Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Al Arabiya reader reaction to the murders

Al Arabiya's coverage of the terror attack immediately drew many comments - over 150 so far.

The initial responses from Al Arabiya readers in Arabic to the murders were ecstatic. The first reaction said "Mubarak (blessed) to you," and many more said simply "God is great."

The vast majority were very approving of the murders. There were, however, a few exceptions.

Commenter 5, from the West Bank, threw in a cautionary note, saying that now Israel will make life for people in the West Bank harder. Commenter 19 and others took him to task for being against such a wonderful operation.

#22 is disappointed, saying at the rate of killing only 4 Israelis in four years, it would take thousands of years to "liberate Palestine."

#24 says that the Palestinian Arabs who are negotiating are wimps - "God bless Hamas and Islamic Jihad."

The next few were happy, saying Allahu Akbar.

#33 was actually critical, calling Hamas terrorists. #34 says that the murders only help Israel.

#50 was an Israeli Arab who pointed out that one of the victims was pregnant and that the terrorists do not deserve to live. #84 insulted her, saying that for her to speak like that she is no Arab, but a Jew.

#80 was against the murders - but it was signed "cute Jewish boy."

#92 chastised the commenters for celebrating the murder of innocent people. #148 insulted him, calling him a Zionist and a spokesman for the Armies of Zion, saying ti is impossible for any Arab to even think that way.

#102 was an Egyptian who said that the operation was stupid and counterproductive.

#104, named Ali (is that our Ali?) said to the other commenters "Shame on you for rejoicing over the murder of a pregnant woman....just like you rejoiced over Samir Kuntar murdering a 4 year old girl."

#108 also sarcastically said "Congratulations - you kill women." #113 asks in killing pregnant women is OK "according to our religion."

But most of them were very, very happy.

And Al Arabiya is one of the more moderate Arab newspapers.

Fayyad's fake condemnation

Salam Fayyad, that darling of the West who is the most moderate quasi-leader that Palestinian Arabs are ever likely to have, is following in the footsteps of Mahmoud Abbas and Yasir Arafat.

His condemnation of the terror attack is the same as those given by Abbas and Arafat over the years. Not a word about how the attack is evil, or immoral, or wrong. Instead:

"What happened tonight in Hebron was timed to coincide with the PLO's decision to engage in negotiations to end the occupation and achieve freedom and independence for our people," Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said.

"We condemn this operation, which runs counter to Palestinian interests and against efforts of Palestinian leadership to mobilize international support for the rights of our people as well as with previously signed agreements," Fayyad told Ma'an shortly after the attack.

Killing Jewish civilians isn't inherently wrong, this moderate leader is saying. It is merely politically incorrect.

Should, at some other time, murdering pregnant women coincide with "Palestinian interests," it would be perfectly fine to do so.

This is one of the many reasons why a Palestinian Arab state would be a disaster for everyone. Their leaders are immoral to the core.

Spinning SpongeBob

My SpongeBob poll can be used as an object lesson on how the media can make any survey appear to support literally any position.

First, the facts. As of this writing, the poll results are:

Bring him back!	55 (39%)
Nah, we don't need him.	41 (29%)
Don't waste time. Work on a new design already!	27 (19%)
Who?	18 (12%)

The spin for pro-SpongeBob people:

By a commanding 10% margin, EoZ readers support the return of SpongeBob Squarepants to the Elder logo compared to those who oppose his return.

The spin for the anti-SpongeBob people:

In a recent survey carried out on the Elder of Ziyon blog, fully 61% of the respondents who voted refused to support bringing SpongeBob Squarepants back into the Elder logo.

The spin for the new design people:

A great number of EoZ readers support a new design of the site. While neither the pro-SpongeBob nor anti-SpongeBob crowds were able to gain close to a majority of the votes cast, the people who want a complete overhaul garnered some 60% of the non-partisan votes entered in the survey, and literally all of the non-partisan activists voted to redesign the site.

The spin for the don't know/don't care crowd:

In a lackadaisical survey carried out at the EoZ blog, no one managed to get very excited over the question of whether SpongeBob should return. None of the survey choices given managed to gather close to a majority of the votes, and many people were not familiar with the cartoon character in the first place. Most of EoZ's total daily readers didn't even bother to answer the question, making the entire dreary exercise moot.

All of these treatments are 100% true.

This is why, when you see survey results reported as news, you should try to get hold of the actual numbers.

(Right now I am leaning on bringing SpongeBob back, not only because of the votes but also because the pro-SBSP crowd were much more passionate in the comments.)

Terror attack in Kiryat Arba, 4 dead (updated)

From Ha'aretz:

Four Israelis were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen opened fire on their car at the entrance to Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, in the West Bank.

The attack occurred around 7:30 P.M. on Route 60. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Magen David Adom reported that the victims were two men aged 25 and 40 and two women, also aged 25 and 40. Channel 2 news reported that the victims were all members of the same family, and that one of the women was pregnant.

YNet says it was a well-planned ambush:

A Palestinian security official said that a Hamas cell is believed to be behind the lethal attacks. He noted that the last attack in the Hebron region, which left an Israeli police officer killed, was also the work of Hamas.

Ha'aretz Hebrew quotes a Magen Dovid adom paramedica as saying that he saw "a car riddled with dozens of bullets; inside were the four bodies and there was no chance to help them."

Haaretz:

The victims were all residents of the settlement of Beit Hagai in the southern Hebron Hills.

Beit Haggai was named for the initials of three yeshiva students who were killed in a terror attack in Kiryat Arba in 1980.

Hamas is not claiming responsibility at this time, but is saying that this is a "natural response to Israeli crimes."

Here is my essay on "natural responses" from 2008.

UPDATE: Israel Matzav says that it was a couple who left behind 7 children, plus two hitch-hikers.

UPDATE:

"When we arrived on the scene, all four doors of the car were open and four bodies were strewn on the road," Magen David Adom paramedic Guy Ronen told The Jerusalem Post. "We saw that the vital organs had been struck by a very large number of bullets, and that there was no chance of saving their lives," he added.

Backspin looks at the disgraceful way AP illustrates the story.

"Moderate" Arabs praise murders, proud that they are from the West Bank

Firas Press, which is oriented towards Fatah, so far has five comments on its story about the terror attack near Kiryat Arba.

All five are very happy about it.

Two of them are proud that the real resistance still exists in the West Bank (as opposed to those collaborators in Gaza.) It is sort of like rooting for a hometown sports team - which side can kill more Jews?

Others simply say "God is great."

A new one says that this must have been done by Netanyahu, because, in his logic, why have we not seen any terror attacks to defend Al Aqsa? Obviously this was staged by the Israelis.

Hamas praises murder of "four Zionist rapists"

The Al Qassam Brigades of Hams referred to the four civilians, including a pregnant woman, who were murdered near Kiryat Arba as "rapists."

They also praised the attack:

"Hamas praises the attack and regards it as a natural response to the crimes of the occupation," said Sami Abu-Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, adding that the attack was proof "of a failure of security coordination" between Israel and the Palestinians.

UPDATE: I am told that the Arabic word has a double meaning, and can also mean "usurper."

Blogger/press conference with IDF spokesperson on attack

I just attended a bloggers conference with Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich of the IDF. She didn't shed too much new light on the attack.

She said, "An hour ago, we had a severe terroristic attack at Kiryat Arba - which is very close to Hebron. The info we have is that it was a civilian car. Four people that were sitting inside the car were killed, amongst them a pregnant woman. This is a very severe terroristic attack. In the past two or three years, the security situation in the WB was overall stable and this is such a vicious attack on civilians. We wish that this security situation will not deteriorate."

She noted that while it was the third terror attack in the West Bank this year, it was the first one against civilians. Things had been pretty calm in the area for a while, or, as she said, "the security situation had not deteriorated."

I asked if any of the roadblocks/checkpoints that had been removed recently would have helped. She sidestepped the question, saying that the IDF took orders to remove the roadblocks from the government, and that over 180 roadblocks had been removed over the past couple of years, noting that she could drive from Jerusalem to Hebron without stopping at a single checkpoint. The situation had been stable up until now.

The IDF had no information yet on who was responsible, what kind of weapons were used, nor did they confirm that reported scenario that the terrorists stayed to confirm their kills.

The security level was not raised in Israel in anticipation of any attack before the Washington talks begin; they raise the levels based on intelligence information and there was apparently no warning of this attack. There is increased security in the area now as they try to catch the murderers, but there has not been a general raising of security as a result of this attack.

(h/t MW for first paragraph)

US funds left-wing, anti-Netanyahu ad campaign

From the Jerusalem Post:

The Geneva Initiative unveiled a campaign partially funded by the USAID in which Palestinian leaders speak to the Israeli public in video clips, telling Israelis that there is a Palestinian partner for an agreement.

Thus far, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee Yasser Abed Rabbo and Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rajoub have recorded short messages, all of which begin with a personal address to the Israeli public which includes the word “shalom” in Hebrew and conclude with “I am your partner. Are you my partner?”

Gadi Baltiansky, Geneva Initiative Israel director, explained that the campaign aims to counter the myth that there is no partner on the Palestinian side and to stir a debate as to whether the Netanyahu administration represents a partner for a two-state solution.

The Hebrew webpage for the ads is here.

As an op-ed in JTA says,

This political advocacy effort is aimed at convincing Israelis, in the words of Geneva Initiative head Gadi Baltiansky, “that there is a [Palestinian] partner -- that the problem is specifically with us.”

For the most part USAID, as its name suggests, has been involved primarily in projects related to Palestinian economic development, including parks and a sports facility in Tulkarem. An NGO-run advertising campaign marks a major shift in U.S. government policy. As in the case of NGO political campaigns funded by European governments, this process bypasses the elected Israeli leadership. Such direct interference in the internal affairs of other democracies is a blatant violation of international norms.

At the same time, the USAID funding is notable in that it is relatively transparent. While the USAID website makes no mention of this campaign, the Geneva Initiative released a statement about it: “The campaign is supported with the generous support of the American people through USAID.” News of the funding has been reported and criticized widely in the Israeli media.

...However, the transparency is partial, and the ads do not reference the U.S. government’s role and backing. Thus, Israelis hear Palestinian officials promoting peace without knowing that the message is brought to them courtesy of the U.S. administration, which has its own political interests. The absence of full public disclosure or congressional oversight for this unusual venture is problematic.

The US is funding an advertising campaign meant to make Israelis doubt the leadership abilities of the people they elected. The Geneva Initiative is far the the left of the mainstream Israeli public.

USAID is primarily meant to provide development and reconstruction assistance. To use it to fund a blatantly political program seems to go against its stated purpose.

It is notable that the Geneva Initiative claims:

The GI and our activities are designed to reinstill in the Israeli and Palestinian peoples the hope that it is possible to reach an agreement that will serve their respective national and personal interests and aspirations. We are committed to exposing each side's public to the message of the other – despite the technical and psychological barriers.

Yet I cannot find a single campaign they ever created or funded to convince the Palestinian Arabs to support a realistic peace with Israel. No public relations campaigns in the territories, no ads, nothing. Not a dollar is spent to influence Palestinian Arab public opinion.

It is even more interesting that the GI, as left-wing as they get, which is so keen to convince Israelis that Palestinian Arabs are such great peace partners, do not have a single Arab or Muslim organization listed as a "supporter" on their website. But trust us - they really are peace partners, even if they don't want to publicly be associated with the most dovish Israelis. That is probably only out of fear of being labeled "collaborators" and murdered in cold blood by their equally peaceful next door neighbors.

There is no problem with the GI coaching Saeb Erekat to lie about how peaceful he is. After all, lying is something he has a lot of experience in. Only a month ago Erekat rejected the idea of talking with Israel. His intransigence is clear. And the GI may be hypocritical in its one-sided view of who is the intransigent party in the Middle East, but, again, that it their right.

If the Geneva Initiative wants to get Jibril Rajoub, who explicitly supports terror in Arabic, to make peaceful statements in English, they can pay him whatever they can afford.

However, US tax dollars are paying for political ads in Israel - and not just any political ads, but ads that are designed specifically to turn the Israeli public against their own government. That should be unacceptable from the point of view of Americans as well as Israelis.

(h/t Jed for jogging my memory)

Heads up: Tehran to announce list of "Zionist companies" next week

From the Tehran Times:

The Iranian vice president for parliamentary affairs said here on Monday that the list of firms related to the occupying Palestinian regime will be published by next week for further sanctions against these companies.

The Mehr News Agency quoted Hojjatoleslam Mohammad-Reza Mir-Tajeddini as saying that three years ago a plan was approved by the Majlis to intensify sanctions against the Zionist regime.

Following that, last week a list was prepared of multinational companies which are somehow related to this regime and sent to the foreign policy commission of the Majlis.

He said that after the Majlis and the administration check the list before publishing it.

I can save him some trouble. Here is a very partial list of Israeli companies listed by Wikipedia. There are lots more, of course:

Ahava
Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd.
Amdocs
Answers Corporation
Carmel Agrexco
Ceragon Networks
Cisco Systems Israel
Check Point Software Technologies
Coca Cola
Comverse Technology
D.B.S. Satellite Services (1998) Ltd.
dbMotion
ECI Telecom Ltd.
Elbit Systems Ltd.
Exanet Ltd.
Freescale Semiconductor
Google
Haaretz
Horizon Semiconductors
HP Scitex
HSBC Israel
IBM Haifa Labs
IDIT I.D.I. Technologies
IncrediMail Ltd
Intel Israel
Microsoft Israel
Mirabilis (company)
Mirs Communications Ltd.
M-Systems
Motorola Israel
NetManage
Newlog (a subsidiary of shipping magante Zim)
Nemesysco
NICE Systems Ltd.
Panorama Software
Paz Oil Company Ltd.
Precise Software
Rad Group
RAD Data Communications
Radcom
Radvision Ltd.
Radware
SAP Israel
SuperPharm
Tadiran
Tadiran Telecom Ltd.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Teva Naot
TNUVA Co-Op for Marketing of Agricultural Produce in Israel Ltd.
Tower Semiconductor
Trivnet
Verint Systems
Vigilant Technology
Visonic
VocalTec
Unilever Israel
Zend Technologies
Zenith Solar
Zim Integrated Shipping Services
Zoran Corporation

And while I cannot vouch for every one of these, this is the list from a Muslim anti-Israel website from 2008 of brands that must be boycotted because they are available in Israel:

Always glad to help the Islamic Republic! And make sure that your computers and nuclear plants have no hardware or software from Microsoft, IBM, Google, Intel, HP, Cisco or Motorola! (Or Linux, for that matter...)

Hamas complains that Egypt isn't allowing members through Rafah

Not only are the PA and Hamas restricting which Gazans can leave, but Egypt is as well.

Hamas accused Egypt of stopping Hamas members from traveling through Rafah en route to Saudi Arabia for Ramadan. They accused Egypt of collaborating with the PA to restrict the movement of Hamas members and leaders. They also said that Egypt tried to blame Saudi Arabia for the rejection of Hamas members.

It should be recalled that in the past, Hamas stopped Fatah members from going on the Hajj pilgrimage. Also, in 2007, Hamas used Hajj as an excuse to send terrorists to Iran for training.

Muslims freak over WJC meeting

The Muslims really have to scour the news to find things to seethe about.

The World Jewish Congress is having a Governing Board meeting in Jerusalem over the next three days. It is not a huge convention; only about 200 people are in attendance. While there are some prominent speakers, like Shimon Peres and Elie Wiesel, it did not get any major press.

But the Muslims noticed.

From the Qassam website, as well as others:

-The Islamic-Christian Front for defending Jerusalem (ICF) says the 14th World Jewish Congress (WJC), which is set to be held on Wednesday in Jerusalem, is a blatant provocation to the Arab and Islamic nation as a whole.

Dr. Hassan Khater, Secretary General of the ICF said: “Not only does the [Israeli] occupation not at all care about the feelings of Muslims in Palestine and the world, but now deliberately shows direct prejudice to the religious sentiments of the Palestinians and Muslims in general, as evidenced by the conference deliberately held during the holy month of Ramadan.”

“In these heavy days of black memories against Islamic holy sites, beginning with the forty first anniversary of the arson attack of Al-Aqsa, the sixteenth anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, the outrageous attack on the Ain Silwan mosque, and preventing worshippers from reaching Al-Aqsa, even in the month of Ramadan, comes the brutal Zionist decision,” he added.

Brutal! How can Jews dare to meet in Jerusalem, when every day of the year is the anniversary of an outrage against Muslims! And Ramadan to boot!

Also, the Mufti of Jerusalem denounced the meeting, calling it "dangerous."

You can see the live video feed of the nefarious Jews plotting to take over the world. President Peres' speech is here.

Increase in PalArab murders in Ramadan

While the number of Palestinian Arab murders has gone significantly down this year compared to the past two years, the past five days have seen four murders (and one person killed in a tunnel collapse.)

On Friday, a man's body was found in an abandoned tunnel in Rafah.

On Saturday, a man was found stabbed to death in Gaza City.

On Sunday, a 15-year old boy was stabbed to death near Jenin.

And on Monday, a man was killed in the al-Bureij camp during a "clan clash."

Also during Ramadan a 12-year old girl was murdered, and a 62-year old woman was killed because she was thought to be a witch.

Nevertheless, the pace of violent deaths this year in the territories is a little less than half that of last year at this time.

YNet: New Hamas rockets can reach Tel Aviv

From YNet:

Hamas has completed a series of experiments on its advanced Fajar rocket, which has a range of almost 80 kilometers (roughly 50 miles) and can as far Kfar Saba, northeast of Tel Aviv, experts say.

In a few months, Hamas will be able to begin manufacturing the rockets, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

The progress made by the Gaza group on the rocket front is huge, considering that Hamas' original Qassam rockets had a range of around 1.5 km (roughly 1 mile.)

The long-range rockets acquired by Hamas are of the Fajar-5 type, and it is believed that they arrived in the Strip via the Sinai peninsula.

Israel believes that the rockets were developed by scientists working for the organization and for research institutes located in Arab countries in the region that have been working non-stop to arm Hamas in Gaza.

Hezbollah had used Fajr-5 rockets in the 2006 Lebanon war.

Here is a video where Honest Reporting re-visits the event that helped start that organization - the mis-captioning of a September 2000 newspaper photo to make it look like an Israeli border policeman was beating up an Arab, rather than saving the life of a Jew.

Since then, Honest Reporting and its blog Media Backspin has exposed countless cases of media bias and outright lies against Israel, always with meticulous research and transparency. HR, along with other media-aware organizations like Just Journalism and CAMERA, have certainly helped improve the fairness of coverage of the Middle East.