Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, April 07, 2013

Sunday Links

From Ian:

Irwin Cotler: Universal lessons of the Holocaust

Finally, we must remember – and celebrate – the survivors of the Holocaust – the true heroes of humanity. For they witnessed and endured the worst of inhumanity, but somehow found, in the depths of their own humanity, the courage to go on, to rebuild their lives as they helped build our communities.
And so, together with them we must remember – and pledge – that never again will we be indifferent to incitement and hate; never again will we be silent in the face of evil; never again will we indulge racism and anti-Semitism; never again will we ignore the plight of the vulnerable; and never again will we be indifferent in the face of mass atrocity and impunity.

Hunting Nazis is still relevant

On the eve of Holocaust Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Day in Israel, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has released its latest list of the “Most Wanted Nazi War Criminals” and the primary findings of its twelfth annual report on the “Investigation and Prosecution of Nazi War Criminals.” This report chronicles the efforts all over the world during the previous year to facilitate the punishment of the perpetrators of Nazi crimes and assess and give grades to all the countries that are actively involved – or should be – in bringing these criminals to justice.

2 SS chiefs who fled to US on new Wiesenthal list of 10 most-wanted Nazis

United States receives top marks for bringing war criminals to justice; Australia, Lithuania, Denmark, Russia among those to receive lowest grade
The Simon Wiesenthal Center released on Sunday the findings of its 12th annual report on the investigation and prosecution of Nazi criminals around the world.

Germany to prosecute 50 former Auschwitz guards
Former guards in their 90s to stand trial for accessory to murder; Demjanjuk case formed a precedent

About 50 men in their 90s are to stand trial for their service as guards in the Auschwitz Nazi death camp during World War II.
The WAZ German news website reported that legal proceedings will be opened against the suspects who will be charged with accessory to murder,

30% increase in anti-Semitic incidents worldwide in 2012
Hungary showing gravest trends; report links surge to Europe’s economic troubles, rise of extreme right parties and Toulouse school shooting

“It appears that rather than the Toulouse attacks being a shock to the system, they had the opposite effect and perhaps allowed terrorist groups in Europe to become more emboldened,” EJC President Moshe Kantor said at an anti-Semitism press conference Sunday at Tel Aviv University, pointing to attempted terror attacks across the continent against Jewish targets.

Is the Iron Dome effective?
The claim that Israel has not provided the US with accurate data on the Iron Dome’s performance is ridiculous.

“Postol’s “analysis” of these public video clips and his underestimation of the Iron Dome’s effectiveness are meaningless and his conclusions are completely baseless.
In those clips, only the Iron Dome’s trail of smoke can be seen. The Grad rocket that it is about to intercept, however, cannot be seen.
To assess whether the Iron Dome’s missile successfully hit the Grad rocket, the trajectories of both must be observed, which is possible only through a full sky image obtained from sophisticated security sensors in which both projectiles can be observed simultaneously. This information is never released to the public since it would reveal the IDF’s discovery and tracking capabilities.”

Israel Nabs Temple Mount Terrorists

Terrorists attacked police in revenge for dropped Koran, used child to smuggle in bomb materials.
The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, revealed Sunday that its operatives exposed a Hamas-linked terrorist cell in March. Members of the cell have been arrested.
The terror cell was behind recent violence on the Temple Mount. Among the attacks it carried out was a firebomb attack on police officers in which nine were injured.

Hamas cracks down on low-cut jeans

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is getting flack from rival lawmakers and rights groups over a ban on “Western garments and stylish haircuts.”
According to a report from the Chinese Xinhua news agency Saturday, Gazan parents have recently been complaining that police are detaining their sons and grilling them for hours on end for the crime of wearing low-rise jeans and rocking spiky hairstyles.

Barry Rubin: Where is Egypt's Crisis Heading? Possibly Directly Toward Us

Obviously, this presents serious challenges to Israel. On one hand, Israel has no influence on what happens in Egypt or Syria. Does anyone really believe that “solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict” will fix these issues? Well, yes, all too many people say they believe that, especially in Western policymaking circles. But the difference is that far fewer believe that any longer.

Thousands of Egyptians across country protest Morsi

Thousands of Egyptian activists took to the streets Saturday to mark the fifth anniversary of the founding of a leading opposition group, the April 6 Youth Movement, and to push a long list of demands, including the formation of a more inclusive government amid a worsening economy.

EU: Nuclear talks with Iran have failed

Iran and six world powers failed to reach agreement Saturday on how to reduce fears that Tehran might use its nuclear technology to make weapons, extending a series of inconclusive talks and adding to concerns the diplomatic window on reaching a deal with Tehran may soon close.

Khamenei’s Ever-Changing Nuclear Fatwa

The key take-away is that while Ali Khamenei—like many Shi’ite religious figures—maintains a website that lists all of his fatwas, the nuclear fatwa is not among them. How convenient.
Over at “Arms Control and Regional Security for the Middle East,” Ariane Tabatabai has gone further and has shown how when Iranian officials cite the alleged fatwa, they constantly change its meaning and contents:

Irish Teachers Call For Academic Boycott of Israel

“Four consecutive Israeli prime ministers have called for a two-state accord with the Palestinians, only to be rebuffed time and again. It does take two to make peace,” Harris continued. “Meanwhile, we trust that the leaders of the Irish campaign, to be consistent, will seek to ensure that they do not benefit from any life-saving Israeli medical advance, technology in their computers, innovations in their cell phones, or other Israeli contributions to the world’s well-being.”

Israelis discover gene responsible for liver disease

After years of hunting, Dr. Rifaat Safadi and his team of Hadassah medical researchers in Jerusalem have found the gene that causes liver disease. This groundbreaking discovery paves the way for potential new treatments.
Safadi, an Arab-Israeli physician who heads the Liver Unit at Hadassah University Hospital in Ein-Karem, tells ISRAEL21c that while the gene, Neuroligin 4 (NLGN4), was already known to be involved in brain neuron communication, his team was the first in the world to identify NLGN4 in the immune system and liver

SpongeBob SquarePants takes over the Middle East

Even if he isn’t a revolutionary icon, SpongeBob is huge in the Middle East. Ignoring conflicts and national borders, he skips happily across the Arab world and is popular with almost everyone. At the moment the British foreign office advises against all travel to Syria, Yemen, Gaza, Somalia and parts of Libya. But a quick internet search reveals SpongeBob dressed in Yemeni clothes, SpongeBob on t-shirts in Somalia and SpongeBob gifts for sale in Gaza. In Syria, he has popped up on the wall of a bombed-out building, next to graffiti that says, “tomorrow will be better.” This sponge does not respect national boundaries. That is his revolutionary act. (h/t Silke)

New website "Shame on Cardozo" for honoring Jimmy Carter at YU

A new website, ShameOnCardozo.com, has been set up to show outrage that the Yeshiva University law school invited Jimmy Carter to accept an award this week:

A Message To Cardozo Alumni
On Wednesday, April 10, 2013, Jimmy Carter will be honored at the Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School, part of Yeshiva University, to receive the International Advocate for Peace Award from the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution.

Jimmy Carter has an ignominious history of anti-Israel bigotry. He is responsible for helping to mainstream the antisemitic notion that Israel is an apartheid state with his provocatively titled book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid”, the publication of which prompted mass resignations from the Carter Center. He has met numerous times with leaders of the terror group Hamas whitewashing their genocidal goals and undermining US efforts to isolate Hamas. And Carter’s record of slandering Israel is so voluminous that both CAMERA and Alan Dershowitz have written books refuting his lies.

It is simply unconscionable for a Jewish affiliated school to honor someone who has played such a high profile role in demonizing the Jewish state.

We therefore urge you to condition any continued support of Cardozo, be it financial or otherwise, on the cancellation of this event.

Please also take 2 minutes out of your busy schedules to contact the Dean of Cardozo and President of Yeshiva University to express your outrage. Contact details are below.
Professor Matthew Diller, Dean of Cardozo: Tel – 212-790-0310; Email – mdiller@yu.edu

Professor Richard Joel, President of Yeshiva University: Tel – 212 960 5300; Email president@yu.edu

Australian pro-BDS group may be ousted from Jewish umbrella group

From Australian Jewish News:

THE Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) could be ousted from the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) after its Pesach campaign to encourage boycotts against Israeli settlements.

JCCV president Nina Bassat said AJDS’s affiliation would be reviewed. “While the JCCV recognises that its affiliates have the right to formulate their own policies, this campaign is repugnant to the longstanding policies of the JCCV and indeed to the views of the majority of our community. The philosophical differences between the JCCV and the AJDS are such that I propose to bring for discussion at our next meeting the future of the AJDS as a JCCV affiliate.”

Jewish organisations condemned a renewed call by the AJDS for boycotts of products made in Israeli settlements and on the Golan Heights, after the group initially called for partial boycotts two years ago.

Comparing Palestinian workers to “the slaves of biblical Egypt”, AJDS launched an online campaign, “Don’t Buy From the Settlements”, urging Jews “to avoid buying products made in settlements located in the Occupied Territories”.

Timed to hit Jews as they sat down to seders, non-Jewish Australians were also in the campaign’s crosshairs, its media release describing “the Jewish festival of Passover, which is commonly known as a festival of freedom”.

“On Passover we remember that Jews were once slaves in biblical Egypt. This year the AJDS is putting a call out to the Jewish community asking them to join a long history of people who have fought for freedom, for both Jews and for non-Jews,” the statement said.

The campaign’s website, which features a detailed list of companies to boycott, faulted settlements as “the main obstacle to peace”.

AJDS executive member Dr Jordy Silverstein told The AJN her organisation was “very disappointed” at talk of disaffiliation. “It seems a real shame that the JCCV has decided that it’s not acceptable to just have a conversation.”

"Just have a conversation"?

The AJDS created an entire website named "Don't Buy Settlement Products" that is essentially a copy of every BDS site out there.

Of course, their list of products is a very good one to use if you want to support Israel. The page is so attractive, it could be a shopping cart page!

(h/t BH)

Abbas to fire Fayyad?

From JPost:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may dismiss Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayad,

according to an AFP report quoting a member of Fatah's Revolutionary Council on Friday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the member said that the president “is leaning towards dismissing Fayyad from the head of the government and forming a new one.”

According to the member, the conflict between Abbas and Fayad arose following the resignation of the Palestinian Authority's finance minister Nabil Qasis when Abbas refused to accept the resignation but Fayad agreed to.

The official said "Abbas informed Fayyad that if Nabil Qasis did not return to the finance ministry... Abbas would dismiss his government and form a new one," AFP reported.

Arabic media is quoting today's Al Hayat (London) as saying that Abbas said this during a Fatah Revolutionary Council meeting, saying "I am more angry at the [Fayyad] government than all of you ... I do not want to say more than that, but something will happen within three days." This is interpreted as meaning that Abbas told Fayyad that he has three days to resign before he gets sacked.

So far, Anonymous is singularly unimpressive in cyberwar against Israel

AP writes:

A weekend cyber attack campaign targeting Israeli government websites failed to cause serious disruption, officials said Sunday. The attacks followed warnings in the name of the hacking group Anonymous that it was launching a massive attack.

Yitzhak Ben Yisrael, of the government's National Cyber Bureau, said hackers had mostly failed to shut down key sites.

"So far it is as was expected, there is hardly any real damage," Ben Yisrael said. "Anonymous doesn't have the skills to damage the country's vital infrastructure. And if that was its intention, then it wouldn't have announced the attack ahead of time. It wants to create noise in the media about issues that are close to its heart," he said.

Posters using the name of the hacking group Anonymous had warned they would launch a massive attack on Israeli sites in a strike they called OpIsrael starting April 7.

Israel's Bureau of Statistics was down on Sunday morning but it was unclear if it was hacked. Media said the sites of the Defense and Education Ministry as well as banks had come under attack the night before but they were mostly repelled.Today is the day that "Anonymous" planned to erase Israel from cyberspace.

Judging from their tweets, they have done next to nothing.

They claim a number of sites taken down, but most of them are simply small businesses who seem to be

This graphic from their page indicates that the
pseudo-hackers are Muslim

using either simple passwords (for example, ballon2u) or software that has well-known vulnerabilities (i.e., SQL injection password bugs discovered years ago). They also attacked a few mid-level government sites, like the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Anonymous is also taking credit for taking down the "Israel military site" which is, in fact, an army surplus store. They do seem to have gotten some credit card numbers from that site.

They claim to have leaked "Israel Military Secret Documents" which are simply old articles, some by ITIC, freely available on the Internet.

The hackers seem to have managed to briefly interrupt some sites with denial of service attacks. Other Israeli sites that seem to be down from outside Israel are simply pro-actively blocking all traffic from outside the country in order to continue to serve Israeli customers and readers, so they appear to be down when they are simply being shielded from outside traffic.

On the Israeli side, people are reporting that the main domain of OpIsrael, the group spearheading the hacking effort, was hacked itself by a Zionist hacker. This does not seem to be correct; it looks like some Zionist simply bought the OpIsrael.com domain a couple of days ago and set up the page to appear "hacked" when it was never the webpage of the anti-Israel hackers. This is their page.

UPDATE: Actually, it looks like OpIsrael.com was their site, and they are lying about it now. (h/t David G)

Hamas accuses everyone of being a spy. Paranoid much?

From AFP:

Hamas accused Western and Arab spy agencies on Saturday of operating in the Gaza Strip and said it had a list of alleged collaborators.

“The Gaza Strip is swarming with Western intelligence agencies, such as the American, British, French and German services,” said Mohammed Lafi, an internal security chief, quoted on the Hamas interior ministry website.

“They all target Gaza and Hamas,” he said, while also pointing a finger at unnamed Arab intelligence services.

The Hamas official, whose Islamist movement rules Gaza, said the security services had “a list of collaborators who will be arrested once the time for them to repent has run out.”

Some have already been arrested and “half of them have confessed to being collaborators,” said Lafi, who also cautioned against Palestinian journalists feeding information to foreign correspondents and institutions.

Pssst, Hamas: Here's a photo of the top two Mossad agents in Gaza, during a meeting with their handlers, hiding in plain sight and laughing at how they have not yet been caught:

Lebanese apartheid: More than half of Palestinians in Lebanon live in poverty

From Ma'an:

Around 160,000 Palestinians are living below the poverty line in refugee camps in Lebanon, the ambassador to Beirut says.

Nearly 13,000 Palestinian refugees are living in extreme poverty in Lebanon, Ashraf Dabour told Ma'an.

Palestinian refugees are banned from entering 75 professions in Lebanon. "Practicing any of these careers is considered a breach of Lebanese law," Dabour said.

The Lebanese parliament amended a law restricting Palestinian refugees' access to work. "However, the Lebanese cabinet has not put that amendment into effect," the Palestinian ambassador said.

"We hear sweet talk from Lebanese officials about the Palestinian refugees' right to work and live in dignity, but in reality nothing is translated into action."

Dabour said the Palestinian health sector in Lebanon owed hospitals around $2 million. "There are some medical procedures which our health security program in Lebanon can't afford, and I hereby urge Arab and Palestinian businessmen to help our people in refugee camps in Lebanon."

There were, at the end of 2010, between 260,000 and 280,000 Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon (UNRWA has over 465,000 registered "refugees" but about 200,000 actually left Lebanon for Europe and elsewhere.)

Which means that more than half of the Palestinians in Lebanon are in poverty, because of the discrimination they face by the Lebanese government.

Not that this is new news. Two years ago UNRWA came out with a report with more specifics about Palestinian poverty in Lebanon, and it mentioned that one reason was that many were forced to live in "closed" camps that were not integrated into the economy of surrounding towns, and that in itself was an indicator of likely poverty. Only one other area had that same problem - the West Bank, under the PA.

Since then, Palestinian Arab refugees from Syria have come into Lebanon, and been forced into these same overcrowded and poverty-stricken camps, unlike other refugees from Syria.

Yet this blatant discrimination against Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon is simply not mentioned by those who pretend to care about them. No calls for boycotts by rock stars, no campus demonstrations, no calls for aid.

When their suffering cannot be blamed, even indirectly, on Israel, no one really gives a damn.

The next time you see a "pro-Palestinian" demonstration, just ask them about discrimination against Palestinians in Lebanon. And put it on video.

Saturday Links

From Ian:

Can’t Say Terrorism, Can’t Say War on Terror, Islamist Now a No-No
First they came for terrorism, then it was the war on terror, and now it is Islamism.

Although “Islamist” is still a defined term in the AP Stylebook, reporters are now admonished not to use it to mean something objectionable.

Into The Fray: Obama in Israel-the sinister subtext?

It is difficult to know which is more troubling: Whether Obama actually meant what he said in his speech to students in Jerusalem; or whether he didn’t.
Now that the dust is beginning to settle, the spin subside and the fanfare fade, it is perhaps easier to make a more sober assessment of Barack Obama’s visit to Israel and to evaluate the impact it is liable to have on regional developments.

Sarah Honig: Another Tack: Barack and Bernard-Henri

One day before US President Barack Obama touched down here and began to beguile us, flamboyant French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy was reportedly barred from Libya’s Tripoli because of his Jewishness. On the face of it, these two episodes are wholly unconnected. But, on closer inspection, they’re not.

Pro-BDS Aussie Jewish group labelled ‘repugnant’

A Jewish organization in Melbourne could face expulsion from the community’s umbrella body for launching a campaign supporting the boycott of products from West Bank settlements.
The Melbourne-based Australian Jewish Democratic Society launched its online website “Don’t Buy Settlements Products” on March 26, prompting the Zionist Federation of Australia to brand it “immoral” and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria to label it “repugnant.”

Honest Reporting Canada: Refutes Globe & Mail Assertions: Hamas are Terrorists not Moderates

In a prominent front-page article appearing in yesterday’s edition of the Globe and Mail, Mideast Bureau Chief Patrick Martin wrongly claimed that Hamas is “willing to live in peace beside Israel.”
In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth. Hamas and its leader Khaled Meshaal have not evolved into “moderates”. Just two months ago in fact, Hamas reiterated its fervent opposition to the two-state solution. Its leadership says Hamas “… will never agree to giving the Zionist state one inch of the land of Palestine” and that it’s committed to “liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea.”

What Harriet Sherwood’s “five months of calm” in Israel actually looks like.

Whilst some narratives about the conflict are open to interpretation, it really is difficult to understand how a professional journalist covering the region can honestly characterize the months since the November war as “calm”.
The following is terror data was compiled by the Israel Security Agency, but many of the attacks listed were also reported in the media at the time:

BBC describes firebombing of checkpoint as “protests”

The BBC’s attempt to frame the actions of the two young men from Anabta as being part of ‘protests’ at the death of Abu Hamdiyeh disingenuously conceals from the reading public the fact that riots and attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers – under some pretext or other – have been taking place on a regular basis in Judea and Samaria and the Jerusalem area for months.

Abbas Wants Netanyahu to Present a Map of 'Palestine'

New precondition: PA Chairman demands that Netanyahu present a map for a future Palestinian state before peace talks can resume.

Financial Crisis? PA Continues to Pay Jailed Terrorists

Each month, the PA transfers about 17.5 million shekels to terrorists, the Foreign Ministry has found. While the PA has claimed to the international community that the funds are allocated for social assistance, the information collected in Israel shows otherwise.

Hamas calls UNRWA’s protest strike ‘unjust’

The decision by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, to suspend food distribution was “overbown and unjust,” Hamas spokesperson Sammi abu-Zuhari was quoted as saying Friday by Israel Radio. “Palestinian refugees have a right to stage non-violent protests,” he added.

UN agency 'broke' as Syria refugee funds run out

A UN agency has said it will soon be unable to provide "life-saving" aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan and other countries due to funds running out.
"The needs are rising exponentially and we are broke," said Marixie Mercado, a spokeswoman for children's charity Unicef.

Assad: Erdogan Destroying Syria by Reconciling with Israel

Syria’s President charges that the improvement in the relations between Turkey and Israel is proof that Erdogan is trying to destroy Syria.

Scheduled Protests Prompt Warning for U.S. Citizens in Egypt

The Obama administration has issued an alert for U.S. citizens concerning a "Day of Rage" planned for cities in Egypt on April 6.

Israel: the coming energy superpower

Even so, the impact of the coming rise of Israel as a regional energy superpower plainly heralds significant and imminent changes in the Middle East, and beyond. First, for the fast-diminishing tyranny that is OPEC. Second, in the geopolitical re-alignment the new eastern Mediterranean energy alliance represents. Third, the literal shift of power away from the world’s oil and gas ‘tyrannies’ that the new energy realities – including Israel’s rise to energy superpower status – represent for the democratic world.

‘Shell to dump energy firm over its ties to Israel’

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum has a 30-percent interest in Israel’s Leviathan natural gas field
The report said Shell planned the move to avoid the risk of boycott by Arab countries following Woodside’s agreement to purchase a 30-percent interest in Israel’s Leviathan natural gas field. RTL reported that Shell’s stake in Woodside is worth more than $7 billion.

Korean-American Christian teen teaches the Shoah
Eighth-grader Christopher Huh creates a Polish-born Jewish grandfather for his graphic novel for kids, ‘Keeping My Hope’

At first glance, it doesn’t seem likely that Christopher Huh, a second-generation Korean-American Christian teenager living in suburban Maryland, would have such a close relationship with Ari Kolodiejski, a Polish-born Jewish grandfather who survived Auschwitz, dysentery and a death march.

Friday Links Part 2

From Ian:

Latma's Tribal Update presents Apology Mania! And Yair Lapid gets down to business

Israel Divestment Resolution Overturned by University of California, Riverside Students

“There was not enough time or opportunity among Senators to discuss the resolution due to public forum, and there was not a presentation of the issue from both perspectives,” student senator Megan Crail, who voted against the resolution March 6, told UCR’s Highlander News.
This prompted the student government to revisit the resolution April 3. At a campus auditorium that was filled to capacity, speakers from both sides were able to present arguments for and against the resolution, according to UCR student Jackie Zelener, co-president of UCR’s Highlanders for Israel, UCR Hillel president, and the UCR Emerson Fellow for the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs.
Following the presentations, the student government voted 10-2-1 to rescind the resolution.

Israel Hater Waters Washed Out of NYC 92nd Street Y

Given his role in attempting to block the Israeli Philharmonic from giving a purely musical performance at Carnegie Hall, it should be difficult for Waters' supporters to complain about efforts to prevent Waters from appearing to talk about his political views at the 92nd Street Y.

Terrorist Supporters and Anti-Semitism Permitted at Crime-Plagued York University (VIDEO)

Where anti-Semitism and racism thrive, it is often symbolic of larger problems at an institution. The student association of York University, Canada’s third largest university, a public university in Toronto with 55,000 students recently passed a resolution endorsing the global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
And while they received attention for this initiative, there’s so much more negative media attention that they have received, even a top crisis PR agency couldn’t solve things for them.

Air France fined for kicking flytilla activist off plane

An Air France spokesperson said the company was acting in compliance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention, which requires airlines to refuse to fly passengers who are “declared inadmissible in the country of destination.”

The night when myths were born

The IDF's elite reconnaissance unit, Sayeret Matkal, is known for its daring missions behind enemy lines, most of which are still classified. Ahead of the publication of a new book, its former members speak.

IDF Blog: PROVED FAKE: Photo of Palestinian Prisoner Maysara Abu Hamdiya Handcuffed to Bed

The image implies that Abu Hamdiya handcuffed to a hospital bed. In reality, the arm pictured above is a cropped portion of a photo taken in Syria of a hospitalized rebel. The photo was originally published on December 8th, 2012.

Richard Landes: Islamism is winning the cognitive war – thanks to manipulative and gullible journalists

“Human Rights” NGOs made Israel the global villain, and at Durban, with Muhammad al Durah as the patron saint of the hatefest, this “conference against racism” laid out a plan for the systematic delegitimization and eventual destruction of Israel – a battle plan that suited both “progressive forces” in the West (like Judith Butler) and the global Jihadis whom the “Left” embraced in the war against imperialism (like Hamas and Hizbullah).

Nahum Shahaf’s relentless Muhammad al-Dura dissent

The man who spurred on much of the investigation into the killing of the Gaza 14-year-old reflects on the controversy and vows to persevere

Israeli reporters covering Palestinians face threats By Khaled Abu Toameh

Palestinian journalists on Thursday called on the Palestinian Authority to ban Israeli reporters from entering Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
Over the past few weeks, Palestinian journalists and activists have threatened or harassed a number of Israeli reporters covering Palestinian affairs.

Norway Foreign Minister in Israel Expresses Anger Over PA Use of Aid to Pay Terrorists

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide expressed anger at the Palestinian Authority during his visit to Israel on Wednesday, following the discovery that the PA was using Norwegian and British aid money to pay the salaries of convicted Palestinian terrorists serving time in Israeli jails, Israel Hayom reported.

Dutch PM on Anti-Semitic Video: “This Kind of Malice Calls for Forceful Responses from Society”

Israeli news website Arutz Sheva has come into possession of a letter written by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in late March. The organization had initially written the prime minister following the publication of a video which showed young Turkish immigrants in the country voicing extremely anti-Semitic views.

Swiss MP Visits Yesha Communities, Comes Away Impressed

In the wake of increasing calls for the boycott of products made in Judea and Samaria by European Union legislators, one senior EU politician - Yves Nidegger - a member of the Swiss Parliament – decided to examine the situation up close. Along with his wife, Maria, Nidegger on Wednesday visited numerous Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Judea Pearl to Light Flame on Memorial Day

Professor Judea Pearl, father of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, will light a memorial flame in Jerusalem on Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) this year.
He will take part on the morning of April 15 in the Jewish Agency’s annual ceremony, which honors Jews murdered outside Israel in terrorist attacks or acts of anti-Semitism as well as fallen IDF soldiers.

Saved from the Nazis in the caves of the Ukraine
‘No Place on Earth,’ opening Friday in New York, shows how 30 Jewish relatives went to extraordinary lengths, and depths, to survive the Holocaust

It’s been about a year since the theatrical release of Agnieszka Holland’s “In Darkness,” based on the true story of an extended family who hid from Nazis and their collaborators for 14 months in the sewers of Lvov. One-upping this story, at least from a survivalist standpoint, is “No Place on Earth,” a documentary/narrative hybrid about an extended family hiding in Ukrainian caves for over 17 months – the longest stretch of time for humans to live in caves since they first left them.

YU law school defends giving award to Israel-hater Jimmy Carter

Here is the official statement from the Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Cardozo School of Law of Yeshiva University concerning the award being given to Jimmy Carter next week:

This year student editors of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution have chosen to honor former President Jimmy Carter with the International Advocate for Peace Award in recognition of his lifetime of work, from the historic Camp David Peace Accord between Israel and Egypt, to monitoring some 90 elections around the world and supporting fledgling democracies to resolve conflicts without violence. The Journal is recognized as one of the premier publications in the field of dispute resolution, and previous Peace Award recipients have included President Bill Clinton, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Senator George Mitchell, John Wallach and Seeds of Peace, playwright Eve Ensler, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Betty Murungi, Ambassador Dennis Ross, and documentary filmmaker Abigail Disney, among others. The students have made this decision based on President Carter's achievements, and we support their right to do so.

It is more than just a mistake for a school that is associated with traditional Judaism and religious Zionism to give an award to Jimmy Carter, no matter what his achievements in conflict resolution. Carter is, simply, anti-Israel.

As I noted, Carter's double standards of how he whitewashes Hamas actions while characterizing Israel's as "apartheid", and his interceding to stop a Nazi war criminal from being deported from the US, may cross the line to indicate that Carter has a real problem with Jews altogether.

Beyond that, how can any Jewish institution stomach the idea of giving an award to this man, smiling as he receives a gift from a mass murderer, that symbolizes that Jews have no rights to their eternal capital?

I hope there are massive protests outside Cardozo's Law School this coming Wednesday at 3 PM. Having YU associated with someone as despicable as Carter cannot be accepted as "one of those things."

(h/t Emet)

Another story of racist, apartheid Israel

Over a week ago there was a story in the major media about how Israel was giving medical treatment to Syrians injured in the uprising.

What few seemed to notice, however, was this:

Hospital director Masad Barhoum, one of a team of doctors that treated the Syrians, said medical staff did their best to save the life of the man who died, but he had suffered a bullet wound through the head that caused massive bleeding.

Masad Barhoum? That doesn't sound Jewish, does it?

In fact, Barhoum made news back in 2007 by being the first Arab appointed to run a government hospital in Israel with impressive accomplishments. As the BBC reported in 2008:

He describes himself as "Israeli, Arab, Christian."

Dr Barhoum says that, nonetheless, he is constantly challenged.

"Every week, someone is saying: you're treating Arabs not Jews, and that's because you're an Arab."

But he says that these accusations are less to do with racism, and more to do with the fact that there are always people who will want to test a hospital director.

"Yes I am in a minority here. But if I were to wake up each day and look in the mirror and say, 'they're screwing you because you're an Arab', then sure, I'll be screwed and I'll get screwed."

Unfortunately, there is an entire industry of organizations and media outlets that subscribe to the idea that Arabs are forever victims and should be treated like helpless children who need the aid of white "progressives", instead of the fact that Israeli Arabs are citizens just like anyone else. While they may have to face some discrimination - like any minority in the world - they can overcome it and gain the respect of all.

Well, almost all.

Those same "progressives" aren't quite as happy that an Arab hospital director demolishes their characterization of Israel as an "apartheid state" and even scorns their point of view. They seethe at the idea that he identifies as an Israeli first. They can' stand that his existence shows that everything they say and believe about Arab citizens of Israel is wrong.

They are the only ones who truly hate people like Dr. Masad Barhoum.

(h/t Meryl)

Friday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Burning Down the Palestinian House

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to "suspend unilateral action" against Israel for some indefinite period of time. It is, his spokesman says, to "give a sufficient chance for [US Secretary of State John] Kerry's efforts to succeed." By this, Abbas apparently means he will not make any additional unilateral efforts in the UN or try to convince the International Criminal Court to take up action against Israel.
This is the functional equivalent of agreeing not to swing the wrecking ball after you've set the house on fire.

Prosor calls on UNSC to condemn Gaza rockets

Israeli UN envoy Ron Prosor called on the UN Security Council to condemn the recent rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on Thursday.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Prosor wrote, "While children were on there way back to school from the Passover vacation two rockets landed near Sderot. Instead of rushing to classrooms, these children and their families were forced to rush to bomb shelters."

UN Peacekeepers Failing to Stop Hezbollah Arms, Says Israel’s National Security Advisor

“Under pressure, a multi-national force is like an umbrella that gets folded up on a rainy day,” Yaakov Amidror, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser, said in a Tel Aviv University speech, Reuters reported.

I used to be an Islamist
Ahmad Mansour tells of how he turned his back on the allure of religious fundamentalism

Arab girls, Jews and drinking villagers were the prime enemies in our midst, but the imam disclosed that in the outside world there were more foes: Christians, Americans, Europeans, Nationalists and Communists. They were all our enemies and aligned with the Devil. Our imam preached that a cruel and agonizing death was in store for them. One day, in order to maximize our respect for his words, he subjected us to a dramatic test.

Glenn Greenwald’s dishonesty on the rights of women and gays in the Mid-East

In Glenn Greenwald’s latest column at ‘Comment is Free’ (Sam Harris, the New Atheists and anti-Muslim animus, April 3) he attacks the ”New Atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens for promoting what he claims is “Islamophobia under the guise of rational atheism”.
Greenwald lambasts Harris – and, to a lesser extent, Dawkins and Hitchens – for suggesting that the threat posed by Islamic traditions and doctrines to Western political freedom is greater than that of Christianity and Judaism.

Glenn Greenwald tosses a throwaway line about the injurious effects of Judaism

It’s extremely unlikely that Greenwald – a secular Jew who rarely if ever alludes to his religious background – has ever devoted any serious thought to the question of what role Judaism has played in the policy decisions of Israel’s secular Prime Ministers from Independence till the present day, and the decision by the nation’s leaders to defend against “all sorts of attacks” by “neighboring Arab and Muslim countries” and homicidal terror groups.

New Hamas Leaders: Shalit Deal Terrorists

At least two members of Hamas' top policymaking body are terrorists released in the deal to release Gilad Shalit. The terror group's politburo, announced Wednesday after meetings in Gaza, includes Yahya Snawar and Ruhi Mushtaha, both terrorists released in the Shalit deal, were among four new Hamas central committee members.

Hamas reportedly training rebels, fighting to oust Assad

Islamist group denies claim, but several sources tell UK’s Times newspaper that former Assad ally has joined Syrian rebels in civil war

Iran: West Targeting Syria to Divert Attention from Israel

A senior Iranian lawmaker charged on Wednesday that the Western media is creating a hype against Syria as a tactic aimed at diverting attention from “Israel’s crimes”, PressTV reported.
“Iran tries to counteract the negative wave of anti-Syria propaganda by the Western media,” said the Chairman of the Iranian parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee Vahid Ahmadi.

‘Rihanna set to play Israel again’

Pop star Rihanna may perform in Israel later this year after finishing her current “Diamond Tour” in the US, Europe and other locales, Channel 2 reported Thursday.
The show would be the singer’s second in the country and would take place in October at a still-to-be-finalized location, the report said.

Burger joint to open in memory of terror victim
A decade after a suicide bomber targeted Jerusalem’s Cafe Hillel, a friend of one of the victims realizes a dream

A close friend of a security guard who was killed when he tried to prevent a terrorist from carrying out a suicide bombing will open a hamburger restaurant in the same Jerusalem location as the cafe that was destroyed in the deadly attack.
Yuval Hoveri said that opening a restaurant was a dream he shared with Alon Mizrahi, who died along with six others in 2003 when a suicide bomber targeted the popular Cafe Hillel on Emek Refaim Street.

Arabs encouraged by letter from 100 liberal Jews to pressure Bibi

On Wednesday, a group of 100 self-proclaimed Jewish leaders wrote a letter to Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu asking that he give concessions to the PA - in order to get Abbas back to the negotiating table:

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu:

As Americans deeply committed to Israel’s security, we were heartened by President Obama’s recent historic visit and his unequivocal assertion that “so long as there is a United States of America, Ah-tem lo le-vad.” We also are encouraged by the rapprochement with Turkey, which was achieved in great measure due to your leadership.

We believe that this is a compelling moment for you and your new government to respond to President Obama’s call for peace by taking concrete confidence building steps designed to demonstrate Israel’s commitment to a ‘two-states for two peoples’ solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We urge you, in particular, to work closely with Secretary of State John Kerry to devise pragmatic initiatives, consistent with Israel’s security needs, which would represent Israel’s readiness to make painful territorial sacrifices for the sake of peace.

Your leadership would challenge Palestinian leaders to take similarly constructive steps, including, most importantly, a prompt return to the negotiating table.

We join with President Obama in expressing our steadfast support for your efforts to ensure Israel’s future as the secure and democratic nation state of the Jewish people.

I would love to know when Israeli concessions have ever prompted the slightest bit of reciprocal goodwill from the PA. Ever.

On the contrary, PalArab leaders consistently resulted in a hardening of positions. any Israeli concessions are regarded as a sign of weakness, or, even worse, a sign that Israel doesn't believe in its own positions.

Here again, the Arab media is trumpeting this letter as an indication that Israel's support is eroding. It is a headline in Al Quds, Asharq al-Awsat, El Nashra, Al Ahram and elsewhere.

None of them are suggesting that Abbas respond positively.

Meanwhile, another group of American Jews - those who represent the thinking wing of American Jewry - wrote their own letter to Netanyahu, one that actually makes sense:

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu:

We know you don’t need our advice on how to handle the peace process – but given the decision by a group of self-described American Jewish leaders to call for you to make “painful territorial sacrifices,” we felt it appropriate to convey our own thoughts on the matter.

Be assured that they don’t speak for us or for a majority of Americans. We not only question the wisdom of their advice, we question their standing to issue such an admonition to a democratically-elected prime minister whose job is not to assuage the political longings of 100 American Jews, but to represent – and ensure the security of – the Israeli people.

Indeed, it’s puzzling to us why a small group of American Jews believes it appropriate to demand “painful territorial sacrifices” of Israelis, when those issuing the demand will not experience the pain, or be compelled to sacrifice anything, should their advice prove foolish – as it has so many times in the past. We affirm the words of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, who recently asked an American Jewish audience to “respect the decisions made by the world’s most resilient democracy.”

The “American Jewish leaders” who deign to advise you today are largely the same leaders who rarely, if ever, demand “painful sacrifices” of Palestinian leaders – or even demand that they come to the negotiating table, which they have refused to do in any meaningful way since 2008. From the safety of America, in the past they have recommended trusting Yasser Arafat, dividing Jerusalem, surrendering the Golan Heights to Syria, and withdrawing from territory that today is controlled by Iranian-backed terrorist groups.

Before rushing to issue new recommendations, we suggest that these oracles of bad advice might pause to reflect on the wisdom of the recommendations they’ve already made.

We, too, have strong opinions on the peace process – but one thing we never presume to do is instruct our friends in Israel on the level of danger to which they should expose themselves.

We trust, of course, that you are under no misapprehensions about any of this. But we felt it important that you heard from a mainstream voice in addition to the predictable calls from a certain cast of American activists for more Israeli concessions.

Abbas' list (ElderToon)

In the same spirit as the previous post...

Top Secret Mossad Agent’s Identity Revealed

From commenter L. King:

Top Secret Mossad Agent’s Identity Revealed

Tuesday’s death of Palestinian prisoner Maysara Abuhamdieh who passed away due to terminal throat cancer has resulted in riots in the West Bank and accusations that the Mossad was secretly involved.

Up until now the identity of the agent known only by the initial G, (in Arabic “A”) has been a closely guarded secret. However, given the method used, hackers have been able to narrow down the possibilities to a single individual, pictured here: