"New Israel Fund" tries, and fails, to defend its grantees demonizing Israel

Im Tirtzu wrote an open letter to the new head of the New Israel Fund, which funds anti-Israel NGOs:

Dear Mr. Lurie:

We write to ask a simple question: Do you stand by the latest accusations NIF-funded groups are making against Israel?

After Operation Cast Lead in 2009, groups funded by the NIF led a campaign that sought to portray Israel as a war criminal and human rights violator. That campaign culminated in the Goldstone Report, a ruthlessly biased attack on Israel that cited NIF groups hundreds of times. Even Judge Goldstone himself has disowned it.

Now, in the weeks after the latest conflict in Gaza, NIF groups are once again making misleading and unfounded accusations against the IDF.

B’tselem, Adalah, Gisha, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel are claiming that the IDF targeted journalists and civilians, violated international law, and is perpetrating “collective punishment,” a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

In the weeks leading up to Israel’s response, as terrorist rockets forced thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters, none of these groups criticized the attacks or stood up for Israel’s right – its human right, and its right under international law – to defend itself.

Despite this troubling record, we hold out hope for your leadership as the new president of the New Israel Fund. We ask that you hold the groups you fund responsible for the veracity of their accusations, and that you demand just as much accountability from them as they do from the IDF.

And if you do not stand by their latest false accusations, Israelis deserve to know: What will you do to reform the New Israel Fund?

Sincerely,

Im Tirtzu

The Zionist Student Movement

The NIF response is astonishing (not yet online):

In today’s “open letter” to the New Israel Fund chair, the Im Tirtzu organization uses allegation, misrepresentation and outright falsehood to make their case.

* Many fewer civilian lives were lost during Operation Pillar of Defense than in Cast Lead four years ago. This is partially because the Israel Defense Forces, publicly and to its credit, used reports from human rights organizations to improve its operational procedures to better avoid civilian casualties.

The work of NIF-supported human rights organizations saved lives.

The percentage of civilians killed compared to militants in Pillar of Defense is roughly the same as for Cast Lead, about 1 to 1. 

Anyone who has read the IDF responses to Goldstone would know that the processes meant to protect civilians pre-dates Cast Lead. Of course, the IDF is always looking to improve, and it looks at criticism from all corners, but the IDF goes to lengths that are literally unprecedented by any other army to minimize civilian casualties. For the NIF to take credit for this is not only obviously false, but more than a little self-serving. And its comparison of casualties in two completely different scales of conflict is knowingly deceptive.

NIF's response is false.

* For three years, Im Tirtzu has accused the Israeli human rights community of being the prime source for the Goldstone report. Repeating a lie loudly and frequently doesn’t make it so. An objective analysis proved that less than two percent of the Goldstone Report’s negative findings about the IDF during Operation Cast Lead were attributable to human rights organizations (link); the vast majority of information came from public sources in the Israeli government and military.

Im Tirtzu does not make that claim in this open letter. It says that the anti-Israel campaign from NGOs culminated in the Goldstone Report and that NIF grantees were cited extensively. Im Tirtzu's language here is mostly accurate (maybe not "hundreds of times" but well over a hundred.) NIF's response is false.

*       Not one of the human rights organizations Im Tirtzu attacks accused Israel of war crimes in the recent Gaza action. One organization signed a letter asking for investigation of possible breaches of the Geneva convention by both sides in the conflict.

In Im Tirtzu's fact sheet, they document  the accusations with citations:

A B’Tselem statement the day after Operation Pillar of Defense began accused Israel of targeting civilians: “As was the case four years ago [in Operation Cast Lead], Israeli officials are now using the conduct of Palestinian organizations to justify harm to Palestinian civilians….The fact that one side violates the law does not give the other side the right to violate it as well.” (HERE) Days later, B’Tselem accused Israel of targeting journalists (HERE) despite the fact that the “journalists” were well-known senior terrorists in Hamas and Islamic Jihad. (HERE) Adalah, another flagship NIF grantee – it seeks as an official position the end of Israel as a Jewish State – accused Israel of “a serious violation of the laws of war.” (HERE)   Sari Bashi, the executive director of Gisha, accused Israel of “collective punishment” during the conflict. (HERE) Collective punishment is a war crime under Article 33 of the 4^th Geneva Convention. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel signed a statement claiming, without offering any specifics, “concrete evidence indicating the commission of war crimes” by Israel. The statement also blamed Israel entirely for Hamas’s rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and called for another Goldstone-style “investigation” of Israel at the United Nations. (HERE) 

NIF's response is false.

The NIF response letter continues:

*   The right to dissent is often a casualty of war. After Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s human rights community were threatened and vilified and it is now happening again. As in any conflict anywhere, it is the responsibility of human rights groups to monitor and report, and it is their right and everyone’s to offer opinions regarding the conduct of the conflict. While NIF does not necessarily agree with the positions of the many organizations we support, we staunchly defend their right to do their jobs, dissent from the majority based on their own analyses, and point out controversial issues of concern.

Here, the NIF is acknowledging that they cannot defend everything that the organizations they fund do - but they are willing to continue to fund them nonetheless! Is there any oversight? Are there any checks and balances? Are there any reviews of issues that the NIF might find problematic? Or is an organization's criticism of Israel enough to give it the benefit of the doubt?

Moreover, it is a bit hypocritical to complain about NGO's being "vilified" when that is exactly what they do to Israel, every day. The simple fact is that the NGOs must adhere to the standards they demand from the Israeli government and the IDF. Demanding that their biases, their sources of funding, their methodologies and the identity and affiliations of their researchers be exposed is simply asking them to be transparent - something that any legitimate watchdog organization should welcome. They draw conclusions about Israeli motivations using far, far less credible evidence than their detractors use to criticize them. It is when they stonewall on this vital information that we can start to wonder if they are as pure and objective as they claim to be.

Any unbiased observer must conclude that they are not - far from it. And this letter from NIF proves it.

This doesn't mean that what they do is worthless - all democracies must have checks and balances, and Israel is no exception. But when they cross the line from truth into lies, as the NIF response does, it is reasonable to question everything else about them.

It is not a small matter. While the NGOs claim that they are working to save people's lives, their work can also endanger people's lives. The debate as to where the line must be drawn between valuing some lives and endangering other lives during wartime is a valuable one, and one that the IDF does every day with or without the NIF.

Criticism is fine - but lies are not. This response shows that, apparently, the funder of these anti-Israel NGOs does not know the difference.

(h/t N.)

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Iran stymies IAEA again

From Reuters:

Inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog arrived in Tehran on Thursday to hold talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program but there was no sign they would gain access to the Parchin military complex as requested.

The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) said "no plans were announced yet for inspectors to visit Iran's nuclear facilities or other sites", without giving a source.

Thursday's talks in Tehran are the first such meeting between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran since August.

The IAEA wants an agreement that would enable its inspectors to visit a military complex, Parchin, and other sites that it suspects may be linked to what it has called the "possible military dimensions" to Iran's nuclear program.

The nuclear watchdog believes Iran has conducted explosives tests with possible nuclear applications at Parchin, a sprawling facility southeast of Tehran, and has repeatedly asked for access.

The IAEA had previously expressed frustration at being denied access the Parchin, which satellite images show as a site of very suspicious activity.

Evidence of a military component to Iran's nuclear program has been mounting steadily.

Today, ISIS says:

The latest commercial satellite imagery from the alleged Parchin high explosive test site in Iran shows a steady pace of what appears to be the “reconstruction” phase of the site which between April and July 2012 had undergone considerable alterations. Such alterations included building demolitions and earth displacement. Figures 1 through 4 provide a reverse timeline of imagery starting from the latest changes to before major alterations began in late spring 2012.

(h/t CHA)

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Hamas terror rally in Nablus draws tens of thousands (updated)

Palestine Times has lots of photos from today's Hamas anniversary celebration rally in Nablus, the first such rally there since the Fatah/Hamas split:

That would be the women in the back.

Fun for the whole family!

The rally included signs and speeches giving praise to rockets that were aimed at Israeli civilians and the Al Qassam Brigades terror group.

Fatah media says that Fatah members also joined the celebration, and it was broadcast on PA TV. I don['t see any yellow flags, though.

It will be interesting to compare the size of this demonstration with the planned Fatah rally in Gaza on January 1, which is the 49th anniversary of Fatah's first terror attack, a failed attempt to damage Israel's water carrier. (Yes, that is really what the "moderate" Fatah celebrates every year.)

What the US and EU utterly ignore is the fact that if elections were held today, Hamas would win again. Pushing Israel to make concessions to an artificial PA that is not supported by even half of its own people has nothing to do with peace; it is more like a psychosis where the fake "peace process" is given magic powers that would somehow transcend what the Palestinian Arabs want.

And they want what Hamas says explicitly.

UPDATE: (I made this photo into a separate post for a caption contest...)

It doesn't get any more phallic than this!

Which explains the appeal of the props to a certain portion of the population...

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Which newspaper reported "settlers stormed Joseph's Tomb"?

We are used to seeing headlines of "settlers" "storming" Jewish holy places in Eretz Yisrael in Arabic media, specifically in media associated with Islamists.

Here's one from today:

Settlers storm "Joseph's Tomb" in Nablus

Dozens of extremist settlers led religious prayers in "Joseph's Tomb" near the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus after a number of Israeli military vehicles stormed the city. Local sources said the occupation forces stormed the city from the eastern side, accompanied by a number of Israeli buses where settlers performed religious rituals in "Joseph's Tomb" in Nablus under heavy guard by the occupation forces. According to the sources, the Israeli occupation forces stormed several neighborhoods in the city but no arrests were reported so far.

This is not from a Hamas or Islamic Jihad website - but from Ma'an (Arabic.)

Ma'an prides itself on being unbiased and adhering to generally accepted journalistic standards. But in Arabic, its language is indistinguishable from the Islamists.

Of course, under existing agreements, Jews have the right to worship in Joseph's Tomb, and the IDF regularly coordinates visits with the PA security forces. Jews from both sides of the Green Line visit the holy place.

Often, the Arabs in the area start throwing stones at the worshipers and soldiers protecting them when these scheduled visits occur, which is what happened today. But you'd have to read Islamic Jihad media to even know that.

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Abbas' lie of the day: "Hamas recognizes Israel"

From YNet:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blasted Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal for asserting that his group will never recognize Israel, hinting that the statement hinders the chances of the two-state solution, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

“I don’t agree with Khaled Mashaal’s statement on the non-recognition of Israel because we, in fact, recognized it in 1993,” Abbas told reporters in Ankara at the conclusion of a two-day visit. “A four-article agreement between (Fatah and Hamas) stipulates a two-state vision. And Mashaal approved of this agreement."

So what is this four-article agreement that Hamas signed that accepted a two-state solution?

Apparently, it is not the 2011 Cairo agreement, which has five articles, but it is the 2007 Mecca national-unity agreement between the two.

Here is the full text:

Based on the generous initiative announced by Saudi King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz and under the sponsorship of his majesty, Fatah and Hamas Movements held in the period February 6–8, 2007 in Holy Mecca the dialogues of Palestinian conciliation and agreement and these dialogues, thanks to God, ended with success and an agreement was reached on the following:

First: to stress on banning the shedding of the Palestinian blood and to take all measures and arrangements to prevent the shedding of the Palestinian blood and to stress on the importance of national unity as basis for national steadfastness and confronting the occupation and to achieve the legitimate national goals of the Palestinian people and adopt the language of dialogue as the sole basis for solving the political disagreements on the Palestinian arena.
Within this context, we offer gratitude to the brothers in Egypt and the Egyptian security delegation in Gaza who exerted tremendous efforts to calm the conditions in Gaza Strip in the past period.

Second: Final agreement to form a Palestinian national unity government according to a detailed agreement ratified by both sides and to start on an urgent basis to take the constitutional measures to form this government.

Third: to move ahead in measures to activate and reform the PLO and accelerate the work of the preparatory committee based on the Cairo and Damascus Understandings.
It has been agreed also on detailed steps between both sides on this issue.

Fourth: to stress on the principle of political partnership on the basis of the effective laws in the PNA and on the basis of political pluralism according to an agreement ratified between both parties.

We gladly announce this agreement to our Palestinian masses and to the Arab and Islamic nation and to all our friends in the world. We stress on our commitment to this agreement in text and spirit so that we can devote our time to achieve our national goals and get rid of the occupation and regain our rights and devote work to the main files, mainly Jerusalem, the refugees, the Aqsa Mosque, the prisoners and detainees and to confront the wall and settlements.

Apparently, Abbas is claiming that the fourth paragraph binds Hamas to existing PNA laws which implicitly accept Israel (it is the PLO that accepted Israel, that is out of the scope of what the PA can do.)

This agreement has been abrogated numerous times since it was signed, and in fact the Hamas uprising that cut Gaza off from the West Bank - with scores killed - occurred only a few months after this agreement.

Obviously, Hamas never interpreted this agreement, nor the Cairo agreement, the way Abbas pretends they do. Hamas has explicitly and repeatedly stressed that it will never accept Israel's existence.

So which do you believe - a strained interpretation of intentionally vague language that doesn't even mention anything about a two-state solution or Israel itself, of Hamas' explicit daily threats to destroy Israel?

The entire purpose of Abbas' lies is to try to convince the West that the split between the two parties is nothing, really, and that they are really unified.

In fact, if they agree on anything, it is that Israel must be destroyed - they just disagree on the timing and tactics. (And sometimes, Fatah leaders seem to agree more with Hamas on even those.)

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The Darwin Award, Hebron-edition (updated)

Here is how Palestine Press Agency reports the shooting of a 17-year old in Hebron yesterday:

When a child is born no one knows what will happen to him from the hassles and difficulties of life, but the most beautiful thing is the feeling that Allah has prepared for martyrs who believed in their covenant with God.

This is what happened with the young Muhammad Ziad Awad Salamiyah, 17, of the city of Hebron, when an Israeli soldier with no concept of humanity and whose vocabulary is filled with hatred shot the martyr Salamiyah near the Ibrahimi Mosque on Wednesday to receive the martyr certificate while smiling as he was at birth.

The martyr, according to the statements of those close to him, was going to buy sweets to celebrate his birthday, carrying with him a lighter pistol, but Israeli hatred did not differentiate between reality and illusion and their goal is to kill by any means and with any justification.

The Palestinian president strongly condemned the crime and accused Israel of trying to drag the region into a spiral of violence by killing innocent and defenseless of our people.

Salamiyah in fact pulled out the fake pistol and threatened the soldiers with it.

Here is a photo of the pistol:

The only question is - was Salamiyah a complete idiot for pulling this out in front of soldiers who have been subject to daily attacks , or was he actively looking for martydom as a birthday present?

While the death is tragic, the gene pool is a little better today.

(h/t CHA for photo and Alya Express News for the idea)

UPDATE: No, it wasn't stupidity - it was terror:

The officer, a 20-year-old from Tel Aviv, recounted the events in interviews with Israeli media late Tuesday night, saying that she and two border police soldiers under her command were manning a checkpoint near the Cave of the Patriarchs when the young Palestinian approached them.

“Following the standard procedure, the soldier who was with me asked him for an ID,” she said. “The Palestinian handed him his documents and I entered the room to run a background check.”

While inside, she continued, she looked out and saw that the Palestinian had charged the soldier and drawn what appeared to be a pistol.

“With one hand,” she related, “he grabbed the soldier’s neck and pressed against him, and with the other he put the pistol to the soldier’s temple. In that situation, the soldier couldn’t break free or react.”

The female officer, who was only a few meters away, cocked her weapon.

“I was looking for an angle from which to fire without hurting the soldier,” she said, and it was only after she ascertained that his life was in danger that she pulled the trigger.

“After the first shot, he continued to hold the pistol to the soldier’s temple, so I fired two more bullets,” she said, at which point the Palestinian fell to the ground, and she quickly kicked the gun away.

“It was my first time in a combat situation,” she said, explaining that she had reacted “exactly like I was taught.”

With a gun being held to the soldier’s head, there was no way she could fire a warning shot, the officer said. “My subordinate’s life was in immediate danger,” and it was important to fire without hitting him, she said.

She rebutted the notion of her being a hero, saying: “Any soldier in my position would have done the same.”

(h/t 1Biodegradable1)

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Muslim Brotherhood tortures opponents, part 2

I recently posted about a literal torture chamber run by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

That was only the tip of the iceberg:

On 5 December, violent clashes raged for hours between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsy, after the latter attacked a sit-in outside the presidential palace by protesters rejecting the constitutional declaration and a snap referendum on the constitution.

A total of 49 people were captured, beaten and kept overnight in makeshift holding cells as their captors interrogated them about their affiliations and the reason for their presence in the vicinity of the fighting.

But they were not arrested by police or military forces — according to numerous eyewitnesses and personal accounts, supported by video evidence, civilians affiliated with the ruling Muslim Brotherhood were the ones who kept them captive for hours under the eye of security forces.

Their protracted ordeal ended after members of the prosecution arrested the group, then ordered their release the next day in the absence of evidence of any wrongdoing on their part.

Some of those captured say they felt like prisoners of war. Others assumed they’d fallen into the hands of a private security apparatus.

Their testimonials leave one thing certain: that night, Islamist groups ran sovereign detention centers they’d created in the area around the presidential palace, imposing their authority on captured protesters as well as the security forces on hand.

Former diplomat Yehia Negm, computer engineer Mohamed Omar and Popular Socialist Alliance Party member Ramy Sabry were among the unfortunate group of 49 detained.

A group of Morsy supporters ganged up on each of them, beating them severely then dragging each to the detention centers set up around the palace.

Omar was caught while delivering medical supplies to the field hospital set up at a gas station on the opposition side.

“They captured me, trashed the supplies and accused me of bringing medicine to the non-believers beating them up. They abducted me, I fell and they dragged me on the ground,” he recalls.

Omar says the mob beat him with anything their hands could reach, including a large billboard that landed on his head and cut him deeply.

When he tried to convince them to ease up, their response shocked him into silence. “I told them when the Prophet took over Mecca, he let non-believers go in peace. They told me ‘you are worse than the Prophet’s enemies in Mecca.’ I didn’t know what more to say.”

Drenched in blood, their hands and feet were tied up with a rough material that left visible marks, receiving minimal medical attention from Brotherhood-affiliated doctors, who were the only ones allowed in the area.
...
According to the three witnesses, police forces were not only unable to intervene and stop the attacks against protesters, but also took orders from the Brotherhood leaders on the scene.

A weak cordon of Central Security Forces was the only thing separating detainees from a larger, angrier pro-Morsy mob.

“I asked the police officer, ‘How can you let them beat us up while you’re standing there?’ He said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m following orders,” says Omar.

The three say the leader of the group was referred to as Dr. Alaa, and he frequently went inside the presidential palace and came back to continue assaulting them, a clear indication of coordination with the state.

Add torture and mob rule to the list of President Morsi's accomplishments in office.

Morsi looks a lot like Mubarak, but without the ability to think past the 15th century.

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Bonus Chanukah video: Yeshiva Boys Choir "Daddy Come Home"

(Not my cup of tea, but a lot of people like this.)

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Trading girls in Yemen creates forced marriages

From Now (Lebanon):

Exchange, or tradeoff, marriages provide a suitable solution to address the problem of high dowries and dire living conditions in Yemen. The idea sounds strange, more like a bartering of goods as in the past, except that goods are replaced by women in this case. Basically, whoever is unable to pay the dowry of the girl he wants marry has to offer his sister to be married to the bride’s brother. Both men thus avoid paying dowries, while the bridegroom’s sister is denied her right to choose her husband, or even her right to a dowry.

In an exchange marriage, if a man divorces his wife, her parents force her brother to divorce his own wife as well. The brother can refuse to do so, but in a country like Yemen, custom rather than law prevails.

Exchange marriages are common in Yemen, says Yemeni Human Rights Minister Huriya Mashhour, especially in rural areas, though there are no statistics on the prevalence of this form of union, which has been around for ages.

Yemen is known for marriage practices that disenfranchise women, especially its reputation as one of the child marriage capitals of the world. According to Human Rights Watch, “Yemeni government and United Nations data show that approximately 14 percent of girls in Yemen are married before age 15, and 52 percent are married before age 18. In some rural areas, girls as young as 8 are married.”

Many in Yemen get married without notifying any officials, as marriage is often limited to a contract signed in front of a sheikh in a mosque. Women are thus forced to enter wedlock without giving their consent and with no rights—slavery under a social and religious cloak.

Ahlam was married to Salem this way, and Salem had his own sister marry Ahlam’s brother. Problems arose between Salem and Ahlam as a crisis developed between her brother and his sister. Salem thus kicked her out of the house when her brother did the same with his own wife. Then Salem divorced Ahlam when his sister and her brother got divorced. Salem did not care the least about the fact that Ahlam had nothing to do with the problems between her brother and his wife, nor did he pay any attention to their children.

Salem told NOW, “I was happy with my wife and children, but when my sister got divorced, they asked me to divorce my wife. I proposed that each mother would have her own children but my stepbrother refused, saying that he wanted his children to remain with him. So I did the same and took my sons away from their mother.”

The article goes on to say that this is against Islamic law.

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Photos of Jews "desecrating" Temple Mount for Chanukah

Arab media is livid - as always - that Jews have the audacity to visit the site of the first and second Temples, especially during a holiday that celebrates the re-dedication of that same Temple.

Qudsmedia notes - correctly - that the Jews are making visiting the site a daily occurrence, with the intent that it is considered a basic right and that Arabs would get used to it. The Muslims are bringing in lots of Muslim students from schools on field trips to strengthen their own presence there.

More than sixty settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque before prayers Monday afternoon via the Mughrabi Gate, and organized a tour in various parts of the al-Aqsa mosque interspersed with performing some biblical and Talmudic rituals, all amid tight security by the occupation forces. They were storming collectively and in two batches, and an atmosphere of tension and anger to this intrusion and desecration prevailed, in the presence of hundreds of Muslim students in the project to revive interest in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Here are a couple of photos of the evil Jewish desecrators, in what looks like a nice Chanukah field trip:

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Israel lit up for the Festival of Lights

Cool photo from NASA and Google:

From the Consulate General of Israel in New York.

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Chanukah video night 5: Bubala Please

Some strong language, but amusing:



(h/t Yerushalimey)

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Wednesday links

From Ian:

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California College Students Press for Hatred of Israel

"After the California Assembly passed resolution HR 35, which "Calls upon officials of California public post secondary educational institutions to increase their efforts to condemn acts of anti-Semitism on their campuses," the University of California Students Association Board of Directors drafted a petition which opposes HR 35."

Barry Rubin: A Turning Point in Egypt: Not on Direction But on the Speed of Islamist Transformation

"President Mursi has rescinded much of his decree claiming total power right now. But he could accomplish much the same thing after the Constitution is confirmed and perhaps by forcing reinstatement of the parliament whose election was declared invalid by a court. At any rate, Mursi's concession has not quieted the demonstrations--another sign that concessions in the Middle East don't bring agreements--and so this crisis isn't going away.
There are three broad possibilities: the regime will fall; the opposition will be repressed; or there will be an increasingly violent civil war."

Abbas’ Fatah Praises Hamas’ Call For Israel’s Demise

"The Roman statesman Cato the Elder is remembered by history for concluding his speeches with the words, “Carthage must be destroyed.” Today, the refrain from Hamas is that “Israel must be destroyed” – and Fatah wants to unite with them. The international response? Negotiations with Fatah/PA. Where the facts are so radically at variance with received wisdom, change comes hard and slow. But until Israel drops the politically correct pretense that the Abbas regime is a peace-maker, it is difficult to imagine this changing."

FM, Livni slam world stance on Israel-Palestinian conflict

Some world leaders would sacrifice Israel "without batting an eyelash," Liberman tells 'The Jerusalem Post' Diplomatic Conference; Livni: International community still equating IDF, terrorist casualties.
"When push comes to shove many world leaders will be willing to sacrifice Israel without batting an eyelash," Liberman said in his address. "We are not willing to become a second Czechoslovakia and sacrifice vital security interests."

Congressional letter urges Obama to shut PLO office

"Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Howard Berman (D-Calif.), Edward Royce (R-Calif.) and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) are circulating the letter that says the lawmakers are “deeply disappointed and upset that the Palestinian leadership rebuffed the entreaties of your Administration and the Congress” by requesting non-member observer state status at the United Nations."

IDF: Offices searched in Ramallah served terror
IDF troops break into Women's Union, the Palestinian NGO Network and Addameer offices, confiscate computers.

"The army carried out searches overnight of offices in Ramallah used by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization, an IDF spokeswoman said on Tuesday."

IDF Defends Policy of Restraint Following Multiple Stone-Throwing Incidents

"At a press briefing a senior IDF officer in the West Bank defended the army’s policy of restraint. “The policy has led to safer roads and fewer casualties. Had we fired indiscriminately during the many protests surrounding Operation Pillar of Defense and shot at every 13-year-old stone thrower, then we would have seen the operation spill over to the West Bank,” he said."

BBC Watch: BBC sidesteps Hamas terrorism and oppression in order to advance a narrative

"But no less disturbing to them should be the fact that a campaigning organization such as the ISM – the whole raison d’etre of which is to discredit, defame and destroy Israel – is capable of being more open and honest about Hamas oppression of women than the BBC."

Another Star Soccer Play Denies Involvement With Anti-Israel Petition

"Eden Hazard has denied any involvement with a petition released last Friday supporting Palestinian Arab groups and protesting the European Under 21 Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Israel next year.
The petition was organized by former Tottenham and Sevilla striker Frederic Kanoute, and also featured the name of former Chelsea star Didier Drogba, who has since denied involvement."

Obama planning direct talks with Iran; US will strike in 4-5 months if they don’t bear fruit, Israeli TV report says
Channel 10 News says US president keeping Israel out of the loop, holds Netanyahu personally responsible for leaks from UN reports

"The channel’s veteran diplomatic correspondent Emmanuel Rosen reported that President Barack Obama had decided to bypass Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and leave Israel out of the loop. Rosen said that Obama believed Netanyahu was personally behind a recent series of purported leaks from reports produced by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) about the Iranian program."

Iran: Proud of Our Support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad
Iran boasts close relations with the terrorist organizations operating in Gaza, says the relations are better than ever.

"Iran is continuing to boast close relations with the terrorist organizations operating in Gaza.
A spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the relations between Iran and both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are better than they have ever been."

Anti-Semitism 'doubled' after Middle East conflict
Police have been asked to take "proactive measures" to prevent further anti-Semitic incidents across Britain, after November's Israel-Gaza clashes prompted a spike in anti-Semitism.

"The Community Security Trust (CST), which monitors anti-Semitic incidents, suggested a possible doubling in the total number took place during one week in the London area as a result of violence in the Middle East."

Dutch Jews slam sale of debris from Nazi camps
Management claim revenues will be used for the sites’ preservation

"The Dutch Central Jewish Board condemned two recent incidents involving the sale by museums of debris from Nazi concentration camps.
On Sunday, the board issued a statement slamming the sale of debris from Camp Vught, which was a transit camp for Jews located in the southern Netherlands."

British PM Announces First 'Tech Envoy to Israel'
British PM announced creation of a “tech envoy to Israel" as part of a move to encourage further co-ordination between the two countries.

“Just last week the Tech Hub and UKTI brought over 19 Israeli tech companies over here to meet the best of British companies and investors. And I am delighted to announce today that we are appointing Saul Klein, someone with huge experience in early-stage investment, to be the UK’s first tech envoy to Israel," Cameron continues.

Israeli scientist awarded prestigious physics prize
Zohar Komargodski recognized for his work on dynamics of four-dimensional field theories

"This is the second consecutive year that a Weizmann Institute alumnus has received an award from the prestigious Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation. Last year, an inaugural Fundamental Physics Prize was awarded to Weitzmann graduate Nathan Seiberg, who is now also at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton."

Israel’s China challenge
The world’s second-largest economic power knows very little about Israel, although those who wish us ill have been telling it plenty. We should and can change that, and the sooner the better

"Younger Chinese journalists, by contrast, are less focused on Palestinian cries of victimhood, unimpressed by the underdeveloped and failing Arab states, and more excited by the innovation and creativity of Israel. Set against that, though, is the party’s traditional identification with the underdog, since China sees itself as constantly filling that role itself, whether in its relationship to the British, the West, and/or the Japanese. The Chinese recognize that Israel is tiny and outnumbered, but Israel has the US in its corner, so that leaves the Palestinians as underdogs. The IDF and the Mossad enjoy almost mythical status here, but again, that leaves the Palestinians as the weaker party."

Navajo President Visits Israel, Lends Support

Navajo Nation president arrived in Israel amid Hanukkah celebrations, to learn about the country’s agricultural programs and tourism.

Israel Daily Picture: Who Was the American Preacher Who Took This Rare 1859 Picture of the Western Wall?

It was Mendel Diness who also took this photo of a derelict looking Dome of the Rock in 1859.

Notice the weeds?

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Also:
The day of the dhimmi is done

New Fatah logo erases Israel

The first war of national liberation 

How do goods get to Gaza? (IDF Blog)

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"Rabin would have cancelled the Oslo accords and sent Arafat back to Tunisia"

From Shmuel Hollander, former cabinet secretary under Yitzchak Rabin and Shimon Peres, in Ma'ariv (excerpted by MFA):

The author, who served as Cabinet Secretary to the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his successor Shimon Peres, declares: "I have no doubt that if he had not been murdered, Yitzhak Rabin would have cancelled the Oslo accords and sent Arafat and his cohorts back to Tunisia," and adds: "I sobered up at that time, with great pain, from the vision of peace in which I believed and which crumbled before my eyes in the blood of innocent Jews."

The paper avers that "Whoever talks about 'two states for two peoples' is, for all intents and purposes, talking about establishing a Hamas state in Judea and Samaria in addition to Gaza since it is clear that Hamas will take control of Judea and Samaria, whether by elections or violence (as in Gaza). This means an Iranian proxy a few kilometers from the heart of Israel."

The author asserts: "The gap between Israel's positions, including moderate elements among the public, and the Palestinians is immense and unbridgeable. Not in our time," and bids his readers closely read Khaled Mashaal's recent speech in Gaza.

The paper suggests that "Even if there was not even one settlement in Judea and Samaria, it would not be possible to reach a lasting peace," and adds: "Whoever accuses the Government of halting the diplomatic process and promises to change the situation is selling the public an illusion with no basis in reality. It would be better to tell the truth: We are fated to continue fighting for our land and our lives and to live on our swords for a long time, as in the past 100 years. It is much easier to become caught up in the euphoria of peace, as in the days of Oslo. The truth is hard and painful, but it is preferable to illusions."

(h/t Yoel)

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What do Jordan and Denmark have in common? Advising Jews to hide their Jewishness.

From Times of Israel:

The Jordanian Tourism Ministry on Wednesday warned Israeli visitors not to wear outwardly Jewish garb while visiting the Hashemite Kingdom and to avoid performing Jewish rituals during their stay.

According to a copy of a ministry memo issued at the end of November, Amman instructed Jordanian tour operators to inform their Israeli counterparts to advise Israeli visitors not to wear “Jewish dress” or perform “religious rituals in public places” so as to prevent an unfriendly reaction by Jordanian citizens.

The Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents forwarded on the imperative to Jordanian tour operators, one of whom forwarded a copy to The Times of Israel.

Here is the warning notice. It came as a result of Jordanians complaining about Jewish tourists acting too Jewish for refined Jordanian tastes.

Good thing something like that could never happen in more civilized countries, right? Oh, wait:

Israeli and Jewish officials in Denmark on Wednesday warned Jews to avoid openly wearing religious symbols and dress when moving about Copenhagen amid rising anti-Israeli sentiment.

"We advise Israelis who come to Denmark and want to go to the synagogue to wait to don their skull caps until they enter the building and not to wear them in the street, irrespective of whether the areas they are visiting are seen as being safe," Israel's ambassador to Denmark, Arthur Avnon, told AFP.

Avnon added that visitors were also advised not to "speak Hebrew loudly" or demonstrably wear Star of David jewelry.

Denmark's national Jewish Religious Community organisation has also advised its members, and those at the private Jewish school in Copenhagen, to exercise caution.

Caroline Jewish School headmaster Jan Hansen told daily Jyllands-Posten: "It is not something that we do officially, but if the issue comes up we would say (to our pupils) they should think twice before walking into certain areas of Copenhagen with a skull cap or Star of David."

The warnings come a few weeks after an attack on the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen in the wake of increasing cross-border tensions between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and Israeli plans to expand settlements.

Some 20 demonstrators lobbed stones and fireworks at the embassy building on November 19. Graffiti with the word "childkillers" was painted on the embassy entrance wall.

No one was hurt in the incident and one person has since been charged in the attack.

Avnon said that after the attack, a lower-ranking officer from Denmark's foreign ministry had called the embassy offering to pay for some of the damage to the building, but that otherwise official Denmark had not reacted to the incident.

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