Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Google introduces localized "Palestine" search engine

Nothing terrible, but it is here at www.google.ps .

When they localize news, that will be interesting.

Hamas threatens human rights commission

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) expresses its concern regarding statements made by the Government in Gaza against the Independent Commission of Human Rights.

In a workshop it organized in Gaza City on Tuesday evening, 11 August 2009, the Commission called for its lawyers to be allowed to visit detainees held by the Internal Security Service and to reveal the places of their detention. The Commission called also for the immediate release of political prisoners and to compensate and rehabilitate victims of torture.

In response, the Ministry of Interior in Gaza issued a press statement on the same day considering the Commission's positions as non-neutral, and accusing it of dual treatment with regard to cases in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Ministry also considered the Commission's position as a political security escalation rather than a legal one.

In the same context, the Ministry of Information in Gaza issued a press release on Wednesday, 12 August 2009, rejecting the Commission's "accusations" and demanding that the Commission withdraw "such accusations. It also demanded that the Ministry of Interior take legal action against the Commission. The press release also stated that the Ministry should consider boycotting the Commission "because it has proven on several occasions that it is not independent and not neutral in many situations." The Ministry demanded the Commission "move back to the right legal work" and warned it and others of "moving away from the legal methodology in dealing with the Palestinian situation," which implies a threat to all human rights organizations.

Even though that commission was created by Arafat, it criticizes the PA as well.

HRW will believe anything (UPDATED)

HRW just came out with a report claiming multiple cases where IDF soldiers killed, in cold blood, innocent civilians holding white flags. I cannot speak to all the details of the report right now, but one part is clear: HRW fully believes the "eyewitness" accounts of liars. They interviewed the Abed Rabbo family, whose previous statements to reporters were found to be incredibly inconsistent. The fact that HRW is so credulous when many have noted the inconsistencies shows that their research is pretty shoddy. At the very least they should have addressed the issue, but of course that is not HRW's aim. One simple example: HRW says that

Seven neighborhood residents who spoke to Human Rights Watch said that major fighting in the area had stopped by the morning of January 7, although sporadic exchanges of fire may have continued after that.

Time magazine's report mentions a salient fact that HRW chose to ignore:

Most residents of Jebel al-Kashif claim there were no Hamas fighters in the area at the time of the alleged incident, but a middle-aged farmer in a battered army jacket took me aside and said, in a near whisper, that Hamas had been firing rockets from the vicinity of where the episode took place.

Now, who is more credible? The farmer has nothing to gain by lying, but the Abed Rabbo family - who are members of Fatah and who had earlier told a PA newspaper that Hamas was using them as human shields - just might not want to antagonize their tormenters. Why are none of these facts mentioned by HRW when it relates the story of the Abed Rabbo sisters told by a family with very shaky credibility? The reason is, of course, that HRW wants to find human rights abuses and "war crimes," and will ignore evidence to the contrary. NGO Monitor's critique of the report can be found here. UPDATE: Here's video of a terrorist trying to get away from the IDF by using a white flag, something HRW seems to not have known about during the past seven months.

(h/t Richard Landes of Augean Stables via email)

The crack Palestinian Authority police have a tough case to crack. From Ma'an:

A Palestinian boy died of seven gunshot wounds to the head in what sources say is either a tragic accident of a case of filicide.

The incident occurred in Az-Zawiyah village south Nablus on Wednesday, when Palestinian security sources uncovered the death of 15 year-old Jihad Shukeir.

Jihad was pronounced dead at the Rafidia Government Hospital; medical sources said he had sustained seven gunshot wounds to the head and died while he was being transferred to the hospital.

Sources said police are investigating two tracks, the first a scenario where the boy was playing with this father (a Palestinian Authority police officer)’s weapon, and the second a case of gun cleaning gone awry, where the gun was in fact in the hands of the father.

Tough to choose between those scenarios. Did the boy continue to shoot his own head seven times, or did the father not notice that he was shooting his son in the head while he happily continued to clean his gun?

Two equally good theories. Everything else is far fetched.

Dutch activist blames bird flu on Jews

From Haaretz:

A journalist from Holland who linked Jews to the recent outbreak of a flu pandemic drew heavy criticism from a prominent Dutch Jewish organization this week, which said her claim was tantamount to an anti-Semitic blood libel.

Holland's largest daily, De Telegraaf, last week printed an interview with Desiree Rover, 61, who proposed the bird flu pandemic, caused by the virus H5N1, was part of an international conspiracy to reduce the world's population. (Swine flu, or H1N1, is a related virus.)

Rover is quoted saying the conspiracy can be traced back to descendants of the Khazars in the Caucasus believed to have converted to Judaism 1,200 years ago. De Telegraaf quotes her saying these descendants are now "praying to another god; Lucifer, Satan or however you want to call him" and "are called Rockefeller, Rothschild, Brzezinski and Kissinger."

The original article in Dutch frames her as an anti-vaccine extremist, and she has a bunch of conspiracy theories about how the West unleashed H5N1 on the world, but the anti-semitism is blatant, if not the focus of the article.

I predict that the Arab press will pick up on this within 24 hours.

Does this 3000 year old Egyptian bust look familiar? (Especially the missing nose...)

Al Arabiya has the story, as does the Chicago Sun-Times.

Is this what "multi-faith" means?

From "Ice News" of Iceland:

With the rapid approach of the holy month of Ramadan, a prayer room has opened for Muslims at the University of Iceland. A student in the Finnish language department at the university made a formal request at the Student Council for a prayer room which was later approved by the university. A Holy Quran and prayer rugs were set up in the university’s Chapel making it into a multi faith prayer room, making Icelandic history in the process.

“We are really very happy that we have a prayer room at the University of Iceland,” Head of the Islamic Association in Iceland Salmann Tamimi told IceNews. “It gives the opportunity for Muslim students who have to pray 5 times a day to be able to perform it at the right times. It helps the other non Muslim students and teachers to have a better understanding of Islam, which we are really in need of.” Salmann Tamimi is a graduate of the University of Iceland.

There are about 20 to 30 Muslim students at the University of Iceland from all over the world as well as Icelandic Muslims.

(Photo/Prayer room at University of Iceland, photo provided by Islamic Association of Iceland)

It doesn't sound very multi-faith to me; it sounds like only one faith in this room.

(The article does mention that it is in a "chapel" but the question is, are there any religious objects from any faith outside Islam in this room?)

Major Arab reporter calls for Palestinian Arab resettlement

In a stunning series of four articles in Al-Hayat (London), columnist Daoud Al-Shiryan looks at the reality of how Jordan, Lebanon and Syria keeps Palestinian Arabs in misery. MEMRI translates much of them, here are some highlights:

Objecting to [refugee] resettlement is no different than objecting to peace. It is nothing but an unrealistic slogan. The Arabs have agreed to peace, although they realize that there cannot be peace without [refugee] resettlement. But they disregard this fact, viewing the refugee issue as a point of controversy, when it is [actually] a central and key issue in the peace process. The fear [of being accused of renouncing the nationalist] slogans [calling for] struggle, resistance, and casting Israel into the sea - slogans which emerged at the outset of the peace process with Israel - and the link that has been established between the issue [of resettlement] and ethnic and political problems in some [Arab] countries - have [all] become an obstacle to a realistic and honest approach to the issue.
Arabs who object to the [refugee] resettlement plan contend that they are motivated by their zealous devotion to the Right of Return. But they have not lifted a finger to keep this right alive in the consciousness of the Palestinian 'detainees' in the camps of abasement. As a result, this spurious devotion has evoked the opposite reaction: a Palestinian [refugee] now hopes to emigrate to America, Europe, Canada, or Australia in order to escape the hell of the Palestinian refugee camps, which have played a part in killing his will to live.
It follows that [refugee] resettlement is [already] underway, despite [all the] slogans promoting the Right of Return that have become an [integral] part of the speeches of these countries' politicians.
There is no doubt that our next campaign [should be aimed at] defending the [refugee] resettlement program and demanding that it be implemented… [The host countries] must open up the refugee camps, which are not fit for human [habitation]. [They must] prohibit the trading in the lives of these people, whether this trading was in the name of security and or in the name of terrorism, and they must make it possible for Palestinians to work, to send their children to [public] schools, and to make a living without conditions or limitations. Without real change in the conduct of the countries 'detaining' the Palestinian [refugees], the number of those demanding resettlement will [only] increase. Opposition to [refugee] resettlement is specious; it is tantamount to the slow murder of the Palestinians…"

These countries must stop treating the Palestinians like a plague, using slogans which, as we all know, have become nothing but empty utterances in a loathsome struggle. We must break the isolation of the Palestinians in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. A Palestinian should be made to feel like a welcome and dear guest - before some external intervention comes along and grants him the right to live in dignity, to everyone's consternation. "We must support the Palestinians like the West supported the Jews. We must reassess the whole idea of refugee camps, before they collapse on top of us. Be God-fearing [in handling the issue of] the refugee camp dwellers. Stop fighting at the expense of the Palestinian people's dignity.

Then he tells an amazing story:

[A] [Jewish] Lebanese woman, Hannah [Efraim], invited a Palestinian woman, Umm Bilal, to come spend the weekend at her house… [saying], 'I want you to help me pack my things, since I have decided to emigrate to the U.S. As you can see, the political and social situation after the 1958 [Lebanese civil] war does not encourage one to stay [in Lebanon], and intensifies sectarianism here. I prefer my son to live far away from Lebanon.' [Shortly thereafter,] Hannah left [Lebanon] and lost touch with Umm Bilal.
Upon her arrival in New York, Hannah received assistance from Jewish organizations. A short time later, she received U.S. citizenship, enrolled her son in a private school, and started working in a bank, earning a good salary. [Her son] Avraham grew up, finished university, and advanced at his job, becoming director-general of a reputable bank. Ten years after completing his degree he married, had three children, and bought a fine house in a New Jersey suburb [for himself], and another for his mother.
In 1995, Hannah decided to visit Lebanon and spend her summer vacation there. She arrived in Beirut and moved into a luxurious hotel. The next day, she asked her driver to take her to the refugee camp where Umm Bilal lived. She entered the camp and inquired after her. By nightfall, she managed to find her - [living] in a dilapidated hut with fabric-covered windows, her body ravaged by tuberculosis.
Hannah asked Umm Bilal about [her husband], Abu Bilal; Umm Bilal replied that he had died in the civil war. 'And what about [your son] Bilal?' [Hannah asked]. [Umm Bilal] replied, 'He is working at a bicycle repair shop down the street. His salary is barely enough to cover my basic needs and those of his three sisters.' 'Is Bilal married?' Hannah asked. 'In this hole, where would we get the money to feed another mouth?' [answered Umm Bilal].
'Aisha [Umm Bilal] is just one example among the thousands of Palestinian mothers [like her], and Hannah is just one example among the Jewish mothers [like her]. The Arabs kept the Palestinians in refugee camps and made into a people defeated both morally and materially. In contrast, the West welcomed the Jews and made them a leading [force] in science, arts, literature, economics, and politics.
Are we capable of reassessing the idea of the refugee camps, [thereby] saving the next generation of Palestinians from a fate [similar to that of] Bilal and his contemporaries? There is still an opportunity to do so.

What a concept - noticing that Arab governments treat Palestinian Arabs like dirt, and asking them to give them basic human rights! Too bad the West cannot perceive these obvious facts and believes the Arab lies that Israel is responsible for PalArab misery today.

American captive in Iran mixed up with yeshiva student

From the Jewish Week (NY):

In a widely disseminated error by news outlets and bloggers, Joshua Fattal, 27, currently a captive in Iran, is being confused with Joshua Fattal, a teenaged local yeshiva student who has written two articles for Fresh Ink, the high school supplement of The Jewish Week.

The case of mistaken identity has led to speculation that the older Fattal may be charged with being a “Zionist” spy.

Iran seized the older Fattal on July 31, along with two other Americans, Shane Bauer and Sara Shourd, after they allegedly strayed across the Iran-Iraq border near Kurdistan.

Although the captive Fattal attended college at the University of California at Berkeley, and has no connection to The Jewish Week or to any yeshiva, the mistaken
identity led Aljazeera.com, the Arab news service, to headline on Aug. 8: “Three Americans Held in Iran Are all Jews: Were They Spies?”

After perfunctory Internet searches for “Joshua Fattal,” several bloggers and news services apparently discovered the younger Fattal’s bylines for The Jewish Week, most recently for a June 3 article on the film “Defiance,” and falsely concluded that the captive Fattal is a Jewish journalist and Zionist, making him all the more vulnerable in Iran’s volatile political climate.

Al Jazeera reported that the captive Fattal “is a researcher in the American Jewish center and works for the Jewish magazine ‘The Jewish Week.’” An Iranian television station also identified the captive as “an extreme Zionist.”

"Honor": Uncle murders abused teen in Jordan

From the Jordan Times:

Criminal Prosecutor Ashraf Abdullah on Tuesday charged a 39-year-old man with the premeditated murder of his niece in the latest so-called honour crime to take place in Jordan.
The 16-year-old victim, who was not identified by officials, was shot nine times in the head and back, allegedly by her uncle, at her home in an Amman neighbourhood.

Upon questioning, the uncle told the police that he killed his “niece to cleanse his family’s honour,” the source added.

A second source told The Jordan Times that the girl was a victim of incestuous rape by two of her relatives almost 11 months ago and became pregnant.

“The victim delivered a baby boy almost two months ago with the knowledge of her father who took her to the hospital and supported her since she was a rape victim,” the source said.

But four days ago, the uncle “claimed that he learned of the incident and decided to kill her in the name of family honour,” the source added.

The victim became the 14th person reportedly murdered in a so-called honour crime since the beginning of the year.

To normal people, "family honor" would mean punishing the members of the family that raped the girl, not the girl herself.

Another faked quote - corrected 7 years later

Honest Reporting has the fascinating story of a fake quote by Moshe Yaalon that made it to major newspapers over years before it was proven false. To its immense credit, the Toronto Star had a large article tracing how the misquote started and traveled through articles and editorial pages.

And it all seems to have started out of the feverish mind of Israel-hater Henry Siegman.

The fake quote from Yaalon was that Israel must force it to "sear deep into the consciousness of Palestinians that they are a defeated people."

What he really said was that victory would be defined as "the very deep internalization by the Palestinians that terrorism and violence will not defeat us, will not make us fold. And later he said “The facts that are being determined in this confrontation -- in terms of what will be burned into the Palestinian consciousness -- are fateful. If we end the confrontation in a way that makes it clear to every Palestinian that terrorism does not lead to agreements, that will improve our strategic position.”

We have seen many times that quotes by Israeli leaders about defeating terrorism have been twisted into quotes that sound racist against Palestinian Arabs as a whole. A few examples can be seen here.

Other examples of fake quotes are here and here as well as (indirectly) here, where even the spokesperson was made up.

In this case, Siegman pretty much makes up the quote altogether - and it was believed by enough other editors as to have become accepted as fact.

To misquote Mark Twain, "A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." (He never said that, but it sure is true.)

(h/t ehwhy via email)

Egyptian murders wife for leaving house

From Daily News Egypt:

An Egyptian man has killed his wife by strangling her with a scarf and then stabbing her with a kitchen knife for leaving the house without his permission, newspapers reported on Saturday.
The woman infuriated her husband when she refused to explain why she left home without his authorization, the state-run Al-Gomhuria and the independent Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.

Well, he couldn't not kill her...that would set a bad precedent.

Chalk up another victory for "honor."

Fatah joke

Leaders of the Palestinian Fatah terror movement are holding their annual convention this week.

Surprisingly, none of the delegates can find anyone willing to valet-park their cars.

- Jake Novak

Al Arabiya (Arabic) reports on the phenomenon of some Kurds trying to encourage Jews who left Kurdistan after 1948 to return.

The Arabic video shows magazines with Israeli flags on the covers.

Al Arabiya mentions that most Kurds are not opposed to the idea, except for those who live in old Jewish areas who are concerned about losing their homes from Jewish families reclaiming them.

T

here was a large Jewish community in Kurdistan for centuries, and it appears that the Jews and Kurds lived together peacefully for the most part. It also once had a brilliant female Jewish scholar, Asenath Barzani, who became the head of a yeshiva in Amadiyah and was considered not only a halachic and Kabbalah authority but also a miracle worker.

Kurdistan has a number of Jewish shrines, including the burial place of Jonah and Daniel.

There is a website that encourages Jewish/Israeli/Kurdish ties, called the Israel-Kurdistan Network.

Victoria Beckham gets Hebrew tattoo

Victoria Beckham, otherwise known as Posh Spice, has apparently added another Hebrew tattoo to one she already had.

Victoria Beckham has been photographed with a new Hebrew tattoo thought to be inked to celebrate her ten-year anniversary with footballer husband David.
The tattoo, which translates as "Together, forever, eternally", was seen as she recorded her guest spot on the panel of American Idol.
Victoria and David previously inked matching Hebrew tattoos quoting a verse from King Solomon's Song Of Songs, which translated as: "I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me."
Last year, Victoria was said to be "furious" at David's decision to get another tattoo on his arm, a Hebrew proverb that read: "My son, do not forget my teaching but keep my commands in your heart."
David has previously described himself as "half Jewish" as his maternal grandfather Joseph West was Jewish.

I have been unable to find a photo of this important cultural landmark, but I did find her old tattoo, Song of Songs 6:3: