Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, June 13, 2013

70 Gaza farmers attend Tel Aviv agriculture exhibition, in yet another #BDSFail

Palestine Today quotes Reshet Bet radio as saying that 70 farmers from Gaza attended a Tel Aviv agriculture conference and exhibition this week.

The report says that there is currently NIS 1.6 billion ($450 million) in trade between Israel and Gaza.

JPost adds:

An opportunity to once again export fruits and vegetables to the Israeli market could be game-changing not only to Gazan farmers but also to the larger relationship between the Gazan people and their Israeli neighbors, farmers from the territory told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.

“We want to sell in Israel,” said Mahmoud Ikhlain, chairman of the Beit Lahiya Cooperative.

“The market in Israel is a good market. All the time, we and Israel are in contact.”

“We are neighbors,” Ikhlain added.

There was a similar exhibition last January, where 30 Gaza farmers attended.

All this is very confusing, because we are constantly told that "Palestinian civil society" supports boycotting Israel.

Could it be that the BDS movement is lying, and most real Palestinian Arabs don't have a problem working together with Israel?

Nah, they wouldn't lie. Never. Perish the thought.

Arab media: "Israeli spies fighting in Syria"

Osama Hamdan, foreign ministry spokesman for Hamas, admits that there have been some "technical" problems that caused Lebanese officials to stop allowing Gazans with Hamas visas into the country.

Those "technical issues" include people caught with forged documents who were sneaking into Lebanon to fight with the rebels in Syria.

Hamdan promised that Hamas would never do anything to threaten the security of any Arab nation.

Hizballah handed over the bodies of several of these Palestinians found in Quseir with their forged visas, and "sources say" that they were actually Israeli spies sent to fight with the Syria rebels!

Reports indicate that the Lebanese, and especially Hezbollah, are upset at Hamas for this forged documents scandal and that there might be formal charges brought. This would explain Hamdan's eagerness to smooth ruffled feathers, and possibly Hizballah started the "Israeli spy" story also to keep the infighting between Hamas in Lebanon and Hizballah out of the public eye as long as possible.

Israel is the go-to excuse in cases like this, as always.

6/13 Links Part 1: Fatah Thugs, PA Honors Terrorists and Gazan Farmers want to Trade with Israel

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: The Palestinian Authority's Reign of Terror

Then, Fatah thugs recruited by the Palestinian Authority attacked dozens of Palestinian protesters who had set up tents in the center of Ramallah. The protesters were beaten and their tents set on fire as Palestinian Authority policemen stood on the side and refused to interfere.
By resorting to this policy of terror and intimidation against its critics and political opponents, the Palestinian Authority leadership in the West Bank is once again showing that it is not much different from other Arab dictatorships. It is these measures that have driven many Palestinians away from the Palestinian Authority and straight into the open arms of Hamas and other extremist groups.

PM to Palestinians: Stop squabbling, start talking

Netanyahu said, “My goal is to see a historic compromise that ends the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians once and for all.”
“This will entail a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state, with ironclad security arrangements for Israel – recognition, security, demilitarization,” Netanyahu said.
“I believe that these are the elements for peace. I don’t pose them as preconditions for negotiations. I look forward to enter those negotiations without preconditions without delay. I am ready for such a peace. I hope the Palestinians are ready too,” he said.

Media Comment: The self-perception of ‘Haaretz’

Haaretz is not so much a newspaper as an ideological tract. Its professional shortcomings, such as its publisher’s narrow focus and the clique-like character of the editorial staff, have turned Haaretz into an organ injurious to free, open and pluralistic thinking.
Gideon Levy trumpets his non- Zionism. Amira Haas was quoted saying to The New Yorker “my tribe is leftists, not liberal Zionists.” Regular columnist and Israel Prize laureate Prof. Ze’ev Sternhell in 2001 wrote in Haaretz’s pages “There is no doubt about the legitimacy of [Palestinian] armed resisitance”.

Harriet Sherwood visits town of Nabi Selah – forgets to mention the little monster it spawned

You may recall that the town of Nabi Selah (and Sherwood’s protagonist, Bassem Tamimi) was featured in a New York Times magazine cover story by Ben Ehrenreich, which romanticized the culture of terrorism in Bassem’s ‘little village’, and whitewashed the crime of its most famous resident, a woman named Ahlam Tamimi – whom, per Ehrenreich, is still much-loved in the town.
As Arnold and Frimet Roth explained in-depth recently, in response to Ehrenreich’s story, Tamimi (released in 2011 during the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange) is the Palestinian who escorted a suicide bomber to a Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem in 2001 – a massacre which left fifteen people dead, including the Roth’s' daughter Malki who was only fifteen years old at the time

Palestinian indicted of murdering settler

Salam Zagal of Tulkarem was indicted in a military court Wednesday for the murder of Evyatar Borowsky on April 30. According to the charges, Zagal set out to kill a Jewish settler, and Borowsky was the unlucky target.

Abbas won't dismiss official who praised killer of settler

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not adhere to the request of several US congressmen to reprimand a Fatah official who praised the killer of an Israeli settler in the West Bank, Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported on Wednesday.
The congressmen urged Abbas to dismiss the official, Sultan Abu al-Einein from the government after saying "We salute the heroic fighter, the self-sacrificing Salam Al-Zaghal [the killer of Israeli settler Evyatar Borovsky]."

PA honors 3 terrorists serving 166 life sentences

Last month, Palestinian Authority Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake chose to honor terrorist Abdallah Barghouti, who is serving 67 life sentences and is responsible for the death of 66 Israelis in suicide terror attacks. Together with a delegation including District Governor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, he paid a "solidarity visit" to Barghouti's family.

Hamas to execute 2 Palestinians linked with Israel

Hamas intends to execute two Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who were recently convicted of “collaborating” with Israel.
A Hamas official said that the two men, who were not identified, would be executed by hanging by the end of this month, probably next week.
Egypt

Egyptian Minister Reveals Hamas Aided Brotherhood Prison Break

Now, judicial sources claim that former Egyptian Interior Minister Mahmoud Wagdy testified that Hamas cooperated with the Muslim Brotherhood to conduct prison breaks during the outbreak of the uprising. A source said that Wagdy testified before the Appellate Court of Ismailia, asserting that Egyptian intelligence “monitored communications between the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas concerning participation in the Friday of Rage (the fourth day of the uprising and the storming of the prisons.”

Children recruited by regime and rebels in Syria, says UN study

The Assad regime and the Syrian rebels have recruited boys and girls under the age of 18 to their ranks, a new UN study has found.
They are used mostly as “suicide bombers or human shields,” in combat and support roles.
The report also details the regime’s abuse of boys it suspects are linked to opposition groups.

Lebanon Warns Syria after Gunship Attack

Lebanon's army warned it will hit back against any new attacks from Syria after a helicopter gunship struck an eastern town on Wednesday, ratcheting up tensions ahead of US-British talks on the conflict.

Syrian Civil War an ‘Iranian Fight’ Says Think Tank Chief

The head of a think tank in Dubai says Syria’s civil war has become a fight for Iran’s survival and rulership in the Middle East.
Mustafa Alani, director of security and defense at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Council, explained in a report published by The Washington Post on Wednesday that the Syrian government’s chief backer, Iran, is the most responsible for its survival in the savage civil war that began in March 2011.

Iran’s deep-rooted terror networks pose ‘real risk’

There are “clear signs” that terrorist networks first established by Iran in several South American countries in the 1980s and 1990s are still in place, and there are indications that Iran has similar networks in Europe, the Argentinian prosecutor who investigated the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires told The Times of Israel.
In a telephone interview a week after he issued a 500-page report on the bombing and Iran’s wider terrorist infiltration of South America, Alberto Nisman said that Tehran had established its terror networks for the strategic long term, ready to be used “whenever it needs them.

Google: Iran Broke Into Thousands of Gmail Accounts

Most of the victims were Iranians, or user Farsi in their accounts, a Google official said, indicating that the data theft involved may be connected to domestic Iranian issues – perhaps the local Iranian elections, set for Friday. The data theft began some three weeks ago, Google said.

Mossad head, in Ankara, reveals Iran’s anti-Turkish activity

Pardo gave Fidan information, from the Mossad and other Israeli intelligence hierarchies, concerning anti-Turkish activity by Syria and Iran, Israeli sources said later Wednesday. This included intelligence on Iranian Revolutionary Guards activity inside Turkey, the sources said, noting that Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier this week charged that foreign elements were involved in the Taksim Square protests in Istanbul.

Egypt, Pakistan deny importing Israeli arms

Also on Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Ministry released a statement stating, “Israel denies selling any military equipment to Pakistan,” and that Israel plans to contact the British office in charge of export permits to seek an explanation for the information that was published.
The statement then went into damage control mode, trying to keep Pakistan’s bitter enemy, India, from thinking that the report is true. “Israel’s strategic relationship with India, the strongest [most populous] democracy in the world, which like Israel is dealing with terrorist threats and is a key anchor in international relations,” said the statement.

Gaza farmers: Exports to Israel could improve ties

An opportunity to once again export fruits and vegetables to the Israeli market could be game-changing not only to Gazan farmers but also to the larger relationship between the Gazan people and their Israeli neighbors, farmers from the territory told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
“We want to sell in Israel,” said Mahmoud Ikhlain, chairman of the Beit Lahiya Cooperative.
“The market in Israel is a good market. All the time, we and Israel are in contact.”
“We are neighbors,” Ikhlain added.

There are FIVE amusement parks in Gaza (photos)

Once again, prepare yourselves to see the horrible suffering of Gazans in their open-air prison. It is brutal, but you must force yourself to watch, so you can be a witness for future generations:

This comes from a Palestine Today feature about all the summer fun available to poor, deprived, starving Gazans.

According to the article, Gaza has five theme parks and 12 tourist resorts, all receiving record numbers of visitors.

I doubt highly that residents of, say, El Arish, Egypt, have such a selection of amusement parks within an hour drive.

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.