Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Notable links

Podhoretz on NYT's latest (interestingly timed) revelation.

CSM on how US efforts to separate Syria from Hezbollah are boomeranging.

Yaakov Lozowick notices a telling statement.

YNet reports on Iran's officially approved haircuts for men.

Moshe Arens on Egypt and Jordan's fear of Palestinian Arabs on their border.

Israel smartly decided to use an existing international agreement to define the list of items not allowed into Gaza.

Pajamas Media discusses the "peace index" that I had written about today.

IDF indicts soldiers over Cast Lead

The IDF has just come out with a press release:

The IDF Military Advocate General, Maj. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit, has decided to take legal action regarding a number of incidents that occurred during Operation Cast Lead, following his examination of the findings from the investigations carried out through a number of different channels.

The Military Advocate General has decided to indict a number of officers and soldiers for their conduct during the operation. In one case, an IDF officer at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel was summoned to a disciplinary hearing for having deviated from military directives pertaining to the prohibition on the use of civilians for operational activity. In a second case, the Military Advocate General indicted an IDF Staff Sergeant for manslaughter. In a third case, the Military Advocate General ordered a criminal investigation following his review of a field investigation in order to clarify the circumstances of a specific incident. In a fourth case, disciplinary action was taken against an IDF Captain for his failed professional judgment in authorizing an attack against a terror operative.

In accordance with the Chief of the General Staff’s commitment on the matter, an ongoing, comprehensive process of examination has been carried out within the IDF since the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead, in order to study claims made by various individuals and organizations regarding IDF conduct during the operation.

Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi ordered an examination of IDF conduct, and the ethical aspects thereof, in full confidence of the moral justness of the IDF, its officers and soldiers, as well as of the IDF’s ability to examine any incident, to draw the necessary conclusions, and to take legal action as necessary. More than 150 incidents have been examined and nearly 50 investigations have been launched by the Military Police Criminal Investigations Division since the operation’s conclusion.

The four incidents include the Al Maqadama Mosque incident, where the IDF confirms that it targeted a terrorist outside the mosque (as we now know, he was with a number of other terrorists as well, who were hit.) Even so, the IDF says that procedures were not properly adhered to.

Similarly, indictment concerning the complaint by Majdi Abed-Rabbo that he was used as a human shield includes the interesting fact that, according to IDF soldiers at the scene, he had asked the IDF soldiers if he could go to speak to the militants inside his house in order to minimize the chances for his house next door being destroyed if there was a battle. According to IDF rules, the battalion commander should not have allowed it to happen.

There is also an indictment on an apparent case of a soldier firing on a group with a white flag as well as an air-strike on the Al Samouni residence.

These investigations are nightmarishly complex, but from reading this release one gets the impression that the IDF takes them very seriously, even as the world accuses them of whitewashing any deviations from protocol.

"Honor killing" in Gaza

Firas Press reports that a 21-year old man killed and buried his 20-year old sister for reasons of "family honor" in the northern Gaza strip.

He confessed to the crime. Police are still looking for the body.

By my count, this is the eleventh woman murdered this year in the territories.

Global Peace Index again ranks Israel close to last

Once again, Vision of Humanity compiled the Global Peace Index, which defines "peace" in bizarre ways - and, of course, ranks Israel close to last among all countries.

This year, Israel's position changed from 141 out of 144 countries to 144 out of 149, which they say is an improvement of two places.

The US is ranked 85th, on the lower half of the scale.

While Israel is ranked as more peaceful than Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan, it falls below the Congo, Lebanon and even Yemen, with its ongoing multiple conflicts.

As with previous years, the "experts" who compiled this list create a flawed methodology that pretends to be objective but is filled with estimates that they pretty much make up.

The most notable change in individual scores was Israel's ranking for "disrespect for human rights." Unlike most of the qualitative scores, they actually give a specific definition of what each score means in this category. This is how they define the rankings:

• Level 1: Countries under a secure rule of law. People are not imprisoned for their views and torture is rare or exceptional.

• Level 2: There is a limited amount of imprisonment for non-violent political activity. However, few persons are affected and torture and beatings are exceptional. Politically motivated murder is rare.

• Level 3: There is extensive political imprisonment, or a recent history of such imprisonment. Execution or other political murders and brutality may be common. Unlimited detention, with or without a trial, for political views is accepted.

• Level 4: Civil and political rights violations have expanded to large numbers of the population. Murders, disappearances, and torture are a common part of life. In spite of its generality, on this level political terror affects those who interest themselves in politics or ideas.

• Level 5: Terror has expanded to the whole population. The leaders of these societies place no limits on the means or thoroughness with which they pursue personal or ideological goals.

Now, the worst one can say about Israel - even including the territories as part of Israel, as this survey appears to do without actually saying so - is Level 2. (If you consider assassinations of terrorist leaders to be "politically motivated murder," you might be able to argue that Israel was a Level 3 in previous years, but I am unaware of any targeted assassinations in 2009.) There is no way that you can say that in Israel "murders, disappearances, and torture are a common part of life" (level 4) or that it ranks as the worst in the world in disrespect for human rights, with the government terrorizing the entire population (level 5).

Yet Israel is ranked as Level 5 - worse than the 4 it received in previous years. (For comparison, Syria, Yemen and Iran are rated as to getting a 4, Egypt and Saudi Arabia a 3.5, Libya a 3. North Korea was one of the few countries besides Israel to be rated a 5.)

They mention this in the text, and give the reason for the score - without referring to their own definition:

There was also a substantial fall in the level of respect for human rights to a score of 5, although this indicator refers to 2008 and so includes the incursion of the Israel Defence Force into Gaza – a conflict that resulted in an estimated 1,417 Palestinian casualties (official Israeli sources put the death toll at 1,166) and 13 Israeli fatalities.

Is this objective science? Of course not. Many of the indicators they rank countries on (such as electoral process, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, civil liberties, corruption perceptions, freedom of the press) are "qualitative assessments" made either by the Economist Intelligence Unit or other "experts."

Rankings like these are only as good as the data that is used, and when a large percentage of that data is subjective, then the conclusions cannot be anything but deeply flawed. If anything, these results reflect the cumulative effect of years of worldwide demonization of Israel affecting the supposed impartiality of the experts whose opinions form the backbone of this index.

Not to mention the assumption that countries that, for example, export weapons are by definition less peaceful than countries that don't. Syria doesn't have a very big weapons industry; Israel does - and that is just one reason why Syria, with its repressive military government and explicit support for terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah, is ranked at 115, way above Israel. Not only is the data bad, but the very assumptions behind the data are wrong.

Not that this stops the media from referring to this Peace Index as an authoritative source.

(See also my post about this from last year.)

Hamas claims that new cement will not benefit the "ordinary citizen"

Hamas' coordinator for goods from Israel, Raed Fattouh, said that the cement that is now coming into Gaza both from the flotilla and from others is all earmarked for "international projects" and will not benefit ordinary Gazans.

Which is strange, because while UNRWA is also saying that the cement and other building materials it plans to bring into Gaza is meant for "international projects," it defines them as including rebuilding the houses destroyed during Cast Lead - which is specifically for ordinary citizens.

Given that UNRWA has a track record of building houses for Gazans, seems to be a bit more believable.

UNRWA "impartial" and "non-political?" Hah!

UNRWA recently came out with its "medium-term" strategy document. And once again, it says that it has a "non-political role" in trying to improve the lives of Palestinian Arabs.

The strategy document itself starkly shows the difference between UNRWA today and from when it was formed. Even though the W of UNRWA stands for "works," UNRWA has completely and totally abandoned its original purpose of finding reasonable employment for Palestinian Arabs in their host countries by creating works projects. Those countries pushed back in the 1950s to ensure that none of the jobs created would make their Palestinian Arab guests comfortable enough to want to stay, so instead they used them as free labor paid for by the nations of the world and cut them off as soon as the projects ended.

Eventually, UNRWA gave up, and became what it is today - a self-perpetuating organization that allows a "refugee" population to grow ad infinitum.

As we mentioned recently, internal UNRWA policy directs its employees to ensure that "they shall avoid any action and in particular any kind of public pronouncement which may adversely reflect on their status, or on the integrity, independence and impartiality which are required by that status."

That has once again been shown to be an absolute lie this weekend.

John Ging, Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza, recently spoke to influential German politicians at a breakfast sponsored by the Korber Foundation. In that speech he talked about "Israeli policy towards Gaza as well as on policy options for the international community and current trends in the inner-Palestinian political discourse." The name of the breakfast was "Political Breakfast with John Ging."

A month earlier, Ging also violated UNRWA's stated policy of "integrity, independence and impartiality" by giving a lecture entitled "Inhumane, illegal and insane: A Medieval Siege on Gaza in 2010."

Does this sound remotely impartial or non-political?

(h/t Silke)

Saudi man almost married his "breast sister"

Firas Press reports on a man who was very close to marrying his own "sister."

A 30-year old man from the Asir region had already booked the banquet hall and sent out the invitations, when an aunt contacted him and told him that his late mother had nursed his fiancée many years before. According to Islam, that maker her his "breast sister" and he is therefore forbidden from marrying her.

The man said he'd be especially careful to make sure he doesn't make that mistake for his next bride.

In a related story, Saudi feminists threatened to take advantage of the recent fatwa that suggested that Saudi women should breastfeed their drivers in order to avoid them being illegally alone with their female passengers in the car by making the male drivers their "sons." They proposed that they would go through with the fatwa's recommendations and breastfeed these men, unless the Saudi authorities allow women to drive!

(h/t Ali for translation help)

Iran unveils robot for "sensitive jobs"

From Al Arabiya:

Iran has developed a new human-like walking robot to be used in "sensitive jobs," government newspaper Iran reported on Sunday.

Soorena-2, named after an ancient Persian warrior, was unveiled by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday. It is 1.45 metres (4.7 feet) tall and weighs 45 kilograms (99 pounds), the report said.

"Walking slowly like human beings with regular arm and leg movements are among its characteristics," it said. "Such robots are designed and developed to be used in sensitive and difficult jobs on behalf of a person or as help."

Now, what sort of "sensitive jobs" might such a robot be meant for? Perhaps something - radioactive?

And doesn't the robot that Iran claims to have developed strongly resemble the Honda Asimo robot?

Saudis teaching parrots the Koran

Al Arabiya talks about a phenomenon in Saudi Arabia where people are teaching parrots to repeat long stretches of the Koran.

Some parrots can do multiple chapters.

Which brings up the question: can a parrot win a Koran-memorization competition?

Rocking the Casbah (The Muqata)

You just know that this will end up as fodder for Israel bashers, and leftists will be outraged, and there's an outside chance that the UN will hold a special session to denounce it, but it is funny nonetheless.

From JoeSettler at The Muqata, soldiers in Hebron show off their moves:

Lebanon mourns a terrorist leader

From Naharnet:

The Lebanese government declared Tuesday a national day of mourning over the death of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah.

A government statement also announced a one-day countrywide shutdown on Tuesday.

Fadlallah, former spiritual mentor of Hizbullah and branded a "terrorist" by Washington, died in hospital on Sunday. He was 75.

Fadlallah's funeral will take place at 1:30pm Tuesday in Beirut's southern suburbs of Haret Hreik.

Note that this day of mourning was not declared by Hezbollah, or even Lebanon's Shiites. It was declared by Lebanon's government.

Kristof visits Gaza, leaves without a clue

Nicholas Kristof, who we have just seen taking a guided tour of the West Bank and uncritically parroting the words of his tour guide, writes an equally clueless dispatch from Gaza.

The problem with closing off Gaza, quite aside from the injustice of collective punishment, is that it tends to foster just the extremism that most threatens Israel and the entire Middle East.

How many times must this idiotic truism be demolished? Israel has made concessions to Arabs and those concessions have stoked extremism (withdrawal from Gaza, withdrawal from Lebanon, a peace treaty with Jordan....) Hatred of Israel is independent of Israel's actions, and very dependent on Israel's continued audacity to exist. History has shown again and again that the quietest Israeli borders come after Israel fights to secure them. Arabs do not think like Westerners do, and Kristof's projection of his liberal ideas onto a completely different people with a completely different mindset is representative of everything wrong with Western efforts at diplomacy.

One can argue as to the effectiveness of the closure, but the idea that it has somehow made Hamas more extremist is beyond stupid. In fact, Hamas is now in a position where it is actively trying to stop rockets from being shot towards Israeli citizens daily - and those rockets were being sent by the thousands before the closure and before Cast Lead. This is an obvious counterproof to Kristof's thesis, yet it escapes him.

It’s very hard to gauge how popular Hamas is, but my vague sense is that Hamas may have lost popularity since the election in 2006 and since my last visit (2008). This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Israeli policies, but rather with weariness with Hamas’s Islamism, nuttiness and intolerance. Antics like Hamas’s attacks on summer camps for kids are emblematic of how the group antagonizes ordinary people.

Hamas is a bloodthirsty regime that routinely tortures and murders its political opponents. Yet Kristof minimizes this reality by using words such as "antics" and "nuttiness."

People are just tired of Hamas, and if Israel would stay out of the picture there’s some hope Hamas could eventually be displaced.

Kristof implies that they are just like some outlying political party who managed to get into office by a fluke and will be gone by the next election, if only Israel doesn't interfere.

He has no idea of how much Hamas has solidified its grip on Gaza.

Hamas has ruthlessly removed any opposition from teachers' unions, student leadership, doctors' associations, mosques, and the news media. They have used supposedly democratic elections to become an autocracy. They have spent the past two years solidifying and entrenching their political and military hold on Gaza. How can Kristof visit Gaza and not know these basic facts? How can he even conceive that, even if Gazans are unhappy with Hamas (and they are), that they are not powerless?

Once again, we see that the most prestigious newspaper in the United States will happily publish nonsense from one of its senior columnists, and this received wisdom will now trickle down into the consciousness of ordinary Americans either from their reading it directly or from the moronic mindset influencing wire service agencies and countless local news outlets. Kristof is not merely wrong - he is mind-bogglingly wrong. Yet because he managed to visit Gaza - where he apparently did not speak to a single ordinary Gazan citizen and where his itinerary was vetted by Hamas itself - he is now regarded as an expert on the matter.

He is nothing of the sort. He is a dupe who didn't do even basic research and didn't ask a single hard question from his hosts.

Today's PalArab news (7/5/2010)

A Jordanian included a symbolic wooden key with his wedding invitations to remind party guests of how they really don't want to forget their homes in Palestine. One reminder of his status came from Mahmoud Abbas himself, who stressed that "Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians," in a speech that could one day result in Jordan revoking citizenship from many more of its citizens of Palestinian Arab ancestry.

All for their own good, of course.

Last week there was a war of words between Hamas' Mahmoud Zahar and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit concerning Hamas. This week, Egypt is attempting to mend fences, sending delegations to Gaza and Damascus. Egypt wants to make sure that its influence in negotiations between Hamas and Fatah is not damaged.

One way that Fatah and Hamas are battling is via issuing passports. The PA sends a limited number of (blank) passports to Gaza every month, far less than Hamas demands, and Fatah is now accusing Hamas of giving all of the passports to terrorists from the Al Qassam Brigades. Hamas is demanding another hundred thousand passports, presumably for Gazans to travel through Rafah.

Now, what could the Qassamis be doing with the passports?

The World Health Organization is warning that many of Gaza's beaches are contaminated with sewage, and that Gaza's dumping of raw or partially-treated sewage in the Mediterranean is a major health problem. It could start affecting Gaza's vegetables, fish, milk and meat. The mayor of Ashkelon is also complaining that the contamination is reaching his beach, and warns that it could ruin affect Cyprus and Turkey if not addressed. In the past, Hamas has used pipes meant for sewage treatment to build Qassam rockets.

Egypt intercepted another half ton of TNT, as well as mortar shells and old anti-aircraft missiles, on their way to Gaza.

Firas Press reports that a senior Al Qassam member used some of his thugs to torture his brother's wife, who is now being treated for her wounds. The torture included beating her with sticks and pouring olive oil into her nose. Nice to know that Hamas has ways to keep olive oil manufacturers in Gaza in business.

Islamic Jihad is awaiting the release of some of its members from prison. They say that some of the prisoners were tortured. The prisoners may be released this week - by Egypt.

Gaza economic news

Gaza manufacturers of sodas and other beverages are appealing to the Hamas government to intervene and not allow Israel to ship competing items into Gaza, warning that it will cause the loss of hundreds of direct jobs in their industries. They say that the traders who profit from these imports are only a handful of people and that Israel is using this as an opportunity to destroy the Gaza economy. They also point out that while the consumer goods are getting through, the raw materials they require to stay competitive are not, as of yet.

Meanwhile, prices on consumer goods in Gaza continue to plummet. Canned food prices have gone down by 50% in the past two months, and the clothing market is saturated from the combination of tunnel smuggling and goods from Israel. Window-shoppers are expressing astonishment at how inexpensive goods are. Consumers are not yet buying, though, as they wait for the PA salaries which are due by the end of the week. (The EU just sent millions of euros to pay this month's PA salaries, one third of whose employees are in Gaza.)

The retailers also expect to do much better next month at the beginning of Ramadan, which begins around August 11th.