US State Dept details Iran's 2011 terror record

The US State Department puts out an annual review of worldwide terrorism. Here is what their latest country report has to say about Iran as a state sponsor of terror:

IRAN

Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran remained an active state sponsor of terrorism in 2011 and increased its terrorist-related activity, likely in an effort to exploit the uncertain political conditions resulting from the Arab Spring, as well as in response to perceived increasing external pressure on Tehran. Iran also continued to provide financial, material, and logistical support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Iran was known to use the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and terrorist insurgent groups to implement its foreign policy goals, provide cover for intelligence operations, and support terrorist and militant groups. The IRGC-QF is the regime's primary mechanism for cultivating and supporting terrorists abroad.

In 2011, the United States discovered that elements of the Iranian regime had conceived and funded a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to the United States in Washington D.C. Mansour Arbabsiar, an Iranian-born U.S. dual-national working on behalf of the IRGC-QF, was arrested in September 2011 for his role in the plot; also indicted in the case was an IRGC-QF officer who remains at large. Arbabsiar held several meetings with an associate whom Iranian officials believed was a narcotics cartel member. This associate, in fact, was a confidential source for U.S. law enforcement. The thwarted plot underscored anew Iran's interest in using international terrorism – including in the United States – to further its foreign policy goals.

Despite its pledge to support the stabilization of Iraq, Iran continued to provide lethal support, including weapons, training, funding, and guidance, to Iraqi Shia militant groups targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces, as well as civilians. Iran was responsible for the increase of lethal attacks on U.S. forces and provided militants with the capability to assemble explosives designed to defeat armored vehicles. The IRGC-QF, in concert with Lebanese Hizballah, provided training outside of Iraq as well as advisors inside Iraq for Shia militants in the construction and use of sophisticated improvised explosive device technology and other advanced weaponry.

Qods Force provided training to the Taliban in Afghanistan on small unit tactics, small arms, explosives, and indirect fire weapons, such as mortars, artillery, and rockets. Since 2006, Iran has arranged arms shipments to select Taliban members, including small arms and associated ammunition, rocket propelled grenades, mortar rounds, 107mm rockets, and plastic explosives. Iran has shipped a large number of weapons to Kandahar, Afghanistan, in particular, aiming to increase its influence in this key province.

During the wave of pro-democracy demonstrations in Syria, Iran provided weapons and training to assist the Asad regime in its brutal crackdown that has resulted in the death of more than 5,000 civilians. Iran also continued to provide weapons, training, and funding to Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, including the Palestine Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. Since the end of the 2006 Israeli-Hizballah conflict, Iran has assisted in rearming Hizballah, in direct violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. Iran has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in support of Hizballah in Lebanon and has trained thousands of Hizballah fighters at camps in Iran.

In 2011, Iran remained unwilling to bring to justice senior AQ members it continued to detain, and refused to publicly identify those senior members in its custody. It also allowed AQ members to operate a core facilitation pipeline through Iranian territory, enabling AQ to carry funds and move facilitators and operatives to South Asia and elsewhere.

Since 2009, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has called for its members and the international community to institute countermeasures to protect their respective financial sectors as well as the global financial system from the risks – in particular the terrorist financing threat – posed by Iran. In October 2011, the FATF strengthened its language and again called for countermeasures against Iran. Iran has had some limited engagement regarding anti-money laundering/counterterrorist finance and has responded to overtures by multilateral entities such as the UN's Global Programme against Money Laundering, but it has failed to criminalize terrorist financing and require that financial institutions and other obliged entities file suspicious transaction reports. It has not engaged with FATF and is not a member of a FATF-style regional body.

It is easy to forget how integral Iran is to world terrorism, both Shiite and Sunni. But this sums it up nicely.

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Wednesday links

From Ian:

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The BBC’s own goal In pictures: Ramadan in Gaza's old quarter

Culture Does Matter By Mitt Romney

“I have just returned from a trip abroad. I visited three lands — Israel, Poland, and Great Britain — which are defined by their respective struggles for freedom. I met with some of the greatest heroes of those struggles. I am always glad to return to American soil. On this occasion, I am only strengthened in my conviction that the pursuit of happiness is not an American right alone. Israelis, Palestinians, Poles, Russians, Iranians, Americans, all human beings deserve to enjoy the blessings of a culture of freedom and opportunity.”

Palestinians Choose Resistance Over Economic Improvement

“What is more important, I believe, is a factor identified by Francis Fukuyama–the level of “trust” in a society. Israelis have been willing, when push comes to shove, to pull together for the common good in a way that Palestinians, who have always been riven by clan and political rivalries, have not. Israeli political culture has also been resolutely democratic, and this, I believe, is the ultimate secret of its success–it is inconceivable that the egalitarian Israelis would have tolerated the rule of a strutting authoritarian like Arafat. Israeli political culture demanded that “resistance” fighters like Begin and Shamir put down the gun and compete for votes like normal politicians. The Palestinians have never, even now, demanded this of their leaders–or at least not made the demand stick–and they will continue to pay a heavy price for elevating “resistance” over economic opportunity.”

Barry Rubin: Romney Lays It Out: Progress and Success Versus Name-Calling And Bragging About Being Victims

“Palestinian leaders complained, saying that this showed Romney was racist and out of touch with the realities of the Middle East. Actually, their reaction showed that they are counterproductive leaders who are out of touch with the realities of the Middle East and human history.”

IOC head Rogge to speak at memorial event for Munich athletes

“British PM also to attend ceremony, organized by Israeli embassy and local Jewish groups”
“LONDON — The president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, will speak next week at a ceremony in memory of the athletes murdered at the Munich Games, organized by the Israelis and British Jews, it was announced Tuesday.”
“The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, will also address the gathering, the organizers announced Tuesday. A message of support will be read from Charles, the Prince of Wales and the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, will be in attendance. Israel will be represented by Sports Minister Limor Livnat.”

British Allow Anti-Semitic Iranian Propaganda in the UK by Lee Kaplan

"The Heritage and Destiny Channel," on You Tube, run by Iran, currently features a video with two British subjects: an actress and film producer named Michelle Renouf, whose real name is Michelle Mainwaring, 62, a former Australian television model, now a British citizen, and a barrister named Philip Bree, who lives in London. Both star in mock interviews by Iranian TV, and try to lend an air of rational authority in their interviews as they methodically explain that the Olympic logo being used at this week's Olympic Games in London is in fact a conspiratorial "subliminal Zion race-supremacy logo," and part of an international conspiracy conducted by the Jews. According to Lady Renouf, the zigzag design of the logo's lettering spells out the word "Zion," and refers to Jews and Israel. The video can be seen in the UK as well as on You Tube."

State Dept. report describes ‘rising tide’ of anti-Semitism

Gaza launches missile; IDF, Egypt exchange fire

No injuries from anti-tank missile fired at tank; shooting between Egypt, smugglers accidentally draws in IDF.

Bulgaria releases photo of suicide bomber from Burgas blast

“Image is a computer reconstruction of the bomber’s features based on recovered body
parts”

Syrian rebels now have anti-aircraft missiles, NBC reports

“Weapons smuggled across border with Turkey, Free Syrian Army claims”

Mark Steyn: Taking the Jew out of Judo

But it’s a useful reminder that the Olympian “bridge for love and connection” operates to the same principles as the old gag:
One day the U.N. Secretary General proposes that, in the interest of global peace and harmony, the world’s soccer players should come together and form one United Nations global soccer team.
“Great idea,” says his deputy. “Er, but who would we play?”
“Israel, of course.”

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Also, Pat Condell on The Guardian:



(h/t O.)

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Sudanese TV preacher: Jews are tearing apart the world

From MEMRI, naturally:



Now, if we own the world, why would we want to tear it apart?

We must be building a new, goy-free planet in its place!

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Arab press roundup

Unity:

Unidentified assailants on Wednesday morning assaulted senior Fatah leader Yahya Rabah in the Gaza Strip, according to relatives.

Rabah was leaving a restaurant in Gaza City when unidentified men approached him and beat him with bats. Rabah was transferred to hospital for treatment of bruises and wounds. His condition is stable, relatives say.

De Nile:

Israel said Tuesday it had received a letter from Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi indicating he wanted to work for peace in the Middle East, but Mursi's office later denied sending it.

"The letter that the media reported to have been sent from President Mursi to Israel was fake. President Mursi has not sent anything to Israel," spokesman Yasser Ali told Reuters.

An official from Peres' office said the letter was authentic.

"It was received by the Egyptian ambassador and handed over (to Peres's office). The denial was to be expected, given the letter's high publicity in Israeli and Egyptian media," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Peres's office had distributed a copy of the letter to media, as well as a copy of an Egyptian embassy message sent along with it. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Fatah and an Islamist group clash in the Lebanese Ain al Hilweh camp; one was killed and five injured.

Al Ahram has an investigative piece showing that Hamas is behind the massive weapons smuggling operation through Egypt and in the Sinai.

The Aqsa Foundation released a pretty boring 13 minute video showing Israeli excavations in the Kotel courtyard, some tunnels adjacent to the Temple Mount, some Israelis peacefully visiting the Temple Mount, an Arab riot there, and the "Children are Ready" video, all in one mishmash intended to incite:



Salam Fayyad is proud that British media, in their Olympics sites, called Jerusalem the capital of "Palestine."

According to the "Morsi Meter," in his first 30 days in office Mohamed Morsi has kept only one out of 64 campaign promises.

Turkey has not yet fulfilled its promise to reduce Iranian oil imports by 20%. It is still importing 167,000 barrels per day of oil from Iran.

Oil-rich Saudi Arabia cannot keep the lights on.

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Work accident!

Ma'an reports:

A Palestinian man was killed and two others were injured when a car exploded in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa neighborhood before dawn Wednesday, an official said.

Hamas admits that the dead man, 22-year old Ayman al-Sharafa was one of its members who was killed in an accidental explosion "during training."

So apparently Hamas transports explosive materials using ordinary cars traveling through residential neighborhoods.

I'm sure there is some ministry in Gaza where people can complain about that.

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Tom Friedman's amazing ability to write from 1992

Thanks to Mitt Romney, we can again see Tom Friedman's hypocrisy.

His latest screed starts off with this:

Since the whole trip was not about learning anything but about how to satisfy the political whims of the right-wing, super pro-Bibi Netanyahu, American Jewish casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, why didn’t they just do the whole thing in Las Vegas? I mean, it was all about money anyway — how much Romney would abase himself by saying whatever the Israeli right wanted to hear and how big a jackpot of donations Adelson would shower on the Romney campaign in return. Really, Vegas would have been so much more appropriate than Jerusalem. They could have constructed a plastic Wailing Wall and saved so much on gas.

Super right-wing! Evil Republican candidates seeking Jewish money! Jewish multibillionaires controlling US policy! Let's try to get every offensive stereotype out there and call it humor, shall we? (Not to mention that no one calls it the Wailing Wall nowadays except for Arabs and Tom Friedman.)

But it is Friedman's charge that Romney has no interest in learning anything new about the Middle East that is most ironic. Because this column shows that Friedman still thinks that we are in the early days of the peace process, somewhere between the Madrid conference and the Oslo accords.

He writes:

While Romney had time for a $50,000-a-plate breakfast with American Jewish donors in Jerusalem, with Adelson at his elbow, he did not have two hours to go to Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, to meet with its president, Mahmoud Abbas, or to share publicly any ideas on how he would advance the peace process.

Even after the Intifada, after the rejection of serious Israeli peace offers, after ignoring Israel's settlement freeze, after seeing hundreds of examples of official Palestinian Arab media praising terrorists and the PA naming streets and schools and camps after suicide bombers, after trying to bypass negotiations and refusing to compromise one iota, after years of PA stonewalling and replacing diplomacy with gimmicks like the UN statehood bid, Friedman still thinks that the way to bring peace is to pressure Israel and pander to the decrepit, corrupt Palestinian Arab leadership!

Romney did meet with a Palestinian Arab leader: Salam Fayyad. You know, the person who Friedman has lavishly praised as the greatest hope for Palestinians. And a funny thing happened as a result: Fayyad was criticized by Palestinian Arabs, including from the Fatah organization, for meeting Romney! Does that sound like a peace partner to Friedman?

I do know this: It is in Israel’s overwhelming interest to test, test and have the U.S. keep testing creative ideas for a two-state solution. That is what a real U.S. friend would promise to do. ...And here is what I also know: The three U.S. statesmen who have done the most to make Israel more secure and accepted in the region all told blunt truths to every Israeli or Arab leader: Jimmy Carter, who helped forge a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt; Henry Kissinger, who built the post-1973 war disengagement agreements with Syria, Israel and Egypt; and James Baker, who engineered the Madrid peace conference.

Yes, Friedman is still stuck in a twenty-year old time warp. And the proof for this is that he doesn't mention Bill Clinton.

Clinton did what Friedman demands from American presidents. He "advanced the peace process." He pandered to Yasir Arafat and got Israel to move from a nation far more rightist that Bibi is today into one that accepted a two-state solution. He spent huge amounts of time getting Israeli leaders to go way, way past every single previous red line. While Clinton's style to move things forward was more by taking the role of a concerned friend than someone who tells "blunt truths," the fact is that he managed to get Israeli leaders to go way beyond what Kissinger, Carter or Baker did. And he did it during a time that Israel was still being faced with regular suicide terror attacks.

But Friedman cannot mention Clinton, because Clinton realized at the very last minute that the Palestinian Arabs were not interested in peace, not interested in compromise, and not interested in a real two-state solution that would allow Israel to maintain security (or, for that matter, any Jewish holy sites.)

Obama, too, has belatedly learned that Abbas is not a peace partner. It isn't Jewish money that moved Obama to the right, as Friedman charges - it is Obama's slowly realizing what Friedman cannot, that Abbas is the obstacle to peace. While it is easy to be cynical about Obama's recent pandering to the Jewish vote, it appears that even he learned something from Abbas' intransigence over the past three years. After all, Abbas slapped Obama in the face numerous times - when he refused to negotiate during the settlement freeze and when he refused to abandon the statehood gimmick last year. Friedman withholds any criticism about that.

Fayyad, for all his faults, is not a supporter of terror. He has a vision for a real two-state solution. He might have no followers, and Fatah hates him as much as Hamas, but he is the only Palestinian Arab leader in history who actually thinks pragmatically. Sidelining Abbas and promoting Fayyad is exactly what the US should have been doing for the past few years.

Romney has learned the obvious truth from history. Arafat and his successor have been more faithful to their terrorist roots than to truly accepting peace with Israel, and they have never prepared their people to accept a two-state solution. Instead, they have been telling their people, in maps and in actions, that a Palestinian Arab state is a stage towards the ultimate destruction of Israel.



Friedman remains in a time warp, stuck in a twenty year old reality.

It isn't Romney who refuses to learn new facts - it is Thomas Friedman.

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The Ma'an quote game - find an official liar and let him spew

From Ma'an on Tuesday:

The deputy leader of the Islamic movement in Israel, Sheikh Kamal al-Khateib, said Tuesday that the Israeli municipal council of Jerusalem planned to transform the yards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound into public parks and gardens, to make them accessible for the Jews to visit at any time.

...In his remarks Tuesday, Al-Khateib said soldiers detained the imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday while he was praying. “Israeli troops stormed the mosque and prevented worshipers from completing their prayer,” he said.

Both of these allegations have zero evidence behind them. They came from rumors in the Arab press that became morphed into these confident, authoritative-sounding statements from an Islamic official.

And, of course, Ma'an prints them without any skepticism.

Here's another one from Ma'an, this one from Sunday:

Israel allocates 70 times more water to each settler than to the average Palestinian in the West Bank, the head of the Palestinian Water Authority said Sunday.

Seventy times? The accusation is patently ridiculous. (This fact sheet on water estimates that Palestinian Arabs get about 124 m3/year per capita, while Jews in Judea and Samaria get 134m3/year per capita - about 8% more, not the ludicrous 7000% that is claimed.

And, of course, Ma'an prints these statistics without any skepticism.

(To be fair, the Israeli statistics assume a smaller Arab population and note that Israeli allocations of water do not include the water that the Arabs provide for themselves, which is more than Israel provides and which the PWA head purposefully ignored. But there is absolutely no way to twist the numbers to come close to the PWA's ridiculous claim.)

In both cases, Ma'an unquestioningly quotes these charlatans (the Palestinian Water Authority site doesn't even have this supposed report published there) and doesn't lift a finger to find out if they are telling the truth or blowing smoke.

Because since when do Palestinian Arab newspapers care about truth when they can find liars with official titles who are willing to be quoted?

And once the supposedly authoritative Ma'an pushes such an absurd claim, can Mondoweiss be far behind?

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Tueslinks

From Ian:

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Honest Reporting Searching For Israel's Capital (Video)

Israel Made Me Beat My Wife

“It’s truly amazing just how far The Guardian can go when it comes to blaming Israel. Angela Taylor takes a look at the status of women in Gaza and carries out some interviews.”

PMW: PA: Israel is octopus with fangs and burning flames, in PA Ministry of Education publication

UNWATCH Syrians slaughtered, but U.N. too busy condemning Israel 3 times

Hamas Forces Attack Judge & Family in Gaza

“The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the attack carried out by members of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades (the armed wing of Hamas) against a judge and his family in 'Abassan village, east of Khan Yunis. The attackers beat and insulted the judge, in addition to treating him cruelly and inhumanely at the Palestinian police station. PCHR calls upon the Attorney General in Gaza to open an investigation into the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Israel indicts man suspected of spying for Syria
A Druze resident of the Golan Heights studying in Syria is arrested on espionage charges

16 Year Old Stopped From Suicide Attack in Israel

“A 16 year old boy was arrested near the Kerem Shalom kibbutz recently in connection with a planned suicide attack against Israeli Jews.”

Turkey's Press Freedom Day: 95 Journalists Behind Bars

"The courts sentenced eight suspects to nine years in jail and five suspects to pay fines in the amount of 29,880 TL [$16,580], three of them directly to the person of Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Ergogan."

Pakistani Owner of Swanky Santa Monica Hotel: “Get the [expletive] Jews out of my Pool”

Libya Jew returns to UK post-Benghazi jailing

“Businessman Raphael Luzon held, interrogated by ‘preventive security’ for four days, doesn’t advise any Jew to go to Libya.”

Hava Nagila inspires USA’s Aly Raisman to victory at the empy seat Olympics.

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Also:
When the Right Is Right About the Left

Ehud Barak sings praises of Obama administration

Romney's Warsaw speech

"Israel is "like an octopus... flames shooting out between its fangs"

The Israeli Wild, Wild West

(h/t Yerushalimey, Stan)

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EoZ regarded as "controversial" by Israeli/American writer at AllAfrica

From Joel Schalit at AllAfrica.com:

On May 23, Hatikva had the dubious distinction of hosting the worst race riots since Israel's founding. Egged on by politicians from Israel's governing Likud Party, local Jewish residents brutally assaulted migrants and looted their stores.

For followers of Israeli politics, none of this was surprising. In the preceding weeks, right-wing activists and politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had been attacking African migrants, repeatedly calling them a threat to Israeli society and security. It was just a matter of time before something like this happened.

In the wake of the violence, conservative media activists-accustomed to going on the offensive to support Israel's policies toward the Palestinians-found themselves with an entirely new kind of problem. They had to defend the government against charges of supporting anti-African racism. Ill-prepared, they relied on media normally used for other purposes, like flyers that had been intended for Apartheid Week.

Featuring a black and white photo of a group of laughing Ethiopian Jewish kids, one flyer highlights an old headline quotation from the late New York Times columnist William Safire that reads: "For the first time in history, thousands of black people are brought into the country not in chains but as citizens." In larger bold type appears the word "Apartheid?"

The work of the pro-Israel organization Stand With Us, the flyer was distributed by the controversial Elder of Ziyon blog. As an Israeli journalist, I received an emailed copy from someone who thought I would find it useful. A right-wing activist I know similarly plastered Reddit with links to it in the days immediately following the rioting. There was nothing especially unusual about the activity. It was the flyer itself that was noteworthy.

As propaganda, it's relatively straightforward: How can Palestinians and leftists argue that Israelis an apartheid state if it officially encourages black African immigration? Never mind that these Falashim, or Beta Israel as they are also called, happen to be Jews (or, at least, recently Jewish, according to religious authorities).

I never heard of Schalit, but I am disappointed that he didn't have enough confidence in his thesis that the refused to link to, or post, the poster that got him so hot and bothered:

He is also factually wrong in saying that StandWithUs made the poster and I distributed it - it was actually the other way around.

I was intrigued that he referred to me as "controversial." As I wrote in a comment to his article,

I was not aware that my blog was "controversial." Is there a controversy I am unaware of (or have forgotten about) or do you just consider opinions you disagree with to be "controversial"? I hope you will admit that using a term like that is prejudicial; you could have said "well-regarded" or "popular" and been at least as accurate, I suppose.

His main point in the article - which seems to be that Israelis are inherently racist - is just as sloppy as his fact checking.

Not to mention that someone on Reddit using my poster as an argument against Israeli racism is hardly the work of the organized Zionist community as he implies.

But he is apparently above such concerns. After all, he is a former editor of the nutty-left journal Tikkun and current editor of equally far-left European-American webzine Souciant. Which I suppose is "mainstream" in his opinion.

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The Siyum HaShas

Tomorrow evening, some 93,000 Jews will gather in MetLife Stadium, along with hundreds of thousands of other Jews worldwide (including in Tel Aviv's Nokia Stadium and Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium), to celebrate the 12th Siyum HaShas of Daf Yomi.

Daf Yomi is a study program initiated in the 1920s by Rabbi Meir Shapiro of Poland. His idea was that Jews worldwide would study a folio (2 pages) of Talmud every day, in sync. The entire Talmud - 2,711 folios - would be completed in roughly seven and a half years. (The English Artscroll translation spans 73 volumes, and each folio of Talmud is between 6-10 English pages.)

The Siyum HaShas is the celebration of the completion of the entire Babylonian Talmud.

Think about it: Every day, tens of thousands of Jews take time out to study the day's "Daf." Many go to lectures in synagogues or in ad-hoc workplace conference rooms, and some have been doing it on the Long Island Railroad for over twenty years. Lectures usually take an hour or so.

Others started off the current cycle in 2005 listening to lectures on cassette tapes or CDs; now many listen on MP3 players, or online. Still others learn it in pairs, or by themselves.

Sample page of Artscroll translation of theTalmud

Through business trips, holidays, births, bar mitzvahs and weddings, the people who follow the program kept going.

The Talmud, the richest source of the Jewish legal tradition, discusses every conceivable topic, from fanciful stories of ancient rabbis to heavily detailed discussions of the dimensions of every portion of the Temple and all its parts, from the laws of blessings to the laws of sex, from geometry to astronomy. It records intricate arguments using a unique logical framework, painstakingly parsing every letter in some Torah verses to extract hidden meanings. Pairs of rabbis became famous for their arguments with each other - Hillel and Shammai, Rav and Shmuel, Abaye and Rava.

The arguments are perhaps the most fascinating, and integral, part of the Talmud. The two sides must not only back up their arguments, but they must show how their arguments are consistent with the teachings of earlier, more authoritative rabbis, how they are not redundant, and how they are consistent with their own teachings in other areas of law. Each side would bring challenges to the others' arguments and they must defend themselves, each building an edifice of logic that ensures consistency even as they come to different conclusions. (Or, as often happens, one of them fails and cannot answer the final challenge. ) Sometimes the arguments are three- or four-way, and sometimes there are disagreements as to what the earlier arguments were, where the later interpreters must defend their own ideas of the basis of the earlier discussions.

(And this is only in the Talmud itself - I'm not even talking about the arguments among the commentaries, written hundreds of years later!)

Page from Latin translation of Mishnah

Seeming non-sequitors are introduced, and it can take pages before their relevance to the topic at hand is revealed. Stories can be brought up which brings up more stories; questions are not just asked on how rabbis thought but on how they acted.

Jews learn to argue from the Talmud.

And, in a sense, much of the entire Western legal system was heavily influenced by the Talmud as well, through the early innovators such as John Seiden, who was amazingly proficient in portions of Talmudic law. (The entire Mishnah - which outlines the Talmud - was translated into Latin in the late 17th century, along with commentaries by Maimonides and the Bartenura; here it is.)

To study the entire Talmud is a remarkable achievement, and it is almost beyond belief that so many people have managed to do it. The current Daf Yomi cycle started before Twitter existed, before Facebook was anything beyond a college phenomenon, before the iPhone. Over seven years of dogged study have occurred in every Jewish community worldwide.

Daf Yomi is a modern manifestation of Jewish unity - and a remarkable proof of Jewish continuity.

The Siyum is a real celebration for every Jew, whether you have ever studied Talmud or not.

But even if you haven't - the new cycle starts on Thursday. Feel free to join!

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Morsi's surprising letter to Peres (UPDATE)

From the Ha'aretz' Barak Ravid via Twitter, and verified by the MFA:

The MFA writes:

President Peres has previously sent two letters to the Egyptian president. The first was sent upon his election as president and the second was sent on the occasion of the month of Ramadan. In his first letter, President Peres congratulated President Morsy for winning the elections, emphasized the importance of peace between Israel and Egypt and expressed his hope for the continued cooperation between the two nations. In the letter, dispatched on 28 June, President Peres wrote: “As a person who participated in the process that led to the establishment of the peace agreement between your country and mine, I know that both Egypt and Israel attach supreme importance to the peace and stability that serve the interests of all peoples in the region. All of us in Israel respect both Egypt and the Egyptian people, which served as the pioneer that outlined the path to peace and reconciliation in the region. We know that the work is not yet finished. The people of Israel congratulate you on the democratic elections and hope that under your leadership Egypt will meet the complex challenges facing your nation. We look forward to continued cooperation with you, based on the peace agreements that were signed more than 30 years ago. It is our duty to preserve and nurture these agreements for the benefit of both our peoples. Peace has saved the lives of countless young people in Egypt and in Israel. Our commitment to the younger generation will always be valid. Unlike war, peace means victory for both sides.”

Prior to the Ramadan holiday, President Peres sent an additional letter of greeting to the Egyptian president, in which he expressed his holiday blessings to President Morsy and the Egyptian people.

UPDATE: Egypt denies sending this "telegram" and said that Morsi has not initiated any contact with Israel so far.

Maybe because it is a fax, not a telegram.

(h/t CHA)

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Boycott Jennifer Lopez!

CAMERA notes:

July 26, 2012: The Prime Minister "warned that it might take action to stop groups it deemed 'terrorists' from forming" an autonomous region. "No one should attempt to provoke us. If a step needs to be taken .... we would not hesitate to take it (Fox News)."

July 25, 2012: "... forces killed at least 15 ... in a raid near the country's border ... after tracking them with drones and attacking them with helicopters and on the ground, officials said on Wednesday."

June 19, 2012 : "Fighting leaves 26 dead."

March 25, 2012: "15 [were] killed...all of them women."

Dec. 29, 2011: "... at least 35 people died most of whom were teenagers" from air strikes ("Attack on Civilians Tied to U.S. Military Drone, Wall Street Journal, May 16, 2012)."

Oct. 19, 2011: "... airstrikes and artillery attacks against the group’s bases... killing as many as 160 militants..."

1) Who is the Prime Minister who threatened to use his military forces to attack a neighboring state in order to stop militants from setting up an autonomous region?
2) Is the media complaining about the use of "disproportionate force" against the militants in these cases?
3) Has the U.N. Human Rights Commission launched a special investigation like it did for the Israeli Cast Lead operation in 2009?
4) Have the Presbyterian and other churches set aside large blocks of time at their national conventions to debate and vote on motions to boycott and divest from companies that do business with this state because its forces utilize American technology, including drones, to crush the aspirations for autonomy of a dispossessed people?

As a bonus, this state was also involved in one of the worst genocides of the twentieth century.

The answer to question 1): Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's Prime Minister. Erdogan's unapologetic resort to military force in dealing with Kurdish militants contrasts with his condemnation of Israel's response to the Gaza flotilla in 2010 which resulted in the deaths of 9 Turkish militants who attacked an Israeli boarding party initially armed with paint guns. Erdogan continues to demand an Israeli apology even though a UN investigation found Israel's interception of the flotilla to be legal.

To questions 2), 3) and 4) the answer is no.
Major news media report on the Turkish-Kurdish conflict in a perfunctory and dispassionate manner. This contrasts with much of the reporting on Israel. The New York Times and the BBC, for example, do not routinely publish editorials, op-eds and columns lambasting Turkey for failing to show any willingness to accomodate Kurdish demands for autonomy. Compare the Times's measured handling of Prime Minister Erdogan's bellicosity with its scathing treatment of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Then consider the fact that the Turkish-Kurdish conflict has taken an estimated 40,000 lives, including many civilians, over the past 30 years.

Now, as far as the lovely Ms. Lopez is concerned:

Renowned Latin singer Jennifer Lopez will give a concert in Istanbul and meet her Turkish fans for the first time on November 16 as part of her tour "Dance Again".

Lopez's concert will take place at the Ulker Sports Arena.

Tickets for the concert will be available for sale as of August 6.

Anyone calling for J. Lo to boycott this genocidal state that denies the rights of an indigenous nation from self-determination? Any "human rights" organizations who are aghast that Lopez could even consider playing in such a country? Any Facebook groups popping up demanding that unless J. Lo. cancels the concert, she will be ostracized and hounded on Twitter as an accomplice to murder?

Didn't think so.

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Abbas continues to whine and doubletalk

Want to hear Mahmoud Abbas' latest howler?

Speaking to Turkey's Anadolu news agency, according to Palestine Press Agency, he criticized the US and whined that "the United States does not pay attention to the peace process at this time because of concern about the country's presidential election in November."

And what exactly has Abbas done to further the peace process?

Translating the whining into English, what he is really saying is that the US is not pressuring Israel to give in to all of Abbas' demands and preconditions before "negotiations" can even start. (His implication is that should Obama win, then things can get back to how they were before the campaign began, when Abbas was quite pleased with the US role in pressuring Israel.)

Which has been his entire strategy for years - wait and try to get the world to pressure Israel, rather than actually do anything that might involve making concessions or compromises.

Will this revealing bit of doubletalk that shows Abbas' hypocrisy make it into the mainstream media? Ha!

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Are sanctions against Iran working? Um, no.

During Mitt Romney's visit to Israel's capital:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday told Romney in a Jerusalem meeting that diplomacy and sanctions leveled against Iran have not worked so far.

"I heard some of your remarks and you said that the greatest danger facing the world is the Ayatollah regime possessing nuclear weapons capability," Netanyahu said. "Mitt, I couldn't agree with you more, and I think it is important to do everything in our power to prevent the ayatollahs from possessing that capability. We have to be honest and say that all the diplomacy and sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian program by one iota."

Netanyahu said that a "strong and credible military threat coupled with sanctions" was needed to "have a chance to change the situation."

In response:

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta sent a tacit message to Israeli leaders on Monday, urging that diplomacy and economic pressure be given more time to work before they move ahead with any military strike on Iran.

In comments to reporters in Tunisia a day before he was to arrive in Jerusalem, Mr. Panetta said that economic sanctions against Iran were increasingly effective, although he acknowledged that they might not seem so.

“These sanctions are having a serious impact in terms of the economy of Iran.” He added that “while the results of that may not seem obvious at the moment,” the Iranians had expressed a willingness to negotiate, and that they “continue to seem interested in trying to find a diplomatic solution.” Mr. Panetta concluded that “what we all need to do is continue the pressure on Iran.”

Although the sanctions have cut seriously into Iran’s oil exports, and its currency has plunged by more than 40 percent against the dollar since last year, they have failed to force the country to stop enriching uranium. Negotiations aimed at getting Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions have stalled. Mr. Panetta and the Obama administration remain hopeful that a sweeping new round of sanctions imposed in June, meant to cut Iran off from the global oil market, will further increase the pressure.

It is beyond belief that this administration, after watching Iran's use of "diplomacy" over the years to buy more and more time, still believes that Iranians are interested in a diplomatic solution.

The fact is that the only US action that helped to delay Iran's nuclear program was not diplomacy or sanctions, but cyberwar, presumably via Stuxnet and perhaps other covert computer espionage. While delays are welcome, they are not a strategy to stop the program and they will not reduce the Iranian desire for nuclear weapons one bit.

And the last word has to go to the Wall Street Journal, which in early July revealed that even the latest round of economic sanctions are riddled with holes to allow Iran to withstand them:

Though economic sanctions still haven't slowed or stopped Iran's nuclear drive, the Obama Administration has decided to make them even weaker. The Iran sanctions regime is looking like the U.S. tax code—filled with loopholes.

It's so weak, in fact, that all 20 of Iran's major trading partners are now exempt from them. We've arrived at a kind of voodoo version of sanctions. They look real, insofar as Congress forced them into a bill President Obama had to sign in December. The Administration has spoken incantations about their powers. But if you're a big oil importer in China, India or 18 other major economies, the sanctions are mostly smoke.

This is possible because, thanks to lobbying by the Obama Administration, the sanctions law contained several loopholes you could drive a warhead through. One provided that if a country "significantly reduced" its oil imports from Iran, the State Department could exempt it from sanctions for a renewable period of six months. Naturally, the definition of a significant reduction was left to the Administration's discretion.

As of last week, we know that its definition is trifling: India earned a free pass after merely pledging to cut its Iran imports by 11%, and Japan earned one after cutting 22% of its Iranian business in 2011. Then there's China, the Islamic Republic's biggest customer, which is now exempt after cutting Iran imports by 25% between January and May (measured year-over-year).

The problem is that China's reduction is an apparent fluke, not a dedicated effort to reduce trade or isolate Iran economically. Imports fell by about 50% in February and March because a Chinese oil giant delayed the start of a contract over a price dispute. Once that was resolved, imports shot back up—by 34% between April and May, and again by 35% between May and June.

All this "is completely legitimate and justified," said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, and "does not violate any U.N. Security Council resolutions or undermine the interests of a third party or the international community." So much for the Obama Administration's assertion last week that China-Iran trade shows "the success of our sanctions policy," as Beijing "supports our dual-track approach of diplomacy and pressure."

This fantastic claim follows years of Chinese troublemaking—via open opposition to U.S. and European Union sanctions, sales of sensitive nuclear-related technologies and materiel, currency schemes to avoid banking restrictions and more.

To be sure, Iran is feeling some pressure these days.... Iran is suffering real economic pain.

But enough pain to stop the 30-year nuclear drive of a revolutionary regime built around a messianic cult of martyrdom? A regime with foreign currency reserves between $60 billion and $100 billion, and which would net more than $40 billion in oil revenue even with a 40% drop in sales?

We've never considered sanctions likely to persuade Iran to drop its nuclear program, but it's dangerous to pursue them half-heartedly while claiming progress and keeping the international temperature down as Iran's centrifuges spin. That's been the Obama Administration's consistent approach, and it'll probably continue at least through Election Day in November. It's a good way to comfort adversaries in Tehran and Beijing while undermining friends in Jerusalem and beyond.

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Scandal! Lebanese using Israeli cosmetics products! (updated)

Al Akhbar proudly published the results of an investigation that must have taken months, as they uncover the scandal of the century!

An investigation by the Campaign to Boycott Israel Supporters in Lebanon has exposed that Israeli-made products are being widely used in the beauty and cosmetics sector in Lebanon.

Therapeutic and cosmetic laser surgery is now an integral part of a booming medical tourism industry in Lebanon. Medical and beauty centers are sought after by locals and patients from the Arabian peninsula.

But unknown to most of these patients, the Lebanese market hosts a wide variety of medical equipment originating in Israel. These banned products make their way into the Lebanese market disguised as imports from the US, Europe, and Dubai. They are marketed through distributors who have no problem getting front seats at specialized conferences organized by the Lebanese health ministry.

The issue is under investigation and scrutiny by the Campaign to Boycott Israel Supporters in Lebanon, which found that the Lebanese market has been invaded by four such Israeli companies.

Boycott campaign activist Samah Idriss told Al-Akhbar that they had been working on the case for a long time, but did not want to slander distributors of Israeli products. Instead, he had met with them to warn them about the identity of these companies which tend to conceal their primary source or that they originate in Israel.

Idriss indicated that the campaign expects that the ministries of economy and health will seriously tackle the issue. They need to conduct a comprehensive survey to discover the amount and types of Israeli products in the cosmetic medicine sector in Lebanon, and confiscate them immediately.

The most famous of these companies is Syneron. Its products are available on the Lebanese market, as confirmed by its sole agent, Medica, located in Jal el-Dib with headquarters in Dubai.

Medica enjoys remarkable promotion for its Israeli products on many Lebanese stations, including MTV (Murr TV) and Sawt al-Mada radio station. The two outlets responded to a letter sent by the boycott campaign and vowed to stop broadcasting ads from the agents of such products.

Syneron was established by Shimon Eckhouse, a physicist who later specialized in medical technology. Its main headquarters are in the Yokneam Illit industrial zone in occupied Palestine, south of Haifa. It is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

It goes on like this for another 30 paragraphs or so, in exacting detail of every Israeli company and their aliases.

How outrageous to think that Lebanese women are beautifying themselves with Israeli products! Better they be ugly!

I'm really waiting for when these hypocritical groups - which are little more than small Facebook groups - will finally decide to boycott Microsoft, Intel, Apple and Google, and put themselves out of business.

Notice also that Al Akhbar, a liberal Arab newspaper, refers to Israel as "occupied Palestine."

The paper also has a very funny story that claims that Israel is siphoning off water from the Nile in South Sudan - without a single piece of evidence. (Israel signed a water infrastructure agreement with South Sudan last week. )

(h/t tall midget)

UPDATE: Commenter Zvi notes:

Key point: these are not simply cosmetics products. While the author of the article focused on cosmetic laser technology from Israel - no doubt because attacking high-value, life-saving Israeli technologies would risk alienating even their readers - Israeli medical products and technology includes many unique, world-class products at practical prices. Israel is one of a very small number of world leaders in the med-tech arena.

You should emphasize that these are MEDICAL products. As the article says, "the Lebanese market hosts a wide variety of medical equipment originating in Israel." The fact that some of this equipment, including laser equipment, is used for cosmetic purposes is a relatively minor detail.

In other words, Al-Akhbar and the campaign to boycott Israel are attempting to keep out of Lebanon MEDICAL PRODUCTS that benefit Lebanese people.

Furthermore, the article claims that Lebanese medical and cosmetic medicine practices are sought out by Arabs from other countries, calling medical tourism a "booming industry" in Lebanon. Lebanon's widespread use of the best technology available is evidently something that attracts foreigners to Lebanon, where they inject money into the local economy and provide jobs for Lebanese people, even during a bitter global recession. Lebanese doctors can evidently provide a better standard of care than doctors in wealthier, more conservative Arab states, in part because of their readiness to use the best modern equipment available.

Any sane person, organization or country would seek to make sure that Lebanese medical personnel have at their disposal the very best medical equipment available. No matter where the equipment comes from originally, the best medical equipment translates into better medical care for Lebanese people and cash flowing into Lebanon's economy from abroad. Both of these are distinct wins for Lebanese people and for Lebanon, and Lebanon should pursue its own best interests.

Al-Akhbar and the Lebanese boycott-Israel crowd, however, believe that asinine anti-Israel gestures are more important than the lives, health and comfort of ordinary Lebanese people, the effectiveness of Lebanese doctors or Lebanon's reputation for having a relatively modern and skilled medical establishment. For the boycotters, Lebanon's ONLY interest is to make pointless anti-Israel gestures.

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