Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Latest horror out of Gaza: Cheap Chinese cars flooding market

The "world's largest concentration camp" now has a new problem to contend with: Cheap Chinese cars being smuggled from Egypt.

Palestine Press Agency reports that the inexpensive Chinese imports are "invading" the Gaza Strip. They are much less expensive than the usual Japanese and Korean cars that arrive through Kerem Shalom as well as the traditional cars smuggled from Egypt, costing as little as $12,000.

Some Gazans are complaining about the poor quality of the Chinese imports; one was quoted as saying that he sold his lemon of a car and chose instead to buy one that came through Israel which was at least guaranteed to be authentic and not assembled in Egypt.

Others are quite happy with the cars.

A Gaza car dealer is reported to have customers from early morning to late at night ordering their Chinese cars. Customers can order the specific make and model they want, although they have to wait a few weeks to receive their car.

You almost have to avert your eyes, things are so bad. Perhaps an NGO can be set up to help the Gazans with their latest crisis. I'm sure some European country will be happy to bankroll it.

China Daily mentioned this new market for their cars late last year.

WSJ reports on "Khaybar" antisemitic miniseries (UPDATES)

Finally, someone picked up on this story!

In March, on his first visit to the Jewish state as president, Barack Obama exhorted Israelis to reach out to their Arab neighbors and see that "sometimes the greatest miracle is recognizing that the world can change."

But consider Egypt, where in 2011 a popular revolt swept away Hosni Mubarak's pharaonic dictatorship only to replace it with a Muslim Brotherhood-led theocracy. Through it all, one element of Egyptian culture has remained constant: its virulent anti-Semitism.

"Khaybar," a serial drama set to air during the holy month of Ramadan (starting on July 8), is Egyptian TV's latest piece of hate-melodrama. It depicts the Prophet Muhammad's conquest, in A.D. 629, of a Jewish community on the Arabian Peninsula.

"Khaybar, oh Jews!" is an oft-heard chant at Arab anti-Israel rallies. But just in case there was any doubt about the intended political message, the show's screenwriter, Yousry El Gendy, has gone on the record with the online news outlet Alyoum Alsabea to declare: "This drama will focus on the Jewish community and will show their traits, ideas and their maliciousness. Also, it will show the enmity between Arabs and Jews since the time of Moses." Ahmed Maher, a popular actor playing one of the Jewish villains, told the Al-Balad newspaper that "Khaybar" sets out to depict Jews as "the ugliest slice of humans."

"The show will be on when most Egyptian families are staying at home for Ramadan doing nothing but watching TV," Mina Rezkalla, a U.S.-based Egyptian activist told me. "The goal is completely outward anti-Semitism." Contrary to Mr. Obama's uplifting Middle East maxims, some things in the world's least free region never change.

This needs to be more widely publicized, as too often Arab antisemitism is downplayed - yet here it will be broadcast to hundreds of millions.

Sign the petition to urge human rights organizations to condemn this upcoming incitement to kill Jews.

UPDATE: An Egyptian newspaper noticed this article.

UPDATE 2: Egypt's DreamTV had a large news segment on the movie.

At about 4:45, famous Egyptian actor Ahmad Maher says that the film can help viewers can learn how the Jews educate their children to "meanness, deception, depravity and Machiavellianism." Talk about projection!

Starting at around 7:01, another famous Egyptian actor, Mustafa Hashish, says that he plays the part of a Jew who is murdered by his son, and he says that this is the perfect example of the Jew, with his conspiracies and greediness.

The antisemitic message of the film is unmistakable. We have the chance to shame the Arab nations that plan to air this. Even putting them on the defensive is worthwhile, as they either have to justify their hate or dissociate themselves from it - either way, publicizing this hatefest and getting officials to issue public statements in both the West and the Arab world is essential.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

Miftah illustrates how to turn a good UN resolution into a weapon against Israel

Here's how the UN describes UN Security Council Resolution 1325, from 2000:

The Security Council adopted resolution (S/RES/1325) on women and peace and security on 31 October 2000. The resolution reaffirms the important role of women in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peace negotiations, peace-building, peacekeeping, humanitarian response and in post-conflict reconstruction and stresses the importance of their equal participation and full involvement in all efforts for the maintenance and promotion of peace and security. Resolution 1325 urges all actors to increase the participation of women and incorporate gender perspectives in all United Nations peace and security efforts. It also calls on all parties to conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, in situations of armed conflict. The resolution provides a number of important operational mandates, with implications for Member States and the entities of the United Nations system.

The UN documents associated with this initiative are meant to help women vote and increase their participation in their own local and national politics.

So when Miftah, the NGO that pushed an antisemitic blood libel and has supported terrorism multiple times, created a workshop on UNSC 1325 last week, what was their primary purpose? To help include more women in the PA to be involved in the moribund peace process? To empower women in Gaza to take on more important roles in the Hamas government?

No, of course not. This is Miftah. Here is their major goal:

In a general session on UN Security Council 1325 held by MIFTAH in recently Nablus, participants focused on the need to work through the resolution in order to document Israeli violations against Palestinians, especially women and to spread awareness among them, especially in villages that are flashpoints with the Israeli occupation.

The entire purpose of the resolution is being subverted to further a specifically anti-Israel goal.

Which is pretty much what most NGOs in the territories do, when it comes down to it - use the language of the UN and human rights not to improve their own lives but to create ever new weapons against a single state.

This Miftah initiative, by the way, was funded by the UN Development Programme.

More Arabs live in British Mandate Palestine today than ever before

If Israel is performing "ethnic cleansing," it must be the most incompetent ethnic cleansing in history.

I found this factoid in an Arabic article. Immediately before it was mentioned the author claimed that the Palestinian Arabs have been treated worse, historically, than Native Americans.

When you hate Israel enough, contradicting yourself is simply not a problem - as long as your competing facts can all be used against the Jewish state.

WZO selling vintage Zionist poster reproductions

I love stuff like this:

The World Zionist Organization is selling 18 of these posters - (50 x 70 cm. / 20 x 28 inches) - for only $65!

6/11 Links Part 2: Alicia Keys and Civil Rights, Vale Howard Grief, BDS Fails and Look Out Cliff !

From Ian:

Richard Friedman: Alicia Keys, Israel and Civil Rights (WSJ)

What characterized the civil-rights movement was its strict adherence to the philosophy of nonviolence. Even when attacked with fire hoses and police dogs, civil-rights demonstrators courageously refused to retaliate.
The Palestinian leadership, by contrast, for decades has used violence whenever missile attacks or suicide bombers suit its aims. It is Israel that has shown an inclination to absorb punishment, though the country’s tolerance stretches only so far before it responds militarily to attacks.

Apartheid: More Than Just a Word

Apartheid. Just the mention of the word is emotive, evocative and provocative. For millions of South Africans who suffered under the apartheid regime, the word is synonymous with suffering, discrimination and racism.
Today the word apartheid has been hijacked by Israel’s detractors as a way to launch a well-orchestrated assault on her legitimacy as a state. They capitalize on the emotional response that the very mention of the word and the images that it conjures up, to plan campaigns that are based on their own particular brand of racism – anti-Semitism.

IM Tirtzu- Building the Zionist dream

Remembering Howard Grief

Howard Grief, champion of Israel’s legal rights to all Eretz Israel, was plagued over the past decade by deteriorating health, a condition which caused him considerable distress, but had no effect on the clarity of his legal reasoning. Besides his normal work burden, he composed lengthy petitions to be presented to the Parliament of Canada (already done) and to the United States Congress, calling on these august bodies to reconfirm their earlier support for Jewish legal rights to the entirety of the Land of Israel. His hospitalization over the last few weeks of his life prevented him from completing the two books we had been working on over the past five years, and which will hopefully reach the public over the months to come.

More voices from GFCA 2013

The video below – filmed at the Global Forum for Combating Antisemitism which was recently held in Jerusalem – features interviews with Kasim Hafeez from the UK and Rev. Majed El Shafie who now lives in Canada after having been forced to leave his native Egypt in 1998 due to religious persecution.

Shame on Germany for boycotting Jews

So just who is it that the Germans are really hurting here? The duplicity of the labeling campaign targeting Judea and Samaria is all the more apparent when one considers that no such campaigns are being contemplated for Chinese products made in Tibet, Russian items manufactured in Chechnya or Spanish goods from Catalonia. Only when it comes to the Jewish state do the liberals of Europe insist on drawing a line in the sand.
This is not only hypocrisy, it is hatred, pure and simple.
As the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman put it, “If the only country you want to single out is Israel, that’s anti- Semitism.”

Solidarity with Palestine in Germany

In the recent controversy about an antisemitic op-ed by Columbia University Professor Joseph Massad, some fans of Massad noted gleefully that the disgraceful screed published by Al Jazeera “was based on a lecture Massad gave at a conference in Stuttgart… Germany, to a largely German audience.” The implication was of course that if the audience at a German “conference” happily listened to an American professor claiming that Nazism and Zionism were both antisemitic, this lunacy somehow became legitimate.
But Germans don’t really need an American professor to demonstrate how best to dress up antisemitic resentments. Despite many official German efforts to grapple with the Nazi past and combat contemporary antisemitism, studies have not only documented that about 20% of Germans hold persistent antisemitic views, but that there is also “a big rise in anti-Semitism based on hostility toward Israel.” Since some 40% of Germans believe “Israel is conducting a war of extermination against the Palestinians,” Massad could clearly expect to find a sympathetic audience for his preposterous comparison of Nazism and Zionism.

Israeli Tourism Healthy and Growing

Israel’s Tourism Ministry is showing an impressive record, with figures in May hitting an "all time record for incoming tourism."
Last month saw a five percent increase in the number of tourists and visitors, with 336,000 visitors entering the country.

Israel signs Open Skies deal with EU

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz and Civil Aviation Authority Director Giora Rom on Monday signed an Open Skies agreement with the European Union.
The agreement, signed at a festive ceremony in Luxembourg between the Israeli representatives and EU transportation ministers, will gradually, over the next five years, remove all barriers for flights between Israel and Europe, in the hopes of lowering air fares and significantly increasing tourism to Israel.

EU keen to tap into Israel's gas supply via Trans Adriatic Pipeline

The European Union, which is trying to reduce its dependence on Russia for gas and diversify its supply sources, is eyeing Israel as a likely alternative and has proposed linking it to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, Israeli industry sources said Monday.

Network’s inventor names Israeli tech top network product

When the creator of the computer network as we know it tells you that you have a good networking product – the best in the world, in fact – then you know you’ve done a good day’s work. That, in fact, was the message that the co-inventor of Ethernet technology, Dr. Robert Metcalfe, had for Israel’s RAD Data Communications, when, heading the panel of judges at this year’s NetEvents Technology Innovation Awards, he awarded RAD Data the award for “best in class infrastructure equipment and innovative solutions to Service Providers’ current challenges” for its MiNID communication device.

Israelis build world’s first eye-free smartphone

The world’s first smartphone for people with visual disabilities, already making daily life easier for many Israelis, is launching in the United States in collaboration with Qualcomm, Amazon and T-Mobile.

Lockheed Martin to set up Israeli development center

Sources inform ''Globes'' that Lockheed Martin Company (NYSE: LMT), the world's biggest defense company, will establish a development center in Israel. It will collaborate with Bynet Data Communications Ltd. in building the IDF Intelligence Corp's technology campus in the Negev, known as the 5/9 project.

Latino stars explore Israel, stun Dominican fans

A group of tourists visiting from the Dominican Republic got the shock of their lives Sunday when they bumped into two of Latin media’s most iconic faces while walking in the Ein Kerem village in Jerusalem. The tourists screamed in disbelief as famed Univision TV hosts, Don Francisco and Raul De Molina, posed for pictures with them.

Sir Cliff to enjoy ‘summer holiday’ in Israel

Having quickly sold out his announced show in Israel, promoters added a second show for fans who recall Richard’s heyday.
“I’m thrilled about the turnout, because I was dubious since it’s been a long time since I’ve had a hit in Israel. One show would have been fine, and two is great.

The top headline on the Al Qassam Brigades (Hamas) webpage today is a celebration of the tenth
anniversary of the bombing of bus 14A in Jerusalem.

Hamas doesn't pretend that they were targeting the army, as they sometimes pretend to nowadays. They say explicitly that they targeted a passenger bus. This is a pure celebration of terrorism. They even include photos that show dead bodies.

Six of the dead were over 65 years old.

Hamas is also proud that some 100 people were wounded in the attack.

If anyone thinks for a moment that Hamas' bloodlust has lessened in the years since then, just read that article using Google Translate..

GOOOOAAAALLLL! Israel beats England 1-0 in U21 (video)

I don't do sports often, and I'm not even a soccer fan, but, hey, why not....

Ambassador who once blamed Muslim antisemitism on Israel reportedly has a thing for hookers

Remember Howard Gutman? He is the US ambassador to Belgium who made an outrageous and ignorant speech in 2011 saying that Muslim antisemitism is nothing like the traditional European type, because it is really a result of Israeli policies.

It is easy enough to prove him wrong, as I did then.

Unfortunately, his deeply flawed thinking is almost certainly part of the reason why HRW and Amnesty will be quick to condemn traditional antisemitism in Europe but remain stubbornly silent on Arab and Muslim antisemitism.

Anyway, even though I am fully aware that it is a cheap shot, this is irresistible:

A DS [Bureau of Diplomatic Security] agent was called off a case against US Ambassador to Belgium Howard Gutman over claims that he solicited prostitutes, including minors.

“The agent began his investigation and had determined that the ambassador routinely ditched his protective security detail in order to solicit sexual favors from both prostitutes and minor children,” says the memo.

“The ambassador’s protective detail and the embassy’s surveillance detection team . . . were well aware of the behavior.”

Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy ordered the investigation ceased, and the ambassador remains in place, according to the memo.

Gutman was a big Democratic donor before taking the post, having raised $500,000 for President Obama’s 2008 campaign and helping finance his inaugural.

If the report is true, it looks like Gutman put as much thought into his personal actions as he did in his revelation that centuries-old Muslim Jew-hatred was postdated to 1967.

(h/t Elliott)

6/11 Links Part 1: EU Slams Falk, Ha'aretz Lies Again and 15 Mil Signatures To Oust Morsi

From Ian:

EU slams Falk’s Israel report as biased at UNHRC

The European Union took a strong stand against United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur Richard Falk, denouncing as inaccurate and biased a report against Israel which he delivered to the body in Geneva on Monday.
“The EU continues to regret the unbalanced mandate of the Special Rapporteur and is also concerned that parts of the report include political considerations.
In the past, the EU emphasized that future reports should be based on a more factual and legal analysis, and we regret to see no genuine progress in that direction,” it said.
“The council needs to be provided with accurate, factual information and solid allegations to fulfill its role and address the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory,” the EU said.

Ha'aretz Manipulates Child Casualty Figures

B'Tselem's full data, which Ha'aretz cites selectively and manipulates to smear the Israeli army, indicates that in fact, the situation for Palestinian children and teens is steadily improving. The number of fatalities has sharply declined, especially during periods in which there are no large scale army operations. The decline underscores the fact that the army does, in fact, draw lessons from prior failures, and does make an effort to reduce the number of innocent deaths. Children and teens in other areas of conflict around the world can only dream of such a high level of personal safety.

Four Billion Dollars to the Palestinian Authority? Not by Arabs!

A December 9, 2011 article by Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News highlights a World Bank report: ”Arab countries have cut aid to Palestinians substantially, despite their rhetoric of supporting Palestinian rights…. Arab donors provided less than $80 million in the first half of 2011, compared to $231 million in 2010, $462 million in 2009 and $446 million in 2008…. Arab countries have committed to billions in aid in past years that never materialized…. One reason could be that the Arab world has become fed up with the Palestinian problem.”

Palestinians call for right of return at UNHRC

The PLO called for the right of return for Palestinian refugees to Israel during a debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday.

Israel "contributes" to increase in drug addicts in the PA - PA TV News

Gaza govt plans to execute more collaborators

The Hamas-run government in Gaza plans to execute a number of collaborators with Israel in an attempt to "eradicate" collaboration this year, a security official said Monday.

With ties to Iran in shambles, Hamas finds new ways to rearm

The reasons for the organization’s current restraint are threefold, he said. Hamas is still recuperating from Operation Pillar of Defense, building its political and military strength back up; it is “very occupied with the internal struggle” against Fatah for leadership among Palestinians; and its ties with the Muslim Brotherhood-led Egypt, counterintuitively, act as a restraining device and a useful channel of information.

Hamas and Hezbollah Remain Allied Over Mutual Hatred for Israel, Says Former Hezbollah MP

Despite tensions between Hamas and Hezbollah over Syria, the lynchpin keeping the two allies relatively civil towards one another is their mutual hatred of Israel, according to a former Hezbollah official.
“What brings us together, in terms of our hostility toward the Zionist entity, is greater than a dispute over the […] situation in Syria,” former Hezbollah MP Hassan Hoballah, said Friday.

Europe’s historic responsibility: Proscribe terror

From the Nazis to Stalin, and now to the Sunni Islamists of Hamas and the Shi’ite Islamists in Iran, we can see that the exponents of Jew-hatred are also brutal and bloodthirsty oppressors of their own people. The lessons of history are inescapable: The Jews may be the first victims of such ideologies, but they are rarely the last.

Original Thinking: Good Hezbollah, bad Hezbollah

With a rampant Islamist shift across the region, it is plain that the extremist and violent political/religious firebrands will carry the people with them. It doesn’t matter whether it is out of fear or out of fondness, they are all part of the whirlwind that endangers those who do not share their agenda. When they strike on your soil, or on your street, the position you take will decide your future fate. There is no moderation in the seriousness of their mission.
There is no such thing as a benign sect of Hezbollah, or Hamas, or Islamic Jihad, or the Salafists, or al-Qaida. Their mission and their aim are plain for all to see. It’s just a question of who can face the truth.

Terra Incognita: Why Hezbollah gets away with it

THE EXTRAORDINARY thing about the Wikileaks cables is that they reveal that most EU governments know Hezbollah is dangerous; they prefer to leave it be because they fear to provoke it. The Italian claim that the mere mention of “terror” would cause Hezbollah to terrorize Italian troops is like the boy who is afraid of calling the bully a bully because he might be bullied. How can an organization like Hezbollah intimidate the entire EU? Perhaps because Hezbollah operates as far away as South America and its agents have been detained in Spain, Cyprus, Texas in the US, Nigeria, and its operatives were involved in the Burgas bombing in Bulgaria in 2012.

Lieberman: If EU Won't Blacklist Hizbullah, it's Irrelevant

The European Union is irrelevant when it comes to dealing with the Middle East because of its failure to blacklist Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, MK Avigdor Lieberman (Likud-Yisrael Beytenu) said on Monday.

Former Lebanese President Warns Mideast Christians Face ‘Existential Crisis’

Former Lebanese President Amine Gemayel warned that Middle East Christians face an “existential crisis” due the threat of “religious cleansing” in the region, at a speech sponsored by Christian Solidarity International.
Gemayel, a Maronite Christian who was president from 1982-1988 after taking over for his brother Bashir, who was assassinated during the bloody Lebanese Civil War, said Christians “are often victims of persecution by both the state and society in the Middle East.”

Haroon Siddiqui Syria in danger of becoming Somalia or Afghanistan

It turns out that even Obama’s “red line” on Syrian chemical and biological weapons is flexible. After reports of Assad’s use of sarin and chlorine gas, Obama made clear he had only been referring to a “systematic” use of such weapons. Spraying on civilians here and there doesn’t count. Washington would worry only if the weapons were in danger of falling in the wrong hands. (That presumably won’t happen as long as Assad is in charge.)
Only Israel has adhered to its red lines. It has bombed Syria thrice, to stop the flow of arms to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Perversely, all the reasons cited for not intervening militarily have come true because of not intervening militarily.

Anti-Morsi Petition Claims Nearly 15 Million Signatures

The opposition campaign called Tamarod, which means “rebel” in Arabic was launched in early May with the aim of collecting 15 million signatures to outnumber the votes gained by Morsi in last year’s presidential election.
Spokesperson Mahmoud Badr said the opposition is campaign “studying the possibility of confidentially submitting the forms to the Supreme Constitutional Court” before June 30.

25 years on, Saddam’s Kurdish victims seek justice

Twenty victims of Saddam Hussein’s 1988 chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja requested a judicial investigation of French suppliers on Monday, saying executives knew what they were sending to the Iraqi dictator and bore some responsibility.
An Iraqi official said the case serves as a warning to anyone who may still try to sell chemicals to tyrants, touching on a central concern in Syria’s civil war.

Egyptians starting to talk about war over Ethiopia dam issue

Over the past couple of weeks, Egyptians have been surprised and upset over the announcement from Ethiopia that they are building a hydroelectric dam that will temporarily divert water from the Nile.

The rhetoric level has been increasing.

Last week:

The head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) Mohamed El-Katatni told Al-Ahram's Arabic-language news website on Wednesday that a military response to Ethiopia's Nile dam project "cannot be taken without the consent and support of the Egyptian people."

Tension between Egypt and Ethiopia escalated last week after the latter began diverting the course of the Blue Nile – the source of the lion's share of Egypt's Nile water – as part of a project to build a series of dams along the river.

Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam project has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government, which fears that the project – if completed – could negatively impact Egypt's traditional share of Nile water.

"Egyptians are peaceful by nature, but they have a historical entitlement to Nile water," El-Katatni, a former parliamentary speaker, was quoted as saying. "And it is their right to defend it by any means necessary."

Also last week:

Last night:

Egypt does not want war with Ethiopia but will keep "all options open," President Mohamed Morsy said on Monday, piling pressure to an ongoing dispute over the giant dam Addis Ababa is building across the Nile.

In a televised speech to cheering Islamist supporters, Morsy voiced his understanding for the development needs of poorer nations upstream in the Nile basin, but deployed emotive language to claim Egyptians would not tolerate any reduction in water supplies.

Hot-headed rhetoric, including whispers of military action, by Egyptian politicians last week has raised concerns of a so-called “water war” between Africa’s second and third most populous states.

But Morsy, for whom the dispute provides ample opportunity to rally Egyptians behind him after a divisive first year in power, also seemed to leave room for compromise.

He did not renew an Egyptian call - flatly rejected by Ethiopia last week - for work to stop at the dam but said further study on its impact was needed.

"Egypt's water security cannot be violated in any way," Morsy said. "As head of state, I confirm to you that all options are open." He later added: "We are not calling for war, but we will never permit our water security...to be threatened."

Drawing on an old Egyptian song about the Nile, he said: "If it diminishes by one drop then our blood is the alternative."

And the inevitable fallout:

Dozens of Ethiopian refugees protested on Sunday outside the Egypt office of UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Cairo's 6 October City to demand protection from what they describe as increasingly frequent xenophobic attacks by Egyptians.

Protesters, mostly from the Oromo ethnic group, said that members of their community had faced several violent attacks in Egypt in recent weeks.

The apparent trend comes against the backdrop of mounting tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt over a plan by the former to build a dam on the Blue Nile.

"We have some reports of people being attacked just because of their nationality," protest organiser Jeylan Kassim told Ahram Online.

"We need the UNHCR's protection; and we need the UNHCR to raise the awareness of the Egyptian community [about our plight]."

Jerusalem, 1962

People who want to redivide Jerusalem - to get back to the anomalous situation that occurred for a mere nineteen years - rarely give a real reason why such a move would not entail, well, a situation very close to how life in Jerusalem was during those years.

Here is just one reporter's description of Jerusalem from January 1962:

Today, Jerusalem is the opposite of what is described here - it is a beautiful, thriving, and growing city. Anyone who wants to divide Jerusalem wants to kill it.

And don't try to argue that "this time will be different." No peace plan can impose security for Jews on the Arab side, and any forays by Jews to their holy spots would be similar to the monthly visits some Jews make to the Tomb of Joseph near Nablus today - at midnight, in heavily armored buses, under IDF protection from a hostile population.

Under Israeli rule, Muslims have access to their holy spots. Who can credibly claim that the converse would be true under Arab rule? We already know how it was the first time.

If Jerusalem is split again, it means that the split will be an international border. Walls and fences would be built, checkpoints erected, buildings and streets divided, and people forced from their homes. This is inevitable, and anyone who believes that people can stroll from one section to another freely is lying.

Who in their right mind thinks that this is better than Jerusalem is today?

Report: Israel sold military equipment to Arab and Muslim countries (updated)

From Haaretz:

Israel has exported security equipment over the past five years to Pakistan and four Arab countries, according to a British government report. The report, which deals with British government permits for arms and security equipment exports, says that in addition to Pakistan, Israel has exported such equipment to Egypt, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.

The report was released by Britain’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which oversees security exports and publishes regular reports on permits granted or denied to purchase arms, military equipment or civilian items that are monitored because they can be put to security uses.

From January 2008 to December 2012, British authorities processed hundreds of Israeli applications to purchase military items containing British components for use by the Israel Defense Forces, or to go into systems exported to third countries.

The British reports also list the countries to which Israel sought to export the items. Among Israel’s clients are Muslim countries with which it does not have diplomatic ties. According to the report, in 2011 Israel sought to purchase British components to export radar systems to Pakistan, as well as electronic warfare systems, Head-up Cockpit Displays ‏(HUD‏), parts for fighter jets and aircraft engines, optic target acquisition systems, components of training aircraft, and military electronic systems. In 2010, Israel applied for permits to export electronic warfare systems and HUDs with components from Britain to Pakistan. Also in 2010, Israel sought permits to supply Egypt and Morocco with Israeli electronic warfare systems and HUD systems that use British parts.

Here's Haaretz' graphical summary of the article:

Although at first glance it sounds a little alarming for Israel to sell to countries that consider it an enemy, I think it is a reasonable assumption that the Israeli government is careful not to give away any technologies that would hurt Israel's defense.

Which means that this is about as massive a BDSFail as can be imagined!

Already the Arabic media are reporting this, so we can expect a backlash any moment now and the denials from Muslim countries will follow soon afterwards.

UPDATE: The first denial, from Pakistan.

UPDATE 2: #2 from Egypt. (h/t IranAware)

In 2010, the PA asked Richard Falk to step down from the UN because he was too pro-Hamas

A Wikileaks cable from the UN, February 16, 2010:

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GENEVA 000043

SIPDIS
AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PASS TO AMCONSUL AMSTERDAM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/16
TAGS: PHUM [Human Rights], PREL [External Political Relations], UNHRC-1 [UN Human Rights Commission]
SUBJECT: Palestinian Ambassador on Goldstone, 4GC, HRC

CLASSIFIED BY: Douglas Griffiths, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., State;
REASON: 1.4(B), (D)

...

PA May Call for Special Rapporteur Falk's Dismissal

¶8. (C) Also on February 16, in a separate conversation with Charge
and PolCouns, PA DPR Zuhairi was visibly upset by Special
Rapporteur for Human Rights in the OPT Richard Falk's reference to
Hamas in his draft report. In para 8, Falk states that UNGA
resolution 64/10 calls on Hamas - vice the PA - to undertake
investigations. Zuhairi argued that he had too often corrected
Falk's many errors and that this latest misguided effort by Falk
had gone too far. Zuhairi said he might use the February 18 HRC
organizational meeting to seek to block Falk's report from being
presented to the HRC on the grounds that Falk overstepped his
mandate, had addressed issues outside his brief, and had failed to
appropriately recognize a UNGA resolution (not to mention the
legitimate authority of the Pa). Zuhairi also said he wished Falk
would drop his repeated suggestions that Israel's actions in the
OPT be equated with the Holocaust. Such language has allowed
Israel to justify its refusal to allow Falk to visit, and has
limited his usefulness as a rapporteur.

¶9. (C) In light of the reference to Hamas, Zuhairi said he had
called Falk personally and asked him to step down, something Falk
angrily rejected. Zuhairi sought our advice on how best to
approach the issue, particularly in light of currently OIC and
African Group attempts to censure the secret detention study.
Charge and PolCouns, while acknowledging the problem of recognizing
Hamas, told Zuhairi that the U.S. defended the independence of the
special procedures mandate holders and that we objected to state's
use of the code of conduct as a means to muzzle rapporteurs.

There ya go - Falk is too extreme even for the Palestinian Arabs!

(h/t Hillel Neuer)

Arabs livid over German soccer shirts with Hebrew phrase

Times of Israel last week reported:

German’s under-21 squad will wear special shirts dedicated to Israel as it warms up for its
match against Holland’s team Thursday, in a tribute to the tournament’s host country.

The shirts read “we feel at home” in Hebrew, and wearing them is a rare move by a visiting country in an international tournament. UEFA’s Under-21 Championship is the most prestigious sporting competition to be hosted by Israel since the 1968 Paralympics.

At a pre-game press conference, international midfielder Lewis Holtby spoke warmly of the welcome the German team received in Israel. “The hospitality in Israel is great, the weather is better than in England or Germany,” he said, adding his club, Tottenham Hotspur, had a Jewish background, which made the experience “interesting.”

It was, of course, inevitable that Arabs would be upset that anyone could express happiness at visiting the Jewish state.

Elaph reports that

There was a state of anger and extreme indignation among Arabs and Palestinians on websites and social networks, especially Facebook and Twitter, because this move was "provocative" to the feelings of the victims and the wounded and injured by the brutality and racism of the Israeli occupation forces.

Activists on social networking sites said that Germany is trying to ingratiate themselves to the Israelis as atonement for what they suffered during the rule of Nazi leader Hitler; they are trying to make friends and get closer to the Jews at the expense of the just Palestinian cause.