Monday, August 01, 2011

The Israeli left tries so hard to be loved by the Palestinian Arabs, but, gosh darn it, they always fall short.

From Budour Youssef Hassan at Electronic Intifada:
Can every instance of Israelis flocking to the streets chanting “End the occupation” be blithely described as solidarity? Should every occasion of Israelis carrying Palestinian flags be ecstatically celebrated as a major boost for the Palestinian cause? Should Palestinians be simply grateful that, amid the increasing construction of settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the overwhelming surge of racism in Israeli society, there are still some Israeli voices willing to “recognize” a Palestinian state?

When persons in a position of privilege formulate and design a solution and impose it on a colonized and occupied people as the only viable solution and the “sole remaining constructive step,” as the 15 July call to action put it, this is not solidarity but rather another form of occupation. Solidarity means not telling people what you think their problem is, let alone telling them what you think the solution should be. Solidarity means not agreeing on everything or even agreeing on a fixed solution but fighting for a shared cause irrespective of the differences.

A quasi-state built on 22 percent of the land of historic Palestine is not what Palestinians have been fighting for over the last 63 years and presenting it as such strips Palestinians of their voices and of their right to decide their own destiny.

... The whole idea of two states for two peoples as the only solution to the Palestinian-Israeli impasse — extremely popular among liberal Zionists — is predicated upon isolationism, exceptionalism and Zionists’ sense of moral righteousness and superiority to Palestinians which grants them the legitimacy to determine the problem, the solution and the means by which this solution shall be achieved.
When the Palestinian Arab leadership decided to launch the terror spree known as the second intifada, it caused many former Israeli leftists to wake up and realize that the Palestinian Arabs were not interested in living in an independent state side by side with Israel. There were some hard-core leftists who kept the faith, continuing to demonstrate and push for a two-state solution and pointing to flawed public opinion polls that seemed to imply that Palestinian Arabs were interested in peace with Israel.

Certainly the minority who march with Palestinian Arab flags feel that they are in the vanguard of solidarity, that they are the "good Jews" and that they are appreciated by the Palestinian Arabs who are happy thattheir cause is being publicized by the enemy.

But this essay shows that the Palestinian Arabs aren't really that appreciative. In fact, they resent it. The activists among them are not demonstrating for peace or equality - but for Arab subjugation of Jews in the Middle East. They are dead-set against the Jewish right of self-determination.

They want Israel destroyed, and they will not be happy until they reach that goal. They make their positions crystal clear.

Yet the sympathetic media and their Israeli leftist buddies continue to act as if these people are liberal, tolerant Arabs. They simply cannot accept that their Arab counterparts are bigoted, hateful warmongers whose entire purpose is the destruction of the Jewish state. It doesn't fit into their worldview, so they willfully ignore it and pretend that they are as interested in peace as they are.

And, as Israellycool points out, this writer who rails against Zionism and the Zionist left is a third-year law student at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The media will reluctantly portray crazed Islamists as being against Israel's very existence, but they will never interview a well-dressed secular Arab whose views are equally intransigent and repulsive.  They prefer to ignore the evidence that is staring them in the face that the Palestinian Arab "left" is not motivated by the desire of peace but of revenge, not of compromise but of conquest. The website that carries this pure, unbridled hate is treated with respect by the New York Times and is funded by the Dutch government.

When will the media call out and start to highlight the pure hate and intransigence that has become mainstream in Palestinian Arab thought?

(h/t Rafael)
  • Monday, August 01, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
On UNIFIL's webpage there is a news crawl of "UNIFIL in the News" where headlines from various news sources are displayed.

Here is one that was there this morning:

They are quoting Iran's Abna as saying that the IDF crossed the border with Lebanon.

Naharnet quotes the LAF as saying that the IDF crossed some 70 meters into Lebanese territory.

Voice of Lebanon is even quoted as saying that the IDF opened fire first.

However, the IDF did not cross the border and were fired upon for no reason  - and UNIFIL backs them up!

UNIFIL said Monday that Lebanese fire on IDF troops earlier in the day was uncalled for, and that the latter had not crossed into Lebanese territory, as the country's army had claimed. The facts did not stop the Lebanese president from rebuking Israel for "provocation", however.
Unfortunately, that same UNIFIL webpage has (as of this writing) not yet clarified that the IDF acted properly and that the LAF fired for no reason.

(h/t Dan)
  • Monday, August 01, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Al Jazeera:



Credit where credit is due: this is good reporting and the female journalist has guts to go to the place where female reporters have been sexually assaulted.

(h/t jzaik)
  • Monday, August 01, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
A Hamas policeman was killed when he was shot trying to make an arrest in eastern Gaza City.

Two Qassams were fired from Gaza to Israel on Sunday.

There was a family brawl near Bethlehem; one was killed and 11 injured.

A Gaza man was stabbed to death by his son-in-law.

A storefront in Gaza was heavily damaged by an explosive device.
  • Monday, August 01, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
Israel's only agricultural exporter, Agrexco, has been in some financial difficulty as it has tried to transition to a private company earlier this year. It is now facing bankruptcy.

Smelling blood, BDSers in Europe are calling again for a total boycott of all Agrexco goods:
We, Palestinian and Europeans together, affirm our determination to put an end to Agrexco’s presence in Europe. Our actions are taking place within the framework of the Palestinian-led global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

We have established a European wide coalition of organisations committed to coordinating our boycott campaigns and court actions against Agrexco. Secondly, we are calling for a European day of action against Agrexco on Saturday 26 November 2011.

We aim to build the widest possible alliance of individuals and organisations across Europe concerned with international law and refusing to be complicit in the violations of the rights of the Palestinian people perpetrated by Agrexco.

Agrexco is dedicated to exporting agricultural products. Sold under brand names such as Carmel, Coral, Biotop, Eco-Fresh, etc. these products embody Palestinian suffering: grown on stolen land with stolen water, produced through the exploitation of Palestinian labour – including child labour – they are part and parcel of a policy of colonisation, dispossession and apartheid carried out by Israel in Palestine. Agro-industrial corporation turned towards exportation, Agrexco is developing an industrial agriculture which harms the environment and destroys peasant agriculture in Palestine as well as in Europe.
There are a couple of things to note in this letter.

First is that, even though they claim to be a coalition of "Palestinians and Europeans together," there is not a single Palestinian Arab signatory.

Second is that the BDS movement is apparently not as confident that hating Israel is enough to get them support so they are adding charges about the environment, child labor and how somehow Agrexco's existence is threatening "peasant agriculture" in Europe. It sounds like the same argument could be made against most importers of produce in Europe.

The most interesting part, though, is that this group is explicitly boycotting Coral. Coral is the brand name of Palestinian Arab agricultural products sold in Europe. In order to be certified for export, they agree to be exported through Agrexco under that brand name, and if you want to buy produce from Palestinian Arab farmers, that is the brand name you must look for. Gaza bell peppers and strawberries are likewise sold under the Coral brand.

BDSers are going out of their way to destroy the only non-domestic market available for Palestinian Arab farmers.


Right now, as the Palestinian Authority is suffering from a huge budget crisis, the most important private industry in the territories is agriculture. The supposed friends of Palestinian Arabs are working overtime to destroy the livelihoods of thousands of Palestinian  Arab farmers and workers.

As usual, BDS has exposed itself as not caring at all about Palestinian Arabs. This letter shows that their supposed interest in "peasant agriculture" is a sham. They could not get a single Palestinian Arab farmer group so sign on to this letter, because it represents further misery for the people they are claiming to help.

It would have been very easy for them to exclude Coral from this boycott call out of consideration for the livelihoods of Palestinian Arab farmers. At the very least, they could have acknowledged that this boycott call might hurt the ones they pretend to help, but it is a necessary evil. Yet they lump in Coral with the other Agrexco brands.

All this proves again that  BDS movement is motivated not by love of Palestinian Arabs but hate for Israeli Jews. That hate is so potent that they don't give a damn if they destroy the lives of Palestinian Arabs along the way.

These smug Europeans pretend that  they know what's best for Palestinian Arabs, even better than the Arabs themselves, and won't even ask the victims what they think.

Sounds a bit like colonialism, doesn't it?
The number of rockets has been increasing this month:

G=Grad
Q=Qassam
M=Mortar
P=Unidentified projectile
S=Fell short in Gaza
F=Fatality (Green-Gaza, Red-Israel)



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Sunday, July 31, 2011

  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon

But he that dares not grasp the thorn
Should never crave the rose.
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From the WSJ:
A senior Saudi cleric issued a religious ruling to allow fathers to arrange marriages for their daughters "even if they are in the cradle," setting up a confrontation between government reformers and influential conservative clergy.

Sheik Saleh al-Fawzan, one of the country's most important clerics, issued the ruling after the Justice Ministry said this month it would act to regulate marriages between prepubescent girls and men in the Islamic kingdom.

"Those who are calling for a minimum age for marriage should fear God and not violate his laws or try to legislate things God did not permit" them to legislate, Sheik Fawzan wrote in a fatwa, or religious decree, which was published on his website.

It isn't clear what legal weight Sheik Fawzan's fatwa would have if the Saudi justice ministry proceeds with its plan to outlaw child marriages. Saudi Arabia's legal system isn't codified, but because it is based upon an interpretation of Sharia law, the rulings of senior clerics can be used by individual judges when deciding cases.

..."Scholars have agreed that it was permissible for fathers to marry off their young daughters, even if they are in the cradle," Sheik Fawzan wrote in his fatwa. "But it isn't permissible for their husbands to have sex with them unless they are capable of being placed beneath and bearing the weight of the men."

He cited the example of the prophet's wife Aisha, who he said was wed at the age of six, but didn't have sex until she was nine.

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti said in 2009 that it was acceptable for girls aged 10 and above to marry.
How long will it be before some Saudi pervert asks the esteemed cleric whether he is allowed to copulate with his 4 year old bride if he finds a position that does not force the child to bear any weight?

I wonder if they have lavish parties for the enslaved children to celebrate the consummation of these marriages.

This utterly depraved and sick story came out in Arabic over two weeks ago.
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Now Lebanon:
It was just an undercover operation meant to lead to the arrest of an Iranian drug dealer in Bucharest, Romania. But it developed into one of the largest operations the American Drug Enforcement Agency initiated in the last decade. It ended with the arrest of a Lebanese weapons dealer who claimed he was buying weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, worth $9.5 million for Hezbollah.

The American Drug Enforcement Agency announced last Tuesday that it had arrested Lebanese citizen Bashar Wehbeh in the Republic of Maldives for trying to purchase weapons from two undercover agents who were posing as dealers. As a result of the same operation, Cetin Aksu and Siavosh Henareh, Turkish and Iranian citizens, respectively, were arrested in Romania.

An international network of security institutions from Interpol to the Maldivian, Romanian Turkish, Greek and Malaysian police kept the suspects under surveillance, recorded conversations, intercepted phone calls and e-mails, and, on Monday, arrested the suspects.

...The agents recorded phone calls and conversations, filmed the meetings and kept e-mails in which they negotiated selling to [Hezbollah's] Wehbeh 48 American-made Stinger SAMs, 100 Igla SAMs, 5,000 AK 47 assault rifles, 1,000 M4 rifles and 1,000 Glock handguns for a total price of approximately $9.5 million.

Aksu and Wehbeh signed a written contract in June 2011 in Malaysia.

“During a meeting on June 12, 2011, Wehbeh stated that he was purchasing the weapons on instructions from Hezbollah,” the indictment reads. “On June 28, 2011, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wehbeh and co-conspirators not named as defendants herein caused approximately $50,000 as a down payment for the weapons purchase… to be sent to the [DEA agents].”
The case also shows links between Hezbollah weapons dealers and the drug trade.

The full indictment is here.
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Israel HaYom:
Leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch ultra-Orthodox movement have brokered an agreement with the Israel Defense Forces to draft male members for full military service. The agreement is to be signed soon, both sides report. The move marks the first time an entire Orthodox Hasidic movement will commit itself to sending its members to the Israeli military.

The deal is unique and significant as most Israeli ultra-Orthodox men do not perform military service, preferring instead to focus on their religious studies. The issue is a serious cause of tension between the religious and secular sectors of Israeli society.

The agreement between Chabad and the IDF, which comes after several months of negotiations, allows Chabad yeshiva students to leave the country for one year at the completion of their religious studies. After their year abroad, the students will be required to return to Israel for regular military service of three years.

The agreement stipulates that the men will be drafted and will have to serve a full three-year term even if they were married before beginning their service.

Chabad is concerned about fallout from other ultra-Orthodox groups because of the agreement, said a source with knowledge of the agreement. The IDF, on the other hand, is satisfied, considering the agreement a significant achievement after years of trying to integrate ultra-Orthodox communities into greater Israeli society, and is looking forward to the official support of some of Israel's most highly respected rabbis and Haredi community leaders. “This sets a precedent in the Haredi world,” the source said of the agreement. “For the first time, rabbis will support an agreement that will significantly increase the numbers in the IDF's ranks.”
This is very good news. It can help diffuse the anger that Israelis have towards the Haredim and it can help Chabad members integrate better into Israeli society.

I would be surprised if other chassidic groups follow very soon, though. Chabad is known for being able to live in secular of environments and encourages its members to live in the most remote places on the planet; other haredi groups are quite the opposite.

UPDATE: Chabad denies the deal. (h/t Miriam)
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Al Arabiya:
Syrian forces killed at least 136 civilians and wounded hundreds in major tank assaults on Hama and other cities that began at dawn on Sunday to crush pro-democracy demonstrations, activists said.

“The army and security forces launched an attack on Hama and opened fire on civilians, killing 95 people,” Ammar Qorabi, who heads the National Organization for Human Rights, told AFP earlier.

He said that elsewhere, “19 people were killed in Deir Ezzor in the east, six more died in Harak in the south and one in Al Bukamal,” also in the east.

Several observers wondered if Mr. Assad was truly in charge of the situation. Some suggested that his brother, Maher, may be leading the assault against pro-democracy protesters. Maher Assad is known for his personal brutality and intolerance of dissent.

Reports have suggested that President Assad’s immediate family is in London, including his wife Asma. Mrs. Assad is particularly popular throughout Syria and internationally because of her humanitarian concerns, social work – and her great beauty.

While speculation increased Sunday afternoon about her husband’s whereabouts and whether he was still in control of Syria, world condemnation of the Syrian brutality slowly started.

The Obama Administration did not directly issue a condemnation from Washington. But a US embassy official in Damascus said on Sunday Syrian authorities had launched a war against their own people by attacking the city of Hama to try to crush pro-democracy demonstrations.

“It is desperate. The authorities think that somehow they can prolong their existence by engaging in full armed warfare on their own citizens,” Press Attache J. J. Harder told Reuters by phone. He described the official Syrian account of the violence as “nonsense.”
If the Assad family knows anything, it is how to hold onto power. I would not bet against Bashir yet.

Germany issued a  real condemnation of the Syrian regime.

UPDATE: President Obama said he is "appalled" at the brutality.
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
This was predictable:
The union of civil servants in the West Bank on Sunday called for an open strike to begin Tuesday in protest over the late payment of salaries.

Union chief Bassam Zakarna dismissed the Palestinian Authority's claims that it could not pay employees' wages on time because of a financial crisis.

"This financial crisis is made up, and the government adopts a policy of blackout to frustrate employees and citizens while the treasury has enough money to pay full salaries," Zakarna said in a statement.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister and Finance Minister Salam Fayyad said Tuesday that the government needed $300 million "urgently" to help ease a cash crisis.

Speaking at an extraordinary meeting of Arab League representatives, Fayyad said the crisis stemmed from the fact that pledged aid had not materialized.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki told AFP that President Mahmoud Abbas had requested the meeting as the PA faced the possibility of being unable to pay the salaries of its employees for July or August.

Zakarna said Fayyad was "trying tactics" as shops were forced to close and the country's economy was "collapsing."

The union leader said government employees were not able to buy goods for the holy month of Ramadan, which begins Monday, and could not pay for their children's university applications.

If the PA starts to see strikes and anti-government demonstrations in August - which Hamas may very well help organize and encourage - it would make the statehood bid at the UN look like a joke. And Ramadan protests, with hungry people in the heat of the summer demanding their money, seem likely to flare up into violence, which would be even more embarrassing before any UN bid.

The PA is by far the largest employer in the West Bank, so if the government workers aren't paid the entire economy very possibly would collapse.

Interestingly, although Fayyad managed to get the Arab League to meet about the PA's financial troubles, I have not seen any indication that any money was actually forthcoming.

Is it possible that Arab leaders are not really keen on this whole unilateral statehood stunt and are trying to undermine it by withholding promised funds? I haven't seen much enthusiasm for the idea in the mainstream Arabic press. This sounds like the type of passive-aggressive move that Arab leaders have used in the past, as they mouth words of support for "Palestine" but do little to help.
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Ma'an:
Five Egyptians were killed on Friday in clashes between Egyptian forces and reported Islamists.

Over 100 masked men wearing black uniforms rallied in the streets of El-Arish, Sheikh Zweid and Rafah, a town on the Gaza border, waving black banners reading "There is no God but Allah."

In El-Arish, the armed men headed to Rifai Square and fired at a statue of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, who was assassinated by Islamists in 1981.

Egyptian soldiers tried to confront the protesters, who then headed to a police station and fired at the building. Police officers returned fire and clashes continued until midnight.

An Egyptian officer and four civilians were killed, including a child. Eighteen others were injured. Police could not control the gunmen, and military back-up was sent to El-Arish.

The army managed to stop the gunmen from breaking into the police station but the masked men moved to the coastline where they continued to clash with the army.

When army reinforcements arrived the gunmen withdrew in groups.

Egyptian security sources told a Ma'an correspondent that the gunmen belonged to a "dangerous extremist group who were responsible for the attacks on the gas pipelines from Egypt to Jordan and Israel, and attacks on police stations after the revolution in Egypt.

"They plan to expel the Egyptian security and establish a tribal regime in northern Sinai."
It appears that these Islamists were behind the latest RPG attack on the Egyptian gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan on Saturday.

Because the clashes had spread to Rafah, Egypt closed the border from Gaza and 450 were stranded at the Rafah checkpoint.

It can hardly be a coincidence that the Islamists are trying to create a regime adjacent to Hamastan in Gaza. In the past few days there have been a number of apparent Islamist attacks in Gaza as well, including against UNRWA and a firebomb outside a store on Saturday.

Looks like the Arab spring is turning into a very hot Arab summer.

Israel HaYom has more.
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Radio New Zealand:
Syrian tanks have stormed the city of Hama killing at least 45 civilians, a leading rights group says.

Earlier, a doctor confirmed that 24 people had been killed and residents reported "intense gunfire" as Syrian forces moved in from several sides.

The doctor also said there are scores of wounded people and a shortage of blood for transfusions.

Speaking in London, Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the latest toll, based on his contacts with Syrian activists, was 45 dead and several more wounded.
Al Arabiya has the death toll at 62. (UPDATE: Its headline now says over a hundred killed.)

Ramadan starts tonight and this offensive is apparently Syria's attempt to stem even bigger protests during that month. Hundreds of thousands had rallied against the Assad regime in Hama last Friday.

UPDATE: Reports say that Syrian forces are shooting and killing anyone who ventures outside.

(h/t Dan for first update)
  • Sunday, July 31, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Trend.AZ:
The head of the Iranian military on Saturday accused "the Zionists" of being behind the terrorist attacks in Norway, the Iranian state-owned English-language broadcaster Press TV reported on Saturday, reported dpa.

The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of Iran's armed forces, Hassan Firouzabadi, said in a statement: "The Zionists are behind the terrorist attacks in Norway, as they fuel rightist sentiments, foster terrorism and use world people as their toys in pursuit of their objectives."

"The world should be on alert of the Zionist regime attempts to create deviation within Christianity and spread Christian Zionism," the general added in the statement carried by Press TV.

Iranian officials frequently accuse Israel, referred to as "the Zionists", of being behind any incident with an anti-Islamic background.
I'm shocked! - that it took a full week before Iran said this. Hamas and Hezbollah handily beat them to the punch, by five days!

The Ayatollahs are getting slow.

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