's 60th anniversary passes, and the news media goes out of its way to contrast the past sixty years from the Israeli and Palestinian Arab perspectives, one question not being asked is: where is the ideological core of Palestinian Arab nationhood?

From following articles by Palestinian Arabs in the West decrying Israeli "crimes" and pretending to yearn for their land, one is struck by a simple fact: most if not all of them live, quite comfortably, outside "Palestine." From universities in the US and the UK they rail about "justice" and the suffering of their people - but none of them seem to want to actually move to "Palestine."

It's not like it is so hard. Even if Israel limits immigration, there is no shortage of ways to get in from Jordan. Tens of thousands of opportunistic Jordanians did exactly that during the early Oslo years as it appeared that the economy in the West Bank was poised to leapfrog Jordan's.

It is instructive to compare the early ideological Zionists, many of whom of whom risked their lives for a very uncertain future in Palestine (even before Herzl), and today's "settlers" who do the same, with today's ideological Palestinian Arab nationalists who are quite happy to pontificate from afar.

The lives of the early Zionists were no more secure in Palestine than in the West. It was far from clear that they would be able to build a homeland successfully. Yet they sacrificed themselves for an idea that they believed strongly in.

Similarly, there are hundreds of thousands of Jews - today's pioneers - who choose to live across the Green Line. They build schools, clinics, farms, against the wishes of not only the Arab world but most of the West and sometimes even their own government. Yet they choose to stay, and more choose to move there. Even if you disagree with them you must admit that they have a strong ideological core that makes them want to move there.

But where are the Palestinian Arabs who grew up in the West? They stay in the West. The ideology of "return" is great to talk about, but not so important to live.

Palestinian Arabs have hijacked the terminology of the Jews ("Diaspora," for example) but they have always suffered from a black hole at the center of their ideology: their most passionate nationalists were either terrorists or lived outside Palestine altogether, with no desire to build the land.

Of course they applaud and encourage the miserable Palestinian Arabs who live in the Middle East to have lots of children so the next generation will be even more miserable. They are in the forefront of screaming "Zionism=Nazi" in left-wing rags. But they simply do not put their money where their mouths are.

Because they really don't care nearly as much about a Palestinian Arab state as they do about the destruction of a Jewish state.

Fatwa: Palestinian Arabs may not compromise with Israel

A religious council called the "Palestinian Scholars Association" has given a legal ruling that it is forbidden to ask real Palestinian Arabs to vote for compromise with Israel. From PalToday (Arabic):

Palestine Scholars Association said "it may not in any way resort to a referendum if it is a virtue, about the fixed legitimate right of God or public rights of the nation."

A copy of the fatwas received today states that "one cannot accept the judgment as is the case in Palestine in the right of return and self determination, or waive a portion of the land of Palestine or of the sacred Islamic shrines, or coordination with the enemy to strike the resistance."

It went on to say "that the presentation of these rights and fold the referendum, represents a betrayal of God and His Prophet and the believers and the homeland."

We've seen this sort of thing before. Palestinian Arab religious and political leaders know that their people are not nearly as interested in destroying Israel as in just gaining normal lives for their families, and that their nationalism is very weak, so they impose artificial limitations on the people's rights in order to shore up their true goals.

This is why Abbas is so much against Lebanese citizenship for hundreds of thousands of his people stuck in camps there. This is why Hamas is against any compromise that allows Israel to exist. They know that a large number of Palestinian Arabs would be happy to move elsewhere if given the chance, and they desperately want to make sure that they aren't given that chance.

Hamas man explodes in the "playground of death"

Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades English site says:

As Al Aqsa Intifada against the occupation assault on the Gaza Strip continues, Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades has its best men to be in the playground of death to defend their people from any attack by the enemy.. Today , Al-Qassam Brigades mourns the death of the Mujahid :

Osama Salah Al-Astal - 28-year-old - Khanyounis, south of Gaza Strip

The Mujahid was martyred in a resistance mission east of Al Qarara area to the east of Khanyounis city . Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades mourns the death of the Mujahid, reaffirms the commitment and determination to continue the resistance against the belligerent occupation forces.

In normal English, the Jerusalem Post explains what happened:

A Hamas operative was killed on Sunday in an explosion along Gaza's fence with Israel, the group said.

The Islamic group's military wing says the member was killed, and another injured, during a "holy mission." Such language is used when explosives meant for an attack on Israel explode prematurely.

Israel's army said it was not operating in the area at the time of the explosion early Sunday.

Yet even though Hamas itself never says that the IDF killed him, Ma'an shamelessly reports otherwise:

Eyewitnesses told Ma'an's reporter that Al-Astal was on lookout duty east of the town of Al-Qarara, when he noticed Israeli special forces entering the area. He immediately hurled a grenade towards the Israelis, who fired back, killing him and wounding three other fighters.

Showing yet again the trustworthiness of both Ma'an and Palestinian Arab "eyewitnesses."

Palestine Today (Arabic) is a bit more honest:

When suspected Israeli special forces sneak into the region then to the explosion was a bomb in his possession which led to his martyrdom and wounding three others resistors.

Our 2008 PalArab self-death count rises to 69. (There have been a couple of ambiguous West Bank deaths recently as well - a dead woman found outside a mosque, and a man who died while in Palestinian Arab custody, but not enough evidence of foul play in either case.)

2 Jordanian "honor killings" in a week

From the Jordan Times:

Criminal Prosecutor Amjad Kurdi on Saturday charged a 23-year-old man with the premeditated murder of his younger married sister for reasons related to family honour, official sources said.
Kurdi also charged the victim’s father, mother and sibling of complicity in premeditated murder in connection with the drowning of the 22-year-old at dawn on Saturday.

The victim, who was not identified by officials, was reportedly badly beaten by the suspects at her family’s home, then driven by her 22-year-old brother from Amman to the Dead Sea where he allegedly drowned her, according to the source.

The 23-year-old suspect, an electrician who got engaged a week before the murder, then placed his sister’s body in the trunk of the car, drove back to Amman, headed to the Jabal Hussein Police Station and informed officers on duty that he murdered his sister to “cleanse his family’s honour”, the source added.

The victim, who was married almost two weeks before the incident, was returned to her family home on Friday by her husband, who questioned “her fidelity”.

The victim’s family interrogated her and she allegedly told them that “she knew a man but was not involved in an affair with him” so they beat her until she almost fainted, the source told The Jordan Times.

The 23-year-old brother then told his sister he wanted to take her for a ride to calm things down, the source added.

“He drove her to the Dead Sea, and when the call for dawn prayers began, he asked her to recite verses of the Holy Koran, then dunked her head in the water until he made sure she was dead,” the source said.

The victim tried to resist and informed her brother that she did nothing wrong, but “he did not listen and killed her,” the source added.

A postmortem conducted on the victim indicated that she died of drowning and was tortured before she was murdered.

“Pathologists detected multiple bruises on different parts of her body caused by a wooden stick… the woman was beaten on the head, shoulders, legs and stomach,” the source said, adding that blood and tissue samples were sent to the criminal lab for further analysis.

The victim became the sixth woman to be killed in a so-called honour murder in Jordan since the beginning of the year. She is also the second to be killed during the past week.

Last Wednesday, a 22-year-old man reportedly shot his pregnant married sister three times in the head for reasons related to family honour.

Jordan had 17 known honor killings in 2007.

Gazans for Obama

This was on Al-Jazeera a month ago, showing Gazan volunteers making phone calls to the US to campaign for Barack Obama.

UN engages in collective punishment in Myanmar

By the definition of the international community, the UN has engaged in collective punishment against a poor and starving people who are suffering from a humanitarian crisis:

The World Food Program said Friday it stopped shipping aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar after the government impounded the program's first delivery.

The U.N. unit said the military junta seized tons of aid sent to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, which killed tens of thousands, and left millions homeless, the BBC reported.

"It is sitting in a warehouse. It is not in trucks heading to Irrawaddy Delta where it is critically needed," WFP spokesman Paul Risley said.

The aid included high-energy biscuits that could feed 95,000 people, WFP said.

"It should be on trucks headed to the victims," said WFP regional director Tony Banbury told The Daily Telegraph. "That food is now sitting on a tarmac doing no good."

While aid has resumed since this morning, it would be nice to know the UN's justification for doing something to limit aid to Myanmar - when the UN isn't even being attacked daily by that nation?

Nah, it isn't hypocritical. Insisting for Israel to do something that even the UN is queasy about must be justifiable, because of occupation, or settlements, or something.

(h/t David)

Saudis give UK universities $30m for Islamic studies

The proselytizing of Islam in Western universities continues:

Two of the country's best known universities are to set up research centres aimed at promoting a better understanding of Islam.
Cambridge and Edinburgh universities will share a £16m endowment from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Abdulaziz al-Saud, a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family and chairman of the Kingdom Foundation – a charitable and philanthropic foundation set up to alleviate suffering around the world.
Both universities, members of the 20-strong Russell Group, which represents the leading research institutions, will set up study centres with the aim of fostering better understanding between the Muslim world and the West.
In Cambridge, the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies will seek to develop a "constructive and critical awareness of the role of Islam in wider society". There will be research programmes on Islam in the UK and Europe and the portrayal of Islam in the media. Public lectures, conferences and summer schools will be organised to promote better understanding, with policy makers from both worlds invited to become visiting fellows at the centre.

Any chance that these research programs will be the slightest bit objective?

The Kingdom Foundation is specifically set up as a conduit for Islamic propaganda with a few dollars spent on Islamic-only charities, not to "alleviate suffering around the world." A short glance at where they spend their money shows that the foundation will give a couple of hundred thousand dollars to various Arab and Islamic causes, a pittance compared to the $30 million being spent on propaganda here and the $40 million spent at Harvard and Georgetown.

And as we've seen before, whenever Muslims claim to be interested in "fostering better understanding" or "dialogue" between Muslims and the West, they always mean propaganda, with no interest at all in Muslims understanding the West.

More of the same: News from Gaza

Islamic Jihad again shot four mortars at the Nahal Oz fuel depot.

A Qassam rocket was fired at Israel.

Hamas abducted another Fatah member in Gaza.

Pretty much the usual.

Defining yourself

Yom Ha'atzmaut celebrations, combined with the Palestinian Arab "Nakba" commemorations, are a good opportunity to notice a fundamental difference between Zionists and Palestinian Arab nationalists.

Zionists define themselves completely independently of any other players. Zionism is the national revival movement for the Jewish people in the land of their forefathers. Nothing to do with Europeans or Arabs or anything else - it is a completely positive, self-sustaining definition. One may argue that Zionists treated Arabs unfairly but the Arabs were not an inherent factor in the definition of Zionism; Zionism as a term is independent of other factors. Arabs who tried to destroy that dream weren't considered a threat to Zionism - they were considered irrelevant to the concept. If they accepted Israel, fine, if not, too bad for them.

Palestinian Arab nationalism, on the other hand, defines itself purely in relationship to others, and the definition is negative. And this 60th anniversary of Israel shows these differences in sharp relief.

Today, Yom Ha'atzmanut is being celebrated, but it is not the anniversary. The anniversary is on the fifth of the Hebrew month of Iyar, which is on Saturday. Since that is the Jewish Sabbath, the date was moved up to today to enable everyone to celebrate properly.

Nakba events were originally slated to occur on May 15th, "Nakba Day," but the very idea that Israel was celebrating today irritates Palestinian Arabs so much that they needed to declare today a day of mourning:

A national day of mourning will be held across the Palestinian territories on Thursday to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.

Palestinian and black flags will be raised on roof tops of buildings, a partial public strike will be conducted between 12-1 am on Thursday in addition to demonstrations in cities across the West Bank.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the National Committee for Commemorating the Nakba called for all Palestinians to participate in the action in protest at " the celebrations by the state of occupation [Israel] at its establishment on the remains of Palestinian cities and villages by expressing the clinging of the Palestinians of their 'Right of Return' which is a legitimate right."

Today isn't the Hebrew or Gregorian or Muslim calendar anniversary, but since Israel celebrates today, Palestinian Arabs need to start their commemorations today as well. Their history and self-view is fully defined by what Israel does, not by what their supposed goals are.

If the Nakba is meant to mark the anniversary of the Palestinian Arab flight from their homes, it could occur on any day of the year, as there were no particular major population shifts on May 15th. They could choose the date of the surrender of Haifa or the date that Israel signed a cease fire with Jordan - ensuring that they would not be able to build a state. Yet they choose to mark it specifically when Israel does, and when Israel moves the date - so do they.

Similarly, look at this Nakba poster:

The shape of "Palestine" (portrayed as a keyhole) betrays the fact that Palestinian Arab nationalism is wholly dependent on external factors. Historic Palestine looks nothing like this picture; and while it would be hard to draw as the borders were never set in stone, everyone would agree that the Negev is not a part of it and that significant parts of what are now Jordan would be included in it. The fact that Palestinian Arabs have abandoned any pretense of trying to reconstitute "historic" Palestine and are only interested in the areas that Israel happens to control, with national borders created by the British and French, shows that Palestinian Arab nationalism is not at all about building a state, but about destroying one.

Of course, their history of accepting Jordanian sovereignty and citizenship in 1949 also shows that an independent nation was not their goal of the so-called "nationalists."

It has been nearly 15 years since Oslo. During most of that time, much of the West Bank has been under Arab autonomy. The PA has access to the same tools that embryonic Israel had access to in 1948. Before the intifada, there was a viable economy there; before 2003 there were no checkpoints.

Now look at how much progress they made with the autonomy they have, and compare it with what Israel accomplished in the 10-15 years after gaining its own autonomy. (We are not even beginning to talk about Gaza, the poster child for Palestinian Arab anti-nationalism.)

A real, independent national movement would take any opportunity and autonomy they could to build their institutions - their schools, hospitals, infrastructure; to build trade with other states, to gain jobs and security for their people. A sham national movement whose real purpose is destructive would do none of those things.

It is obvious which one fits the recent history of Palestinian Arab nationalism.

Egyptian security can't protect Israeli ambassador

Another EoZ exclusive...

Firas Press reports that the car of Israel's ambassador to Egypt was stolen last night in front of his house. He was home for only a short time to change his clothes for a dinner party.

This was despite the Egyptian security that surrounds the ambassador, Shalom Cohen.

His chauffeur had the keys to the car, a black 2008 Mercedes.

Of course, if someone could steal the ambassador's car under the noses of Egyptian security, someone could also plant a bomb on it.

Egyptian authorities are investigating the incident.

Ahmadinejad sure knows how to turn a phrase

More bile from Iran's madman:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the State of Israel is a "stinking corpse" that is destined to disappear.
"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as having said.
"Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."
Ahmadinejad further stated that Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese" - referring to the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

Meanwhile, it is hard to find news stories about people risking their lives to move to Iran. I'm also not seeing much about Iranian startups in Nasdaq, Iranian innovations in medicine or a strong Iranian economy. Last I checked, they were having problems even refining their own oil.

Somehow, I think that the days of the current Iranian regime are far fewer than Israel's. But if Iran can figure out a way to export insults, then the situation might change.

Invest in Israel (literally)

From Reuters:

Israel at age 60 is a technology powerhouse, attracting billions of dollars in investment in innovative companies ranging from medical devices to wireless broadband communication.

But it is also home to exporters of more traditional products, such as pharmaceuticals and chemicals, some of which have benefited from just about the only natural resource Israel possesses -- the desert.

Here are some companies to watch:

-- Teva Pharmaceutical Industries , Israel's biggest company with a $39 billion market value, makes lower-cost generic drugs. It has said it expects to double its revenue to $20 billion by 2012. Its drug Copaxone is the U.S. leader for treating multiple sclerosis.

-- Israel Chemicals is the second-largest company traded in Tel Aviv with a market value of $24 billion. Its share price has more than doubled in the past year on soaring demand for its potash and phosphate fertilisers, extracted from the Dead Sea and Israel's southern desert.

-- MA Industries is the world's biggest maker of generic crop protection products. Like ICL, it is benefiting from the global rise in food prices that has sent farmers scrambling to increase their output. Its controlling shareholder, Koor Industries, recently said it is in talks to sell up to half of its nearly 40 percent stake.

-- Altair Semiconductor develops microprocessors and accompanying software for the wireless broadband market, including the technology known as mobile WiMax, which is expected to take off in 2009.

-- Discretix develops embedded security technology for mobile phones and portable devices and is now entering a new market -- mobile television. It recently announced a joint mobile TV security product with France Telecom subsidiary Viaccess. Discretix, whose customers include leading semiconductor companies and device manufacturers, plans to go public on Nasdaq in the second half of 2009.

By the way, this is one of the extraordinarily rare articles by Reuters about Israel that does not mention "Palestinians."

Amhadinejad claims messianic Mahdi is leading Iran

From WaPo:

Several leading Iranian clerics criticized President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday for saying that the last imam of Shiite Islam, a messianic figure who Shiites believe was hidden by God 1,140 years ago, leads modern-day Iran.

"We see his hand directing all the affairs of the country," Ahmadinejad told theological students in the city of Mashad during a speech that appears to have been given last month but was not broadcast until Tuesday. "A movement has started for us to occupy ourselves with our global responsibilities. God willing, Iran will be the axis of the leadership of this movement," Ahmadinejad said.

Several clerics in the Iranian parliament accused Ahmadinejad of implying that Imam Mahdi or Imam Zaman (Imam of the Age), as the Shiite messiah is also called, supports his government. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran's government has been overseen by Shiite clerics, but religious leaders here have resisted Ahmadinejad's frequent hints that his government's actions are guided by the Mahdi.

Clerics said in interviews published Wednesday that the president should not use the imam to his political advantage or to silence critics of the government.

"If, God forbid, Ahmadinejad means that Imam Zaman supports the government's actions, this is wrong. Certainly Imam Zaman would not accept 20 percent inflation rates, nor would he support it or many other mistakes that exist in the country today," wrote Gholam-reza Mesbahi Moghadam, a cleric belonging to a powerful faction close to Iranian businessmen and established religious figures. His comments appeared in Ettemaad-e Melli, a Tehran newspaper owned by a cleric who is critical of Ahmadinejad.

Official inflation is more than 20 percent in Iran, according to economists, because of poor government planning and uncontrolled spending of billions of dollars in oil money. The administration says it needs more time to reduce inflation.

The clerics also feared that the president's remarks in Mashad could make it harder to criticize the government. "These kinds of statements might create an image of a holy relation between persons and religion, which will close the path for critics," Mahmoud Madani Bajestani, another cleric and politician told Ettemaad-e Melli.

Since Ahmadinejad came to power in 2005, he has made the "hastening of the coming of Imam Mahdi" an important political theme and used it, for example, to justify slashing interest rates in an effort to help poor Iranians. According to several politicians and economists, his policies have led to disorganization in the administrative system.

As Wikipedia explains:

Shi'as believe that al-Mahdi will reappear when the world has fallen into chaos and civil war emerges between the human race for no reason. At this time, it is believed, half of the true believers will ride from Yemen carrying white flags to Mecca, while the other half will ride from Karbala, in Iraq, carrying black flags to Mecca. At this time, al-Mahdi will come wielding God's Sword, the Blade of Evil's Bane, Zulfiqar (Arabic: ذو الفقار, ðū l-fiqār), the Double-Bladed Sword.

Ahmadinejad's messianic Mahdi mania is exactly the reason why Israel needs to be worried about Iranian nukes, as a "mutually assured destruction" scenario doesn't fly with people who want to hasten the end of the world and the ushering in of a messiah. And who can discount him regarding himself as the Mahdi and the atom bomb as "Zulfiqar"?

Qassam rocket barely misses gas station - in Gaza

Firas Press (Arabic) reports:

Witnesses said the crowds at a DAPA gas station east of Gaza were shocked when a locally-manufactured rocket, that had been fired by the resistance factions towards the Israeli settlements in the south, fell a few metres from them

The missile landed near the wall of the station, which was teeming with citizens and gas pipelines.

Dozens of terrorist rockets, if not hundreds, have landed in Gaza over the years, often causing damage, injuries and deaths.