Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, March 22, 2013

Why does Obama differentiate between Hamas and Hezbollah?

In President Obama's much-heralded speech in Jerusalem yesterday he briefly talked about both Hamas and Hezbollah - but his remarks about these two terror groups were starkly different:

When I consider Israel’s security, I think about children like Osher Twito, who I met in Sderot – children, the same age as my own daughters, who went to bed at night fearful that a rocket would land in their bedroom simply because of who they are and where they live. That’s why we’ve invested in the Iron Dome system to save countless lives – because those children deserve to sleep better at night. That’s why we have made it clear, time and again, that Israel cannot accept rocket attacks from Gaza, and have stood up for Israel’s right to defend itself. And that’s why Israel has a right to expect Hamas to renounce violence and recognize Israel’s right to exist.

I think about five Israelis who boarded a bus in Bulgaria, who were blown up because of where they came from; who were robbed of the ability to live, and love, and raise families. That’s why every country that values justice should call Hezbollah what it truly is – a terrorist organization. Because the world cannot tolerate an organization that murders innocent civilians, stockpiles rockets to shoot at cities, and supports the massacre of men, women and children in Syria.

The US still officially considers Hamas a terror group. Yet, in this speech, Hamas is considered capable of renouncing violence and recognizing Israel, while Hezbollah is considered irredeemable.

This is even more jarring because on the very same day that Obama made this distinction, the "political arm" of Hamas - not the Al Qassam Brigades, but the "pragmatic" Khaled Meshal - issued a major policy document that re-affirms Hamas' commitment to terrorism and to never accept Israeli sovereignty over a single square inch of land.

Obama is doing no one any favors by being conciliatory towards Hamas. On the contrary, he should have made it clear to Abbas that any unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas would put Fatah in the same terrorist category - because, if Obama was clear-sighted, he would know that Hamas' principles are far stronger than Fatah's quasi-acceptance of Israel is, and it is not possible for Hamas to ever change.

In fact, today is the ninth anniversary of the death of Hamas founder and master terrorist Sheikh Yassin, and the pro-Fatah media is singing his praises. If anyone is going to bend their principles in a unity agreement, it won't be Hamas.

Obama spent a lot of time talking about how important peace is to the Israeli people, as if they don't know that already. Yet his downplaying of Hamas' terrorism, indeed his refusal to call Hamas a terror group and to insist that other countries do the same, is a major reason that peace is impossible.

Evil must be called out and confronted, not accommodated and swept under the rug. Obama's asking Hamas to accept Israel is as absurd as asking Al Qaeda - or Hezbollah - to do the same.

While the president said a lot of good things, this shows that he still doesn't get it.

Thursday Links Part 2

From Ian:

The UN is objective, the Pope is Jewish and pigs can fly

The official tour of the UN building was highly revealing regarding the UN policy of “balance” and fair play. The UN guide led me through the General Assembly room, complete with its “Palestine” “country sign,” during a session. I was then led to a floor with a display of the results of violence. Some of the highlights included exhibits on landmines, nuclear conflict, and a small display on the Holocaust. The official UN guide did not mention the Holocaust exhibition, but did stop at the display titled “Palestine.” I asked her why she did not talk about the Holocaust exhibition, and she answered that it was “too controversial.” This did not stop her, and every other guide stopping and explaining the “Palestine” exhibition. This large display, on a bright orange background was full of half-truths and misconceptions. It was nothing less than crude Palestinian propaganda, which was lent a veneer of legitimacy by being part of the official UN tour.

Film on Egyptian Jews Cleared For Screening

A documentary on Egyptian Jews that had been blocked by the country's security service will screen in theaters at the end of the month, the film's director said on Wednesday.
"Jews of Egypt on the 27th of March in movie theaters. We won the war against National Security. We got the permit," wrote the director, Amir Ramses, on his Twitter and Facebook accounts.

French philosopher barred from Libya for being a Jew

Bernard-Henri Levy was to join former French president Sarkozy; Tripoli says he could have raised risk of Islamist attacks

Gazan Woman Killed In Suspected Honor Crime

Hiyam, a 23-year-old Palestinian woman, was killed at the hands of her father and brother at dawn on March 8 under the pretext of a so-called honor killing. Her mother Souad, 44, spoke with Al-Monitor at the family's home in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the heart of the Gaza Strip. Looking gray with fatigue, and so worn out she could not even stand, Souad said, “They wronged my daughter Hiyam. She was my eldest daughter and the sweetest of them all. May god avenge her father and brother.”

Tough To Be Female Terrorist Ex-Con in Gaza

PA Arab women terrorists who serve time in Israeli prisons and then attempt to return to Arab society don't have it easy.
The women released from Israeli jails face difficulties in their families and within their villages once reinstated into society and returned to “normal life,” reported Ma’an, a PA news agency based in Bethlehem.
In many cases, the female ex-prisoners either become divorced or, if single, remain that way for the rest of their lives.
According to one, Wafa’a al-Bis, the women face marginalization, exclusion and degrading treatment in return for their so-called sacrifice for holy cause of jihad promoted to them since their youth.

Turkish PM doubles down on Zionism comments

Erdogan says he doesn't take back remarks that Zionism is crime against humanity, but calls uproar a "misunderstanding."
However, Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies, told The Jerusalem Post that the Turkish leader’s comments to the paper were little more than damage control.
“Erdogan’s reaction is part of a concerted effort to minimize the damage of his ‘Zionism equals crime against humanity’ statement that attracted a lot of international criticism,” he said. “He simply tries to tone down his anti-Semitism when it harms his and Turkey’s standing in the world community.”

Why is President Morsi helping Israel, not Hamas?

Washington Watch: Hamas expected Morsi to end Mubarak’s cooperation with Israel’s blockade of Gaza, but if anything the noose has tightened.
“The message Morsi sends to Hamas is ‘if you expected because I am a Muslim Brother I will share in your irresponsibility and I will bring relations with Egypt and Israel to the brink of eruption, I will not play your game,” Schueftan said. “And this message to a large [degree] is responsible for the relative tranquility we have now surrounding Gaza since the fighting.”

Jewish Delegation Receives Special Nod At Pope Francis Installation

Pope Francis opened his speech by saying he was speaking “with the permission of the diplomatic corps, the Jews who are with us and all the rest,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
Many in the Jewish community hope Pope Francis will continue the strong legacy of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, in strengthening Catholic-Jewish relations.

Book by pope and rabbi to be translated to English

A book on topics important to Judaism and Catholicism co-written by Pope Francis and a rabbi from Argentina will be translated into English.
“On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family and the Church in the 21st Century,” will be available in the United States and Canada on May 7, according to its publisher, Image Books, Reuters reported.

Bar Refaeli ad aired over army protests

Days after a high-profile row with the IDF over Bar Refaeli’s army service, the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday released a pro-Israel ad starring the international supermodel.
On Sunday, news of Refaeli’s participation in the planned PR campaign spurred IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai to write a letter urging the Foreign Ministry to consider “the negative message sent out to Israeli society by the inclusion of Bar Refaeli, who did not complete national service, as Israel’s representative in a public relations campaign.”

Making water better, molecule by molecule
Israel’s BGU will collaborate with UChicago to solve the world’s water problems using nanotechnology

Israel’s got one of the most advanced water desalination programs in the world and dozens of successful water conservation and reclamation projects. Now, cutting-edge Israeli research on water technology will make its way to American academia, as the University of Chicago and Ben-Gurion University have signed a partnership agreement to create new water production and purification technologies for deployment in regions of the globe where freshwater resources are scarce — based on nanotechnology.

A lollipop that helps you lose weight
Say goodbye to pills and hello to fortified confectionery. An Israeli company has developed candies with health benefits.

Carmit Candy Industries recently unveiled its original line of fortified confectionery products at the Natural Products Expo West industry event in the United States. The innovative lollipops, wafers and toffees are formulated to help shed pounds, boost the immune system and promote bone health.
“Healthier food, and the importance that diet has on health, is a major consumer trend for many years,” says CEO Steve Grun.

Celebrating Passover with 50,000 dominos
Pyramids came tumbling down in Israel’s record-breaking domino chain, set up in Beersheva.

The Passover story has been told in a myriad of media. Two young Israelis recently gave the holiday narrative a new rendition in the form of a 50,000-strong domino chain.
It took Ben-Gurion University of the Negev mathematics student Yogev Levy and his friend Nissim Lopaz, a manager at a Jerusalem bike shop, 72 hours to set up the enormous Passover tableau in the lobby of the Samuel and Milada Ayrton University Center in Beersheva.

Major report released on anti-semitism in Facebook

The Online Hate Prevention Institute released a major new report into antisemitism on Facebook to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is today.

There are some stunning examples in the report of truly vile anti-semitic imagery in Facebook. Many have been removed by Facebook but only when they saw an advanced version of this report or saw mention of the offending items in the media, but they had previously responded that it didn't violate their standards. Here is one example that was only deleted after publicity:

Others are still on Facebook:

The report argues that Facebook is using a very narrow definition of anti-semitism, allowing many hateful cartoons and memes to be published there.

Here is the full report:

Recognizing Hate Speech: Antisemitism on Facebook by Andre Oboler

The Elder of Ziyon Haggadah - still free to download!

A few years ago I grabbed a bunch of Haggadah commentaries online, mostly on the theme of redemption and Zionism, and formatted them into this, the Elder of Ziyon Haggadah:

Elder of Ziyon Haggadah 5769

A couple of thousand people had downloaded it but I just put it up on Scribd so you can browse through it without downloading the whole thing. But it looks good printed in color and bound.

Enjoy!

Thursday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Israeli Apartheid Week Project Shows True State of Israel’s Arabs

The Mida information and news site asked its readers to document incidents of discrimination, segregation, humiliation and exclusion of Arabs from Israeli public life.
The findings were staggering and proved that the claims heard internationally against Israel are no more than a farce.

Local Arabs who used the buses have praised the new service. Chaim Levinson, a Haaretz reporter, writes that thanks to this reform, thousands of workers who were previously exploited by private services have finally received professional and orderly services provided by the State of Israel.
Levinson interviewed Halil, a construction worker from Hevron, who was once forced to sleep away from home to get on time to his job. The new bus service enables him to sleep at home and saves him a large sum of money every month.

Jewish Anti-Semites Finally Come Out of the Closet

There you have it, Israel is more evil than the former white South African regime. Is it possible that Israel’s attacks on Gaza had something to do with the fact that Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza, has in its official charter an exhortation to kill Jews and destroy the State of Israel? Did it have anything to do with the fact that Palestinians fired more than 2000 rockets from Gaza into Israel in 2012? When asked about the rocket attacks, Ehrenreich replied: “Rockets? What rockets? I don’t see any rockets. Do you see any rockets?”

My Conversation With J Street’s Jeremy Ben-Ami by Roz Rothstein is the CEO of StandWithUs.

Looking back at the evening’s discussion, I am saddened that Mr. Ben-Ami insists that he and J Street are helping Israel, when in reality the actions of his organization are only hurting Israel and the advancement of peace. While we all wish for a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, J Street’s work only emboldens Palestinians to continue their history of rejectionism and incitement. J Street encourages Palestinian refusal to return to negotiations because it does not require any accountability from them and does not seek to change hateful attitudes towards Israel—both of which are prerequisites for a lasting peace.

Obama in Israel Says He is in ‘Historic Homeland of the Jewish People’

Obama said, “More than 3,000 years ago, the Jewish people lived here, tended the land here, prayed to God here. And after centuries of exile and persecution, unparalleled in the history of man, the founding of the Jewish state of Israel, was a rebirth, a redemption, unlike any in history. Today, the sons of Abraham and the daughters of Sarah are fulfilling the dream of the ages: to be masters of their own fate in their own sovereign state. Just as we have for these past 65 years, the United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend.”

Honest Reporting: Five Media Spins to Watch for During Obama Visit

While most media reports ahead of the visit noted the Obama administration’s desire to “reboot” relations between the US and Israel, there are a number of issues that often come up whenever some of media report on Israel in the diplomatic arena.
The following are five of the main media spins to watch for in coverage of the Obama visit.

Large Arab Anti-Obama Protest as President Goes to Ramallah

As U.S. President Obama arrived in Ramallah for talks with PA officials, Arabs staged a large anti-Obama demonstration.
Israel Television reporter Yoram Cohen said that the demonstrators shouts could be heard at the site where PA chief Mahmoud Abbas greeted Obama and his entourage, who had arrived from Jerusalem by helicopter.

PA Official: 'Obama Not Wanted in Ramallah'

PA Arabs are not happy that U.S. President Barack H. Obama is paying Ramallah a visit Thursday
“Obama is not wanted here,” said Rassam al-Massry, a top PA official and an organizer of protests against the President's visit. “He declared that he will not pressure Israel to return to negotiations, and he thwarts every attempt by the Palestinians to condemn Israel in the UN,” he said.

BBC opens comments on Obama visit article, quotes flotilla organiser

Sharp-eyed readers will also notice that the BBC’s article quotes Huwaida Arraf, describing her as a “demonstrator”.
The article fails to point out to BBC audiences that Huwaida Arraf is one of the founders and leaders of the ‘International Solidarity Movement’ (ISM) and the flotilla-organising ‘Free Gaza Movement’, both of which provide support to Hamas, and who was an active participant in the ISM support group to the Palestinian terrorists who took over the Church of the Nativity in 2002.

While Obama’s on Tour, Congress Sends Tough Love to PA

This proposed legislation requires several things of the Palestinian Authority without which it will not receive certain U.S. benefits including significant financial aid and the privilege of being referred to as anything other than "the areas controlled by the Palestinian
Those actions which the PA will be expected to do and to cease doing include: end government corruption, regularly condemn terrorism, confiscate unauthorized weapons, bring terrorists to justice, end incitement to violence and hatred in PA media, schools, mosques, cease all boycotts of Israel, conducts diplomatic relations with Israel just as it does with any other country, and refuse to co-govern with Hamas. The Accountability Act also directs that “no United States document may refer to the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority as ‘Palestine’ until the secretary of state has certified to congress” that the foregoing conditions have been met.

Egyptian leaders fear ‘Muslim Brotherhoodization'

Egyptian military academy director Maj.-Gen Esmat Murad revealed that students affiliated with Islamist political factions have been accepted into the academy, according to a report on Wednesday in the London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat. This includes Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s nephew.
Murad told a press conference on Tuesday that the academy’s graduating class includes 109 members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt judges recommend dissolution of Brotherhood

Legality of President Morsi’s party has been the subject of a lengthy dispute

Ex-Hezbollah member leads movement against terror group

Hezbollah's Shiite policies and involvement in Syrian crisis raises outcry in Lebanon; new movement from group's stronghold presents national alternative

Cyprus criminal court convicts Hezbollah member

His conviction is the first time that a Hezbollah member has been found guilty of criminal activity with respect to the targeting of Israeli citizens in a European court.
Yaacoub faces eight charges in the criminal court in the city of Limassol. The court is slated to sentence him on March 28.

From Al Arabiya:

Iran will “annihilate” the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if it comes under attack by the Jewish state, the Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Thursday.

“Every now and then the leaders of the Zionist regime threaten Iran with a military attack,” Khamenei said in a live televised speech from the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, referring to Israel.

“They should know that if they commit such a blunder, the Islamic republic will annihilate Tel Aviv and Haifa,” he said.

Inevitably, apologists like fourth-rate academic and self-declared Iran expert Juan Cole will note that Iran's threats are only in response to an Israeli military attack.

He won't note that any Israeli action would only threaten military targets. Khamanei just said he would happily murder millions of Israeli citizens (about four million live in the metropolitan areas of Tel Aviv and Haifa.)

Also, notice that while Khamanei just said he'd murder millions of innocents, this is supposedly against Islamic law. Yet idiots like Cole always say that since nuclear weapons are "forbidden" in Islamic law, then Iran would never deploy them. Apparently Islamic law is more flexible than Iran apologists pretend it is.

Finally, there is only one way to "annihilate" Tel Aviv - and that is through weapons of mass destruction.

We just learned a lot from this little threat.

Hamas' official position paper on the destruction of Israel

Khaled Meshal, Hamas' "political" leader who is touted as being more moderate than his colleagues in Gaza, has published a major position paper for Hamas to explain its political positions.

It adds very little to what we already knew.

The paper lists nineteen positions, which include:

1. Palestine from the river to the sea, and from north to south, is a land of the Palestinian people and its homeland and its legitimate right, we may not a waiver an inch or any part thereof, no matter what the reasons and circumstances and pressures.

2. Palestine - all of Palestine - is a land of Islamic and Arab affiliation, a blessed sacred land, that has a major portion in the heart of every Arab and Muslim

3. No recognition of the legitimacy of the occupation whatever; this is a principled position, political and moral, and therefore do not recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and recognition of "Israel" and the legitimacy of its presence on any part of Palestine no matter how long; nand it will not be long, God willing.

4. Liberation of Palestine is a national duty; it is the responsibility of the Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nation, it is also a humanitarian responsibility in accordance with the requirements of truth and justice.

5. Jihad and the armed resistance is the right and real method for the liberation of Palestine, and the restoration of all the rights, together with, of course, all forms of political and diplomatic struggle including in the media, public and legal [spheres]; with the need to mobilize all the energies of the nation in the battle

6. Resistance is a means and not an end, if we have another way without blood and painful sacrifices to liberate the land and ending the occupation and the restoration of rights we would take it, but history proves that there is no option to expel the occupiers and restore the land and rights without using all forms of resistance, led by armed resistance.

7. We are not fighting Jews because they are Jews, but are fighting the Zionist Jews occupiers, the aggressors, and we will fight anyone who tries to attack us or usurp our rights or occupy our land, regardless of religion or affiliation, race or nationality.

8. The Zionist project is a racist project based on murder and terrorism, and so it is the enemy of the Palestinian people and the nation, and is a real threat to them, and a huge threat to its security and interests, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a danger to the security of the humanitarian community and the interests and stability.

9. Jerusalem is an Islamic and Christian [holy place], we many not give it up not relinquish any part of it, it is our right and our spirit, our history, our present and our future, which is the capital of Palestine, and dearest to the hearts of Arabs and Muslims.... Israel has no legitimacy and no right to to Jerusalem at all, nor any legitimacy nor right to all of Palestine. And all actions of Israel in Jerusalem to Judaize and settle and falsification of facts and attempts to fabricate history are void.

10. Upholding the right of return of Palestinian refugees and displaced persons to their homes from which they were expelled, or were prevented from returning, both in the occupied territories in 1948 or 1967, to all of Palestine; we refuse to compromise in any way for this right. At the same time reject all settlement projects or alternative homelands.... [some detail on how people proposed Lebanon or Jordan or the Sinai as alternate homelands]

11. The unity of the Palestinian land: The West Bank (including Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip and the occupied land of 1948, one land with all its geography, it is one unit, not part separated from the other, which is a whole nation of the Palestinian people. The situation in Gaza now is exceptional and imposed on us, and not a natural situation, we can not accept that Gaza is separate...

12. And the unity of the Palestinian people Muslims and Christians, and all its intellectual, political and ideological components, and with all the strength and factions, militant and political.

13. The unity of the Palestinian political system and its institutions, and national unity of his authority through the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which needs to be rebuilt on valid grounds, to include all the Palestinian forces and components. ...

14. ...The state is the real first fruit of liberation; there is no alternative to the establishment of a Palestinian state, with real sovereignty over the entire territory.

15. [True] Palestinian national independence: a principle which is based on the non-dependence on any country or party in the world; friend or an ally or an enemy or opponent. But that does not mean that we ...are weakening the Arab and Islamic role, Palestine was and will remain Arab and Islamic, but also a humanitarian issue.

16. Institution-building and the Palestinian National authorities should always be on the basis of democracy, and in the forefront of free and fair elections, equal opportunities....

17. Non-interference in the affairs of other countries, and not to engage in themes and conflicts and alignments between nations....

18. The unity of the nation with all its components, ethnic and religious, we are one nation...

19. Any position or a political programs or tactical initiatives or must be in line with the Palestinian national principle that we have mentioned....therefore we reject any draft agreements or settlements that diminish those principles, principles affecting Palestinian national rights.

There's more, including more about "resistance," but the point is that these principles have been clearly communicated before - the utter rejection of Israel or Jewish rights to any land now and forever and the decision never to abandon terrorism.

Yet Western analysts continue to believe that Hamas is moderating - because it says that if the Jews can be forced out of their land without blood, Hamas would happily allow them to leave.

The amount of self-deception (or, sometimes, just deception) about Hamas in the West is unconscionable. Their policy is right here, multi-layered, in black and white, and it leaves no room for Jewish national rights.

Anyone who says that Israel must make temporary accommodations with a Hamas that is sworn to utterly destroy Israel simply helps Hamas achieve its goal.

There is one interesting omission here, though. In the past Hamas was more upfront about the ultimate goal - an Islamic caliphate that encompasses the entire Middle East. But in a manifesto meant to destroy Israel, emphasizing that goal would water down the message. Save that for phase 2 of the strategy.

It is worth emphasizing that the Islamists think in terms of centuries, not election cycles. This is a true strategy, and they are patient. To them, the Crusades were a century-long blip, and the existence of Israel is even less permanent than that. This is why all concessions are welcomed by Hamas without their giving up anything - because every little bit adds up over time.

Did President Obama bow to the flag of "Palestine"? (UPDATE)

According to Palestine Press Agency, this was the first time that a US president heard the Palestinian National anthem - and the first time a president bowed to the flag of "Palestine."

If so, this would appear to be a breach of presidential protocol. Presidents aren't supposed to bow, period.

Ma'an also reports that the band that greeted Obama botched the US National Anthem.

Waiting to find the video....

UPDATE: Don't see any bowing in this video. The band plays very poorly but I'm not sure I would say "botched."

Rockets from Gaza to greet Obama

From YNet:

Five Qassam rockets were fired at southern Israel from Gaza on Thursday morning, on the second day of US President Barack Obama's visit to the Middle East.

After a long period of calm following Operation Pillar of Defense, a Color Red alert sounded in the city of Sderot at around 7:15 am, followed by additional air raid sirens, one of them in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council.

One of the rockets hit the backyard of a house in Sderot, while another landed in an open area. There were no reports of injuries, but the yard sustained slight damage. Two additional rockets are believed to have landed on Palestinian territory.

According to initial estimates, the rockets were fired from the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun.

JPost adds:

Israel will be watching "very closely" to see if Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will condemn Thursday's Kassam rocket fire on Sderot in his public comments with US President Barack Obama later today, a senior government official said.

During Operation Pillar of Defense, the official said, Abbas "stubbornly refused to do so. He even refused to disassociate himself from those attacks."

The official said Israel will also be watching whether Abbas will cease Fatah's unity talks with Hamas. "These rockets were launched from territory controlled by Hamas, and Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and support peace," he said.

GANSO confirms that the rockets came from Beit Hanoun.

Islamic Jihad's Palestine Today says that one of the rockets ignited a "huge" fire near a kibbutz.

As usual, no one claimed responsibility.

The last rocket was on February 26.

It is notable that Hamas' Khaled Meshal just issued a major paper detailing the political positions of Hamas, and it includes the statement that "Jihad and armed resistance is the right way for the Liberation of Palestine, and the restoration of all our rights, and with it, of course, all forms of political and diplomatic struggle, including in the media, public relations and legal spheres."

Terror leaders insist Obama's Nobel Peace Prize be rescinded

Palestinian Arab terror groups whined Wednesday about President Obama having the audacity to say that Jews have a 3000-year old connection to their land.

These are nothing but "Zionist lies," said the groups.

The leader of the Islamic Jihad terror group, Sheikh Khader Habib, that Obama's statements about the history of the "Palestinian territory" and the existence of Israel 3 thousand years ago is "clear evidence of the American bias to the Zionist entity and marketing of its claims to the Western world and internationally."

He said that Israel is the greatest achievement of Western nations whose existence is meant to destabilize the Middle East.

Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq wrote on his Facebook page that Obama's statements "express blatant bias by the U.S. administration to the Israeli occupation."

He said: "The statements and attitudes of U.S. President did not and will not change the facts of history, which emphasizes the absurdity of betting on the U.S. administration or others to achieve the rights of our people, and that these rights can only be gained through steadfastness and resistance."

A Fatah leader, Dr. Faisal Abu Shahla, said that Obama's remarks are clear evidence that he is "captive" to Israeli pressures as he seeks to achieve and maintain the security "of Israel."

Abu Shahla stressed that the presence of Obama is hopeless to achieve peace and giving the Nobel Peace Prize to him was offensive and it should be withdrawn.

Not that I agree that Obama deserved the prize, but there is something absurd about a leader of a terror group lecturing the US president on morality and peace.

But then again, the former leader of that same terror group actually received that same Nobel Peace Prize, so the perversity goes full circle.

Khaled Abu al-Kheir, writing in Albawaba, rails against the showing of the film "Inglourious Basterds", the Quentin Tarantino revenge fantasy film, which was renamed "Unidentified Villains" on Saudi Arabia's MBC2 network.

He said that the film is a stern warning to all that Jews would extract evil revenge on anyone that is hostile to them.

He claims that the film is part of the psychological warfare operations to brainwash generations of people that Jews have the ability ability to take revenge on their enemies.

This film didn't just have Jews as minor characters - but was replete with them, al-Kheir complains.

He notes that the movie was released at a time "following the Judaization operations carried out by the occupying power of the holy places and all that is Palestinian" and that just as Jews are Judaizing Arab lands, so this movie is Judaizing the media that young people watch.

The film's message is, "accept the Jews and all they do - or else." Al-Kheir says that showing it is "shameful" and has no positive purpose.

My posters used in Ben Dror Yemini lecture in Ireland

Ben Dror Yemini, the famed Maariv columnist and editor, gave a lecture at Taca Hall, Dublin last month called "Myths and Facts of the Middle East."

Yoel pointed out to me that several of my posters were featured in the lecture when he debunked the idea of "Israeli apartheid."

The entire thing is worth watching:

My posters are around the 12 minute mark of part 3.

Here are his slides:

Myths and Facts about the Middle East conflict from MidEastTruth

Wednesday Links Part 2

From Ian:

StandWithUs: Standing Up For Israel

Daphne Anson: "I'm A Muslim, Zionist Arab ... Proud To Be Arab & Israeli"

"My name is Abdol and I’m a Muslim, Zionist Arab. Israel is my home. Israel is where my friends – Arabs & Jews – live. Israel is where I have rights and Israel is where my family lives. I joined the IDF to give back to a country that keeps giving to me.
More profiles at the Australasian Union of Jewish Students

The triumph of monoculturalism in the Middle East
Terra Incognita: In 1948 there were 250,000 Jews in Morocco. Today there are less than 4,000.

Monoculturalism is the tragedy of the Middle East; as the rest of the world became diverse, the Middle East became homogenous, and that homogeneity is also encouraged in Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sudan, northern Nigeria, Kosovo, Turkey, Chechnya and a myriad other countries that learn too much from the example of Saudi Arabia, and learn too little from the example of the United States.

The Russell Tribunal – Kangaroos in Smart Clothing….

With humble apologies and much respect to the fabulous Australian marsupials, it must be said that the Russell Tribunal is nothing more than a kangaroo court. The Russell Tribunal or International War Crimes Tribunal was founded by British philosopher, Bertrand Russell in 1966 with the aim of investigating America’s foreign policy and military intervention in Vietnam. The Russell Tribunal on Palestine was founded in March 1999 with the purpose of investigating crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians. Charges of practising Apartheid have been levelled at the Jewish state. Strange how no investigations have ever been carried out by the Tribunal against suicide bombings or incitement to hate.

Simon Wiesenthal Center Report: BDS “a Thinly-Veiled, Anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic ‘Poison Pill’”

The report concludes, that BDS has no positive impact on peace in the Middle East: “Those truly committed to a ‘Two State Solution’ will never serve the cause of peace by embracing the anti-Semitic BDS. Honest people have a choice between two options only: a return to currently unfashionable, always difficult, peacemaking to forge two viable, peaceful states or the grim alternative, stripped bare of pretenses, of a deadly specter astride a Pale Horse.”

Martin Luther King Jr., Israel and Obama

In March, 1968, only a few weeks before he was assassinated, King gave one of his most ardent speeches in support of Israel at the convention of the Rabbinical Assembly of America. He stated, “I see Israel, and never mind saying it, as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land almost can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy.

Adelle's Condition is Critical, Life Threatening
A worsening in the condition of the baby who was wounded Thursday in a terrorist ambush near Ariel.

"We regret to say that Adelle's condition is deteriorating and we ask the entire public to pray for her health," her father, Rafi, said Tuesday. Adelle should be referred to in prayers as Adelle Chaya Bat Adva.

Ex-Commander Warns: Complacency Kills
Former IDF commander gleans expertise from past wars, warns soldiers to ignore the media when fighting terror.

Former IDF Colonel Moshe Givati recently took another step forward in a long-term project aimed at learning from Israel’s past wars. In an interview with Arutz Sheva he discussed his findings, and warned that what he sees today looks frightening like the situation prior to 1973.

Ronaldo and Portugal set to land in Israel
Pivotal World Cup qualifier coming up on Friday for blue-and-white against accomplished foe.

The Portugal national team, including superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s crucial 2014 World Cup qualifier versus the blue-and-white at National Stadium in Ramat Gan.

Jerusalem revs up for Formula One

‘It’s great to have the chance to drive a Formula 1 car on the streets of a city that is as fascinating and full of history as Jerusalem” — Italian racing driver Giancarlo Fisichella.
The event, called the Jerusalem Peace Road Show, will take place June 13-14, 2013. From June 9-13, the cars taking part in the historical circuit around the city – including Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Audi – will be on show at the Old Jerusalem Train Station.

Anti-Israel groups push product, performers boycott

Nabil Bisharap, a 38-year-old father of six, worries that the boycott could lead to layoffs at SodaStream, whose West Bank factory, at the edge of the settlement of Maaleh Adumim near Jerusalem, employs about 300 Jews, 500 West Bank Palestinians and 400 Palestinian Arabs from East Jerusalem.
The Israeli factory offers benefits unheard of in the Palestinian work sector: free transportation to and from work, health insurance and salaries "four to six times" the average Palestinian salary according to company President Yonah Lloyd. It has an on-site mosque and synagogue.
Before BDS activists try to pressure Israel via boycotts, Bisharap said, "they should understand the situation. My salary is good; my conditions are good. If people stop buying, almost 1,000 Palestinians won't be able to support their families."
Boycotting Israel, Bisharap concluded, "is not the solution."

He even poses like a liar

Shlomo Sand, the fake historian who claims that there is no such thing as the Jewish people and that the Land of Israel is a myth - two arguments that I easily demolished in the past - was interviewed by the Palestine Chronicle, and for some reason some other publications have reprinted it.

Here's another of his laughable lies:

In Judaism there isn’t any traditional patriotism, any tradition of homeland. Palestine, Judea, it wasn’t the homeland of the Jews. And I discovered that the Christians were much more attached physically to the land. And very quickly I discovered that the first Zionists were not Jews; they were your [British] ancestors.

While I have written about Christian proto-Zionism (and pre-Zionist Zionism) a number of times, it is absurd to say that it predates the Jewish attachment to the Land of Israel.

Let's look at the Grace After Meals that religious Jews have been saying since at least Talmudic times (unless Sand wants to argue that this prayer it is a myth as well):

We offer thanks to You, L-rd our G-d, for having given as a heritage to our ancestors a precious, good and spacious land....For all this, L-rd our G-d, we give thanks to You and bless You. May Your Name be blessed by the mouth of every living being, constantly and forever, as it is written: When you have eaten and are satiated, you shall bless the L-rd your G-d for the good land which He has given you. Blessed are You, L-rd, for the land and for the sustenance.

...And rebuild Jerusalem the holy city speedily in our days. Blessed are You, L-rd, who in His mercy rebuilds Jerusalem. Amen.

Similarly, in the daily prayers:

Sound the great shofar for our freedom; raise a banner to gather our exiles, and bring us together from the four corners of the earth into our land. Blessed are You L-rd, who gathers the dispersed of His people Israel.

...Return in mercy to Jerusalem Your city and dwell therein as You have promised; speedily establish therein the throne of David Your servant, and rebuild it, soon in our days, as an everlasting edifice. Blessed are You L-rd, who rebuilds Jerusalem.

...May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in mercy. Blessed are You L-rd, who restores His Divine Presence to Zion.

In fact, in the daily prayers we pray for rain only for the part of the year that it would help the land of Israel!

Every Jew who is remotely familiar with the prayers knows the centrality of the Land of Israel to his or her belief system. According to many rabbis who pre-dated Christian Zionism, dwelling in Israel is a Biblical commandment. And the number of prominent Jews who moved to Israel since the time of the current diaspora is significant.

In other words, Sand is proven to be a liar yet again.

One other thing that he mentions is interesting:

I tried to read over again Jewish history to see if what I learned in school was right, and I discovered an unbelievable thing, as an Israeli citizen, as a historian – I can tell you that 10 years ago I believed that Judean society was exiled by the Romans. Discovering that it’s a myth, it was shocking for me.

Yes, a person who pretends to be a distinguished historian today didn't know a basic fact about Jewish history until ten years ago!

Apparently, he never read the radical 1993 work of that revisionist leftist historian - Binyamin Netanyahu:

How, then, were the Jews finally forced off the land‘? The most prevalent assumption is that the Jewish people's state of homelessness was owed solely to the Romans. It is generally believed that the Romans, who had conquered Palestine and destroyed Jewish sovereignty, then took away the country from the Jews and tossed them into an exile that lasted until our own century. However common this view, it is inaccurate. It is true that the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. was a highly important factor in the ultimate decline of Jewish power and presence in Palestine. But it was not the exclusive factor; nor did it depopulate the country of its Jewish inhabitants. Therefore. the common refrain about “two thousand years of exile." uncritically repeated by many Jews and non-Jews alike, is misleading. The Diaspora did not begin with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem-vibrant Jewish communities in Alexandria, Babylon, and elsewhere had antedated the Roman conquest by centuries. Nor did the Romans end Jewish national life in Palestine. That did not come until many centuries later. Thus in 135, sixty-five years after the razing of Jerusalem, the Jews under Bar Kochba revolted once more against Rome, “until the whole earth seemed to have been stirred up over the matter," according to the third-century Greek historian Dio Cassius.

Although this three-year Jewish revolt against Rome was also brutally crushed, the country remained primarily Jewish. and shortly thereafter the Jews were granted a considerable measure of autonomous power, an authority that was recognized by Rome and later by Byzantium. In 212 C.E., when the Roman emperor Caracalla bestowed Roman citizenship on most subjects of the empire, he denied that privilege to those who lacked a country of their own. The Jews were granted Roman citizenship, because they were recognized as a people with their own country. This is not to say that they did not continue to rebel, attempting to expel Rome yet again in 35 1. And it should be noted. too, that the great Jewish legal works of the Mishna and the Jerusalem Talmud were composed in Palestine during the centuries of Roman and Byzantine domination, reflecting the dynamic Jewish intellectual life that persisted there even in the face of occupation. In 614 the Jews were, incredibly, still fighting for independence, raising an army that joined the Persians in seizing Jerusalem and ousting the Byzantines from Palestine. The size and vitality of the Jewish population at the beginning of the seventh century may be judged by the fact that in the siege of Tyre alone. the Jews contributed more than twenty thousand fighters.

But in 636, after a brief return of the Byzantines under Her-aclius. the Arabs burst into the land-after having destroyed the large and prosperous Jewish populations of the Arabian Peninsula root and branch. The rule of the Byzantines had been harsh for the Jews, but it was under the Arabs that the Jews were finally reduced to an insignificant minority and ceased to be a national force of any consequence in their own land. The Jews initially vested their hopes in the “Ishmaelite conquerors“ as they called them in contemporary sources, but within a few years these hopes were dashed Arab policy became clear. Unlike previous conquerors, the Arabs poured in a steady stream of colonists, often composed of military battalions and their families, with the intention of permanently Arabizing the land. In order to execute this policy of armed settlement, the Arabs relied on the regular expropriation of land, houses, and Jewish labor. In combination with the turmoil introduced into the land by the Arab conquest. these policies finally succeeded in doing what the might of Rome had not achieved: the uprooting of the Jewish farmer from his soil. Thus it was not the Jews who usurped the land from the Arabs, but the Arabs who usurped the land from the Jews.

This is the history that Sand is doing all he can to suppress - because it is the truth.

Wednesday Links Part 1

From Ian:

PMW: Americans behind 9/11; Hitler greater than Roosevelt - the PA’s welcome to Obama
Official PA daily: History is written by the victors, therefore "Muslim terrorists" are falsely blamed for 9/11 and Nazism is prosecuted instead of honored

Two days before US President Barack Obama's visit to Israel and the PA, the official PA daily chose to print anti-American hate speech along with pro-Hitler comments in an op-ed:
"Our history is replete with lies... [including] the lie about Al-Qaeda and the September 11 events, which asserted that Muslim terrorists committed it, and that it was not an internal American action by the Freemasons."
The PA daily op-ed further asserts that negative attitudes toward Nazism are not objective but the result of the West's victory:
"Had Hitler won, Nazism would be an honor that people would be competing to belong to, and not a disgrace punishable by law."

Palestinian anti-Obama protesters, police clash By Khaled Abu Toameh
Rioters try to march toward compound, but pushed back by anti-riot police; protesters angry at Obama for not visiting Arafat's grave.

Dozens of Palestinians protested in Ramallah Tuesday against US President Barack Obama’s visit to the West Bank.
Some of the demonstrators carried pictures of Obama dressed in IDF uniform with an Israeli tank in the background. Others carried placards that read: “Obama, we will never forget Iraq” and “America is the head of the snake.”

Ahead of Obama visit, PA prohibits reporting from Hebron
Measure imposed to avoid anti-Obama displays; demonstrators in Ramallah attempt march to Muqata’a

The Palestinian Authority issued a ban on releasing photos and videos from the West Bank city of Hebron ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit, which begins Wednesday, Channel 10 reported Tuesday night. The Palestinian media is expected to comply with the PA’s directives, according to reports.
Hebron residents are reportedly opposed to the US president’s visit and the Palestinian Authority is attempting to avoid embarrassment over hateful displays in the city.

Israeli bus firebombed on road Obama set to travel

A Molotov cocktail was hurled at an Israeli bus near the outpost of Givat Asaf on Route 60 late Tuesday evening. The road is on US President Barack Obama’s route when he travels to Ramallah on Thursday.

Israelis more likely than Americans to support Palestinian state

Gallup figures suggest that Americans may be more skeptical of the need for a Palestinian state than Israelis.
According to figures gleaned from the early February Gallup World Affairs survey, released on Monday, 44 percent of Americans favor establishing a Palestinian state, while 37% oppose the idea.

Kerry expected to revive 2002 Saudi peace initiative

Former deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon, who was the foreign policy adviser of then-prime minister Ariel Sharon, said that although the government rejected the offer, it did make efforts to further explore the idea.
“He sent me to find out if the Saudis are serious,” Ayalon told reporters recently, adding that he tried to arrange, through middlemen, a meeting with Adel Jubeir, who at the time was an adviser to Abdullah. “We almost met in a restaurant in Washington and in the last-minute he didn’t want to meet,” Ayalon recalled. “We promised it would be under the radar, it would be very low-profile,” but the Saudis reneged on the scheduled meeting.

Stop Using the Inaccurate Term “Two State Solution”

It also falsely implies that both sides are getting the same thing. Yet Israel is already a state and its legitimacy stands independent of whatever political solution might one day emerge.

CiF Watch prompts correction at ‘The Independent’ to Omar Misharawi story

We appreciate the prompt response by editors at both The Indy and Daily Mail.
Of the papers we reviewed, only The Sun hasn’t, thus far, issued a retraction or published a new story in light of the new information.

U.S. Rep. Rogers: High Probability Syria Used Chemical Weapons
There is a high probability that Syria used chemical weapons against rebels, says chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee.

Rogers' statement comes as the specter of chemical weapons attacks in the Syrian civil war emerged Tuesday, with the government and rebels each blaming the other for using such munitions.
State media reported that "terrorists fired rockets containing chemical materials on Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province," and Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi called the attack a "dangerous escalation," according to AFP.

Syrian Rebels Pick U.S. Citizen to Lead Interim Government

Mr. Hitto and his wife, Suzanne, an American schoolteacher, have four children, all born in the United States, where Mr. Hitto advocated for Muslim Americans after 9/11 as a representative of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

US Official: Iraq Turns Blind Eye to Iran Arms Flights to Syria
Baghdad is "looking the other way" as Iran sends military equipment through Iraqi airspace to Syrian regime, says American official.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, called on Iraq to randomly search Iranian planes flying to Syria, and said Washington had complained to "all levels of the Iraqi government" about the lack of inspection.

Lifeline for US law that aided Soviet, now Iranian Jews
Jewish groups are among those advocating a stronger status for effort to shelter persecuted religious minorities

In recent years, the primary beneficiaries of the provision have been Iranians. Under the amendment, religious minorities in Iran may apply for visas to travel to Austria, where US officials consider their eligibility. The program processes some 2,000 applicants a year, mostly from Iran, although some former Soviet Union applicants also are accommodated. Iranians eligible under the amendment include Jews, Christians and Baha’is.

Dutch Government Fueling Anti-Semitic Feelings

Following the airing of the interviews with the Turkish youths, the Simon Wiesenthal Center wrote to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, urging him to "take action on a broad front to investigate the presence of anti-Semitic attitudes in Dutch society." If the Dutch government were to distance itself from the BDS agenda, rather than support it, that would be a good first step. Allowing Dutch taxpayers' money to flow once again to websites such as the Electronic Intifada, which propagate anti-Semitism, would be a clear indication not only of the Dutch government's unwillingness to fight anti-Semitism, but of its willingness to support it.