Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, June 08, 2012

Friday links (Ian)

Six Day War anniversary coverage
The IDF Liberates Jerusalem: A Look Back - Video

The capture of Jerusalem, as never seen before
First part of a day by day series from CifWatch with videos.
The Six Day War Day One

Ukrainian Teens Arrested For Damaging Holocaust Memorial

'Dress like an Orthodox Jew' restaurant in Euro 2012 city Lviv, Ukraine
"Dr Zuroff said that the restaurant gives guests hats with peyot attached when they arrive, and avoids citing prices on the menu so that people have to "haggle" on payment.
At another restaurant, "Kryvika", customers are welcomed into a room that is reminiscent of a Nazi-era bunker, after greeting waiters with the password "Glory to the Ukraine."

Peddler of borderline anti-Semitism and fierce critic of Israel made several visits to White House, records show

Wiesenthal Center to YouTube: Take down ‘I love Israel’ video

A “Pinkwashing” roundup
The Crazy Lie of "Pinkwashing" and the Liberal Case for Israel

Exposing Queers against Israeli Apartheid – Video
“Martin Gladstone sits down with Michael Coren to discuss his documentary on Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, a fringe group causing a stir in both gay and Jewish communities alike.”
The website for the doco
Reclaiming Our Pride

Also, (not from Ian,) The Palestinian Money Pit at Aish.

Is Assad using chemical weapons against Syrian civilians?

The real "spring" is not Arab

(h/t Yoel)

Sexual assaults on women in Tahrir Square increasing

Today there is a mass demonstration of thousands in Tahrir Square in Cairo against what many Egyptians felt was a light sentence for Hosni Mubarak in his trial.

The women in the protest better watch out.

From AP:

Her screams were not drowned out by the clamor of the crazed mob of nearly 200 men around her.

An endless number of hands reached toward the woman in the red shirt in an assault scene that lasted less than 15 minutes but felt more like an hour.

She was pushed by the sea of men for about a block into a side street from Tahrir Square. Many of the men were trying to break up the frenzy, but it was impossible to tell who was helping and who was assaulting.

Pushed against the wall, the unknown woman's head finally disappeared. Her screams grew fainter, then stopped. Her slender tall frame had clearly given way. She apparently had passed out. The helping hands finally splashed the attackers with bottles of water to chase them away.

The assault late Tuesday was witnessed by an Associated Press reporter who was almost overwhelmed by the crowd herself and had to be pulled to safety by men who ferried her out of the melee in an open Jeep.

Reports of assaults on women in Tahrir, the epicentre of the uprising that forced Hosni Mubarak to step down last year, have been on the rise with a new round of mass protests to denounce a mixed verdict against the ousted leader and his sons in a trial last week.

No official numbers exist for attacks on women in the square because police do not go near the area, and women rarely report such incidents.

But activists and protesters have reported a number of particularly violent assaults on women in the past week. Many suspect such assaults are organised by opponents of the protests to weaken the spirit of the protesters and drive people away.

Mahmoud said two of his female friends were cornered Monday and pushed into a small passageway by a group of men in the same area where the woman in the red shirt was assaulted.

One was groped while the other was seriously assaulted, Mahmoud said, refusing to divulge specifics other than to insist she wasn't raped.

Mona Seif, a well-known activist who has been trying to promote awareness about the problem, said Wednesday she was told about three different incidents in the past five days, including two that were violent.

In one incident, the attackers ripped the woman's clothes off and trampled on her companions, she said.

Women, who participated in the 18-day uprising that ended with Mubarak's 11 February 2011 ouster as leading activists, protesters, medics and even fighters to ward off attacks by security agents or affiliated thugs on Tahrir, have found themselves facing the same groping and assaults that have long plagued Egypt's streets during subsequent protests in the square.

Women also have been targeted in recent crackdowns on protesters by military and security troops, a practice commonly used by Mubarak security that grew even more aggressive in the days following his ouster.

In a defining image of the post-Mubarak state violence against women, troops were captured on video stomping with their boots on the bare chest of a woman, with only her blue bra showing, as other troops pulled her by the arms across the ground.

A 2008 report by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights says two-thirds of women in Egypt experienced sexual harassment on a daily basis.

It isn't only political protests that have men attacking women. They do it on religious holidays, too.

And if you think that women who cover their bodies and hair are less likely to be attacked, think again.

The article does say that some Egyptians are fed up, and organizing patrols to protect women in Tahrir Square.

The silence Abbas wants you to hear (Lori Lowenthal Marcus)

From The Algemeiner, by Lori Lowenthal Marcus:

...Under the Palestinian Authority’s Penal Code, a holdover from when Jordan illegally occupied the territories, defamation suspects can be arrested and held in detention for up to six months before they are charged with a crime. Esmat Abdul-Khalik, an al Quds University lecturer and single mother of two, was arrested in late March and held in solitary confinement and denied the possibility of any visits because someone else criticized PA President Mahmoud Abbas on her Facebook page, calling him a traitor and suggesting he resign. Abdul-Khalik is not the only Arab arrested recently for Facebook page activity, at least three others have recently been picked up for daring to criticize members of the government.

In September, the director of Radio Bethlehem 2000, George Canawati, was arrested for posting on his Facebook page criticism of the Bethlehem Health Department. Last month the PA judicial and executive authorities determined Canawati will be tried for defamation – a crime punishable by up to two years in prison – in the Magistrate Court of Bethlehem City. The trial was recently adjourned until September.

Altogether, nine journalists have been arrested in recent weeks for exposing corruption or making critical remarks about the PA leadership on Facebook, and many others have been summoned for interrogation. When Facebook postings expose government critics to censure, you can be sure that no one will risk filing bona fide media reports about the topic.

But just as frightening as Arab Palestinian bloggers and journalists being arrested for posting on their Facebook pages is the steady drumbeat of pressure that is leading to a decrease in coverage by western journalists who, presumably, are not as vulnerable to the capricious selections for punishment designed to suppress criticism of the ruling regime.

In addition to whispered discussions being heard in Ramallah about the “Facebook Police” are the directives issued to western journalists to focus their reporting on “Israel’s ‘occupation’” and refrain from prying into alleged corruption committed by PA officials, because “nothing else is newsworthy and nothing else should be reported.”

Some western journalists have been warned not to work with Arabic speaking reporters who fail to toe the “All-Occupation, All The Time” reporting. This is how the PA controls not only their own media outlets, but those western outlets. All too many simply play along rather than stand up for press and speech freedoms and possibly risk losing access.

...Khaled abu Toameh finds that the path he took away from censorship seems to have doubled back on itself. Rather than walking firmly on the precious path of western iconic freedoms of an unfettered press and uncensored speech, abu Toameh is finding that that road is rotting out beneath his feet. This rare truth-telling journalist is finding it increasingly harder to report the corruption and lack of freedoms in the PA, and as a result our news world is becoming a quieter, but certainly not a better, place. On his own Facebook Page abu Toameh posted this silent cri de coeur: “A campaign of intimidation, harassment, pressure, threats and boycotts has made it impossible for an Arab journalist to work in the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.”

The Guardian publishes Hamas lies

Once again, Hamas is given a platform to spew nice sounding words in English - this time by Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh:

We as a people want to live in our homeland, the land of our ancestors, in freedom, dignity and democracy, and with a just peace that restores our rights. We do not want to attack anyone and do not accept anyone attacking us. As we have said on more than one occasion, the key to security is the end of occupation....I would like to reiterate on behalf of my people our sincere desire to live in security and stability, without wars and bloodshed; we hope that the world will help us in this venture. We extend our hand to all those who seek a just peace to work seriously to end the occupation and help us establish our state, which the world has already recognised....We do not want more blood.

The first deception for the English-language audience is the definition of "occupation." According to Hamas, all of Israel is on occupied territory, as I have proven a number of times.

Hamas has made it crystal clear that it wants to destroy Israel in stages, as Mahmoud Zahar said on video in 2010:

"We have liberated Gaza, but have we recognized Israel? Have we given up our lands occupied in 1948? We demand the liberation of the West Bank, and the establishment of a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital – but without recognizing [Israel]. This is the key – without recognizing the Israeli enemy on a single inch of land.

"This is our plan for this stage – to liberate the West Bank and Gaza, without recognizing Israel’s right to a single inch of land, and without giving up the Right of Return for a single Palestinian refugee.

[...]
"Our plan for this stage is to liberate any inch of Palestinian land, and to establish a state on it. Our ultimate plan is [to have] Palestine in its entirety. I say this loud and clear so that nobody will accuse me of employing political tactics. We will not recognize the Israeli enemy. "

Hamas' charter also makes it clear it does not seek a democratic Palestinian Arab state, but a pan-Muslim 'umma where Palestine is swallowed up by a new large Islamic nation. Democracy is not the goal, but a tactic.

Now, as far as Hamas' desire for "peace" and "no bloodshed," here are some recent Hamas statements:

March 30:

Hamas confirmed that the Al-Aqsa Intifada "will continue to be present at the heart of every Arab and Muslim, and that they address the Palestinian issue." and the Islamic movement stressed in a statement that the resistance will continue in all its forms in the liberation of Palestinian land ....Hamas stressed that the intifada "will remain a landmark inspired by the Palestinian people the meanings of resilience, stability, and the challenge against the crimes of the Zionist enemy."

May 16:

The entire [Hamas] Palestinian Legislative Council confirmed that the armed resistance is the only option to restore the rights and Palestinian rights.

Here is the illustration of that article from the Hamas newspaper Palestine Times:

May 26:

Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal confirmed that resistance is a right for all peoples and every nation, and no nation in history has terminated occupation voluntarily, but it only happens by the use of force.

Even though the Guardian's "Comment is Free" column is meant to showcase a variety of views and opinions, it seems ridiculous that it is meant to be a platform for baldfaced lies.

Yet it is.

UPDATE: Here is my comment in The Guardian:

Do Guardian readers know that when Haniyeh says he wants and "end to occupation" he means an "end to Israel?" Hamas media in Arabic define all of Israel as "occupied" and all Israeli towns as "settlements."

Do Guardian readers know that at the exact same time that Haniyeh claims to not want bloodshed, Hamas leaders are saying the exact opposite? Just in the past month Khaled Meshal and the Hamss legislative council confirmed in very clear terms that "armed resistance" is the ONLY method to "liberate Palestine," and that they praised the suicide bombing spree known as the second intifada.

Do Guardian readers know that only last week Hamas leaders praised suicide bombers and other terrorists, and their media lovingly went over the details of how their "martyrs" blew up innocent Israeli women and children to bits?

Or is it better to ignore everything Hamas says daily in Arabic and believe the baldfaced lies that they say in English to credulous Westerners?

CNN gives Erekat a pass (Honest Reporting)

From Honest Reporting:

The Independent notices that Arabs treat Pals like dirt (updated)

You don't see this every day in the mainstream media:

It is a cynical but time-honoured practice in Middle Eastern politics: the statesmen who decry the political and humanitarian crisis of the approximately 3.9 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza ignore the plight of an estimated 4.6 million Palestinians who live in Arab countries. For decades, Arab governments have justified their decision to maintain millions of stateless Palestinians as refugees in squalid camps as a means of applying pressure to Israel. The refugee problem will be solved, they say, when Israel agrees to let the Palestinians have their own state.

Yet in the two decades since the end of the Cold War, after two Gulf wars, and the rise and fall of the Oslo peace process, not a single Palestinian refugee has returned to Israel – and only a handful of ageing political functionaries have returned from neighbouring Arab countries to the West Bank and Gaza. Instead, failed peace plans and shifting political priorities have resulted in a second Palestinian "Nakba", or catastrophe – this one at hands of the Arab governments. "Marginalised, deprived of basic political and economic rights, trapped in the camps, bereft of realistic prospects, heavily armed and standing atop multiple fault lines," a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Lebanon recently observed, "the refugee population constitutes a time bomb."

The fact that the divided Palestinian political leadership is silent about the mistreatment of the refugees by Arab states does not make such behaviour any less reprehensible – or less dangerous. Some 250,000 Palestinians were chased out of Kuwait and other Gulf States to punish the Palestinian political leadership for supporting Saddam Hussein. Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents of Iraq were similarly dispossessed after the second Gulf war.

In 2001, Palestinians in Lebanon were stripped of the right to own property, or to pass on the property that they already owned to their children – and banned from working as doctors, lawyers, pharmacists or in 20 other professions. Even the Palestinian refugee community in Jordan, historically the most welcoming Arab state, has reason to feel insecure in the face of official threats to revoke their citizenship. The systematic refusal of Arab governments to grant basic human rights to Palestinians who are born and die in their countries – combined with periodic mass expulsions of entire Palestinian communities – recalls the treatment of Jews in medieval Europe. Along with dispossession and marginalisation has come a new and frightening turn away from the traditional forms of nationalism that once dominated the refugee camps towards the radical pan-Islamic ideology of al-Qa'ida.

The comparison to Jews is offensive, of course. The Jews of medieval Europe didn't have the political voice that the Palestinian Arabs enjoy; they didn't have the ability to turn international pressure on their enemies at will, and they didn't have an international agency with billions of dollars at their disposal to help them out and provide a security blanket no matter what they did.

...
The inclusion of the descendants of Palestinian refugees as refugees in UNRWA's mandate has no parallel in international humanitarian law and is responsible for the growth of the official numbers of Palestinian refugees in foreign countries from 711,000 to 4.6 million during decades when the number of ageing refugees from the 1948 Israeli war of independence in was in fact declining. UNRWA's grant of refugee status to the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the original Palestinian refugees according to the principle of patrilineal descent, with no limit on the generations that can obtain refugee status, has made it easy for host countries to flout their obligations under international law. According to Article 34 of the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, "The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalisation of refugees," and must "make every effort to expedite naturalisation proceedings" – the opposite of what happened to the Palestinians in every Arab country in which they settled, save Jordan. For all the easy criticism that can be levelled at UNRWA, it is hard to see how many Palestinian refugees would have survived without the agency's help.

...
After 60 years of failed wars, and failed peace, it is time to put politics aside and to insist that the basic rights of the Palestinian refugees in Arab countries be respected – whether or not their children's children return to Haifa anytime soon. While Saudi Arabia may not wish to host Israeli tourists, it can easily afford to integrate the estimated 240,000 Palestinian refugees who already live in the kingdom – just as Egypt, which has received close to $60bn in US aid, and has a population of 81 million, can grant legal rights to an estimated 70,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants. One can only imagine the outrage that the world community would rightly visit upon Israel if Israeli Arabs were subject to the vile discriminatory laws applied to Palestinians living in Arab countries. Surely, Palestinian Arabs can keep their own national dream alive in the countries where they were born, while also enjoying the freedom to work, vote and own property?

A practical solution to the crisis of the Palestinian refugees in Arab countries will focus on Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, which together play host to approximately 3 million of the estimated 4.6 million Palestinian refugees living outside the West Bank and Gaza. While each of these countries has chosen different legal and political approaches to the 1948 refugees and their descendants, they share a political desire to sublimate the rights of Palestinian residents, treating them as unwanted guests or as tools to be used in pursuing wider political interests – but rarely as fully-fledged members of society. Lebanon, where Palestinians led by Yasser Arafat are widely blamed for having sparked the 1975 civil war, is the worst offender against international norms. Yet even in Jordan, which is in many ways a model for the humane treatment of a large refugee population, Palestinians today feel markedly less secure than they did two decades ago, or even five years ago.

...The fact that the living standard of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been deemed "catastrophic" by both UNRWA and by the Lebanese government can therefore be understood as a deliberate result of official state policy that is supported by all parties across Lebanon's divided confessional spectrum. As a member of the Lebanese parliament, Ghassan Moukheiber, explained in an interview with the ICG, "our official policy is to maintain Palestinians in a vulnerable, precarious situation to diminish prospects for their naturalisation or permanent settlement".

...For many of these refugees at the bottom of Jordan's social and economic pecking order, life without papers means hiding from the police who constantly patrol their camp's streets, being too poor to send any of your eight to 10 children to college, a lifetime of menial labour, and only a threadbare dream of returning to a homeland that most of them have never seen. There is strong suspicion of the state, but also of their neighbours, who are divided into "'48 people" and "'67 people". "Some of the newcomers would give away Al Aqsa for a Jordanian identity card," says Heba, a mother of eight, mentioning Islam's celebrated mosque in Jerusalem, one of its holiest shrines.

"We're Jordanians," says her son, Mustapha, a slender, 20-year-old in a bright orange T-shirt emblazoned with meaningless words in unknown languages. "This is the best place in the world," he says, pointing around the bare living room whose worn rugs and threadbare pillows cover the floor on which he and all his siblings sleep. "We would never leave here. But I'm loyal to my country, and I would like to visit it one day."

He seems perplexed when asked which is his country – Jordan or Palestine. "We have no security here, but we are Jordanians," replies Mustapha, who lounges on a mattress in a two-storey cement house down the road while one of his five daughters offers tiny glasses of steaming herbal tea and cardamom-scented coffee. "Everything I have is here. This house. My car. My job. What would I have in Nablus or Be'ersheba?" he declares. "My children know nothing but Jordan. And we will stay here."

That determination, echoed repeatedly through the dilapidated cement homes that line Baqa'a's gravelly streets and dust-filled shops, is precisely what terrifies Jordan's East Bank establishment. Jordanians have reason to fear their Palestinian guests. Many Jordanians have not forgotten "Black September", the civil war launched by Arafat's Fatah organisation in 1970 which nearly toppled King Hussein's kingdom.

Read the whole thing.

I don't know how long the authors worked on this article, but I would suspect that it would never have seen the light of day had not American senators brought up the issue of redefining Palestinian Arab refugees. That is all it takes to allow the world to start seeing the truth, or at least being informed about basic facts of the Middle East that have been suppressed - overtly or covertly - by so many for so long for their own selfish political purposes.

(h/t @avimayer)

UPDATE: I didn't realize that this article was from October, 2009. (h/t Brad)

More embarrassingly - I had blogged it then.

How things were when we had those wonderful "1967 lines"

Today is the 45th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem from its illegal Jordanian occupation. But to the world, it was the day that Israel started its "illegal occupation" of part of the city.

Here's an article from December 1959, from Elmore Philpott of the Vancouver Sun, describing Jerusalem, in those wonderful days before it was "occupied":

This is the "status quo" that lasted for a mere 19 years that the entire world wants things to return to.

Oh, they won't say it - they'll say that there will be continue to be free access to both sides, especially to the holy places.

Just like the Arabs agreed in 1949.

Links from Ian, and more links from me

EI (not linked) are whining about Finkelstein’s “broken clock” moment again, this time he’s talked too much about Jews and called BDS a pointless “historically criminal” cult.

The Democracy Now interview. Norman Finkelstein Waning Jewish American Support for Israel Boosts Chances for Middle East Peace

“You read the last sentence of the 2004 International Court of Justice opinion on the wall that Israel has been building in the West Bank, and the last sentence says, "We look forward to two states: a Palestinian state alongside Israel and at peace with its neighbors." That’s the law.
And if you want to go past that law or ignore the Israel part, you’ll never reach a broad public. And then it’s a cult. Then it’s pointless, in my opinion. We’re wasting time. And it’s only a wasting of time. It becomes—and I know it’s a strong word, and I hope I won’t be faulted for it, but it becomes historically criminal, because there was a time where whatever we said, it made no difference.”

The West should condition aid to the Palestinian Authority on cessation of terror-promotion
After two decades of policy failure, is it not about time the West tried a more demanding approach toward the Palestinian Authority?

Most Arabs prefer living in Israel, accept Jewish character of the state

"A full 68.3 percent of Arabs prefer to live in Israel over any other country in the world, according to a survey carried out by Professor Sammy Smooha of the University of Haifa. The survey, held annually, was conducted among a representative sample of 1,400 Israelis, about half of whom were Arabs."

German Government in Hot Water for Supporting Israel’s Right to Exist
Re Israel’s new submarines

"The right-leaning government is being accused of actively participating in Israeli nuclear deterrence, and is being asked to justify its positions. Isn’t it curious that the same parties will not condemn Iran uranium enrichment, even though they are livid about the German civil nuclear program? Or that the socialist party will not speak out about human rights in Iran? It appears that when it comes to politics there is only one easy target everybody can agree on: Israel, and anyone who aids it."

FBI Probes Leaks on Iran Cyberattack
Democrats Join GOP in Condemning Leaks on Military, Intelligence

Israel and pro-Israel forces across the world must think up ways to mitigate the damage should the Hashemite regime fall.

Arafat moneyman gets 15 years for corruption

Two suspects arrested in anti-Semitic attacks in France
New French Socialist Government Does Little about Rising Antisemitic Violence

OECD Israeli technology can alleviate global water crisis

Also:

Jonathan Shcnzer in FP on Mahmoud Abbas' sons' remarkable business success. I'm sure it's all legit.

A reporter goes undercover as an African migrant in Tel Aviv.

The Netherlands came up with a compromise plan on kosher and halal slaughter that makes everyone happy.

More from Jennifer Rubin on the refugee racket.

A huge treasure trove from Roman times found near Kiryat Gat.

And a 13-year old kid with a yarmulka wows the judges on America's Got Talent.

A Palestinian Arab myth disproven yet again

Yesterday, another 925 Palestinian Arabs with Egyptian mothers became Egyptian citizens.

This demonstrates yet again that Palestinian Arabs would prefer to be citizens of Arab countries rather than be used as pawns by their leaders promising them "return" to a land most never lived in.

And it proves that all the Arab leaders (and Western NGOs) that declare that "return" is the only solution are acting against the wishes of many or most of the Palestinian people they pretend to care about.

The "human rights" organizations and Arab leaders who do not pressure Arab host nations to naturalize their stateless "guests" are hypocrites when they say they are doing it for Palestinians.

More details from this previous post.

Did Obama say that Abbas may not want peace?

Yesterday, in YNet, it was reported that in a meeting with Jewish leaders, President Obama said that he feared that the Palestinian Authority was no longer interested in advancing the peace process with Israel.

The article has since been changed and it no longer says that, even though the headline yesterday was "Obama: Abbas may not want peace":

The new article says "US President Barack Obama told Orthodox Jewish leaders on Tuesday that PA President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority may be too politically weak to deliver a peace agreement and that he fears that the window of opportunity for a deal is closing."

There is a bit of a difference between not wanting peace and being too weak to achieve peace.

The Times of Israel confirms YNet's original account:

He said peace was critical as the Arab democracy movement swept the region, but worried that the Palestinian leadership was no longer as interested in advancing toward peace.

Arab media were upset over the report, and Palestine Press Agency reports today that, according to PA resident liar in chief Saeb Erekat, The White House denied the statement:

Negotiations Affairs Department in the Palestine Liberation Organization leader Saeb Erekat said on Wednesday that the White House provided clarification on the remarks of President Barack Obama, about the commitment of President Mahmoud Abbas to the peace process, which stated 'that what was attributed to President Obama was disgraceful, and President Obama did not question the intentions of President Abbas and his commitment to the peace process'.

President Obama re-confirmed his commitment to continue to make every possible effort to push the peace process forward.

There is no such clarification on the White House website.

On the other hand, I can see some of the Jewish leaders misquoting or misunderstanding the president in an off-the-record meeting.

The fact that Abbas and the Palestinian Arab leadership are not interested in peace is not in doubt, as I have documented countless times. It would be very interesting if President Obama realized this and stated it, though. Not the same as doing it publicly - which is what is really necessary - but interesting nonetheless.

EU expands definition of PalArab "refugees" beyond UNRWA's

From the EU Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection website:

Palestinians in Lebanon: In 2012 ECHO continues its assistance to around 100,000 Palestinian refugees, which is almost 40% of the Palestinian refugee population living in Lebanon. With €5 million, the aid ensures shelter, safe water and sanitation, access to secondary health care, psychosocial support, protection and legal aid. Particular attention is paid to those refugees who do not receive aid from UNRWA and other organizations, especially those living in the 42 unofficial 'gatherings', and those lacking the legal status to benefit from UNRWA's aid programme.

Who are these Palestinian Arab "refugees" who do not receive aid from UNRWA?

From their 2012 report:

Refugees non registered and with no IDs: In addition to the registered refugees, an estimated 35,000 non-UNRWA registered and 3,000 non-identified Palestinians live in Lebanon without any official means of identification. The absence of an appropriate legal status and protection has put these refugees in a situation of extreme vulnerability.

This means that, according to the EU, there are some 38,000 Palestinians who do not qualify for aid by UNRWA, but are considered "refugees."

But the very definition of a Palestinian refugee is one who falls under UNRWA's mandate!

The only reason that Palestinian Arab "refugees" retain their anomalous status of being defined as refugees even though they do not fit the criteria listed by the 1951 Convention on Refugees is because of the loophole written specifically for them in article 1, paragraph D:

This Convention shall not apply to persons who are at present receiving from organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees protection or assistance.

That meant that those receiving aid from UNRWA in 1951 were considered refugees even if they did not meet the other criteria listed in the Convention. That disconnect has gotten orders of magnitude worse as UNRWA's "working definition" of refugees expanded to include descendants and did not establish any criteria for losing refugee status.

These 35,000-38,000 people do not fit even under UNRWA's expanded definition of "Palestinian refugee," therefore they are not refugees.

They are stateless, however, because of Lebanese bigotry against Palestinian Arabs and refusal to allow people born on Lebanese territory to become citizens, but they are not refugees by any legal or UN definition of the term.

No doubt they need help and the EC is doing a service by providing it to them, but the EU is doing them a disservice by referring to them as "refugees". If it cared about them more than about the fear of Arabs complaining to them, the EU would be pressuring Lebanon to give citizenship to these stateless people - people who are in their current situation because of Lebanese actions.

But to this humanitarian organization, politics is more important than finding a true solution.

Hilarious boycott of Israeli goods by tiny cafe in Olympia (updated)

BDS has another victory!

We, The Flaming Eggplant Cafe, have decided to join the call from Palestinian civil society to boycott Israeli products. “These non-violent punitive measures should be maintained until Israel meets its obligation to recognize the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and fully complies with the precepts of international law by:

Ending its occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;

Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and

Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194.” (from the Palestinian Civil Society call for BDS)

This comes from the Olympia BDS webpage, but curiously enough not from the Flaming Eggplant webpage. In fact, there is nothing about it on their Facebook page or Twitter account as of this writing, either.

But it is probably true. The cafe also boycotts Nestle, Monsanto and Coca Cola.

Only one problem: According to their menu and their list of suppliers, they never sold Israeli products anyway. In fact, they deliberately choose products from local producers whenever they can. Their hummus is made in-house.

Saying that you, as a business, are banning products that you never sold is not exactly a sacrifice. [NEWSFLASH: This webpage will no longer use any Iranian components! Praise me!]

How about traditional Middle Eastern foods? Where does the Flaming Eggplant get them from?

All the food that we buy from our distributors is organic. We work with some small producers on the west coast through our distributors including Jerusalem House, a company started by immigrants from the Middle East that makes our tahini...

The Jerusalem House is an Oregon health food distributor. It has a vague Middle East connection. Sounds like it is perfect for the Flaming Eggplant's ethical standards.

Except that a couple of weeks ago there was one small problem...

A local food company has recalled all varieties of its humus products over concerns about potential contamination.

Jerusalem House issued the recall on May 17, and products have been pulled from the shelves at area stores.

The products were sold at all Market of Choice locations in Oregon; Sundance Natural Foods, Friendly Street Market and Capella in Eugene; and at First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op in Corvallis.

The products recalled include hummus, black bean hummus, baba ghanouj, grape leaves, salsa de jardin and tahini packaged under the Jerusalem House label and Original Tahini packaged under the Earth Gourmet Foods label.

An announcement from the state Agriculture Department said the products could contain a chemical contaminant. The recall notice does not identify the potential contaminant but said no illnesses have been reported in connection with the problem.

The announcement said the recall was initiated “in an abundance of caution.”

Oh, it gets better:

Roy Simon Oueis mugshot

Two days before the recall, on May 15, Eugene police served a search warrant at a west Eugene home police said served as a commercial food sales operation for Jerusalem House.

Roy Simon Oueis, 50, was arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, delivery of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, felon in possession of a weapon and first-degree theft.

Oueis’ business profile on the LinkedIn website lists him as manager of Jerusalem House.

Oueis remained in custody Sunday.

"Jerusalem House" drug den according to Google Maps

The report said the police investigation turned up potential violations of building and health codes at 2425 W. 18th Ave., the location where the search warrant was served. [And the official address of Jerusalem House - EoZ]

City code inspectors and state agriculture inspectors were called to investigate.

The recall notice did not indicate a link between the arrest and the recall. But production of Jerusalem House products has been suspended while the investigation continues.

Oueis, the owner of Jerusalem House, was arrested "after an investigation revealed that he routinely traded methamphetamine for stolen property, police said. "

The ethical owner of the ethical health food company was also arrested in 2007 for possession of a firearm and, again, methamphetamines.

This is where The Flaming Eggplant prefers to procure its food from.

But give Oueis a break - he was born in Lebanon, so that makes him ipso facto a moral man and his company an ethical business.

Will The Flaming Eggplant, arbiters of what is good and right, choose to boycott The Jerusalem House - assuming it ever resumes business operations? Will they be writing any articles for Olympia BDS about the evils of methamphetamines, selling drugs and possession of a weapon? Are they thinking that perhaps they wouldn't have lost their supplier of tahini if they had chosen an Israeli brand?

I love BDS, really I do.

UPDATE: Police also found rodent feces and a dog in the kitchen where this delicious tahini and hummous was being manufactured. (h/t Leo dam Hofshi)

Malaysia clerics cool sales of Portugal soccer jerseys

From Bikya Masr:

The small street seller had all the European club jerseys ready for sale on Saturday evening, as passersby wanted to grab their favorite international shirt ahead of this month’s Euro 2012. But for Portugal fans, the jersey was nowhere to be found.

“We are not allowed to sell the jersey because it shows a cross,” the shopkeeper told Bikyamasr.com. “I still love Portugal and will be rooting for them, but we are an Islamic country and don’t want to get people angry,” he added.

While it is not officially banned in the country, a number of Islamic clerics have voiced their concern over the jersey, which has a large cross on the front, highlighting Portugal’s Catholic faith. But in Malaysia, symbols often find themselves under attack by the country’s virulent Muslim clerics.

Portugal is not the only jersey to be pulled from the shelves. Brazil, which also boasts a large cross, has been barred by clerics. Manchester United, the world’s most popular club team, has also sparked the ire of clerics in the Southeast Asian country over its nickname, the Red Devils.

Despite the Old Trafford side having an estimated 81 million followers in Asia, one senior cleric said: “You are only promoting the devil.”

“This is very dangerous. As a Muslim we should not worship the symbols of other religions or the devils,” another added, in a Forbes report.

“It will erode our belief in Islam. There is no reason why we as Muslims should wear such jerseys, either for sports or fashion reasons.”

A little context on "Israeli racism"

While racism must always be condemned, the next time you read an article about how Israelis are supposedly racist for mistreating illegal African immigrants flooding the country, keep in mind how Egyptians treat them.

From CNN, last November:

"I wanted to build a good future for my family, but I failed," a weak Issam Abdallah Mohammed said in a videotaped statement.

The refugee from the Darfur region of Sudan was trying to illegally cross the border from Egypt to Israel when he was discovered and shot by Egyptian border guards.

Less than an hour after taping the statement, Issam was dead, succumbing to the wounds inflicted by the gunshots.

Every year, thousands of refugees, mostly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, attempt the dangerous journey from their war-torn countries to Israel in search of economic prosperity and stability.

Very few make it, and the results of the failed migration can be seen in the morgue of the central hospital in the Egyptian port town of El Arish.

On any given day, the morgue will be packed with the bodies of African refugees who died trying to make it to Israel.

Hamdy Al-Azazy spent the past seven years helping the refugees. Many are enslaved and tortured and the women raped by the Bedouin tribes of the Sinai if they are unable to come up with large sums of money the Bedouin try to extort from them and their families, to smuggle the refugees across the border into Israel. As a result, many remain imprisoned in camps on the Sinai Peninsula.

"They are chained and kept in camps in the open with no bathrooms and little water and food and treated worse than animals," Al-Azazy said.

"Some of them are taken to Libya, but 80% of them are smuggled to Israel. Those who escape are shot by the Bedouins, and others who make it to the border are sometimes shot by the Egyptian authorities and transferred to hospitals before spending a year in different prisons in Sinai and deported back home."

The CNN crew found two victims in the hospital in El Arish, handcuffed to their beds and awaiting their transfer to an Egyptian detention center and eventual deportation.

One of them, Mahary Taklay Abraham of Eritrea, says he hit his head falling off a rock while trying to cross the border and was caught by Egyptian border guards. But before making it to the border, Mahary says, he spent about two months with the Bedouins.

"They beat and tortured me continuously and demanded money from my family," Mahary said.

Al-Azazy says this is a common scheme. The refugees will pay Bedouin tribes in the border area between Sudan and Egypt around $2,000 to be smuggled out. The smugglers then sell the refugees to the Sinai Bedouin, who blackmail the refugees and their families back home.

Ibrahim Yehia of Eritrea says he fell prey to the Bedouin.

"When we arrived to Sinai, the Bedouins tied me up with metal chains in the desert. They tortured us. Many of us died," he said, displaying his wounds, including scars that he says came from electroshock torture.

"They wanted me to pay $12,000 and forced us to call our families to transfer the money. My family sold all their lands and even their donkey to collect the money. They transferred $6,000 to the Bedouins."

After his family paid, Yehia says, the Bedouin finally let him go.

"I spent three months tied up in the camp close to the Israeli border. After I paid, the Bedouins drove me to the border crossing and set me free. I was then shot by plainclothes men close to the wired fence at the Israeli-Egyptian border. The military took me to the hospital."

Some of the refugees are forced into slave labor, often working marijuana fields that flourish all over Northern Sinai, Hamdy Al-Azazy says. Refugees who made it across the border into Israel have told harrowing accounts of rape, torture and slave labor.

Women are especially vulnerable. CNN spoke to one victim who made it to Israel and spoke on condition of anonymity. She said she was raped almost daily on a journey that took several months to get to Tel Aviv.

"Every night, they took me separately, and they did whatever they wanted to my body," the Eritrean said.

Al-Azazy hears stories like this all the time. "The women and men are kept in open areas. These Bedouins don't have any morals or conscience. One girl told me that three Bedouins had raped 14 girls in one night," he said.

How many articles have you read in 2012 about Egyptian murder, rape and enslavement of African migrants?

Ian's links including anti-Israel protest in Australia

A developing story in Australia, an effigy of Victorian State Premier Baillieu was burnt by anti-Israel protesters outside a gala dinner to celebrate the 64th anniversary of the creation of Israel, the Israeli Ambassador was also attending.

Later: Function Sizzles, Demo Fizzles

“Around forty demonstrators were part of a group which burned an effigy of Victorian premier Ted Baillieu outside Melbourne’s Hotel Windsor in which Victorians were celebrating Israel’s 64th birthday.
The demonstration was staged in an attempt to disrupt the Yom Ha’azmaut party inside at which more than 400 members of the community heard speeches from from the Victorian premier and Daniel Andrews the Leader of the Opposition”

Jewish News coverage (Video inc clips of speeches)- Flames of protest fail to mar spirits

Chanting ”from the river to the sea” (video)- Protest outside Zionist Council of Victoria dinner with Premier Ted Baillieu

They appear to amazed at this thing called fire (video)- Free Palestine demo Melbourne 5 June 2012
As always give them thumbs down in YT.

Rabbi Arnold J. Wolf, the Socialist, anti-Israel Rabbi Who Taught Obama What He 'Knows' About Judaism

“For example, along with radical MIT professor Noam Chomsky, Rabbi Wolf helped found the Committee on New Alternatives in the Middle East (CONAME) a philosophical grandparent to today’s faux pro-Israel group J Street.

.....An investigation by the Near East Report revealed that CONAME’s signature appeared on telegrams urging Congress to send no arms to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Israel was attacked by Syria and Egypt on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.”