Abbas' latest game: Will he fool he world again?

From Maan:

President Abbas told European diplomats on Tuesday that he will resume peace talks with Israel after a UN vote on the Palestinian request for non-member status in the world body, The Associated Press reported.

Abbas believes that a freeze on illegal settlement building may not be necessary to engage in talks if the UN recognizes a Palestinian state which includes all of the West Bank, AP reported.

Only one problem: Non-state membership status at the UN says nothing about borders. As CFR writes:

How would a UN vote affirming non-member state status affect life inside Palestine?
Very little, in terms of tangible changes resulting directly from the UN decision. Statehood would be a symbolic victory for the PA, but it would lack any formal recognition of sovereignty, borders, and other such considerations normally attendant with state status. Acquiring these things from Israel would require direct negotiations even if the General Assembly endorsed non-member statehood.

So what game is Abbas playing? Is he going to pretend that the UN would confer borders? Is he going to try to sneak border information in the resolution?

This AFP article may shed some light:

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told EU envoys on Tuesday he accepts European declarations on the peace process as the basis for renewing talks with Israel and plans to incorporate them into his UN statehood campaign.

"The statements of the European Union on our cause serve as the basis for a return to negotiations," a statement from official news agency WAFA quoted Abbas as telling the EU diplomats at a meeting in Ramallah.

"We hope that you will convey to your governments our appreciation for these statements," he added.

"We will use them in the drafting of a Palestinian resolution which will be presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations in order to obtain the status of a non-member state.

"We are open to dialogue with all international parties in the formulation of the Palestinian request," Abbas said, adding it would be submitted to the UN in November.

"When we have obtained the status of non-member state at the General Assembly, we will be ready to return to the negotiating table with the Israeli side to discuss all final status issues outstanding."

It appears that Abbas does intend to put language about the "pre-1967 borders" in the resolution - even though it would have no legal validity - and then he would consider the issue of negotiations over borders to be closed, only willing to negotiate on still "outstanding" issues - not borders.

I don't know the nature of the EU statements that Abbas is referring to, and whether they are new or not.

This is consistent with statements Abbas has said in Arabic .He said to Arab media that after the UN vote, "Palestine" would be a "state under occupation" and

We have no objection [to being a sttae under occupation] because it would be state and not land in dispute, this land is for us, first and foremost, a land occupied no matter how many settlements there are .. Settlement from beginning to end are illegal, and we will not accept them, and they have to leave . This land is for us and Jerusalem is ours.

This seems to be Abbas' game: to bulldoze the non-member state bid into somehow being a legal ruling by the UN on the legality of the 1949 armistice lines as borders of a state, without negotiating those borders with Israel.

And when he says he will negotiate afterwards, he means he'll negotiate whether he will allow Israel to exist at all.

Hopefully the EU will be aware that Abbas is trying to use this latest UN stunt to short-circuit real negotiations with Israel, not to facilitate them.

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Iran only 2-4 months away from enough fuel for A-bomb

From WSJ:

Iran has advanced its nuclear program to where it will be able to produce weapons-grade fuel in two to four months, nuclear experts and former United Nations inspectors said.

The new assessments feed growing alarm in the U.S., Europe and Israel that efforts to deny Tehran a nuclear-weapons capability could be rendered futile by as early as next summer.

The Institute for Science and International Security, an independent research institute in Washington with former U.N. inspectors on its staff, concluded in a report this week that Iran could produce enough highly enriched uranium for one atomic bomb, about 25 kilograms, in two to four months using its largest uranium-enrichment facility near the city of Natanz.

The ISIS report offered a faster timeline than Mr. Netanyahu presented to the U.N. on Sept. 27 because of Tehran's growing stockpile of higher-enriched uranium and its expanding numbers of centrifuge machines. The Israeli leader said Iran is expected to have acquired enough higher-enriched uranium by spring or summer to begin conversion to weapons grade. He said Iran then could construct its first nuclear bomb within several weeks or months.

ISIS bases its conclusions almost solely on information released by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA said in its most recent report in August that Tehran had doubled its capacity to produce 20% enriched uranium at its underground facility near the holy city of Qom. But the IAEA didn't offer a timeline for when Iran might be able to produce weapons-grade fuel.

The think tank said Tehran could combine its stockpiles of low-enriched and higher-enriched uranium to make a dash for weapons-grade fuel, which is around 90% purity. The Iranians could do that by synchronizing the enrichment of these two grades of uranium and cutting out some intermediary steps that slow the process, ISIS said.

"Growth in the stock of near 20% [purity] reduces the time to break out," ISIS said in its report.

Iran has a stockpile 91.4 kilograms of uranium enriched to 20% purity, according to the IAEA. An additional 25 kilograms of the material is committed for conversion into fuel rods for Tehran's research reactor.

ISIS said its faster estimates for Iran acquiring the highly enriched uranium would require Tehran to use its total stockpile of 20% enriched uranium.

The institute played down Mr. Netanyahu's assertion that Iran could quickly convert the weapons-grade fuel into a usable atomic bomb. "Iran would need many additional months to manufacture a nuclear device suitable for underground testing and even longer to make a reliable warhead for a ballistic missile," the report said.

The ISIS report can be read here.

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More Palestinian Arab kids are overweight than underweight

The Lancet is reporting that there is a "Double burden of undernutrition and obesity in Palestinian schoolchildren."

Data were obtained from 1484 (99%) of 1500 students. Prevalence of stunting was 97 (7%) of 1446 and underweight 94 (7%) of 1444 students. 180 (12%) of 1444 students were overweight and 86 (6%) obese. ...Obesity was more prevalent in UNRWA schools than in government schools (56 [7%] vs 30 [4%]; 1·63, 1·06–2·51; p=0·0246).

The data indicate that 18% of PalArab schoolchildren are overweight or obese, vs. 14% who are underweight or stunted.

This means that roughly the same percentage of PalArab children are overweight or obese as in the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany.

Surprisingly, the abstract doesn't blame Israel for force-feeding fat Palestinian Arab kids the way that anti-Israel activists have blamed Israel for starving them in the past.

But I'm sure it is only a matter of time until the Lancet notices that the kids who throw rocks at Israelis are in better physical condition than those who watch TV all day - so the obvious recommendation will be to encourage more rock throwing.

While this study does not seem to blame Israel, The Lancet has a history of pushing junk science for the anti-Israel cause.

Previous studies have shown that there are lots of overweight Palestinian Arab adults as well.

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Catching up on links

From Ian:

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Berlin: Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt Gevatron concert

Ten protesters cry out 'Free Palestine', hurl CDs and JNF boxes during Israeli folk group fundraiser concert
“The Israeli folk group was performing at a Jewish National Fund and Israeli House fundraiser when 10 protesters disrupted the show immediately after the first song.
They cried out "Free Palestine" and held out signs protesting JNF activity in the settlements. The protest was organized by the BDS movement which promotes a boycott of Israel.”

Anti-Semitism without Jews in Malaysia

"In Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, politicians and civil servants devote a surprising amount of time to thinking about Israel, 7,612 km away. Sometimes they appear to be obsessed by it. Malaysia has never had a dispute with Israel, but the government encourages the citizens to hate Israel and also to hate Jews whether they are Israelis or not.
Few Malaysians have laid eyes on a Jew; the tiny Jewish community emigrated decades ago. Nevertheless, Malaysia has become an example of a phenomenon called “Anti-Semitism without Jews.” Last March, for instance, the Federal Territory Islamic Affairs Department sent out an official sermon to be read in all mosques, stating that “Muslims must understand Jews are the main enemy to Muslims as proven by their egotistical behaviour and murders performed by them.” About 60% of Malaysians are Muslim."

Israel intelligence: Jihadi Attacks from Crumbling Syria

Al-Qaeda-inspired terror organizations cannot be deterred. Once Assad falls, the radical elements can raid Syrian military bases, arm themselves with a range of devastating weapons, and turn their sights to the Israeli border.

Islam Earns Its Scorn

As Muslims rage against the U.S. abroad, it is rather telling to examine "the loss of cultural primacy" within Islam, along with the overall effect Islam is having on nations and individuals the world over. Of the 57 members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), as rated by the Economists Intelligence Unit's Index of Democracy, none are full democracies, while 36 are authoritarian regimes (dictatorships). Of the Index's 10 most authoritarian regimes, six of them are members of the OIC.

Birds of a feather flock together at Jewish anti-Zionist confab

Free Gaza Movement cofounder Greta Berlin is to be hosted by the Los Angeles chapters of the Jews for Peace and Jewish Voice for Peace next week to promote her new book about her participation in the Gaza Strip flotillas of 2010.

Taking out TA with the click of a mouse
New Iranian video game puts Tel Aviv — ominously — as the center of ‘events’

From the FNA Article: “Iran on Saturday released a computer game named "The Age of Might" with the central theme of events happening in Tel-Aviv in the occupied Palestinian territories.”

Copt home attacked after Egypt president promises security

"Gunmen opened fire on the home of a Coptic Christian in the Sinai peninsula on Saturday, hours after a visit by President Mohamed Morsi to reassure Christian residents they would not be targeted again."

Gazans protest Schalit's Barcelona soccer visit
Former prisoners protest Schalit's attendance at Barcelona/Real Madrid game; Palestinian invitee refuses to attend.

Hollande to boost security for French Jewish sites

French president promises Jewish leaders "total mobilization" to fight terrorist threats after shooting at Paris synagogue.
The BBC cited Hollande as saying there would be "total mobilization of the state to fight all terrorist threats" during a meeting with leaders of the country's Jewish community.

French Islamist suicide terror cell had list of Paris Jewish targets

Four members had written last will and testament. Police find weapons, cash and list of Paris-area Jewish, Israeli targets during raids on Islamists. France boosting security at Jewish sites after blank bullets were fired on a synagogue west of Paris.

The inspirational soldier who refused to let his lost arm keep him out of combat
How and why Izzy Ezagui, an immigrant from Miami whose left arm was blown off by a mortar shell on the Gaza border, fought his way back to the front-lines

August sets new record for incoming tourists

Some 298,000 visitors entered Israel last month – 10% increase as compared with August 2011, 7% more than in August 2010
Despite the grave global economic crisis and the problematic geopolitical situation in the region, Israel continues to break incoming tourism records.

Fatah: Palestinians have not abandoned armed struggle By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Fatah Central Committee member Aloul says party's program has reaffirmed "resistance is legitimate right against occupation."

"Mahmoud Aloul, a member of the Fatah central committee and former Palestinian Authority governor of Nablus, said that although the Palestinians have agreed to launch a “popular resistance against occupation, no one has dropped the armed resistance from his dictionary.” Aloul’s comments were made during an interview with the private Watan TV station in the West Bank."

MEMRI Mash'al: The Homeland Will Be Restored Only Through Jihad, The Rifle, And Self-Sacrifice

"In a fiery speech in Cairo on October 3, 2012, at a rally commemorating Saladin's liberation of Jerusalem, Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mash'al said that the Zionists are enemies of Allah and the prophets, and called for preparing to liberate Jerusalem and restore the homeland once more through jihad, the rifle, and self-sacrifice. The event, under the banner "Jerusalem – Together, We Will Defend And Restore Her," was held under the auspices of Egypt's cultural minister and representatives of institutions operating in Egypt to liberate Jerusalem, with the participation of advisors to President Mursi."

Dozens of rockets, mortars hit south

No injuries reported as Gazans launch 55 rockets, mortar shells at Eshkol Regional Council less than day after an IAF strike in Gaza injured 11; Hamas, Islamic Jihad: Attack in response to 'Zionist crimes'

It's time to proscribe Hezbollah by Douglas Murray

Britain and the EU continue to make excuses for not proscribing Hezbollah's activities, including fundraising
"As it is, Britain and the EU are perpetuating a lie. And the thing is that they must know it. It is certainly something that Hezbollah knows. And it is also something which they understand the consequences of. A couple of years ago Hassan Nasrallah said that a proscription of his group’s activities in the EU would ‘destroy’ the organisation. If it happened, he said, ‘[t]he sources of our funding will dry up and the sources of moral, political and material support will be destroyed.’
We have an opportunity as well as a duty to make this terrorist leader’s fears come true. How did Britain end up allowing terrorists to operate with impunity? That question is a tough one to answer. How can we stop it being the case? The answer to that question is easy."

Romney's Middle East Speech: I'll be Tougher By Barry Rubin

"Mitt Romney gave a speech at the Virginia Military Institute today which focuses on U.S. Middle East policy. There are some good points in this speech that are definite steps forward. Romney sounded like a president should, someone who grasps power politics, deterrence, credibility, supporting allies and opposing enemies, and all the basic principles that have been largely vanished by the Obama Administration in exchange for unworkable and dangerous concepts." transcript

UN completes probe into false tweet about Gaza
Findings not yet released after completion of investigation into tweet of photo falsely claiming Palestinian killed by IDF.

Hamas fires dozens of rockets, mortars into Israel, vows to launch more if Israel
strikes again

IDF retaliates, says Gaza mosques used as ‘Hamas posts’; Channel 10: terror cells using sophisticated launchers capable of firing several rockets at once

Iran claims Saturday’s drone photographed Dimona, says Al-Arabiya

Israeli reports say the UAV, shot down north of Negev nuclear facility, was incapable of relaying real-time information

Ahmadi Muslims in UK call for urgent action against hate

President of London's Ahmadiyya community urges government to intervene amid growing fear of persecution and attack

Hundreds attend anti-Semitism demo

An estimated 300 people gathered at Stockholm's Raoul Wallenberg Square on Sunday to show solidarity with the Jews of Malmo, where a Jewish community building was attacked
recently.

Modern Warfare Map Removed After Complaints From Muslim Gamers

In a single room on the map, two paintings had been hung whose frames contained a decorative representation of a quote (pictured above) attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, which reads "Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty". Those paintings were hung in a bathroom, one right above a toilet, and didn't appear to be found anywhere else on the map.

Banking on gold for cancer radiation therapy

An Arab-Israeli scientist is perfecting a method for injecting gold nanoparticles into cancer cells to make them more vulnerable to radiation.

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Also:
WSJ's Sohrab Ahmari on the kangaroo court "Russell Tribunal on Israel" in New York:

After Mr. [Ben] White's testimony, Mr. Waters of Pink Floyd fame spoke up. "Sitting here as we are New York City," he said, "it's hard to ignore the elephant in the room—this elephant being the unfathomable influence in the corridors of power of the Israeli and Jewish lobbies."

Catching up with Mr. Waters later, I asked why the tribunal wasn't hearing an Israeli perspective. "That's not what it's for," he said. "It is a people's tribunal and we do invite the other side to attend." (Why would the Israelis have declined such an invitation, I wondered.)

(h/t Emet)

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Saudi writer says Israel isn't the enemy of the Arabs

An amazing article from Arab News (Saudi Arabia) by Abdulateef Al-Mulhim:

Thirty-nine years ago, on Oct. 6, 1973, the third major war between the Arabs and Israel broke out. The war lasted only 20 days. The two sides were engaged in two other major wars, in 1948 and 1967.

The 1967 War lasted only six days. But, these three wars were not the only Arab-Israel confrontations. From the period of 1948 and to this day many confrontations have taken place. Some of them were small clashes and many of them were full-scale battles, but there were no major wars apart from the ones mentioned above. The Arab-Israeli conflict is the most complicated conflict the world ever experienced. On the anniversary of the 1973 War between the Arab and the Israelis, many people in the Arab world are beginning to ask many questions about the past, present and the future with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The questions now are: What was the real cost of these wars to the Arab world and its people. And the harder question that no Arab national wants to ask is: What was the real cost for not recognizing Israel in 1948 and why didn’t the Arab states spend their assets on education, health care and the infrastructures instead of wars? But, the hardest question that no Arab national wants to hear is whether Israel is the real enemy of the Arab world and the Arab people.

I decided to write this article after I saw photos and reports about a starving child in Yemen, a burned ancient Aleppo souk in Syria, the under developed Sinai in Egypt, car bombs in Iraq and the destroyed buildings in Libya. The photos and the reports were shown on the Al-Arabiya network, which is the most watched and respected news outlet in the Middle East.

The common thing among all what I saw is that the destruction and the atrocities are not done by an outside enemy. The starvation, the killings and the destruction in these Arab countries are done by the same hands that are supposed to protect and build the unity of these countries and safeguard the people of these countries. So, the question now is that who is the real enemy of the Arab world?

The Arab world wasted hundreds of billions of dollars and lost tens of thousands of innocent lives fighting Israel, which they considered is their sworn enemy, an enemy whose existence they never recognized. The Arab world has many enemies and Israel should have been at the bottom of the list. The real enemies of the Arab world are corruption, lack of good education, lack of good health care, lack of freedom, lack of respect for the human lives and finally, the Arab world had many dictators who used the Arab-Israeli conflict to suppress their own people.

These dictators’ atrocities against their own people are far worse than all the full-scale Arab-Israeli wars.

In the past, we have talked about why some Israeli soldiers attack and mistreat Palestinians. Also, we saw Israeli planes and tanks attack various Arab countries. But, do these attacks match the current atrocities being committed by some Arab states against their own people.

In Syria, the atrocities are beyond anybody’s imaginations? And, isn’t the Iraqis are the ones who are destroying their own country? Wasn’t it Tunisia’s dictator who was able to steal 13 billion dollars from the poor Tunisians? And how can a child starve in Yemen if their land is the most fertile land in the world? Why would Iraqi brains leave Iraq in a country that makes 110 billion dollars from oil export? Why do the Lebanese fail to govern one of the tiniest countries in the world? And what made the Arab states start sinking into chaos?

On May 14, 1948 the state of Israel was declared. And just one day after that, on May 15, 1948 the Arabs declared war on Israel to get back Palestine. The war ended on March 10, 1949. It lasted for nine months, three weeks and two days. The Arabs lost the war and called this war Nakbah (catastrophic war). The Arabs gained nothing and thousands of Palestinians became refugees.

And on 1967, the Arabs led by Egypt under the rule of Gamal Abdul Nasser, went in war with Israel and lost more Palestinian land and made more Palestinian refugees who are now on the mercy of the countries that host them. The Arabs called this war Naksah (upset). The Arabs never admitted defeat in both wars and the Palestinian cause got more complicated. And now, with the never ending Arab Spring, the Arab world has no time for the Palestinians refugees or Palestinian cause, because many Arabs are refugees themselves and under constant attacks from their own forces. Syrians are leaving their own country, not because of the Israeli planes dropping bombs on them. It is the Syrian Air Force which is dropping the bombs. And now, Iraqi Arab Muslims, most intelligent brains, are leaving Iraq for the est. In Yemen, the world’s saddest human tragedy play is being written by the Yemenis. In Egypt, the people in Sinai are forgotten.

Finally, if many of the Arab states are in such disarray, then what happened to the Arabs’ sworn enemy (Israel)? Israel now has the most advanced research facilities, top universities and advanced infrastructure. Many Arabs don’t know that the life expectancy of the Palestinians living in Israel is far longer than many Arab states and they enjoy far better political and social freedom than many of their Arab brothers. Even the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip enjoy more political and social rights than some places in the Arab World. Wasn’t one of the judges who sent a former Israeli president to jail is an Israeli-Palestinian?

The Arab Spring showed the world that the Palestinians are happier and in better situation than their Arab brothers who fought to liberate them from the Israelis. Now, it is time to stop the hatred and wars and start to create better living conditions for the future Arab generations.

The first comment:

i'm am an isreali arabian(muslim),and i want to say that every word in this article is true,i live in isreal and many of my friends are jews,and most jews really are spectacular people,i've learned many new things from them,that will help me in the future, AND I WANT TO COMFIRM WHAT THE WRITER SAIED: my life in isreal is even more great than u think,and i am grateful that i live in isreal JUST LIKE THE WRITER SAIED!

He wrote a similar article last year for the Arab News, where his bio identifies him as a retired commodore in the Saudi Royal Navy.

(h/t Sagi, Oren and many others)

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Syria tortures, kills anti-semitic author

I guess this proves that Assad is a Zionist!

A Syrian writer and political researcher, known for his virulent anti-Semitic writings, has been tortured to death by state security services, his family and opposition groups said on Sunday.

Mohammed Nimr al-Madani, 51, was killed 10 days ago under torture but his body is still with the intelligence security, a relative told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Close to the opposition, the father of three was arrested twice by state security since the revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad broke out in March 2011.

The Local Coordination Committees and other activist groups said Nimr had been working as a "secret correspondent" for foreign news channels.

Nimr's own Facebook page describes him as a "specialist" on religions and the Holocaust, an event which he fiercely denied throughout his career.

For those who idolize the Syrian opposition, keep in mind that they aren't much better than Assad is.

Here is al-Madani saying that Jews designed Nazi crematoria:

Following are excerpts from a TV debate on Holocaust denial, which aired on Al-Alam TV on August 8, 2010:

Syrian author Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: I have read everything that has been written about the Holocaust, both by those who deny it and those who claim it occurred. First, those who claim that the Holocaust took place do not have any proof.

TV host: Those who claim that it took place?

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Yes.

TV host: On what do they base their claims?

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: On nothing but a lie. Those who deny [sic] the annihilation have provided weak evidence. To be honest, in the West, they do not dare to speak freely...

TV host: Or to conduct objective research.

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Right. They don't enjoy the same freedom as us.

[...]

Syrian researcher and publisher Muhammad Shaykjani: First of all, there is a Koranic verse that says: "Thus, the killing of their children was presented favorably to many polytheists."

Those who kill children in order to use their blood to get close to the god of sacrifice have turned to killing the children of the Christians in London and Paris, in Switzerland and Austria. They were expelled from Britain when murdered children were found on one of their holidays. In Syria, they murdered a Christian priest, and the murderers were executed. In many countries, on the Matza of Zion holiday, they would kill people, take the blood of the victims, and mix it with the Matza of Zion.

[...]

They believe that God died in this annihilation, so that the Jews could live in Palestine, and their god, Yahweh, would live with them.

[...]

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: The Jews mixed philosophy, religion, and politics. Throughout history, they have been continuously developing their religion in accordance with the circumstances, until they reached Zionism. Judaism has come to mean Zionism, and in recent times, Judaism has come to mean "Holocaustism."

[...]

According to the Torah, the Lord enjoined them to conduct a seven-day sacrificial burning. The "burning" is a sacred ritual of worship. I consider this to be proof of the falsity of the Holocaust, and biblical evidence that they have drawn the lie of the Holocaust from the Torah. Their reliance upon the Torah proves that the Holocaust is a lie, and that it never happened. It also shows that the Holocaust doctrine is deeply engrained in their minds and in their rituals.

TV host: On page 64 of your book, for example, you write that the Old Testament describes with great accuracy how to build a crematorium."

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Yes. There is a text describing how to build the temple for the crematorium – its pillars, its copper ornamentation, and so on.

TV host: It describes the crematorium in detail.

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Yes. For example, its size is approximately 2 meters. Bear in mind that the incinerators in the German Nazi hospitals, in which they burned the bodies of the sick, were 2 meters, or 190 centimeters. This is similar to the incinerators which they consider to be crematoria.

TV host: On the inner cover of the book, we read a quote by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Why did you decide to print a quote of Ahmadinejad? This is...

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Can we present it to the camera... I was very happy when the Iranian president denied the Holocaust. Since I am convinced of the need to fight this lie, I was filled with admiration at the words of the Iranian president.

TV host: He said: "Israel should be wiped out of existence."

Muhammad Nimr Al-Madani: Yes, that's right. First of all, the Iranian president is the first leader in the world to adopt Holocaust denial. This is a great event. Secondly, the state of Israel must be wiped out of existence, as Imam Khomeini said before.

(h/t Daniel)

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Chag sameach! (again)

The festival season is winding down, and once again I will not be blogging for the next two days.

In commemoration of Simchat Torah, here is a 2009 article from the New York Times:

THE weathered brown parchment with its frayed edges and inked Hebrew letters seemed beautiful but unremarkable.

Itzhak Winer, a 34-year-old Torah scribe turned Judaica seller, considered the item a nice find, but just one of the 30 or more Torahs he buys and sells in a year. From his Jerusalem dealer, he learned that the Torah had been owned by a family in Morocco and was in excellent condition.

“He knew that it’s old, but he didn’t really know — and neither did I — how special it was,” said Mr. Winer, who works out of his home in Willowbrook, Staten Island.

Curious about the item’s origins, Mr. Winer took it to a Lower East Side rabbi named Yitzchok Reisman, an expert in identifying antique Torahs, the scrolls containing the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Rabbi Reisman, born in 1938 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, found himself drawn as a teenager to the scribes who congregated on the Lower East Side. They shared their craft with him, passing down stories and lore of ancient scrolls.

Rabbi Reisman also became attracted to the buying and selling of Torahs.

“There were 400 congregations that were declining, closing up and selling off the Torahs and the assets,” he said. As Torahs from the Lower East Side migrated to the suburbs and across the continent, the sellers, he saw, “helped transfer the Torah scrolls on to the rest of America.”

Today, Rabbi Reisman restores Torahs using handmade ink and carved turkey feathers at his workshop on Grand Street. Heaps of wooden rollers and antique furniture obscure treasures like the gleaming copper case of a 300-year-old Yemenite Torah and an elaborately woven Torah cover from Iraq.

Rabbi Reisman quickly realized that Mr. Winer’s Torah was unique. The materials and calligraphic style identified it as Spanish, which meant that it was written before 1492, when the Jews were expelled from Spain. In addition, the strong swirls on the top of certain letters matched the style favored in kabbalah, the Jewish mystical movement.

“There are very, very few manuscripts and pieces of manuscripts that are older than the 1400s,” Rabbi Reisman said on a recent day in his ramshackle office as Mr. Winer looked on. And the kabbalistic flourishes, the rabbi added, make it “the only Spanish Torah known done in that way.”

These special markings are “like thorns that appear in certain letters that only show up in a small window of time,” Rabbi Reisman said.

“No!” Mr. Winer interrupted. “A few hundred years.”

“That’s a small window,” Rabbi Reisman retorted.

As they bickered gently over nearly every detail, the two men also said that their research suggested that the Torah was created between 1272 and 1302, and that it could be connected to a famous Spanish scribe, Shem-Tob ben Abraham ibn Gaon.

But they did seem to agree on who should get the Torah. “We’re hoping to get somebody or some community or some organization that wants to preserve the Spanish kabbalistic tradition,” Mr. Winer said, “and it’s important to them to give it the respect it deserves.”

I wish all my Jewish readers a Chag Sameach!

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New reports of Syrian refugee women being sold as brides

A followup to this story, from Now Lebanon:

Following the growing influx of Syrian refugees into Arab countries, women are being treated as spoils of war. Widows and daughters are being in essence sold to Arab men who are looking for cheap brides. Families of refugee women sell them into marriage to ensure they are taken care of and that they aren’t deflowered or cause problems in their new homes.

As soon as a group of Syrian activists learned of cases in which Jordanian men were marrying young Syrian girls from the Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan under the pretext of protecting them, they launched an online campaign called “Refugees, not Spoils of War.”

“It was a reaction to a call made by Arab clerics encouraging such marriages as a way of protecting the Syrian refugees by using a religious context,” said Moayad Skaif, organizer of the campaign. “These calls are an abuse to Syrian women; they are demeaning and belittle their value and worth. They are also an exploitation of the Syrian refugees’ ordeal.”

The campaign aims to protect the rights of Syrian women seeking refuge, said the activist, by denouncing such acts and preventing them. It also aims to create awareness among Syrian families of the dangers of these marriages and to send a message to young Arabs that aiding Syrian refugees can take different forms than proposing marriage and handing over a dowry. Because of the campaign’s lack of money, it urges non-governmental humanitarian organizations and different donors to establish a fund that support the refugees and their need to marry if they wish to.

“We are not a human right organization and we do not have the resources. We are just concerned activists,” said Skaif.

According to an activist within the campaign who preferred to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of his work, some of the cases that were documented involved men marrying women and then forcing them into prostitution. After one such woman fled her husband and went to the police, Jordanian authorities banned Jordanian men marrying Syrian women from the Zaatari refugee camp.

As news of the ban made headlines, many other Syrian refugees living in countries such as Libya and Morocco came forward with their stories. In a report on BBC Arabic, Syrian refugees spoke of how men in Benghazi go door to door asking Syrian families if they have any young girls available for marriage and mentioned offices that handle the details of marrying off young Syrian girls in return for money. Libyan men, according to report, fancy marrying Syrian girls as opposed to Libyan because they are prettier and have lower dowries.

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Sunday links

From Ian:

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Palestine – Cutting Abbas Down To Size by David Singer

"PLO Chairman and Palestinian Authority President – Mahmoud Abbas – continues to promote the deceptive and misleading claim that the areas lost by Jordan and Egypt to Israel in the 1967 Six Day War constituted 22% – not 5% – of historic Palestine"

The Professor’s Shoddy History

Berlin’s Jewish Museum gave Judith Butler and Germans permission to indulge dangerous political impulses
"Why would the Jewish Museum give Butler a podium and allow her to advocate for BDS, a campaign that even the unyielding Israel critic Norman Finkelstein has labeled a “cult” that seeks to “eliminate” Israel by hiding behind nonviolent rhetoric? To understand the answer to that question, one must put Butler’s visit in the context of slowly shifting German attitudes toward Israel and Jews—as well as within Germany’s ongoing attempts to deal with its past. “I have also wondered whether the use of my abridged remarks about Hamas and Hezbollah itself was a kind of anti-Semitic attack,” Butler told the left-wing German newspaper Jungle World in 2010 in response to those Germans who had criticized her for her views on Israel. “I feel, in fact, again my vulnerability as a Jew in Germany, when I am discredited in this way in the media.” With such rhetorical feats, Butler transforms herself from an American intellectual into a latter-day victim of anti-Semitism, and in so doing gives Germans who might feel uneasy expressing support for the boycott of the Jewish state license to feel like victims as well."

Americans in Pakistan to protest drone strikes

“The American activists — around three dozen representatives of the U.S.-based activist group CODEPINK — along with Clive Stafford Smith, founder of the London-based legal advocacy organization Reprieve, want to march with Khan and publicize the plight of communities affected by the U.S. drones.
Ahead of the march, local media carried reports Friday of alleged suicide bombings planned against the demonstration and a pamphlet distributed in a town along the march route warned participants they would face danger. The main Pakistani Taliban faction issued a statement criticizing the event.”

UK think tank takes EU to task on Hezbollah stance

Whereas the United States, Canada and Holland recognize Hezbollah as a terrorist group, the EU does not.
“The Henry Jackson Society wants the EU and the UK to formally outlaw Hezbollah in its entirety – in line with the US, Canada and the Netherlands – and recognize it as “a terrorist organization that consistently uses violent terrorist tactics.”

French synagogue terrorized by blank shots as police raid jihadi cell

"A Jewish community leader told the Le Parisien newspaper that the shots were fired at the synagogue to scare the local community. “This was an act that was more against the Jewish community, it’s very worrying,” Val d’Oise Jewish community head Moshe Cohen Sabban told the paper."

Sixteen Arrested for Role in Iran's Currency Crisis

On Thursday, Tehran’s attorney general said 16 people had been arrested for their alleged “disruption of the currency market." The 16 were said to have worked with "external and internal forces" in creating a panic that benefited them personally and helped to disrupt the economy.

Vatican says talks to reconcile with anti-Semitic group ‘dead’

Chief of church doctrine says he is unable to bring Society of St. Pius X into the fold
“The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Saturday welcomed the suggestion that talks with the society had broken down and said it hoped the society’s members “will eventually give up their theology of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.”

Overheard in a coffee shop: A better way to do brain surgery, based on Israeli simulation technology

Two Israel Air Force officers and one American doctor have developed a novel way to allow surgeons to prepare for operations
“The idea for the Surgery Rehearsal Platform, known as an SRP, emerged, said Selman, when he overheard a discussion on flight simulation between former Israel Air Force officers Moty Avisar and Alon Geri. Knowing a good thing when he heard it, Selman, who is Neurosurgeon-in-Chief of University Hospitals in Ohio and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, got involved in the conversation. The result was the establishment of a new company with the Israeli experts (who were in Ohio working with Lockheed Martin’s office in Akron), called Surgical Theater LLC.”

Making fracking a greener proposition

Israel’s Flow Industries makes an ‘air gun’ for clearing industrial blockages, and it may also provide a better way to extract shale oil.

Australian naval contract for Israeli firm

Elbit Systems, the Israeli company that develops military technology, has won the contract to supply the Australian Navy with battle management systems in Australian ships.

UNICEF uses Israel-made water purification tablets in Syria

Israel Chemicals given special authorization to sell water purification tables to UN to rehabilitate Syria’s water sources

Jewish Virtual Library: October is Israel Innovation Month

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Palestinian Arab sheikh reveals Israel's latest plan to destroy Al Aqsa mosque

Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, has told Quds Media how exactly the Israelis plan to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque.

You see, the tunnels they have been excavating nearby (he claims, underneath) aren't meant to destroy the mosque directly. Rather, those wily Israelis are setting up a situation where an earthquake of only 5.0 on the Richter scale will cause the structures on the Temple Mount to collapse on their won, and then the Jews can blame the earthquake!

Sabri has, in the past, has stated:

"If the Jews want peace, they will stay away from Al Aksa. This is a decree from God. The Haram al-Sharif belongs to the Muslim. But we know the Jew is planning on destroying the Haram. The Jew will get the Christian to do his work for him. This is the way of the Jews. This is the way Satan manifests himself. The majority of the Jews want to destroy the mosque. They are preparing this as we speak."

"Six million Jews dead? No way, they were much fewer. Let’s stop with this fairytale exploited by Israel to capture international solidarity. It is not my fault if Hitler hated Jews, indeed they were hated a little everywhere. Instead, it is necessary to denounce the unjust occupation endured by my people."

"Anyone who studies The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and specifically the Talmud will discover that one of the goals of these Protocols is to cause confusion in the world and to undermine security throughout the world."

Which means that according to analysts as smart as Karl Vick, Sabri is a moderate.

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Time magazine's infomercial for Mahmoud Abbas - and Hamas

You know how the Palestinian Arab leaders are frustrated about how Western media attention has been on Egypt, Libya and Syria instead of them?

Apparently, this malaise extends to frustrated mainstream media reporters like Time's Karl Vick who spend their lives covering the Palestinian Arab leaders. Their reliable front-page stories are being pushed back, and they want the spotlight no less than their Palestinian Arab idols.

So the newly marginalized Vick managed to get an exclusive interview with the equally irrelevant Mahmoud Abbas, and Time allowed Vick to write a 3000 word paean to Abbas's "leadership" which sweeps everything negative under the rug and to try to restore the corrupt, intransigent PA back to prominence.

The article is filled with deceptions like this:

Missiles still fly out of Hamas-controlled Gaza from time to time, but according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which tallies every reported incident on occupied territory, most violence in the West Bank is now committed by Israeli settlers against their Palestinian neighbors rather than the other way around. There have been spectacular exceptions, including the March 2011 slaughter of five Jewish settlers in their West Bank home. But month by month, the Palestinians tend to be the victims of violence rather than the perpetrators.

OCHA does not track all violent incidents - they only track incidents that result in injuries. So the vast majority of Palestinian Arab firebombs and stone throwings, which are really daily events in the territories, are simply not counted because Israelis have armored cars and buses and fenced communities in Judea and Samaria.

Another knowing deception:

Abbas' 2011 U.N. bid so irked Israel and Washington that each held back vital funding to Abbas' Palestinian National Authority (PA), the Palestinian transitional government. The revenue shortfalls wreaked havoc on the Palestinian economy. By September, people were burning tires in the streets to protest not Israel's 45-year military occupation but the PA itself.

The PA economy's woes have nothing to do with temporary withholding of some aid a year ago; it is from paying tens of thousands of people to not work in Gaza, paying families of suicide bombers, and other questionable economic policies of the PA.

If you read between the lines and know anything about the conflict, you can see Vick contradicting himself:

Abu Mazen himself spends more and more time abroad, flying on a chartered jet provided by the United Arab Emirates, a statesman without a state, relentlessly grooming an image of a peaceful people denied a homeland in foreign capitals.

Without me even having to point out the polls proving that they are still anything but a peaceful people and how they really want to destroy Israel in stages, Vick goes on:

If Abbas retires, as he frequently says he wants to, he will leave with no clear successor. Polls show Palestinians would elect Marwan Barghouti, a charismatic Fatah militant not currently available; he's serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison. In recent months, Palestinian business leaders have talked up Khaled Meshaal, a notion that speaks volumes about the changes roiling Palestinian politics. Since 1996, Meshaal had held the most senior position in Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, long the face of Palestinian terror.

So the "peaceful people" would overwhelmingly choose terrorists as their leaders!

But Vick needs to soften Hamas' image, so he adds this amazing fact:

Earlier this year, however, Meshaal endorsed the Abu Mazen approach. While reserving the right to violent resistance and not renouncing the Hamas Charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel, Meshaal said the time has come for negotiations with Israel and nonviolent protest in the spirit of the Arab Spring. "Now we have a common ground that we can work on--the popular resistance, which represents the power of the people," Meshaal said.

So after seeing Arab governments fall from nonviolent resistance, Meshal now adds that to his arsenal of weapons to destroy Israel - and Vick reads this as Hamas moderation and a victory for Abbas' ("peaceful") approach!

Once you know that the goal of both Fatah and Hamas is the destruction of Israel - whether by using violence, politics, demographics, legal tactics, public relations or clueless magazine writers - then the switch from one tactic to another is not nearly as important as understanding the end goal. Vick purposefully ignores the goal and praises the means, which is frankly insane. But that insanity gets described this way:

To have a leader like Meshaal, whose organization dispatched numerous suicide bombers to kill Israeli civilians, adopt the Abu Mazen approach was still a remarkable philosophical victory for Abbas.

Vick ignores the fact that last week Islamic Jihad held a massive rally in Gaza celebrating terror, and Hamss didn't only condone it - they sent one of their leaders to participate. But thst's not the face of Hamas that Time readers are seeing.

He ends off with:

Whatever new governments emerge from the Arab Spring, they are unlikely to be more understanding toward Israel than the bookish moderate who, when asked last October why he was going to the U.N., replied with one word: "Hope. All the time we give them hope."

Meaning that Vick completely misunderstands the Arab Spring. Abbas' current relative moderation, as far as it goes, is not reflective of his people. and if a Palestinian Arab spring emerges - and the anti-Abbas protests have already started - he will be replaced by someone more in line with the people's will, meaning someone more violent. Which means that any "peace" is illusory if the people prefer terror. Israel's peace with Egypt is holding for now, but it has weakened considerably after their revolution; a Palestinian Arab revolution will in all likelihood bring in something worse. That is not a reason to make a fake peace agreement now - it is reason to be wary of making agreements with leaders who don't represent their people.

This is basic, but it is beyond Karl Vick.

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Latest ship of Israel-hating liars heading to Gaza

From AFP:

A Swedish ship with rights activists from several countries aboard sailed from Naples on Saturday in the latest bid to break Israel's blockade against Gaza.

A crowd of well-wishers saw off the sailing vessel Estelle as it left the Italian port as part of the "Freedom Flotilla" movement.

"We think it will take around two weeks to get to Gaza, but it will obviously also depend on the weather conditions," spokeswoman Ann Ighe told the AFP news agency.

The Estelle, whose voyage was organized by an international pro-Palestinian coalition, is carrying humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip.

The 17 activists from around the world on board include passengers and crew from Sweden, Norway, Canada, the United States and Israel.

Israel says the blockade against Gaza is necessary to prevent weapons from entering the coastal territory, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas.

The Free Gaza movement landed in hot water last month after its founder, Greta Berlin, tweeted that "Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews."

The tweet linked to a video of Eustace Mullins, a conspiracy theorist, claiming that the word “Nazi” combines the words “National Socialist” and “Zionist.”

The organization Ship to Gaza Sweden quickly issued a statement:

"This movie link and its content have since been connected to Ship to Gaza Sweden and this year’s Freedom Flotilla mission. Let’s make it clear that our action is not anti-Semitic, and furthermore is not organised in co-operation with the Free Gaza Movement," the organization said.

At just 53 metres (173 feet) long, the Estelle is much smaller than the Marmara ferry, and has sails as well as an engine.

Here are some of their lies:

Following our initial attempt to break the blockade there have only been minor easings of the blockade--commodities such as spices which Israel had previously classified as "luxury goods" are now allowed into Gaza.There is still an acute shortage of medicine, medical supplies and building materials.

Actually, since the Mavi Marmara, Israel now allows all the food and fuel into Gaza that Gazans pay for, without limit. (Don't believe me? Ask Gaza Gateway!)

Israel never limited medical supplies into Gaza. Again, that is an issue of what the PA pays for and what Hamas allows to be distributed to hospitals, rather than confiscating it and reselling it to make money.

And here is Ship to Gaza's biggest lie:

Naples mayor Luigi de Magistris said Friday on visiting the Estelle:

"This is not an initiative in favour of Hamas but in favour of Palestine, of the Palestinians who live in Gaza, and in favour of two states living as neighbours in peace and security."

But look what one of the leaders of the Ship to Gaza, Henning Mankell, said about the two-state solution:

In 1948, the year of my birth, the state of Israel proclaimed its independence on occupied land. There are no reasons whatsoever to call that a legitimate intervention according to international law. What happened was that Israel simply occupied Palestinian land. And the amount of land under possession is constantly growing, with in the war in 1967, and with the increasing number of settlements today. ... A two-state solution will not be the end of the historical occupation.

...When change is coming, each Israeli has to decide for him- or herself if he or she is prepared to give up their privileges and live in a Palestinian state.

This is the "peaceful" solution they seek - the utter destruction of the Jewish state. And to these idiots, "occupation" did not start in 1967 but in 1948.

Mankell also provides this justification for suicide bombers:

Is it strange that some of them in pure desperation, when they cannot see any other way out, decide to become suicide bombers? Not really? Maybe it is strange that there are not more of them.

More hypocrisy from Mankell is that he is against nationalism altogether - but for some reason he wants the "Palestine" borders to include only British Mandate Palestine, not to include Jordan, which indeed is part of "historic Palestine." Why should he accept colonialist borders to destroy Israel and not Jordan?  If Mankell was consistent, he would - but he isn't.

Needless to say, nothing on their website is critical of Egypt, which fully controls a border with Gaza and which severely restricts goods and people from crossing. No, 100% of the efforts of these haters pretending to be "pro-Palestinian activists" is against only one state. Which just so happens to be Jewish.

So what "humanitarian aid" is being shipped? 41 tons of cement - less than the amount needed for a single house. The organizers, as with the previous boats towards Gaza, throw a symbolic amount of material on board so they can fool journalists into thinking that they are an aid organization, even though their purpose is purely political.

And the journalists are never smart enough to call them on it.

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Saturday night links

From Ian:

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BBC coverage of Gaza abuses story is deliberately pro-Hamas
Human Rights Watch report condemns injustice towards civilians in Gaza under Hamas rule

"It is disappointing to say the least that the BBC has decided to disregard this information and rather, to afford Hamas a 'right of reply' which takes precedence over the main story. It is unfortunate that nearly 25 million people involuntarily subscribe to the BBC through the license fee and yet they are persistently and intentionally misled about the systematic abuse which is taking place by Hamas in Gaza. Does this correlate with the BBC’s editorial guidelines? I think not."

Banking protest mural resembling Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda to be removed from East End

East London's Tower Hamlets council says it has received numerous complaints about the mural
Councillor Peter Golds said it is 'horribly similar to the propaganda used by the Third Reich in Nazi Germany'
He has urged the police to pursue artist Mear One - real name Kalen Ockerman -under race hate laws
The piece is also being defended by resident Azmel Hussain, who owns the property

Geneva mayor heads to anti-Israel tribunal condemned by UN’s Richard Goldstone

As a taxpayer of Geneva, a great city with its rightful place in the history of human rights and international law, I cannot understand why my mayor this weekend will be lending the good name of Geneva to the “Russell Tribunal on Palestine,” an extremist political exercise that corrupts the core principles of justice, including Audi alteram partem.
Mayor Rémy Pagani, head of Geneva’s À gauche toute! – a regrouping of the city’s Communist Party and other left-wing factions — is scheduled to participate in the anti-Israel event on Oct. 6-7 in New York.

Man killed in French anti-terror raid was member of Salafi Muslim group

10 terror suspects arrested in Paris and Nice as part of an investigation into the firebombing of a kosher store in September
"French authorities have released that the man killed by police in an anti-terror operation in Strasbourg on Saturday was a member of an ultraconservative Salafi Muslim group. Ten people were arrested in concurrent raids on anti-terror suspects in Paris and Nice.
Saturday’s operations were part of a larger investigation into the firebombing of a kosher supermarket in a Paris suburb last month, according to officials."

With Syria ablaze, dozens of Golan Heights Druze seek Israeli citizenship

Long loyal to Damascus, many young Druze now consider their best option is to become Israeli
"Syrian Druze residing in the Golan Heights once burned ID cards offered to them by Israeli government authorities, after Israeli law was extended to the area in 1981. Three decades later, after 19-months of brutal civil war in Syria, Druze residents of the Golan are flocking to the Interior Ministry by the dozens to request Israeli citizenship."

Egypt's hardline Islamist party unravels, pointing to fragility in political Islam

"Internal feuds are threatening to unravel the political party of Egypt's ultraconservative Islamist Salafis, as pragmatists try to shake off the control of hardline clerics who reject any compromise in their stark, puritanical version of Islam."

U.S. Cracks Down on Lebanese Charities Tied to Hamas

The United States on Oct. 4 imposed financial penalties on two Lebanese charities that fundraise for Hamas, an effort by the Obama administration to disrupt the Islamist group’s activities. The U.S. Treasury added the two Beirut based charities, Al-Waqfiya and Al-Quds International Foundation, to its list of entities hit with asset freezes.

Does Archbishop Tutu Endorse Holocaust Conspiracies?

Tutu, however, seems to have let his animosity toward Israel sully him and tarnish the Nobel Prize he wields as a symbol of supposed moral authority. He is a long-time endorser of the Free Gaza movement, the organization which brought us the Gaza “flotilla” and any number of other protests and marches. Greta Berlin, the American co-founder of Free Gaza, recently tweeted, “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.” Free Gaza has also, according to the Jerusalem Post, claimed that the Jews supported Hitler.

Mo Ibrahim Foundation: Desmond Tutu awarded $1m

Good riddance: Hate preacher Abu Hamza lands in the U.S. after losing last-ditch bid to stay in Britain

"Hamza is expected to face a judge in New York within 24 hours on charges that include conspiring with Seattle men to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon and helping abduct 16 hostages, two of them American tourists, in Yemen in 1998.
The Islamist fanatic lost the last of his countless appeals in a legal farce that has seen him thwart extradition for more than eight years at a cost to taxpayers of millions of pounds."

Gujarat seeks to deepen biz ties with Israel

"The combination of strategic geographic location, skilled manpower, multi-language speakers, and local Authority which placed the economic growth and development at the top of its list of priorities, makes Gujarat an attractive market for the Israeli companies," Offer Zaks, the CEO of Israel Export Institute said explaining the overwhelming response from the Israeli business community."

Israeli Startup Gets Boost from Apple’s ‘Maps’ Debacle

With millions of Apple users frustrated over bugs and errors associated with the release of the “Maps” feature, Apple CEO Tim Cook is encouraging them to turn to competing software such as the Israeli mapping application Waze while Apple fixes the issues.

CIFWatch: My photos from yesterday’s march in Jerusalem by thousands of Christian friends of Israel

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Also:
Electronic Intifada feeling uncomfortable (Harry's Place)

Defending Free Gaza's anti-semitism at Open Zion and 972mag

Translation of August interview with Iranian woman on Israeli TV:


Syria unrest sparks rifts among Lebanon’s Palestinian factions


(h/t Ronald. Yoel, Daniel)

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IDF shoots down UAV over Negev

From the IDF:

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was identified penetrating Israeli airspace from the west this morning (Saturday, October 6), and was intercepted by the IAF at approximately 10:00 AM.

The aircraft remained under the surveillance of IDF forces on the ground and in the air, including fighter planes. The UAV was downed in the area of the Yatir Forest, in the northern Negev, so as to avoid damage to a civilian area.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai emphasized that this was a full operational success. He noted that the aircraft was identified before entering Israeli airspace and was downed in accordance with a decision of the IDF's top leaders.

Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz was briefed on the incident. IDF soldiers are currently searching the area where the drone was downed, in open areas in the northern Negev, to locate debris and identify the drone.

YNet adds that it seems likely to have come from Hezbollah via the Mediterranean:

After IDF collects remnants of unmanned aircraft shot down over southern forest, security establishment examining possibility it was launched by Hezbollah to photograph Israeli reactor; army fears drones will be used to hit strategic sites

After Israeli fighter jets shot down a drone over the Yatir forest in the south Mount Hebron area on Saturday, the army is trying to figure out what its destination was. One of the possibilities the security establishment is looking into is that the unmanned aircraft, which was apparently Iranian-made, was on its way to test the option of infiltrating the nuclear reactor in Dimona, perhaps even to examine the option of targeting the plant in a future conflict.

A drone such as the one that was downed on Saturday after penetrating Israel's airspace through the Mediterranean Sea could not cause serious damage to the reactor, but such an incident would mark a psychological victory for Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah recently threatened to attack strategic targets in Israel, including power plants.

Operating a drone by remote control from such a long distance requires advanced capabilities, which Israel was not aware Hezbollah had acquired. By examining the drone's parts, the army hopes to find out whether the drone was controlled from a command center in Lebanon or was directed by a space-based satellite navigation system (GPS) according to predetermined coordinates. If that was the case, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may have directed itself automatically and was supposed to return to its base or self-destruct over the sea.

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Copt teacher in Egypt cleared of "blasphemy". She is VERY lucky.

I mentioned this case a couple of days ago, but the details are chilling. To call this a happy ending would be to ignore all the people who willingly went along with a baseless accusation against a Copt:

A Coptic teacher who was arrested last week on charges of contempt for religion and insulting Prophet Mohamed has been released, and all charges dropped, her lawyer confirmed to Ahram Online.

The case is one of several recent incidents in which Egypt's Coptic minority found itself under fire.

Nevine Gad, a social studies teacher at a preparatory school in Manfalout village, in Assiut in Upper Egypt, was explaining a lesson on Islamic history with a section on the life of the Prophet Mohamed in a class on Wednesday last week.

The next day she was told that a pupil, Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Hashim, had filed a complaint against her, claiming that she had said something offensive about the Prophet.

Following that, more than 20 teachers working with her at the same school also complained about her to the school administration, based on the student's story.

After investigating, the administration dismissed the complaint because of the conflicting accounts of the students from the class, and a lack of evidence. To avoid problems, Gad was suspended from teaching temporarily.

However, on Sunday afternoon, police arrested Gad and took her to an Assiut police station, on charges of contempt of religion and insulting Prophet Mohamed, following a complaint from Moustafa Ahmed Hashim, the student in question's father, who is known locally to be a Salafist.

Gad denied all charges, but was detained and spent the night in a solitary confinement cell, her lawyer told Ahram Online, causing her family great worry as she is eight months pregnant.

The next day, she went before the attorney-general of Assiut, who asked her about the validity of the statements, and she again denied all the allegations.

Lawyer Magdy Farouk told Ahram Online exclusively that during the investigations, he had noticed inconsistencies in the statements and complaints of the student in question.

In addition, Gad remembered that this student was absent on Wednesday and Thursday, and therefore could not have attended the lesson.

"The educational administration in Assiut supplied us with the official student attendance lists for those two days...it showed that the student, Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Hashim, who accused her, was absent and didn't attend that lesson. The police then released her yesterday [Wednesday] and closed the case file, considering it a malicious complaint," said Farouk.

"Most lawyers had refused to get involved in this case, fearing for their lives, but I agreed to defend her and to attend the investigations with her after I got security guarantees from a well-known businessman from Upper Egypt," he added.

Farouk cited concerns related to a case a month ago when lawyers defending, Bishoy Kamel, another Coptic teacher accused several months ago of contempt of religion, were attacked at the courthouse in Sohag in Upper Egypt.

Gad was lucky, but look how easily anyone can get someone to be arrested in Egypt! Not only that, but Gad's fellow teachers, instead of acting in solidarity with her, threw her under the bus.

It is apparent that everyone in Egypt is so frightened of being perceived as being soft on blasphemy that the accusers have the cards stacked in their favor.

The question  is whether the student's father will be prosecuted for knowingly endangering an innocent, pregnant Coptic woman.

I think we all know the answer to that.

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