Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, August 30, 2010

My comment to Juan Cole

Juan Cole writes in his blog:

The spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, made waves this week when he included in his blessing for Rosh Ha-Shana, the Jewish New Year, a prayer that a plague should strike the Palestinians and wipe them out, including Mahmoud Abbas. He said, “Let Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority] and all these evil folk perish from this world. May God smite them with plague, them and these Palestinians.”

I wrote a comment - we'll see if he publishes it:

It is amusing that Juan Cole, who famously defended Ahmadinejad by claiming that his statement to wipe Israel from the face of the earth was a mistranslation, relies on Yahoo to translate the words of Rabbi Yosef. YNet today gave a more accurate translation: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3945840,00.html

Yosef did not wish a plague on all Palestinians, only the ones who “persecute Israel.”

Since Cole cares so much about accurate translations, I trust that he will correct this and apologize.

This picture was taken in Iran in 2008. I guess the podium designer doesn't know Farsi as well as Cole does.

(h/t Dan)

The Great Spongebob Debate

Over the weekend, Elder Brother of Ziyon requested that I get rid of Spongebob Squarepants on the bottom of my blog logo.

His reasoning was that he often refers other people to the site, or he quotes it in message forums for various newspapers, and he thinks that it should look more serious in order to be taken more seriously. At this point in time, he says, EoZ has content and analysis that is as impressive as most major media sites and the picture of Spongebob detracts from what this site should be.

When I originally requested that the beautiful and talented Daughter of Ziyon design the logo, I specifically asked for Spongebob because I wanted to always remind myself as well as my readers that this is still a blog, and that I shouldn't take myself too seriously. (If I ever get to the point that I tell people that I am right because of what an expert I am and without giving any real proof, please shoot me.)

The blog has had the current layout for many years already; probably since 2007 or so. Since then my readership has increased dramatically, while the blog itself is a bit outdated in its design as well as slow to load. I've been wanting to do a major overhaul for a while; perhaps something like this test site I've been playing with off and on.

Yesterday I replaced the E with something more generic, and a couple of people noticed and requested that Spongebob, with any attendant copyright issues, return.

EBoZ's larger point is a good one, although with the name of the site as it is, I am not sure how seriously anyone could ever take it anyway unless they actually deign to read it.

Anyway, I decided to ask my readers whether I should return to the old logo, keep the newer one, or forget about both of them and re-do the site already (not that the test site is what a new site would look like.)

The poll is on the right hand sidebar.

Let the great debate begin!

Story of a Mossad hit

On August 2, 2008, I quoted a Jordanian paper:

Well known sources informed Albawaba that General Mohammed Suleiman, an adviser to Syrian president Bashar al Assad, was assassinated on Friday. Suleiman also served as Syria's liaison officer to Lebanon's Hizbullah movement.

According to the sources, Suleiman was shot dead by a sniper in the Syrian port city of Tartous. They added the funeral service will be held on Sunday in Suleiman's home-town of Driekesh which is located less than 20 kilometers away from Tartous.

The sources told Albawaba the Syrian authorities have been making huge efforts to prevent the publication of the news regarding Suleiman's killing. It should be mentioned that on February 13, 2008 Imad Moughniyeh, the military commander of Hizbullah, was assassinated in Damascus.

I commented then:

Syria's formerly airtight grip on internal security seems to be unraveling.

My assumption that it was an internal Syrian hit was wrong.

From YNet, in a fascinating article that you really need to read about Israel's bombing of the Syrian nuclear reactor:

On the evening of August 2, 2008, 11 months after the bombing of the reactor, a festive dinner was held on the terrace of a summer house in Rimal al-Zahabiya, north of the Syrian city of Tartous. The summer house was adjacent to the shore and had a magnificent view. The terrace overlooked the sea and served as a refuge from the summer's high humidity. The guests were close friends of the house's owner, General Mohammed Suleiman, who had traveled there for a weekend break.

Suleiman was President Assad's top aide on military and security matters. He was in charge of the reactor's construction and its security. Government circles in Damascus referred to him Assad's shadow. His office was located in the presidential palace, next to Assad's, and few knew him in Syria and abroad. While Suleiman's name was not mentioned in the media, Mossad and Western intelligence agencies knew him and his actions well. The 47-year-old Syrian was an engineering graduate of Damascus University. During his studies he befriended Basil Assad, then-President Hafez Assad's firstborn son and Bashar Assad's older brother. After Basil's death in a road accident, his father was sure to bring Suleiman close to himself and his heir. In 2000, Hafez Assad died and his son Bashar was elected president. With his rise to power, the young president made Suleiman his confidant and close advisor.

Suleiman played a unique role: He was a member of the Syrian research board, which dealt with the development of missiles, chemical and biological weapons and nuclear research and development. As part of his job, he was Syria's contact with North Korea. He coordinated the transfer of the reactor's parts to Syria and was in charge of security arrangements for the North Korean scientists and technicians involved in its construction. The reactor's bombing was a serious blow for Suleiman, but not a lethal one. After overcoming the initial shock, he began to plan the construction of an alternate reactor, for which a location had yet to be determined. Suleiman's new mission was much more complex and difficult than before, since he was now aware that he was on the Israeli and American intelligence agencies' radars.

Ahead of the next phase of his secret mission, Suleiman took a few days off and traveled to his summer home. A vacation and dinner with his friends was the best medicine for the pressure he was under. From his seat by the table he watched the waves lazily crawling up the shore. But what he didn't see, at a distance of some 150 meters (165 yards) from the terrace, was two figures waiting, motionless in the dark water. They reached this point from a far off distance in a ship that dropped them off some two 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Suleiman's house. From there they dived until they neared his home. The two were professional snipers, possessing a wealth of experience and nerves of steel. They carried their weapons in water-proof covers. When they reached the shore they immediately spotted Suleiman's house. The information they received from their country's intelligence agency was accurate. They identified the building and the terrace, scanned the people seated at the table and focused on their target: The general sitting opposite them, among his guests.

Around 9 pm the snipers returned to test their aim and range. They watched Suleiman, sitting on a chair at the center of the table surrounded by his friends. It was crowded around the table, which forced the snipers to reset their focus and aim at the host's head. They continued to hide in the water. Then the signal was given. The two emerged from the water to the shore, moved closer to the house, aimed their rifles and shot Suleiman simultaneously. The hit was lethal. His head was first jolted back and then collapsed forward on the table. Those present did not understand what had happened, because they didn't hear a sound – the rifles were equipped with silencers. Only after they noticed the blood flowing from Suleiman's head did they realize he had been shot. A commotion broke out on the terrace, which enabled the snipers to flee via a pre-planned escape route. The Sunday Times reported a slightly different version, saying the snipers were IDF Flotilla 13 commandoes who arrived in Tartous on a luxury yacht belonging to an Israeli businessman, carried out their mission, and vanished.

Sometimes, it really is the Mossad that assassinates major Arab figures.

What exactly did Ovadia Yosef say? (updated)

The initial reports over the weekend claimed that former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef called for a genocide against all Palestinian Arabs, wishing the plague on Mahmoud Abbas and all other Palestinians.

The New York Times said

he described the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, as “evil” and called on God to strike “these Ishmaelites and Palestinians with a plague; these evil haters of Israel.”

YNet originally reported and translated the sermon this way:

Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Saturday night wished death on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his people, who he called "evil enemies of Israel."

During his weekly lesson, held at the synagogue near his house in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har-Nof, the rabbi mentioned the blessing said at the Rosh Hashana feast that says, "May our enemies and adversaries be destroyed", and applied it to the current situation. "Abu Mazen (Abbas) and all those evil men – may they perish from this world. May God Almighty strike them and these Palestinians."

Today, however, YNet has changed the translation - after the entire world has already been convinced that Rabbi Yosef is a genocidal maniac.

Today's story says:

Ovadia, who heads the Shas religious party in Israel's ruling coalition, expressed hope in his weekly sermon Saturday that "all the evil people who hate Israel, like Abu Mazen (Abbas), perish from our world."

"May God strike them down with the plague along with all the evil Palestinians who persecute Israel," he said.

This is much different from what was originally reported. This is not a call for genocide; it is a call for God to strike down Israel's enemies - a much different story and very much in line with daily prayers.

Is this another case of an overzealous media mistranslating (or, in the case of Israel's anti-religious media, misreporting) the words of the religious?

I cannot find the text of the sermon online, so I can't say for sure, but it sure looks like the media again placed their own preconceived notions of Jewish "extremism" ahead of an accurate story.

UPDATE: My readers come through again! Ruchie via email sends a link to the video and the money quote:

אבו-מאזן וכל הרשעים האלה, שיאבדו מן העולם. יכה בהם הקדוש ברוך הוא מכת דבר, בהם ובפלסטינים האלה, רשעים צוררי ישראל

Her translation is:
Abu Mazen and all those villains, may they perish. May the Almighty strike them with the plague, them and those Palestinians, evil enemies of Israel.

With all due respect, I think that YNet's newer translation of צוררי ישראל as "persecutors of Israel" is more accurate.

To engage in a little pilpul, if he meant all Palestinian Arabs he would have not used the word "those", in Hebrew האלה. I think that he was referring only to those who are the "enemies" in the sense that they are actively against Israel. It is hard to know without hearing the entire context.

UPDATE 2: Yeranen Yaakov looks at the context as well.

PA kids TV teach all Israeli cities are "occupied" (PMW)

Palestinian Media Watch shows a children's TV show, shown last week, that refers to a series of Israeli cities as "occupied."

TV host to girl: "You live in Jerusalem. Do you visit the 1948 occupied cities (Israeli cities)?"
Girl (Lujayn): "I’ve been to Hebron."
TV host: "No, Hebron is a city [in the Palestinian Authority] that we all can enter. The occupied cities – such as Lod, Ramle, Haifa, Jaffa, Acre (all Israeli cities) – have you visited them?"
Girl: “I’ve been to Haifa and Jaffa.”
TV host: "Tell us, are they beautiful?"
Girl: "Yes…"
TV host: "We hope all children of Palestine will be able to go to the occupied territories, which we don't know and have never been able to see. Personally, I have never been there."

Isn't it interesting that they do not refer to Hebron as "occupied," but Haifa is?

Hezbollah rejects call to remove arms from Beirut

For nearly a week, Lebanese politicians have been reacting to the fatal firefight between Hamas and al-Abbash in Beirut by calling for the elimination of arms in Beirut altogether.

Two groups disagree: Hezbollah and their allies in Amal.

Hezbollah first rejected the idea, saying that Beirut needs to be protected from that constant Israeli threat. Then they said that the only weapons that should be allowed in Beirut are "resistance weapons."

And guess who owns all the "resistance weapons"?

Those who still think that Hezbollah is acting for the good of all of Lebanon are delusional.

Arabs see that Abbas has no mandate for peace talks

From The National (UAE):

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, faces a crisis of credibility among his own people as he heads into direct talks with Israel in Washington this week.

Perhaps nothing better illustrates this than a rather awkward security crackdown Thursday in Ramallah, when leftist factions convened a meeting to protest against Mr Abbas’s decision to accept the US invitation to the talks. Security officials justified the actions of dozens of plainclothes security officers, who disrupted the meeting and prevented a press conference from being held, as a legal measure against an “illegal rally”.

But privately, Palestinian Authority officials expressed their dismay at what looked to most like an effort by security services to stifle dissent.

And dissent there is.

All Palestinian political factions, bar one, have denounced the direct talks, some in harsher language than others.

Only Fatah, Mr Abbas’s own group, supports direct talks. Even among its members, though, there are plenty of disapproving voices.

Ordinary Palestinians, as well as the political factions, feel they have little influence on the Palestinian leadership’s decisions. The Palestinian polity is broken. There is no functioning parliament. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are divided under the leaderships of rival factions. The PA government under Salam Fayyad was appointed by presidential decree and elections – presidential, parliamentary and municipal – have all been postponed indefinitely.

Even the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is chaired by Mr Abbas and represents Palestinian interests in international forums, including negotiations with Israel, was not properly consulted about the decision to go to direct talks. The US invitation to the talks was accepted, without a quorum as normally required by the PLO’s rules, at an emergency meeting of its executive committee.

The Palestinian leadership’s subsequent attempts to justify their decision to go to talks have also been clumsy.

“There is a real leadership crisis in the Palestinian arena,” said Diana Buttu, a Palestinian analyst and a former legal adviser to the PLO, adding that it “is not responsive to the people it represents or even the factions it represents”.

“The direct talks will lead to direct failure,” Ms Buttu said. “Failure could lead to another intifada, but not necessarily one against Israel. This one might well be directed against the Palestinian Authority.”

And the Quartet, including the US, is willfully blind to all of these issues that are not very far beneath the surface.

Salam Fayyad literally begs Arabs for money

Al Ahram has a sensationalist article that claims that in recent days, Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad has been "crying" and begging Arab countries to help prop up the finances of the PA.

As opposed to Fayyad's public speech last week where he confidently predicted the PA's full financial independence by the end of 2013, in private he has been intensely lobbying and begging members of the Arab League to pay up on their pledges, saying that the PA coffers are empty. The article says that he is writing letters to the Arab leaders with "blood and tears" in his desperation for cash.

The Arab League had pledged some $55 million monthly to the PA and has largely not paid up on those pledges.

Al Ahram also says that of the $500 million pledged in March to strengthen Arab and Muslim institutions in Jerusalem, not a dollar has ever materialized.

According to the article, the US and the EU have "closed off the taps" a few weeks ago in order to pressure the PA to agree to direct negotiations with Israel. I have not seen confirmation of that anywhere else.

Egypt finds 5 caches of explosives, weapons en route to Gaza

Over the weekend, Egyptian security forces discovered five separate caches of weapons, explosives and ammunition that were on their way to Gaza.

110 anti-aircraft missiles were found in one area, and 60 more in another. A third contained 100 kg of explosives. The others had ammunition, more explosives and weapons.

AP notices that Hamas and Fatah split worsening

A little late to the game, but at least the word is getting out:

The rival Palestinian governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have clamped down harder on opponents and critics in recent months — deepening a nasty split that could prevent Palestinian statehood even if peace talks with Israel kicking off this week succeed against long odds.

New reports by Palestinian rights groups highlight a surprising symmetry in the abuse that the U.S.-backed government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank and his Iranian-supported rivals Hamas in Gaza inflict on each other.

Both governments carry out arbitrary arrests, ban rivals from travel, exclude them from civil service jobs and suppress opposition media, the rights groups say. Torture in both West Bank and Gaza lockups includes beatings and tying up detainees in painful positions.

Hamas and Abbas' Fatah organization have harassed each other ever since the Islamic militant Hamas seized Gaza in 2007. However, the crackdowns have become more sweeping in recent months as each aims to strengthen its grip on its respective territory.

The talks aim to create a Palestinian state, but it appears unlikely any deal could be implemented as long as the split persists, particularly if Hamas — shunned by Israel and the West as a terror organization — remains in charge in Gaza.

I've published lists of the "elephants in the room" - issues that make peace impossible yet are not being addressed by the sacred "peace process."

Number one has always been the fact that Hamas controls Gaza, representing nearly 40% of the Palestinian Arab population. The Hamas/Fatah split has only solidified over the years, and the formerly constant Arab headlines of an imminent agreement have all but disappeared. Yet no agreement can ignore Gaza, even the most anti-Hamas member of Fatah would not support a state without Gaza. The PA continues to pour more than half its budget into the Gaza black hole where their money indirectly supports Hamas but where they can pretend that they still have influence there. (Some Israeli right-wingers base their new support of a one-state solution on the idea that Jews have a semi-comfortable majority in Israel and the West Bank, excluding Gaza.)

Furthermore, it is ironic that the enlightened, moderate, democratic PA employs methods against Hamas that would enrage the world if Israel would employ those exact same methods. As far as I can tell, no nation has threatened to withhold PA cash on the condition that it starts to treat its potential terrorists with more respect for human rights.Just another double-standard to add to the ever-growing list.

(h/t Backspin, which has another angle as well.)

Abbas lies and threatens. No one notices.

Mahmoud Abbas made a speech on the eve of negotiations with Israel.

He said that the only reason he agreed to negotiations is because the Quartet publicly confirmed their statement from last March that Israel must withdraw to the 1967 lines, including East Jerusalem. In his words:

The statement confirmed all previous statements of the Quartet ... the statement underlined the need to end the occupation that took place in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and not to recognize the Israeli annexation [of any territory.]

The only problem is, that is not what the Quartet said. The statement did request that Israel not expand settlements and stop demolitions in "East Jerusalem," but it also emphasized:

[T]he status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties...

And nowhere did they say that the final settlement must be based on the 1967 (really 1949) armistice lines.

In short, Abbas is lying.

He also fails to mention the failure of the PA to hold on to its end of what the Quartet demanded from them - "make every effort to improve law and order, to fight violent extremism and to end incitement."

The PA court system remains in a shambles, and incitement has not gone down at all. Just this month we have seen a PA square named after a terrorist, a state funeral for another terrorists, a summer camp named after a third, publicly claim that Israel poisoned Arafat, and lots more listed at the Palestinian Media Watch site.

Beyond that, he also telegraphed exactly how the negotiations will go, with another probable lie:

I would like to point out here that our attitudes toward the settlements and their legitimacy and to the settlement expansion has not changed. I must say that today, frankly and clearly that we were informed by all parties, including the American sponsor of the negotiations before we agree to participate, that the Government of Israel alone will have to bear responsibility for these negotiations, and the possibility of total collapse and failure, in the event of continued settlement expansion in all its forms and manifestations in other parts of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.

I find it very hard to believe that the US agreed that Israel would be held responsible if the PA walks away when the settlement freeze expires and Israel resumes building. Yet Abbas is saying, very plainly, that this is what he plans to do, and he is blaming Israel in advance.

If Abbas has no compunction making these lies on the eve of negotiations, why should anyone trust him during the negotiations themselves?

Saudi customs manage to confiscate 5195 books

Saudi customs officials are bragging that they have confiscated over 5000 books that were being smuggled into the Kingdom this year.

Most of them were religiously offensive, although some were merely politically offensive.

Good work!

Muslims in Scotland threaten shops that sell Israeli goods

From the Scotland Sunday Herald:

Asian shopkeepers in one of the biggest Muslim areas in Scotland are backing a boycott of Israeli produce.

In a move that has worried Jewish groups, Muslim families who own stores in Glasgow’s south side are refusing to stock Israeli goods in protest at Israel’s West Bank settlements and policy towards Palestinians.

Around 30 stores in Muslim communities in Pollokshields, Pollokshaws and Govanhill are supporting the drive and yesterday campaigners took to the streets to applaud shopkeepers who are no longer stocking Israeli products.

The campaigners, who toured stores handing out flyers to shoppers, say shops which continue to stock Israeli goods will be “named and shamed”.

Led by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of Al Aqsa Glasgow, many stores in the area are now displaying posters declaring “No Israeli Produce sold here”.

Imagine the outcry that would occur if a supermarket anywhere in the free world would proudly put up a sign saying "No Arab Products Sold Here."

And furthermore, imagine if shops that did sell Arab produce were publicly "named and shamed." There would be numerous left-wing cries of "McCarthyism" and "bigotry" and "thought police."

If Arab stores don't want to sell Israeli produce, of course that is their right. But a public campaign to pressure other stores to adhere to this boycott is a different matter, and it should not be covered in such an "evenhanded" way.

The Guardian quotes the Israeli ambassador to England, when he heard about a boycott of Israeli dates there:

"Israel will continue to successfully export dates, whilst others choose to export hate," he said. "We encourage Muslim shoppers to ignore this nonsense, and instead double the quantity they usually purchase, to help bring about a two-date solution."

Yet the Guardian's article helpfully linked to a website so that consumers would not accidentally buy Israeli dates. I guess it thinks hat helping consumers avoid buying Israeli goods is a public service.

Yummy Jews' Ear Juice!

From YNet:

The Consulate General of Israel in Shanghai recently was surprised to discover on the shelves of a local supermarket chain a canned beverage called "The Jew's Ear Juice."

The drink is made of a black mushroom which does resemble a wrinkled ear.

Israel's Consul-General in Shanghai Jackie Eldan stressed that this was not a case of anti-Semitism, as Judaism is considered in China a synonym of success.

According to Eldan, the juice's manufacturer must have thought that linking it to the Jewish ear would be profitable.

This beverage has actually been reviewed on a website:

Really, what sounds more appetizing than juice from a Jew's ear, especially "Quality Jew's ear selected from Changbai Mountain?"

I'm actually pretty nervous to try it. From the Chinese name, 黑木耳露（Hei1 Mu4 Er3 Lu4）, I know that it's wood ear juice. Wood ear (evidently a.k.a. Jew's ear) is a fungus that's pretty common in Chinese dishes, but I would never think about drinking it.

It's a nasty-looking thick semi-transparent cloudy brown liquid. It's smell is weird, like a mix between the apple vinegar drink and turkey gravy. It's a little thick and slimy, but the flavor is actually mild. The flavor isn't anything at all like the cooked wood ear that I'm used to eating.

It's so strange that it tastes like bland, bad, old apple cider, that I decided to check the ingredients. The Jew's Ear Juice is made of: pure water, black wood ear (Jew's ear), haw (Chinese hawthorn), big Chinese date, sugar, honey, sodium of citric acid, and stabilizer.
It all makes sense now, the strange appley flavor is coming from the haw. It does taste similar to hawthorne juice now that I think of it.

Well, the can says that if you drink the Jew's ear juice cold, it's clear and refreshing, but you can heat it up to make it more "densely" fragrant. I gotta try it.

Wow this stuff heats up fast. Granted, I only heated a little bit, but I think due to the thickness or sugar or something, it started boiling after about 20 seconds in the microwave.

They were right about the smell, it is definitely denser. The strange thing is that it now smells more like food, almost like spaghetti-o's. Believe it or not, Jew's ear juice actually tastes better hot. Maybe it's the thickness, but I think it's just that wood ear is usually served cold, and when the juice is hot it reminds me less that I'm drinking fungus juice.

As a special bonus it came with a Jew's Ear Juice Bottle Opener! What a great souvenir. I will be the hit of all the parties from now on.

*Update: Since I've gotten a lot of questions from readers as to what Jew's ear actually is, I found this beautiful picture of one by Jenny Downing. You can definitely see where this fungus gets the name "wood ear. "

(h/t Vicious Babushka)

UPDATE: A reminder from EBoZ that this is perhaps what was bothering this guy:

NYT's latest op-ed nonsense (updated)

A co-founder of the Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah, who makes no bones about how he wants Israel to disappear, writes an op-ed in the New York Times.

It remains amazing that the "newspaper of record" can deign to publish such absurdities as this:

The United States insists that Hamas meet strict preconditions before it can take part in negotiations: recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by agreements previously signed between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, of which Hamas is not a member. These demands are unworkable. Why should Hamas or any Palestinian accept Israel’s political demands, like recognition, when Israel refuses to recognize basic Palestinian demands like the right of return for refugees?

So according to Abunimah, for Israel to ask its negotiating partners to not demand its violent destruction is "unworkable"?

Abinimeh also tries to make a tortured analogy with Northern Ireland, as if the Irish ever demanded that Great Britain be utterly destroyed as part of their negotiating position.

Apparently, Abunimah thinks that Israel should be thrilled if Hamas is willing to negotiate the terms of Israel's destruction. Maybe they'll even be willing to wait a decade or two! Isn't that moderate?

(h/t Balfour St)

UPDATE: Zach in the comments notes that Abunimah has been the "go to" guy for the New York Times when they need an anti-Israel comment. How he has attained such stature is beyond me.