Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Abbas makes it clear: Destroying Israel more important than life itself

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected an Israeli offer to allow Palestinian refugees fleeing Syria to enter the Palestinian territories on condition that they forgo their “right of return” to Israel proper, Abbas told the Egyptian press on Wednesday evening.

Following a meeting with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, Abbas said that he had appealed to the UN to intercede on behalf of Palestinian refugees living in Syria and demand that Israel allow them to enter the West Bank and Gaza.

Abbas said Ban was told Israel “agreed to the return of those refugees to Gaza and the West Bank, but on condition that each refugee ... sign a statement that he doesn’t have the right of return (to Israel).”

“So we rejected that and said it’s better they die in Syria than give up their right of return,” Abbas told the group.

Western politicians and pundits always claim that "everybody knows" that the Palestinian Arabs will drop their demand for "return" in an eventual peace agreement and accept living in a state based on the 1949 armistice lines.

They have never said anything close to that.

Here we see the stark difference between how Jews acted in the 1940s and how Palestinian Arabs are acting today. At a time that millions of Jews were in dire danger, the highest priority of Zionists were to save them and to create a safe haven for Jews worldwide, even if they had to compromise on their historic lands and their very capital city to do so - and even compromising on promises directly made to the Zionists by the international community only a couple of decades before.

Palestinian Arab leaders, however, don't give a damn about their own people. To them, "Palestinians" exist for a single reason: to destroy the Jewish state. They are not even cannon fodder; they are PR fodder. Their people's continued misery is considered their greatest political asset, and that misery is sacrosanct.

This is why they fight tooth and nail against Palestinian Arabs being naturalized in Arab countries. This is why they fight to keep "refugee camps" open in perpetuity, even in territory they fully control. This is why they are upset when even tiny amounts of Palestinian Arabs move from environments of real deprivation to Western countries. This is why they demand UN resolutions against any attempts to build permanent housing for "refugees."

And this is why they choose to let Syrian Palestinians die rather than save them. Their value as symbols far outweighs the value of their very lives, according to the Palestinian Arab value system.

What reason can there be that a condition that will never, ever be implemented is more important than saving lives today? Because that condition reflects the very raison d'etre for Palestinian Arab nationalism itself - not to build a nation for a people, but to destroy another people's nation.

(Note also that Abbas is arrogantly making the decision to allow the Syrian Palestinians to die rather than forgo this false "principle" - but he doesn't give them the choice to make their own decisions. Which is what one would expect from a dictator.)

Is there a single human rights group that would dare condemn Abbas for his callous disregard of his purported people's lives?

(h/t Ian, Herb)

UPDATE: Here is my published comment on the Washington Post for this piece:

Is there any greater proof that Palestinian Arab leaders don't give a damn about their people?

Is there any greater proof that Mahmoud Abbas, by arrogantly making a decision dooming many people rather than letting them make their own choices, is acting with the same callousness as the dictator Assad?

Is there any greater proof that the Palestinian Arab leaders are more interested in destroying Israel via the false "right of return" than they are in building their own state?

Anyone who insists that Israel needs to make more concessions for peace needs to read - and re-read - this article to understand the realities of today's Middle East.

"Of course you are equal" Jordanian leader tells second-class Palestinian Arabs

From Ammon News:

Palestinian refugees are an important segment in Jordanian society and have equal rights and obligations, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said on Tuesday, calling on them to join forces with the state in the reform process and participate in upcoming parliamentary elections.

"We are all Jordanians under the constitution and our decisions and orientations should be united for the aspired reform and modernization process in our dear country," he told refugee camp leaders and embers of services committees.

If they are fully equal Jordanian citizens, then why are they considered "refugees"? Why do they still live in "refugee camps" over six decades after becoming citizens of Jordan? Why can they not be finally mainstreamed into Jordanian society as truly equal citizens?

And why are no Arabs, Palestinian or otherwise, even asking these questions?

Egyptian preacher advocates Islamic vice squad on TV

From Egypt Independent:

Many Egyptian viewers were horrified when preacher Hesham al-Ashry recently popped up on primetime television to say women must cover up for their own protection and advocated the introduction of religious police.

That an obscure preacher could get publicity for such views was seen as another example of the confused political scene in Egypt since the revolt that toppled Hosni Mubarak gave birth to a cacophony of feuding voices.

"I was once asked: If I came to power, would I let Christian women remain unveiled? And I said: If they want to get raped on the streets, then they can," Ashry told Al-Nahar TV channel last week.

Introducing a Saudi-style anti-vice police force to enforce Islamic law was "not a bad thing," he said, and added: "In order for Egypt to become fully Islamic, alcohol must be banned and all women must be covered."

Few take Ashry, who admits he flew to the US dreaming of a Western lifestyle and romance but instead found truth in preaching, seriously. But his views have stirred emotions.

With the economic downturn and rising food prices putting pressure on the government, moderate Muslims, Christians and others worry their newfound political freedom is at risk of being exploited by hardline Islamists bent on imposing their values on a society that has been traditionally moderate.

The article goes on to show that Al Azhar University leaders were against Ashry's ideas, but the fact that Al Azhar is now comparatively moderate tells you much about how Egypt has moved towards Islamist extremism.

What do you build with snow if you are a Palestinian Arab?

Why, you build a replica of a terror rocket meant to kill Jews - at Judaism's holiest spot!

Reuters now blames Israel for floods

I thought this would be in Arabic media first, but Reuters' Noah Browning ran with this ridiculous angle in its race to find new ways to blame Israel for anything and everything:

Heavy winter downpours have turned some Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank into a morass of filth and flooding as an Israeli barrier blocks the waters from draining away.

In Qalqilya, a town of 42,000 in the northern West Bank almost completely surrounded by the concrete wall, Khaled Kandeel and his family huddled by an open fire in a shed as trash-laden water swelled through his pear orchard.

"Before the wall, the water used to drain fine, and flowed down to the sea easily. They could just flip a switch and end our suffering, but they don't," Kandeel said, his breath steamy from the winter cold.

Israel started building the barrier, a mix of metal fencing, barbed wire and concrete walls, in 2002 in response to a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings.

Drainage channels run under the imposing ramparts but their automated metal gates are mostly closed and now clogged with refuse and stones that block the outflow of storm water.

The Israeli military, citing security reasons, generally bars locals from clearing the obstructions or digging their own channels close to the barrier.

Is this bolded text true? Who knows? Browning doesn't interview any Israeli officials for this story. (Of course, Israel is going to bar locals from digging tunnels near the barrier, but Browning tries to conflate the two to make Israel look especially evil.)

The water is filled with raw sewage, but this is Israel's fault as well, Browning informs his audience.

Later, after most people stop reading, Browning allows:

[I]n Hebron, whose old city is a flashpoint of conflict with Jewish settlers, rare coordination with the Israeli military allowed Palestinian officials to lift the concrete slabs which separate the ethnic enclaves to relieve flooding.

"We removed the concrete to prevent the passage of water to the old city souq, where flooding reached up to one meter," said Walid Abu Halawa of Hebron's construction commission.

Was there any attempt to work through channels in Qalqiya? Browning doesn't say.

Then again, he is probably working on his next article on how the separation barrier is being used by Israel to keep the wild pigs Jews breed to attack Arabs on the Arab side.

New York Times declares Jerusalem the capital of Israel!

Well, they said it in 1967 - before the Six Day War - in an editorial, no less:

Which just goes to show that facts that are evident to all can be eroded by years of propaganda.

Iraq News Agency spouting pure anti-semitism

I've been seeing more and more pure anti-semitic drivel from the Iraq News Agency lately, much of it reproduced elsewhere.

But this sentence is a classic distillation of hate, the type that is never reported in the West:

There is no harmful insect on the planet more dangerous than the Jews, and there is no incurable disease eating away at the human body is the worse than the Jews; and there is not any book since the inception of the world to warn nations and peoples of the psychological and intellectual epidemics of the Jews like the Koran.

Abbas Commemorates 'Martyrs,' Including Hajj Amin Al-Husseini

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ MEMRI

Mahmoud 'Abbas: "On the anniversary of Fatah, we renew the pledge to our fortunate martyrs. We pledge to continue on the path of the martyr brother Abu Ammar, and his comrades and brothers, the leaders from all the fighting factions – all the martyrs. "Let me mention the martyr Abu Jihad, Khalil Al-Wazir, the martyr Abu Iyad, Salah Khalaf, the martyr Abd Al-Fattah Hamoud, the martyr Abu Ali Iyad, the martyr Abu Sabri Saydam, the martyr Abu Yousuf Al-Najjar, the martyr Kamal Adwan, the martyr Kamal Nasser, the martyr Abu Al-Waleed Saad Sael, the martyr Faysal Al-Husseini, the martyr Abu Al-Hol, the martyr Abu Al-Mundhir, the martyr Khaled Al-Hassan, the martyr Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, the martyr Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantissi, the martyr Ismail Abu Shanab, the martyr Fathi Shiqaqi, the martyr George Habash, the martyr Omar A-Qassem, the martyr Sakhr Habash, the martyr Suleiman Al-Najjar, the martyr Bashir Al-Barghouthi, the martyr Hani Al-Hassan, the martyr Abu Ali Mustafa, the martyr Abu Al-'Abbas, the martyr Samir Ghosheh, and today's martyr, the martyr of the Intifada, Abu Al-Abd Khattab. Allah's mercy upon them all. "In addition, there were tens of thousands of martyrs and heroes. Here we must remember the pioneers – the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Hajj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini, as well as Ahmad Al-Shukeiri, the founder of the PLO, and Yahya Hamouda, the head of the PLO Executive Committee. Let us not forget the martyr Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam, who sparked the 1936 revolution." [...]

Thank you

My shiva ended this morning, and I'm easing into getting back into the swing of things at work and for the blog. Things might remain slow on the blog for the next few days, though.

Thanks so much for the many messages of condolence sent to me, in the comments, email, Twitter and Facebook. I really do appreciate it.

Thanks also to Challah Hu Akbar for agreeing to pinch-hit for me. Please add his excellent blog to your bookmarks.

Special thanks to the two bloggers who attended the funeral in Israel, Aussie Dave of Israellycool and "Caleb ben Yefuneh" of Love of the Land.

While I generally do not talk about my personal life on my blog, I will make a brief exception here.

My father was a remarkable man. He was a Holocaust survivor who witnessed unspeakable horrors and the loss of family members when he was only a teenager. Yet he still managed to survive, marry a fellow survivor and raise a family in America, sacrificing much to allow his children to receive a Jewish education at a time that many of his fellow survivors abandoned Judaism altogether. He built a small business, literally starting it in our garage. He, and lehavdil bein chaim lechaim, my mother, tried very hard to ensure that their kids would be raised normally despite what they went through. As Dad stated on the videotape he made for the USC Shoah Foundation, he just wanted his children to be good Jews - and not to ever have to go through one percent of what he went through.

Is Iran After A Syrian Uranium Stockpile?

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Ynet

Nuclear experts in the US and Middle East have raised concerns about the security of up to 50 metric tons of unenriched uranium in Syria, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. Such a stockpile could be a vital resource to building a nuclear bomb and could have disastrous implications if seized by Iran.

Not much is known about the Syrian nuclear program, and the country denied ever having had one. But intelligence data collected at the time indicated that President Bashar Assad regime’s was close to completing a nuclear reactor at Al-Kibar, in the east of the country, when it was reportedly destroyed by Israeli jets in September 2007.

Intelligence officials have long believed that the reactor was familiar in its design to the Yongbyon facility in North Korea, which aided Syria with its program. By comparing the two reactors, experts have concluded that Al-Kibar would have required about 50 tonnes of natural uranium fuel to become operational.

Government officials and nuclear experts have recently told the Financial Times that there were legitimate concerns about a uranium stockpile of such magnitude which may have remained in Syria. According to experts, such a stockpile would be enough to provide weapons grade fuel for five atomic devices.

… An IAEA inspection team visited the destroyed Al-Kibar site in May 2008 and only found traces of uranium, adding to the mystery of where the stockpile might be. According to the report, some government officials have expressed fears that Iran, which is closely allied to Syria and needs uranium for its nuclear program, might be trying to seize the uranium.

These concerns have been brought upon by signs of movement at what they allege is a secret uranium conversion facility that the Syrian regime built at the town of Marj al-Sultan near Damascus. “You could draw the conclusion that there may be something at this site that the Syrian authorities are keen to defend from opposition forces,” said Albright, an expert on the Iranian nuclear program. “It would be interesting to know what it is.”

While the officials were unable to unequivocally determine whether uranium was in fact stored at the site, they said that Syria is almost certainly in possession of the element urgently sought by Iran. "It would certainly be possible to transfer this from Syria to Iran by air,” one official said.

Wednesday Morning Links

From Ian:

Academic: Israeli-Arab pols fomenting extremism

"An article published this month argues, based on economic and other data, that Israeli Arabs’ standard of living has risen dramatically, while Israeli Arab leaders have increasingly radicalized their community." "Entitled “Israel’s Arabs: Deprived or Radicalized?” the article cites statistical evidence demonstrating that Israeli Arabs have had an increasingly better quality of life since the Jews began settling in large numbers in British Mandate-era Palestine. For this reason, Arabs continued to move to Jewish population centers in order to improve their socioeconomic living conditions."

IDF Blog: Terror Attacks in 2012: The Ones You’ve Heard About and the Ones You Haven’t

In 2012, Israel suffered terror attacks on all fronts. Some made headline news around the world. Most of the others you’ve probably never heard about. Here’s our rundown of the major terror attacks in 2012.

Missing Peace: Swiss graduate in thesis : PA uses water as a political weapon

"A thesis titled ‘The politicization of the Oslo water agreement’ written by Lauro Burkart a Swiss graduate of the Institute of International and Development studies in Geneva gives a more accurate and impartial picture of the topic of the scarcity of water in the Palestinian Authority."

Richard Millet: Palestine Solidarity Campaign activist says he wants to kill Israelis.

"I did have a polite discussion with a 23 year old who had just finished studying accountancy. We talked about the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Needless to say we disagreed on everything but he did tell me of his future plans. He wanted to leave his family and head to Pakistan to start up a political party that would “bomb the whole of Israel”.

MEMRI: PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Commemorates "Martyrs" from Fatah, Hamas, and Other Factions

PMW: PA mayor: Israeli army shapes explosives like toys to target Palestinian children

"Palestinian Media Watch has reported how similar libels were voiced by the PA during the PA's terror campaign (the Intifada). In 2003, PA TV viewers were told that Israelis "drop objects from jet planes that attract children to play with them and then they blow up. These are bombs and mines designed as toys."

Daphne Anson: A Mondoweiss Contributor Reports On Gaza For The BBC

"The website article in question is the work of a woman who appears to be a seasoned anti-Israel campaigner."

Iran Takes Off the Mask, Admits Sanctions Hit Oil Exports

"An Iranian minister breaks ranks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and admits US-backed sanctions have sliced oil exports by 45 percent – but says the nuclear weapon program continues."

Syria: 5 Dead as Fighting Returns to 'Palestinian' Camp

Syrian fighting has returned to an area of Damascus which serves as a camp for people registered as "Palestinian refugees."

Poland probes artist’s claim that he used Holocaust victims’ ash to ‘paint’ a picture

Ghoulish work was displayed in a Swedish gallery and later pulled following protests from Jewish groups

UEFA Launches Disciplinary Proceedings Against Lazio for “Alleged Racist Behavior” Towards Tottenham’s Jewish Fans

"UEFA has begun disciplinary proceedings against Rome, Italy’s Lazio football club for its fan’s “alleged racist behavior” toward British club Tottenham’s fans during a match in Rome in November. The Lazio fans chanted “Juden Tottenham” and held up signs that read “Free Palestine” in an effort to taunt Tottenham’s fans. Tottenham is an historically Jewish neighborhood in London and has a large Jewish fan base."

FIFA punishes Bulgaria, Hungary for racist, anti-Semitic incidents

Both national teams to pay fines, play in empty stadiums as a disciplinary measure

France Jews seek names of anti-Semites on Twitter

Jewish students' union takes issue of anti-Semitic tweets to Paris court after Twitter refuses to hand over details of account holders.

In tense Swedish city, young Muslim crusades against anti-Semitism

The son of immigrants from Iran, Siavosh Derakhti recently won an award for his efforts to promote tolerance and educate about the Holocaust

Top exporters get award from Peres

In 2011 an amazing 40% of Israel’s GDP was based on exports, and the president recognized some of the country’s biggest exporters at a ceremony

Israeli 2012 Tech Exits Top $5.5 Billion

"Israeli tech startups were bought out for a record total of $5.5 billion in 2012, according to a report published Monday. The report also suggests a maturity in the Israeli sector with fewer, but larger, deals transacted. The report by analysts Pricewaterhouse Coopers showed 2012 had 50 deals with an average deal size of $111 million, compared with 63 deals with an average size of $81 million in 2011. The report didn’t cover IPOs."

Iran Behind Hacking of American Banks

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ New York Times

The attackers hit one American bank after the next. As in so many previous attacks, dozens of online banking sites slowed, hiccupped or ground to a halt before recovering several minutes later.

But there was something disturbingly different about the wave of online attacks on American banks in recent weeks. Security researchers say that instead of exploiting individual computers, the attackers engineered networks of computers in data centers, transforming the online equivalent of a few yapping Chihuahuas into a pack of fire-breathing Godzillas. The skill required to carry out attacks on this scale has convinced United States government officials and security researchers that they are the work of Iran, most likely in retaliation for economic sanctions and online attacks by the United States.

“There is no doubt within the U.S. government that Iran is behind these attacks,” said James A. Lewis, a former official in the State and Commerce Departments and a computer security expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

...Since September, intruders have caused major disruptions to the online banking sites of Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bancorp, PNC, Capital One, Fifth Third Bank, BB&T and HSBC. They employed DDoS attacks, or distributed denial of service attacks, named because hackers deny customers service by directing large volumes of traffic to a site until it collapses. No bank accounts were breached and no customers’ money was taken.

By using data centers, the attackers are simply keeping up with the times. Companies and consumers are increasingly conducting their business over large-scale “clouds” of hundreds, even thousands, of networked computer servers

...A hacker group calling itself Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters has claimed in online posts that it was responsible for the attacks.

...But American intelligence officials say the group is actually a cover for Iran. They claim Iran is waging the attacks in retaliation for Western economic sanctions and for a series of cyberattacks on its own systems.

Wife of Hamas MP: A Woman's Role Is to Instill Love of Jihad and Martyrdom in Her Children

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ MEMRI

Umm Osama: Women in Palestine play a great role in raising their children and in encouraging them to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah. This is absolutely the most glorious thing a woman can do. Women play their role and are not inferior to men. When a man goes to wage Jihad, his wife does not say "Don't go" or try to stop him. She encourages and supports him. She is the one who prepares his equipment, bids him farewell, and welcomes [his Jihad]. She instills in her children the love of Jihad and martyrdom for the sake of Allah. If every mother were to prevent her son from waging Jihad for the sake of Allah, who would wage Jihad? Who would support Palestine? Palestine is dear to us, and its price is paid with our body remains and our lifeblood. Is not Allah's reward precious? Allah's reward is Paradise. Paradise requires from us our blood, our body remains, and our efforts for its sake.

[...] Sister, Jihad is ordained for us. It is our duty to wage Jihad, because either we wage Jihad or...

Interviewer: We want to die as martyrs.

Umm Osama: Indeed we do. I am constantly praying: "Allah, make the end of our days be in martyrdom." I pray for this even for my husband and my children. None of us want to die in our beds. We pray that Allah will grant us Paradise. [...]

Hamas Sentences Fatah Terrorist to 15 Years in Jail

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Ma’an News Agency

A military court in Gaza City on Tuesday sentenced a Fatah military leader to 15 years in jail. Muhammad al-Sakani told Ma’an that his brother Zaki was accused of terrorism and illegally possessing explosives and weapons.

Muhammad condemned the verdict as unjust and vowed to appeal the decision. Zaki, from Gaza City’s Shujaiyya neighborhood, was detained four years ago and held in a Gaza jail.

Fatah denounced the verdict in a statement, describing it as "unjust because it was issued by an illegitimate court, and because the motive behind the verdict was merely political." "The man was a prominent leader of Fatah’s al-Aqsa Brigades and one of its best fighters."

What exactly did al-Sakani do?

Al-Sakani, born in 1965, was once wanted by Israeli authorities for his role in explosives-manufacturing, according to Fatah-affiliated websites.

As the second Palestinian intifada entered its second year, according to Fatah sources, al-Sakani along with late Fatah leader Abdul-Muti al-Sabaawi designed the first homemade mortar shell and went on to produce hundreds of shells.

As a result, the Israeli intelligence tried to hunt him down through several targeted assassinations, including one which injured him in Gaza City while he was launching mortar shells at an Israeli settlement, before Israeli forces disengaged from the coastal enclave.

After Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in July 2008, the security services of Hamas stormed his home in the Zaytoun neighborhood, but he escaped, Fatah sources said. Hamas forces confiscated his handgun, a homemade projectile and several mortar shells and explosives, as well as a computer. On July 25, 2008 five high profile leaders of the Hamas' military wing were killed in an explosion near the beach in Gaza City and about 40 civilians were injured. Hamas then accused al-Sakani of being behind that explosion.

In August 2008, the Hamas-affiliated website Palestine Today quoted sources privy to the details as saying that security services in Gaza detained four suspects including Zaki al-Sakani, a Fatah-affiliated explosives expert. Al-Sakani was in al-Shifa hospital when he was arrested and jailed, having survived an assassination attempt a day earlier. A group of gunmen had opened fire on al-Sakani and he underwent a surgery before he was jailed by Hamas' security.

Photos of Robert Levinson Released, Iran Seen as Responsible

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ The Associated Press

Two years after a hostage video and photographs of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson raised the possibility that the missing American was being held by terrorists, U.S. officials now see the government of Iran behind the images, intelligence officials told The Associated Press.

Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared in 2007 on the Iranian island of Kish. The Iranian government has repeatedly denied knowing anything about his disappearance, and the disturbing video and photos that Levinson's family received in late 2010 and early 2011 seemed to give credence to the idea.

The extraordinary photos — showing Levinson's hair wild and gray, his beard long and unkempt — are being seen for the first time publicly after the family provided copies to the AP. The video has been previously released.

In response to Iran's repeated denials, and amid secret conversations with Iran's government, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement in March 2011 that Levinson was being held somewhere in South Asia. The implication was that Levinson might be in the hands of terrorist group or criminal organization somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The statement was a goodwill gesture to Iran, one that the U.S. hoped would prod Tehran to help bring him home.

But nothing happened.

Two years later, with the investigation stalled, the consensus now among some U.S. officials involved in the case is that despite years of denials, Iran's intelligence service was almost certainly behind the 54-second video and five photographs of Levinson that were emailed anonymously to his family. The tradecraft used to send those items was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly. While everything dealing with Iran is murky, their conclusion is based on the U.S. government's best intelligence analysis....

Levinson's family runs this website.