Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Erdogan blaming Israel for riots in Turkey

Hurriyet Daily News, June 3:

Turkish intelligence is looking into possible links between the incidents in Taksim Square and foreign powers, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at a press conference today before leaving for Morocco, accusing internal and foreign actors of supporting the Gezi Park protests.

“Our intelligence work is ongoing [to determine the foreign actors behind the protests]. It is not possible to reveal their names. But we will have meetings with their heads,” said Erdoğan.

June 12:

The head of Israel’s Mossad, Tamir Pardo, met secretly with the Turkish intelligence agency’s undersecretary, Hakan Fidan, on June 10 in Ankara, with Syria and Iran on the agenda.

Fidan and Pardo shared information about the latest situation in Syria as well as the influence of Iran in the country.....Fidan and Pardo also reprotedly [sic] discussed the ongoing protests in Turkey, which started two weeks ago to oppose a development project in Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park and spread to the other parts of the country.

Commenter Yoel noticed the juxtaposition, and the only other I found that made that connection was IBTimes.

But later Yoel sent me more proof, also from Hurriyet today:

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated his belief that the Gezi Park protests have external connections, adding that the interest lobby and foreign news outlets were also involved. “Those against whom we said ‘one minute’ are now delighted,” Erdoğan was quoted as saying during a meeting with the chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Craftsmen and Tradesmen (TESK) Bendevi Palandöken on June 12.

Erdoğan notoriously reacted by uttering “one minute” to Israeli President Shimon Peres during the 2009 Davos Economic Forum.

“Even if not in such a manner, we had foreseen these events as a series of conspiracies three months ago. We had received some intelligence reports,” Erdoğan also said.

There are a lot of good reasons why Israel and Turkey should have a close relationship. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the only reason they shouldn't. .

Palestinian Muslim gets caught being drunk - so he blames the IDF

Ma'an has the latest shocking story of IDF cruelty:

Israeli intelligence officers forced a Palestinian man from Beit Ummar to drink wine at gunpoint on Tuesday evening, a local committee spokesman said.

An Israeli military patrol stopped Muhammad Khalil Abu Dayyah, 24, from the Safa neighborhood near Beit Ummar and forced him into a military tower at the entrance to Beit Ummar, said Muhammad Ayyad Awad, spokesman of Beit Ummar's committee against Israel's separation wall and settlements.

Abu Dayyah was being asked to give names of young men who participate in clashes against Israeli forces in the Hebron-district town, Awad said.

When Abu Dayyah refused to cooperate with the soldiers, they brought an intelligence officer who took out a list of names of young locals and asked him to identify them.

Abu Dayyah refused to give any information, and the intelligence officer pointed a rifle at the back of his head and ordered him to drink a bottle of wine.

Awad said that after Abu Dayyah drank the bottle, he passed out for an hour. He was awoken by Israeli soldiers who then threw him out of the military installation, he added.

Locals who witnessed Abu Dayyah being taken away by Israeli forces took him home after the incident, confirming that he appeared under the influence and smelling of alcohol.

The consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Islam.

This story is all over the Arabic media. FARS News of Iran published it as well, along with a host of anti-Israel webpages.

Yes, the IDF's secret weapon is apparently a bottle of Man-O-Manischewitz!

The Jewish Press actually bothered to ask the IDF to investigate the incident. Here was the response:

After reviewing the incident, all indications show that the described event did not occur. Yesterday, a Palestinian who was apparently inebriated approached an army post near Beit Ummar. Using minimal, non-aggressive measures, IDF forces moved him away from the spot.

Military Sources: No active engagements took place between IDF forces and locals in the area in question during the last 48 hours.

"The IDF made me do it" is the modern Palestinian Arab's version of "The dog ate my homework."

It turns out that Abu Dayyah has been in the news before. Among other incidents, this story in Dostour from last year, sourced to the same local committee, says that Israeli soldiers in Beit Ummar beat him - and that Abu Dayyah was mentally ill.

Arab media uncovers Madonna's secret Zionist plot

Al Wafd (Egypt) has uncovered the nefarious plot by Madonna to help Zionists take over the world!

The singer bypassed the entire idea of Christian Zionism by converting to Judaism itself, and encouraging thousands of followers to do the same. Using art, Madonna essentially helped Israel take over the US.

But that wasn't all. She established schools to teach Zionism to unsuspecting students, using the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as her playbook. Not that she would admit that out loud, of course.

Her second and more ambitious school attracts young people who are burned out on sex and drugs, and is meant to give them a spiritual awakening, which is of course Madonna's method of brainwashing them into Zionism.

Now, many of her disciples follow her on her trips to Israel.

Yes, the pop/rock division of my empire is doing very well, thank you.

6/12 Links Part 2: Wilders, Col. Richard Kemp, Hemingway's Hebrew and the Birth of the IAF

From Ian:

Geert Wilders: ‘Israel is the litmus proof’ (video)

In the coming weeks and months, I will try to see as many patriot leaders in Europe as possible. And I always ask them for their views on Israel. Because Israel is the litmus proof.
The Jewish people did exactly the opposite of what the Europeans did after the Second World War. They drew the right conclusion. They realized that without a nation-state of their own there could be no safety for their people.

Colonel Richard Kemp: Israel's Right to Exist (h/t Daphne Anson)

The EU shows it doesn’t understand the conflict

One would think that if the EU wanted to hamper trade from a disputed territory in Israel, they would surely do the same to say, the northern, Turkish-occupied part of Cyprus, which really does count as an occupied region. But no. Instead the EU approved a 259 million euro aid package for the Turkish Cypriot community back in 2006. Oh well.
But let’s face it, Europe’s antipathy toward Israel didn’t fall out of the sky when the EU was established. For do remember, US Air Force planes resupplying Israeli armed forces during the 1973 Yom Kippur war were not even allowed to refuel on European soil as Israel faced extermination. The EU was founded 20 years after this European display of moral heroism.
Maybe the words of Dutch Writer Leon de Winter are true: The love Jews once felt for Europe has remained unanswered.

How Anti-Israel Zealotry Threatens Europe

Two recent developments show the extent to which the mainstreaming of rabid anti-Israel sentiment in Europe is harming Europe itself. One, a new exhibit glorifying Palestinian suicide bombers at one of France’s most famous museums, undermines France’s security. The other, a British union’s decision to effectively bar members from contact with another British workers’ group because the latter opposes boycotting Israel, undermines Britons’ civil liberties.

Pro-Israel Irish Christian Group Calls on Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister to Reject Israel Boycott

Irish Christian Friends of Israel (ICFI) is calling on Eamon Gilmore, Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs and trade, to reject a push to label West Bank goods as “settler” products at the next European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting on June 14.

Greek-Israeli glad to have helped expose ‘neo-Nazi’ party

A Greek-Israeli businessman who was subject to anti-Semitic rhetoric last week by a Golden Dawn parliamentarian said he is happy to have helped reveal the true neo-Nazi nature of the party.
At a June 7 committee meeting, Golden Dawn parliament member Ilias Kasidiaris — as quoted on the party’s English website – called Sabby Mionis “the Jew Mionis” who “refused to testify in the Committee of the Greek Parliament, because ‘holocaust’ deniers are part of it [the committee]! Of course they are a part of it.”

The Guardian hosts an Israeli “settler” point-of-view

Our communities stand on solid moral ground. Built on vacant land, no settlement stands on the ruins of any Arab village…In Judea and Samaria there is ample room for many Jews, many Palestinians and peaceful coexistence. Our communities stand on solid moral ground because the right of Jews to live in Shiloh, Hebron or Beth El is inalienable. These sites are the cradles of Jewish civilisation, the birthplace of Hebraic culture. Negating the right of Jews to live in these historic parts of the Jewish homeland would be morally wrong.

Anett Haskia Israeli Arab and proud Zionist: Israel is freedom! VIDEO

Jason Kenney Criticizes UNHRC Special Rapporteur Richard Falk - I Think "Rapporteur" Means Jew Baiter In French VIDEO

Hon. Jason Kenney (Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, CPC): Mr. Speaker, Richard Falk is an embarrassment to the United Nations Human Rights Council. He has praised 9/11 conspiracy theorists repeatedly. He has suggested that the United States provoked terrorist attacks against it. He is now attacking Canadian-led UN Watch. We call on Richard Falk to be fired as a special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council. He is a disgrace to that body and the United Nations.

Frequent BBC favourite Falk in the news

Why the BBC seems to feel the need to play down Falk’s long history of anti-Israel campaigning, antisemitic remarks, adherence to conspiracy theories and general offensiveness is one question. How the BBC thinks it can meet its required standards of accuracy and impartiality by unquestioningly repeating and promoting the opinions of a man it knows full well to be far removed from both of those criteria is a yet more pressing question which needs to be asked more than ever at this time.

UN Expert Falk: I Don't Intend to Quit

Washington has said he should quit his UN role, which like other rights monitors at the world body he holds on an unpaid, voluntary basis.
Falk has also come under fire for his anti-Israel bias from UN Watch, a lobby group affiliated with the American Jewish Committee.
On Monday, Falk publicly called on the UN to investigate and potentially expel the watchdog organization, after it mobilized world leaders to condemn his comments blaming the Boston Marathon bombings on “the American global domination project” and “Tel Aviv.”

Israeli inventions underpin 20% of global biotech revenue

Alon found that 20.5% of the global biotech industry's turnover - $24.6 billion out of $120 billion - is based on products that originated in Israeli research. This figure does not include several very important products by Israeli researchers who are currently abroad. It also excludes products developed through the use of so-called "Kvili patents" for the production of monoclonal antibodies developed by Prof. Shmuel Kvili.

How Israel ‘saved’ Italy’s life sciences business

But, counter-intuitive as it may sound, companies from Europe are also coming to Israel to seek funding.
Israel has something that Italy, and the rest of the EU, does not have – a tolerance for risk, said Dr. Roberto Mirabella. He is co-founder and CFO of Remembrane, a culture cell company that deals with injury repair, which was part of the Italian delegation to BioMed.

Keeping the air out, and the bacteria away

But few are as effective as Prevena, the latest offering from international medical technology giant Kinetic Concepts (KCI, represented in Israel by Chemitec), the company says. With Prevena, according to Ron Silverman, chief medical officer for KCI, the average incision treated with the device will heal in five to seven days, about half the amount of time it would take to heal when compared to older devices.

Richard Millett: England crushed by Israel’s winning goal in Jerusalem

England’s Under-21 football team, already eliminated from the UEFA Under-21 Finals in Israel after losing their first two games, were beaten 1-0 by Israel in Jerusalem’s Teddy Kolleck stadium to be left bottom of their group having achieved no points and having scored just one goal in their three group games (and that goal was from the penalty spot).

Book Signed in Hebrew by Hemingway With Hand Drawn Star of David Hits Ebay

A book for sale on the online auction site Ebay has a Jewish endorsement from an unlikely source: Ernest Hemingway.
The book, Some of My Best Friends are Jews, written by Robert Gessner in the 1930s, is an examination of the Jewish predicament of the early 2oth Century. Published in 1936, 9 years later Hemingway presented Gessner with a signed copy that reads “My best friend, my brother” —written in Hebrew. The text is accompanied by Hemingway’s signature and a Star of David with the word Jude written inside it, similar to the yellow star that Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.

Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force

Sample Reel for forthcoming documentary feature "Above and Beyond: The Birth of the Israeli Air Force" currently in production by Playmount Productions. h/t Blazing Cat Fur

Confirmation of third child killed by Hamas rocket last November?

The UN just released their annual report on Children and Armed Conflict.

This sentence concerning Pillar of Defense was interesting (paragraph 110):

In three other incidents, Palestinian children were allegedly killed by Palestinian rockets aimed at Israel that fell short and landed in Gaza.

In March, a different UN report only mentioned 2 incidents of children killed by terrorist rockets that fell short:

On 14 November, a woman, her 11-month-old infant, and an 18-year-old adult in Al-Zaitoun were killed by what appeared to be a Palestinian rocket that fell short of Israel. In addition, OHCHR received reports related to an incident in which two civilians, including a child, were killed, and five persons, including three children, were injured, as a result of what appeared to be a Palestinian rocket that fell short and hit a house in Al-Quds Street, near Khilla Gas Station, Jabalya, on 16 November.

So who was the third, even if only "allegedly"?

My guess, as I've mentioned previously, is Iyad Abu Khusah, an 18-month old boy who B'Tselem said was killed by an Israeli airstrike:

On the morning of 18 November 2012, at around 8:00 AM, an Israeli plane fired into the courtyard. One-and-a-half-year-old Iyad Abu Khusah was killed by shrapnel that hit him in the head. Shrapnel hit his six-year-old brother Suhaib in the face and neck. His four-year-old cousin Sarah was hit by shrapnel in the abdomen and the lower torso.

However, unlike other reports of airstrikes killing civilians that B'tselem asked the IDF to verify, in this case the IDF flatly denied that there was any airstrike whatsoever:

I never saw anyone else putting the pieces together to assume that Abu Khusah was killed by a Hamas rocket the way I did - until this new UN report.

Either the UN is reading my blog and thinking it is authoritative enough to raise the possibility that Abu Khusah was killed by a rocket that fell short (unlikely), or someone else I am not aware of has also reached that conclusion. (Or there is another child I have not heard about that the UN didn't bother to publicize.)

Hamas summer camp, 2013 (with my hit music video from 2008)

From AFP:

Things haven't changed much since I first looked at Hamas summer camps in 2007. And 2011. And 2012.

At one of these camps, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said:that Israel has no future on "Palestinian land," meaning all of Israel.

So it is once again time to post my hit music video, "Hello Martyr, Hello Fatah" (lyrics) Soccer Dad came up with the title, I did the rest:

6/12 Links Part 1: BDS Violence and Lies, Al-Qaeda gets SAMs and Twitter is Deadlier Than Car Bombs.

From Ian:

What’s left of Israel’s peace with its neighbors?

When skeptics despair of Israel’s ability to finalize a peace treaty with the Palestinians, Israel’s peace agreements with two of its Arab neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, are often invoked as proof that success can be reached.
But experts and officials say a nuanced look at relations with those two neighbors tells a story of a cold peace that is only growing chillier.

Isi Leibler: Candidly Speaking: Israel and America’s global retreat

The so-called “Arab Spring”, enthusiastically welcomed by the Obama administration, substituted authoritarian dictators – some pro-Western – with more extreme Muslim Brotherhood fanatics and other radical Islamists who, despite reliance on American financial support, display utter contempt for US concerns.
US appeasement of Islamic extremism now also demands the exclusion of criticism of Islamic terrorism from the lexicon of administration spokesmen.

Islamophilia by Douglas Murray

The resistance to criticising Islam or Islamism, as British artist Grayson Perry said, or fear of having one's throat cut, or because a British university was concerned about an "Islamophobic fruit" is altogether unnatural, and amounts to a level of reverence that is never, and should never, be mindlessly applied to any religion or doctrine.
With a particular focus on 'The Literati', Murray effectively eviscerates the notion that in the West, we are intrinsically 'Islamophobic' and provides and crucial dissection of how this term is often used farcically, even displaying how Islam's greatest (worst?) propagandists are labeled as Islamophobes simply for daring to broach the subject.

BDS Leaders: 'Only Solution is Violence'

Leaders of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to delegitimize and demonize Israel worldwide, said they oppose any peace talks, even if they include a long-demanded freeze of Israeli construction.
"We have no faith... in the so-called negotiations," said Omar Barghouti, head of the BDS movement, which lobbies worldwide for the economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel.

AFP Falsely Reports Lenny Kravitz Boycotted Israel

On what basis does PACBI conclude that Kravitz's cancellation due to "prior commitments" translates to "respect" for the "BDS call"? PACBI's claim that Kravitz's cancellation due to his ongoing shooting of The Butler is no more credible than its unfounded claim that Willis supported the boycott, when in fact his trip with Sylvester Stallone was canceled due to the untimely death of the latter's son.

Poll: 85% oppose releasing prisoners for peace

The Palestinian Authority’s demand that Israel release terrorists from prison as a precondition for peace talks is unacceptable to 85 percent of Israeli Jews, according to a Smith Research poll sponsored by the Knesset’s Land of Israel caucus.
Asked whether they would support releasing terrorists as a gesture to bring the Palestinians to the negotiating table, 57% said they would strongly oppose it, 28% said were against it, 13% said they supported it and just 2% said they were strongly in favor of such a move.

Freed Hunger Striker Proudly Announces Return to Terrorism

Ayman Sharawna, a terrorist freed from prison by Israel after an eight-month hunger strike, has publicly announced that he has returned to terrorist activities.
A story which recently aired on the Lebanese Al Mayadeen television network and which was reported by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Center, documented Sharawna as he returned to Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The Al Mayadeen reporter showed Sharawna in his home in Gaza and accompanied him as he took part in Hamas terror operations near the border with Israel.

Citing Terror Support and Human Rights Abuses, Boulder City Council Nixes Palestinian Sister-City Bid

The Boulder, Colorado city council voted overwhelmingly Monday to reject a sister city application from Nablus, citing Palestinian Authority abuses in the West Bank city and its long history as a terrorist center.
Opponents of the proposal noted the Palestinian Authority’s dismal human rights record and lack of press freedom. Critics also blasted the frequency in Nablus of honor killings and the persecution of gays occuring within the city.

PA Official: The Financial Crisis is Getting Worse

The Palestinian Authority’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs said Tuesday that the financial crisis is getting worse, as the new PA cabinet met for the first time.
"There is a major financial crisis and the PA is $4.2 billion in internal and external debt," Muhammad Mustafa said during a news conference following the cabinet meeting, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency.

PA Won't be Allowed 'Shin Bet' Base in Area C

The Civil Administration for Judea and Samaria has rejected a request by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to establish a security base between the villages of Beit Ur al-Foka, Beit Ur al-Tahta and Bitunia.
Arutz Sheva reported last month about the PA’s request for the base, which it said was meant to serve the PA's "Preventive Security" arm, the equivalent of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).

Hamas Chief: ‘No Future’ for Israel

Speaking Sunday at a youth summer camp in the Gaza Strip, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh proclaimed to the crowd that Israel would be destroyed to make way for a Palestinian state. Arab media sources summed up his speech with the headline ‘Haniyeh: No future for Israel on the land of Palestine.’

Gaza May Bring Back Public Hangings

Batash said courts should have their own police, who would implement court rulings by publicly executing condemned criminals.
Public executions would serve to deter Gaza residents from serious crime, he argued.

Barry Rubin: The West's New Syrian War

One day people will ask how the United States and several European countries became involved in mass killings, genocide, corruption, arms smuggling, and the creation of another anti-Western and regionally destabilizing government. Even if a single Western soldier is never sent, the West is on the verge of serious intervention in Syria. The choices are unpalatable and decisions are very tough to make but it appears to be still another in a long history of Western leaps in the dark, not based on a real consideration of the consequences.
At least people should be more aware of the dangers. As I entitled a previous book on Iran (Paved with Good Intentions), the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. People are dying and suffering in Syria. That's true. But will this make more people or fewer people die and suffer?

Al-Qaeda may possess feared surface-to-air missiles

The photocopies of the manual lay in heaps on the floor, in stacks that scaled one wall, like Xeroxed, stapled handouts for a class.
Except that the students in this case were al-Qaeda fighters in Mali. And the manual was a detailed guide, with diagrams and photographs, on how to use a weapon that particularly concerns the United States: A surface-to-air missile capable of taking down a commercial airplane.

Egyptian author appeals for protection following Islamist threats

A Germany-based Egyptian author has requested protection from Egyptian authorities after ultra-conservative Islamists in Egypt declared him an "apostate" and launched an online campaign calling for his death.

Egypt court convicts Christian schoolteacher of blasphemy

A court in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor on Tuesday found a Christian primary school teacher guilty of blasphemy and ordered her to pay a fine of 100,000 Egyptian pounds ($14,300).
The families of three schoolchildren had filed complaints against Demiana Abd al-Nour, accusing her of insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed during a lesson.

Intellectuals, Writers, Artists Blast Egyptian Culture Minister for Attacking Egyptian Culture, Promoting Islamism

The protestors demanded the dismissal of Minister Alaa Abdel Aziz, and chanted anti-Muslim Brotherhood slogans. They rejected the recent decisions by the Culture Minister to sack some of the ministry leaders “without any obvious reasons, and in a random manner.” They accused the minister of imposing a Muslim Brotherhood agenda on Egyptian culture. Protestors against the minister included well-known intellectuals, writers, artists and members of cultural movements, such as “The Creativity Front.”

Turkish Gov't on the Warpath Against Twitter, Facebook

A spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party on Wednesday labeled the Twitter social media website to be "deadlier than car bombs."
AKP public relations director Ali Sahin threatened a broad regulation of the internet site as a solution to ending the nationwide anti-government protests, according to AntiWar.com . Sahin claimed in a scathing statement that Twitter is part of a "conspiracy" of social media against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Still plenty of terror attacks, not that you'd know that from the media

YNet reports:

The Military Advocate General (MAG) reported that the number of indictments filed against West Bank Palestinians on charges of terror acts has risen by 20% in 2012, compared to 2011.

The charges pertain to security issues and include planning of terror attacks and possession of weapons with intent to execute terror attacks but not public disturbances.

According to the MAG, the rise indicates a change from the five-year period between 2006 and 2011, which were considered quiet in regard to security issues in the West Bank.

According to the data, if the rise continues at the same pace recorded since the beginning of 2013, the increase will hike to 50% compared to 2011.

Additionally:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel has foiled five suicide bombings and many other "terrorist" attacks since the start of the year.

Shin Bet, the domestic security service, and the army had prevented the bombings and 30 attempted kidnappings of soldiers, Netanyahu told visiting Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

"We have fought terrorism for many years... including this year when five attempted suicide attacks were thwarted along with 30 attempted kidnappings and many other terrorist attacks," he was quoted as saying in a statement.

The good news is that, according to the Shin Bet, the number of attacks over the past few months has shown a slight downward trend, even though there are still hundreds not being reported in the media:

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..