Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Wikileaks: Evidence of Syria's chemical weapons program

From Wikileaks, a cable dated December 30, 2008: The U.S. has obtained information indicating that a Syrian institution with connections to the country’s chemical and biological weapons programs is attempting to acquire Australia Group-controlled glass-lined reactors, heat exchangers and pumps from the Indian firms XXXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXXXXX . Both firms are believed to have received visits from the Syria institution in the past 3 months and...

From Daylife: A group of Israeli-Arabs and Palestinians organised a demonstration in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. The event was held in solidarity with the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt. Tel Aviv, Israel. 01/02/2011 Because Nasser was such a wonderful example of freedom and democracy.....

Muslims visit Auschwitz...but who are they? (updated)

From Al Arabiya: Prominent Muslims joined Jews and Christians at the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz on Tuesday in a gesture of interfaith solidarity designed to refute deniers of the Holocaust such as Iran's president. About 200 dignitaries from across the Islamic world, from Israel, European countries and international organizations such as UNESCO took part in the visit, which included a tour of the site and prayers in Arabic, Yiddish, English...

Violence in Egypt; turns out freedom isn't a cakewalk

From The Lede: Thousands of demonstrators for and against President Hosni Mubarak, some on horses and camels, fought running battles in and around Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, despite a call from Egypt's powerful military for the president's opponents to "restore normal life." The pro-government supporters had arrived in their thousands, but were outnumbered by Mr. Mubarak's opponents. Their confrontations, which were descending into rock-throwing...

Syria's Muslim Brotherhood poised for action

We saw in Egypt that the Muslim Brotherhood was not the instigator of the protests but quickly took advantage of the potential power vacuum to position itself as the largest and best organized opposition group. Déjà vu time. After a series of independent calls on Facebook and elsewhere to hold a "day of rage" in Syria this Saturday, some of which attracted thousands of members, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood had put out its own call for protest,...

Hamas, PA crack down on solidarity protests

From Ma'an: Police in the Gaza Strip shut down a demonstration Monday in support of the uprising in Egypt. Activists said six women and eight men were arrested at a park in Gaza City, where a few dozen demonstrators had gathered. The women were released after a few hours. It was not immediately clear when the men were freed because they were separated, one of the protesters said. Asmaa Al-Ghoul, a Gaza-based journalist and writer, was among...

Some interesting Egypt analysis links

A really good description of the events in Egypt from an Egyptian student's viewpoint, at American Thinker. (h/t Israel Matzav) Yossi Klein Halevi describes Israel's worries in a NYT op-ed. (h/t SoccerDad) And, while already slightly dated. Spengler at Asia Times has some very good insights. (h/t J...

The woman who helped start a revolution

While rags like the New York Daily News still build up El Baradei as if he is Lech Walesa, it appears that this young woman, Asma Mahfouz, was really one of the people who started it all. The original video was posted January 18th, calling on Egyptians to come to Tahrir Square on January 25. (h/t Yerushalime...

Video of Grad rocket barely missing wedding feast in Israel

Here are three security camera angles of a Grad rocket slamming near a wedding reception in Netivot, Israel, on January 31: JERUSALEM, Israel - Palestinians in the Gaza Strip targeted two southern Israeli cities with longer-range Grad-type rockets on Monday night. Wedding guests celebrating in a residential neighborhood in the town of Netivot, nine miles east of Gaza, ran for cover as the explosion drowned out the music. "There was music, then...

Arab sentenced to prison for selling land to Jews

Palestine Press Agency reports that a man has been sentenced to prison for selling land to an Israeli. The regional court in Nablus ruled on Tuesday against the Salfit man, sentencing him to ten years in prison for selling land to Israelis. The accused is 70 years old, and he sold the land in 1981. He violated the Article 114 of the [Jordanian] Penal Code of 1960 number 16, which prohibits selling land to "the enemy," with "the enemy" specifically...

Because of this story.... ...

MB leader wants to ready Egyptians for war with Israel

From the LA Times: The Obama administration said for the first time that it supports a role for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned Islamist organization, in a reformed Egyptian government. The organization must reject violence and recognize democratic goals if the U.S. is to be comfortable with it taking part in the government, the White House said. But by even setting conditions for the involvement of such nonsecular groups, the administration...

Muslim Brotherhood on El Baradei: "He's only temporary"

From this Russia Today video, starting around 2:15, interviewing a Muslim Brotherhood member: Mohammed El Baltagy: "We didn't choose El Baradei. We chose him only for a short period of change. He's only temporary." Notice how el-Baltagy phrases it, as if the Muslim Brotherhood is calling the shots of the current uprising and using players as pawns to gain leadership. El Baltagy is a major figure in the Muslim Brotherhood. Much of the rest...

Synagogue torched in Tunisia (updated)

From AFP: Arsonists set fire to a synagogue in the southern Gabes region of Tunisia, a leader of the local Jewish community said Tuesday."Someone set fire to the synagogue on Monday night and the Torah scrolls were burned," Trabelsi Perez told AFP, criticising the lack of action by the security services to stop the attack."What astonished me was that there were police not far from the synagogue," added Perez, who is also head of the Ghriba synagogue...

Jordan's king sacks government

From YNet: After weeks of opposition protests demanding change, Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday sacked his government and asked his former ex-military advisor Marouf Bakhit to form a new cabinet, an official said. According to the palace, the king named Bakhit as prime minister with orders to carry out "true political reforms". Bakhit's mission is to take practical, quick and tangible steps to launch true political reforms, enhance Jordan's...