Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday evening open thread

In other words, no time to blog.

But I can create open threads from my phone.

Sunday links

From Ian:

Abbas urges Egypt to destroy underground tunnels

"Abdel Raheem (Top aid to Abbas) said the tunnels had for some time been posing a threat to Egypt’s national security and the unity of the Palestinians.
Dismissing claims that the tunnels were being used to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, Abdel Raheem said they served only a small group of people – a reference to Hamas leaders.
“The tunnels have nothing to do with economic prosperity in the Gaza Strip,” he stressed. “The Palestinian Authority allocates more than half its budget for the Gaza Strip.”

CIFWatch: The death of Camp David? On the real world consequences of “Land for Peace”

"And have all these retreats – Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, and Gush Katif- brought Israel one moment of peace? The grandchild of the 1978 Camp David Accords, the Oslo process, brought only a dramatic escalation in violence and bloodshed.
Necessity being the mother of invention, Israel must take a cold, hard look at the failed promises, dashed hopes and lives lost as the direct result of the strange calculus known as ‘land-for-peace’. Going forward, a new diplomatic paradigm, based on mutual respect, trade, tourism, investment and collaborative efforts in the fields of technology and medicine should be developed. In other words, scrap land-for-peace and replace it with peace-for-peace.
Until then, Israel and its neighbors are destined to wallow in a state of low-level bellicosity, with occasional flare ups as we’ve seen over the last several days in the Sinai Peninsula."

Open Zion: Denigrating Jewish Refugees by Lyn Julius

“The pro-Nazi Palestinian leader, Haj Amin al-Husseini, instigated the Farhud pogrom against the Jews of Iraq in 1941. He sought Nazi license to exterminate Jews in Arab countries as well as Palestine “ in the same way as the problem was resolved in the Axis Countries.” Before the mass Palestinian exodus, the Arab League hatched a postwar, coordinated Nuremberg-style plan to persecute their Jewish citizens as enemy aliens.”
“By what right can Lara Friedman denigrate the rights of half the Jewish population of Israel, who descend from refugees of Arab and Muslim lands? What is truly degrading is her denial of Jewish refugee rights and belittling of Jewish suffering. Justice for Jewish refugees is an unresolved human rights issue with no statute of limitations. Its pursuit is more, not less, likely to achieve reconciliation between the two peoples.”

There are 200 to 300 Merah in France, the secret services do not have the means to monitor all 24h/24" (French)

“The Interior Ministry on Thursday declassified documents classified defense secrets of the Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DCRI) on Mohamed Merah. The terrorist was not only known services since 2009, but it was also a "prime target" of the DCRI for its proximity to Toulouse radical Islamists. The French intelligence could they avoid the drama?”

White House says it has ‘eyes’ inside Iranian nuclear program

"The United States said Friday it had “eyes” and “visibility” inside Iran’s nuclear program and would know if Tehran had made a “breakout” move toward acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The comment by White House spokesman Jay Carney followed Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s remark that new U.S. intelligence suggested that the threat from Iran was becoming more “urgent.”

Peter Kent condemns anti-israel rally at Queen’s Park (Canada)

US and Turkey to take ‘in-depth’ look at creating Syrian no-fly zone

Jewish graves desecrated in Germany

Two teenagers arrested for disturbing the dead and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to cemetery in Treuchtlingen

Ankie Spitzer to lead worldwide minute of silence Sunday for Munich 11

Widow of Israeli coach who was killed at the 1972 Games will join the JCC Maccabi Games opening ceremonies

RT: Unwanted: Jews in Egypt feel threatened in post-revolution Cairo

"The Arab Spring and rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood have soured its relations with Israel. It's also deeply affecting Jews in Egypt who until recently, considered it their home."

Can Syria's Christians Survive?

In the land of St. Paul's conversion, ancient Catholic and Orthodox communities are finding themselves on the wrong side of an increasingly sectarian conflict.
"A century ago, the Levant supported a population that was perhaps 20% Christian. Now it is closer to 5%. Syria today hosts vibrant, if dwindling, communities of various ancient sects: Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholics and Armenian Orthodox."

Freed Ethiopian Christians Claim Saudi Government 'Hates' Non-Muslims

"A group of 35 Ethiopian Christians arrested in Saudi Arabia last year for holding a midnight vigil at a private home were deported earlier this week, and some of them claim they were apprehended simply because Saudi officials "hate" non-Muslims."

Lebanese star reported for smoking in Ramadan

"Her driver, an Algerian who was fasting, asked her to put out the cigarette, but she refused and kept on smoking, local Arabic daily Al Chorouk reported.
Angered by her reaction, the Algerian drove the car to a police station in the city of Chelghoum Laïd and reported her to the police for failing to show due respect to Muslims."

Fatwa By Senior Al-Qaeda Sheikh Sanctions Killing 'Alawites In Syria

Also, "Forest Fire Jihad" (IMRA)

Israeli tourism booming (AP)

Arabs upset over Ha'aretz cartoon

(h/t Yoel)

Syria sees US/Qatar/Saudi/Israel/Turkey conspiracy

From Reuters:

Syria has accused Israel, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of running military operation centers in Turkey to support the rebels by overseeing battles in Syria’s 17-month conflict.

In a letter to the U.N. Security Council released on Friday, Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari also again blamed Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia of “harboring, funding and arming the armed terrorist groups.”

“Turkey has established within its territory military operations centers that are run by the intelligence services of Israel, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” Jaafari wrote in the letter dated Aug. 2.

See? It seems that Israel isn't as isolated in the Middle East as everyone says!

Two Egyptian wrestlers show up 4 hours late for their matches

From Al Ahram:

A pair of Egyptian wrestlers, Abdou Omar Abdou Ahmed and Saleh Emara, lost their first round matches in the 66-kilogram and 96-kilogram men's freestyle categories by forfeit after failing to show up for their matches on time.

Ahmed was scheduled to wrestle Devid Safaryan of Armenia, while Emara was slated to face George Gogshelidze of Georgia, both matches at 8:30am.

However, the two players showed up four hours late believing that the match would start at 1pm based the schedule of the previous seven days of Olympic wrestling.

All matches on the final day of the Olympics were pushed up to make room for the closing ceremony.

No immediate official word was available on whether the pair simply failed to turn up on time or were not informed by management about changes in schedule.

Oops!

Gaza exports vegetables to Saudi Arabia through Israel

Today, the Kerem Shalom crossing is open and some 270 trucks of goods are entering Gaza.

More interesting, perhaps, is the truck leaving Gaza.

That truck is filled with vegetables that are meant to be sent to Saudi Arabia, according to Arabic media.

We have seen produce from Gaza sent to the West Bank and Jordan, but this is the first time I have seen goods going to the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Israel is working with the Dutch government and Gaza farmers to increase Gaza exports to Europe in the coming years.

It doesn't fit the narrative of Israel trying to destroy Gaza and starve its citizens, does it?

Mohammed Mahdi Akef, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, said in a TV interview that the group has the ability to prepare fighters "to confront the Jews in any war."

He cited a couple of incidents in 1948 where the Brotherhood was involved in fighting as proof.

In the same interview, Akef said "to hell with those who do not accept Islamic rule in Egypt." He went on to say that under Islamic law, Copts and other non-Muslims would be treated fairly according to Islamic law. He said Islamic rule is the one favored by people of all denominations, and no legal system guarantees fairness in rights as Islam does.

How much longer before the jizya tax on non-Muslims kicks in?

UPDATE: Part of the interview is on MEMRI, but not the part about Jews:

Sinai multinational force (MFO) attacked (updated - they deny it)

From Deutsche Welle:

Peacekeepers stationed in the Sinai Peninsula under the 1979 Egypt-Israeli peace accord have come under attack. Sinai has become increasingly militarized as Cairo seeks to root out suspected Islamist militants there.

Unidentified gunmen ambushed a camp of international peacekeepers in Sinai on Sunday, while security checkpoints near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip also came under attack.

Security sources told the Reuters and AFP news agencies that the attack on the peacekeeper camp occurred in the central region of Sinai. No casualties have been reported.

"The attack happened in Um Shyhan area in the middle of Sinai but no one got injured," one anonymous source told Reuters.

The peacekeepers are part of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission, an independent organization that is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Egypt-Israeli peace treaty.

I talked about the MFO being essentially invisible last week during the Sinai attacks on Egypt and Israel. They belatedly updated their website on Wednesday to say that they were safe and taking security precautions.

Debka says that American soldiers with the MFO returned fire.

The NYT mentioned the MFO yesterday before this incident:

Compounding American concerns, the officials added, is the presence of an international peacekeeping force in Sinai that includes about 700 American soldiers and is now led by David M. Satterfield, a retired ambassador. The force, which oversees compliance of the treaty, is not authorized to fight extremists and is not part of the discussions on expanded assistance, but its troops and civilians have encountered the lawlessness in the region, including the threat of kidnappings.

“We have Americans in the Sinai,” Mrs. Clinton told CNN last month after her visit to Cairo. “We’ve had a few concerns about their safety. So this is not only about Egypt and Israel, it’s also about the United States and other members of that multinational force. So it’s in everyone’s interest that we work together to make sure that security is in place in Sinai.”

UPDATE: The MFO denies the story.

Overnight links

From Ian:

Into the Fray: The alchemy of Palestinian nationhood By MARTIN SHERMAN

Poof! Suddenly Jordanian nationals were transformed into a ‘Palestinian nation, Jordanian territory into a ‘Palestinian homeland'.
“Palestine is where the Jews are:
On May 27, 1967, barely a week before the outbreak of the Six Day War, Ahmed Shukairy, Yasser Arafat’s predecessor as chairman of the PLO, bellowed: “D-Day is approaching. The Arabs have waited 19 years for this and will not flinch from the war of liberation.”
On June 1, he crowed: “This is a fight for the homeland – it is either us or the Israelis. There is no middle road. The Jews of Palestine will have to leave... We shall destroy Israel and its inhabitants and as for the survivors – if there are any – the boats are ready to deport them.”

'Hamas fostering terror, damaging ties with Egypt' By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Former PA security chief Dahlan says Gaza "not under siege", residents "not lacking anything."

Morsi tours Israel-Egypt border, breaks fast with troops, promises new terror crackdown

Egypt claims to have killed 60 Sinai terrorists since Sunday’s attack at Kerem Shalom, in which 16 Egyptian security officers were slain

Hamas asks Cairo to close smuggling tunnels near Israel

Islamist terrorist organization also proposes military cooperation with Egypt to guard
border
“In an unprecedented move, Hamas asked Cairo to shut smuggling tunnels along a section of the Gaza-Egypt border near the site of Sunday’s attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing and suggested a joint border protection force, Lebanese media reported on Saturday.”

Former Lebanese minister arrested for planning attacks for Syria's Assad

Michel Samaha, a former Lebanese minister, reportedly confessed to helping plan attacks on Sunni targets in Lebanon. If true, it illustrates how far Syria's Assad regime can reach into Lebanon.

UN Agency Embraces Terror Group

“Now, there’s nothing wrong with supporting women’s health but there are many charities out there to choose from, most of which are not tainted by involvement in terrorism. Given that money is fungible, and the Iranians use the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee for surveillance and to provide cover to terror operatives, it is shameful that the United Nations would embrace the group.”

Rwanda's Genocide and Lessons America Hasn't Learned for Syria by Shmuley Boteach

“...if America were to take action to stop the slaughter in Syria, North Korea, and other nations where innocent people are being crushed by evil governments, it would give us in the West far great credibility when speaking to our allies abroad about human rights and the infinite value of every human life.”

Indian Shia and Sunni Unite in Hating Israel

“Although Shia and Sunnis do not pray together, as both sects have the same goal – hostility to Israel – the Shia cleric, to set a precedent, recently asked the Sunni Imam to lead a prayer service attended by both congregations.”

Dershowitz - NJDC’s David Harris Must Go

Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz told Breitbart News that David Harris, head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, must step down.
“David Harris and the National Jewish Democratic Council are a bunch of liars. I, Alan Dershowitz, a Democrat, am calling for David Harris to step down in the interests of the Democratic Party. He’s going to turn Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party. They’re going to vote for the Republicans because of what David Harris and the National Jewish Democratic Council are doing.”

Top 10 Non-Jews Positively Influencing the Jewish Future 2012

Jewish groups denounce Islamic 'hate' rally

TORONTO -- Jewish groups are calling out Ontario Liberals for permitting an "anti-Semitic hate rally" to be held at Queen's Park by an Islamic group labelling Jewish nationalists in Israel as "oppressors and criminals."
An Islamic group marking International Al-Quds Day -- started in 1979 by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini to mark the last Friday of Ramadan -- has been approved by sergeant-at-arms Dennis Clark to gather outside the Ontario legislature on Aug. 18, as they did last year and years before that.

Saudi Arabia to Build All-Women City

Also, see Daphne Anson demolishing a NYT op-ed.

Avi Bell says "Don't fear the Levy report."

Claire Belinski on questions about that downed Turkish plane.

Egyptian TV host says pro-Israel statements in "Candid Camera" show

Remember the Egyptian "Candid Camera" show where celebrities were told they were on a German TV station and they became violent when they were told it was really an Israeli interview show? And how the hosts of the show would compliment them on their "patriotism?"

Well, one victim of the prank acted in a decidedly different way, and Egypt is in an uproar.

Tawfiq Okasha, who has an anti-government satellite TV station (which was closed last week by the government) was ambushed on this show as well, but when he was asked about his opinions of Israel, his answers were quite different from the usual victims.

As the fake interview questions went to the topic of Israel, Okasha said that he has visited Israel four times.He said that Jews have the right to live in Israel, including Jerusalem - and that those rights are given in the Koran. He said he is friends with a number of "Arab Jews" living in Israel. He said that he is in favor of Egypt exporting natural gas to Israel.

He also said that the Koran borrowed heavily from the Torah and the New Testament.

When told that the TV station is really "Israeli" and not German, instead of being angry he answered that he did not mind at all and that he hoped his opinions would reach all Israelis.

It does not appear that the episode of the ambush show ever aired, but it was shown Friday on Egyptian channel 25 - together with dramatic repetitions of his most pro-Israel statements - and the Egyptians are freaking out. There are multiple news stories about this and the YouTube video already has hundreds of thousands of views.

The talkbacks are universally angry at Okasha, saying he must be jailed or worse.

I don't know whether Egypt's channel 25 is a government TV station; if so it seems entirely possible that this was aired to provide cover for Egypt's closing of his TV station last week.

I'm sure MEMRI will have a translation of this interview very soon. But as far as I can tell, Okasha wasn't praised at the end of this show the way the other victims who showed such hatred towards Jews and Israel were.

Freedom of the press, MB Egyptian style

Hot on the heels of the Egyptian government appointing new Islamist editors for its state-run newspapers and shutting down a satellite TV station it disagreed with, comes the latest in new Egyptian freedom:

The privately owned daily newspaper Al-Dostour is being investigated on charges of insulting President Mohamed Morsy, state-run MENA reported on Saturday.

Al-Dostour's website reported that early morning Saturday, security forces came to the paper's offices to confiscate some of its issues.

MENA reported that investigations into the newspaper had been opened after people accused the newspaper of "fueling sedition," and "harming the president through phrases and wording punishable by law."

Gamal Fahmy, a member of the journalists' syndicate, told Al-Dostour that the investigation was part of a Muslim Brotherhood scheme to limit press freedoms

Other press freedom advocates also condemned the raid, saying the Brotherhood was moving to silence its critics.

"What happened this morning is a new attempt to impose hegemony, domination and exclusion on those in conflict with the group," said Saeed Ziauddin Garhi, legal advisor for the Justice Center for Freedoms.

Spring!

Weekend open thread

Shabbat Shalom!

Artwork by Laura Bolter Design

Israel's historical nuclear ambiguity and the lessons for Iran

It is well-known that for a long time, Israel's public position about whether it had a nuclear arsenal was the very ambiguous statement that "Israel will not be the first area state to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East."

I found a State Department memo from 1969 that shows an attempt to pin down exactly what that means. .Here are some excerpts:

No one can blame the State Department from trying to parse the Israelis' words, wondering if that means that the weapons might be manufactured but not tested, or perhaps manufactured except for the very final screw being attached.

This is relevant today now that a new NIE (or similar intelligence assessment) has leaked that Iran is moving quickly to build nuclear weapons. Anti-Israel activists and Iran supporters have been using the 2007 NIE and other estimates as a talisman to deflect charges that Iran even has a nuclear weapons program, even as everyone could see for years that the Iranians were doing everything consistent with such a program short of actually announcing it - from enrichment beyond what is necessary for nuclear power to building nuclear-capable ballistic missiles to building huge underground nuclear facilities to hiding evidence of testing facilities.

The US skepticism of Israel's announcements in the 1960s was well-founded, and Israel's refusal to clarify was equally understandable. At the time, though, no one seriously believed that Israel did not have the ability to deploy a nuclear bomb in minutes if it felt it was necessary.

But for people who want to believe the Iranian denials, they have no such skepticism.

Today's Mossad plot

The Islamic Jihad newspaper Palestine Today reports that Gaza authorities have foiled the latest Mossad plot to subjugate them to Zionist whims.

What did they do?

They discovered a stash of Tramadol, which appears to be the drug of choice for Gaza smugglers.

According to these officials, the Mossad smuggles Tramadol into Gaza via organized crime rings. The Mossad works together with Sinai Bedouin to bring the drugs into Gaza via smuggling tunnels.

I would compliment them on their imagination, but when every story ends with "The Israelis did it!," it gets a little boring after a while.

Friday links

From Ian:

LATMA Palestinian heritage sites and rifts among the social justice protesters

Stop Iran at all costs by Prof. Benny Morris

“Israel's reasons for a future strike on Iran's nuclear facilities are logical and clear: Iran armed with nuclear weapons threatens Israel's existence; the weapons can fall into the hands of terrorists; and it will undoubtedly ignite an arms race in the Middle East that could end in nuclear war. In light of these threats an Israeli government that chooses to sit by and do nothing will have betrayed its public.”

Tom Friedman — mistaken or misleading?

"Consumed by wishful-thinking, Friedman assumed that Assad could liberalize Syria, attract international investors, normalize relations with Israel and end the Arab rejection of the Jewish state — thus demolishing the Iran-Syria axis and ending Iran’s involvement in Lebanon."

Under Olympic cover, Russian cargo ship approaches Syria

"The voyage of the Alaed shows the irresponsibility of the Russian government to allow a transfer of weapons to a regime that is responsible for the brutal slaughter of its own citizens"

In Egypt, Anti-Semitism Is Back in Fashion

"As Walter Russell Mead has written on his blog, countries “where vicious anti-Semitism is rife are almost always backward and poor.” They aren’t backward and poor because the Elders of Zion conspire against them. They’re backward and poor because, Mead argues, they lack the ability to “see the world clearly and discern cause and effect relations in complex social settings.” He calls anti-Semitism the “sociology of the befuddled.”

Attacks on Christians Sharpen with Government Collusion by Khaled Abu Toameh

“While the number of Christians in the Arab world continues to decline, Israel remains the only country in the Middle East where they feel safe and comfortable. That explains why Christians living in Israel have been appealing to Israel to open its borders to absorb their brothers who are fleeing from the Gaza Strip, Bethlehem, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan.”

United Church of Canada leaders team up with 9-11 conspiracy nuts to demonize Israel

"As one might expect, Ms Ralph is not the only 9-11 conspiracy theorist in the organization she co-founded. Her co-Chair and fellow Independent Jewish Voices founder Sid Shiniad shares her views and the organization of fringe radicals is liberally peppered with adherents to a movement that proposes the attack by Muslim terrorists on the World Trade Center and Pentagon was actually the work of "neo-cons and Zionists."
"If the United Church's leaders think they can shield themselves from being perceived as anti-Semitic by playing footsie with a small group of fringe Jews whose actions and statements could easily be interpreted to suggest serious, unresolved psychiatric issues, they will find themselves sorely mistaken."

HuffPost front-page headline: Romney chased by "pack of Jews"

Swiss group suspends 'anti-Semitic' Norway scholar

Researcher Johan Galtung suspended form Swiss World Peace Academy after he remarks that Jews control the American media.

London won’t pull bus ad campaign for Iran-linked anti-Israel march

Iran court upholds practicing Christianity sentence

Nepal women banned from Middle East over exploitation

Nepal has banned women under the age of 30 from going to work in Middle Eastern countries amid growing concerns that they are being exploited.

Officials fear wave of fires may be new kind of terror attack

PMW Ramallah municipality to build mausoleum to honor terrorist murderers

“The Ramallah municipality voted this week to build a mausoleum in honor of PLO terrorists responsible for the deaths of 11 Israelis in the 1975 Savoy Hotel attack. Ramallah is the Palestinian Authority’s seat of government.”

Iranian festival accepts Israeli movie, invites filmmaker to attend

"David Shadi submitted his short comedy ‘GentleDog’ around the world; a new Iranian international festival said yes and sent him a visa form"

Ali’s daughter visits Israeli hospital

"Rasheda Ali tours Hadassah-University Hospital-Ein Kerem to see how they combat diseases like Parkinson’s, which afflicts her father"

Chinese 'very impressed' with Israeli economy

"Major Beijing university to offer courses on Israel's high-tech, business culture; another school teaches Hebrew language, culture"

Israel Daily Picture: The 'Kotel' Exposed with the Advent of Photography

Old/New Photos of the Kotel Now Online in Great Detail -- With Thanks to the Library of Congress Archives

Al Arabiya "news:" "Abraham built the Kaaba"

No disclaimers here:

The shrine of the Prophet Abraham was adjacent to the Kaaaba, next to its gate, in the same condition he had left it. It had been there since the building of the Kaaba and until the time of second Caliph Omar Ibn Kattab who moved to the east, an action that only someone as strong and pious as him would be capable of doing.

Abraham’s shrine contains a stone that preserves the footprints of the Prophet Abraham. This was the stone on which he used to stand on when he built the Kaaba’s upper walls. In Islam, the shrine is sacred and is used for prayer. It also bears witness to a miracle because it shows how stone softened under Abraham’s feet.