Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, November 05, 2012

Israel sends aid to Hurricane Sandy victims

Israel Flying Aid, the Israeli global humanitarian organization which was first to land in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, has been distributing large supplies of gas to hospitals, food, batteries and generators to Hurricane Sandy victims.

"We have many years of disaster relief experience," said Israel Flying Aid North American Operations Manager Moti Kahana.

"Israel Flying Aid, in having Israelis on the ground here in New York and New Jersey, have made Israel the only foreign nation to provide humanitarian assistance to the US during this disaster. We are working in coordination with FEMA, local police, the American Red Cross and Jewish communities in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut."

Kahana said that most of the efforts had been donated by Israelis living in the US and this enabled gas to be distributed to hospitals in New York and New Jersey.

Joel Leyden, an Israel Flying Aid Operations Specialist who was with the IFA in Haiti, has been working with the Greater Hartford Jewish Community to distribute both food and generators on Long Island.

"We had a convoy of food and generators move out of the Greater Hartford area early yesterday morning," said Leyden.

"The food had been donated by Panera Bread and Dunkin Donuts in the Hartford, Manchester Connecticut area. This food was distributed to hurricane victims on the south shore of Long Island, the Nassau County Police, the Freeport Fire Department and the Red Cross Shelter which is set up at Nassau Community College."

Leyden said that when they spotted hundreds of people lined up at gas stations to pour gas into their containers, they would get out of their cars and feed these people as they waited. The donuts and bread created smiles and positive moods which replaced the trauma of suffering in the dark and cold, he said.

"We are so very proud to see you, to welcome you to New York," said Dr. Jason Mallin, who normally practices neurology at North Shore University Hospital but was now volunteering with the Nassau County Department of Health. "We read about Israel and the great work you did in Haiti. We have thousands here that need you. It's awesome that you are here!"

Michael Duarte, a Red Cross volunteer from California who was supervising the Long Island shelter, hugged the Israel Flying Aid team as they arrived.

"We had some bad press as a result of misunderstandings," said Duarte. People in Staten Island, New York were looking for us but due to a New York State law, we could not start operations until after three days. We are now operating at full capacity throughout New York City and this Red Cross shelter at Nassau Community College with over 900 clients. These people have lost their homes. Lost everything. We are here for them and so very pleased to receive your good help."

Duarte, who hadn't slept in three days, had coordinated a first class shelter and his staff could not have been more professional. Sleeping cots, Red Cross blankets, a cafeteria and even a play area for children had been carefully put into place. The fresh food from Israel Flying Aid was served as part of the dinner that evening.

(h/t Yerushalimey)

Monday administrivia/links

Finally, it looks like my house has Internet back. (And cable will come in handy as we watch the election results tomorrow night!) Still have a backlog of stuff to do at work so not sure when I'll be back to blogging as often as I used to, but things are getting better.

Meanwhile, some links: from Ian:

Sunni-Shia conflict: Major feature of ME politics By Barry Rubin

The Region: Once upon a time, Arab nationalism ruled the Middle East. We are now in the era of Sunni Arab identity and especially of Sunni Arab Islamism.
“We are not just talking here about theological differences but a battle between individual leaders, organizations, and states for power and primacy. Of course, though, they will compete in proving that they are the true leaders in the anti-Israel struggle. And the same point applies regarding opposition to the United States.”

JPOST Editorial: Peace divide

"The capacity to make peace depends on changing perceptions – including the national narratives we tell ourselves and our peoples. The fallout from Abbas’s Channel 2 interview is yet another dismal indicator that the Palestinian people have yet to be prepared by their leadership for such a change."

A note to a stiff-necked people By David Mamet

"Will you tell your children that a liberal government will increasingly marginalize, dismiss and weaken the support for and the safety of the Jewish state?
Will you tell them that, in a state-run economy, hard work may still be applauded, but that it will no longer be rewarded?"

The Palestinians’ UN ploy is just the latest stalling tactic By Daniel Taub (Israel’s ambassador to Britain)
There is no path to statehood for the Palestinians except through negotiation with Israel

Senior Israeli defense official: Egypt's Morsi won't talk to us
Amos Gilad described Morsi's government as a 'terrible dictatorship,' but stressed that Israel must safeguard the peace treaty with Egypt 'at any cost.'

Israel successfully tests upgraded Iron Dome with longer interception range
New system can stop medium-range missiles held by Syria and Hezbollah; defense minister says whole country will have missile protection within a few years

October saw highest number of Gaza rockets since June
116 rockets and 55 mortar shells caused five casualties, Shin Bet statistics show

U.N. Representative (Richard Falk) Wants To Create A World Capital In Istanbul

Honest Reporting: Vote for the Dishonest Reporter of 2012

PMW PA TV song misrepresents Israeli cities as "Palestine," at festival under auspices of PA PM Fayyad

Israel, Microsoft set to sign cooperative agreement
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz met with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Monday morning in Jerusalem to discuss a strategic cooperation agreement to promote Internet Cloud Technology.

Money will help keep Israeli students tops in tech
Intel’s president came to Israel to announce a $5 million tech education program, while a Canadian philanthropist is giving top tech students $30,000 Canadian in scholarship money

EMC opens EMC Labs in Israel
Data-storage equipment maker EMC Corp said it was opening an EMC Labs in Israel aimed at developing innovative technologies for storage, security and big data.

Refusenik’s Translated Memoir Offers Rare Glimpse Into Soviet Oppression

“Unbroken Spirit, Mendelevich’s memoir, vividly describes the inner workings of Soviet justice and its harsh penal system. The memoir, originally published in 1987 in both Russian and Hebrew, only recently has been translated into English. In a later-added epilogue, the author recalls one westerner’s encouragement to pursue an English speaking audience: “Your story is critical for Jews on this side of the ocean. You can’t imagine the disastrous toll that assimilation is taking on Jewish communities here.”

Re-enactment of WWI Battle of Beersheba
95 years ago, the Ottoman-controlled city of Beersheba fell to troops from Britain, Australian and New Zealand, in a battle that helped bring an end to the Ottoman Empire and the First World War.

Israel Daily Picture: Let's Go to the Videotapes
A Collection of the Earliest Films from the Holy Land

Also:

Turkey puts Israel on trial (Commentary)

For anyone who believes that the Turkish government is more interested in peace than in inciting hatred toward Israel, Turkey’s decision to host a puppet trial of Israeli leaders should put such notions to a rest.

The Saudis are bulldozing Islam's heritage. Why the silence from the Muslim world?

Pig tissue could provide solution for heart damage

Although it doesn’t sound very kosher, scientists at Haifa’s Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have used pig tissue to create a thick “scaffold” for heart muscle that supports human stem cells, preserves the infrastructure of natural blood vessels and are made from extracellular matrix proteins.

Five Things I Learned at my First Anti-Zionist Conference (Heeb)

Islam Today: "Sandy is a soldier of Allah"

The Arabic edition of Islam Today asks: "Hurricane Sandy: Divine punishment or weather phenomenon?"

Here is a paraphrase of the arguments given in this article.

The article curiously starts off by asserting that the US media has been all but ignoring the hurricane, and is concentrating on stories in other parts of the world. Why is the media ignoring such a story, we are asked? Why does the United States fear talking about Sandy? What are the Americans scared of?

The answer, we learn, is that American leaders are afraid to discuss the might of the storm, which cannot be explained as a natural phenomenon, because it shows that for all of the military strength of the US, it cannot defend itself against a storm.

Muslims, however, know that "Allah is severe in punishment," so Sandy must be divine punishment for America's sins.

What sins? Well, Americans interfere with Muslims directly or indirectly, and implement plans prepared by its Jewish lobby for the destruction of the Muslim, leaving widows weeping and screaming, and devastated the economies of Arab peoples - even making them eat garbage.

Moreover, in the name of democracy and freedom the Americans abuse Mohammed and other prophets, including making films that insult the greatest of all prophets.

Thus, Allah chose to punish America, ironically, using the two essential elements of life, namely: water and air. America has a missile shield, and intercontinental missiles, and all the necessary plans for nuclear war, spending billions of dollars, and yet the power of Allah crushed and exterminating Americans using air and water!

You might ask, is this not revenge? But revenge has a good source in the Quran, so that's not a problem!

You might ask further, what about innocent women and children who are killed? Doesn't matter - Allah kills the innocent along with the guilty, as it also states in the Quran.

Summing it up, Islam Today declares that "Sandy is a soldier of Allah" doing his bidding to teach Americans to stop oppressing Muslims so much.

Too bad these brave Muslims didn't have the guts to publish an English version. Perhaps they don't really believe that Allah would protect them with a miraculous hurricane.

BDSers now targeting Jewish-owned toy store

From The Star (South Africa):

Members of the Stop the JNF (Jewish National Fund) campaign gathered outside Reggies toy stores at the weekend in protest at the toy chain’s financial support of the JNF.

In a statement sent out by Cosatu on behalf of the Stop the JNF, the campaign’s members said: “We feel that it is unconscionable that while hundreds of Palestinian children are held in Israeli prisons, a toy shop that purportedly celebrates children is knowingly supporting an Israeli parastatal complicit in gross human rights violations.”

The Stop the JNF campaign members staged protests at three Reggies stores, in Joburg, Durban and Cape Town, yesterday.

The campaign’s national spokesman, Alan Horwitz, said 60 protesters showed up in Joburg, 100 people protested in Durban and 30 in Cape Town. No one was at the stores to accept the protesters’ memorandums.

The South African media helpfully publicized the protests ahead of time on behalf of "Stop the JNF." I have never seen a newspaper give publicity to protests of under a hundred people beforehand.

Apparently, the owner of the store supports the Jewish National Fund, which must be an awful crime that merits the closure of his store and the dozens of employees losing jobs.

Note that the organizers of this self-hate festival are Jewish. In fact, one of them was wearing a yarmulke, to establish his Jew bona-fides.

The protests were on Shabbat, which means it is highly unlikely that this gentleman wears a kipah anytime except when he is protesting proud Jews. [Correction: The newspaper date said Saturday, but the protest was on Sunday. I am willing to bet that he doesn't wear a kipah for every day shopping or work, though.]

Here's another protester:

Nothing says "human rights" like a Che Guevara T-shirt!

The anti-Israel drones are clearly not interested in a few facts I threw their way on their Facebook page that throws cold water on their insistence that JNF is racist:

The leading Palestinian Arab environmentalist works closely with the JNF on a number of initiatives.
The JNF has given land to help Arab towns grow.
The JNF donated 3000 trees to Arab town of Rawabi on the West Bank - but the Arabs uprooted them all!

They are mindless, anti-Israel bigots, and no amount of kipot will detract from that. If it wasn't the JNF they would be protesting something else.

If you are so inclined, you might want to order something from Reggie's.

(h/t Israel Muse)

Arab media enamored with staged video of girl confronting IDF soldiers

This video is going around Arab websites and Facebook:

It is allegedly a girl, along with others, protesting her brother being arrested in Nabi Saleh last Friday, presumably for throwing stones.

Notice how the girl as well as the adult Arabs who are videoing her have absolutely no fear that the Zionist soldiers will hurt them. She even shoves a soldier at one point without thinking that he might retaliate.

The video is supposedly about the girl's bravery, but in fact it shows IDF forbearance.

If the IDF was as evil as they are portrayed in the Arab media, then why are none of the Arabs there afraid that they will be mowed down with bullets? After all, these sorts of actions in many Arab states would indeed be met with arrests, broken bones or deadly gunfire.

Apparently, the Arabs who are under Israel's punishing "occupation" know the truth of how the IDF acts is quite different from how it is described in rallies on Western college campuses.

But there is a punchline.

As Israellycool notes, this same girl, wearing the same shirt, was seen doing pretty much the same thing a few months ago:

What an astonishing coincidence! The very same girl, after becoming a poster child for Israeli brutality, is now back and trying as hard as she can to provoke soldiers again while a half dozen people are conveniently around to videotape her screams!

It puts this video in a whole new light, doesn't it?

Who needs Juliano Mer-Khamis? The territories are one gigantic acting school!

Syrian demonstrators:"To hell with being peaceful, we want an Islamic caliphate"

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from footage of a demonstration that took place in Damascus, which was posted on the Internet on September 14, 2012.
Demonstrator: Oh Bashar, you traitor...
Crowds: Oh Bashar, you traitor...
Demonstrator: We want to instate the Koran.
Crowds: We want to instate the Koran.
Demonstrator: To hell with freedom...
Crowds: To hell with freedom...
Demonstrator: We want an Islamic caliphate.
Crowds: We want an Islamic caliphate.
Demonstrator: To hell with being peaceful...
Crowds: To hell with being peaceful...
Demonstrator: We want weapons and AK-47s.
Crowds: We want weapons and AK-47s.
Demonstrator: To hell with being peaceful...
Crowds: To hell with being peaceful...
Demonstrator: We want weapons and AK-47s.
Crowds: We want weapons and AK-47s.
[...]

Syria: a choice between horrendous and terrible.

More bizarre Fatah accusations of Hamas collaborating with Israel

Yesterday, Mahmoud Abbas' official spokesman declared that the PLO will release confidential documents - stolen, no doubt, by their crack intelligence services who are so secret that they are utterly unknown - that prove that Israel, Hamas and other countries are collaborating in sabotaging the PLO's bid to declare statehood at the UN.

Today, a Fatah spokesman upped the ante, claiming that Israel and Hamas are cooperating in the assassination of Mahmoud Abbas and the liquidation of the PLO's national aspirations.

Ahmed Assaf says that since the 2007 coup in Gaza, Hamas has accepted Israel's existence and Israel in return is pushing a temporary Palestinian Arab state in Gaza, which would be an Islamic emirate that Israel wants to establish on its border.

Assaf said that "it is a shame and disgrace that Hamas stands side by side with Israel in its designs."

He additionally charged that other Arab nations have joined the scheme to frustrate the PLO's move to be recognized as a non-member state at the UN, and that this is also a "shame and a disgrace."

The article also quotes Saeb Erekat, the PLO's chief negotiator and liar extraordinaire, of accusing Hamas of conducting secret contacts with Israel through intermediaries in Switzerland, negotiating a temporary state with provisional borders, the opposite of Hamas' claim that they demand a Palestinian state from the sea to the river.

Assaf said that Hamas' burning of Abbas' photo in effigy over the weekend in reaction to his pretense of abandoning the "right of return" an "offense and an assault on the consciousness and the will of the Palestinian masses." (Hamas also created posters of Abbas, with an Israeli flag behind him, opposite Lord Balfour with the British flag.)

The paranoia among Fatah and PLO leaders is growing, and there is no sign that their mass psychosis is going to slow down anytime soon.

#BDSFail: Batsheva dancers ignore interruptions and get rave reviews

From Scotsman.com:

“Ignore”. That was the first word spoken during a voiceover in the opening moments of Deca Dance. It wasn’t something special, added in for the occasion – it’s always there – but tonight it had a special resonance.

Back in August, when the main Batsheva company played Edinburgh, the dancers paused each time a futile interruption from anti-Israeli protestors came their way. But not this time. Instead, during the eight shout-outs the ensemble (Batsheva’s youth wing) kept right on going.

Created over a period of 20 years by Batsheva’s artistic director, Ohad Naharin, Deca Dance changes almost on a monthly basis. Featuring slow, thought-provoking ensemble pieces, high energy routines, a sensual duet, and quite possibly the most joyous bit of audience interaction you’ll ever see, it’s a work that bears a few repeat viewings.

Aged just 18-23, the ensemble’s dancers are still learning their craft, but they’re already technically strong, sharply synchronised and more than capable of injecting a vast well of emotion into their performance.

What grabs you most about Batsheva, however (both the main company and its funky little ensemble sister), is the way these dancers move. Naharin has devised an entirely unique dance style called Gaga, and it is this that marks his companies out as different. Fluid, dynamic, expansive yet delicate, animalistic yet profoundly human, Gaga gives his dancers a whole other vocabulary with which to speak to us. And, despite the vain attempts to block it, their voices came through loud and clear.

Batsheva Ensemble, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Star rating: * * * *

Another reviewer, Thom Dibdin, called it "a stunning performance of a thoroughly entertaining piece of dance."

I'm glad that the dancers kept on going. Ignoring the idiots who came to disrupt the performance is the smartest way to ensure that the protesters are the ones who are marginalized.

I'm sure it isn't easy to ignore them, but who said representing Israel is easy?

(h/t CiFWatch tweet)

Sudan's foreign minister says America controlled by Jews

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti denounced the United States, describing it as "hypocritical and weak and Machiavellian" and controlled by "a few Jews."

He stated this in response to the US extending sanctions against Sudan for the 15th consecutive year.

Speaking on state radio, Karti described the United States as "hypocritical and Machiavellian and weak," pointing out that the US has issued contradictory statements about Sudan. In recent years the US has praised Sudan as cooperative in the fight against terrorism has commended President Omar al-Bashir's position on the peace agreements with South Sudan.

Karti added that America shows weakness because it is "in the control of a few Jews in the decision-making centers." He stressed that Sudan has nothing to do with terrorism and had no plans to harm U.S. interests.

Sunday links

From Ian:

BBC Watch: Airbrushing terror: the BBC on Abu Jihad

“Unlike the BBC, the Palestinian Authority is quite certain about al Wazir’s connections to terror attacks in which hundreds of Israelis were killed and injured. In fact, as recently as April 2012 the PA organized a week-long celebration of the man and his terror attacks, including the naming of sporting events in his honour, TV broadcasts of footage of him planning a terror operation and the presentation of 125 Israelis killed in attacks he planned as an ‘achievement’.”

Abbas interview aimed to interfere with Israeli elections, Liberman charges

Foreign minister dismisses moderate comments by PA leader as an attempt to strengthen parties ‘who represent Palestinian interests’
"The foreign minister added that Abbas doesn’t say the same things in Arabic that he does in English, and that Israelis who failed to see through the tactic were deluding themselves. “The attempt to lie to ourselves [about Abbas's moderation] amazes me every time,” Liberman said."

Peres praises Abbas for ‘brave’ new statements on peace, Netanyahu dismisses them

Abbas said Thursday he had no territorial claims to pre-1967 Israel and no ‘right’ to return to live in Safed; thousands protest his remarks in Gaza
"But in a statement issued by his office, Netanyahu said there was “no connection” between Abbas’s words and deeds. Abbas had “refused to restart negotiations with Israel for four years despite a series of steps taken by the prime minister to resume them — such as an unprecedented construction freeze in the West Bank,” the statement said. “In addition, Abbas refuses to discuss security arrangements that are necessary to protect Israeli citizens.” Still, the statement said Netanyahu’s offer to restart negotiations and meet with Abbas without preconditions still stands."

Rocket fired from Gaza lands in southern Israel
No injuries or damage reported

Meanwhile - Alan Dershowitz: Following the Elections, Mideast Peace Negotiations Should Resume

Correcting the Record, Haaretz Style

"We saw a similar phenomenon a few years ago when Haaretz published soldiers’ “testimonies” from the Gaza war alleging IDF abuses. Ultimately, the stories were proven bogus, but not before Big Media fulfilled the maxim generally attributed to Mark Twain:
"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."The Globe & Mail shows the truth got halfway around the world. But Levy’s still racing it."

3 Syrian tanks cross into Golan demilitarized zone, Israel raises alert

The Israeli army, which has been braced for Syrian fighting spilling into Israel, reports the incident to UN peacekeepers
"The incident — the first such violation in 40 years — was not regarded as an incident of hostility toward Israel. Rather, the Syrian tanks were apparently facing off against Syrian rebel forces. Nonetheless, Syrian-Israeli relations are relentlessly fraught, and any border incident raises tensions."

Islamist gunmen kill three Egyptian policemen in the Sinai
Assailants ambush cops in El-Arish, shout ‘God is great,’ then flee. [See also how Egyptians are blaming "Zionists."]

Ex-neo-Nazi regrets joining the Taliban
Jailed German jihadist tells court he ended up contracting hepatitis A, and his wife missed her mobile phone and supermarkets

Anti-Semitic incidents in the US down by 13%, ADL audit finds
1,080 occurrences of assault, vandalism and harassment cited

In the midst of a forest, a house for Herzl
An early 20th-century villa built in tribute to the Zionist founder is nestled in the center of the Hulda Forest, surrounded by lush foliage of every variety. A training farm for pioneers, it proved an unlikely retreat during the riots of 1929

Top 10 ways algae boost science, energy and medicine
Israeli scientists find novel approaches to tap into the potential of this slimy plantlike organism for fuel, nutrition and innovative medical therapies.

Voicemail for video

Supermodel Noa Tishby helps launch new Israel-based startup, Minit, for bare-bones video sharing via smartphone.
Noa Tishby, perhaps best known for selling hit Israeli TV series such as In Treatment and Homeland to Hollywood, has joined Minit, a three-person startup based in Tel Aviv making what Tishby describes as “voicemail for video.”

Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan says Halloween party was "satanic and homosexual"

From AFP:

Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday condemned Halloween celebrations held in an Amman cafe as "Satanic" and homosexual, while a newspaper reported acts of vandalism at the party.

"We watched with disgust and shame last night (Friday) homosexual and Satanic rituals in an Amman cafe," the Brotherhood said in a statement on its website.

"This presents a challenge to the values of the Jordanian people and their Arab and Muslim identity, as well as a violation of religious laws," it added.

The group demanded that those who organised the party be tried for the "grotesque act," decrying that such events are allowed to go ahead when the people are "stricken by poverty and amid political crises" in Jordan.

Al-Ghad newspaper, meanwhile, reported that violence broke out when "angry youths tried to prevent the Halloween celebrations from taking place" in the cafe in Amman.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian paper reports of a similar gathering in Egypt where seven people got together in an apartment to practice homosexuality and, yes, Satanism. They were arrested.

Abbas spokesman to release "proof" Israel conspiring with Hamas against PLO

For someone hailed as a serious leader, Abbas sure loves conspiracy theories.

The president's spokesman said late Saturday that the Palestinian Authority will release proof that Arab countries, Palestinian groups and Israel have held secret talks to sabotage the president's bid for a UN upgrade.

"What is this harmony between (Israeli premier Benajmin) Netanyahu and (Foreign Minister Avigdor) Lieberman on the one hand, and between Hamas and Arab parties on the other, in the attack on the president before heading to the United Nations?" Nabil Abu Rudaineh said in a statement.

Local groups, Arab countries and Israel have planned a campaign to thwart President Mahmoud Abbas efforts to upgrade Palestine to a non-member state at the UN General Assembly in the next month, the spokesman alleged.

He warned that they will soon publish confidential files of meetings to that effect.

I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the release of these files.

Abbas has previously insisted that Israel trains wild dogs to attack Arabs and wild pigs to destroy their crops. His Fatah group has previously accused Hamas of collaborating with Israel.

So why is a habitually lying paranoiac considered such a wonderful, moderate leader?

I don't know - ask Thomas Friedman.

The death of Arab secularism (The National)

This is a very useful overview of how Arab secularism has all but disappeared and Islamism has ascended. Excerpts:

The death of Arab secularism is the story of a country that no longer exists and a world almost impossible to imagine.

That world can be glimpsed in old newsreels from the Arab cities of the 1950s and 1960s. The cities of the post-war period - Cairo, Beirut and Damascus, Baghdad and Aden - look much the same as many developing countries of the time: American-built cars, European-style suits, a certain easy mingling of men and women.

The vision of the future the men and women in those over-saturated newsreels had, how they saw their modern world unfolding, cannot easily be understood.

But it can perhaps be surmised from a joke, told by Egypt's leader Gamal Abdel Nasser to an audience in the years after the Muslim Brotherhood was accused of attempting to assassinate him. Nasser described meeting with the Brotherhood's leader in 1953 in an attempt to reconcile the group with his leadership. (Nasser doesn't mention whom he met, but it was most likely Hassan Al Hudaybi, a judge who led the group for 20 years from 1951.)

"The first thing he asked me was to make the wearing of hijab mandatory in Egypt," says Nasser, "and to force every woman walking on the street to wear a hijab." The crowd laughs and Nasser hams it up for them, looking perplexed at such an outlandish request. "Let him wear it!" shouts an audience member, and the crowd erupts in laughter and applause.

But that's not the punchline. Nasser tells Al Hudaybi he knows the Brotherhood's leader has a daughter studying medicine, and his daughter doesn't wear the hijab. "Why haven't you made her wear the hijab?" he asks, before delivering a knockout blow: "If you cannot make one girl - who is your own daughter - wear the hijab," he says, "how do you expect me to make 10 million women wear the hijab, all by myself?" The crowd roars its approval.

Nasser's joke is instructive for the world view it implies. The middle and upper classes of 1950s Egypt considered it ridiculous that the wearing of the hijab could be enshrined in law. Most did not wear it; they considered the proper role of religion to be private, outside the realm of government and politics. Nasser himself explicitly declared the same thing.

Contrast that with today's Egypt, and indeed the wider Arab world, and it is clear how much has changed in just half a century....The days when the very notion of large numbers of women wearing the headscarf was unthinkable have passed into history. Nasser's punchline is now Egypt's reality.

The writer goes into a brief history of how the demise of the Ottoman Empire, which was officially based on Islam, required a new way of thinking to unify the Arab world, and secularism in the form of Nasserism and Baathism was the high-water mark of that attempt with the formation of the United Arab Republic.

He doesn't note the obvious influence of the Iranian revolution on the Islamic revival in the Arab world.

What is left unsaid is that the current Islamist revival is different from the Ottoman model; the Ottoman Empire used religion as a means to maintain unity but it was not driven by religion. Today's pan-Islamic movement, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, is far more extreme and far more dangerous. The Ottoman Empire was still political with the veneer of religion, the new Islamists use an extreme interpretation of Islam that they believe includes politics.

If religious rulings trump political decisions, then all of the rules of international politics go out the window when dealing with the new Islamism. For better or for worse, diplomacy is nearly meaningless to Islamists - it is only a means for them to gain power, not to co-exist. In the Islamist mindset, concessions can only be considered when the alternative is a war they know they cannot win.forc Only force would be respected.

Moreover, when religion defines politics, the extremist interpretations seem to have free reign - even though the Muslim Brotherhood won the Egyptian elections, there has been very little pushback from them on a religious basis on the Salafist attempts to move Egypt even further to extremist Islamism.There are no "moderate" imams who command the respect of the extremists, and the extremists have a monopoly on accusations of blasphemy against their enemies.

People who think that it can be business as usual with the new Islamic states emerging in the Arab world are fooling themselves. And the fatal error from the West is to conflate Islam as a personal religion and Islamism as a political movement. The former, while problematic, is ultimately benign, while the latter is truly evil and must not be coddled by the free world.

(h/t John G)

Arabic media: Tzipi Livni extorted prominent Arabs with sex!

Hubba-hubba!

This story is literally all over the Arabic media based on an original at Egypt's major newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, but the only English translation so far is this one from Gulf Daily News:

Former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni said she had been involved in several special operations during her work with Mossad which involved sexual relations with prominent personalities to extort information for the Israeli intelligence agency. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Livni as telling Time magazine in an interview that she never minded having sex and committing murders to obtain intelligence to benefit her country.

She said she was prosecuted in a number of European countries for murders and sexual extortion but was able to get away due to her government's influence.

The Arabic versions helpfully add:

The former leader of the opposition Kadima party justified the fact that she wasn't involved in any romantic relationship throughout those years, by saying that these kinds of relationships require trust and faith between the spouses and she couldn't build such a relationship with anyone. She said: "Nevertheless, short, passing relationships don't cause pain or damage, if both sides abide by the rules."

Israeli media is amused, noting that Livni had a 2009 interview with the Times of London where she said the exact opposite, that she would never have sex with the enemy when she was in the Mossad. It also quotes a friend of Livni's who says that she was amused by the "revelation."

To its credit, Shorouk News reported that the article was fabricated.

Al Masry al Youm is actually one of the more reliable Egyptian media outlets, which gives you an idea of how reliable Arabic media is altogether.

No correction yet on the Al Masry al Youm website.

(h/t Al Gharqad)

Saturday night links

From Ian:

Rabin's last Knesset speech by Dore Gold

When Rabin began detailing his map he began with what meant most to him: "First and foremost a united Jerusalem ... as the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty." In 1994, he concluded the "Washington Declaration" with King Hussein, which stated that Israel “respects the present role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the Muslim Holy Shrines in Jerusalem." It added that "when negotiations on the permanent status will take place, Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.”

School text book that mixed up Jews and Muslims withdrawn

A error-strewn school religious studies text book has been withdrawn after mixing up Jews and Muslims.
“Staff at the Jewish Free School, in Kenton, North West London, have issued GCSE pupils with a list of corrections. One angry parent of a JFS pupil told the Jewish Chronicle newspaper: "The textbook contains countless errors and general, confused assertions about Judaism. The factual errors are laughably bad."A section headed 'Reform Judaism' in fact talks about the practice of Orthodox Jews. A picture of a person kneeling in prayer, described as a Jew, is in fact a Muslim, while a picture of Jews ostensibly at a Seder table, is a Shabbat meal.”

Abbas: No justification for Gaza rocket attacks

In Channel 2 interview, PA president denounces Hamas, firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel; denies Fayyad resignation.
“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel in an interview with Channel 2 that aired in its entirety Friday night. The comments could deepen a rift between the PA and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and remains committed to terrorism as a tactic in its fight against Israel.
"There is no justification for rockets from Gaza or anywhere else," Abbas said. "Rockets attacks are in vain because they do not bring peace any closer."

Senior Palestinian official says UN upgrade will lead to suing Israel for ‘its crimes’

Nabil Shaath, of Abbas’s Fatah party, claims nonmember status bid will receive ‘overwhelming’ support
“Shaath’s belligerent remarks were in stark contrast to the conciliatory tone struck by Abbas in an interview televised Friday on Israel’s Channel 2, where he declared his willingness to restart peace negotiations.”

Haniyeh blasts Abbas over moderate remarks in Israel TV interview
Hamas PM says PA president’s statement that he does not have the right to live in Safed, where he was born, is ‘extremely dangerous’

UNRWA teachers in Jordan refuse to teach Holocaust

Refusal comes after the UN's Palestinian refugee agency said Holocaust studies would become part of the elementary school syllabus.
“It’s impossible that I would teach my students about the so-called Holocaust. UNRWA is planning to impose this on us, but we refuse to teach the history of our eternal enemies,” he insisted to The Media Line.

'Gaza Ark' flotilla set to break blockade from inside
A ship attempting to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip is set to sail from inside Gaza, taking goods to international markets in the early months of 2013, Ma'an News Agency quoted a Red Crescent official as saying on Friday.

Turkish PM in talks with Hamas to visit Gaza
Erdogan would become second head of state to visit Strip since Hamas takeover in 2007

Syrians choose war over Jordan Zaatari refugee camp

The Zaatari camp in northern Jordan was meant to be a place of refuge for 30,000 Syrians. But every day, dozens are choosing to leave the safety of Jordan and make the perilous journey back into the war zone.
“This place of refuge has become the setting for an increasingly ugly battle between Syrian refugees and their Jordanian hosts. Demonstrations inside the camp have, on at least one occasion, turned violent, prompting an exodus back into Syria.”

UK Raises Terror Level Threat in Egypt

Iranians mark 33rd anniversary of US embassy seizure
Students in Tehran chant ‘death to Israel,’ call Obama Jerusalem’s ‘loyal dog’; Revolutionary Guard commander urges Washington to stop supporting the ‘usurper Zionist regime’

Pelosi holds secret fundraiser with Islamists, Hamas-linked groups
Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi headlined a high-dollar fundraiser in May that was attended by U.S.-based Islamist groups and individuals linked by the U.S. government to the Hamas jihad group and to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood movement.

West Bank security barrier to be adorned with pro-Israel art
As part of initiative, Israeli artists and schoolchildren will paint pictures on Israeli side of barrier depicting terrorist attacks that originated in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas • Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein: From PR standpoint, security barrier has been a burden for Israel.