Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Wednesday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Roger Waters: ‘I Am Considering my Position’ on Anti-Israel Boycott
That's a lot of thinking for a rock musician, you must give him that.

Still, Waters has not changed his views on who is right and who is evil in the Arab-Israeli conflict. No surprises there: “The occupation and the settlement building is an impregnable obstacle to peace,” Waters said. “There can never be peace unless the occupation ends and the settlement building ends.”
Of course, in the nearby Gaza Strip there’s no peace at all, in fact, there’s been a whole lot of extra war after the occupation and the settlements all ended. But you can’t confuse this Pink Floyd ace with the facts.

Benghazi to Boston: Glenn Greenwald’s hypocrisy in condemning ‘rush to judgement’ over marathon attack

Further, Greenwald repeated completely unverified (and ultimately false) claims that the film-maker (Sam Bacile) was “an Israeli real estate developer living in California” and that he had made the film with “the help of 100 Jewish donors.”
Greenwald’s wild speculation about the cause of the attack, and the putative Israeli and Jewish connection (also parroted by the Guardian’s Julian Borger and Caroline Davies), however, was completely unfounded.

Salam Fayyad and the "Major Blow" to Peace by Khaled Abu Toameh

The claim that Fayyad's resignation is a major blow to the peace process is not only untrue, it is ridiculous. Such claims are intended to create the impression, totally false, that were it not for Fayyad's resignation, the peace process would have been salvaged.
The truth is that Abbas was the one who decided to boycott the peace talks until Israel meets his conditions, including a full cessation of settlement construction and recognition of the pre-1967 lines as the future borders of a Palestinian state.

Fayyad’s resignation

Fayyad’s departure from Palestinian politics is significant not just because it ends hopes, at least for the time being, of an alternative approach to resolving the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The incident also reveals the unsettling reality that to truly succeed in Palestinian politics it is not enough to work for the betterment of the Palestinian people, one must be a devoted and preferably violent enemy of Israel.

Salam Fayyad pleads for new elections, unity

Outgoing PA prime minister, in farewell address, says new vote would heal the rift between the West Bank and Gaza Strip

The Jordanian-Palestinian confederation

The equation that is emerging following Obama's visit is a return to the pre-1967 borders[sic]: Egypt gets the Gaza Strip, Jordan gets the West Bank. Abdullah is safeguarding the Palestinian nationalistic claim to Jerusalem. The current process gives the Palestinians, including in Jerusalem, space to flex their sovereignty, a privilege that derives from the Palestinian right to self-determination. King Abdullah's brave vision is betting, it seems, on the Palestinians at the expense of his previous supporters. It appears that, along with Israel and the U.S., the king is forming a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation to pre-emptively strike against the radical Islamist threat.

Gantz: Coordination with Egypt Has Gotten Better

The security coordination between Israel and Egypt has not only continued despite the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power but has even gotten better, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said on Tuesday.

Greek Jews protest TV airtime for neo-Nazi lawmakers
Recent polls indicate Golden Dawn now has 14-18% of the population’s support

The program also was condemned by the prominent Union of Athens Daily Press Journalists, and social activists have launched a social media campaign calling for a boycott of the products sold by companies that sponsor shows in which Golden Dawn members appear.

Council of Europe: Greece could ban Golden Dawn

The Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights said Tuesday that Greece has the legal right to ban the far-right Golden Dawn party, the first time an international rights organization has raised the prospect of a ban.

They love the Merkava, in Moldova

Aviel Krutinsky made aliya from Moldova in September and now lives in Eilat. Back home last year, he and his bandmates, Eugen Scobioala and Dumitru Demciuc — their band’s name is Iron Dome, for the Israeli rocket interception system — recorded their first single. It’s about an Israeli tank Krutinsky fell in love with last year.

Our man in Beirut: The remarkable story of Isaac Shushan

At the moment of Israel’s creation 65 years ago, Isaac was a Jewish refugee from an Arab country who was in a different Arab country pretending to be an Arab refugee from a Jewish country. The multiplicity of lost homes and the layers of displacement in his story contain something essential about the country he helped found — a home for homeless people — and about the wars and loss among Jews and Arabs that have been part of its existence since then. Between the lines of his account, one can also discern the idea that perhaps the easy division between Jews and Arabs might not be as firm as we tend to think.

Miftah keeps showing its commitment to "open dialogue" - with censorship

Yesterday I noted that a number of people politely asked Miftah on Facebook to explain how they could justify not apologizing in Arabic for their blood libel article.

Since then, Miftah deleted every single post on that thread, except for one that simply says "peace and harmony."

Most Orwellian is that Miftah's statement that people were commenting on states "Comments, including constructive criticism, are welcome on this page."

As you can see from my post, there is no way that most of those comments constitute "hate language and slander."

So I added my own comment:

At this moment, Miftah still has both English and Arabic articles on its website that justifies the publication of the blood libel article (and attacks me, incidentally, for noticing it.) The post says that the original blood libel article simply "fulfill[s] its mandate for open dialogue" and that you removed it simply to avoid "misunderstanding." Do you still stand by that statement?

Within an hour, this comment was deleted as well! And I was banned from commenting further. which is apparently what happened with the others that commented.

It's almost as if they act in ways completely at odds with what they say.

But a respected NGO that receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from multiple Western sources would never act that way, would they? I mean, they say they are transparent, that they have high ethical standards and that they are interested in respectful dialogue, so they must really mean it, right?

Really, it is past time for some reporter to get an interview with their spokesperson, and with their donors who have not responded to email queries. If Miftah thinks this is going to go away, they are very, very mistaken.

Egyptian cleric says Boston terror attack seems a "message" to the West

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian Salafi cleric Sheik Murgan Salem, which aired on Tahrir TV on April 16, 2013:

Interviewer: Today, we will be talking about the Boston bombings, which took place yesterday, during the marathon. There were casualties. People were wounded and killed. What is your analysis of what happened?
Murgan Salem: In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Obviously, I do not know who carried out that operation, but if it was done by the mujahideen, it serves as a message to America and the West: We are still alive. Contrary to what you say, we have not died. The [Americans] wanted to send a message to the entire world that they had finished off the mujahideen – not just the mujahideen of Al-Qaeda, but the mujahideen all over the world. I do not know who carried out this attack, but if it was indeed the mujahideen, it was meant as a clear message to America and to the West.
Interviewer: But do you think that this could have been an Al-Qaeda operation?
Murgan Salem: No. this was not up to the standards of Al-Qeda. It was extremely amateurish. The standards of Al-Qaeda are much higher. By the way, I was not a member of the Al-Qaeda organization. But I knew all the people who belonged to it.
Interviewer: You were close to Sheik Osama and Dr. Ayman…
Murgan Salem: We were like one family. I am happy and proud to have been a friend of these brothers, but I cannot claim to have had the honor of being an Al-Qaeda member. The standards and techniques of Al-Qaeda are much higher. From what I saw on the news, this was the work of amateurs. I do not know who did it, but they have managed to get the message across: We can reach you whenever and wherever we want.
[…]
Over the past 30 years, there has been a qualitative leap in the war with America. American is waging a war in our countries, and we are the ones who reap its fruits. Those courageous heroes have shifted the battle over to America’s own turf.

I do not rule out the possibility that this was carried out by people born in the U.S. I do exclude the possibility that it was done by the Al-Qaeda organization. This is not the work of Osama Bin Laden or Ayman Al-Zawahiri. I think it was done by people resentful of the policy and arrogance of America and Europe. It is not just America.

The Americans have passed their arrogance over to France. France, which led the first Crusade, is now leading the war against Islam and the Muslims. They must taste the bitter retribution for their deeds. This is not a threat, but a warning of what might happen to them.
Interviewer: To America and the West?
Murgan Salem: To France in particular, and to America and the entire West.
Interviewer: Why?
Murgan Salem: Because the [French] are leading the war against us. What brought France to Mali? Or America to Afghanistan and Iraq? Why don’t they let our nation be? Have we ever interfered in their affairs?
[…]
France has accepted the banner of arrogance and enmity to Islam, so it will taste what it deserves. I cannot be held responsible for over one million [Muslims] in the West, who were harmed by French and American policy. More than one million [Muslims] were born in the West. I cannot be held responsible for them. I do not know what they may do. The [Westerners] are facing a deluge, and they will be destroyed.
Interviewer: Destroyed?
Murgan Salem: There is no doubt about it. The U.S. has completely collapsed, even if they are not hurrying to admit it. The American debt has reached how many trillions of dollars? They have a huge debt. Now poverty is spreading throughout America.
[…]
We say to the Western peoples: Force your stupid governments to refrain from supporting the tyrants. France’s intervention in Mali will not go unanswered. I don’t think it will. I do not have any specific information, but I am sure it will not go unanswered – just like their intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan did not go unanswered. They will suffer catastrophes for this.
[…]
With the utmost stupidity, France has accepted the banner of enmity [to Islam] – from the days of Sarkozy to Hollande. This stupidity will bring catastrophes upon them, just like it did upon America. Although I am not from Al-Qaeda, I can say, as someone who has known these people, that the path of Al-Qaeda is the path of the Koran, which calls upon [Muslims] to wage Jihad against infidels who attack them and intervene in their affairs. This is the path of Islam and the Koran, and not something invented by Osama Bin Laden.

No, it was not invented by Osama or Ayman. It was sent down by Allah, and anyone who thinks he can defeat this path is delusional.
[…]
Interviewer: Who do you consider to be an infidel?
Murgan Salem: Anyone who does not accept Islam. They are either original infidels, like the Jews and Christians, or apostates, like the secularists, liberals, Communists, or socialists. Whoever does not accept Islam is an infidel. Allah said so, not me.

I don't see much daylight between "if it was done by the mujahideen, it serves as a message to America and the West" and " "Though no one knows author of Boston Marathon attack, if it was Islamists did we think we could kill Muslims with impunity without a response?"

Quiz: Who has banned fishing off Gaza's coast?

Hint: It isn't Israel.

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Hamas security forces in Gaza have banned fishermen from working since Monday, a human rights center said Wednesday.

Naval security forces in the coastal territory imposed a ban on fishing at 5 a.m. on Monday for "security reasons," according to Al-Mezan center for human rights.

Mahfouz al-Kabariti, chairman of the Palestinian Association for Fishing and Marine Sports, told Ma'an that fishermen were notified about the decision.

Palestinian sources in Gaza told Ma'an that it is likely the ban was imposed after three prisoners escaped from jail on Monday.

Israel has limited how far out Gaza boats can go, but to my knowledge they have never banned fishing altogether. Only Hamas has.

When will we see the tearjerking articles in the media about how Gazans are dependent on fishing for their food and how Hamas is starving them? When will we hear Human Rights Watch call this "collective punishment"?

Ha!

It is also noteworthy that this information came from a Gaza NGO, not from one of the many reporters in Gaza who work for Western news agencies. Why is that? There's a story there about how reporting is done in Gaza, but we will never hear it...because the people complicit in hiding stories from Gaza are the reporters in Gaza.

Moreover, note that the possible reason for the ban implies that people can sneak into and out of Gaza via boat. If so, Hamas' "security reasons" for the ban is far less compelling than Israel's security reasons to limit the zone where boats can sail.

The twisted mind of Richard Silverstein

Israellycool and Legal Insurrection noticed this tweet, written by Richard Silverstein, showing the bizarre way that "progressive" Israel-haters' minds work:

Yes, Dickie wants to pre-emptively justify a (possibly) Islamist terror attack!

This must be his way of "repairing the world."

A loving mother greets her son after 27 years in prison (photos)

Last week, Israel released Islamic Jihad terrorist Ibrahim Baroud after he completed his 27 year prison sentence.

It was a touching scene as he saw his loving mother...

...and as he greeted his old friends.

Love is all around! It's just disguised as submachine guns.

Poor Ali Abunimah, upset at Anonymous

Ali Abunimah, of Electronic Intifada, is upset with "Anonymous":

M. arrived at work last Friday morning in a city in the north of present-day Israel. As she walked in, one of her colleagues approached her with a look of concern and asked her to step outside. “Your name is on a list of Mossad agents,” M. recalls the colleague saying.

“ ‘Then congratulate me,’ I said, thinking this was all a strange joke,” M. recalls responding.

But then M. found that many other people at her workplace were talking about a list, a file obtained by hackers and circulated on social media purporting to contain the names of agents of Israel’s notorious spy and assassination agency Mossad.

The vast majority of names of the list are Hebrew names of Israelis.

“I looked at the list, it had my name on it, my ID number and other details. By the end of the day everyone knew about it and was talking about it.”

M., however, is a Palestinian, a citizen of Israel, with an Arabic name – although like all the other names on the list her name was written in the Hebrew alphabet. She was stunned.

The false accusation or suspicion of being an Israeli agent can be absolutely devastating for any Palestinian.

...It is clear that circulating this list was not harmless. It does real damage to real people like M. and the people she knows, Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are guilty of no greater crime than doing what many of us do with little thought every day: buying something online, or perhaps, filling in a form to get a coupon.

Now, you can look at the last paragraph and think that Abunimah is saying that hacking the personal information of Israeli Jews - credit cards, email and home addresses - is admirable, and only hacking the Israeli Arab information is reprehensible.

Which would be textbook anti-semitic.

But it is possible that the reason that he is upset over only the Arab names revealed by the low-level Anonymous hack is because only the Arabs on the list are in real danger.

From certain people who would consider anyone who "collaborates" with Israel to be deserving of death.

Who might those potential murderers be?

Hmmmm.

Abunimah apparently doesn't have a problem with the Arabs who target other Arabs for being "collaborators." He seems to fully support that.

He is only upset at people who leak information that could lead Arabs to mistakenly target other Arabs for being "collaborators." That would be awful!

It would really be a shame if Abunimah, one of Mossad's best agents, were to be exposed....Oops!

(h/t WarpedMirrorPMB)

"Don't jump to conclusions that Muslims did it! Only Jews push that lie!" (updated)

The Media Review Network is a South African news watchdog organization that looks for anything degrading to Islam in the media.

The aspiration of the Media Review Network is to dispel the myths and stereotypes about Islam and Muslims and to foster bridges of understanding among the diverse people of our country.

Their press release in the wake of the Boston terror attack is classic:

The Media Review Network deplores bombings in Boston and expresses our shock and outrage that untested allegations blaming "Islamists" have emerged without any shred of evidence.

We find it equally reprehensible that a number of mainstream Western media have resorted to blame-games seeking to pin the atrocity on Muslims.

The method used is entirely disingenuous for by using so-called "terror experts" to profile perpetrators, it invariably results in raising suspicion against Muslims, thereby fuelling Islamophobia.

The Media Review Network cautions media to be more responsible in its coverage rather than the gung-ho style that reinforces racist stereotypes.

That's fine; they are doing their job in making sure that no one jumps to conclusions.

But then they sort of go against their credo to "foster bridges of understanding:"

We also urge media to be mindful of the possibility of a deliberate orchestrated campaign by any number of right-wing groups possibly allied to Israel.

Israel's secret service and intelligence agencies are known to possess a huge foot print within many right-wing circles primarily devoted to a campaign of vilification of Islam and Muslims.

Immediately after (rightly) complaining that the media shouldn't jump to conclusions, the MRN then tells the media to consider that any evidence that does implicate Muslims are a Jewish (sorry, Zionist) conspiracy!

I'm surprised they didn't also ask the media to "consider" that the Boston bombing was a false flag Mossad operation. You know that is what they want people to think.

The rest of the press release is meant to say that the real victims in the world are always Muslim:

The Boston tragedy reflects pain and suffering that unfortunately has become a routine experience of many innocents in areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Palestine resulting from aggressive military terror by the United States and Israel.

(sorry, forgot who sent this to me)

UPDATE: MRN also seems to be into Holocaust denial, 9/11 revisionism, and other interesting theories.

UPDATE 2: Israel Muse looked at a whole bunch of MRN lies a while back.

Tuesday Links Part 2

From Ian:

As Israelis Mourn, Jordanians Glorify by Alan M. Dershowitz

As Israelis mourn the 23,000 soldiers and defense personnel who have been killed in the course of defending the Jewish state against aggression and terrorism, Jordanian leaders (not including the king, at least thus far) are making a hero out of a Jordanian soldier who murdered 7 Israeli school girls and wounded 6 others during a peace program in 1997. Ahmed Daqamseh, who expressed pride in his mass murder, was convicted of these crimes but spared the death penalty, despite the fact that Jordan executes large numbers of criminals for relatively trivial offenses.

Israel can strike Iran nuclear targets alone, IDF head says

Gantz told Israel Radio that Israel had the capabilities to strike Iranian nuclear targets on its own if no country came to its aid, and that intense, thorough discussions between the military and political leadership on the matter were ongoing.
“The Iranian challenge is very significant and we must approach it with a responsible long-term strategy. We will do what is necessary when it is necessary,” Gantz said, adding that Israel was following nuclear developments in Iran closely.

Iranian Official Repeats Threat to Raze Haifa and Tel Aviv

He played down statements by the U.S. and Israel that all options are on the table in dealing with the Iranian nuclear threat, and said such statements signify their passive stance.
Last month, Khamenei said that Iran will "annihilate" the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa if it comes under attack by the Jewish state.

Ahmadinejad: 'We Don't Need Atomic Bomb'

"We don't need an atomic bomb. ... And besides, it is not atomic bombs that threaten the world, but Western morals and culture declining in values."
Iran continues to deny Western allegations that it is covertly developing the capacity to produce a nuclear bomb, claiming instead that its program is for energy and medical purposes.

Korea, Iran, and the Dual-Loyalty Myth

Yet no one of any significance is accusing Korean Americans of putting the interests of South Korea above those of the U.S. A Korean equivalent to the pack of lies contained in the book The Israel Lobby, by academics John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, has yet to be written, let alone make the New York Times bestseller list.

Glenn Greenwald and Israel’s booming anti-Zionism tourism trade

While it’s impossible to know how many of the record 3.5 millions tourists who visited Israel in 2012 (who brought $4.6 billion into the Israeli economy) were anti-Zionist activists, it seems that, contrary to Greenwald’s claims, foreign travelers who are “critical of Israeli actions” or “supportive of Palestinian rights” don’t have too hard of a time gaining entry into the state.
If there is a concerted effort by Israeli authorities to bar anti-Zionist activists from entering the country, they’re obviously doing a very poor job.

Israeli Start Up is Securing the High Seas (VIDEO)

Ami Daniel is CEO and co-founder of Windward Maritime Solutions, an Israeli start up that combines satellite imagery with intelligence data to predict where potentially dangerous ships might strike.
“Most governmental intelligence agencies, as well as business intelligence organizations, act on information they have,” wrote Daniel in a recent issue of Common Defense Quarterly.

"Bloomberg" Shekel strongest currency in first quarter

"Bloomberg" reported yesterday the shekel had the best performance of the 31 currencies monitored during the first quarter of 2013, because of Israel's stable growth and in anticipation of gas flow from the Tamar field, which is expected to have a favorable impact on the Israeli government deficit.

Sun power to purify polluted water

Thousands of years ago, sailors would spread seawater in flat beds aboard ship to let the sun evaporate it to separate out the salt. The same principle is behind a modern Israeli technology that relies on sun power to distill clean water for drinking and agriculture.
“About 97 percent of the world’s water is saltwater or polluted water,” says Shimmy Zimels, CEO of Jerusalem-based SunDwater. That is why some 750 million people in 45 countries need to drill expensive wells, buy bottled water or even use contaminated water despite the huge health risks.

Stand With Us: Stand Together For Israel

"Shut up," Miftah explains (updated)

As I have been reporting, the Miftah NGO published an article in Arabic - on Passover - saying that Jews drink Christian blood on that holiday.

First, Miftah silently removed it.

Then they claimed (in English and Arabic) that my revelation of the article was a "smear campaign" and defended the article as part of robust debate, but explaining that they took it down because it might be "misunderstood."

Then as they saw their donors and other prominent organizations questioning their decision to defend the article and they issued an apology, but only in English. Their Arabic-speaking readers never saw the apology, although they still see their attack on me.

Now, look how they respond to people asking about this:

From the Miftah Facebook page, in response to some strident questions about the episode:

MIFTAH · 1,094 like this
7 hours ago ·

Dear Friends,
Comments, including constructive criticism, are welcome on this page. However, we will not tolerate hate language or slander. These comments will be removed. Thank you.

Gad Grunwald You claim in your mission to want "an active and in-depth dialogue, the free flow of information and ideas" if so, may i ask why your apology from 1 April wasn't posted in your Arabic website (onlly posted in English). The antisemitic article of Al Zaru’s was on your Arabic website. It seems your apology is just for your English public whom never read the article, and the Arabs whom have read it have no idea that Miftah doesn''t support the Jewish blood libel during Passover.

MIFTAH Once again, MIFTAH does not need to explain itself any further on this subject. Any further comments on this subject will be removed.

This is Miftah's idea of an "active and in-depth dialogue!"

UPDATE: Gad's comment was indeed removed. That was followed with:

Sol Robinson I kinda feel like in fact you DO need to explain yourself further. Why was there no arabic language apology? Why when it was pointed out that you had in fact published antisemitic literature was your response to call the pointing out of said publishing a "smear campaign?" Why was it possible for this to get published in the first place? I would appreciate an answer.

37 minutes ago
MIFTAH MIFTAH offered an answer to its readers. It was not an article published by the organization's writers and it was taken down when the mistake was realized.

33 minutes ago
Omri Schwarz Why was the apology only written in English?

15 minutes ago

Gad Grunwald why was my comment removed ? Or are you making a point that MIFTAH stands for "active and in-depth dialogue, the free flow of information and ideas"

1 · 21 minutes ago · Edited

Jonathan Simon I believe what people would like to see is an Arabic-language apology for the blood libel along with an explanation for the Arabic audience about the history of the Passover blood libel and how it is a hateful lie. It would have to amount to a complete denunciation of the message posted. Anything short of this will be inadequate. Who wrote the article does not matter. That MIFTAH was the mouthpiece for it does matter.

3 · 23 minutes ago

Someone needs to keep track of the comments Miftah is deleting.

Tuesday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Boston Marathon Blasts: Doctor Credits Israelis With Helping Set Up Disaster Team (VIDEO)

Hours following a pair of blasts at the Boston Marathon that left 2 dead and up to 100 wounded according to reports, a chief doctor at the hospital where many of the patients are being treated credited Israelis with teaching his team how to respond to such disastrous attacks.
“About two years ago in actual fact we asked the Israelis to come across and they helped us set up our disaster team so that we could respond in this kind of manner,” said Alastair Conn, Chief of Emergency Services at Massachusetts General Hospital, responding to a question about the preparedness of his staff to handle trauma on this scale.

Jordan extremist praises Boston bombing

The head of an extremist Jordanian Muslim Salafi group says he’s “happy to see the horror in America” after the explosions in Boston.
“American blood isn’t more precious than Muslim blood,” said Mohammad al-Chalabi, who was convicted in an al-Qaeda-linked plot to attack US and other Western diplomatic missions in Jordan in 2003.

Italy's Senators Rally for Arch Terrorist Marwan Barghouti

Several Italian politicians and members of Europe's Parliament took part in a rally asking for the freeing of the Palestinian Arab mastermind of the Second Intifada there. Also present were Sabri Atieh, the "Palestinian ambassador" in Rome, and Qassam Barghouti, son of the terrorist.

Blazing Cat Fur: Muslims Of Calgary Have Asked Allah To Curse Jews, Christians, Crusaders & Their Followers

Don't Miss: Muslims Of Calgary Web Site Quotes Protocols Of Elders Of Zion To Prove Freemasonry A Jewish Plot - Update: The Muslims of Calgary have stripped the Freemasonry/Protocols of the Elders of Zion page from their site.

Fatah Official: Now that Fayyad is Gone - Make Peace with Hamas

"The president must hold consultations with Palestinian movements to form a national unity government and set a date for elections," Azzam al-Ahmed, a leader of the Fatah party, told Voice of Palestine radio.

Egypt loan negotiations end without deal

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund failed to agree on terms for a $4.8 billion loan that could ease a worsening economic crisis in the Arab world's most populous nation.

‘Brotherhood are Nazis’

Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef, host of a television program that has been compared to Jon Stewart’s Daily Show in the US, has presented a short segment comparing Cairo’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood party to the Nazis.
“I hereby declare my total support of all that is Muslim Brotherhood,” Youssef began.

Turkish pianist gets suspended term for anti-religious tweets

A Turkish court on Monday convicted top Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say of denigrating religion through comments he made on Twitter and handed down a 10-month suspended prison sentence, his lawyer said.

Milan mayor condemns Jewish cemetery defacement

Vandals over the weekend tore away Stars of David decorating some 13 tombstones

Dutch student punished for Holocaust remarks

A Dutch boy of Turkish descent who said he was “glad about what Adolf Hitler did to Jews” was sentenced to mandatory classes on anti-Semitism.
A spokesperson for the Dutch justice ministry told reporters Friday that the 15-year-old boy from Arnhem will have to “undergo mandatory educational activity” at nongovernmental organizations fighting racism and anti-Semitism.

Australia makes Raoul Wallenberg first honorary citizen

“The lives of those he rescued are Mr. Wallenberg’s greatest memorial and Australia is honoured to have survivors he rescued living in Australia today,” Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said, according to AFP and The Australian.
An official ceremony is scheduled for May 6 in Canberra. Wallenberg has previously been awarded posthumous honorary citizenship of Israel, Hungary, the United States and Canada.

Lying Deir Yassin post at RNS taken down for "review"

Yesterday I noted a blog post by a University of North Carolina professor for Religion News Service filled with lies about Deir Yassin - and even with false images of that event.

Today, that post is gone, replaced with:

Editor’s Note: This post has been temporarily suspended pending review by the editorial team at Religion News Service.

A correspondent received this email from RNS:

Thank you for your note. We are aware of the inaccuracies in Omid Safi's recent blogpost regarding Deir Yassin and are working to correct them. We are also reviewing our guidelines with our bloggers. RNS did not have bloggers until last year, and while we want to give bloggers latitude to express their opinions, we will not tolerate inaccuracies.

Thank you for writing and sharing your concerns. I want you to know we are taking this very seriously.

It is refreshing to see an appropriate response to outright lies. It shows that when people take the time to complain about anti-Israel slander, sometimes it pays off. Great job!

One can only wonder what his students hear from him.

By the way, Safi is considered a leader of the "progressive Muslim movement."

(h/t DM and Ian)

Previous Google Doodles for Yom Ha'atzmaut can be seen here.

Arab states lead the Syria deadbeat parade

I mentioned last week that rich Gulf states were big on pledging money to Syria, but not so great at following through.

The Washington Post yesterday posted this graphic showing how much aid different countries have promised, and delivered, to help Syrians:

(h/t Gidon Shaviv)

Haters disrupt South Africa Yom Ha'Atzmaut concert - no news coverage

Last night, there was a concert in Gold Reef City, Johannesburg to celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut:

The counter-tenor Yaniv D'Or describes what happened on his Facebook page:

Dear Friends,

Tonight I felt the venom of hatred. During a performance in Johannesburg a group or protestors stormed the Lyric Theatre and shouted some strong pro palestinians slogans as I was singing the wonderful melody of Eli Eli which is written by Hannah Senesh at the time of the holocaust.

They hated me for the wrong reasons. I am a proud Israeli and British citizen and very much supporting freedom for Palestine...

I continued singing as if nothing happened in hope it was a one off incident. I was so wrong. After the break without any particular reason another protestor (female) stormed the stage as I was singing and started shouting again pro palestinian slogans, this time also exploding stinky bombs on stage.

In a state of shock and this time also anger, I found myself hugging her, lifting her on my side while accompanying her back stage before handing her to security. She could have very easily stub me but my impulse was stronger than me and I couldn't feel fear at that point.

Everyone have the right to voice their opinion but interrupting a concert just because of religious or nationality hatred is too much for me. There are other means one should express disagreement. Not like this.

Sad times.

One responder in Facebook named Sarah Wainer verified the event:

I was at the concert last night. Yaniv gave an incredible performance, what a beautiful voice! How he managed to throw the lady off the stage and continue to sing at the same time, was also amazing!!! :) Thank you Yaniv!

I cannot find a single news story about the interruption. SABC briefly mentions the protesters outside, but nothing about the concert itself being interrupted:

Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) South Africa held a protest outside Gold Reef City in Johannesburg last night, where supporters of Israel were attending a music concert to celebrate Israeli Independence.

It seems likely that the stink-bomb attack was well planned by BDS South Africa, because the hashtag in Twitter for the protest is "IsraelApartheidStinks." According to one anti-Israel tweeter, there were two women arrested - but they were released.

Is the South African community so inured to these obnoxious haters that no one even thinks people throwing stink-bombs in the middle of a performance is even worth mentioning?

(h/t Steven Z)