Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Time for the annual December Bethlehem wars

Since terror attacks have gone down drastically from the West Bank territories, life has been getting better for both sides:

After eight bleak years, Jesus' birthplace finally has a Christmas season to cheer about.
Hotels are booked solid through January, Manger Square is bustling with tourists, and Israeli and Palestinian forces are working to make things go smoothly.

Elias Al-Araj's 200-room hotel is fully booked for the season, and he plans to open a 100-room annex. He says he already has bookings through July.

"This year, business was great," he said.

Bethlehem's economic fortunes are closely tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tourism blossomed in the 1990s, when peace hopes were alive, but was crushed by the outbreak of fighting in 2000. Christmas after Christmas, tourists were scared off by Palestinian violence and Israeli travel restrictions.

With calm gradually returning to the West Bank, Bethlehem has again become a magnet for Christmas pilgrims.

"It's a difference between heaven and earth," said entrepreneur Mike Kanawati, who is so optimistic he's opening a new restaurant near the Church of the Nativity.

Palestinian officials say that 1.3 million tourists have visited the West Bank this year, nearly double last year's level. The total for 2008 could rise to 1.6 million. The tourism boom has created 12,000 new jobs, said Riad Malki, the Palestinian information minister.

Bethlehem's 19 hotels are fully booked through January, said Mayor Victor Batarseh. He said he expects 30,000 visitors on Christmas Eve alone, compared with 22,000 last year, with about 5,000 more expected during Orthodox rites in January.

Batarseh said he hopes the signs of recovery will persuade more Bethlehemites to stay in their town. In recent years, growing numbers, particularly Christians, have emigrated.

"Calm and an increase in tourism will create more job opportunities and encourage families to stay in the city," said Batarseh, who is Christian. Officials say 40 percent of the town's 32,000 residents are Christian, down from 90 percent in the 1950s. The rest are Muslim.

This news does not sit well with those who would rather see Bethlehem in misery, so they could blame Jews for Christian suffering. Of course, some may choose to ignore the good news:

A vicar has banned the Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem from his services after witnessing the strife-torn state of Jesus's birthplace.
The Rev Stephen Coulter has decided that the words 'How still we see thee lie' are too far removed from the reality of Bethlehem today and should not be sung in his parish.
He toured Bethlehem in a recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was shocked at how the Arab-Israeli conflict that has raged around the West Bank town has decimated its population, wrecked its economy and hit tourism.
'The Christians we stayed with consider themselves descendants of the very shepherds who were keeping watch over flocks by night 2,000 years ago.

'Can you imagine how they feel being stopped by security guards, Jews from Russia, who have been in the country for just five years and who have all the freedoms denied those who have been there for centuries?
'They ask how the Jews who were treated so badly in the Second World War now inflict the same treatment on others.'

The good vicar seems to know exactly who to blame for Bethlehem's problems, and they are those Jews from Russia, not the Muslims from Hamas.

Even though the amount of anti-Christian bigotry by West Bank Muslims has been well-documented and many Christians have spoken out about how they live in fear of their Muslim neighbors, even though Bethlehem's Muslim population continues to increase even as its Christian population continues to dwindle, even though Muslims have been burning down churches in the West Bank and Gaza, even though we have documented threats by Fatah against Christian pilgrims from as far back as 1967 - Coulter and his ilk will always blame the Jews.

Islamic Jihad news gets "Jewish" and "Israeli" mixed up

Palestine Today, a mouthpiece for Islamic Jihad, mentions the murder last night of a Jewish man in Yemen.

But since Islam is the religion of peace, and it is inconceivable that even a mentally deranged Muslim would murder a father of five just because he was Jewish, the newspaper has to define the details of the case a bit differently:

Press sources revealed that an Israeli businessman was killed by a Yemeni pilot who fired dozens of gunshots to the passers-by.

Moshe Yaish-Nahari, a 35-year-old married man with nine children, was killed on Thursday night by machine-gun fire in the Bedouin in Yemen amid watching citizens.

The Israeli businessman who was murdered also taught the Torah in Israeli religious schools in Yemen, and it was not immediately clear what the real causes of his death.

And, no, it is not a translation error, as the Yemeni Arabic press certainly refers to Yaish Nahari as "Jewish".

They also add a detail that the murderer used to be a MiG-29 pilot until he killed his wife two years ago; he then got psychological treatment in Egypt and lost his pilot privileges. Apparently, he was considered sane enough to walk the streets with a submachine gun, though.

I love spontaneous rallies

There was a large anti-Israel demonstration today in Tehran. Even Iran's president marched.

But, officially, it wasn't sponsored by the Iranian regime. No, it was just spontaneous anger in Iran's streets.

And all the demonstrators were so united, they came out with their own statement!

Iranians attended a protest rally against Israel and in support of the oppressed and defenseless Palestinians particularly 1.5 million Gazans in blockade before Friday prayers.

Shouting “down with the US” and “down with Israel” marchers showed their hatred towards Israeli brutal measures and support for freedom of Palestine.

They also called for Muslims unification to defy cruelty and crimes of Israel and its biggest ally the United States.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Government Spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham were also among marchers.

The crowed [sic] also issued a statement that said intensification of cruel blockade imposed on Gazans is undoubtedly the offspring of alliance of the United States, Israel and some Arab states betrayal aimed at destruction of Palestine’s Islamic resistance and compensation of Israel’s disgraceful failures.

I've never seen a crowd issuing a statement before.

I wonder if Robert's Rules were used while formulating this statement, or something more informal.

I also wonder if Ahmadinejad would have dared to attend this rally from a few days ago.

Quick! Call Juan Cole!

Even though defenders of Iran keep trying to say that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad never advocated destroying Israel when he said that Israel should [be wiped off the map]/[vanish from the page of time]...he keeps saying it in different ways:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-stated necessity to raze Israel to the ground. The Israeli Government has blockaded Gaza Strip to influence on upcoming presidential elections in Palestine and to bring a necessary man to the post, the President said.

How do you say "unambiguous" in Farsi?

Today's Palestinian Arab news

There are reports of a "secret deal" between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Europeans, to extend the six month "truce". Hamas finds the truce to be very convenient for them, according to the article.

Meanwhile, there were two rockets shot at Israel today, and one rocket fell short and severely damaged a house near Khan Younis. Even so, Israel continued to send goods through the Gaza crossings today, for the fourth day in a row, although it did seem to close one of the crossings after the rocket attack.

Israel also transferred shekels to Gaza banks, allowing the PA to pay salaries to some 70,000 workers and allowing Hamas to continue to control the territory without taking responsibility for actually administering its daily activities. Israel is starting to make noises that there is no reason that Gaza cannot use Egyptian pounds rather than shekels as currency.

An aide to Mahmoud Abbas blames Hamas as well as Israel for the "siege."

A Syrian group will attempt to send a ship from Lebanon to Gaza.

An Arab newspaper slammed Abbas for describing the "Free Gaza" boats as a "farce" and a "silly game" yesterday. It sarcastically stated that perhaps Abbas didn't notice who was on these ships, "being too busy meeting his friend Olmert who imposed the blockade."

Apparently, the moon will be particularly large and bright over "Palestine" tonight. Not sure if that applies through the rest of the world. (The Arab press is always keenly interested in any news about the moon.)

Sharia killed the Yemenite Jew

YNet reports:

Moshe Yaish-Nahari, the brother of a prominent rabbi in Yemen was shot to death on Thursday in Rida, Yemen, located north of the capital Sana'a, the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported.

Local sources said the suspected killer, Abed el-Aziz el-Abadi, a former MiG-29 pilot in Yemen's air force, has been apprehended and taken in for questioning.

Eyewitnesses told the newspaper that el-Abadi had confronted Nahari at the market in Rida, called out to him "Jew, accept the message of Islam" and then proceeded to open fire with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Nahari was struck by five bullets.

To Yemen's credit, this is an anomaly, and the government stepped in to arrest the murderer. Unfortunately, the only reason that the killer was on the streets is because of Islamic law:

According to the preliminary investigation, the suspect had murdered his wife just two years ago, but avoided jail time by offering her family compensation.

Sharia allows the family of the victim to make such a choice, and this is why Moshe Yaish-Nahari is dead today.

Jimmy ready to sacrifice more of Israel for "peace"

Western dhimmis might not always be enthusiastic about personally giving concessions to radical Islamists, but they are always more than willing to demand that Israel make the sacrifices for them.

In the name of "peace," of course!

Former US president Jimmy carter and his delegation had a round of talks with prime minister Fouad Siniora and some members of the cabinet around 8:PM Thursday.
He added : "I look forward to see the establishment of close diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, which will be a step forward for peace in the region . The day after tomorrow (Saturday) I will visit Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in order to encourage him to speed up this process."
He expressed his belief that Israel's withdrawal in the near future from the Shebaa Farms area and the village of Ghajar would bring peace to the region as a whole.

Notice that Carter doesn't even rely on Hezbollah lies to make these sorts of statements anymore. Hezbollah refused to meet with him, so he has no idea if Hezbollah would agree that these withdrawals would bring peace.

No, Jimmy has now become a proxy for Hezbollah, tacitly agreeing with them that if anyone is wrong, it is always Israel.

Hezbollah themselves, of course, have made it clear that they will never put down their weapons even if Israel gave them Shebaa Farms and Ghajar.

And Jimmy the Dhimmi's willingness to accept Hezbollah's positions extends to his desire for "peace" between Syria and Lebanon. Both Syria and Hezbollah agree with that goal - to destroy any last vestiges of Christianity and secularism in Lebanon and to cooperate fully with Iran in gaining more and more weapons to use against Israel.

But the new Greater Syria would be at "peace" with itself, so Carter's single-minded idiotic goals would be reached.

Le Monde: Hamas isn't really that bad!

An op-ed in Le Monde, written by a former French official, shows that there are still plenty of very stupid people in Europe:

Hamas is known as as "terrorist" or "resistant", the movement has become the central part of the dispute with Israel. The Islamist movement, this durable, politically and socially in the territories, will partner in the peace process.

I stayed in Gaza twice during which I met the political leadership of Hamas. I came away with the impression that the Islamist movement continues its transformation began in 2005 through its participation in municipal elections, then legislative elections in 2006 he won everything provided by membership in response to the failure of the Palestinian Authority and corruption which undermines Fatah. This commitment in the electoral process that previously excluded in the name of Islamic ideology has created tensions within the movement and is now considered anathema to Al Qaeda.
Since then, Hamas has evolved significantly in terms of ideology. It no longer refers to its charter inspired Islamist radical nor does the destruction of Israel and the extermination of Jews, but contains anti-Semitic references on the topic of global conspiracy that would have created the Hebrew state. When we suggest the abolition of the charter (written in 1987), leaders of the movement say that it "was not adopted by a Hamas" and that "only references are the platform and the election policy, "presented by Ismail Haniyeh during his investiture by the Palestinian parliament in January 2006.
Reading these two texts confirms the movement's ideological evolution in a more Islamist nationalism. The failure of national unity government in March 2007 and control by force the territory of Gaza in June led by radical Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, did not upset this trend .
The Europeans have put three conditions: renouncing violence, accepting past agreements between the PLO and recognition of the State of Israel. This is the dogma that closes any prospect....

You see? Murderers from Hamas told a French diplomat that they really don't hate the blood-sucking Jews, that their still-extant charter is not really very important, and that Haniyeh is just a cuddly teddy bear - so why shouldn't he believe them?

And how dare the stupid EU insist that Hamas recognize Israel, accept past agreements and renounce terror! That's just crazy talk, meant to punish the wonderful people of Hamas, and utterly unrealistic. Hamas is plenty moderate already - to ask them to stop murdering women and children is just humiliation!

When you are already infected with vile misozionistic or anti-semitic tendencies, the tiniest whispers of "moderation" take on huge new meanings and the pesky counterproofs are dismissed. For an example of the latter, here is what a cleric said on Hamas' own TV channel last month:

The Koran warns against the hostility of the Jews, whom it presents as the worst enemies of the Muslims: "You will find that the people strongest in enmity for those who believe are the Jews and the polytheists."

This verse exemplifies how deeply rooted is the Jewish enmity toward Islam and the Muslims. The fire of hatred was ignited in their hearts, when they realized that the Prophet who was sent was not one of their own. Beforehand, "they used to pray for victory against those who disbelieve," but when he was sent, they denied him. Therefore, the Prophet waged a lengthy Jihad against them, which continues to this day, and will continue until the day of their annihilation, Allah willing.

The Jews are known to be treacherous. They murdered their own prophets. Ibn Mas'oud said: The Israelites would kill 300 Prophets in a single day, and then they would go shopping for vegetables. After killing 300 men, they would go to the market, as if nothing happened. Ibn Mas'oud said that the Israelites killed 43 Prophets in a single hour, first thing in the morning. When 170 Israelites enjoined the killers to be virtuous and to refrain from vice, they were all killed in a single hour at the end of the day. Killing comes naturally to them. We're talking about a time when they didn't possess the enormous military arsenal that they have today. All they had were swords. When the Prophet Muhammad went to Al-Madina... We don't harbor hatred toward anyone. We are hostile to the Jews only because they occupied our land and defiled our holy places. That's why we declared war against them.

We are honored to be the spearhead in defense of the honor of the Arab and Islamic nation in the face of these apes and pigs. This, however, does not exempt the Arabs from their responsibility, about which Allah will reckon with them on the Day of Judgment.

You see, since Hamas leaders didn't quote these words to him verbatim, and the words that they have written down that say the same thing were written in 1987, our brilliant writer just knows, deep in his heart, that Hamas doesn't agree with what it shows on the TV stations it owns and controls. We just need to show a little more trust with the terrorists, to understand them a bit better, to read their minds and between their words to know that they are really moderates who shout their Jew-hatred only to keep up appearances.

Don't believe what they say to their own people dozens of times a day - believe what they tell a gullible French sycophant who is just itching to show that he is relevant.

UN Follies of the Day

Folly #1:

Yesterday, the UN gave out a series of Human Rights Prizes, an event that happens every five years. One of the recipients is Ramsay Clark, who has been described as "the war criminal's best friend," for defending Nazi murderers, PLO terrorists (in the Leon Klinghoffer lawsuit), Slobodan Milošević, and Saddam Hussein.

Folly #2:

The current General Assembly President, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, upon learning that Israel's ambassador to the UN would be speaking on Human Rights Day as the rotating representative of Western nations, tried to stop her speech. When Europeans objected strongly, he decided to add speakers who are openly hostile to Israel.

This same person hugged Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he visited the UN, and has called for a global campaign of "boycott, divestment, and sanctions" against Israel. He has never publicly condemned Hamas rocket attacks aganst Israel.

Folly #3:

In yesterday's UN press conference, the General Assembly President's spokesperson made very clear that Brockmann is attempting to restructure the UN so that the General Assembly resolutions become mandatory, not recommendations, thus rendering the Security Council ineffective and turning the UN into an even bigger joke than it already is, as it would be utterly hijacked by despotic regimes.

A 22-year old died from injuries he received in a tunnel fire under Rafah three days ago.

Israel is sending some 110 trucks of aid to Gaza today, marking the third day in a row that humanitarian aid is allowed to Gaza. This despite a Qassam rocket yesterday and a mortar the day before shot from Gaza to Israel.

Iran claims that they are sending a ship to Gaza.

And here are some pictures of poor, oppressed, starving Gaza kids celebrating Eid al Adha. Since the pictures were a little too happy, the photographer made sure he framed a picture to make it look like the amusement park was inside a prison.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 218.

Morning headlines

Here are some stories in the world press that you may have missed:

Rachel Ehrenfeld and Samuel Abady write the best case against Islamic ("sharia") banking I have seen yet, in the Washington Times.

While some Israel-bashing British academics frolic in Gaza, the University of College Union (UCU) in Britain voted against any boycott of Israeli universities:

Instead of pushing for a boycott of Israel, the UCU says that it will now research and publish a report on academic freedom in a number of countries, including the Palestinian territories.

Besides the third day in a row of humanitarian aid, Israel also approved transferring 100 million shekels to Gaza to stem their cash flow crisis.

Abbas: "Free Gaza" a joke, PA pays 70,000 Gazans

In a long interview with the Palestine Press Agency, Mahmoud Abbas was asked about the "Free Gaza" ships to break the "siege" around Gaza. Here was his answer:

This is a ridiculous game called "break the siege" ... Yes, there are ships that sail off the port of Larnaca, Cyprus. First the Israeli embassy takes all passports of the passengers of the vessel to ensure the identities of the passengers and then examine what assistance will be on the ship. Secondly the Israeli navy ensures those on the ship and cargo loaded, before allowing them to continue the trip to Gaza .. Where is the blockade being broken?. Some States said they would send ships .. Where are those ships?

... If you want to send aid to Gaza, why not Tersloha[?] via Egypt or Jordan .. Egypt reaches everything as well as Jordan. Consequently, this is cheap, false propaganda and not the first nor the last time.

He also admitted yet again that 58% of the PA budget goes to Gaza, something which surprised the interviewer:

Q: 58 per cent of the [PA] budget is spent on the Strip?

A: Yes, 58 per cent of our budget goes to Gaza, including the salaries of 77 thousand employees. A few days before, "one Hamas leader« island », Israel prevented the introduction of 240 million shekels to the Gaza Strip and the source of these millions is power. We say to them that there Kerem Shalom crossing, Karni and Erez and Sofer .. To work to open the crossings and keeping them open .. The Rafah crossing, we will try to reopen the agreement with all parties .. And respond to either open the Rafah crossing or all crossings remain closed .. Such as what happened in the case of pilgrims .. Their own logic was either go out to her Hajj Visa or one would not even carry the Visa ..

Which means that Gazans get twice as much of our tax dollars, per capita, than West Bankers.

"Slaughter the Jews"

Remember how Islamists always say to Western audiences that they are not against Jews, but only Zionists?

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from speeches by Arab Islamic leaders expressing solidarity with Gaza, which aired on Al-Manar and Al-Aqsa TV, December 3 and 5, 2008.

Sheik Himam Sa'id, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan: Oh noble Gaza, raise your head high. You have made the Muslims raise their heads high. And you, people of Hebron – you are now waging a war against the Jews. You are well-versed in this. We saw how, on a day in 1929, you slaughtered the Jews in Hebron. Today, slaughter them on the land of Hebron. Kill them in Palestine. Arise, oh people of Palestine, all the people of Palestine – arise in defense of your Al-Aqsa Mosque, arise in defense of Nablus and Hebron. Arise and face the [PA] Preventive Security forces. Fear them not, for they are rabbits. They are wolves, so fear them not, oh lions.

[...]

Oh young men, what will you say to the Jordanian government? Expel the Jewish ambassador from Amman. Amman is pure, and the Jewish ambassador must not defile its soil. Recall the Jordanian ambassador from Palestine. Only mujahideen should be in Palestine - not ambassadors, not ministers, or any representative of this nation. Do not recognize the ambassador of this nation in Palestine. Palestine is the land of Jihad, of sacrifice, and of preparation. We say to this government: Stop normalization with the Jews. Stop all imports and exports with the Jews. Our markets are full of Jewish vegetables and Jewish fruits. Traders who bring these fruits and vegetables are traitors, collaborators. Tell them this. Make them hear our voice. The position of the religious scholars is that anyone who trades with the Jews is a traitor and collaborator.

[...]

Husan Abdallah, Lebanese Association of Islamic Scholars: I say on behalf of the Association of Islamic Scholars: The truce with the Zionist entity is meaningless. The solution is to renew the resistance in a stronger and more effective way. Let pure bodies blow up again in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and in all the cities of occupied Palestine, because this enemy understands nothing but the language of force.

[...]

To the courageous Egyptian people we say: Arise and bring down the artificial border, and bring food and medicine to your besieged brothers in Gaza. The Egyptian people is required to display an act of violence, even if they go to jail, even if they die – they will be martyrs for the sake of Allah.

[...]

Osama Hamdan, Hamas Representative in Lebanon: Our goal is to liberate all of Palestine, from the river to the sea, from Rosh Hanikra to Umm Al-Rashrash [Eilat]. From Gaza, gentlemen... We do not want a state 364 square kilometers in size, nor do we want a state which we had to beg for at the negotiating table. Such a state will never come to be. What we want is a free state, which maintains its dignity, 27,000 square kilometers in size – the size of Palestine in its entirety.

(h/t Israel Matzav via jhrhv)

Peaceful Palestinian Arabs, yet again

In Palestine Today's photo essay of Palestinian Arabs thronging to the courtyard of the Al Aqsa mosque during Eid al Adha, we see this giant banner draped over the entrance:

Looking closer, we see:

A map of "Palestine".

Which does not show Israel as existing.

Neither does it show any of historic Eastern Palestine, on the other side of the Jordan.

So no one can argue that they are just depicting a map of "Palestine" as it existed for centuries, because that map would look something like this the picture on the right.

The Negev isn't a part of it, and the western parts of Jordan are.

Once again, we see that the definition of "Palestine", according to "Palestinians," is whatever territory Israel happens to control at that point in time. It has nothing to do with age-old conflict nor does it have anything to do with historical facts - the desire for a Palestinian Arab state is simply the desire to destroy the Jewish state. Otherwise, they would be pining for much of Jordan.

The Palestinian Arabs have not the least compunction about publicly declaring their desire to see Israel destroyed, using huge signs, in full view of tens of thousands of people. (This is not even mentioning the Fatah logo, the maps shown in schools, and so on, which all echo the same desire to annihilate Israel.)

And the West refuses to notice.

A diplomatic victory

For once, Israel did something right:

The European Union's 27 foreign ministers unanimously approved upgrading relations with Israel on Monday, despite vigorous efforts by the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to thwart the move.

The first expression of this decision will be a first-of-its-kind meeting between Israel's prime minister and all the leaders of the EU member states in Brussels this April.

Separately, the ministers decided to shelve a proposed action plan for the peace process in 2009, in response to Israeli pressure.

Throughout some 18 months of talks on the upgraded relationship, Egypt, the PA and other Arab countries lobbied against it. At the least, the Arabs argued, the upgrade should be conditioned on an Israeli settlement freeze.

As a result of the upgrade in relations, Israel's foreign minister will start meeting three times a year with all 27 EU foreign ministers. Other ministers will meet once a year with their European counterparts. Israel and the EU will also conduct a strategic dialogue on issues such as the peace process, the Iranian threat, counterterrorism and organized crime. In addition, the EU pledged to help Israel integrate into UN agencies and to include Israeli experts in EU peacekeeping forces.

If I had to guess, Livni probably managed to convince the Europeans by saying that it would prop up her chances of staying in power rather than a more right-wing government.

Anyway, PA prime minster Fayyad is not happy:

Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad expressed disappointment at the decision of the European Council of Ministers on upgrading relations between the European Union and Israel.

Fayyad said 'appreciate that this decision missed a very important opportunity by the European Union to positively influence Israel towards the rules of international law, as well as abide by the agreement and the spirit of partnership between the EU and Israel, in terms of respect for human rights'