Follow-up on Bibi's speech

One of the most commented postings I've had recently was from my article on Binyomin Netanyahu's speech at the Jewish bloggers' conference in Jerusalem. I had paraphrased Netanyahu as saying "The fact is that there are Jewish rights on the land as well, that history is also on the side of the Jewish narrative. Bibi quickly outlined the fact that Jews remained the majority in Palestine for many centuries after the Roman conquest, and that the first time they were physically dispossessed from the land itself was by the Arab conquest in the eighth [sic, really, seventh - EoZ] century."

I missed the historian he quoted but was informed in the comments by Ruth that it was Ben-Zion Dinur, either from "Israel in Its Land" or from his five-volume "Israel in Exile."

Unfortunately, very few of Dinur's works are in English. I found a copy of "Israel and the Diaspora" and have read the first section, much of which is excerpted here. While it is clearly true that Dinur felt that the Diaspora didn't start until the Arab conquest, this piece was not a historical work nearly as much as a work about historiography - his critique of different views of Jewish history and his own point of view. Any of his historical ideas can only be gleaned by implication from this work. I am not conversant enough in Hebrew to even consider tackling his Hebrew works, but it sounds like they are important enough that they certainly should be translated and made available to the world at large. (If anyone knows of an English-language treatment of Dinur, please let me know.)

I just started reading Netanyahu's "A Place Among Nations" which he said covers this material. So far I have not found it, as it (at least the 1993 edition) seems to concentrate on the history of Zionism and does not seem to have much on the historic Jewish connection to the Land.

As far as the Jews being the majority in Palestine before 636 CE, I still do not know if Dinur really says that. Clearly, the majority of Jews lived outside Palestine for centuries before the Arab conquest but that doesn't mean they weren't the majority in sparsely-populated Palestine.

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Today's peaceful PalArab news

A Hamas member was killed and another wounded in Gaza City as they tried to arrest another man.

Six more Hamas bombs have been reported to have been found at al-Azhar University. There were a couple that exploded in empty rooms two weeks ago.

The Al Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the Qassam rocket that was shot at Sderot yesterday. Yet at the same time Islamic Jihad released a statement saying that Israel's response of closing the crossings had only a "flimsy justification" and asks the Palestinian Arabs to consider ending the "calm."

A video was released that is supposed to show how Hamas had Mohammed Helles of the Helles clan was alive and in custody of Hamas before he was shot dead in cold blood.

Today is the fifteenth anniversary, in the Islamic calendar, of the incident with Baruch Goldstein in Hebron. This is the first time I've ever seen Palestinian Arabs celebrate an anniversary using the Islamic calendar rather than the secular one. This way they can act as victims twice as often.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now 165.

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Gaza lies: "Shalit gets birthday cake every year"

The Sunday Times had some real reporting over the weekend, as Christine Tooney goes to Gaza to find out what she can about Gilad Shalit.

Her main finding is that terrorists are liars:

“Nobody from the political or military wing of Hamas knows where Shalit is,” [Mahmoud Zahhar] says, disingenuously, sitting by my side in a starched safari suit. “Only the small group who kidnapped him know. They are very secretive.”

He says he has no idea of the conditions in which Shalit is being held, only that they must be better than those of the more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners whose release Hamas is demanding for his safe return.

...

While Zahar and Yousef are reluctant to discuss Shalit, members of the Doghmush clan are happy to brag about how well he is being treated. I meet them in a garage of one of the many buildings the clan owns in the Sabra district. Abu Khatab Doghmush, a 51-year-old clan elder, is sitting with family on a sofa pushed against a wall.

Abu Khatab insists that the Army of Islam is not holding Shalit. “The only faction that controls his life now is the Qassam Brigades,” he says, his heavy gold watch flapping against his wrist. “But I can tell you that Shalit is living in a paradise. Our religion of Islam demands that we look after prisoners even more than we do our own people.” He rejects speculation that Shalit is locked deep in an underground cell booby-trapped with explosives: “He’s not being kept in a closed room all the time – this would not be healthy. He can go out and take fresh air.”

Abu Khatab then makes an extraordinary claim: “Every year a party is held to celebrate his birthday. Yes, there is a cake and candles, music, everything.” Shalit, born on August 28, 1986, has now spent three birthdays in captivity.

The claim that Shalit is being well treated is repeated by everyone I meet. His plea that he needs hospitalisation is dismissed by Abu Khatab. “No, it is I who require hospitalisation,” he says, kicking off his plastic sandal to reveal a foot eaten away by gangrene.

...Over the days that follow, repeated attempts to talk to the al-Qassam Brigades are rejected. Again and again I am referred back to Hamas political leaders such as Zahar as the only ones able to speak about Shalit. With Zahar and others claiming only al-Qassam knows anything, the circle of professed ignorance and denial is closed.

...

When Abu Mujahed arrives, I am taken aback. We have spent time watching young PRC recruits training – all wear black balaclavas and carry AK-47s. But 24-year-old Abu Mujahed wears a beige suit and brown shirt, a look that would not be out of place in a cheesy video on an Arabic music channel. He has come straight from his brother’s wedding, he says, before explaining in clear English (he is studying multimedia technology at university) precisely how a prisoner exchange should work.

“After the Israelis free the first 100 Palestinian prisoners, Shalit would be moved to Egypt. Once he’s in Egypt, the Israelis would have to free 1,000 more of our brothers and sisters before he is released. We were very close to agreeing a deal a year ago, then the Israelis stopped negotiations. We were amazed that they were prepared to go back to zero. It is the Israelis who are putting obstacles in the way of an agreement.

“If we do not see some results soon, we will be forced to close the file,” he concludes ominously.

When I ask how much he knows about Shalit’s whereabouts and the conditions he is kept in, Abu Mujahed repeats the mantra that he is being treated well, “according to our religion”. Only a small group know where Shalit is held, he claims, and they communicate by means of dead letter drops, mobile phones being too easy to track.

In the end, the people who claim to know how Shalit is being treated profess ignorance as to his whereabouts and those who know his whereabouts don't say how he is being treated, meaning that everyone is lying.

It is rare to see real reporting nowadays; this is an excellent article.

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Olmert's defeatism

In 1979, then-president Jimmy Carter delivered an astoundingly pessimistic speech. He started off talking about how he spoke with ordinary Americans and what they had to say:

I left Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. It has been an extraordinary 10 days, and I want to share with you what I've heard. First of all, I got a lot of personal advice. Let me quote a few of the typical comments that I wrote down.

This from a southern Governor: "Mr. President, you are not leading this Nation -- you're just managing the Government."

"You don't see the people enough any more."

"Some of your Cabinet members don't seem loyal. There is not enough discipline among your disciples."

"Don't talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good."

"Mr. President, we're in trouble. Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears."

"If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow."

And yet, although Carter heard the words that Americans were saying - that he was a really poor leader - he misinterpreted them as if it was America's problem, not his:

I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy.

I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might.

The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation.

The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.

Carter was one of the worst presidents in history, and this is one reason why: instead of leading, he whined; instead of showing pride for America, he despaired; instead of the strength that people need from a leader he chose to be a very bad therapist.

I'm reminded of this when I see how lame-duck Olmert is acting lately.

Today, there was a gleeful but accurate headline in Iran's Press TV:

Olmert pronounces Greater Israel dead

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the idea of "Greater Israel"-- the main motto of the Zionist founders of the Israeli regime-- is dead.

"'Greater Israel' is finished. There is no such thing as that anymore. Whoever talks in those terms is only deluding himself," the prime minister admitted at a cabinet meeting.

"It doesn't help Israel. The international community has changed its perspective ahead of the possibility of Israel becoming a bi-national state," he said.

" I believed that the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean was all ours since in every place there that is excavated, there is evidence of Jewish History. But finally, after a lot of suffering and misgivings, I came to the conclusion that we need to share the land with whom we are residing if we don't want to become a bi-national state," Olmert said.

The premier also warned that the clock is "not ticking in Israel's favor."

The malaise that Israel is suffering from is not from the people, but from the utterly incompetent leadership that has been represented by Ehud Olmert. He unilaterally declared defeat in Gaza and now Judea and Samaria, ceding the historic Jewish ties to land that is far more important religiously and historically than Tel Aviv because he lacks the imagination and the will to come up with ways that Israel can keep the land and the Arabs can still have real choices for self-determination and to raise their families in dignity. He has kept erasing red lines without drawing new ones, acting more like someone hellbent on surrender than a leader of a great nation. He learned nothing from the Gaza debacle, wanting to repeat it again and again. He treats his most patriotic citizens as his enemies and his enemies as if they are his allies. He has consistently lied to his people and he continues to do so as he squirms to avoid mounting criminal charges.

And even now, as his term ends, his one note of consistency and strength is in his steadfast willingness to surrender to Israel's sworn enemies. To allow parts of historic, Biblical Israel to be permanently Judenrein, from which rockets can reach every major population area and Israel's major airport. To hand the most valuable asset Israel has to people who, sometimes explicitly but always implicitly, consider this to be only a stage in Israel's ultimate destruction. To trust a new neighboring nation populated with those who have consistently and overwhelmingly expressed their support for terror against Jewish civilians in the Middle East.

No wonder Iran is gleeful. Olmert is now confirming everything Ahmadinejad has been saying - that in his opinion, the Zionists will lose.

Olmert and his party of ashamed Zionism needs to go, now.

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Saudi cleric: Mickey Mouse must die!

MEMRI has a new clip. Transcript:

Following is an excerpt from a religious program featuring Saudi Cleric Muhammad Al-Munajid, which aired on Al-Majd TV on August 27, 2008:

Muhammad Al-Munajid: What is the position of Islamic law with regard to mice? The Shari'a refers to the mouse as "little corrupter," and says it is permissible to kill it in all cases. It says that mice set fire to the house, and are steered by Satan. The mouse is one of Satan's soldiers and is steered by him. If a mouse falls into a pot of food – if the food is solid, you should chuck out the mouse and the food touching it, and if it is liquid – you should chuck out the whole thing. Because the mouse is i-m-p-u-r-e!

According to Islamic law, the mouse is a repulsive, corrupting creature. How do you think children view mice today – after Tom and Jerry? Even creatures that are repulsive by nature, by logic, and according to Islamic law have become wonderful and are loved by children. Even mice. Mickey Mouse has become an awesome character, even though according to Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed in all cases.

I wonder what he thinks of Islamic mice? Or Hamas cartoon rats?

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Anti-semites HATE Palin

Mark Glenn, who is a proud Jew-hater whose quotes have polluted the Internet for a long time, has determined that Sarah Palin is "Israel's bitch."

And the author of "Reckless Rites: Purim and the Legacy of Jewish Violence" not surprisingly finds Palin to also be utterly unacceptable to the rabid anti-semitic crowd, saying that she would be like Queen Esther:

And, in the Book of Esther, one finds that Queen Esther—Palin’s role model—engaged in intrigues that resulted in the mass murder of 75,000 Persians who were considered a threat to the Jewish people, just as today’s Iran is likewise perceived as Israel’s greatest danger.

While this same crowd has been critical of Biden as well with his self-description as a Zionist, they go off the rails when talking about Palin. One can almost feel the spittle being dripped on the keyboard as these unapologetic haters type their unintentionally funny bile for their adoring fans.

In a similar political note, prominent Arab-American Ray Hanania writes a column that an neat flip side of my argument that Obama might be better for Israel because of his antipathy towards it (and Israel's likely reaction,) arguing that Arabs should vote for McCain because they will be disappointed that Obama, presumed to be their friend, will turn on them:

Arab Americans were hopeful with Obama because Obama comes from an oppressed South Side Chicago African American community, although he is an elitist who has always been above the suffering of African Americans. Nevertheless, Obama was close to Arab activists — most extremists — who he needed when he was running before to help raise funds and generate votes.

...

But there is one hope for Arab Americans. It is a theory based on the contrarian view that the best way to help a cause is not to constantly seek the best candidate and always be disappointed. It is the view that the best way to bring change is to keep the environment hostile. That is, don’t support Obama — just because he has a middle name that is Muslim (Hussein is not an Arab name, it is a Muslim name. I don’t know one Aran Christian named Hussein, unlike Abdullah, which is an Arab named shared by Christians and Muslims). The theory goes that instead of supporting Obama, who can’t do the right thing because his hands are tied by the reality of American politics, support John McCain who everyone presumes is more pro-Israel than Obama. The truth is, McCain, with his support of Israel, could do more to force Israel’s government to be more objective and do the right thing.

McCain, by virtue of the fact that he is viewed as being more supportive of Israel, could have the strength to do the right thing.

Obama will let the Arab American community down not because he wants to but because that is the inherent nature of an American political system where the Arab activism is at an extremist and dysfunctional minimal. If Obama lets us down, as he is certain to do, that would be far more traumatic for Arab Americans. Because the worst kind of disappointment come from friends, not enemies.

Notice how while Obama apologists will downplay his connections to radical Arabs in Chicago, Hanania - who was born in Chicago - readily admits them.

(I need to stress again that my contrarian argument is based on the fact that Israel's current government cannot stand up for its own Zionist ideals when asked by "friends" in the White House to give more and more concessions, and the real solution is for Israel to get leadership that can articulate its own needs and stand up to pressure from friend and enemy alike, while Americans elect who would be best for America.)

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Sunday linkfest

Lots of great stuff out there today:

Muslim preacher Omar Bakri threatened Paul McCartney's life for agreeing to play in a concert in Israel.

Did the Iranian Paralympic basketball team pull out of competition over a possible match with Israel?

One of the major themes of blogs this week was Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin. For those who like to get caught up in the minutiae of American politics, this article by Charles Krauthammer is a must-read.

Did The Jerusalem Post cave to legal pressure from a Guardian columnist? It does seem strange that they would remove a non-offensive "counterpoint" column because of an unmoderated comment that got through...

Batya muses on the recent uptick of attacks on Jews from Arabs in the West Bank, wondering if they are responses to Israel's recent attempts at "peace".

Plus she also hosts this week's Haveil Havalim roundup of the best of the Jewish blogosphere.

Israelis invent a suit that allows some disabled people to walk, and another that might allow regular people to fly.

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Two more tunnel deaths

Firas reports a man killed when he fell down the entrance of a smuggling tunnel in Gaza, saying that this was the second such death in 24 hours. This means that the 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 164.

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Fatwa of the day: OK to kill immoral media moguls

From AP, of all places:(h/t LGF):

Saudi Arabia’s top judiciary official has issued a religious decree saying it is permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV networks that broadcast immoral content.

The 79-year-old Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan said Thursday that satellite channels cause the “deviance of thousands of people.” ...

Al-Lihedan was answering listeners’ questions during the daily “Light in the Path” radio program in which he and others make rulings on what is permissible under Islamic law. One caller asked about Islam’s view of the owners of satellite TV channels that show “bad programs” during Ramadan.

“I want to advise the owners of these channels, who broadcast calls for such indecency and impudence ... and I warn them of the consequences,” he said.

“What does the owner of these networks think, when he provides seduction, obscenity and vulgarity?” he said.

“Those calling for corrupt beliefs, certainly it’s permissible to kill them,” he said. “Those calling for sedition, those who are able to prevent it but don’t, it is permissible to kill them.”

I guess this means that Time Warner, Viacom and Disney executives might have to start being a little more suspicious of the packages they get in the mail...

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Manhattan

On Wednesday night, Soccer Dad asked me if I still had a picture I had made years ago and posted on this blog of a panorama of Manhattan taken from Jersey City. Unfortunately, the image hosting service that I stored it on went out of business and I no longer have the original.

As a result, I offered to create a new one.

Yesterday morning, I took a series of photos from a similar vantage point and sent them to him. Unfortunately, photographing Manhattan from New Jersey is problematic in mornings, as the sun is rising behind the skyline, so I wasn't altogether happy with the results:

(click to enlarge)

The good news is that I got the shot I posted yesterday of the Jersey City Fire Department shooting plumes of red, white and blue-colored water with the Statue of Liberty visible in the background.

In the afternoon, I tried once again to capture a panorama of Manhattan, with better results:

(click to enlarge)

The rightmost image of the series was slightly out of focus but altogether I am happy with the results, and Soccer Dad used it to illustrate his 9/11 round-up.

I used my latest camera, a Nikon Coolpix S210, and I used Autostitch software to piece the ten images together (11 images in the morning shot.) Autostitch is the easiest software I've seen yet for doing this, and it works in two dimensions as well.

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Friday PalArab press roundup

A 48-year old woman was killed by someone shooting indiscriminately in the air near Nablus.

Hamas continues to arrest doctors in Gaza, abducting a pediatric surgeon and a woman doctor (whose husband they had arrested a few days before.)

A terror group called Al Tawhid took credit for a bomb at the Kissufim junction today.

Another day, another bizarre study: An Arab group talks about an increasing number of Jerusalem-area Arabs addicted to drugs - and says that Israel is pushing these drugs to help "Judaize" Jerusalem. Here's the logic: Since drug abusers need lots of money for their habits, they are more likely to sell their houses to Jews.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 162.

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Israelis using "Women in Jilbab" urinals?

For a particularly hilarious example of how rumors start in the Muslim world, check out this blog post:

Israel is once again humiliating the Muslims by making fun of the Islamic symbols.

The Israeli mass Media recently published a photo of toilet bowls produced by a certain company, shaped in “Women In Jilbab".

This type of toilet bowl to facilitate urination, according to the Israeli mass Media are selling very well in the Israeli market.

A number of sources as cited by Albawaba, reported that the shape of the toilet bowl was purposely aimed at humiliating the Islamic symbols and the Muslims.

The first productions originated from the US and then imported by Israel. Now, toilet bowls of this shape can be commonly found in Israel.

Sorry to say, but how lowly is the attitude of the people of these two nations (Christian U.S. - Zionist Israel), they have no respect for other people’s religions. They can never stop poking fun at others. Little do they realize that their actions only reveal their immorality further. You can never find the Muslims doing likewise, the Muslims don’t insult other faiths or the lack of it thereof. We dont behave like immature or retarded people.

Of course, this urinal is poking fun at nuns, not Muslim women, and has nothing to do with Israel. And I have no idea if this really came from Albawaba or if the blogger made it up (no link was given.)

(I haven't yet seen any deadly Catholic riots over this, either.)

But truth has little to do with how bizarre rumors spread in the Islamic world, so we might be catching one in its early stages here.

In fact, this blogger may be a source for a number of rumors in the Muslim world.

He has no shortage of completely made-up posts. In at least one case, a post he wrote or pasted ended up being reproduced at Pakistan Daily two days later, about a supposed First Zionist-Christian Congress in Switzerland earlier this month. No real news source mentions this conference.

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Saudi Arabia arrests five bloggers

From Saudi Gazette:

JEDDAH – Security authorities have arrested three Saudis and two expatriates for spreading false propaganda through the Internet, the Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday.

The five were misleading young people, manipulating their religious sentiments and instigating them to create trouble, an official source at the ministry said.

Using pseudonyms to suggest they have supporters, the five accused would thus lure people to communicate with them as a first step towards recruitment for “vicious and wicked goals,” the source said.

“Despite the difficulty of laying such traps, our security men are highly capable and qualified to track down and arrest such deviants who spread wrong ideas wherever they are,” Interior Ministry spokesman Major Gen. Mansour Al-Turki told Saudi Gazette.

“These deviant mentalities use modern technology like the Internet to spread to mislead surfers and spread their deviant methodology,” he said without revealing where the five accused were arrested. “It doesn’t matter which cities they are from. What matters is their deviant thinking,” he said.

The Ministry cautioned the public about advocates of “deviant thoughts, their tricky methods and malicious intentions to mislead the sons of the soil and turn them into tools in the hands of their enemies who are conspiring against their country on which Almighty Allah has bestowed the honor of serving the Two Holy Harams.” The statement warned against falling victim “to these deviants who use deceptive and misrepresentative methods in promoting their evil thoughts.”

From this article it is a little hard to figure out what exactly these people were saying. The over-use of the word "deviant" implies homosexuality, but some of their names imply terrorism ("The Encyclopedia of Jihad.") Were they advocating an overthrow of the monarchy? Were they writing fictional stories about Mohammed?

A better hint may be seen in a recent law that passed in neighboring Kuwait. The law is set to "criminalize the promotion of immoral conduct, encouraging anti-government sentiments, divulging state secrets, or insulting Islam online." Chances are that these were the sorts of things that the "deviant" bloggers were doing.

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The hole in the sky (Repost from 2006)

(This post will remain on the top today, scroll down for other posts.)

This is a view of lower Manhattan at around 9:59 AM on September 11, 2006.

It is difficult for people who are unfamiliar with the skyline to understand how huge the twin towers were. I attempted to show in this picture, in a very limited way, the enormity of what was lost.

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ISM loves the Muslim Brotherhood

As if we needed any more proof, here is yet another tie between the "peace activists" of the International Solidarity Movement (and their affiliates in the Free Gaza movement) and the extremist inspiration for al Qaeda and Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood.

From the ISM site:

Egyptian Committee Against the Gaza Siege: At 8am this morning (10th September), a first group from the Egyptian Committee Against the Gaza Siege, mainly Labor Party’s members, left Cairo in 4 micro-buses with food and medicine to go and try to break the criminal siege of Gaza.

When they arrived at Ismailia, located at 100 km from Cairo and 30 km from the Suez Canal, the Sinai entrance, the Egyptian police stopped the convoy and took away the driving licences of the drivers, preventing them to go forward

More than 150 people got outside the buses with Palestinian and Egyptian flags and chanting slogans in support of the Palestinians.

Several national forces are participating in this action, including the Committee Against the Gaza Siege, Engineers against Detention, al-Karamah party, Labour Party, Nasserist party, Kifâya, independent lawyers, March 9 Movement, April 6 Movement and Muslim Brotherhood’s members.

Notice how the ISM tries to downplay the Muslim Brotherhood's involvement in this protest, which is clearly a Western-style protest architected by ISM members to begin with (the photos on the site show "activists" doing sit-ins and the like.)

But if you look at the wire-service reports of the protest, the Muslim Brotherhood is mentioned a bit more prominently. From AFP:

The group of judges, independent MPs, members of the main opposition Muslim Brotherhood and activists from other parties wants to protest the continued closure of the Rafah crossing by Israel and Egypt.

From Reuters:

Along with many opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition force in the country, favours ending the blockade and opening the border for goods and people.

Not that these other parties are so peaceful either. The Socialist Labor Party is currently illegal in Egypt, and supports the imposition fo Sharia law throughout that nation. In fact, it tried to form a coalition with the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1990 elections.

The Al-Karama party praises Maomar Khaddafi, Libya's loopy dictator not known for his human-rights record.

Yet the ISM happily partners with groups that openly advocate and condone violence, all the while maintaining that it is a "peace" group.

Apparently, the only credentials one needs to be considered a "peace activist" is to advocate the destruction of the US and Israel.

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