Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Karsh slams Morris as a "chameleon"

Efraim Karsh again takes aim at fellow historian Benny Morris at The American Thinker:

Humility was never one of Morris's trademarks. In a manner that would put Woody Allen's human chameleon to shame, Morris made an art of portraying his ideological acrobatics as moral decisions exacting a heavy personal and professional price. For years, he cast himself as a victim of Israel's political and academic establishments, which allegedly denied him a tenured position at a local university. This patent fabrication -- the respective faculties in Israel's universities have long been dominated by Morris's ideological fellow travelers -- won him international sympathy (and besmirched Israel's reputation for its supposed encroachment on academic freedoms), so much so that then-president Ezer Weizmann personally intervened to arrange Morris a tenured post. Now that he has changed his colors, Morris is supposedly victimized by Islamists and anti-Semites of all hues for his heroic defense of Israel.

As before, this false pretence has had its fair share of takers. Only now it is Israel's supporters who are willfully turning a blind eye to Morris's past antics, and their lingering damage to the Jewish state's international reputation, in the desperate hope of scoring a point in the rearguard action against the country's growing de-legitimization. Yet they shouldn't be holding their breath, for there are clear indications that Israel's human chameleon is laying the groundwork for another dramatic flip flop.

That Morris has been able to engage in this intricate game of doublespeak for so long, without paying any professional or personal price, is a sad testament to the shortness of public memory and the utter ruthlessness of the Arab-Israeli propaganda war. And while one can only speculate about Morris's next somersault, it is clear that this human chameleon will have no problem in finding the "facts" to back up whatever his political convictions demand at that time-and the useful idiots to applaud them.

This may be a tad unfair, as Morris has not changed his view of history unless new documents were uncovered, and his writings on history should be critiqued without reference to his ever-changing political views. But Karsh is right when he says that Zionists should not embrace Morris' political views because his pendulum happened to have swung in their general direction for a couple of years. That pendulum is already on its way back....

UPDATE: ...according to Karsh.

Egyptian security keeps Ilan Grapel for another 15 days

From Ha'aretz:

Egyptian authorities have extended the detention of Israeli-American Ilan Grapel, who is being held on allegations of spying for Israel.

Grapel will spend 15 more days in detention.

The Egyptian attorney general's office explained that more time was needed in order to continue its investigation into Grapel's activities.

Grapel was arrested in Cairo in June. He has not been indicted.

According to reports in the Arab media, the U.S. has been in contact with Egypt, seeking Grapel's release and departure from Egypt.

An indictment would transfer the case to the court system and start a lengthy legal process. Therefore, efforts are being made for Grapel to be released before he is indicted.

Grapel's story has fallen from the headlines in Egypt as it has become evident that he is probably not the serious spy that he was described as by the Egyptian press when he was arrested.

That last paragraph is questionable, as Egypt's major daily, Al Ahram, continues to push the lie that Grapel is a spy - without bothering with any infidel Western modifiers like "alleged" or "accused."

Its latest article on him, indeed a headline, says categorically that he is a Mossad spy who was "fanning the conflict of the youth revolution and inciting subversion against the police and the army."

Two ships still trying to reach Gaza

From Reuters:

Notice how Reuters still pushes the lie that the purpose of the ships is to deliver aid to Gaza, and secondarily to "raise awareness of Israel's naval blockade." Um, no. Even the activists admit their goal is to create an unfettered sea route to Gaza that would include weapons for Hamas.

Ha'aretz says that there is one other ship that remains in the flotilla, the Giuliano.

Joseph Dana's dishonesty (updated)

Here is a tweet from anti-Israel activist/self styled "journalist" Joseph Dana, referring to a video of a protest this morning in Nabi Saleh:

Minute 5:00, soldiers physically attack a female Israeli protester. Welcome to the wasteland of democracy

However, if you look a few seconds beforehand, you see a female protester pushing an IDF soldier first.

Then there is an edit.

In fact, there are dozens and dozens of edits in this video, no doubt an attempt to whitewash the violence of the "non-violent" protesters. Many of the edits clearly excise only a few seconds of video at a time, right in the middle of the action. Why?

The answer is simple: The entire video is theatre, a lie to give the impression that IDF soldiers initiate violence against peaceful demonstrators. Of course, Dana swallows the video whole, because its edits conform with his existing vicious biases.

Let's see the unedited version! That's what a real journalist would demand. Dana no doubt knows the videographer - lets see if he ever asks for the raw footage to see what really happened.

UPDATE: Dana insisted that there was no shove, so I looked again full screen at the moment at 4:57 where I thought I saw it. It is possible that she was shaking off her friend. Even so, the video is a textbook example of how editing is used in videos like these - notice that every single example of IDF "aggression" is preceded by an edit so we cannot see what happened immediately prior. In other words, it is still theatre, and Dana has no clue what specific event may have precipitated the "wasteland of democracy" outrage..

Slate: Gaza rocket terrorists are "rock stars"

Slate 's Sharon Weinberger writes a flattering article about Gaza rocket terrorists:

Abu Saif, a rocket maker for the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, is a fan of Google Earth. One recent evening in Gaza City, I sat next to him as he showed me how he used the popular satellite mapping program to target sites within Israel.

"The technology is always improving," he told me. "Our struggle started with the Kalashnikov, and then it moved to the suicide bomb, then the locally made rocket, and now the Grad rocket," he said.

And that's where Google Earth comes in. The satellite mapping tool that was created with help from the CIA's venture capital arm has now become a favored tool for rocket makers, who use it to help aim their artillery. Maps are quickly outdated, and don't provide, as Google Earth imagery does, the precise locations of buildings, roads, and other potential targets.

Like schools, perhaps? No, Weinberger doesn't bother to ask that.

Rocket makers enjoy an air of mystery, and to meet Abu Saif (a nom de guerre, meaning the "father of Saif"), I was instructed to drive down a specific street in central Gaza City, where a young man jumped into the car and guided us to the meeting point.

You can almost feel her excitement at meeting such a mysterious, almost romantic, figure.

It was a rather domesticated setting for a meeting with one of the rocket makers, who over the last several years have become the rock stars of Gaza, or at least its reality stars. In some ways, rocket making has almost become an extreme form of reality television, with the militants understanding that playing to the cameras is as important as, or perhaps more important than, actually launching rockets. Groups like the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades regularly film semiscripted home videos, complete with dramatic editing and cheap sets.

Indeed, Abu Saif was surrounded by a small gaggle of young men who, like members of a celebrity entourage, seemed to have little purpose other than to enhance the importance of their star.

...Indeed, Israel may be improving its defenses, but the militants have been improving their rockets. They have, over the years, become more adept at aiming them, with help from Google Earth. Particularly since the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli settlements from Gaza in 2005, the rocket attacks, to be effective, have had to go longer distances.

Was it harder to target Israeli positions before the advent of Google Earth in 2005? I asked Abu Saif. "No, it was easier," he replied, smiling. "Because the settlements then were inside Gaza."

Yet lately it appears things may have evolved even beyond the unguided Grad. In April, militants launched into Israel what was reported to be a laser-guided missile, which struck a school bus. When asked if the militant groups were indeed on the cusp of employing a new technology, Abu Saif was coy, saying only that when the right time came, they would make an announcement.

"At some point in the future," he said, "the Grad will be a thing of the past."

Weinberger didn't even mention that a child was murdered in the schoolbus attack. She didn't mention that the targets have been purely civilian. She refrains from using the word "terrorism" - which is what these rockets are, in the purest sense. She doesn't even ask whether these "rock stars" are planning to work with the paper unity government or against it. She doesn't ask whether Hamas has been encouraging or discouraging recent rocket attacks. She doesn't mention - and probably isn't even aware - that many Palestinian Arabs have been killed by these romantically crude rockets that fell short.

Is it coincidental that the day after this report was published, three rockets were shot into Israel, the biggest attack in months?

No, Weinberger was so happy to play the part of the adventurous journalist that she happily allowed herself to be used by (what appear to be) Islamic Jihad terrorists to further their own agenda - on the pages of Slate - without asking a single hard question, and without admitting that she was being used as a tool of the terrorists.

(h/t Dan)

Someone tried to burn down the office of the Ma'an news network in Gaza this morning.

A Molotov cocktail was thrown against the Ma'an office door, burning it, but the fire did not make it inside the office.

Palestinian Arab media condemned the attack, noting that Ma'an is one of the very few media outlets to manage to report both from PA-controlled areas and Gaza, and saying that such an attack makes it look like Palestinian Arabs act against against freedom of expression.

Hamas has a history of doing exactly that, and so far it has not commented on the incident.

The "Palestinian Spring" has been outsourced

If there is one word that can describe Palestinian Arabs throughout their brief history, it has to be "pawns."

Rarely have they shown authentic initiative. With some exceptions, they have been manipulated by their so-called leaders and by other Arab leaders. Ironically, each of their successive puppetmasters have invariably claimed that they were doing it out of love.

Their first leader, the infamous mufti of Jerusalem, manipulated them for his own hateful purposes which included his own personal enrichment and his severe Jew-hatred. After that the Arab leaders stepped into his role, each of them promising to defeat the Jews and give them land that they planned to annex themselves anyway. During the 1950s, self-appointed leaders collaborated with Arab leaders to stymie their desire to become naturalized citizens of their host countries, a practice that continues to this day.

While the first intifada had some actual homegrown leadership, the second intifada was a pre-planned disaster meant to pressure Israel and that resulted in thousands of people killed because of Arafat's intransigence in peace negotiations.

This year we have seen real, grassroots revolutions throughout the Arab world, from Tunisia to Yemen. Many pundits and anti-Israel activists have been predicting - or even actively desiring - a similar uprising from Palestinian Arabs against Israel. Gideon Levy in Ha'aretz lamented on behalf of the residents of Jenin in February, saying "This week, Jenin's wonderland was to be found in Egypt. Residents of the refugee camp closely followed events in the land of the Nile, in a mood of melancholy jealousy. Each night they crowded into homes to watch television and see what was going on in Cairo. But no winds of change are blowing in the West Bank. No solidarity demonstration was staged; not a single poster of support was to be seen on the streets."

Thomas Friedman even sketched out a scenario that he hoped would come to pass:

"May I suggest a Tahrir Square alternative? Announce that every Friday from today forward will be “Peace Day,” and have thousands of West Bank Palestinians march nonviolently to Jerusalem, carrying two things — an olive branch in one hand and a sign in Hebrew and Arabic in the other. The sign should say: “Two states for two peoples. We, the Palestinian people, offer the Jewish people a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders — with mutually agreed adjustments — including Jerusalem, where the Arabs will control their neighborhoods and the Jews theirs.”

Friedman's desire for a revolution is another example of Westerners trying to pretend that their wishes are in consonance with those of the people they want to "help."

For a brief moment, the outsiders who were burning to see a genuine third intifada break out thought they found it, on May 15th, when there was a violent protest in Qalandia on "Nakba Day." But that faded quickly, and no one talks about it any more.

In fact there was only one genuine, grassroots expression of Palestinian Arab frustration in recent months, and that was not against Israel - but against their leaders. The "March 15th" movement was a Facebook-organized, coordinated protest that scared Hamas and Fatah into signing a worthless but symbolic statement of unity.

Outside of that, almost every single major protest on behalf of Palestinian Arabs has been orchestrated not by their own people but by outsiders, using their cause as an excuse to bash Israel.

The Syrian border incidents on May 15th and June 5th were both orchestrated by Bashir Assad, and did not even involve Palestinian Arabs for the most part but hand-picked Syrian loyalists who were bused in. The Lebanese border protests were similarly organized by Hezbollah, not Palestinian Arabs.

The flotilla and flytilla last week were largely the creations of Western anti-Israel activists, who tried to recruit some symbolic people of Palestinian descent to join in. Palestinian Arabs showed little interest in these events, as they recognized that they were simply publicity stunts that would not help them one bit.

The "air flotilla" leaders even tried to use the Twitter hashtag "#Palspring" to make it appear that this was a manifestation of Palestinian Arab nonviolent resistance, instead of a Western-created and organized event designed to create more heat than light.

The weekly protests in Bil'in and elsewhere are dominated and led by Western and Israeli anti-Israel activists.

The much wished for "Palestinian Spring" has been taken over by outsiders.

Palestinian Arabs, used to being manipulated by corrupt Arab leaders, now find themselves being manipulated and used by Western leftists and anti-Israel activists as well. Just as in the past, people who claim to be acting on behalf of the "Palestinian people" are actually acting in their own self-interest and using the PalArabs as pawns. They are just as politically corrupt as their forebears, and their interest in Palestinian Arab well-being is just as much a mirage as it was when the Egyptians, Syrians and Jordanians claimed to be acting in their best interests.

The irony is that this is all happening at the exact same time that we see genuine acts of self-sacrifice by Arabs in Syria, Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere. The drama of legitimate struggle for freedom is being lost in the glare of self-righteous Western Israel-haters getting out-sized media attention for their own ineffective and futile stunts. And real Palestinian Arabs are hardly to be found in any of these media events.

There is simply no comparison between Palestinian Arabs, who are already living under self-rule and with a large degree of autonomy, and the citizens of Arab countries who chafe under real oppression and hardship. Their reaction to the Western meddling as been largely one of indifference, or at most, a usual variation of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

This aphorism helps them as little today as it helped them in the past.

The question is, do they even realize that they are being used yet again? That those who express such solidarity with them are pushing a political agenda that will keep them stateless for decades more? Do they understand that Israel isn't going anywhere, and if they want to gain politically they must work with Israel and not against it?

The answer to these questions will help decide whether real peace is achievable.

Friday links

Volokh: Leader of "flytilla" is an anti-semite

Mugwump details British academic hypocrisy on Israel. Nicely done.

Dershowitz: How the hard left encouraged Arab despotism

Evelyn Gordon: Israel Finally Reasserts Willingness to Defend its Borders

Alana Goodman sums up the Richard Falk meltdown

Khaled Abu Toameh on the PA budget crisis and Arab indifference

Kareem Abdul Jabbar's father didn't really save Rabbi Lau, as YNet had reported (and I quoted).

Evidence of Hezbollah - in Mexico.

(h/t Yishai, Folderol, Cheryl, jzaik)

UN Flotilla report delayed as Israel and Turkey negotiate

From Hurriyet Daily News:

A U.N. panel inquiry’s report on Israel’s attack last year on a Turkish-flagged Gaza-bound aid flotilla has been delayed because the countries have not yet reached a consensus on the matter, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official has said.

In the run-up to the U.N. report’s release, Israeli and Turkish representatives have been holding talks in New York since Tuesday in order to find a compromise on the wording of a statement regarding the May 31, 2010, Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara ship, which resulted in the death of eight Turks and one Turkish-American.

The parties have been seeking reconciliation on a statement before the release of the report, which was to be released Thursday.

Asked if the parties had reached a consensus on the statement, the Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News that “we are not there yet.”

Ankara has repeated its demand that Israel offer an apology and compensation for the families of those killed and wounded in Israel’s attack on the ship, Turkey’s foreign minister said.

“We have been saying the same thing since last year. Israel must apologize and pay compensation. This is our principal stance on the issue,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters on Wednesday.

However, Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman restated his opposition to Israel offering an apology to Turkey over the incident on Wednesday.

“An apology is not a compromise, it is a humiliation and it is an abandonment of IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] soldiers,” he was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post at a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “We regret the loss of life of people from any nation. There are things we can discuss and things we cannot. We cannot discuss things that will harm Israel. National honor has a real significance. We expect flexibility from the Turkish side as well.”

Davutoğlu confirmed that Turkish and Israeli officials were holding talks on normalizing relations. It was natural for Turkish and Israeli authorities to hold talks to meet Turkey’s demands and such talks should not be viewed as an extraordinary development, the minister stated.

Meanwhile, Israel and Turkey have not yet agreed on the report of the U.N. panel, which Ankara, on legal grounds, insists should not contradict with the findings of a previously released U.N. Human Rights Council report.

Davutoğlu highlighted that the report of the U.N. panel led by Geoffrey Palmer must be in compliance with “criteria of international law.”

“An attitude contradicting with the U.N. Human Rights Council is unacceptable,” he added. “We hope Israel will meet our rightful demands on this issue.”

The U.N. Human Rights Council said in 2010 that Israel’s military broke international laws during the raid. The report said Israel used excessive force, but implied Israel used “its legal right to impose a naval blockade against the Gaza Strip,” a finding which could pave the way for further interventions by Israel in the Mediterranean Sea, Turkish officials said.

This makes it sound like the sides are very far apart.

I admit I do not quite understand why a UN report that deals with the conduct of nations needs to have those nations' approval to be released. This certainly wasn't the case with any anti-Israel reports the UN has issued.

How can Turkey insist that a legal expert change his opinion on a legal issue?

Perhaps the delay is because the UN believes that a rapprochement between Turkey and Israel is a higher goal, but to change the report based on that still seems very strange, and calls into question the legitimacy and objectivity of every UN report.

But here's how the UN explains it:

U.N. spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters on Tuesday that more time was needed.

“I don’t think we are yet at the point where the report would be handed over,” he said.

Nesirky responded to some allegations that the language of the report could be toned down.

“What I would say is what we said at the time; and that is that there is clearly a need for the parties concerned to find consensus on the report, and the wording of the report. And that’s why more time was given,” he said.

The reported issues that divide the two seem to be more than just language, though.

Ami Isseroff z"l

I just found out that Ami Isseroff had died last week.

While he was an anti-religious and very liberal Zionist, he was, above all, a Zionist. He literally wrote an on-line encyclopedia about every major event and concept in Israel's modern history. He practically single-handedly ran two major websites: MideastWeb, on the Middle East altogether,and Zionism-Israel, which has a plethora of information as well. The latter site, besides having lots of information, also housed his blog.

I always hoped that he would organize the sites better, because they should be read by everyone who wants to learn about Israel.

I'm going back to a couple of his pieces I've linked to over the years, and I am again amazed at his knowledge and erudition. The best on-line resource on Arab land ownership in Palestine before 1948 is on his site. Not too many people can take on Benny Morris on specific facts in his books. But he was similarly impressive as a blogger - and as a satirist.

Here is a eulogy written by his brother.

May his family be comforted and may his memory be a blessing. And I suggest helping keep his memory alive by browsing the thousands of articles he has written on his sites.

Cause the already cash-strapped Greek government to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on coast guard and security
Lose their cement
Start a riot at a French airport
Whine about every obstacle stopping them from doing illegal activities
Upset airlines who lose money for every empty seat
A hunger strike that accomplished nothing
Tick off passengers trying to travel
Turn sympathetic Dutch reporters against them
Insult Greek authorities, airlines, airports, European and American leaders
Continuously lie to the media, pretending that the very media attention they are getting is a victory
Get every major Western nation to publicly side with Israel
Fail to help a single Palestinian Arab in any way

All in all, they accomplished about the same amount they did last week and the week before.

Syrian singer slaughtered after writing, leading anti-Bashar song

From Now Lebanon:

A graphic video posted on YouTube Wednesday claims to show the body of Syrian activist Ibrahim Kashoush after having his throat slashed by security forces in Hama. His body was reportedly found dumped in the Assi River on Wednesday morning.

Kashoush’s song “Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar” (It’s time to leave, Bashar) gained recognition in recent weeks as the spirited anthem for peaceful demonstrators demanding an end to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

He reportedly joined crowds in Hama for massive street demonstrations that took place [last] Friday, where as many as 500,000 protesters gathered in protest, according to activists who spoke with AFP.

In the video below, Kashoush can be heard screaming the lyrics to a large group of people as they repeat the refrain with vibrant enthusiasm.

“To die but not be humiliated,” he sings in an eerily prophetic, but touching moment toward the end.

Here are the lyrics:

"Yalla Erhal Ya Bashar" -- It's time to leave, Bashar!!

Bashar, you’re a germ, your statements don't make sense, your news is that of an owl, and its time you leave Bashar!!

It's time you leave Bashar!!

Bashar, Maher and Rami are thieves, they've stolen from my brothers and uncles, Bashar it's time you leave!!

Bashar, screw you, and screw any who salute you, it's time you leave Bashar!!

Bashar, stop going in circles, your blood in Hama "mahdour" (killing you as a form of retribution is acceptable), your crimes here have not been forgiven.

It's time you leave Bashar!!

Bashar, you're an agent, screw you and the Baath party. It's time you leave Bashar.

Bashar, you're a liar, screw you and your speech. Freedom is near. It's time you leave Bashar!!

Bashar, you're damned, you believe you have words over us, we will not forgo our martyr's blood. It's time you leave Bashar!!

It's written on our flag: Bashar is a traitor to our nation.

To die but not to be humiliated.

The people want to bring down the regime!!