Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Israeli Intelligence Likely Saved Thousands of Syrian Lives

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ New York Times

In the last days of November, Israel’s top military commanders called the Pentagon to discuss troubling intelligence that was showing up on satellite imagery: Syrian troops appeared to be mixing chemicals at two storage sites, probably the deadly nerve gas sarin, and filling dozens of 500-pounds bombs that could be loaded on airplanes.

Within hours President Obama was notified, and the alarm grew over the weekend, as the munitions were loaded onto vehicles near Syrian air bases. In briefings, administration officials were told that if Syria’s increasingly desperate president, Bashar al-Assad, ordered the weapons to be used, they could be airborne in less than two hours — too fast for the United States to act, in all likelihood.

What followed next, officials said, was a remarkable show of international cooperation over a civil war in which the United States, Arab states, Russia and China have almost never agreed on a common course of action.

Read the rest.

Egypt’s Constitution May Prevent Bahais from Enrolling in Public Schools

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Egypt Independent

The education minister has repeated remarks that Bahais cannot enroll in public schools, saying it violates the Constitution. “The Constitution only recognizes the three Abrahamic religions,” Ibrahim Ghoneim told Akbar Al-Youm newspaper Saturday. “And as religion is a subject taught in schools, they do not meet the requirements for enrollment.”

Ghoneim had told Al-Sabah newspaper the same statement in November, when he was asked, “What is the position of the ministry concerning the children of Bahais? Do they have the right to enroll in a [ministry-affiliated] school?” The minister responded by saying, “The state only recognizes three religions, and the Bahai faith is not among them. Thus their children do not have the right to register in government schools.”

And

An Egyptian official admitted on Monday that Bahai children will face major problems enrolling in state-run schools as a result of the new Constitution. Mohamed al-Sorougy, the Education Minister's media adviser, told Ona news agency that Egyptian Bahais will face problems enrolling because the new Constitution only recognizes three religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

Sorougy didn’t confirm or deny statements by Education Minister Ibrahim Ghoneim saying that Bahais are forbidden from enrolling in public schools because of the Constitution. He said, however, that 2 million children enroll annually in the schools and that creating a problem for a few of them is not right.

The problems facing Bahai children are further complicated by Article 60 of the new Constitution, which mandates religious education in state schools. Muslims and Christians study their own religions, but the government is unsure how to offer Bahais religious instruction if they enroll in schools.

Head of Iran's Quds Force Met with Morsi Advisors

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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Around a week ago reports started appearing in the Arabic press, sometimes quoting the Israeli media, suggesting that the head of Iran’s Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, recently met with an adviser to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

The Times now confirms the reports.

Egypt’s Islamist Government has enlisted covert help from Iran to strengthen its grip on power, dealing another blow to Cairo’s fragile relationship with the West. Qassem Suleimani, Iran’s spy chief, visited the Egyptian capital just after Christmas for two days of talks with senior officials close to President Mohamed Morsi, The Times has learnt.

Mr Suleimani, who oversees Iran’s proxy militias across the region, including Hezbollah and Hamas, travelled at the invitation of Mr Morsi’s Government and his powerful backers in the Muslim Brotherhood.

The spy chief met Essam al-Haddad, foreign affairs adviser to Mr Morsi, and officials from the Brotherhood to advise the government on building its security and intelligence apparatus independent of the national intelligence services, which are controlled by Egypt's military.

… Two members of the Muslim Brotherhood's "guidance office" Maktab al-Irshad confirmed details of Mr Suleimani's visit. "The government requested a high-level meeting with Iranian officials. Iran sent Suleimani," said one official.

"The meeting was intended to send a message to America, which is putting pressure on the Egyptian government, that we should be allowed to have other alliances with anyone we please."

Soleimani was recently deemed the “World’s Most Dangerous Person.”

Tuesday Morning Links

From Ian:

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David Frum: Where is the Palestinian state-in-embryo?

"Palestinian nationalism often seems a mirror-image of the Zionist project, but with this one crucial difference: Over the half century before the foundation of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement pre-built the institutions of a state. The Zionist movement built not only a proto-government and the elements of an army, but charitable institutions, educational institutions, even artistic institutions.The Jewish state, when it came, was voted by the UN. But it was in no sense a gift from anybody, let alone an international organization."

PLO Officials: No 'Palestine' Passport for Now

Abbas will not rush to issue "State of Palestine" passports, fearing a conflict with Israel, PLO officials claim.

Alan Dershowitz: President's Nomination of Hagel May Encourage Iran's Nuclear Ambitions

"President Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense risks increasing the likelihood that Iran will develop nuclear weapons. It poses that risk because Hagel is well known for his opposition both to sanctions against Iran and to employing the military option if necessary. These views are inconsistent with the very different views expressed by President Obama. The President has emphasized on numerous occasions that he will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and will use military force if necessary to prevent that "game changer."

The Christian Aid Conference on Peace and Justice in the Holy Land

Something has gone badly wrong when a conference of Christians praises the side most prone to violence and least disposed to peace; presents falsehoods as facts, and even denies that there is serious persecution of their own brethren in the Palestinian territories. "Do Christian hearts not grieve for Jewish children forced to cower in bomb shelters, day in and day out? But none of these facts was mentioned by any of the speakers. Not one speaker at any point, in fact, had the honesty to say one word about the several wars started by Arab armies invading Israel, nor the thousands of Israelis killed and injured in terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings."

PMW: Fatah’s Facebook: Glorifying terror, inciting hatred, and erasing Israel

Fatah’s heroes: Saddam Hussein, Dalal Mughrabi and the rifle

BBC Watch: BBC: Al Jazeera in US market to promote football tournament

"It is well known that Al Jazeera’s English language operation (launched in 2006) tones down its coverage in comparison to its less subtle Arabic department, which has fawned over the terrorist child-murderer Samir Kuntar and features as its most popular programme the weekly rantings of Qatari-based Yusuf Qaradawi – spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and a virulent homophobe and antisemite. Nevertheless, Al Jazeera English remains firmly on target as the vector of the Qatari regime’s agenda, as some of its former employees have disclosed."

Egypt Pres To Obama: Free Terrorist Blind Sheikh

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I asked the Egyptian President about the blind Egyptian cleric who was convicted here in the United States in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Omar Abdel-Rahman is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

Egypt Seeks $500B from Israel for Sinai Damage

"Israel stole just under $50 billion worth of sand"

This was reported by EOZ on January 07 2012 Report: Egypt demanding $500 billion from Israel for Sinai damage

Egyptian Who 'Invited' Jews 'Back Home' Resigns Post (h/t Zvi)

Essam el-Erian, a top advisor to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, has resigned from his position, Egyptian media reported Sunday. "Although the report said that el-Arian had willingly made the decision because he was “occupied with other work,” analysts said that there was no doubt that he was pressure to quit – after inviting back to Egypt the descendants of Jews who were thrown out of the country, or who fled due to anti-Semitic violence."

Egypt foils bomb plot near Gaza border

On Monday, Egyptian authorities foiled a car bomb plot in the city of Rafah, near Gaza….Those behind the plot are currently unknown, though Al Arabiya quoted an Egyptian security source as saying that it was "probably radical Islamists whom security forces have been tracking for months." According to the Associated Press, "[t]he military said it suspects the gunmen preparing the car bomb are from the Gaza Strip and entered Egypt illegally through underground tunnels." Following the seizure of the explosives and weapons, Egyptian authorities announced a security alert. A military source has told Ma'an News Agency that "intelligence services have received information in the last few hours about planned attacks by groups in the Sinai."

Report: Hezbollah Sends 5,000 Fighters to Syria to Help Assad

"Some 5,000 Hezbollah fighters crossed from Lebanon into Syria last month to fight on the side of Bashar al-Assad’s forces the Al Watan newspaper reported on Monday. According to the paper, nearly 300 of those fighters have been killed in the last several days."

Atlanta’s medical technology industry getting shot in the arm

"EndoChoice, an Alpharetta-based company that sells endoscopy devices, said Friday it plans to merge with an Israeli-based medical firm in a deal that would create 200 new jobs, mostly in metro Atlanta. The company also announced it raised $43 million from a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, to fuel its growth."

Iran's Press TV Acts Like Iran's Press TV

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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Iran's Press TV is known for being well...Iran's Press TV.

Here are the latest examples.

West Bank Terror Jumps in November & December

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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Throughout the Israeli media today there have been a number of reports based off the latest monthly report (I used it already for a post on Sunday) from the Shin Bet. For example, Ynet has a story titled, “West Bank sees rise in terror attacks,” while the Times of Israel has one titled, “Terror attacks in West Bank, Jerusalem on the rise.”

Below is the data straight up. While most of the other reports have combined the number of attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem, I have only included the number of attacks counted in the West Bank.

Month	# of Attacks in West Bank
January	27
February	42
March	43
April	36
May	50
June	48
July	30
August	19
September	39
October	39
November	122
December	81
Total	576

90-year-old Saudi Weds 15-year-old Girl

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Al Arabiya

The recent marriage of a 90-year-old Saudi man to a 15-year-old girl has sparked condemnation from human rights and social media activists in the kingdom. On Twitter especially, activists criticized the parents of the girl for giving her to a man decades older than her. In an interview, the groom insisted that his marriage was “legal and correct,” and that he paid a $17,500 (SAR 65,000) dowry to marry the girl, who is the daughter of a Yemeni father and Saudi mother.

The 90-year-old told the story of his first night with the bride. He said she entered the bedroom before him, and she locked the door from inside so he could not enter. This, he said, made him “suspicious about some kind of conspiracy” by the girl and her mother. He vowed to sue his in-laws to give him back the girl or return him the expensive dowry.

Close friends of the bride’s family said she was frightened on the wedding night, and locked herself in the room for two successive days before fleeing back to her parents’ home. The member of the Saudi National Association for Human Rights (NSHR), Suhaila Zein al-Abedin, urged authorities to intervene “as soon as possible to save this child from tragedy.”

Abedin noted that marriage in Islam must be based on mutual consent, and this was not satisfied, as demonstrated by the girl’s move to lock herself in the room. She said the girl’s parents were also to be held responsible for marrying their daughter to a man the age of her great grandfather.

Abedin urged the establishment of a minimum age of 18 for marrying girls, saying this would pave the way for punishing violators, according to a report by al-Hayat newspaper. Jamal al-Toueiki, a psychologist, said forced marriage may subject girls to abuse and violence, and this could lead to their suicide if nothing is done to save them.

Anti-Semitic Incidents Up in Austria

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Israel Hayom

The leader of Vienna's Jewish community says the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Austria reported to his office have doubled over the past year and adds that Jews feel threatened elsewhere in the EU as well. Jewish community president Oskar Deutsch tells the Kurier newspaper that the Jewish community registered 135 such incidents last year, compared to 71 in 2011.

In comments published Monday, he named Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France and Greece as the EU countries where Jews are most under threat, adding that fearful Jewish families in Hungary have recently started to immigrate to Austria.

Burgas Bombing Investigator Sacked over Leak

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Sofia News Agency

The Prosecutor's Office has dismissed investigator Staneliya Karadzhova as member of the team investigating the July 18 terror act in Bulgaria's Black city of Burgas.

Karadzhova has been dismissed on January 3 by the Burgas Regional Prosecutor on grounds the investigator leaked in the media classified information about latest developments in the probe.

On the same day, Karadzhova told the 24 Chasa (24 Hours) daily that Bulgarian police authorities have learned the real identity of one of the accomplices of the Burgas bus bomber.

The Interior Ministry declined refuting officially the above statement, with Kalin Georgiev, Chief Secretary of the Interior, only saying that any comments on the subject would be detrimental for the investigation.

For a rundown of basically everything related to the Burgas attack and the ongoing investigation go here.

Monday Morning Links

From Ian

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The Legal Case for Israel Video by Professor Eugene Kontorovich VIDEO

JPost Editorial: Palestinian irresponsibility

"Instead of choosing a path of self-empowerment and accepting responsibility for their own fate, Fayyad and other Palestinian leaders have opted yet again for the well-traversed road of self-victimization. Apparently, Palestinian leaders in the West Bank believe they will succeed in deflecting growing anger and frustration on the Palestinian street and redirect toward Israel. We hope they are wrong."

Barry Rubin: Al Gore Sells Out (to al-Jazeera)

"What would you call it if a former vice-president of the United States had sold his television network to a fascist or Communist front group at a time when such forces threatened America? Nothing very nice. But now Al Gore has sold out his admittedly obscure channel to al-Jazeera and taken a position on its board. Here's an interview of myself on this issue."

MEMRI: Chief Islamic Judge of PA: We Want to File Suit against Britain for Balfour Declaration “Crime” VIDEO and Wife of Hamas MP Al-Hayya: A Woman's Role Is to Instill Love of Jihad and Martyrdom in Her Children VIDEO

Supporting our Own Demise: Part 1 Terror Finance

"Successive British Governments continue to tolerate the existence of large charities that encourage and provide for Islamist terror groups. By failing to separate British Muslims from the Islamist charities that exploit them, we flatter and legitimize supporters of terrorism as humanitarians and community leaders. In the US, the charity Interpal is a proscribed organization: when you help terror groups build homes, you are also helping terror groups build bombs."

Egypt: Bahais cannot enroll in public schools, education minister says

"The education minister has repeated remarks that Bahais cannot enroll in public schools, saying it violates the Constitution. "The Constitution only recognizes the three Abrahamic religions,” Ibrahim Ghoneim told Akbar Al-Youm newspaper Saturday. “And as religion is a subject taught in schools, they do not meet the requirements for enrollment.”

Egypt’s Morsi remakes cabinet, increasing Islamist presence

"Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi rebuilt his cabinet Sunday, replacing 10 ministers and amplifying the Islamist presence in the government. The move, in which at least three Islamists were appointed to head major economic ministries, comes a day ahead of a planned visit by a top International Monetary Fund official to discuss an impending $4.8 billion loan."

Chavez and the Jews: A sorry tale

"Before Chavez came to power in 1999, there were 30,000 Jews in Venezuela. Now, the community has dwindled to just less than 9,000. Having experienced virtually no anti-Semitism in their history, the Chavez years ushered in a set of new and frightening experiences for Venezuela’s Jews, from cartoons in the press that could have been lifted from the notorious Nazi newspaper, Der Sturmer, to the vandalism of the main synagogue in Caracas in 2009. As a depressing summary by Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism noted last September, “Recent years have witnessed a rise in anti-Semitic manifestations, including vandalism, media attacks, caricatures, and physical attacks on Venezuelan Jewish institutions.”

Israelis to design San Diego-area desalination plant

IDE Americas Inc., a subsidiary of Israel’s IDE Technologies Ltd, to design project - the largest of its kind in western hemisphere. "The Israeli desalination giant that is already responsible for the brunt of Israel’s salty-to-fresh water transformation is now taking on San Diego, in the biggest desalination project to hit the western hemisphere."

GPS for brain surgeons

A line of products trusted by neurosurgeons and neuroscience researchers on six continents was developed by a Christian-Arab couple in Nazareth, Israel. "The company’s recording and stimulation tools, which have both FDA (US) and CE (Europe) approvals, are helpful in two realms. Neuroscientists use them in the lab to understand more about the human brain, and neurosurgeons use them for treating patients with a variety of neural disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dystonia, a nervous system disorder that causes involuntary muscles contractions and spasms."

Drillers herald new Israeli gas find

"Israeli and Norwegian energy companies said they encountered a significant amount of natural gas in an offshore Israeli field. Norwegian energy company AGR said it encountered "significant signs of natural gas" during drilling operations in the Aphrodite-2 exploration well in the offshore Ishai license block. The well encountered a gas layer of 49 feet, the Platts news service reports."

A herbal remedy for the ‘bug crisis’

Farmers nowadays are using more pesticides than ever. An innovation based on Negev herbs may be even more effective. "Herbs are for more than just tea — they may be the next big thing in the fight against pests. Particularly one herb that grows in Israel’s Negev desert, whose medicinal properties have been known to the Bedouin for generations. Yaniv Kitron of Israel’s EdenShield has discovered that it works pretty well as a natural “pesticide,” too."

Photos from Recent Fatah Rally in Gaza

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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Last Friday, Fatah held a major rally in the Gaza Strip celebrating the anniversary of its first terror attack. Fatah officials said that there was close to a million, if not more than a million people, while Hamas officials say that the crowd was no more than 200,000.

While the rally seemed to be going well, parts of it were forced to be cancelled for what appears to have been an outbreak of scuffles between supporters of former Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Yahiya Rabah, a top Fatah official in Gaza, said the rally was cancelled "due to the huge number of participants and logistical failures." But witnesses said one pushing match was between supporters of Abbas and partisans of Fatah's former Gaza security commander Mohammed Dahlan, who was expelled from the party because of conflicts with Abbas. Another Fatah official, who spoke anonymously because he did not want to embarrass the party, said the rally was cancelled because hundreds of Dahlan supporters jumped up on the stage and clashed with Abbas supporters.

Here are a selection of photos from the day.

Fayyad Slams Arab States for Failing to Donate to PA

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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The Palestinian Authority is currently undergoing a serious financial crisis. Abbas and Fayyad have been begging for money for quite some time now in order to alleviate the crisis, however, they are getting nothing beyond pledges.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Salam Fayyad says that the recent financial troubles for the PA have been caused “solely” as a result of the failure of Arab states to fulfill their pledges to the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian self-rule government is close to being "completely incapacitated," largely because Arab countries haven't delivered hundreds of millions of dollars in promised aid, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said in an interview with the Associated Press Sunday.

…Fayyad said his budget deficit has widened in recent years, blaming Arab states that broke aid promises.

"The financing problem that we've had in the last few years is solely due to some Arab donors not fulfilling their pledge of support in accordance with Arab League resolutions," Fayyad said. European countries kept all their aid commitments and the U.S. honored most, with the exception of $200 million held up by Congress last year, he added.

While Fayyad is going public (he made similar comments in late December) with the truth, other Palestinian officials will continue to blame the US or try and use blackmail.

Number of Women in Israeli Air Force Doubled in Past 20 Years

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ IDF

Pioneering women, whose deeds opened a new world for others to follow in their footsteps, were honored this year at the IAF Association's annual evening. The event, which highlights a different topic relating to the Air Force each year, was dedicated to the stories of the female pioneers of the Air Force from its inception until today.

Among those honored were Zahara Levitov, a fighter in the Palmach and pilot in the Air Force, and her daughter Orni, the IAF's first female navigator. Also honored were some groundbreaking women of the 1990s: Adi Berdshatzki, the first female colonel in the Air Force, and Margalit Tirosh, the first to head the Administration Squadron.

The role of women in the Air Force today was also applauded, with those honored including Maj. G, Deputy Commander of the Air Kings Squadron, and Maj. Revital Ozen, commander of an Iron Dome battery.

"From the day of the IAF's establishment, women have taken part in its work," said IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel. "From a small group, mainly working in support roles, the participation of women throughout the breadth of the Air Force's activities has blossomed, in the air and on the ground. In the [Air] Force, there are thousands of women in career service and around 6,000 [regular service] female soldiers."

Maj. Gen. Eshel also emphasized the increasing representation of women within the IAF. "Their scope has doubled in the past 20 years," he stated. "We are in an ongoing process. And in this field, too, the IAF is a leader. We are still far from having utilized the full potential, the quality and capability that exists inside Israeli society. We must increase our efforts, increase the integration, to strengthen the Air Force and to set an example to the IDF and the entire State of Israel."

Is the 3rd Intifada Here?

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Ynet

The defense establishment has been careful not to overstate the significance of the recent – growing – wave of unrest sweeping the West Bank, but according to IDF Ezion Sector Commander Colonel Yaniv Alaluf, the third intifada has already begun.

"We're no longer on the verge of a third intifada – it's already here. We anticipate many more (clashes) from now on," he said. Speaking to troops and reservists assigned to the sector, Alaluf qualified his daunting prediction, saying that "We may not be facing thousands of demonstrators storming border fences with AK-47s, but that doesn’t diminish the seriousness of the situation."

…Alaluf's assessment of the situation was a pessimistic one: "The process lead by Abu Mazen is over, replaced by the attitude promoted by Hamas. Abu Mazen is trying to survive the Arab Spring and he understands that the path of negotiations with Israel is over. "The question is – what will follow? We may see regional anarchy along a military campaign of our own."

…But not all is bleak: Alaluf was optimistic as to the IDF's ability to deal with terrorist threats, saying he does not foresee a string of suicide attacks, which became the gruesome hallmark of the al-Aqsa Intifada. "The third intifada won't be like the second one, which surprised us. We're ahead of the game now and terror won't be able to slither up to central Israel because we're better prepared."

…The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that, "The military does not comment on remarks made in closed forums."

Meanwhile:

The chances that a full-scale armed Intifada erupting in the West Bank are slim, but the chances for popular, simmering unrest with mass demonstrations are much higher, Shin Bet Chief Yoram Cohen was quoted as saying by Yedioth Ahronoth.

2012 Gaza Rocket & Mortar Count

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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Month	Shin Bet Rocket and Mortar Count	Shin Bet Count of Attacks
January	16	14
February	37	28
March*	208	156
April**	8	8
May	6	6
June	218	94
July	27	19
August	24	16
September	25	25
October	171	92
November***	1814	633
December	2	1
Total	2556	1092

* There appears to be a discrepancy in some places with regard to the amount fired in March. In some places the Shin Bet puts the total at 208, however, in other places the total is listed as 192.

** I do not count the rockets that originated in the Sinai

*** I do not count the rockets that originated in the Sinai