Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, February 08, 2013

Israelis saving the world, again

From Technion:

(h/t Ruchie)

"Palestine" in line to become vice chair of UN Arms Trade Treaty talks

From Inner City Press, which often has the best UN coverage of any media outlet:

Palestine is seeking to be a vice chair of the upcoming Arms Trade Treaty talks at the UN, Inner City Press has learned, one of three from the Asia Group along with Japan and South Korea.

...After the General Assembly's November 29, 2012 vote granting Palestine non-member State status at the UN, Palestine is currently on a so-called “clean slate” to be come a vice chair. There will be three from the Asia Group, for now there are only three candidates.

The article notes that the US is not happy:

There is not surprisingly some opposition.

When US Ambassador Susan Rice came out of the Security Council Thursday morning, Inner City Press asked her about "Palestine as a vice chair of the ATT?"

Ambassador Rice told Inner City Press, exclusively, "I don't think it's going to happen. They're not a member state."

During the Security Council's last Middle East debate, Ambassador Rice opposed even the use of the phrase “State of Palestine” on the placard used in the Council.

This is worth watching.

Of course, "Palestine" has great experience in the arms trade. Even this very moment, arms are being imported into Gaza from Libya, Iran and Sudan.

Peaceful Abbas meets Islamic Jihad terror leader for "unity"

From Ma'an:

President Mahmoud Abbas met the leader of Islamic Jihad on Thursday evening, as part of talks on national reconciliation taking place this week in Cairo.

Abbas, the head of Fatah, sat down with general-secretary of Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Shalah and his deputy, Ziad al-Nkhaleh and discussed implementation of the stalled unity deals, official PA news agency Wafa said.

They also discussed Friday's PLO reform meeting, according to Wafa.

This week, a Jihad official said the group might run in elections for the PLO's parliament, the Palestinian National Council.

The PNC is the legislative body of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which represents Palestinians in exile as well as those in the West Bank and Gaza.

The parliament is presently mainly composed of appointees, and has so far excluded Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which were formed since the PLO's establishment in 1964.

The reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah included an agreement to reform the PLO, which has been criticized for failing to represent the whole Palestinian polity.

Remember that the PLO controls the PA (or, from the UN's perspective, the "State of Palestine." Yes, a "state" is controlled by an organization.) So this is a way for a terror group to join the leadership of "Palestine" without elections.

Both Islamic Jihad and Hamas have made it crystal clear that their intentions on joining the PLO are meant to make the organization go back to its original principles of utterly destroying Israel.

Time for a quiz. Will the mainstream media:

Ignore this proof that the "moderate" PLO is moving towards a more explicitly terrorist agenda,
Look at this as a sign that Islamic Jihad is now embracing peace with Israel, or
Tell the truth for once?

The odds are now 70:30:0. So far, the MSM has ignored this meeting.

"Moderate" PA jails young man for insulting Abbas on Facebook

From Ma'an:

A Palestinian court has sentenced a man from the Nablus area to a year in prison for insulting President Mahmoud Abbas on Facebook, officials said Thursday.

The Nablus magistrates court sentenced Anas Saad Awwad, 26, of Awarta village, in absentia to a year in prison after convicting him on charges of criticizing the government, an official said.

Khalil Assaf, the director of the public freedoms committee within an unimplemented unity deal, called the sentence itself an insult to the president, not the supposed crime of criticizing him.

Assaf called on the court to reverse the ruling.

The defendant had been detained previously on similar charges, but was released after paying a fine, according to his father.

"My son only commented on Facebook. You know how young people comment," he said. "He didn't mean to insult the president. I ask the president to intervene personally to cancel the court's decision."

Awwad's lawyer, Rima al-Sayyed, said her client has been accused of photo-shopping of Abbas wearing a Real Madrid shirt with the caption: "A new striker."

She declined to comment on the sentence, saying it was not final.

Last year Palestinian security forces jailed at least three people accused in separate incidents of criticizing the government on social networking websites.

Amazing how a "moderate" government that does this gets ignored by the Western media, while a certain "hawkish" government next door would be the subject of wall-to-wall headlines if anything remotely similar happened.

Does this mean I could be arrested for insulting Abbas if I step foot in Ramallah?

Roundup of crazy Egyptian news

For the second day in a row, a new weapons stash was found in the Sinai.

Another person tried to assault Ahmadinejad in Egypt.

An Al Azhar scholar issued a fatwa to murder members of the political party national Salvation Front:

Lawyer Alaa Eddin Bazzaz filed a complaint accusing the scholar of inciting violence through statements he made during a program broadcast on the Al-Hafiz religious channel on 6 January.

According to Bazzaz, ONTV and Dream channel rebroadcast the statement, in which Shaaban ordered the murder of NSF leaders Mohamed ElBaradei and Hamdeen Sabbahi. Bazazz contends that Shaaban's fatwa misinterprets an Islamic Hadith.

On Thursday the Interior Ministry assigned security to ElBaradei's home as a precaution.The Council of Ministers is also considering legal action against anyone who seeks to incite violence.

The comments were widely condemned by liberal political factions. Al-Azhar's Islamic Research Academy also denounced the fatwa and warned that such statements drive sedition and bloodshed.

But not everyone agrees. Osama Qassem, a Jihadi leader, said he supports the fatwa issued by Shaaban.

Qassem said the NSF is behind weeks of unrest following the 25 January revolution's second anniversary, and should be subject to serious punishments under certain Sharia regulations called Had al-Haraba. The term refers to offenses punishable by death, crucifixion or severing of hands or feet.

A new protest:

Members of the April 6 Youth Movement blocked the road in front of the Giza municipality headquarters on Thursday, declaring Giza an autonomous governorate. They denounced police brutality and the beating of Hamada Saber outside the presidential palace last Friday.

The protests come just hours before Friday’s mass demonstration called for by the National Salvation Front and other revolutionary forces in Tahrir Square. The demonstrators demand the departure of President Mohamed Morsy, the formation of a national salvation government, the trial of the interior minister and the annulment of the Constitution.

Why are so many Egyptians acting so strangely?

Maybe because of this:

There are 22 psychiatric hospitals across the nation operating without a license, National Council for Mental Health (NCMH) Director Hesham Ramez announced on Monday.

The hospitals are illegally treating patients for conditions from addiction to other psychological illnesses, Ramez said. The council has notified the Health Ministry about the problem, as the NCMH itself does not have the power to shut them down.

Ramez said he saw a video clip of patients being stripped, beaten and tortured at one of the illegal hospitals in the Moqattam area.

Thursday links: Hagel wants "reverse optics" on Israel, Zionists banned from hate speech event, BBC still calls Hezbollah terrorists "militants"

From Ian:

Douglas Murray: Paying People to Hate You

"And so it was that I found myself once again in a meeting in the twilight world of Brussels -- an ugly city filled with ugly buildings, ugly overpriced food and overpaid officials. The objective of any visit must always be a hit-an-run: to get in and get out as swiftly as possible, The only reason to go is to try and inject some sense into a city so starved of it. When, therefore, asked to address the matter of what the European Union might do to tackle anti-Semitism, the answer is easy: "Stop funding anti-Semites." What is hard is that this is Brussels, where words are meaningless and nothing makes any sense."

Michael Coren with Douglas Murray: The new anti-Semitism in Britain VIDEO

Britain's PM hasn't visited Israel in seven years
Isn't it about time you hopped on a plane to the Middle East, Mr Prime Minister?

"Britain has a long and somewhat embarrassing history with regard to the Middle East conflict. Our politics is easily misled, our media is often overtly biased and public opinion is apathetic at best, and hostile to the Jewish state in most cases. These are, of course, symptoms of the long-peddled untruths by those that refer to themselves as the 'pro-Palestinian' lobby. These groups masquerade as peaceniks yet insist upon their logos being Palestinian flags draped across Israel in its entirety, and their unofficial anthem remaining, "From the river to the sea".

Hagel Vote Postponed; New Audio Surfaces

"Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Joel B. Pollak reported today that audio of a 2007 speech--just outside the five-year timeframe of the committee's request--recently surfaced. Hagel, speaking to a conference of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations, said that the U.S. needed to "reverse optics" in its relationship with Israel. "

Richard Millett: Middlesex University bans concerned public from Free Palestine Society hate speech event.

"The event was the Free Palestine Society’s The Case for Boycotting, Divesting, and Sanctions against Israel held last night. The speakers were Lauren Booth, John Rees and Asghar Bukari. The location was Middlesex University in Hendon, a highly Jewish populated suburb of London."

BBC still describing Hizballah as “militants” after Bulgarian announcement

"When a terror attack took place on a bus-load of newly arrived Israeli holiday-makers in Bulgaria last July, some of the BBC reporting on the subject was fairly dismissive of Israeli assessments of the involvement of the Iranian-backed terrorist organisation Hizballah."

UN cuts ties with official tied to false Gaza tweet
De facto firing comes after probe into Kulhood Badawi's tweeting of photo of dead Palestinian falsely attributed to IDF shelling.

"Kulhood Badawi, a veteran public affairs officer in the Jerusalem branch of the United Nations Office of the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has been "separated" from the UN, say officials in New York.
The de facto firing, publicly explained as a contract non-renewal, comes shortly after the conclusion of an internal investigation lasting almost a year.
The investigation conducted by the UN Development Program centered on a February 2012 Twitter post containing the photograph of a dead Palestinian girl, who Badawi insisted was killed by the IDF during its shelling of Gaza.
Subsequent investigations revealed that it was in reality an archived Reuters photo originally taken in 2006."

New US report shows excessive spending on PA security services

"Nevertheless Palestinian Security services took up over 31% of the Gross Domestic Product in the PA for 2011. On a population of just over two million (Hamas in Gaza has its own security apparatus) the PA maintains 64.687 security employees. That means one member of the security services for every thirty civilians. This must be a world record."

PA gives man 1 year prison for criticizing leaders By Khaled Abu Toameh
The PA sometimes uses a 50- year-old Jordanian law that bans “extending one’s tongue” against the monarch to suppress critics.

Israel Closes Haifa Airport Amid Growing Tensions in the North
The Israel Defense Forces has ordered the closure of Haifa Airport amid growing tensions with Syria and Hezbollah.

"The closure may be related to “mock raids” the Israeli air force has been conducting over Lebanon, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Information.
But the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told Israel Hayom that the “security needs relating to the air space in the area have been addressed.”

Burgas bombers planned to blow up full bus remotely, officials say
Report blaming Hezbollah continues to make waves, with France saying it will look into possibility of declaring Shi’ite group as terrorsts

Germany warns Hezbollah of ‘consequences’
Bulgarian investigation finds terror group responsible for bombing that killed six

Reporter sorry for suggesting Israel bribed Bulgaria
Financial Times correspondent calls tweet saying Israel could have paid off Sofia to blame Hezbollah ‘ill-conceived’

Egyptian Official: Sinai Will Not Be Used to Threaten Israel
US secretary of defense Leon Panetta spoke to Egyptian counterpart, who affirmed Egypt's commitment to maintaining peace treaty with Israel.

Coptic Pope Tawadros II criticises Egypt's Islamist leadership, new constitution
In interview with Associated Press, Egypt's recently-enthroned Coptic patriarch dismisses country's new national charter and questions efficacy of President Morsi's calls for national dialogue

Making Freud Proud: Abbas Confuses Mohamed Morsi for Mubarak (VIDEO)

Abbas thanks Ahmadinejad for Iran's support By Khaled Abu Toameh
PA president chides leaders over visits to Gaza Strip, calls on Islamic countries to end financial crisis, "Judaization" of J'lem.

CAMERA: Where's the Coverage? Iran, #1 Worldwide in Executing Children, Elected to UNICEF Leadership

"According to its Web site, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) “is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized.” On January 23, the organization issued a press release announcing that its Executive Board had elected a five-member leadership Bureau to include the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran. You read that right.
Iran leads the world in executing child offenders, those convicted of crimes committed when they were under the age of eighteen."

Iranian Conference Decries 'Zionist' Influence on Hollywood
A rogue’s gallery of conspiratorial anti-Semites gathered in Tehran for a government-sponsored conference on “Hollywoodism.”

Pakistani Nationalist Group Describes All Enemies Including US and India as ‘Zionist’
MEMRI explained, “the organization does not differentiate among Jews, Zionism, Israel, the U.S., or India, all of which it sees as threats to Pakistan and to the cause of Islamist forces.”

Anti-Semitism in France Update
There are too many troubling things to keep up with

"Speaking of Toulouse, a woman wielding a knife was arrested out the Ohr HaTorah school–the site of last year’s shooting–after threatened a 16-year-old boy who was walking out of the school.
“According to Direct Matin, a news website and daily newspaper, the woman shouted anti-Semitic slogans and “appeared mentally unstable.”

Marmara Commission: IDF Investigations Meet Int'l Standards
The Turkel Commission, which was formed in the wake of the deaths of nine Turks on the Mavi Marmara, submits its second report.

"Netanyahu told the Commission’s members upon receiving the report, "I welcome the Commission's determination that, in general, the investigation mechanisms in Israel operate in accordance with the standards set in international law. We will consider the areas in which the Commission has made recommendations regarding changes and improvements."

Moderate Muslims in Canada stand up to fight anti-Zionism, anti-Semitism
TORONTO - If left unchallenged, anti-Israel and anti-Zionist propaganda being spread in Canada will result in violence, warned Sohail Raza, director, Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow.

“We have a very poisonous situation at hand,” said Raza. “I have no reason not to believe that it’ll turn violent one day: it’s just a matter of time and numbers.... The Muslim population is growing and, with that, are people bringing in their issues: those numbers are growing.”
Last month, speakers at a protest outside the Pakistani consulate in Vaughan blamed Israel, Zionists and the US for terrorist attacks that killed and injured Muslims in Pakistan. A protest across from the American embassy last September featured many of the same speakers blaming Zionists and Americans for an online video, Innocence of Muslims, deemed blasphemous by some Muslims."

Say ‘Hola’ to faster Internet
Program from Israeli startup can get you to your requested page faster, even if it’s a site that is blocked in your country.

“...Hola’s Media Unblocker has turned out to be quite popular, with 7,500 downloads in just its first 10 days. The unblocker app is available as an extension to the Chrome browser – including on the Mac – and is immune to getting re-blocked, Vilenski claims.
Right now, three big US sites are available to Hola users everywhere – Hulu, Netflix and Pandora – but the rest are on their way. Vilenski tried the unblocker in China and was able to access Facebook, normally not available in that country.“The Internet was supposed to be an open platform, where everyone could communicate and anyone could see any content. This restores democracy. We’re opening things up again.”

Also, the opening of an EU-Israel air transport market (h/t Zvi)

How the textbook study whitewashes Palestinian Arab hate (part 2)

Earlier this week, I looked at the report by the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land from the report comparing the textbooks of the Palestinian Authority and those used in Israel.

One section of the report shows, clearly, how biased it is and how the authors bent over backwards to find something positive to say about the Palestinian Arab textbooks and negative things about the Israeli textbooks.

Here is a very telling section of the report:

Examples of positive descriptions of the acts of the other from Israeli books:

One example from an Israeli State school book when discussing the pogrom in Hebron in 1929:

“If not for the brave stand of a British police officer and moderate Arabs who physically defended their Jewish neighbors, the slaughter would have been more awful” (State secular schools, National World 2 - Building a State in the Middle East [התיכון במזרח מדינה בונים - 'ב לאומי עולם], Grade 10, Part 2, p.30, LP345).
Another example:

“‘I saw it as my obligation as a Muslim Arab to offer help to an Israeli soldier injured in an accident’ said Abdullah Yusef Yunes…who offered help and drove an Israeli soldier in his vehicle” (State secular schools, Through the Words: Book D [כנרת .'ד ספר :המילים דרך], 2009, Grade 4, Part 4, p.203, LP1892).

“Abu Salah had long been our friend and neighbor. Only a low stone fence separated our cemetery and his house. In the summer, Abu Salah would bring us coal for the bakery oven, and in the winter, when our car got stuck in the mud, he would bring the milk on his camels” (State religious schools, Open the Gate: Anthology for 6th Grade,[ו לכיתה מקראה :השער את פתחו '], Grade 6, p. 304, LP1254).

As illustrated in two of these examples, positive characterizations of Arabs or their actions in Israeli State books typically refer to individuals rather than to Arabs as a whole or as a nation.

An example of positive description of the act of the other from Palestinian books

The following divine books: 1 - "The messages of Abraham (peace be upon him) and Moses call for belief in God Almighty, worshipping Him, and following noble morals". 2 - The Torah: Was revealed to Moses (peace be upon him) to guide the children of Israel. 3 - The Zabour: Was revealed to David (peace be upon him) with sermons and guidance for the children of Israel. 4 - The Gospel: Was revealed to Jesus (peace be upon him) to guide the children of Israel, and to reaffirm what Moses (peace be upon him) had brought”. Islamic Education part 1 grade 3 p. 17

When it comes to the Israeli textbooks, they denigrate the positive messages by saying they were about individual Arabs and not Arabs as a whole. But humanizing the other side is of course much more effective and has greater impact than only referring to the other side as a nameless mass of people. If the researchers were not biased to find "balance" they would have praised the Israeli books' representation of Arabs.

But more egregious is the single example that they bring of a supposedly positive characterization of Jews in Arab textbooks. They don't refer to Abraham, Moses or David (or Jesus) as Jews - in Islam, they are considered Islamic prophets!

In other words, from what we can tell, there was not a single positive characterization of contemporary Jews in any Arab textbook, while there were quite a few positive characterizations of contemporary Arabs in Israeli textbooks!

Does that sound equivalent to you?

Egyptian preacher says women in Tahrir Square WANT to be raped

Feminists have accused the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood of hiring thugs to sexually assault women demonstrators.

In response, female MB member Azza al-Garf scoffed at the idea that Islamists would do such a thing:

"The Islamist view of the woman is to respect to her and her status and roles in life, whether it is a professional or humanitarian role or her role within the home and community. How can [the Muslim Brotherhood] be the ones inciting these heinous acts?" asked Garf.

How indeed can anyone accuse Islamists of condoning sexual abuse and rape?

Just don't read or watch this:

An Egyptian Salafi preacher said raping and sexually harassing women protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square is justified, calling them “crusaders” who “have no shame, no fear and not even feminism.”

In an online video posted Wednesday, Ahmad Mahmoud Abdullah, known as “Abu Islam” and owner of the private television channel of “al-Ummah,” said these women are no red line.

“They tell you women are a red line. They tell you that naked women -- who are going to Tahrir Square because they want to be raped -- are a red line! And they ask Mursi and the Brotherhood to leave power!,” he said.

Abu Islam added that these women activists are going to Tahrir Square not to protest but to be sexually abused because they had wanted to be raped.

“They have no shame, no fear and not even feminism. Practice your feminism, sheikha! It is a legitimate right for you to be a woman,” he said.

“And by the way, 90 percent of them are crusaders and the remaining 10 percent are widows who have no one to control them. You see women talking like monsters,” he added.

Abu Islam further described these female political activists as “devils.”

“You see a woman with this fuzzy hair! A devil! Devils called women. Learn from Muslim women, learn and be Muslims. There are Muslims and Muslimix.”

Abu Islam was apparently referring to liberal Muslims as “Muslimix.”

I'm confused. I can see Abu Islam's face clearly in this video. Does this mean that men who are attracted to him are allowed to rape him?

By looking at how he is dressing, I think he is asking - actually, begging - for it.

Egyptian op-ed: "No difference between Zionists and Jews, they all hate Islam"

From an op-ed in Egypt's Dostor Daily by female columnist Majed al-Khelfo:

Koran 5:82: Thou wilt surely find the most hostile of men to the believers are the Jews and the idolaters

The Quran in this verse describes feelings of hatred and animosity of two sets of people toward believers in Muhammad peace be upon him. These two communities are the Jews and the idolaters...You cannot decide the truth concerning the relationship of hostility to the believers [is limited to] a given time, the Quran and His signs are all facts revealed for every time and place; the text of the Koran is eternal and their enmity cannot be changed or altered, and can not be transformed into affection.

Just like you cannot turn fire into water or water into fire, this [Koranic] text recognizes for every Muslim the eternal facts about Jews: the Jews of the time of Moses are the same as the Jews in the time of Jesus, the same as the Jews at the time of Muhammad peace be upon him, and the same as the Jews in our time. The Jews hate of Muslims, they have vindictive feelings against Islam and the Prophet of Islam, and they are ungrateful for God's blessings on them throughout time....

It is odd nowadays to find intellectuals, journalists and pundits who try to to find a basis for the separation of Jews and Israelis, to differentiate people between those who belong to the Hebrew entity perched on our chests in Palestine, who came into the world and found himself a Jew.... there is no difference between the Jew and the Israeli, as both have gleaned a culture of hatred of Islam and Muslims since birth, and drank it with his mother's milk, and Jewish children learn this in school at a very early age.

...[They teach] their children that the Quran is not sacred, to that extent they claim Muhammad peace be upon him is a figment of imagination and the Koran depends in large part on what was in the Jewish religious books, and they teach their children that the Koran is inspired by the Bible, the Quran is like Mohammed's Torah, and the Hadith and the Sunnah are like the oral Torah complement the Quran.

Their children's books as well as in books for adults even more exude all hatred against Islam and Prophet of Islam. One is not surprised that this is their attitude, as the Quran says about them: "Although those who were given the book to know that truth from their Lord..." - (Cow 144) they know that Islam is right, and they know that Muhammad, peace be upon him was the greatest of the prophets and messengers, and they know that the Quran is right; much as they are sure that their own books had been affected by tampering and forgery.

Notice that Jews must not only be hated because they criticize the Quran - they must be hated because they don't accept the truth of the Quran!

The Great Zionist Restroom Conspiracy

Arab media and social media are upset over what they call "demolitions" near the Kotel, what they like to call "Buraq Square" even though it was the Jews who made it into a square.

Fatah official Abbas Zaki warned of the "Judaization scheme implemented by the Israeli occupation authorities in Jerusalem including dredging operations in the Buraq Square through the demolition of arches and windows of the historic building on the north side of the plaza near the Al Aqsa Mosque."

Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib also condemned the work being done saying it was endangering historic buildings and meant to implement a huge development plan.

Here are some photos:

However, as I was emailed by Johnny Bravo, this is meant to enlarge the entrance to the underground Kotel Tunnels - and to renovate the restrooms.

Indeed, a quick Google Streetview shot shows what the area looked like recently, and it is obvious that the buildings being demolished are modern, not historic.

Plus, note the restroom signs:

Those Jews, wantonly destroying ancient Islamic toilets!

Satellite images indicate Israel struck convoy, not buildings, in Syria

From Times of Israel:

Satellite images of a Syrian research facility north of Damascus published on Wednesday appear to contain proof of an airstrike allegedly carried out by Israel against an arms convoy last week.

The Digital Globe satellite photos, broadcast by Channel 2, show a smoke-blackened parking lot outside the Jamraya scientific research facility that, in images published on Google Earth before the bombing, was not charred.

Contrary to the admissions of the Syrian state news agency SANA, from an aerial view none of the buildings at the site appears to have been damaged in the alleged strike.

Syrian TV showed at least one shot of alleged damage to the facility, along with shots of charred vehicles.

So why is Syria exaggerating, or possibly fabricating, the damage? Are they trying to get Iran to keep its promise of attacking Israel to move world attention away from their bombing their own people?

(h/t Yoel)

PA official says foreign leaders visiting Gaza can "go to hell"

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by PA Minister for Religious Endowment Mahmoud Habbash, which aired on Palestinian Authority TV on January 25, 2013:

Mahmoud Habbash: For decades, various regimes, forces, and leaders have tried to drive a wedge between the Palestinians, and to take over the Palestinian decision-making and the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestine people. They tried, but they were trampled underfoot, and they ended up in the garbage bin of history.

All those who play similar games today, using flashy slogans of humanity and solidarity... Any Arab or Islamic official – even if he is a brother or a friend – who goes to Gaza in a political capacity, thus deepening the Palestinian rift – we will point an accusing finger at him, and declare, unequivocally, that we are against him. Let nobody be angry at us for doing so, for the interests of our people are above all other interests, considerations, and ties. This issue is not open to negotiation or to discussion.

We are the people of the Gaza Strip. To anyone who wants to show solidarity with our people in Gaza, I say: There is only one gateway leading to the Palestinian people – the gateway of the PLO, of the state of Palestine, of its president, and of its government. Anyone who wants to take a different path can go to hell. He and the aid he brings can go to hell. We don't want it!

The PLO is clearly worried that Hamas has already become the de facto leader of the Palestinian Arabs among some segments of the Muslim world.

This speech does not project strength but fear.

The PA is becoming less relevant, and any "unity" deal would help Hamas in the West Bank far more than it helps Fatah in Gaza.

The Iranian space-monkey gets interviewed

An Iranian blogger wrote a very funny parody interview with the monkey allegedly shot into space on an Iranian sub-orbital rocket. From MEMRI:

"After many efforts, and after bribing the zoo bouncer... our correspondent managed to interview the Iranian space monkey:

"Is your name Aftab ["sun" in Persian], and can we call you that?

"Aftab the monkey: I was sent into space from a street named The Glory of Islam, at a cost of a billion toman, bringing the blessing of peace to all space aficionados and to Iran, the breeder of martyrs, and also to the leader of the astronauts, the supporters of the space [program of] in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also to all the monkeys who were martyred on the path to the conquest of the heights of space. [This came] in advance of the 10 days of Fajr [Iranian Revolution Day celebrations] or what people call the 10 days of suffering... You may call me Aftab.

"What made you decide to become an astronaut?

"Aftab the monkey: Truly, we [monkeys] are mistaken in thinking that we want to, or like to, become astronauts and go into space. What does a monkey have to do with space? We belong in the treetops! But after being kidnapped by the sinful soldier brothers of the Imam Zaman [usually referring to the Mahdi; here it is apparently mocking Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei], I was transferred to Evin [Prison], where I spend six months in solitary confinement. After that [came] interrogation by the confession brothers, under the guidance of brother Hossein the interrogator, and I resisted. Ultimately, they brought in a large bear who called me a rabbit. I broke; I volunteered to become an Islamic astronaut in order to destroy the plundering Israel and the imperialist America. I only insisted that they present me as an astronaut who is a member of the Basij. They refused, and I don't know why.

"All in all, how long did it take you to become an astronaut?

"Aftab the monkey: If you count the time I spent in solitary [and in Evin] and in training, I managed to attain this great honor in under a year. Indeed, I [would like to give] special thanks to my brother Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of the state and the servant of Imam Zaman, who was my model in carrying out this divine mission."

"Tell us a bit about your training...

"Aftab the monkey: After reciting the morning prayer and the verses, and after the fear, I went to a special room with a very high ceiling. After reciting the prayer of Ja'far Al-Tayyar [a hero from early Islam], I put my legs together in a special place and, with an 'Allah Akhbar,' waved my legs in the air. At first, I couldn't gain [even] a meter [in altitude], but with reminders from the cable and the whip, [wielded by] one of the brothers... I managed to break the record, [attaining] 15 meters and 37 centimeters, with the miraculous aid and prayers of the best of the marjaya and the senior ayatollahs.

"Of course, I fasted every day, and the fast was one of the most difficult and important parts of my training – because in space you can't purify yourself. If, God forbid, overeating causes secretion of filth [i.e. excretion], the entire project will be unclean. Everyone needs to purify themselves in water, according to the Islamic law for the month of Ramadan and every fast day, so that our activity will be pure and untainted, and acceptable to God...

..."[Share] one memory with our readers.

"Aftab the monkey: My most vivid memory has to do with the time I had doubts about carrying out religious duties in space. Because, as it is written in the Koran and in the precepts of Islam, these tasks are for performing on earth, and a human was designated as the Messenger of Allah on earth; I, as a space monkey, do not belong, and am not obligated by this. This threw me into a spiritual crisis. Via chat, the brothers read me verses [of the ayatollahs] Safi Golpaygani and Makarem Shirazi, in addition to good advice and explanations of the meaning of and punishment for heresy by these two respected [ayatollahs] – and the light of belief again shone in my heart.

"And our final question: What do you plan to do next?

"Aftab the monkey: I have many plans, the most important of which is sending live Muslims into space, and from there to Paradise, and after that to find a planet with all the [necessary] conditions for holding public prayers.

"Thank you. Is there anything you want to tell our readers?

"Aftab the monkey: My words to young people are to keep these slogans at the forefront of their revolutionary lives: 'The road to Jerusalem leads through Mars'; 'War, war, until the sun in space is conquered'; 'Uranus, Uranus, we are coming'; 'Rocket, rocket to victory'; 'God, God, protect [Ayatollah] Jannati to the next galaxy'..."

Wednesday links: Flying shoes, the EU and Hezbollah, South Korea loves Israel

From Ian:

Suit: Money funneled by former ‘Ground Zero’ mosque imam to finance lavish lifestyle
Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf pocketed money for trips, real estate and a fancy car, the suit charges

“The ex-“Ground Zero” imam, his pockets stuffed with donations given to Islamic nonprofits, splurged on a high-flying lifestyle that included expensive trips with a New Jersey gal pal, a stunning new lawsuit charges.
The married Feisal Abdul Rauf fleeced the Malaysian government for $3 million and a Westchester County couple for $167,000, according to a lawsuit filed by the couple, businessman Robert Deak and his wife Moshira Soliman.
The money was given to help Rauf’s two nonprofits, the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society for Muslim Advancement, which work to combat anti-Islamic sentiment”.
Instead, the controversial imam used some of the cash to provide lavish gifts and getaways to a woman identified as Evelyn Adorno, who shared “a personal relationship with Rauf,” said Deak’s attorney, Jonathan Nelson.

Mali Reveals the Media’s Gaza Bias

"Yet when it comes to Islamists in Gaza, suddenly all moral clarity disappears in an avalanche of clichéd images and headlines ignoring the most basic truths. France can launch military attacks about 2,000 miles south of its border in response to an Islamist threat that endangers nobody in France, but Israel is vilified if it responds militarily to deadly rocket attacks targeting its civilians from two miles to its south."

What brings Obama to Israel?
As observers scratch their heads and wonder why the US president would make the trip, the simple answer may be: because he said he would

Honest Reporting: A Super Bowl of Silly BDS Coverage

The Guardian joins BDS nitpicking over a SodaStream factory’s West Bank location. The “sizzle” is that SodaStream happened to advertise during the Super Bowl.
Is every single BDS press release a story for The Guardian?

US condemns Turkey’s ‘inflammatory comments’ on Syria
Washington says FM Davutoglu’s call for Syria to retaliate for alleged Israeli airstrike doesn’t help resolve civil war

"The US State Department on Tuesday said it lodged a complaint with Ankara for inflammatory statements made Saturday by the Turkish foreign minister calling on Syria to retaliate against last week’s alleged Israeli strike.
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that the US was very troubled by the “inflammatory comments” made by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Saturday."

U.S. must recognize Israel's control of the Golan
Syrian civil war should prompt U.S. to change its policy

"As the crisis in Syria intensifies, Israel's appreciation for the Golan will go beyond the sentimental to an actual real-time appreciation for the security it provides.
The time is ripe for the United States to show tangible support for its closest ally in the Middle East. The time is ripe for the United States to help maintain the Golan as an Israeli safe space for Arabs and Jews away from the brutal carnage of the nearby Syrian civil war. Now more than ever, it is time for the U.S. to recognize the Golan for what it is: Israeli."

Analysis: EU treats Hezbollah with its own logic
Political interests of some EU states dictate organization's stand on Hezbollah, which won't change because of Bulgarian report.

".. when it comes to Hezbollah, the EU has a logic all its own. An example of this came last month when the EU-observer, an online newspaper devoted to EU politics, reported that the union’s top counterterrorism official, Gilles de Kerchove, said responsibility for that blast will not necessarily qualify Hezbollah for the terror blacklist.
“There is no automatic listing just because you have been behind a terrorist attack,” he said in a comment that forces a double-take."

Kerry to Europe: Cut Funding to Hizbullah
U.S. Secretary of State urges Europe to cut off funding to Hizbullah after Bulgaria blames the terror group for the Burgas bus bombing.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday urged Europe to cut off funding to the Hizbullah terror group, after Bulgaria blamed Hizbullah for an attack that killed five Israeli tourists in July.
"We strongly urge other governments around the world -- and particularly our partners in Europe -- to take immediate action to crack down on Hizbullah," Kerry said, according to AFP.

Bystander chucks his shoe at Ahmadinejad during Cairo visit VIDEO

4 arrested in Egypt after shoe thrown at Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

"Egypt's security arrested four men who were protesting outside a Cairo mosque, where the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was praying.
The men, including a Syrian, belong to the ultra-conservative Sunni Salafist movement.
One man threw a shoe at Ahmadinejad, a Shiite, who was never in any danger."

Despite sanctions, Ahmadinejad offers loan to Egypt
During 1st trip to Egypt by an Iranian leader in 34 years, Ahmadinejad offers Morsi "credit line" to cash-strapped leader.

"Iran has offered to lend money to cash-strapped Egypt despite being under international economic sanctions itself over its nuclear program, visiting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted on Wednesday as saying.
The two countries do not have diplomatic relations but Egypt's first Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi, gave Ahmadinejad a red-carpet welcome on Tuesday when he became the first Iranian leader to visit in more than 34 years."

Democracies must care for Pakistan’s minorities
Governments of the world’s leading democracies still continue to gloss over Pakistan’s minority rights violations

"Hell-bent on creating a feudal, irrational order based on the fanatic Wahhabi-Deobandi version of Islam, these obscurantist, reactionary forces have increasingly prevailed upon the state to resort to policies that would make the lives of people of all other faiths and values living in the country miserable.
In the process, the plight of Pakistan’s minorities has gone from bad to worse over the years. Most of the minorities in Pakistan – Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Baha’i, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis), Ahmadis, Shi’ites and Mohajirs – non-Muslims and non-Sunni Muslims both – have either resorted to exodus or conversion."

Living with hope in the shadow of the bomb
Like Israel with Iran, South Korea faces a hostile neighbor closing in on nuclear weapons. Unlike Israel, however, it’s not talking about military intervention

"Many Koreans believe that Jews win more Nobel Prizes than others because of the wisdom hidden in the Talmud. That’s why an abridged version of the Talmud can be found “in every household” in South Korea, the country’s Ambassador to Israel Kim Il-Soo said during a recent interview.
“That makes our two nations understand each other better,” he said.

Unlikely Coupling: Iranian-Israeli Rita to Perform at UN (VIDEO)

Rita, the Israeli-Iranian singer who has been a cultural bridge between the otherwise diametrically opposed nations, will be appearing at the UN on March, 5. The show will be titled “Tunes for Peace” and seeks to “build bridges, foster inner-cultural dialogue, and connect people to people,” according to a flier for the event. The performance will take place in the General Assembly Hall.

Israel’s OurCrowd spreads investment joy, and risk
Crowdfunding is quickly becoming a popular model for start-up fundraising, and an Israeli group has taken the model and run with it

IDF Saves Life of 13-Year-Old PA Boy
An IDF medical team on Sunday saved the life of a 13-year-old Palestinian Authority dialysis patient.

"An IDF medical team on Sunday saved the life of a 13-year-old Palestinian Authority dialysis patient whose life was in danger due to the worsening of his condition.
"We received a call around nine in the morning from the Chief Medical Officer of the Judea and Samaria Division informing us that there was a boy hospitalized in the Jenin hospital in need of further intensive care," said Lt. Abed Rabah, Medical Officer of the Menashe Regional Brigade in the Judea and Samaria Division, according to the blog of the Israel Defense Forces."

Also:

Ha'aretz Admits 'Land Grab' Story Unfounded

Europe OK with Occupation – and With Hezbollah (h/t Bill)

JPost: (h/t Josh)

A university professor who believes Israel created Hamas and argues that it is a victim of dehumanization by Israel, rather than the other way around, was supposed to provide an unbiased opinion on Israeli textbooks?

British Philosemite Julie Burchill: “Israel is the perfect country in every way. My only criticism is that it could stand to be quite a bit bigger.”

Egyptian PM: "Women's dirty breasts cause diarrhea"

From The Daily Mail:

The Egyptian prime minister has blamed a diarrhoea epidemic sweeping through rural areas on women not keeping their breasts clean.

Prime Minister Hisham Qandil said he had witnessed children suffering from diarrhoea immediately after they had been breastfed because their mothers hadn't cleaned themselves probably.

He added that many women in rural Egypt don't even bother to clean their breasts at all before feeding their youngsters.

Qandil was speaking about the spate of recent epidemics in Egypt's rural communities during an address at a cabinet meeting.
Women members present were noticeably uncomfortable as Qandil made the comments, according to an online report from International Business Times.

Qandil previously caused widespread anger by offering a bizarre solution to Egypt's power crisis.

He urged the Egyptians to wear cotton clothes and gather in a single room to conserve power.

Qandil, 50, is the youngest Prime Minister of Egypt in the last five decades. He served as the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation before being appointed by President Mohammed Mursi.

I think Qandil misunderstands the concept of "talking dirty."

Nevertheless, this kind of scientific rigor is what makes Egypt the successful country it is today, and the leader of the Arab world.

(h/t jzaik)