Friday, September 16, 2011
Elder of ZiyonAnd Mazel Tov to Ronit on her new baby girl!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Elder of Ziyon
The PA's official Wafa news agency has an article talking about Mahmoud Abbas' much heralded speech this evening where he declared that he would go to the Security Council in his bid for recognition.
But while it quotes or paraphrases a large percentage of his speech, there is one part that they left out.
According to a number of people tweeting the speech live, Abbas accused settlers of releasing trained dogs and wild hogs to attack Palestinian Arabs!
Yes, the putative leader of a quasi-state, in a much anticipated and important speech, used this opportunity to push absurd conspiracy theories.
It was so ridiculous that even his own official news agency seems to be too embarrassed to publish it (update: they did publish the transcript but ignored that part in the main article about the speech.)
If you want to see the ultimate list of Zionist conspiracy theories involving animals, here it is. Maybe next time he'll mention the sharks or jellyfish.
UPDATE: The text of the speech is out; I found this version at PNN. Here's the autotranslation of what he said:
But while it quotes or paraphrases a large percentage of his speech, there is one part that they left out.
According to a number of people tweeting the speech live, Abbas accused settlers of releasing trained dogs and wild hogs to attack Palestinian Arabs!
Yes, the putative leader of a quasi-state, in a much anticipated and important speech, used this opportunity to push absurd conspiracy theories.
It was so ridiculous that even his own official news agency seems to be too embarrassed to publish it (update: they did publish the transcript but ignored that part in the main article about the speech.)
If you want to see the ultimate list of Zionist conspiracy theories involving animals, here it is. Maybe next time he'll mention the sharks or jellyfish.
UPDATE: The text of the speech is out; I found this version at PNN. Here's the autotranslation of what he said:
What we want is to end the occupation and tend legitimacy for, occupation and practices is the nightmare that is holding our hearts, as reflected these practices continued raids and arrests and the building of walls and demolition of houses, and the intensification of settlement activities, and attacks the settlers of Bakla trees and burning of mosques and the latest training dogs to attack us and send the wild pigs to wreak land corrupt, three things which the settlers will confront us: When any person Siatdon find it, well its streets and dogs, and pigs for the uprooting of trees, in addition of course to the tanks.(h/t Challah Hu Akbar)
- Friday, September 16, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
From Politico:
1) Areikat's own words last year.
2) The Palestinian Constitution, Chapter 1, article 1:
3) Article 4 of that same constitution:
4) The Palestinian Declaration of Independence refers to the "Palestinian Arab people" no less than 15 times, implying that if you are not Arab, you cannot be a Palestinian. (Almost certainly this was done to imply that there were no such thing as Palestinian Jews.)
5) Hamas is nominally part of the government, and it certainly rules over parts of "Palestine," and it has never changed its anti-semitic charter ("For our struggle against the Jews is extremely wide-ranging and grave...The Nazism of the Jews does not skip women and children...")
6) Do you think that Jews would have equal rights to visit the Temple Mount that Muslims do?
UPDATE: David G notes that this attempt at damage control looks like it was done by the Palestinian Arabs' new PR firm in the US - one that was hired by none other that Maen Areikat himself!
Palestinian officials are rolling out the welcome mat for Jews to come to a new Palestinian state.Proof that Jews could never have equal rights in "Palestine":
Trying to tamp down a controversy over whether a Palestinian state would be Jew-free, Mahmoud Habbash, the Palestinian minister of religious affairs, said a future state would be open to people of all religions, including Jews.
“The future Palestinian state will be open to all its citizens, regardless of their religion,” Habbash said, according to USA Today. “We want a civil state, which in it live all the faiths, Muslim, Christian and Jews also if they agree, (and) accept to be Palestinian citizens.”
Maen Areikat, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s ambassador to the United States, told POLITICO that his comments earlier this week which some interpreted as meaning Jews would not be welcome were misconstrued.
“In no way was there a suggestion that Jews cannot enter Palestine or be in Palestinian state in the future,” Areikat said.
1) Areikat's own words last year.
2) The Palestinian Constitution, Chapter 1, article 1:
Palestine is part of the large Arab World, and the Palestinian people are part of the Arab Nation. Arab Unity is an objective which the Palestinian People shall work to achieve.Meaning that non-Arabs are not treated as equals with Arabs. it may also mean that non-Arabs cannot become citizens.
3) Article 4 of that same constitution:
Islam is the official religion in Palestine. Respect and sanctity of all other heavenly religions shall be maintained.Jews do make it to dhimmi status, as their religion is one of the "heavenly" ones. But if you are Hindu or Buddhist, watch out.
The principles of Islamic Shari’a shall be the main source of legislation.
4) The Palestinian Declaration of Independence refers to the "Palestinian Arab people" no less than 15 times, implying that if you are not Arab, you cannot be a Palestinian. (Almost certainly this was done to imply that there were no such thing as Palestinian Jews.)
5) Hamas is nominally part of the government, and it certainly rules over parts of "Palestine," and it has never changed its anti-semitic charter ("For our struggle against the Jews is extremely wide-ranging and grave...The Nazism of the Jews does not skip women and children...")
6) Do you think that Jews would have equal rights to visit the Temple Mount that Muslims do?
UPDATE: David G notes that this attempt at damage control looks like it was done by the Palestinian Arabs' new PR firm in the US - one that was hired by none other that Maen Areikat himself!
- Friday, September 16, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
From the LA Times:
Her ideas are very skewed, to say the least.
Allowing Oren to talk is free speech. Supporting people to conspire to stop his speech is against free speech. The Muslim Students Union is free to invite whomever they want to speak, and he or she should be allowed to speak - with any protests properly being outside the door or challenging questions during the Q&A.
In an ironic twist, the first interrupter claimed explicitly that Oren does not have the right to free speech, yelling "Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech."
Yet Terada said that these anti-speech thugs "bring honor to the University of California." (at 1:27 mark.)
Perhaps Terada would cheer if students - and even non-students - barge into her lectures in comparative literature and obscenely insult her for the entire class period.
Their right to free speech is obviously more important than anything she might have to say, according to her own words.
(h/t Silke)
A UC Irvine professor overstepped his boundaries when he told students that no disruptions were allowed during the Israeli ambassador's visit on campus last year, according to testimony given Wednesday in the so-called Irvine 11 trial in Santa Ana.Professor Terada's thesis is that, apparently, anyone has the right to stop anyone else from speaking in the name of "free speech."
UC Irvine professor Rei Terada, an expert on the history and guidelines of free speech, told the Superior Court jury that fellow professor Mark Petracca, the event's emcee, had no authority to set stringent ground rules.
Before bringing Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren to the stage on Feb. 8, 2010, Petracca told the audience that he expected the highest civility.
"This is, after all, not a street corner; it is a university," Petracca said in a video of the event shown in court. "It is not the British Parliament; it is a university. And it is not even a joint session of Congress hearing the president of the United States. It is a university."
Terada said that in her 20-year career she had never seen someone attempt to impose such rules during a politically charged event on a university campus, especially one that had been expected to attract protests.
Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Wagner challenged Terada, pointing out that what Petracca said echoed statements from UCI Chancellor Michael Drake. Terada, however, said neither Drake nor Petracca had the authority to set that standard. "They were saying what they wanted to happen," she testified.
The 10 defendants, seven of them UC Irvine students and three from UC Riverside, are charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly conspiring to disrupt Oren's speech and a misdemeanor for allegedly disrupting his speech.
Her ideas are very skewed, to say the least.
Allowing Oren to talk is free speech. Supporting people to conspire to stop his speech is against free speech. The Muslim Students Union is free to invite whomever they want to speak, and he or she should be allowed to speak - with any protests properly being outside the door or challenging questions during the Q&A.
In an ironic twist, the first interrupter claimed explicitly that Oren does not have the right to free speech, yelling "Michael Oren, propagating murder is not an expression of free speech."
Yet Terada said that these anti-speech thugs "bring honor to the University of California." (at 1:27 mark.)
Perhaps Terada would cheer if students - and even non-students - barge into her lectures in comparative literature and obscenely insult her for the entire class period.
Their right to free speech is obviously more important than anything she might have to say, according to her own words.
(h/t Silke)
- Friday, September 16, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
I mentioned yesterday that Israeli youth planned to counter the violent Egyptian mob that attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo last Friday with what would be, effectively, a party that celebrates peace and love outside the Egyptian embassy in Tev Aviv.
Here are videos.
Releasing balloons with the colors of Egypt's and Israel's flags:
Party atmosphere:
Another video at Israel's Channel 2.
Here are videos.
Releasing balloons with the colors of Egypt's and Israel's flags:
Party atmosphere:
Another video at Israel's Channel 2.
- Friday, September 16, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
From Ma'an:
Palestine Press Agency reports that Hamas rejected a request by Fatah to allow rallies in Gaza that support the unilateral declaration of statehood at the UN.
Political rivals Fatah and Hamas met Thursday evening in Gaza City, in a surprise discussion which touched on the upcoming Palestinian bid for membership of the UN.In English: They met, and they didn't agree on a single real issue. But they did agree to keep the farce of "unity" alive so as not to anger fed-up Palestinian Arabs who might rise up against them.
Fatah national relations commissioner Diab al-Loh told Ma'an that officials from both factions discussed the reconciliation agreement which has faltered in implementation since its signing in May.
Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said the meeting focused on the unresolved facets of the reconciliation, and insisted that the issue of political detainees should be addressed first.
On the UN bid, Radwan said each party has its own point of view, but the main priority is the protection of national unity.
The Hamas official added that parties talked about making further efforts to have more meetings.
Palestine Press Agency reports that Hamas rejected a request by Fatah to allow rallies in Gaza that support the unilateral declaration of statehood at the UN.
- Friday, September 16, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
From Ma'an:
Actually, he claimed the juices were from "settlements." But the juice was Tapuzina, which is a popular Israeli drink that can be found all over the PA-ruled territory. So it is unclear if he was complaining that the health department would have Israeli drinks, or if he really thought it was from the "settlements." Which makes the reaction from the governor even more perplexing.
Perhaps the department should have come up with creative ways to hide the illicit Israeli drinks, as this young woman did in this funny ad for the product:
(h/t GH)
A Bethlehem journalist is facing trial after the city's governor filed a complaint against him for "slander and defamation."Can there be any worse slander than the existence of Israeli juices at a department meeting?
George Canawati, director of Bethlehem Radio 2000, was summoned to the Palestinian Authority Prosecutor-General's office on Sunday after he criticized local medical services in a report.
Bethlehem governor Abdel Fattah Hamayel summoned Canawati to his office and requested he remove critical comments from the Sept. 8 report on his Facebook page, the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) said.
Canawati's report detailed indifference and neglect at the health directorate and noted Israeli-made juices provided at a health department meeting, contravening the Palestinian Authority’s call to boycott Israeli products.
The Bethlehem radio-journalist told MADA he had removed the Facebook notes prior to the charges.
Actually, he claimed the juices were from "settlements." But the juice was Tapuzina, which is a popular Israeli drink that can be found all over the PA-ruled territory. So it is unclear if he was complaining that the health department would have Israeli drinks, or if he really thought it was from the "settlements." Which makes the reaction from the governor even more perplexing.
Perhaps the department should have come up with creative ways to hide the illicit Israeli drinks, as this young woman did in this funny ad for the product:
(h/t GH)
A must-read piece in Hudson-NY by Mudar Zahran:
The King of Jordan, Abdullah II, delivered a speech on September 11, in which he mentioned the Jordanian civil war of 1970 for the first time ever: "There are not any issues we are too embarrassed to discuss, even if there is someone who wants to discuss the incidents of 1970, this is a part of history; let us think of the future and not the past."That Wikileaks cable he refers to doesn't only mention a minority of Palestinian Arabs in Jordan who privately believe that "return" will never happen and who want compensation instead - it also mentions East Bankers who want to use the "right of return" to kick out the Palestinian Arab majority:
Commenting on the fear of Jordan's Bedouin minority -- who make up the king's military and are the protected class -- that Jordan might become the Palestinian majority's homeland -- a plan dubbed "the alternative homeland" by the local media -- the king said: "I would like to assure everyone that Jordan will not be an alternative country to anyone. Is it even logical that Jordan will become an alternative to anyone while we sit there and do nothing? We have an army and we are willing to fight for our country and for the future of Jordan, and we must speak vigorously and not ever allow this idea to remain in the minds of some of us….We have fought Israel before many times."
"Jordan and the future of Palestine," he added, "are much stronger than Israel today; the Israeli is the one who is afraid….When I was in the United States, I spoke to an Israeli intellectual; he told me that what was happening in Arab countries today is in the interests of Israel. I told him, 'I think it is the opposite: your situation today is much harder than before.'"
King Abdullah also mentioned the need to address the issue of "national identity" in Jordan -- a phrase associated with isolating the Palestinians, who make up 80% of the population, in favor of the Beduin minority, for whom he would establish Jordan as a purely Bedouin state: "We must speak with a loud voice about the Jordanian identity," he said, "yet national unity is a red line." In other words, the king openly supports talk about imposing a Jordanian Bedouin identity on the country, while at the same time prohibiting any "unity" with the Palestinians -- a notion he had previously denounced.
The king, in his speech, was using a common Arab political trick of saying an undesired thing to the public -- reminding the Palestinians of the civil war in which they were slaughtered -- and then, in the same sentence, ostensibly defusing the threat of another slaughter by adding that he would spare the Palestinians so long as they accept the situation as is, where they are citizens, but still treated as refugees and outsiders in every way.
Although it is common for Arab regimes that are pro-Western to talk tough about the US and Israel every now and then -- to rally their people behind them by threatening these cost-free targets, and thereby divert anger away from their own repressive regimes onto other countries -- this time the context was different: The King's speech, aired on Jordanian national television, came two days after Wikileaks released several US Embassy, Amman, cables that described the testimonies of some Jordanian Palestinians officials who were complaining to Embassy officers about the discrimination against the Palestinians in Jordan. One cable, entitled, "The Grand Bargain," mentioned a Palestinian political leader's belief that the "right of return" was unfeasible - signifying the Palestinians' willingness to accept a permanent home in Jordan --rather than in hoping to return to Israel, as the refugees and five generations of descendants are continually being promised -- in exchange for finally attaining civil rights in Jordan.
The government-controlled Jordanian media expressed anger at the US Embassy -- to the point of issuing calls for a protest against both the American and Israeli embassies in Amman, which they called "the espionage beehive."
The King's talk sounded provocative and terrorizing to the Jordanian Palestinians, who are already discriminated against and disenfranchised politically by the Hashemite regime. The Bedouin-dominated town of Kerak in Southern Jordan, for example, has ten parliamentary seats for fewer than 150,000 voters, while the Palestinian-dominated Amman has barely twenty parliamentary seats for three million voters.
What made matters especially threatening was the way Jordan's Bedouins seem to have understood the King's remarks. The King's statement, for instance, that he would "not feel embarrassed to address any issue including the civil war," seems to have been understood by the Bedouin military as permission to go out and target the Palestinians. Comments on Jordanian social websites, such as Facebook, appeared, with disturbing messages of incitement: Jordanian Bedouins began calling for violence against both Israel and the Palestinian majority. One of commentators said on Facebook: "We shall give the Palestinians another Black September," said one, "only this time we will make it red." Another said: "Those Palestinians are worse than Jews. I could never make out the difference. We will march to kick [the Palestinian] out [of Jordan] and we will knock down the Israeli embassy." Still another said, "You do the killing, guys, just leave the hot Palestinian chicks for me; I will rape their little girls." While this anti-Palestinian sentiment is not new in Jordan, after the King's speech it reached a new extreme.
It seemed as if the king was threatening Israel with a war, and the Palestinians in Jordan with a civil war. This perceived threat translated into protests: one against the American Embassy in Amman on September 15th, and one against the Israeli Embassy for Friday, September 16th. Both protests were called for and organized by Nahid Hattar, a Christian Bedouin writer, who has been calling for ousting the Palestinians from Jordan, and who has openly admitted his direct one-on-one connection to the former chief of the Jordanian Intelligence Department while the latter was in office.
East Bankers have an entirely different approach to thinking about the right of return. At their most benign, our East Banker contacts tend to count on the right of return as a solution to Jordan's social, political, and economic woes. But underlying many conversations with East Bankers is the theory that once the Palestinians leave, "real" Jordanians can have their country back. They hope for a solution that will validate their current control of Jordan's government and military, and allow for an expansion into the realm of business, which is currently dominated by Palestinians.
¶12. (C) Palestinian-origin contacts certainly have their suspicions about East Banker intentions. "If the right of return happens, East Bankers assume that all of the Palestinians will leave," says parliamentarian Mohammed Al-Kouz. Other Palestinian-origin contacts offered similar observations, including Adel Irsheid and Raja'i Dajani, who was one of the founding members of the GID, and later served as Interior Minister at the time of Jordan's administrative separation from the West Bank in 1988. Dajani cited the rise of what he called "Likudnik" East Bankers, who hold out hope that the right of return will lead to an "exodus" of Palestinians.
¶13. (C) In fact, many of our East Banker contacts do seem more excited about the return (read: departure) of Palestinian refugees than the Palestinians themselves. Mejhem Al-Khraish, an East Banker parliamentarian from the central bedouin district, says outright that the reason he strongly supports the right of return is so the Palestinians will quit Jordan. East Banker Mohammed Al-Ghazo, Secretary General at the Ministry of Justice, says that Palestinians have no investment in the Jordanian political system - "they aren't interested in jobs in the government or the military" - and are therefore signaling their intent to return to a Palestinian state.
¶14. (C) When East Bankers talk about the possibility of Palestinians staying in Jordan permanently, they use the language of political threat and economic instability. Talal Al-Damen, a politician in Um Qais near the confluence of Jordan, the Golan Heights and Israel, worries that without the right of return, Jordan will have to face up to the political challenges of a state which is not united demographically. For his part, Damen is counting on a mass exodus of Palestinians to make room for East Bankers in the world of business, and to change Jordan's political landscape. This sentiment was echoed in a meeting with university students, when self-identified "pure Jordanians" in the group noted that "opportunities" are less available because there are so many Palestinians.
¶15. (C) The right of return is certainly lower on the list of East Banker priorities in comparison with their Palestinian-origin brethren, but some have thought the issue through a little more. NGO activist Sa'eda Kilani predicts that even (or especially) after a final settlement is reached, Palestinians will choose to abandon a Palestinian state in favor of a more stable Jordan where the issue of political equality has been resolved. In other words, rather than seeing significant numbers return to a Palestinian homeland, Jordan will end up dealing with a net increase in its Palestinian population.
¶16. (C) As with their Palestinian counterparts, conspiracy theories are an intrinsic part of East Banker mythology regarding the right of return. Fares Braizat, Deputy Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Jordan University, told us two of the most commonly held examples (which he himself swears by). The first is that Jordanians of Palestinian origin choose not to vote because if they were to turn out en masse, Israel (and/or the United States) would assume that they had incorporated themselves fully into Jordanian society and declare the right of return to be null and void. The second conspiracy theory, which has a similar theme, is that after the 1994 peace agreement between Jordan and Israel, the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank issued a deliberate directive to "all Palestinians" residing in Jordan to avoid involvement in Jordanian politics so as not to be perceived as "going native." The main point of both theories is that Palestinians are planning to return to a future Palestinian state, and therefore have nothing substantive to contribute to the Jordanian political debate - a convenient reason for excluding them from that debate in the first place.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
Did you think that 63 years of Arabs using the "refugees" as political pawns would end if there was a Palestinian Arab state?
If you want to know the depths of cynicism of the Palestinian Arab leadership towards their people, you must read this article in The Daily Star Lebanon:
"Even Palestinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Palestinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens."
People who live in camps in their own state would be barred, by their own leaders, from becoming citizens of that very state!
Why? Because, to Palestinian Arab leaders, the "refugees" are not an oppressed group who must be helped. They are human weapons in a never ending war against Israel. Giving them citizenship removes their status as weapons.
The most important issue to the Palestinian Arab leadership is not to end the suffering of their people, or achieving independence. It is to destroy Israel, using the nonexistent "right of return." Nothing could be more obvious - yet most of the world refuses to believe that Mahmoud Abbas and his cronies could possibly be so indescribably cruel and callous to their own people.
For 63 years, three generations of Palestinian Arabs are being brought up being told that they must return to a non-existent state that their ancestors came from, and nothing else is acceptable. And the potential establishment of a Palestinian Arab state would ironically make their wishes to become citizens even more remote.
If there is to be a Palestinian Arab uprising, it should be against leaders like these who are happy to tell their own people to stay in hell - and to be happy about it.
(h/t Effector)
If you want to know the depths of cynicism of the Palestinian Arab leadership towards their people, you must read this article in The Daily Star Lebanon:Palestinian refugees will not become citizens of a new Palestinian state, according to Palestine’s ambassador to Lebanon.Let's read that again, shall we?
From behind a desk topped by a miniature model of Palestine’s hoped-for blue United Nations chair, Ambassador Abdullah Abdullah spoke to The Daily Star Wednesday about Palestine’s upcoming bid for U.N. statehood.
The ambassador unequivocally says that Palestinian refugees would not become citizens of the sought for U.N.-recognized Palestinian state, an issue that has been much discussed. “They are Palestinians, that’s their identity,” he says. “But … they are not automatically citizens.”
This would not only apply to refugees in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan or the other 132 countries where Abdullah says Palestinians reside. Abdullah said that “even Palestinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Palestinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens.”
"Even Palestinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Palestinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens."
People who live in camps in their own state would be barred, by their own leaders, from becoming citizens of that very state!
Why? Because, to Palestinian Arab leaders, the "refugees" are not an oppressed group who must be helped. They are human weapons in a never ending war against Israel. Giving them citizenship removes their status as weapons.
The most important issue to the Palestinian Arab leadership is not to end the suffering of their people, or achieving independence. It is to destroy Israel, using the nonexistent "right of return." Nothing could be more obvious - yet most of the world refuses to believe that Mahmoud Abbas and his cronies could possibly be so indescribably cruel and callous to their own people.
Abdullah said that the new Palestinian state would “absolutely not” be issuing Palestinian passports to refugees.And make it easier for Palestinian Arabs to achieve their real goal - the end of the Jewish state.
Neither this definitional status nor U.N. statehood, Abdullah says, would affect the eventual return of refugees to Palestine. “How the issue of the right of return will be solved I don’t know, it’s too early [to say], but it is a sacred right that has to be dealt with and solved [with] the acceptance of all.” He says statehood “will never affect the right of return for Palestinian refugees.”
The right of return that Abdullah says is to be negotiated would not only apply to those Palestinians whose origins are within the 1967 borders of the state, he adds. “The state is the 1967 borders, but the refugees are not only from the 1967 borders. The refugees are from all over Palestine. When we have a state accepted as a member of the United Nations, this is not the end of the conflict. This is not a solution to the conflict. This is only a new framework that will change the rules of the game.”
For 63 years, three generations of Palestinian Arabs are being brought up being told that they must return to a non-existent state that their ancestors came from, and nothing else is acceptable. And the potential establishment of a Palestinian Arab state would ironically make their wishes to become citizens even more remote.
If there is to be a Palestinian Arab uprising, it should be against leaders like these who are happy to tell their own people to stay in hell - and to be happy about it.
(h/t Effector)
- Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
Israeli youth have responded via Facebook to the mob that attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo - by calling for a demonstration of love and peace tomorrow outside the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv.
From the page:
It was also written up in Al Masry al Youm. (A few of the talkbacks are a bit more cynical, thinking this is a Jewish ploy.)
From the page:
It is very easy to rise up and be angry after the incident at the Israeli embassy in Egypt; it was a case of extreme violence that has no place and should be condemned. The Egyptian people, especially its younger generation, are in a period of identity crisis, after the coup. They are trying to find their place and vent their frustrations after many years of suffering. At the same time also here we have a generation that wants to live in a a fair and better world that opposes hatred and tyranny and that fights for the basic rights and a deep desire to live a better life in a better world ... It's time we stop hating based on money and religion. We all want a better world, and it will happen only if we do it together! Let's put out a call to the Egyptian people of peace and love, and tell them that we don't want to fight them or hate them. On the contrary, we want to live as good neighbors with love, and together make life in the Middle East and the world better.... Let's show them our real faces, and perhaps open their minds .. Friday, 12:30, show love and support peace at the Egyptian Embassy.This initiative is being appreciated by many Egyptians, some of whom are writing messages of support on the Facebook page and on Twitter.
It was also written up in Al Masry al Youm. (A few of the talkbacks are a bit more cynical, thinking this is a Jewish ploy.)
- Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
Abdel Bari Atwan, editor in chief of pan-Arab daily Al Quds al Arabi who often appears on the BBC and CNN, has been a big supporter of terror attacks on Israel. From Wikipedia:
He has also been a big critic of the Libyan uprising:
It appears that his opinions on Libya were a bit...tainted.
Arabic media has been reporting that the new Libyan government has released documents showing that Atwan, as well as Jordanian Al-Dostour reporter Khairy Mansour, were being paid by Gaddafi a sum of $3000 every month.
Atwan vehemently denies it and is threatening to sue everyone who makes these accusations.
He seems to be one of those people who speak differently in Arabic and in English:Speaking about Iran's nuclear capability in an interview on Lebanese television in June 2007, Atwan stated, "If the Iranian missiles strike Israel, by Allah, I will go to Trafalgar Square and dance with delight."
In March 2008, Atwan said that the Mercaz HaRav shooting, in which a Palestinian gunmen killed eight students (aged 15 to 26), "was justified." He added that the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva is responsible for "hatching Israeli extremists and fundamentalists" and that the celebrations in Gaza following the attack symbolized "the courage of the Palestinian nation."
Atwan described the the attacks on Israelis in Eilat as correcting "the course of the Arab revolutions and refocused them on the most dangerous disease, namely the Israeli tyranny. This disease is the cause of all the defects that have afflicted the region for the past 65 years."
Following an October 2003 article in which Atwan claimed that the U.S. is to blame for the Arab world's hatred of it, a Yemenite journalist and columnist for the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Munir Al-Mawari, stated: "The Abd Al-Bari Atwan [appearing] on CNN is completely different from the Abdel Bari Atwan on the Al-Jazeera network or in his Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily. On CNN, Atwan speaks solemnly and with total composure, presenting rational and balanced views. This is in complete contrast with his fuming appearances on Al-Jazeera and in Al-Quds Al-Arabi, in which he whips up the emotions of multitudes of viewers and readers."
In response to Atwan's legitimization of the Mercaz HaRav shooting in March 2008, Lior Ben-Dor, a spokesman at the Israeli Embassy in London, said: "The problem is that when addressing the British public, he tends to hide his true opinions and ideology - his support for terror and the murder of civilians. This article reveals Atwan's real colors, a supporter of fundamentalism and terror, and hence he should be treated accordingly."
He has also been a big critic of the Libyan uprising:
On 17th April 2011, speaking on BBC News Channel's Dateline London, Atwan claimed that "We know that Eastern area of Libya is almost a hotbed of extremist Al-Qaeda people. I know that personally".
It appears that his opinions on Libya were a bit...tainted.
Arabic media has been reporting that the new Libyan government has released documents showing that Atwan, as well as Jordanian Al-Dostour reporter Khairy Mansour, were being paid by Gaddafi a sum of $3000 every month.
Atwan vehemently denies it and is threatening to sue everyone who makes these accusations.
- Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
From Sky News:
Not many people know this, but the Israeli Embassy was not the only one attacked in Cairo last weekend.Indeed, the Saudi ambassador to Egypt complained, saying that he was assaulted, a number of Saudi embassy vehicles were burned and people tried to break into his embassy.
The Embassy of Saudi Arabia was also stormed by a mob. Strangely the Egyptian media mostly kept quiet about it. The Muslim Brotherhood, which welcomed the assault on the 'murderous Nazi Jewish invaders' had nothing to say about the Saudi incident.
Several cars were set alight but there was only minor damage to the building. however, it begs the question - why the Saudi Embassy?
...The spark which led to the weekend's violence came in the first week of September when thousands of Egyptians were trapped in Jeddah airport while trying to return home after undertaking the minor pilgrimage of the Umrah.
The Egyptians claim they were deliberately held back for days because of the January uprising against Mubarak. Some said officials insulted them and referred to the ongoing trial of the former President.
Tempers flared and Jeddah airport was treated to the unprecedented scene of a mass protest in the terminal. The final insult came as the Egyptians arrived back in Cairo to discover that hundreds of pieces of luggage were missing.
The violence of Friday/Saturday has not been repeated, but there have been smaller peaceful protests outside the embassy demanding the Ambassador leave the country.
- Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
From the BBC' s Thomas Dinham:
...A strong and sometimes violent dislike of Israel is a fact of Egyptian life, something I was unfortunate enough to discover after a cross-border raid by Israel killed several Egyptian security personnel.(h/t Challah Hu Akbar)
The Israelis had been chasing a group of gunmen who had attacked an Israeli bus close to the border between the two countries.
While walking in the street someone pushed me from behind with such force that I nearly fell over.
Turning around, I found myself surrounded by five men, one of whom tried to punch me in the face. I stopped the attack by pointing out how shameful it was for a Muslim to assault a guest in his country, especially during Ramadan.
Relieved that a seemingly random assault was over, I was appalled by the apology offered by one of my assailants. "Sorry," he said contritely, offering his hand, "we thought you were a Jew."
Shaking his head in disbelief on hearing the news, an Egyptian friend sympathised: "That's stupid, you are obviously not a Jew."
The chilling implication I was left with was that, had I been Jewish, the assault would have apparently been justified.
- Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
From AFP:
Of course not. The postal system in Palestine before 1948 was run by the British. Somehow, I don't think Arabs would have issued a stamp that looked like this, showing Rachel's Tomb:
AFP also writes:
By the way, while looking for stamps I came up with this beauty from Jordan n 1964:
At the headquarters of the Palestinian postal service in the West Bank city of Ramallah, excitement is growing over the bid to see UN membership for a Palestinian state.Again? Was there an Arab-run Palestine post office in the past?
The post office has already inked a deal to begin extricating its delivery system from Israeli supervision, and is eagerly preparing for the reality that could emerge after the Palestinians go to the United Nations next week to seek full membership for their state.
... The new system might seem like a small step, but the postal service considers it enough of a revolution to be issuing a new logo with the words: "We emerge again."
Of course not. The postal system in Palestine before 1948 was run by the British. Somehow, I don't think Arabs would have issued a stamp that looked like this, showing Rachel's Tomb:
The postal service is also planning to switch the currency marked on its stamps from the Jordanian dinar to the Palestinian pound, which existed before Israel's establishment in 1948, though it is no longer in circulation.As CAMERA notes linking to an older post of mine, the Palestinian pound was also British currency with Hebrew and Arabic written on it:
By the way, while looking for stamps I came up with this beauty from Jordan n 1964:
- Thursday, September 15, 2011
- Elder of Ziyon
The "million man" protest scheduled by Jordanian Islamists and anti-Zionists is scheduled for 6:30 PM Jordan time - 11:30 AM EDT.
JPost reports:
The next few hours will be interesting.
JPost reports:
A senior official in the Foreign Ministry said that the security assurances from Jordan have reduced fears of a serious attack against the embassy, Israel Radio reported Thursday, despite evacuations of the mission on Wednesday evening.On Facebook and Twitter, the evacuation of the ambassador is already being celebrated as a victory.
The evacuation occurred hours before a Facebook organized march under the banner (in Arabic) of "No Zionist embassy on Jordanian territory."
Unlike in Egypt, where diplomats lived with their families, in Amman the Israeli delegation serves without their families, and comes home for weekends.
The next few hours will be interesting.
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