Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Quick PalArab news

There are reports that Gaza Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar secretly visited Switzerland and met with Swiss officials. The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan charges that some Israeli produce sold in Jordan is grown in West Bank farms, and calls for a boycott.For those wondering, the Red Cross regularly visits Arab prisoners in Israeli jails. It announced its July visit schedule. Egyptian forces yet again killed Somalis trying to get into Israe...

Why are there still "refugee camps" in the PA?

The culture of entitlement that pervades the Palestinian Arabs continues unabated.Yesterday, leaders of a Nablus "refugee" camp declared a series of escalating actions protesting the reduction of some services by UNRWA, including forcing UNRWA not to be able to work at all.Today, UNRWA in Nablus responded - by shutting down almost completely, except for three health clinics. UNRWA stated (in Arabic only, these events never make it to the Western...

Egyptians refuse Jewish references in music festival

From the Forward:Wendy Sternberg was thrilled when the organization she founded, Genesis at the Crossroads, was invited to perform at the eighth annual International Music Festival at Egypt’s Alexandria Library. She looked forward to achieving the goals of her group, which seeks to bridge cultures in conflict through the arts and prides itself on stellar musicianship and cross-cultural dialogue.Yet, despite her dream of the festival as...

Thank you open thread

With the year half over, I have well over 300,000 page views - more than I had in all of 2008.So thanks for visiting!Here's an open thread for the sheer hell of it.(Sometimes, Yahoo News links to this blog, but the stories they choose are not always the ones I think should be publicized. Open threads have been known to pop up there as well. Very weird.(On the other hand, CNN is now linking a Shmuley Boteach/Michael Jackson story to one I wrote yesterday.)UPDATE:...

I just looked a little at the Human Rights Watch report on Israeli drones killing civilians in Gaza.The report was mainly written by Marc Garlasco, who had famously blamed Israel for the very ambiguous Gaza beach blast in 2006 and whose credentials as an expert are equally ambiguous.I didn't have time to look at the report too carefully, but it follows the normal HRW playbook...

Sinai poor people "looting" expired Gaza aid

An enlightening article in Al Quds reveals two interesting phenomena.There are tons of aid, sent by Arab countries and meant for Gaza, that Egypt let rot for months in a stadium in El Arish. Rice, oil, blankets, flour and clothing have been sitting there.Until it starts going bad.Then, the Egyptians burn it.When the poor people of El Arish got wind that this was happening, they started taking the doomed goods for themselves, overwhelming the guards.People...

Hamas announced the death of field leader Ali Mohammed Tayeh, who was killed during a "special Jihad mission" in Gaza. In other words, a "work accident."(They only used the words "jihad mission" in Arabic.)Some Palestinian Arabs are touting one benefit of being imprisoned in Israel: learning Hebrew. Their knowledge of the language helps them to understand the enemy and write...

June 2009 rocket calendar

Q=Qassam (may include Katyusha-style rockets)QS=Qassam landing short in GazaM=MortarF=Fatality (F=Gazan, F=Israeli)(G)=Grad (included in Qassam count, not consistent yet)MS=Mortar landing shortP - unnamed "projectiles"(Paren) indicates unconfirmed Palestinian claims* - Fatal non-rocket attackK=Katyushas from LebanonJune 2009 Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 123456(2M) 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ~10M 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 ...

"Obama changed his tune due to Zionist pressure"

Iran's Press TV is just so much fun to read:A senior advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says US President Barack Obama's recent remarks about Iran's election show that he is under pressure from the Zionists. In an exclusive interview with Press TV on Tuesday night, Mojtaba Samareh-Hashemi said that Obama originally took a soft stance on the results of Iran's presidential election but then was forced by the Zionists and the US neoconservatives...

I just came across this from the Palestine Post of June 30, 1949, describing how hard the new state of Israel tried to accommodate its Muslim citizens - and even its Muslim enemy POWs.In 1949's Ramadan, Israel went out of its way to give extra rations to Muslims for their break-fast meals, mosques were repaired, special Muslim programs were broadcast on Kol Yisrael, and Muslim...

Rabbi Boteach trying to turn Michael Jackson's kids Jewish?

Apparently, if you believe Al Arabiya in Arabic.Al-Arabiya seems to have taken some relatively obscure news stories: one about Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's friendship with Michael Jackson, and one about MJ's ex-wife Debbie Rowe considering herself Jewish and seeking custody of her two kids.Putting the two together, and you get Arab journalism at its finest.Al-Arabiya is saying that Debbie Rowe seeking custody to raise the kids Jewish at Rabbi Boteach's...

Another Free Gaza lie

The Free Gaza publicity boat that was intercepted by Israeli authorities on the way to Gaza had declared upon its leaving Cyprus that the intended destination was - Egypt:The Cypriot Embassy in Tel Aviv issued a statement following the incident, saying "The Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Israel would like to inform that the "Spirit of Humanity" boat, sponsored by the Free Gaza Movement, that attempted in the early hours today to reach Gaza...

"Free Gaza" deja vu

Once again, the "Free Gaza" movement is claiming that Israeli naval vessels are threatening their lives, and once again they are lying.It will be recalled that last December a Free Gaza boat tried to get to Gaza. The Israeli Navy intercepted them and stopped them. They claimed that they were fired upon, that they were surrounded by six boats, that they were rammed by the Israeli boats and lots of other things. Yet the journalists on board and all...

Today's PalArab news roundup 6-30-09

A 'breakthrough" was announced in the Hamas/Fatah negotiations.But even as that was happening, Hamas arrested some 150 Fatah members in Gaza. And the PA arrested seven more Hamas members in the West Bank.Even more bizarrely, the PA announced that they foiled a Hamas plot to assassinate senior PA officials, apparently to torpedo these very Fatah/Hamas negotiations. It is possible that Hamas has some infighting going on, of that the Damascus leadership...

Morocco hosts a beauty contest - for "most beautiful ass"

Remember Saudi Arabia's beauty contest for camels?Well, Morocco has one...for donkeys.Al Arabiya (Arabic only, alas) has details on the competition. It describes a number of competitions - most beautiful ass, fastest ass, and slimmest ass. (Hey, I'm not making this up.)Part of the reason is to promote the donkey as a beautiful animal, and not as a butt of jokes.The festival...